Chương 34: Chapter 31

Chael really did know how to forage. Sobelle had been mistaken about the young merchant, if anything, Chael was even more experienced than her when it came to navigating the forests in search of food. Sobelle didn't say it, but she was envious of how Chael lived a life of money and still knew the skills peasants like her had.

"See how there are no plants? That's because everyone who's been here already took them down to make it easier for us to forage." Chael led her to an area with less undergrowths compared to the rest of the forest. It was a place Sobelle hadn't even considered as a place to go to, as she knew that the animals were not in areas with no wilderness.

"There should be berry bushes around here somewhere, that and mushrooms, sometimes my mother used to ask my father to put hollow logs in the areas she foraged."

"Why?" Sobelle found it weird that Chael would just stop at that instead of continuing. And a few seconds did pass between Sobelle asking this question and when Chael finished her explanation.

"Why did your mother ask your father to do that?"

"Because mushrooms grow on falling logs, and if there were a lot of them, then there'd be plenty of mushrooms right?" Chael's happy smile paired with the logical words she passed on to Sobelle made the mercenary-to-be pause in thought.

"She also cut off the branches of berry bushes and planted them all over the place during autumn, then she'd do the same for tree saplings."

"I... See." Sobelle was scared to ask because she had never seen the merchant talk to a woman in the past. Not a single one of their visits prior to this had even showed signs of him being married.

"What happened to your mother?"

"She died from a plague. We did not know that the village we visited was being ravaged by one and so she got sick, no one knew what to do and we had to bury her in one of the shrines." Chael did not seem sad as she talked about this, so Sobelle believed that it may already be a few years since this happened. [+1 Wisdom!] Sobelle ignored the boxes for once.

She silently apologized to the Gods and went back to her conversation with Chael, "I've heard of shrines before, they're the ones that are built on the roadside right? That asks for sacrifices in exchange for good luck?"

"Sometimes they do more than that but yes, that is what Shrines do." Chael plucked out a sporecap from the ground and carefully eyed it.

"It's poisonous but still safe to eat, you guys let these types of mushrooms grow around here?" Poisonous? Since when has any of the mushrooms near the village been poisonous? That didn't make sense. Sobelle looked at the mushroom Chael held and confirmed that it wasn't poisonous, she herself had eaten one of these things and felt fine!

"I don't know. But I don't think they are poisonous, I've eaten one before and didn't get hurt." Sobelle informed the young merchant because it was possible that Chael might be mistaken. [10 [Wisdom] reached! Granting Reward...]"Really? I guess you guys are just used to eating them then, it's not that weird to see. Some of the villages we've seen eat things that would have given a normal person the stomach aches. Make them shoot out liquid from behind."

Chael giggled as she stuffed the mushroom in a pouch she pulled out from her cloak.

"Quite interesting."

"Are you gonna eat it?" Sobelle noticed that she put the mushroom in storage regardless of how she claimed it to be poisonous.

"Isn't that thing dangerous to eat?"

"Dangerous? No. Poisonous? Yes." Chael said it like there was a difference between them. And maybe there was, she knew what she was doing and if she said something like that then Sobelle was inclined to believe her.

"We can use this mushroom for medicine, if we crushed it in a mortar and mixed garlic cloves with it, we'd be able to make something that's perfect to be put on top of a wound." Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"I see." Sobelle was glad to know more about what could be used for medicine. She had no clue that mushrooms were used in this way. She briefly forgot about Chael and checked what skill she got from obtaining 10 [Wisdom]. [Vibe Check - a room full of people has a sort of atmosphere to it, a "vibe" so to say. You are now able to read this atmosphere and figure out how large groups feel.] That did not sound useful at all.

Though Sobelle didn't dare doubt the gifts the Gods gave her, it definitely had some use she did not know about. And it wasn't like she needed to view every skill under the sight of combat. Some skills could be good for talking as well, and there was nothing wrong with that.

"And here's another mushroom, and it's... Safe. Huh!" Chael put this one in a separate pouch. She then went around in a small circle, searching for more of these mushrooms. Sobelle noticed that she knew where to look and actively sought cold, damp areas.

"I got three!"

"Not a single one is small." Sobelle said teasingly. Though her tone did not really indicate that.

"One of them could barely fit your hand." Memories of the greenskins own uncovered... Mushrooms surfaced and her mood plummeted.

"Ha-ha."

"Well, you know what they say, the bigger the mushrooms the better." Chael winked and weakly waved the mushroom she held. Was it her new skill or did Chael not even bother to make her sound lively? Either way, Sobelle felt as though Chael herself did not like her own joke. Or maybe her mind just played tricks on her, what she felt was not exactly right. And Sobelle knew that could be attributed to her worsening mental state. Had the goblins put a curse on her? Goblins shamans existed but that group had none.

Neither of them mentioned how the other wasn't really in with the joke and the atmosphere turned awkward for a few seconds before it turned silent. For a while, Sobelle merely watched Chael continue to forage. And the young merchant no longer explained her thought process when it came to foraging either, the two of them were simply content on being by each other's side. Or maybe that was how they always felt and that the lack of conversation was simply because some things were simply never meant to be acknowledged.

"You looked good... In how you fought Goblins I mean!" Chael's tone turned high and she giggled hard enough that her cheeks turned red. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and Sobelle noticed the tips had gone crimson as well.

"I've never seen someone fight a Pudge so confidently and easily before you."

"Then you haven't seen a knight." Sobelle had never traveled and only lived in a village all her life and even she knew that knights would make quick work of goblins.

"I have. My uncle is a knight." Chael suddenly turned sad.

"And he was a weak man who relied on the safety his armor provided and the danger his sword expelled. That is all they are. Weak who take advantage of the innocent."

"No, that's not true—""It is true!" Chael suddenly screamed, it made Sobelle flinch. Despite looking guilty for a second, the merchant continued and pushed her point.

"They are men who will do anything to feel good about themselves, have you seen what knights do to the women of the places they subjugated?! They are repulsive and vile! The stories are not true!" Chael was being honest. Sobelle could feel it. A part of her knew that the merchant told her nothing but the truth, yet she refused to believe it. These were lies; knights were not repulsive, they saved the realm! They were heroes who made everyone feel safe and killed monsters!

"You have never seen a knight in person, so don't even think of saying anything to me. Because all I'll be able to hear are the mistaken beliefs of someone who's never even gotten close to the thing they're defending." Chael turned away.

"I'm sorry for lashing out at you. I can leave if you want?" Sobelle looked down at the ground. She couldn't believe that Chael would call knights vile and even claim they weren't as good as the stories, but would she hate the young merchant for doing so? No. Chael simply told her the truth of the matter, at the same time, Sobelle refused to believe her until she saw a knight in person. So she chose a simple compromise; she'd forgive Chael but never believe her.

It would be up to her to see what she thought of knights and that would be that.

"No, stay. I asked you to forage so you'll need to continue teaching me." Sobelle sounded arrogant and she knew this but she had no other idea on what would make Chael stay.

"... Right, okay." Chael didn't ask Sobelle how she truly felt about the knights, and was satisfied with just saying her own feelings about the armored men.