The Daily Life of the Late Bloomer Tamer

Chapter 42: Ashihana

"Are you satisfied?"

"Yeah!"

"Now, can we talk about the main topic?"

"The beekeeping box, right?　Sure, I'll make it for you."

"Eh?　You can make it?"

"I've never made it before, but I can make it. It's in a recipe I learned recently."

Her response is very fast. I heard she's a top player, so I guess her woodcraft skill is high.

"I'll make the best beekeeping box for Kumama-chan!"

But there is one problem.

"How much does it cost?"

I have 6,000 G in my pocket right now, and I don't know how much it would cost me if I asked a top player to make a custom order for me...

"You don't have much money?"

"I just spent it. If you wait until the day after tomorrow, I can get you about 20,000 G."

"I see. To be honest, that's still not enough."

"I guess so. Are there any inexpensive beekeeping boxes that can be made with low-quality materials and less workmanship?"

"No! My pride won't allow me to make such a lousy product!"

So, I guess I can't ask Ashihana to make it this time.

As if she knows I'm about to cancel my order, she hurriedly interrupts my words.

"Wait! Wait a minute! I will make the beekeeping box for Kumama-chan!"

"But I don't have enough money."

"Hmm, but, but..."

Ashihana hugs Kumama and shakes her head in denial. As I scratch my head with a troubled look on my face, Sawyer-kun speaks up.           

"Well, why don't we go get the materials? It'll be a little cheaper if you can supply the materials yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"No. Ashihana-san, do you mean  you want to look for wood around the beginning town?"

"Yes!　Well, my lumbering level is over 30! You know, it seems like there have been a lot of new discoveries in the town of beginnings lately. I was wondering if there are any undiscovered items to gather as well!"

Her skill level is 30? As expected, the top producer is amazing.

"I was thinking of going to gather some materials too. Yuuto-san, would you like to gather materials with me?"

"That's great, but I'm not strong enough. My monsters aren't that high level yet, either."

"That's the same with me."

"You'll be fine with me! Leave the enemies around the town of beginnings to me! I can cut them down with my ax!"

If the battle is not a problem, maybe we could go on a gathering trip together?　It would only be beneficial to us, like a gathering tour with a skilled person as our guide.

"But, Ashihana, is it really okay? It's all for my benefit."

"Gufufufu. Gathering together with Kumama..."

I guess that is actually a reward for Ashihana.

"But what if we can't find the right material?"

"In that case, we can split it! Kumama-chan will be excluded, and I'll give you the lowest price. Maybe 35,000 G, okay?"

"So expensive!"

But the quality is guaranteed.

"...... I understand. That's fine."

"It's settled then."

"When do we go?　Now?"

"I can't go right now... How about 3 hours later?"

"That's fine with me. But what about the party? I have four monsters, so it's a party of five. I'll change the monsters I take with me based on your skills composition."

Sawyer-kun is probably the rear guard, but what about Ashihana?　She mentioned her ax, so she may be a vanguard.

"Why don't we just form a team?"

"A team?"

"Aah, Yuuto-san is a soloist, right?"

A team is apparently a joint party that can be formed by two parties. When you form a team, the experience is first divided by two and then divided between party members.

When I asked if this is different from a raid, he explained. Raid parties can have as many as 100 players, and drops can be obtained individually, but in the case of a team, drops are obtained as a party member.

One clear disadvantage is that the bosses have slightly more HP. Also, the encounter rate will increase, and the monster drop rate will decrease significantly. Apparently, you can't simply double the drop rate by having two parties.

"So, me, Ashihana, Yuuto, and his monster are forming a team."

For example, if we kill a monster with an experience value of 100, the first 50 will be divided between me and Sawyer-kun and Ashihana.

After that, the 5 of us in my party would get 10 each, while Sawyer and Ashihana would get 25 each.

At first glance, Sawyer and the others are benefiting, but the experience of the monsters technically is mine. Actually, it's 50 for me and 25 for the two of them.

Well, I don't mind if they're fine with that. Let's at least contribute by fighting and gathering. If we get too much out of it, we can adjust it later by giving them more drops or something.

"OK, we'll go as a team."

"Yeah!"

"We'll meet here three hours later, okay?"

"Okay, I'll be back in three hours."

Three hours later, we are gathered in front of the western gate.

"So we're all here."

"These are Yuuto-san's monsters! They're so cute! Yuuto-san, you know what you're doing!"

Well, I didn't aim to have cute followers. Looking at them again, 2 kids and 2 animals. They're too cute. Though maybe they're not strong enough.

"Hey!　Introduce them to me!"

"OK, OK. This is Orto the Gnome."

"Mu!"

"This is Sakura the tree spirit."

"--♪."

"This is Rick the Grey Squirrel."

"Kyukyu!

And as you already know, this is Kumama the Honey Bear."

"Kuma!"

Each time I introduced them, my kids would raise their hands to greet Ashihana. And each time, she screamed shrilly and hugged the monster.

The way she breathes hard and stares at my kids as if she wants to lick them is a bit scary.

"Haa haa haa. They're all too cute. ....... I feel like my nose is going to bleed.

"Wait, Ashihana-san! Please be careful! If you're not careful, it will be harassment!"

"Uuh. From now on, I'll be a tamer."

"No, no. Don't decide so easily."

"That's right. There are a lot of people who would be disappointed if you quit working as a woodcutter."

"But, but--!"

"You'll just have to learn the tame skill."

"Ugh..... I will do that. Hey, Yuuto-san."

"What?"

"Yuuto-san, are you based in the city of beginnings?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be based there for a while."

"I see."

What?　As I nod my head, Sawyer-kun whispers to me.

"It seems she's going to stay in the city of beginnings."