âTo think it would be the [The Last Forest]â Garius
Garis was shocked as Rippi told him where the Demonfolks fled. It was definitely a far and remote location, but was also the dwelling of many demons and was considered a unreasonably and hazardous forest. Beyond the forest was an uncharted and impa.s.sable mountain range, and was recognized as the forest at the edge of the world, thus the name [The Last Forest].
âIs it possible to even live in such a location?â Garius
âYou humans thoughtlessly branded those beasts as demons out of fear, but theyâre not as dangerous as you thinkâ Rippi
âIs..that so. So the rumors of Demonfolks and demons co-existing were really true.â Garius
âWe donât really have a generalized term for them. They arenât that much different than beasts. Ah, but there are differences. The ones with more intellect are much easier to live withâ Rippi
Now that he mentions it, âdemonsâ was originally a term humans arbitrarily came up with. An existence that was able to manipulate magic. They were much stronger than regular beasts and troublesome to deal with. Some humans saw demons and beasts were two sides of a coin. What made matters worse is the fact that part of the demi-human race were considered demons as well.
âItâs quite unpleasant isnât it? Us Werecats are still acceptable, but Goblins and Orcs are still considered as demons, even though we can properly converse with themâŠâ Rippi
âMa, I guess. Thereâs no room for talk if demons just suddenly come and attack youâ Garius
âWe donât indiscriminately attack you know?â Rippi
âEh? No, Iâve experienced it many times thoughâŠâ Garius
Not only by preemptive attacks from Giants subspecies, Iâve been dropped by flying types from absurd heights.
âThat? Theyâre just playing aroundâ Rippi
Rippiâs laugh told me that he was not joking. If I hadnât done anything, I would have been dead.
âYep, although there are cases where they misjudged the strength of the other party, if you work things out itâs not dangerous at all. In fact they would instantly understand. Though you do have to take in account racial traitsâ Rippi
âIs that soâŠâ Garius
âHumans attack them on sight right? Thatâs why it turned into turmoilâ Rippi
From what Rippi said, since demons follow their own set of rules such as: âNot territory invasionâ , âDo not steal foodâ or âNo reckless a.s.saultsâ and the alike, they donât pose much of a threat.
But from his explanation, wouldnât that bring strife into [The Last Forest] since the demonfolks are gathering there?
ââŠBy the way, Gariusâ Rippi
âWhat is it?â Garius
Rippi sulked and and look perplexed as he asked.
âThat way of calling, âDemonfolksâ. Can I have you to change that? Though we have magic capabilities, it does not mean weâre evil. At the very least call us demi-humans pleaseâ Rippi (TN: é in demonfolk can mean magic and another meaning similar to evil æȘ)
âI see, I apologize. But, âDemi-humansâ implies lesser humans, I donât think you would like that eitherâ Garius
âThere may be some who are dissatisfied, and I doubt there are other choices from humans perspective. Personally, I donât mind that much.â Rippi
Garius nodded to himself in affirmation. Mind as well change the way I address the demon lord and the others as well.
âCan I say something myself?â Garius
âWhat is it?â Rippi
âItâs that. I canât calm down from being treated so politely. You and I are travel partners, In other words, equals. Donât need to be formal.â Garius
âEquals⊠I understand. Not that, I mean âkay, got it Garius!â Rippi
In light of the events, Rippi happily hummed to himself with spirits high.
Getting late at night, the two found a gra.s.s bed and laid down, and peered into the night skyâŠ
â-
âU..ha, a ha, HAâŠâ Rippi
Garius woke to the the moan like voices from Rippi. His breath was jagged, and he looked as if suffering from a nightmare.
(Looks like the effects of the Potion wore off. As I thought itâs a fracture. Only that canât be healed) Garius
Garius rummaged through his knapsack to confirm its contents. Though he bought five single person usage potions, he had already used two and with only three remaining. Even the rest were used, alleviating pain was the most it could do.
Though he want to provide proper treatment, Garius could not use healing magic.Up to this point, he still solely relies on items. Even so, he could not turn a blind eye. He must do what he can.
Thus, Garius stood and headed into the forest.
Venturing into the dark forest, he focused majority of his awareness upward. In the midst of the densely populated trees, he was searching for a spot where the moon peered through the broken branches and foliage.
Finally, he found the place. Though the position of the moon was a bit off tangent, in about an hour the moonlight should reach ground surface here.
Garius on his hands and knees, squinted his eyes in the darkness and started checking the gra.s.s around piece by piece.
âFound itâ Garius
A smooth and silky blade of gra.s.s with a faded glint of green, a gra.s.s by the name of [Moonlight Gra.s.s] that can only thrive under certain conditions, a rare and precious plant. If you were to blend and mix it into a Potion, the result would produce a High Potion.
Trying not to damage any of its root, Garius carefully dug out the plant along with some dirt for preservation, carefully bracing it and headed back.
From his knapsack he pulled out a wooden mortar and pestle. One can only carry so many potions while traveling, so itâs a necessity to know how to process medicinal plants. For Garius who often acted alone, he had mastered the fundamentals. But to compound any advance medicine was impossible for him.
Specialized gifts require time and experience. It goes without saying Garius had neither of those. This was his first time compounding Moonlight Gra.s.s and Potion together. In addition, his knowledge of this is vague, and without confirmation of medical books it was just a hunch.
Gairus tore the Moonlight Gra.s.s into pieces and tossed some into the mortar and quickly brought down the pestle. As the freshness of this gra.s.s degrades rapidly, he had to be quick. Making a High Potion in such a way was difficult for even the most seasoned pharmacists.
Despite his first time he continued carefully, swapping between dripping some potion and throwing in more Moonlight Gra.s.s as he continuously mixed the two together. All this without a single doubt.
It was only natural.
The end goal was to âCompound a High Potionâ, and to realize that result he had all the necessary items. All he needed to do was to entrust his body to [Item Master].
âU, uuuun? Garius? What are you doing?â Rippi
Rippi who now woke up from the pain, absentmindedly gazed at Garius with half open eyes.
The High Potion was finished. Garius brought the mortar towards Rippi.
âDrink it. It might not be a full recovery but it will improve your state for sure.â Garius
Maybe it was due to his half conscious state, Rippi reached for the mortar and drank the liquid without question, only to fall asleep once again.
âââ
Next Morning
âIt healed⊠Amazing! Thereâs no pain!â Rippi
Without thinking, Rippi pounded his chest without any signs of discomfort.
âLooks like that fracture wasnât that bad. Donât do anything reckless, and check on it again after a few days.â Garius
âGot it! Garius, thanks a bunch!â Rippi
Watching Rippiâs face bloomed into a full smile, Graius furiously held in his impulsive desires.