Fushi no Kami - Volume 1, Chapter 9

T/N: Thank you so much for leaving comments! I didn't expect it at all. I really appreciate it!

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After a while, the study session ends as the sun begins to set. Priest Folke ordered that Miss Maika's should be sent because it is already dark, so now we are walking to the village mayor's house. I want to call myself a gentleman, so I have no complaints about sending a woman back, but I wonder what the grinning face of Priest Folke was.

"What... kind of book are you reading right now?"

Miss Maika asks about the book I'm holding. By the way, Miss Maika is holding onto a manuscript. I ask her to read and write what she learned today when she had free time.

"I'm reading a book about various grass and trees."

"Is there such a book?"

"Yes, everything is written in books, including everything that is in this world and everything that is not in this world."

"What do you mean by something that's not in this world?"

Miss Maika looks at me with a strange expression, but the god that's written in the book she has right now is not in this world. 

Right? 

There shouldn't exist, probably.

When I think about it, it is harder to deny gods in this world than in my previous life. Maybe I should cherish faith a little more. Anything can happen. It's free to pray too. While my thoughts are entwined about the existence of gods, Miss Maika's interests change.

"So, is it interesting to read that kind of book?"

"Yes, that's right. It's very interesting, and it seems to be useful."

"Useful? Grass or trees?"

This is surprisingly useful. It seems that this botanical pictorial book does not list all the plants as much as possible, but is a pictorial book of plants that are convenient for humans, such as edible and medicinal. There are many things that are unlikely to come from this region, but I remember seeing some similar ones. If all goes well, the poor rural dining table may be a little better. Alternatively, I may not have to buy the medicine that Mr. Quid brings. Both are useful information. Not to mention food, medicinal plants are also quite scarce. Rather than the matter of money, the medicines purchased from Mr. Quid are suspicious and ineffective. At least I have never felt the effect. My father and mother are feeling the effect, so it may be a placebo effect. Explaining such a thing to Miss Maika's, she seems to understand its usefulness and makes her eyes shine.

"That's amazing, Ash!"

"Yes, books are really amazing, aren't they?"

When an innocent girl responds like this, I'm happy too. It's about time to start collecting wild plants in the forest near the village. Let's find it next time. It's the beginning of an expedition to find a name for an unknown weed that has never been seen before.

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It's the day of picking edible wild plants. A group of children enter the shallow part of the forest and everyone is looking for the plants. The main target is bracken, mainspring, celica, butterbur sprout. By the way, I don't know if it is the same as my previous life. In my memory, I don't have much experience of playing with wild plants. It's similar (or I feel like), so when translated into the previous language, it becomes the so-called plant.

At the request of relatively older children, children who go to pick edible wild plants gather today. At first glance, it looks like a fun picnic, but everyone's eyes are like office workers who are commuting. It is a resignation eye that antagonizes the sense of duty and the troublesome order. I think most people will be like this if they experience picking edible wild plants even for one season. It's very tiring and dangerous. There will always be a person who is injured once a year and death every two years. So, on that day, we form a group of several members who enter the forest and monitor each other so that they are not absorbed in collecting wild plants and go deep into the forest.

By the way, I was nominated as a group leader this time. I'm still too young, but it seems that I was selected because I often found people who stray away from their group last year. Compared to other children, I can control myself so appearance can be deceiving.

But it's convenient. The group leader has the right to decide the collection point. Let's make full use of the book borrowed from Priest Folke. The book is wrapped in a spare jacket and worn like a shoulder bag. My mother was worried that her jacket would get dirty. I'm really sorry. But I want to avoid dirtying the books as much as possible. Let's collect some pieces of cloth and make something like a portable book holder later.

"Then, let's go over there for the time being. Certainly, bracken was growing in clusters last year."

I call out to two boys who are one or two years older than me in a group. Even though they are one or two years old, they seem dissatisfied with being led by a younger person, and they nod with a bitter expression. I'm older in terms of mental age, so all I can do is to suck it up. When I try to leave, another (women only) group calls out.

"Hang in there, Ash!"

It's Miss Maika when she's not nervous. Her cheerful greeting is pleasant.

"Yes, please be careful too, Miss Maika."

When I waved back and started walking, the two boys had an extra bitter face. If we don't go early, other groups will take up a good place. I'm in a hurry so please be cooperative. At the point I guided, wild plants were growing in clusters this year as well. However, it was not (something like) bracken but (something like) mainspring. No, I can't really tell the difference between bracken and mainspring. While paying attention to the two members of the group, I quickly harvest and throw them into the basket.

I feel apologetic for my family, but I'll round it up in moderation and start looking for the plants listed in the botanical picture book. I remember seeing a plant in this area that I saw in a picture book and wanted to use. I don't have a good memory of plants, but it left an impression on me because it resembled something I knew in my previous life. There is a good fallen tree. It has been knocked out by the rock, so the tip is rising upward.  If I climb a fallen tree and look around, it is only a well-grown tree that blocks the view.

Then, I found it. Unlike a tree that grows vertically, it is a tree that appears to spread horizontally. The reason why it looks wide on the side is probably because the trunk branches off from the middle. Not to mention, the most characteristic is its leaves. It looks hard, jagged, and extremely thick. I thought I had seen it somewhere before. Then I was reminded and convinced when I read the simple explanation in the botanical picture book. That is a kind of aloe in my previous life. They are good to treat cuts, burns, insect bites, intestinal regulation, beautiful skin, eating. It is a useful plant because it is all-purpose. Most of the varieties that I saw in my previous life were only leaves, so even if I see (something like)  splendid tree Aloe in this world, it takes me a while to realize the similarity. Once I noticed, I remember I've heard that there are many kinds of aloe, and there are also aloe that's like trees.

I don't know much about how to handle aloe, but let's experiment with it. For the time being, I think that the mucus that overflows from the leaves is more effective than the wound medicine that Mr. Quid gets. It is a big discovery for the first time. Isn't there a book about how to use (something like) aloe at Priest Folke's place? I would be really happy if there is actually one.

I was doing a little more calculation and then, I black out. 

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