IWHERSFL 28

~Chapter 28~

Twenty minutes later, we finally emerged from the forest and reached the main road.

Usually, monsters didn’t come this far, but lately, unusual occurrences had been happening more frequently, so I felt a little uneasy.

“Allen, are you really okay being on your own? At least until you find your party, you could stay with us…”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. You’ve already done so much for me; I can’t trouble you further.”

Allen waved his hands in refusal, then rummaged through his bag and pulled out a fairly large pouch.

“This… isn’t much, but it’s a token of my thanks. Mushrooms used for potion-making.”

I took the pouch and checked inside—filled with yellowish mushrooms. Since they weren’t contaminated, it seemed he had obtained them somewhere else.

“Thank you, Allen. I’ll put them to good use.”

“Ha ha, you’re welcome.”

Just then, the system notification appeared.

<Collect Potion Ingredients!> Quest Complete!

You have received 500 coins as a reward.

※ Since you perfectly completed a C-rank or higher quest within six hours, additional rewards have been granted.

Please check your inventory.

“Additional reward?”

I casually glanced at the sky while opening my inventory to check.

Inventory (D)

Items in storage:

• Basket of Fresh Potatoes ×1

• Basket of Fresh Tomatoes ×1

• Basket of Fresh Strawberries ×1

• Basket of Fresh Eggplants ×1

• Bag of C-Rank Monster Cores ×1

• (New!) Introduction to Pharmacology – A Proper Guide for Beginner Alchemists

Storage capacity: 6/50

The additional reward was a book called Introduction to Pharmacology. Huh? Are they really going to give me an alchemy skill?

So I’m going to purify, farm, cook, and make potions too?

‘I feel like I’m not just a simple farmer… but becoming an all-rounder…’

I let out a small chuckle and looked away from the sky. Then I turned to Allen and came up with a plausible remark.

“It was sunny this morning, but it looks like it might rain soon. Please be careful.”

“Ha ha, I will. Thank you for your concern! If fate allows, we’ll meet again!”

Allen waved his hands energetically and left.

Lysian and I returned to the farm and laid out today’s harvest on the ground.

“Master~!! I missed you~!! …Huh? Monster smell?”

Ninabel, clinging to me and wriggling around, tilted her round body.

Since she had no neck, that was how she expressed herself. I roughly explained to the spirit what had happened.

After hearing everything, Ninabel leapt up and down as if excited.

“Unbelievable! Another monster attack! It’s ominous! Surely it’s a bad omen!! Master, be careful!”

Though Ninabel overreacted, it was clear that this wasn’t a good sign.

We should be careful for the time being. Still, having Lysian by my side made me feel at ease…

“…….”

Ah, I feel like I’m relying too much on Lysian.

When I looked at him with troubled eyes, he tilted his head in a questioning way. Without realizing it, I reached out and ruffled his platinum hair.

‘Ah, did I just find Lysian too cute!’

I quickly withdrew my hand and cleared my throat. Lysian caught my glance with a subtle look, but I ignored it.

‘I’m physically weak, so it’s natural to rely on him a little. And I didn’t train him on purpose… it was an accident!’

Having rationalized it, I gathered my pouch and went inside. A single water droplet and a guard followed closely.

As soon as Lysian closed the door, a sudden rainstorm poured down.

Swoosh—

“Wow, what’s this? A sudden shower, I guess.”

I almost ended up soaked like a drowned mouse.

After placing the bundles near the entrance, I went to my room to change clothes.

When I came out, Lysian was already sitting neatly on the sofa, having changed as well.

I approached him and asked,

“Aren’t you hungry? Shall we eat first?”

“I’m fine. More importantly… are you planning to make potions with those ingredients, Muriel?”

“Uh….”

I didn’t answer immediately. I scratched my neck and glanced at the bundles by the entrance.

The system probably intended for me to acquire these ingredients to unlock the alchemy skill.

‘But there’s still one mission left.’

I opened my inventory and took out Introduction to Pharmacology. Clearly, I would only get the skill after fully reading this book.

But…

‘Why is it so thick?!’

It was a hardcover, and unbelievably thick. Opening the table of contents, I saw it had 817 pages.

‘Insane…’

I felt utterly overwhelmed, like a college student realizing the exam covered the entire textbook.

‘When am I supposed to read all this? Don’t they give a speed-reading ability or something?’

(o`△´)o⁼³₌₃

What’s this? Are they threatening me if I don’t complete it? I kind of want to punch back at the system.

I wanted to clench my fist at the status window but held back because someone was watching.

“Muriel, that book…?”

Sighing, I slumped onto the sofa. Lysian asked curiously.

I plopped down beside him and replied,

“A homework assignment from the gods…”

“Ah….”

He seemed to understand roughly what had happened.

I opened the book with a heavy heart. First, I read the preface and then checked the table of contents.

‘Ah, looking at this book makes me want coffee… an iced Americano.’

I nostalgically remembered my iced coffee days even in the dead of winter, when Lysian’s low voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Seeing this book reminds me of the time I studied under my master. I had to read such a book in a single day and also make a summary.”

“Just one day…?”

“If you went over a day, you had to copy the whole book by hand. Two days, one copy. Three days, two copies. Something like that.”

“…….”

What kind of hardcore training is that? By now, I doubted the master’s character.

“So, you really read the whole book in a day? Such a thick book?”

“Yes, and I wrote the summary as well.”

“…….”

I couldn’t believe it. Does this guy have 999 intelligence or something?

‘The real all-rounder isn’t me—it’s him…’

Feeling a slight sense of awe, I stared at him as if he were some rare creature.

“Can you really do everything?”

“Probably.”

“Is there really nothing you can’t do?”

Watching me persistently ask, he chuckled and said lightly,

“Actually….”

It sounded like he was whispering a secret. I tensed up.

“I have trouble saying things I don’t mean to others.”

“…?”

“Flattery, that sort of thing.”

I thought for a moment and spoke:

“When you deal with me… it’s not like that.”

“Well, my compliments to you are sincere.”

“Even if it’s not praise… you just don’t bother to flatter others, right?”

“Exactly. Why should I bother?”

Again, I caught a glimpse of the arrogance he didn’t usually show with me.

If anyone else said something like that, it would seem conceited. But with Lysian, it felt natural, like a perfectly fitted coat.

His master taught him martial arts and academics… could Lysian really be of noble blood?

“But… you do cater to me pretty well, don’t you?”

“You are who you are. How could you be the same as others?”

“…….”

I couldn’t find words to respond, so I awkwardly shrugged and lowered my gaze to the book. Pretending to be busy, I said,

“I’ll read now. You… play with Ninny if you’re bored.”

“That’s a bit….”

“What? I don’t want to play with you either!”

The two of them bickered for a while, then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, competing to get there first.

I smiled faintly and, in the quiet with only the sound of rain, began reading my book.

The unusual event occurred the following early morning.