Chapter 76 · BMMAW

Chapter 76

Herb Gathering That Risks Your Life

As things quieted down, the adventurers went back to what they were doing—talking about rumors from other regions or just useless chatter.

Dirty jokes were the default. Conversations about women came from everywhere. More than half of it was exaggeration. No—maybe over 90%.

What kind of man in this world could really get excited ten or twelve times a day?

Even when they grow up, men are still like rough children.

Of course, if Lizzy was okay with it, Juhwan himself could go all night without a problem. Just like his appearance suggested, he had great stamina.

“….”

Karin from the Red Sword party walked toward a corner inside the guild.

There, someone was sitting who read or wrote letters for others. A man and a woman worked in shifts, and today it was a woman who looked to be in her thirties.

Karin said something, and the woman nodded and stood up.

Juhwan stood next to Lizzy and began reading the request papers posted closely on the wall. He quietly read them out loud to her, slowly.

“Looking for village guards for three days – 3.5 Lina, includes two meals a day.”
“Cart repair assistant – 2 Lina per day.”
“Buying rabbit, wolf, fox fur – price based on guild rates.”
“Removing rust from armor, beginners welcome – 2~3 Lina.”
“Herb gathering, #### – 1~2 Lina per small herb sack.”
“Herb gathering, ## – 2~3 Lina per small herb sack.”
“Urgently seeking Scream Carrots – 1 silver coin per root, price adjustable.”
“Looking for personal escort, about ten days, Rank 5 adventurers welcome!”

The titles listed the basic job and pay, and below them were details like location, preferred adventurers, or work descriptions.

If the title didn’t show the pay, it was written in the details below. And when he read them, the pay was terrible. That was probably why it wasn’t shown at the top.

The wages were lower than he expected. It seemed like taking that merchant escort job earlier had been very lucky. Being able to use healing magic was truly a blessing.

Compared to other jobs, herb gathering paid better. Even without knowing how big a “small herb sack” was, it seemed better than most daily jobs. Now he understood why Karin suggested it.

But what is a Scream Carrot…?

Maybe he read it wrong. It would be bad to teach Lizzy incorrectly. He frowned and stared at the paper.

Then Lizzy spoke from beside him.

“Juhwan, when did you learn to read all of this?”

She looked up at him with wide eyes.

Seeing the admiration in her eyes made him feel a bit embarrassed.

After leaving Modern City, Juhwan had started teaching Lizzy how to read whenever he had time.

But it wasn’t easy from the start.

Lizzy had never studied before. She struggled to learn. Memorizing letters and combining sounds was slow. Compared to students on Earth, her understanding and learning speed were very different.

To her, it was strange that meaningless symbols could come together and form meaning.

But she didn’t dislike learning. Every time she learned a letter, her eyes sparkled as she stared at it for a long time, as if it were something precious.

Sometimes, she would gently trace the letters with her finger. Maybe deep inside, she had always wanted to learn.

She had simply given up before, thinking it was useless. But perhaps she had always envied those who could read and write.

The wooden letter board she got from Gus had become her treasure.

Since then, Lizzy had started looking at Juhwan with that admiring gaze.

But honestly, being admired just for reading felt embarrassing. It felt like doing a simple thumb trick in front of a child.

Lizzy compared the letters Juhwan read with the paper. She quietly repeated his words and followed the text.

Then she stopped.

She stared at the words “Scream Carrot.”

Suddenly, she smiled brightly and looked up at him.

“Juhwan, it would be nice if we could gather Scream Carrots. Even just a few would be worth silver coins…”

She laughed softly, imagining it.

So… he didn’t read it wrong. That really existed.

“Lizzy, do you know what a Scream Carrot is?”
“I’ve heard of it, but never seen one. It’s very expensive, so poor people like us rarely get to see it. Not even as medicine.”
“I see.”

As they checked more requests, the Red Sword party and the female reader approached.

The reader placed a small hourglass on the shelf and said,

“We’ll begin now. As you know, it’s 1 Lina per hourglass. You wanted herb gathering requests, right?”
“Yes. Please focus on the ones with higher pay.”
“Understood.”

The sand began to fall.

The woman quickly scanned the board and picked out herb-related requests.

Her eyes and hands were fast. She quickly read and selected several papers.

From her reading, Juhwan realized the words he couldn’t read earlier were mistletoe and cheonma.

Karin chose a few and asked her to read them again. In the end, she didn’t pick the Scream Carrot request, but another herb job with slightly better pay.

Lizzy looked disappointed.

“Karin, why not choose Scream Carrot? It pays the most.”

Karin smiled bitterly.

“Scream Carrots are very rare, Lizzy. You won’t find them easily. If we take only that job, we might waste days. And if you’re not careful, their scream can make you go deaf. That’s why it pays so much.”

So it really screams.

This world really was strange.

Jessie leaned on Karin’s shoulder and grinned.

“Don’t be too disappointed. That’s a permanent request. If you find one, you can sell it anytime. No need to take the request.”

“I hope we find one…”

Lizzy muttered as she watched the request being put back.

There were multiple copies of some requests on the wall. It was so even if someone took one, the job would still remain available.

The sand hadn’t finished yet.

Karin glanced at the hourglass.

“Please show some longer-term jobs. With meals included. Nearby is fine. Preferably over 5 Lina.”

The reader selected a few more.

Noticing Juhwan’s gaze, Karin smiled.

“For good jobs, it’s best to grab them early. Otherwise someone else will take them.”
“Doesn’t the guild say anything?”
“You have to register it after taking it. If you fail within the time, you get penalized. So don’t take jobs you can’t handle.”

The sand ran out.

The reader took 1 Lina and turned to leave.

“Wait a moment.”

Juhwan called out.

“Do you read requests?”
“No. I was wondering… do you offer private lessons? I want to learn pronunciation and writing.”

Her face stiffened.

“Sorry, I don’t do that. The guild forbids it.”

Juhwan quickly apologized.

Jessie stepped in.

“No, no, it’s not like that! He’s devoted to his wife! He really means lessons!”

The woman looked embarrassed and blushed.

“…You mean actual lessons?”
“…Is there another meaning?”

Juhwan was confused.

Marie giggled.

“Some men think it means something else and invite women like that.”

“Ah.”

Now he understood.

Lizzy’s face turned red, slightly upset.

“Juhwan doesn’t do that…”

“I absolutely don’t. Never.”

Only then did Lizzy relax and hold his hand tightly.

“What don’t you do?”

Dorothy suddenly popped in.

“….”

The adults went silent.

“Dad, will the sky fall? When?”

Juhwan picked her up quickly.

Lizzy tried to explain softly that even if the sky falls, it won’t reach them.

…That explanation wasn’t quite right.

The reader watched them, then asked,

“You can already read. Why learn from me?”

“…You speak like someone educated, maybe like a noble. I want to learn proper pronunciation.”

Everyone looked confused.

Why learn more if you can already read?

But knowledge is always useful.

The reader smiled slightly.

“You’re strange. I can teach you. But one condition—we don’t meet alone.”

That was fine.

He never planned to meet without Lizzy and Dorothy.

They agreed to discuss time and payment later.

After that, Juhwan registered the herb request with Red Sword.

“There’s no limit. Bring as much as you want. But keep them fresh—same day or next morning. What size sacks?”
“Three large ones.”
“Don’t crush them.”

Karin nodded.

Unlike escort jobs, there was no formal contract—only cloth sacks.

“If we hurry, we can gather today.”

They quickly left.

The place Karin led them to was about an hour away, at the edge of the forest.

“Experienced adventurers have secret gathering spots. This is ours.”

Juhwan looked up.

High in the trees were round shapes.

“See those?”
“They look like nests.”
“That’s mistletoe.”

It looked like bird nests—but it was a plant.

“How do you get it?”
“Climb.”

Marie showed leather straps with spikes.

She tied them to her shoes.

Juhwan was shocked.

She climbed the tree using them.

“Be careful!” Lizzy shouted.

Marie gave a thumbs up.

Soon she was far above.

Juhwan felt nervous.

She cut one mistletoe.

Just one.

Risking her life—for something worth only 1–2 Lina after collecting many.

Then they dug cheonma roots from the ground.

Safer—but not much yield.

Life was not easy.

While Juhwan and Lizzy worked, Dorothy and Oz wandered around.

Then suddenly—

Oz started digging like crazy.

“Oz! What are you doing?!”

Dorothy crouched beside him.

But Oz kept digging.

Something felt wrong.

Juhwan moved closer—

Then from the hole—

A strange sound came out:

“Ki-ee… Ki-ee… Kiiieee…!