Let’s Manage the Tower - Chapter 6.3
Chapter 6.3 – Frie Herb
That day, Kousuke had received a proposal from Schmidt.
He wondered if there’s a cluster frie herb somewhere in the tower that the adventurers can go to.
「Yes」
「I’ve heard of it too. I heard that it is a valuable herb. If there’s really a cluster of it in the tower, it should make us a lot of money.」
Gazeran, who had been sitting with them, joined in the conversation.
「Yes, it’s a kind of herb that is used to prepare certain medicines but it grows only in limited areas so you won’t be able to see them in the market.」
「….hnn? How do you know it’s an ingredient if it can’t be found in the market?」
「The recipe is well known among pharmacists.」
The fact that it is known to the public but doesn’t have a share in the market means there’s something in it.
「….there’s something fishy about it, am I right?」
「No, it’s not really a big deal. However, it is true that the place where that herb grows is very limited.」
「Yes, that’s right. Originally, it is a grass that can only grow naturally on the south continent but it has been drastically reduced because of the over foraging of adventurers.」
According to Schmidt, this is one of the reasons why adventurers are not allowed to gather more than a certain number of medicinal herbs.
Now, in the areas where herbs can be foraged, collecting without request is strictly forbidden.
「…..considering what you have said, won’t we receive some grudge if we suddenly find it here?」
Schmidt shook his head in response to Kousuke’s question.
「No. If it is another herb, that will be the case but not with this one.」
「….why?」
「The country that supplied the medicine that uses frie herb is called Smith and that country is already paying to find a supplier.」
「….what do you mean? 」
Did they attempt to monopolize the medicine for profit?
If it was a country managing it, then it is indeed possible.
Of course, Schmidt answered Kousuke’s question.
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There’s a disease that can be cured with that medicine and it is something like an endemic disease peculiar to the south continent.
It is said that it can be suppressed with the medicine that uses frie herb but with the number of medicines currently in the market, it is impossible to produce enough to treat the general public.
The endemic disease was not deadly but there was a considerable difference in the physical condition of those who drank the medicine and those who didn’t.
As the only country in the world that can produce the medicine, Smith, has been receiving requests from various countries to distribute their medicine but they already have their hands full with just their domestic supply alone.
Of course, if they keep the medicine exclusive for domestic use, they will be criticized by other countries(even though it’s not their fault) so they sacrificed their domestic supply to secure a certain amount for overseas use.
This naturally brought criticism from within the country as well so they are currently caught between the two.
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「….I see. 」
After listening to these explanations, Kousuke nodded in agreement.
「To put it bluntly, one country alone can’t produce enough medicine to monopolize and profit from it. 」
「Yes, that’s right. When the cluster of frie disappeared, they tried to cultivate it in other countries but all have failed. 」
「….I see. Gazeran, have you found any frie? 」
Of course, what he means is if he found it in the tower.
「Ah, I never received any news of someone finding it. Frie herb itself is something that adventurers have never seen before. Even if there are indeed some in the tower, there’s a possibility that they missed it. 」
「Right….yeah. I also don’t know which herb can be found on each floor in detail….. 」
Hearing him say that, Schmidt and Gazeran looked disappointed.
If they have it there, there’s a possibility that it will become a new source of income for Crown.
「Maybe I should just check it out in a slightly different manner. 」
「Can you do that….!? 」
「Maa, there are some circumstances so I don’t know if I can really find it. 」
Kousuke said so while thinking of Eris.
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—Scene Change—
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So, they asked Eris through Sylvia and she answered their question.
The answer was that it didn’t grow in the tower but it did grow right outside the tower. At the foot of the tower to be precise.
So, Kousuke used the teleportation gate to quickly move to the entrance and came out of the tower from there.
The members he had brought with him this time were Kouhi, Mitsuki, Collete, and Sylvia.
Kouhi and Mitsuki insisted on coming with him since the base of the tower was filled with high-level monsters.
As for Colette, he brought her with him hoping that she knew about medicinal herbs because she’s an elf.
As for Sylvia, she’s Eris’ contact.
Incidentally, recently, Sylvia has been able to receive Eris’ words without any particular need to concentrate as long as she carries the divine tool with her.
According to Eris, that is her thanks for her continuous connection with her even for a short time.
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Even Collete didn’t know anything about frie herb so they were given with Schmidt a drawing that depicted the characteristics of frie.
They strolled around the tower while shaking off occasional monster attacks with the help of Kouhi and Mitsuki.
After half a day of walking around the tower, Collete finally found the frie herb they were looking for.
Just to be sure, Kousuke also checked with his left eye and there’s no doubt that it was a frie herb.
Since they had found it, it was up to Collete to do the rest.
They’ll take the frie in a way that it can take root in the tower.
Incidentally, they planned on planting them on the 2nd floor and the elf village.
They are hoping that the adventurers will eventually be able to come to the 2nd floor to gather herbs.
As for why in the elf village, Collete requested it.
She hopes to use the herb to develop a medicine that the elves can use.
Because of that, they gathered a certain number of frie herbs in order to make them grow in clusters so that they would not die.
After that, they went back to the tower and planted them on the 2nd floor first.
Kousuke put up a barrier to prevent monsters from destroying the area.
After that, they went to the elf village and gave the frie herb to the elves.
The location and other details will be left to their judgment.
Collete had no say in that matter.
On the other hand, she knew that they would plant it in the right place without bothering to tell her.
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After planting the frie herb on two floors, something pleasant unexpectedly happened.
Kousuke never expected that bringing frie herb from outside would make it an external item just like the Familia treasure of the Defrayer clan.
However, that’s not all the good news, because it is possible to set it up as a cluster just like any other flowering plant.
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Name: Frie Herb Cluster
Installation Cost: 100000pt (Divine Power)
Description: A cluster of frie herbs. The cost varies depending on the size of the installation. It was registered because it was brought in from the outside and took root.
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As for the installation cost, it’s the same cost as other flowering plant clusters.
Since he doesn’t know how big it would be unless he tried, Kousuke set it up right away.
The location is the 2nd floor, inside the barrier.
Since he might need some other herb or flower, he set them up at the lowest cost.
Even so, it seemed to have been installed at a larger area than the area inside the barrier.
Now that there’s a cluster of frie herb there, that area would be crowded with adventurers.
However, they still don’t know whether the distribution of frie herb will spread so he’ll leave it to them to decide how to collect it.
Kousuke decided to leave everything related to the cluster with Crown.
