After hearing that there was a huge demand for herbicide, we rushed toward the village—but the situation was more complicated than we'd expected.
With Filo's speed, we'd already been closing in on the affected area within a few days.
"Master! Master!"
"What is it?"
"Um, the plants are really something!"
"Huh?"
I looked outside the carriage along with Raphtalia.
Tendril-like plants were writhing across the road, practically swallowing it whole.
"W-what the hell!?"
We were moving slowly, but bit by bit, the plants' territory was steadily expanding.
"The village…"
Scanning the area, I spotted a cluster of people gathered together like a refugee camp.
"Filo, head over there."
"Okay."
We reached the camp and set up shop.
"Now then, let's see how fast we can offload this herbicide."
They probably wanted it to deal with those invasive tendrils. That explained why the accessory merchant had been so confident there was big money in this.
I wondered just how much we'd get for it.
"There might be professional buyers in the area," Raphtalia suggested.
"Yeah, probably."
I climbed down from the carriage and went to inquire about the situation. For the record, I'd swapped my shield to the Book Shield and tucked my arms behind it, holding a book like a peddling merchant. Without my conspicuous shield, no one would recognize me as the Shield Hero.
"I heard you're looking to pay top coin for herbicide, so I came all this way."
I approached someone in the camp who was decked out in pompous-looking attire.
"Oh… a traveling merchant? You're a lifesaver."
The response came as if they'd been waiting for this moment.
"But what exactly happened here?"
I murmured while gazing at the land being consumed by the plants.
"Well, you see… our village was hit by a famine."
Oh, right—I vaguely remembered hearing something about that. But didn't Motoyasu take care of that?
"The Spear Hero's visit allowed us to obtain a miraculous seed that had been sealed away in ancient times, and the famine was resolved… but…"
"Don't tell me that miraculous seed is what caused this?"
I looked toward the advancing tendrils. Looking closer, all sorts of fruits and vegetables were growing from the vines.
The camp residents didn't seem to be lacking food, either—no communal soup kitchens were running. Farmers were heading toward the plant zone and digging up potatoes from the roots.
So basically, the plants provided food, but their excessive growth had driven everyone out of their homes…
Were they idiots?
Now that I thought about it, there had to be a reason it was sealed in the first place. If it were harmless, it would've stayed where it was.
What in the world was Motoyasu thinking when he did this?
"On top of that, the outer areas are still manageable, but closer to the village, the plants have mutated into monsters."
Mutant plants, huh.
Were they idiots?
Why did I have to have this conversation right now? This guy was truly a genius at getting on my nerves.
"So you want herbicide to deal with them?"
"Yes."
You'd think farmers would know how to handle plant infestations, but…
"At first, it was abundant and everyone was happy. But then it started growing from the fields right up to the houses… We tried our best to cut it all back in the village, but we couldn't keep up…"
"By the way… how long ago was this?"
"After the Hero left, there were no problems for about two weeks. But starting around two weeks ago…"
"Hmm. Did you report this to the kingdom?"
"We did. But the Hero is apparently quite busy, and it'll still be a while before someone can come, so we're using herbicide to hold back the spread for now."
I couldn't help but sigh.
"Couldn't you just burn it away with fire?"
"We've tried everything we can think of…"
"Oh, right, of course you have."
They'd probably hired adventurers to help clear it, too. Looking around, I could spot some people who weren't villagers—folks carrying weapons and the like.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
A scream erupted from somewhere in the village.
"What happened!?"
"Adventurers went in despite being told not to go grind levels. That's probably them."
The villager answered with an air of resignation.
"Tch! Filo!"
"Coming~!"
I pointed toward the village, and Filo, who'd been stuffing her cheeks with fruit plucked from the plants, took off running.
She tore through the plant zone at high speed and came back carrying three battered adventurers.
"How's the village looking?"
"Well, there were these plant monsters wriggling around. Some of them were actually fun—they spat poison and acid and stuff. But going in there when they're that weak? What a bunch of dummies~"
"Your last sentence was unnecessary."
"Coming~!"
The villagers were stunned by how fluently Filo spoke.
"Oh, are you the saint who rides the carriage with the Divine Bird? I've heard the rumors!"
Only now did the villagers come together and press their hands to their heads in a gesture of respect toward me.
"Well, I don't know about 'saint,' but I do own the carriage and the bird."
"Please! You have to save us! There are people here who've been parasitized by the plants!"
"They can parasitize people, too…?"
Holding the healing potion and herbicide in one hand, I was led into a tent.
Inside, several people lay on the ground, their bodies half-consumed by plant growth.
"I can't promise it'll work. Also, I'm not a charity case, so you'd better pay up for treatment."
"Yes…"
I could hear faint murmurs from the people around—how if only the Spear Hero hadn't come, none of this would have happened—which, I had to admit, gave me a slight sense of satisfaction.
I approached the nearest patient, a child breathing with difficulty, and fed them a healing potion.
A gentle light enveloped the child, and their breathing calmed. Then I sprinkled herbicide on the affected area.
The child suffered for a moment, but the plants withered, crumbled, and fell away. They looked fully healed.
"Oh…"
"As expected of a saint."
Murmurs of awe rippled through the crowd.
I continued treating the others the same way—feeding them healing potion and applying herbicide.
By the time everyone had been treated, the atmosphere in the camp had noticeably brightened.
Well, I supposed any sign of improvement would lift spirits.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
The people bowed to me in gratitude.
"First, the treatment fee."
I asked for a sum slightly above market rate.
This was the thing—since they'd already requested aid from the kingdom, the risk of running into other heroes was high. If that happened and my identity got exposed, these people's attitude could turn ugly in a heartbeat.
The villagers paid me with smiles.
"All right, now buy the herbicide and we'll be on our way. I've got no more business here."
Um… Saint, would you please save this village too?"
"What!? Ask the kingdom's Hero for that!"
"Well, you see…"
Ugh—the entire village had gathered around me, pleading with clasped hands like they were praying.
I wasn't some all-powerful being. I didn't even have any personal stake in this.
"I'm declining."
"Please! We'll scrape together the money however we can."
"…Upfront payment. And afterward—no complaints, no matter what happens. Also, answer what you can about what the Spear Hero's unsealing involved, anything you know."
In response to my conditions, the villagers pooled donations from their own pockets, gathering their savings. Meanwhile, I collected as much information as I could.
From what they told me, the seeds had been sealed in nearby ruins, guarded by an imposing sentinel.
A sentinel strong enough to guard a sealed seed—and nobody thought there might be a reason for that? I was nearly overcome with the urge to snap back, but somehow held my tongue.
As for the Spear Hero… Motoyasu, there was apparently nothing else from his end.
According to the villagers' research, the plant was one of many masterworks created by an alchemist who had once made this region their base of operations long ago—but it had been deliberately sealed away.
Records showed that at one point, the surrounding area had been completely overtaken by plants…
"If there was a legend like that, then don't unseal it! Did nobody notice?!"
Every last one of them looked away.
They'd probably assumed that because a Hero brought it, it must be safe.
No other useful information turned up.
After talking for a while, the donations were collected.
…Quite a substantial sum, actually.
With upfront payment, I could get away clean even if they figured out who I was.
"Fine. I'll give it a shot."
I transformed my shield into combat mode—the Chimera Viper Shield.
"The Sh-Shield Hero!?"
Ignoring the villagers' stunned voices, I marched straight into the thicket of vines. Raphtalia and Filo followed close behind.
With the bulging bag of gold tied at my waist, I walked out onto the land the plants had consumed.