When I Was Reincarnated, All the Heroines Were Stolen by the Fake Hero ~ The Guy Who Dominated With Original Story Knowledge, and Me Who Dominated With Talent. It Seems the World After the Ending Is My One-Man Stage ~ - Episode 14

Episode 14

The next morning. As usual, I was sitting at the dining room table with just Sebas.

“Sebas, could you take the day off today?”

When I brought it up, Sebas set down his knife and fork and looked up with a slightly surprised expression.

“A day off… sir? That is rather sudden.”

“Yeah. After hearing what you said yesterday, it made me think. You’ve been busy lately because of me. I figured it’s important you take a proper rest and spend some time with Kotama.”

At my words, Sebas’ expression softened slightly.

“…I’m sorry for making you worry about Kotama. As you say, perhaps she’s been feeling a little lonely lately.”

“That’s part of it, but I also only have a few errands in the village today. It’s nothing I can’t handle alone.”

“In the village, sir?”

Sebas furrowed his brow slightly.

He might be worried about me going out on my own.

“Yeah.”

I nodded, took a sip of soup, and continued.

“I want to investigate the Beast-Luring Fragrant Herb a bit more.”

“Oh? The Beast-Luring Fragrant Herb, is it? Do you have something in mind?”

A sharp, intelligent glint lit up in Sebas’ eyes.

As expected of a butler who has supported the lord for many years.

He was trying to grasp the deeper intent behind my words.

“Sort of. But first, I need to get an accurate sense of how much of that herb naturally grows within this territory. I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk to the villagers directly while I’m at it.”

Sebas nodded deeply.

“I see… Understood. In that case, I shall take you up on your kind offer today.”

“Yeah, please do.”

After breakfast, I dressed lightly and left the mansion on my own.

Sebas saw me off at the gate, and I let out a small breath as I stepped outside.

Since coming to the Vixel Domain, this was the first time I’d properly ventured out into the territory alone.

There was a slight nervousness in my chest. It was like the first day reporting to a new job.

But at the same time, I felt excitement at the thought of learning about this land with my own two feet.

First, I decided to visit the home of the woman who helped take care of Kotama yesterday.

—

After walking for a while, the house I was looking for came into view.

In the front yard, the woman was hanging laundry beside a large tub.

“Hello.”

When I called out to her, she looked up in surprise. She then smiled warmly.

“Oh, from yesterday… You’re Yutaka-sama, right?”

“Yeah. Thanks for helping with Kotama yesterday.”

When I said that, the woman looked slightly worried and cast her eyes down.

“So… how was little Kotama?”

“She was completely back to normal by the time we got home. She’s doing just fine now.”

Hearing that, she let out a deep sigh of relief and held her chest.

“Oh, I’m so glad. I was really worried about her.”

She really is a kind person, I thought again.

After some light small talk, I got to the main point.

“So, I wanted to ask you something… about that Beast-Luring Fragrant Herb from yesterday. Where does that plant usually grow?”

“Oh, that one? Let’s see… Around here, if you go deep into that forest just to the west, there should be a lot growing there.”

She pointed to the dense forest spreading to the west of the village.

“Around here, meaning… does that mean there are other places too?”

When I asked, she paused to think a bit, then nodded.

“Yes, I believe so… As far as I know, it grows in just about every forest in the Vixel Domain. It’s never been considered particularly rare.”

Really, it grows that widely? That’s more than I expected—this could be a major find.

“I see. If it’s not a problem, would it be alright if I harvested a bit of it?”

“Of course. I’ve never seen anyone actually use that plant anyway, so go right ahead.”

She agreed readily.

Thanking her, I left her house and headed straight for the forest she mentioned.

The entrance to the forest looked like any ordinary grove.

But as I stepped inside and pushed past the thickets, the air gradually began to change.

Faintly—but definitely—that distinctive scent began to drift in the air.

A sweet, yet somehow medicinal, complex aroma.

After walking a few more minutes, my view opened up. And there I saw clusters of plants bearing small yellow fruits.

It was the Beast-Luring Fragrant Herb.

They were literally growing everywhere.

(She was right… To think it grows this extensively…)

I carefully harvested a few of the herbs from the root and placed them in the bag I had brought.

As I did so, I took note again of the shape of the leaves, how the fruit grew, and how strong the scent was.

＊ ＊ ＊

After leaving the forest, I decided to go even further and visit some of the nearby villages.

In each village, I spoke with passersby and farmers working in the fields. I showed them the herb I’d collected and asked questions.

“Have you seen this plant before? Where did you see it, and how much of it was there? If you know anything about it, please tell me.”

At first, some people were confused or even wary.

Especially once they realized I was the new lord, many of them looked visibly tense.

The memories of the oppressive rule of the former lord, Hyurandel, still lingered.

When that happened, I didn’t push—sometimes I’d even ask the children playing nearby the same questions.

Children tended to be more honest and open about what they saw and knew.

“Ah, yeah! There’s lots of that in the forest!”

“It’s that weird-smelling plant, right?”

One by one, I carefully jotted all this information into my small notepad.

There were still some villagers who openly avoided me. But I didn’t let it get to me.

Trust isn’t built in a day.

Even so, by spending half a day traveling from village to village, I gathered enough information to confidently conclude that the Beast-Luring Fragrant Herb grows widely and abundantly in the forests throughout the Vixel Domain.

That should be enough for today’s survey around the nearby villages.

Wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, I tucked the notepad into my coat and started heading back to the mansion.