Samania Village – Little Kids’ Gathering Experience
So, since yesterday’s gathering experience went perfectly according to Mr. Taki, today, on the Holy Day, the fluffy kids… no, the little kids’ gathering experience is going to be held.
However, today we first decided to have a proper lesson at the guild on the characteristics of Healing Herbs.
For first-time participants, the focus is on Healing Herbs, while kids who have already gathered several times as adventurers are encouraged to gather other materials. It would be a problem if they just picked Healing Herbs all the time.
So today, the adults of the village are also joining in to help the children, and I plan to gather slowly and thoroughly with Dad.
The newcomers gathered early, but since I already have gathering experience, I decided to go to the guild a little later.
When Dad and I entered the guild, it seemed the classroom was still in session, so I went to the reference room to read the monster Encyclopedia while waiting. I wanted to find a nice monster for the piggy bank project.
“Dad, which round monster is popular with adventurers?”
"Popular, you say? Well, now, if we’re talkin’ popular for eatin’, maybe a nice, juicy boar-type’d do the trick… but if it’s for materials, hmm, maybe the King… naw, that ain’t round, is it? Round and popular… now that’s got me scratchin’ my head!"
I asked Dad while looking through the monster Encyclopedia we often see in the Pre-Samania frontier. He seemed to start pondering. Boar—wild pig? I guess there are levels from Lesser to King. Wolves seem divided by color.
“Vio, what kind of monster are you looking for?”
“Oh! Miss Mimi, good morning. I’m thinking of making a piggy bank with earth magic, and when it’s full of coins, I want to smash it, so I’m looking for a round monster.”
I didn’t see Miss Mimi in her usual spot, so I thought she wasn’t there, but she was in another room and called out, so I explained what I was looking for. Dad seemed to understand, though I hadn’t explained the reason before.
“I see, that’s the reason. In that case, how about a Big Turtle? Let’s see… ah, here it is.
Its shell is very hard, so physical attacks don’t work well, but there’s one soft spot inside the belly. Flip it over and attack there, or use magic inside its mouth. The shell is popular as a crafting material, and it also drops a large magic stone.”
Miss Mimi flipped through another encyclopedia and showed me a giant turtle.
Apparently, in this country they only live in dungeons, but a turtle is round and half-spherical, so it’s sturdy and perfect for a piggy bank.
“Miss Mimi, that sounds perfect! I’ll make it with this. Thank you! Dad! I’ll try making it with the Big Turtle!”
“I’m glad you decided.”
“Oh, the material study session just finished. You two are participating too, right? Go ahead.”
Ah, that’s why Miss Mimi wasn’t around.
I thanked her and went down to the first floor, where little fluffballs were everywhere—estimated three and four years old, I guess? Surely none under two.
There were children I hadn’t met before, as they usually work in the fields and don’t run shops, unlike the familiar shopkeepers. Some kids were running around screaming, while others wanted to participate but were held by their parents, flailing their arms and legs.
“All right, I’ll hand out the gathering tools. You’ve got gloves and baskets ready, right? Always stay with your own family. If there are more children than parents, a guild staff member or another adult will join you. If you didn’t hear that, come here.
Scissors can cause injuries, so if you play with them, you’ll be prohibited from participating for a while.”
Mr. Taki called out loudly to everyone.
The adults lined up with their children and received their scissors. Some kids had already taken off their gloves, while others were happily putting them on and off. Perhaps it depends on whether they have older siblings.
For kids like Ren and his brothers, only Ron really needs supervision, and Mrs. Lilium joining is enough. Mr. Randa also participated today, so Ren had supervision too.
Hachi’s supervisor is Nachi. Mr. Taki is likely busy with guild staff work today.
Hachi is more focused and calm than Ren, so no worries about him wandering.
I have my small knife, so I’ll stay near the entrance, not in line.
“Vio, you’re going to the village chief’s forest too, right?”
“Yes, that’s the plan. It’s my first time there, so I’m excited.”
The village chief’s forest stretches along the outer wall. Rare herbs are cultivated in fields, but plenty of materials grow naturally. Some materials may not be in Dad’s forest, so we need to check.
“All right, let’s go. The walls mean we won’t run off the village, but don’t get lost. And anyone who ruins the fields will be punished.”
Teacher Elia will lead, and looking closely, teachers Paul, Ariana, and Edel will accompany as guides. That’s reassuring.
It’s clear they want to run this event throughout the village.
Dad walked behind, while I walked with Hachi, Ron, and Ren.
I wanted to interact with the squirrel girl over there or the fluffy white puppy girl, but kids of the same age tended to group together, so we couldn’t move freely.
Ron was happy, holding hands with Ren and Run. No flirting with other fluff, but we’ll have time to become friends with the little fluffies later.
After leaving the guild, there’s a bridge to the village chief’s house. Teachers are stationed there, making sure kids don’t fall in the river. Children under four hold hands or are carried, so it’s okay for now.
Past the fields behind the chief’s house, the forest stretches along the east gate riverside, a considerable distance.
“All right, from here to the red rope is for three- and four-year-olds, red to blue for five- and six-year-olds, blue to green for seven- to nine-year-olds. Children attending the school should gather in this area. Finally, green rope to the river is ten and older.”
“Ron, stay with the older boys. Hachi, Ren, Vio, you’re five, so gather in the blue-to-green area.”
Village Chief Harold explained the areas at the forest entrance. We’re fine gathering with the school kids.
It seems not all kids over five attend school. Ren and Hachi started early, with older brothers helping, but normally it’s six or after baptism at seven.
Older siblings with no younger siblings will go toward the river. For the school group, only Ron’s parents and Dad are present. Mr. Taki is still at the guild.
“I haven’t seen this leaf before.”
“Healing Herb, Vio, this one, right?”
“Vio~, look, is this right?”
“Ren, that’s Mana Herb. It’s a material too, but today we only gather Healing Herb. Let’s find yesterday’s herb.
Hachi, that’s correct. Ron, correct too. Great job.”
Why do they keep showing me?
They were gathering Mana and Uluru Herb, but kept asking me about anything that caught their eye, so progress slowed.
Ah, Ren only asks because Run is watching him.
Once Nachi finished gathering somewhat, he started staying near Hachi, so questions stopped. Oh? It seems Mr. Randa joined Ron. Didn’t he say he didn’t know about herb gathering?
“Seeing the kids try so hard yesterday, he realized he couldn’t not know what they were doing, so he joined this morning’s material lesson. I’m terrible at herbs, so I leave that to my husband.”
Looking up, Mrs. Lilium told me that. She can teach adventurer basics, so strengths and weaknesses are fine.
Ron is happy gathering with his father—a nice close family.
Uluru Herb requires sets of five, so I gathered only five. It’s always moist, but must be stored properly or it dries out. I sealed them in a bottle.
I gathered 30 Mana Herbs. Many materials’ gathering methods were not fully checked, so next time I want to study and retry.
The gathering experience ended in just under two hours. The kids’ concentration had limits.
Around the red rope, some children were already in beast form.
Voices like “I’m hungry” or “My legs hurt” came from everywhere.
The late gathering start may mean lunchtime is near.
Returning scissors and selling materials made the guild chaotic, so we went home for lunch first. Mrs. Lilium and Run stayed to return scissors. Ren and Ron went home with Mr. Randa to prepare lunch.
In the afternoon, the guild looked exhausted from Mr. Taki and the staff.
“Preparation and supervision are tough. A full-scale event like this can only happen once every three weeks. A few kids at a time is fine, but this time, the whole village helped. Checking materials was exhausting.”
Indeed, with that number of kids, it makes sense.
It was a festival-like event, but autumn fishing brings adventurers and merchants from outside, making it similarly busy for three months.
A full-scale little kids’ gathering like today may happen monthly.
Thank you to all the guild members for your hard work.
What do you think about this chapter?
