Chapter 21 - The Effects of the Nutritional Drink
While staying overnight in my camper van in Lulusena Village, I enjoyed my morning coffee.
The warm sunlight paired with the rich coffee was invigorating.
It didn’t just wake up my body—it felt like it brought my mind fully online too.
Since I started camping in this other world, I’d developed a habit of drinking coffee every morning. I was even starting to feel like grinding my own beans, so I planned to give it a try soon.
As I sipped my coffee, Haku emerged from the camper van, stepping down the steps.
He got down on all fours, sticking his rear end out, and shook his entire body on the spot.
Watching him do that, I couldn’t help but think—he’s basically just a dog.
"Morning, Haku."
"Yeah."
Haku wasn’t exactly a morning wolf.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t wake up, but he often seemed groggy or would close his eyes, dozing off slightly during the early hours.
"Are you nocturnal, Haku?"
"Hm? Not exactly, but for the last few centuries, I’ve mostly been active at night."
"I-I see."
As expected from a high-ranking monster—his scale of life was completely different from a human’s. After living nocturnally for so long, it was no wonder adjusting to a daytime routine was difficult for him.
"So, Tohru, what’s the plan for today?"
As I marveled at the moment, Haku let out a big yawn and turned to me with a question.
"I’d like to head into a town if possible."
From what I’d gathered from Aina and Lugh, magic stones weren’t widely circulated in remote places like Lulusena Village.
Since my camper van ran on magic stones, I needed to restock in a town where they were more readily available. Also, Haku had taken down monsters, and I wanted to sell their materials, but there weren’t any merchants in this village who could buy them.
To secure magic stones and stabilize our lifestyle, heading to a bigger town was crucial.
"Then let’s leave the village."
"I’d like to, but I’m worried about Roanna-san’s condition."
"Are you planning to stay here until that woman makes a full recovery?"
"No, I don’t plan on staying that long, but..."
Haku shot me a pointed look, clearly wanting to say something.
I knew in my head that he was right, but after getting involved to this extent, it was hard to make a clean decision.
"We took down the grey wolves, gave them medicinal herbs, and even shared food. We’ve already done more than enough for them."
"You’re right."
We had offered all the help we could. Staying any longer would only be for my own sense of satisfaction.
"...Okay. Once I finish my coffee, we’ll head to the next town."
I steeled myself as I gulped down the rest of my coffee.
"Tohru-san! My mother’s illness is cured!"
"Pwah?!"
Aina’s sudden declaration shocked me so much I spewed my coffee everywhere.
"Hey! What are you doing? You got some on me!"
Haku raised a protest, having gotten dirty, but I couldn’t worry about that right now.
"Cured? What do you mean? I thought she was supposed to recover gradually with the medicine..."
"But after drinking your nutritional drink, she became really energetic! She’s even up and preparing breakfast now!"
"That’s ridiculous..."
"Huh?"
"No, it’s nothing. Can I take a look to confirm?"
"Of course!"
Aina smiled brightly and led me to their house.
"Good morning. Thanks to the nutritional drink you gave me, I’m feeling much better now."
"...It seems so."
When I stepped inside, I saw Roanna standing in the kitchen, cooking soup in a pot.
Yesterday, she had been coughing so much she couldn’t even stand. Now, the very next day, she was moving around like nothing had happened...Was this just how things worked in this parallel world?
"Now, breakfast is ready, so please help yourselves."
"T-thank you."
I was guided to sit on the living room chair and accepted the soup.
Haku, too, cleverly followed and started sipping the soup.
The soup was filled with various vegetables and dried meat, its gentle flavor perfect for someone recovering from an illness.
"Are you really feeling fine now?"
"I still have a slight cough, but I feel absolutely wonderful otherwise."
Roanna gave a warm smile.
Her complexion was noticeably better than yesterday, and she didn’t seem to be straining herself at all.
"I’m also amazed. Roanna has been ill before and has taken medicine, but she’s never recovered this quickly."
"Indeed. It must be thanks to the porridge and nutritional drink you gave us, Tohru-san."
If she had taken medicine before, the unnaturally fast recovery was undoubtedly due to the seven-herb porridge and the nutritional drink I had provided.
...But could simple ingredients really have such an effect? Haku, who had been eating the same otherworldly ingredients, didn’t show any dramatic changes. Neither did Aina or Lugh.
The only thing I hadn’t shared with them was the nutritional drink—specifically, Lipovitan D.
Could Lipovitan D have an extraordinary effect on people in this world?
I might need to be more cautious about giving it out in the future.
"I-I see. I'm glad if I was able to help with Roanna-san's recovery."
"I knew it, that must have been a pretty rare potion, right?"
"Not at all. It’s a very common item where I come from, so there’s no need to worry about it."
I shook my head vigorously at Lugh's words.
You could buy it for just 12 CP a bottle—dirt cheap.
"Still, it doesn’t feel right to accept such a remarkable item without offering something in return..."
"Well, in that case, how about recommending a good camping spot you know, Lugh-san?"
"A good camping spot?"
"Yes, somewhere with beautiful scenery—a lush forest, a serene lake, or maybe a mountain view. Anywhere you think is worth visiting.”
I planned to head to the next town, but if there was a breathtaking spot nearby, I wouldn’t mind making a little detour.
"Beautiful scenery, huh..."
"The flower fields of Lauresia are really pretty!"
"Oh yes, now’s the perfect time to visit them since the flowers are in bloom. Beyond the fields, there’s a gorgeous lakeside where you can catch delicious river fish."
As Lugh crossed his arms and let out a low grunt, Aina spoke up, while Roanna smiled and clasped her hands together.
"Flower fields and a lake?! That sounds amazing!"
"River fish, huh... Now that you mention it, I wouldn’t mind having some after so long."
The idea of strolling through a flower field and camping by a lakeside sounded perfect.
After finishing his soup, Haku looked up and wiped his mouth with his tongue.
Though his appetite was clearly taking the lead, it was obvious he was quite eager about it.
"But isn’t it quite far? Wouldn’t it take about three days on foot?"
"With Tohru's camper van, they’ll get there in no time! Right?"
Assuming someone took breaks and walked at a pace of four kilometers per hour for about seven hours, the total distance would be 4 × 7 × 3, which equals 84 kilometers.
"With the camper van, we could cover that in about an hour and a half."
Though it's unlikely we could maintain a steady speed of 70 kilometers per hour the entire time, we should be able to reach the destination in that amount of time.
"My! Is it that fast?"
"I’ve ridden in Tohru's camper van before—it’s amazing!"
Aina, feeling quite proud, began explaining it to Roanna, who looked on with wide eyes in surprise.
Though Aina didn’t know much about vehicles, her enthusiasm was endearing. Watching their daughter animatedly explain, Roanna and Lugh listened with warm smiles.
Ah, this was the kind of moment I’d been hoping to see.
Kids should always be smiling like this.
●
After finishing breakfast, Haku and I got into the camper van and decided to head toward the recommended camping spot while making our way to the town.
"Huh?! You’re leaving already?"
Aina exclaimed, her disappointment clear in her voice as I climbed into the driver’s seat.
"Sorry about that. We want to visit all kinds of places."
The truth was, this village didn’t have the magic stones or money I needed to maintain the camper van. While there wasn’t an urgent need to rush, I couldn’t afford to let my CP slowly dwindle away either.
"Do you know the way to the flower fields of Lauresia?"
"Yes, we’ll be fine."
I adjusted the GPS based on the directions Lugh had given me, and sure enough, it showed the flower fields of Lauresia. Just as Roanna had described, there was a large lake beyond them. It had to be the place they mentioned.
Once I set it as the destination, the GPS mapped out the most efficient route.
The road from Lulusena Village to the northeast was straightforward, with mostly open terrain and no forests or mountains to block the way. It seemed like it would be a leisurely drive to the flower fields.
With the route planned, I started the engine.
"Tohru-san, Haku-san, thank you so much. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for us."
"Please let us know if you ever pass through this village again."
"See you again!"
"Thank you for everything as well. If I stop by again, I’ll be counting on you."
I waved goodbye to the three who were seeing us off, then slowly pressed the accelerator and set off, leaving Lulusena Village behind.
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