February 1, Weather: Sunny [Today's Companions] Daggwi (Galkan Paladin) Zillah (Elvaan Beastmaster) [Today's Lunch] Sausage Roll Today I went out to earn gil with Daggwi again, who still suffers from a severe lack of funds. After purchasing several bundles of sickles from a shop in Windurst Waters, we set out for Giddeus. We had had enough of fighting monsters, so our plan this time was to harvest some of Giddeus's quality produce. In Giddeus, you can harvest all kinds of clothcraft materials, such as moko grass and Saruta cotton, as well as cooking ingredients like marjoram and Windurstian tea leaves. But I had only one goal this time: mugwort! Mugwort is a type of spice used in cooking. In particular, it is used in the production of sweet rice cakes, which can be enjoyed during the Doll Festival. So being the clever opportunist I am, I proposed to Daggwi that we collect as much mugwort as possible in preparation for the Doll Festival. However, as mugwort is the most expensive item that can be harvested in Giddeus, it's also the most difficult to find! Since Daggwi probably wouldn't appreciate me snatching up all his mugwort, we made a deal to trade some mugwort for the red moko grass I found. In the past, red moko grass could not be found near Giddeus, but it suddenly began springing up in Sarutabaruta. Red moko grass can be used to make beautiful scarlet clothing, so clothcrafters will offer good gil for it. With this in mind, we made red moko grass our second target for the day. Anyway, Daggwi and I split up and searched the area for places to harvest. Everything was going well, with the two of us stopping on occasion to synthesize our findings and decrease our baggage. I can spin linen into spools of thread and squares of cloth, but I can't seem to do the same with crawler cocoons yet. Silk thread sells for quite a bit lately, though, so I'd like to raise my skill high enough to make it. "What kind of bug is this?" Apparently Daggwi had found a species of insect he had never seen before. Curiosity got the better of me, and I ran over to find him with a giant locust! So locusts have begun to inhabit this area now, too… "Excuse me, but would you mind letting me see that locust for a moment?" Turning my head to see who had spoken, I saw a beautiful Elvaan woman standing behind me with...a sheep!? I was startled to see such an animal on this continent! "I apologize for frightening you. My name is Zillah. I am a beastmaster. This sheep is my pet." "Hi. My name's Aly. I'm a warrior and a cook!" "N-nice to meet you! My name is... What was it again? Oh! D-Daggwi. That's right. I'm a p-paladin!" Wow, Daggwi is really awkward in front of beautiful women! Zillah was decked out in an entire suit of furry beastmaster armor. She looked quite wild and rugged in the belly-baring ensemble. "Oh my, a cook! Actually, I was searching for someone who could help me make some broth using this skull locust and this mushroom locust by mixing them with these vegetables and, why, that king locust you have there! And if you would be so kind as to help me, I would reward you with some mugwort." I don't think I've ever met anyone who talked so fast in my life! Not only that, but she shoved the locusts, some La Theine cabbage, gysahl greens, and mugwort on us rather forcefully. Anyway, I got some mugwort, so I was pretty happy and decided to give the recipe a try...and succeeded, too, in making grasshopper broth! "Thank you so very much! I had better try using it now. But first, I must let go of my sheep. Goodbye, now!" The next moment, a flytrap familiar seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. "Not bad. Not bad! Now, if you all are harvesting, I would like to join you. What do you say?" "O-of course! Your presence would g-greatly honor us!" Wow, what a great beastmaster. She even charmed Daggwi! And with that, the two of them dove back into the thick grasses of Giddeus. I think we will get along well with Zillah… Afterwards, we returned to town and I stopped to take a quick peek at the auction house. I was surprised to see that the same types of locust we used earlier were listed as cooking ingredients. Yuck! I don't think I'll be eating those anytime soon. I'm perfectly happy with my mugwort! text by Takashi and Asami Watanabe  Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita