After parting ways with Takuma and the others, Lisa headed out of the city alone.
She entered the forest near the town and had come to gather laurel honey as per her quest.
Laurel honey was an extremely popular ingredient. Not only was it used as a sweetener, but it was also valued as a secret flavoring in many different dishes. Because of that, it was a frequently posted quest with a good reward.
At first glance, it looked like a quest everyone would want to take, but there was a catch.
If too many people took the quest, the laurel honey would run out.
Laurel honey was said to be produced on a weekly cycle. If left untouched, the accumulated honey would drip to the ground and become a snack for monsters. However, if too much was harvested at once, not only would honey stop being produced for a while, but the laurel bees would recognize it as an emergency and turn violent.
Because of this risk, adventurers who worked in parties usually skipped this quest. Parties could take better-paying jobs instead.
The only ones who took this quest were solo adventurers like Lisa or complete newcomers.
Lisa naturally knew all of this. Even so, she had still come to the forest near the city—where other adventurers might have already harvested—because she was hoping there would still be some left.
She moved deeper into the forest, searching for a laurel bee nest.
Laurel bee nests were surprisingly common. If she spotted a laurel bee flying, she could simply follow it and it would naturally lead her to the nest.
"There it is…"
At that moment, one laurel bee flew past Lisa's right side.
By chance, the direction the bee was heading was the same as the way Lisa had been walking. She followed it carefully so as not to lose sight of it.
She couldn't tell at a glance whether the bee she was following was going to gather materials or returning home, but luckily, the one she chose was on its way back to the nest.
"Yes! Jackpot!"
Following the bee, she found a large oval-shaped nest hanging from a thick tree branch.
Moreover, honey was dripping steadily from the bottom of the nest.
Lisa quickly took out a bottle from her pocket and quietly crept under the nest without disturbing the bees, positioning the bottle where the honey was falling.
Once the bottle was set, she immediately moved away and hid in a bush where she could still see it, waiting patiently for the bottle to fill.
(I wonder if it'll fill up before sunset…)
Another troublesome part of this quest was the waiting time.
Setting the bottle and waiting was simple in theory, but the waiting itself was incredibly boring. The honey never filled up quickly.
That was why some adventurers destroyed the nest with magic, or skillfully used magic to steal all the honey at once.
Because of those people, the laurel bees had become wary. Now, if someone like Lisa approached the nest, they would immediately attack.
Laurel bees were small and generally gentle monsters. They wouldn't attack unless provoked.
Lisa thought it would be nice if humans could get a little closer to them and build a better relationship.
(It's boring just sitting here watching. Maybe I should gather some herbs while I wait…)
Even though she hadn't taken the herb-gathering quest, herbs could still be sold to apothecaries. She was scanning the area for nearby herbs when something caught the corner of her eye.
(Ugh, an Ibun…)
A monster with a vaguely human-like body but unsteady movements had appeared in front of her.
The Ibun's arms and legs twisted and bent unnaturally like snakes in every joint. Its hands and the parts below the ankles were much larger than a human's. Naturally, its fingers were also oversized, and since their length, shape, and size varied between individuals, they looked unbalanced compared to humans.
It had bulging eyes, no visible nose or ears, and instead only a large, round mouth. It had no human-like teeth and usually swallowed things whole, though some individuals would use their disgustingly large, thick lips to somewhat chew their food.
And then there was its fully exposed male organ in the lower abdomen, with no hint of shame.
It was normal for monsters to have their reproductive organs visible, but the way it dangled limply—more weakly than even its twisting arms—would change instantly when its male instincts activated. It would grow hard and large, and like everything else on an Ibun, its shape varied between individuals.
The reason an Ibun appeared to wander around aimlessly like a living corpse had to do with these physical traits, but the biggest reason was its intelligence.
Eighty percent of an Ibun's thoughts were occupied by sexual desire.
Among monsters, Ibuns had exceptionally strong sexual urges. They were even more sexually aware than humans or orcs, and they even masturbated like humans.
Not only that, when excited they would start having sex with female monsters as well—they were complete perverts.
Of course, they also had sex with humans, beastmen, and demi-humans. They particularly preferred humans because their body structures were similar.
No one knew which scholar had researched them so thoroughly, but thanks to that knowledge, even children in this era knew about Ibuns. Parents with daughters would first use the name "Ibun" as a threat when scolding them.
By the way, there were no female Ibuns—only males existed.
All newly born Ibuns were conceived through mating with other races.
Occasionally, an Ibun would be born with some traits from its mother species, but its body remained almost unchanged.
I buns had almost no combat ability. However, when they felt danger or became excited, they would let out a strange cry that summoned their companions.
That cry would scare away most other monsters while calling more Ibuns.
Other monsters might hear the cry and realize they were about to be violated, so they fled.
If you could catch one completely by surprise it was fine, but if you failed and it called its friends, things would get very dangerous.
The common sense of this world was simple: if you encounter an Ibun, run away first.
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