Heh! Huaeh! Huaeh!

This must not go on, Ash thought as he gasped for air.

Becoming a small dog instead of a wolf cub was already bad enough. Now I have to take care of a pet despite being one myself, which I still won't condone.

Kyuu? The tiny mushroom chimed in as if it was reading his thoughts. It escaped the young woman’s makeshift cage when she knocked on the door with her foot. She just discovered the tiny little fella was also squishy, making it easier to escape from her grasp.

Lucy found it sitting on top of Ash's head as he gradually stabilized his breathing and said, "Okay, Ash, be nice. You two could become great friends.”

Ash was about to retort, but the little guy with beady little eyes leaned down and got in the way of his vision. Now that Ash has taken a good look at it, it does seem adorable. With reluctance, he furrowed his forehead for a second before relaxing.

Okay. You win, little guy. Now get off of me. Ash squinted his eyes at it, attempting to scare it away.

Kyuu! With its other hand clenching a bunch of Ash’s fur, it raised its other just above its cap as it celebrated in triumph.

After a few seconds, the green door leading to Dr. Kolver’s living room finally opened as the old man emerged from the gap.

“What is it this time? Oh, it's you, young lady. Ah, I see you brought Ash with you,” Dr. Kolver said as he gestured for them to come in.

He spotted a curious thing on top of Ash’s head and added, “I trust that he has been healthy. ”I see that he has brought a new little friend. Come in.”

Ash’s hearing blurred out on the second part as his mind was still stuck on the first, echoing through his mind.

Tsk, I almost forgot. This body only has a few months left to live. I can’t sit idly anymore.

Kyuu? Instead of addressing the bigger human near it, the tiny mushroom patted Ash’s head as if sensing that its owner was somehow saddened by what the big human had said.

It’s okay, little guy. I think I can manage, Ash replied internally as he gazed at the unclosed, translucent window in front of him.

The blinking “I” icon is still there, waiting for his word.

I can’t let you suffer like me. You at least need to have a wonderful name, Ash thought as he sent his thoughts to the translucent window.

Set its name to Mushroom Lord.

[“Mushroom Lord” is accepted.]

Kyuuu! The mushroom’s beady eyes shone with green light for a moment before returning to normal.

Lucy was led onto the sofa as she laid down her harvest. She slowly stacked each deflated leaf, counting fifty pieces all in all, and said, “Here it is, Dr. Kolver, fifty pieces as usual. Say, what are these for anyway?”

Dr. Kolver ignored Lucy as he went inside the room with a mechanical contraption before coming back out with a mortar and pestle while grumbling, “I said I needed it before noon. I didn't say I needed it this early in the morning. Sigh. It’s still eight in the morning, for goddess’ sake.”

Lucy, who just finished lining up, turned around and asked, “Did you say something, Dr. Kolver?”

The old man just noticed that he blurted it out in the open and just feigned ignorance as he looked at the leaves seriously.

With a nod, his expression relaxed as he replied, “Umu. Excellent! I'm happy to work with you, young lady. These leaves are perfect. Now go so that I can start grinding these things peacefully,” he chided as he sat across from Lucy and started to pick one leaf after another and grind them with finesse.

“But the teacher said that we should stay here for now. Can we do something? Maybe you can teach me how to use that mush-mush thingy!” Lucy talked with enthusiasm as she observed how the leaf turned into a fine green paste right before her eyes.

Dr. Kolver furrowed his forehead even more as he eyed Lucy, shifting his pupils upwards, and asked, “She did?”

“Yes, she told us before she headed straight towards that mountain. Plain and simple. Head to Dr. Kolver’s house for now or Big Sister Sarah’s. But I don’t want to go to her bakery this time, or I will be forced to serve customers.” Lucy paused for a moment, like she was thinking about something awful, before continuing, “So I’ll be helping you here instead! Right Ash?”

Huh, what?

Arf? Ash barked as he darted his head around, searching for the person calling his name. He was busy playing with the tiny mushroom.

“See?” Lucy smiled as she took the mortar and pestle from Dr. Kolver’s hands.

Dr. Kolver wasn’t annoyed and just stared, the beady set of eyes gazing at him from Ash and the tiny mushroom before shifting his gaze to Lucy and asking, “So Martha wanted me to babysit for the day while she’s scouring for something in the woods? Isn’t her shift supposed to have started an hour ago?”

"Yes, it was supposed to be, but she got into a deal with the mayor, and they hushed it out themselves down to when Teacher would like to come in. And by the way, I’m no longer a baby. I’ll graduate this year and will soon be a teacher working at the garrison. Although I wanted to be called a knight, being a guard isn’t that bad,” Lucy said while pounding multiple leaves at once like stabbing someone in the chest when he was down.

“Huh. Well, isn’t she lucky to talk it down with that old coot and come out on top?” Dr. Kolver blurted out for a moment before noticing how Lucy handled the leaves.

“Young lady, give that back! You look like you’re killing someone,” Dr. Kolver said as he received the tools that Lucy begrudgingly surrendered.

He instructed Lucy to be silent and listen for a moment as he started teaching her.

“This round and thick saucer-like object is called the mortar, while this rounded-blunt object used to grind the leaves into a fine paste is the pestle. One wouldn’t function without the other,” Dr. Kolver slowly showed Lucy how it was done.

He lifted the mortar from his side slightly upwards so that Lucy could see as he said, “These leaves might not mean anything to you, but this is an herb that is vital to the human race. The proper way is to slowly drag the pestle around at the bottom by its weight. These leaves are soft, so the pestle’s weight does the trick. Then you see the bits around the mortar? You can use the pestle to scrape everything off from the sides into the base and gently but firmly press it, twisting it around the base of the mortar, and... There, a fine paste.”

A gooey but fine-looking paste was shown to Lucy before he slowly placed them in small vials. The vials were slowly being capped and placed inside a small container on the side, serving as finished products.

Lucy looked surprised as she said, “Woah! It looks delicious. It’s the first time I've seen how it was made. Dr. Kolver, what is this medicine for?” Lucy asked, tinged with innocence.

Dr. Kolver looked apprehensive as he struggled to find the right words. A bead of sweat dripped from his wrinkly forehead and said, “Uhm, this is for people to sleep better. Yes.”

Lucy looked unconvinced as she added, “How is a medicine putting somebody to sleep vital to the human race?”

She looked genuinely curious as she voiced her question. She shifted her gaze from the old man’s eyes to the finished products.

Ash on the side, finally seeing the object description after using “Identify,” smacks a palm to his head internally.

D*mn! That’s an aphrodisiac, but a mild one. Way to word it, old man. 'Vital' to the human race, my paw! Ash mocked inwardly.

He wasn’t sure how Martha would react, knowing that this was the usual way Dr. Kolver was letting Lucy collect.

A few hours later, with Lucy’s assistance, Dr. Kolver finished creating hundreds of small vials of the 'sleeping medicine.'

Ash was getting bored as the tiny mushroom with a blue and white cap was now busy looking inside his ears and was finally getting all the attention of the doctor.

“By the way, young lady, where did you find this curious creature?”

Kyuuu? Kyu! The mushroom turned around as he could sense someone breathing behind it, and he was surprised. It ran behind Ash’s ear, but Dr. Kolver stretched his neck while tilting his head, following its every move.

The tiny mushroom, who thought it escaped the big human’s gaze, wiped off a nonexistent swear over its blue cap with white dots as it stumbled down to rest.

Hey, knock it off, old man, this mushroom’s mine!

“Arf! Arf!” Ash barked while backing away.

“Hmmm,” Dr. Kolver hummed as he backed away and sat back on the sofa.

“If my hunch is right, it’s one of the legendary races. The fabled fae. I already saw pixies in my share of time when I was still a kid, but I haven’t seen a single one in mushroom form,” Dr. Kolver analyzed as he went inside another room looking for something.

“A fae. Like fairies? Are you serious, Doctor Kolver? You can’t trick me. I’m not a kid anymore. It’s just a small animal that took a liking to Ash, that’s all,” Lucy argued as she too observed the tiny mushroom.

Unlike with Dr. Kolver, it didn’t seem bothered being looked at, being held by, or being poked by Lucy.

Kyu!!!

Although it got irritated when it felt like it was too much, it clenched its tiny fist, trying to ward Lucy off.

Are we supposed to stay like this? I think I need to gain EXP right about now. My life could be over tomorrow, for all I care.

Ash was the only one who didn’t get to hold the tiny mushroom. He was so irritated that it always latched behind him with only paws and a tail at his disposal, he couldn't seem to catch the little one.

After a few seconds, Dr. Kolver came back with a stack of books. Ash’s eyes were instantly glued to them, wanting to read everything inside, but a sudden thought struck him.

Can I even read this world’s language?

Ash was skeptical at first, and since he had nothing to lose, he drew closer and hopped beside Lucy over the sofa.

Kyu! The tiny mushroom was eventually caught by Lucy, which made Ash finally able to see his new pet in its entirety.

It has a blue cap with a roof-like structure on top of the tiny mushroom, with white polka dots covering it. Its shiny-beady eyes and a small, curved slit for a mouth were located in the upper portion of its stalk.

It gazed at Ash longingly while trying to reach out for him.

When Lucy placed it on top of the coffee table, the tiny mushroom slowly used its two stubby little legs and arms to prop itself up and stand on its own.

Kyu! It eventually tried to run off the table to get back to Ash, but it was lifted back to the center so it wouldn't fall off.

“Ash, it has taken a liking to you,” Lucy blurted, unsure about the reason.

“That’s because it is a fae,” Dr. Kolver said as he took a dark crimson book with green engravings as a cover.

Flip. Flip.

While the old man was flipping pages, he started to narrate until he found the page he was looking for, "Faes are kind by nature, and if someone did something good to them, they would rather die than not reciprocate. Aha! Here it is."

Ash gazed at the unrecognizable letters and thought, It seems I can’t read. Tsk. I should start by learning the letters, huh?

Suddenly, in his vision, the letters, no more than elaborated lines and curves, slowly moved to rearrange and reform themselves.

Something is going on... My head.

Unknowingly, Ash’s headache came back, which he struggled to contain. With his eyes almost shut, he struggled to read the newly formed words on the book cover.

Th-The F-folktales-of- the-Fai-Fair—

Plop.

Kyu! Seeing the small dog losing consciousness, a tiny mushroom squeaked through the table and hopped over the sofa, where Ash flopped down.

“It’s fast!” Lucy reacted a bit too late as her eyes shifted and she noticed Ash losing consciousness. With a hand, she checked his pulse and was able to release a sigh of relief after knowing he was just sleeping.

With a wistful voice she asked, “Dr. Kolver, why did Ash fall asleep?"

Tsk! I thought so. Doctor Kolver blurted internally.

After diagnosing Ash earlier in the morning, he knew that it was only a matter of time before Lucy caught on.

With his decades of experience treating patients, Lucy was not his first interaction with a patient's family. He knew Lucy was putting on a show to cheer herself up, but it was difficult after witnessing this frail shell crumble.

He was able to calm his emotions as he rushed to find words to say.

“People with higher endurance or a healthy body would have a hard time absorbing the herb,” Dr. Kolver slowly recounted.

"Ash, on the other hand, has low endurance, is weak, and is old, which is worse. All I can tell you is that it was a miracle that he was still alive when you found him. You should expect that his sleeping time will increase as days pass.” He ended with a soft tone, noticing the change in Lucy’s expression, and shook his head.

“Will he be okay? Is there any herb or medicine that could make his life last longer? He’s the only family I have left,” Lucy slowly asked in a somber tone. She was whispering, trying not to let Dr. Kolver overhear the thoughts she was struggling to keep inside.

Doctor Kolver’s countenance turned bitter as he sighed deeply. With a more cheerful tone, he invited Lucy, “He’ll be fine, so just let him sleep. I think you can find this little mushroom fella in this book. Come, and I’ll try to check the others in the meantime.”

“Okay!” Lucy went back to her cheery old self as they perused the different texts as time went on until sundown.

Dr. Kolver also brought some desserts he had delivered by courier from the capital and let the depressed young woman eat some, only to return with an empty plate.

I think I’m being fleeced, the doctor thought inwardly, afraid for his pocket's future.