You couldn't pull them out directly; you had to use a shovel to sever all those tiny roots before you could harvest a whole Moonlight Grass.
While Zeliel was busy working with his head lowered, Bev started playing around.
Several butterflies dusted with fluorescence fluttered in circles, drawing Bev's attention.
"Bev, give me a hand too." Zeliel sounded a little helpless.
"You can manage on your own."
Bev's voice was exceptionally cheerful as she chased after the butterflies flitting up and down. "Look, aren't they beautiful?"
The butterflies drifted through the air for a few turns, then flew toward the darkness deeper within the forest.
"Come back. Be careful—there might be monsters over there," Zeliel warned.
Seeing that the area ahead really did look rather eerie, Bev could only rein in her excitement.
"Okay..."
She obediently returned to Zeliel's side, gathered her skirt and crouched beside him, carefully watching him collect the herbs.
"Do you usually take on quests in places like this?"
"It's not normally this easy. This is the outer edge of Graywood Forest, so there's not much danger."
Zeliel continued digging up the roots. "The quests I usually take are monster-subjugation jobs. You have to stay alert at all times. If you let your guard down, you might end up putting on a show where the hunter becomes the prey."
As he spoke, Zeliel lifted his chin toward a dense clump of bushes nearby. "For example, there could very well be something hiding in there."
"Huh? Really?" Bev turned to look.
"Of course..."
Zeliel deliberately lowered his voice, intending to scare Bev a little. "If a goblin suddenly jumped out of there and charged at you right now, what would you do?"
"I'd turn around and run!" Bev answered without hesitation.
"Wrong."
Zeliel revealed a mischievous grin.