Published: August 15, 2025
“Hiwah!?”
I lost my balance with a thud and slipped along the slanted leaf, flying out into the air.
I saw everyone shouting, “Lady Rosemine!” and Brigitte summoning her Mount.
Faster than Brigitte’s Mount, something came flying from beyond the trees. As my heavy head tilted downward and my vision spun wildly, something like an afterimage rushed toward me.
Trapped by gravity, my body began to fall headfirst straight down, but something grabbed me firmly. The next moment, the sensation of being propelled upward surged through me, stirring my insides, and I groaned.
Blinking my eyes to understand what had happened, I found the high priest’s stern face close by. The frown between his brows was about fifty percent deeper than usual.
“...High Priest? Why are you here?”
“To catch you as you were falling.”
He glared as if to say, ‘If you don’t like it, shall I drop you again?’ I hurriedly clung to his arm so I wouldn’t be shaken off.
“You saved me. Thank you.”
“...Ah.”
I was saved from the fall, but I didn’t feel very relieved—probably because I was certain a scolding was coming next.
Shivering at the high priest’s deeply displeased demeanor, I was put down in front of the mini bus.
“Lady Rosemine, are you unharmed!?”
Fran rushed over with a worried look. When I replied, “The high priest saved me, so I’m fine,” Fran visibly relaxed and let her tension go.
“Now, Rosemine.”
At the low call of the high priest after he had put away his Mount, I braced myself for the scolding to begin, but he only asked in a tired voice, “Were you able to gather the materials?”
Feeling a bit let down, I nodded and showed the high priest the bottle filled with Lairene Honey.
“Yes, I successfully collected the Lairene Honey, so please praise me.”
Taking the bottle I offered, the high priest opened the lid and poured a little honey onto his palm. Narrowing his eyes, he infused mana into the honey, then slowly exhaled.
“...Ah, as I expected, it seems this honey is already stained with your mana. Mana cannot pass through it.”
“Huh? That can’t be... I scooped it up just as you instructed, didn’t I?”
I was sure I hadn’t made a mistake in how I collected it. I took out the spoon used for gathering and pouted, “Maybe the spoon was defective?” The high priest shook his head slightly.
“That’s not it. The Lairene grew with your mana. The flower itself was dyed by your mana.”
“Ugh... Could it be... I failed?”
Even though I had defeated Tarklosh, prayed to the goddess, and obtained the Lairene Honey, did I fail? Feeling guilty toward the high priest and everyone who accompanied me, I asked, but the high priest shook his head gently.
“No, from the perspective of material gathering, it’s fine. There’s no problem, but... sigh. Anyway, let’s return to the Winter Hall in Fontedorf as soon as possible.”
Not only the high priest but also Fran, Eckhardt Brother, and Darmel—all the men—showed deep signs of fatigue. Their complexions were poor, and they exhaled as if utterly exhausted.
“Did something happen?”
“The story about the forest’s mysteries will be tomorrow. It’s better to return quickly and rest. You all probably haven’t slept well either.”
Apparently, the high priest and others had also been troubled by the forest’s mysteries. But since the detailed story was postponed until tomorrow, the conversation ended there.
Wondering what had happened, I stopped the men who were already preparing to leave.
“Please wait a moment. I want to take back some water from this spring. It’s the healing water that works on minor wounds and illnesses, right? It can be used if children in the orphanage get sick, and since we’ve been in their care for several days, I think the village chief of Fontedorf would be happy to receive some.”
“Do as you please.”
Fortunately, there were barrels on the mini bus for carrying water along the way. The barrels were sized to hold a few liters, and two were already empty from last night’s meal and from Brigitte and me using the water to wash up.