Published: August 1, 2025
I’m not very good at speaking loudly.
But I think I managed to produce a surprisingly loud and sharp voice for myself. Even so, perhaps because I lacked enough tension, ms. Kaede stopped what she was doing for the time being, but only frowned slightly. She looked up at me with an unreadable, expressionless face.
Hearing my voice, Mr. Angelo came over. There was no tension on his face either.
“Is something the matter, i?”
Then—he noticed the small white mushroom on her fingertip and chuckled softly.
“Now it’s mushrooms, i see. Lord Kaede, even if they’re real, you can’t eat them without cooking.”
As he said that, he tried to pick the mushroom for her, but Lord Cyrus grabbed his wrist to stop him.
“That’s the Egg Amanita, commonly called the ‘Umbrella of Death’. It’s the most deadly poisonous mushroom that has killed the most humans worldwide.”
“Eh!?”
Both Mr. Angelo and ms. Kaede exclaimed simultaneously.
Isaac, who had rushed over, looked down at the mushroom and screamed.
“Ah! That’s dangerous! It’s a mushroom I always teach children about as soon as they learn to walk: if you ever see this, never ever pick it!”
“R-Really? I thought poisonous mushrooms would be more flashy or something...?”
“There are plain-looking yet extremely poisonous ones too. The Egg Amanita is the perfect example.”
I hurried over to join them and nodded in agreement.
It’s a famous poisonous mushroom worldwide, so much so there’s a saying “don’t be deceived by appearances.” But that doesn’t mean Mr. Angelo and the others were ignorant. Though it grows naturally in many countries including Sphain, it’s not found everywhere across the globe. Without prior knowledge, this mushroom’s plain coloring and moderate thickness would indeed look delicious.
“I think it’s fine as long as you don’t eat it, but even lightly biting into it can be dangerous because of the toxins. It’s best to avoid even touching it.”
“I’m sorry. As your guide, I should’ve warned you beforehand... Normally, these grow in damper forests. The fact that it’s here means spores probably blew in through the vertical shaft.”
The adults hurriedly comforted Isaac, who had slumped his shoulders in disappointment. Even ms. Kaede gently patted his head, and finally Isaac raised his face.
“Lady Marie, thank you for raising your voice.”
“I-I’m not really... rather, I’m sorry for startling you with my loud voice. I couldn’t immediately think of the words for ‘poisonous mushroom’.”
I apologized again to ms. Kaede.
Though Mr. Angelo was still half in a daze, he shook his head and bowed deeply, even more than I did.
“Not at all. Lady Marie, you are a lifesaver. If Lord Kaede had found this alone, she would’ve secretly picked it and used it as a drinking companion without telling me.”
Haha, no way... That’s a joke, right?
I decided to treat it as a joke and smiled. Once I smiled, my tension completely melted away. I heaved a big sigh of relief that ms. Kaede was safe.
“Anyway, I’m glad everything’s fine. The world is beautiful, but also scary... From now on, I mustn’t let my guard down and be careless about touching things I see for the first time.”
“...Why is Lady Marie the one reflecting in this situation?”
Lord Cyrus answered Mr. Angelo’s question.
“That’s what makes Marie pitiful and adorable at the same time. Either way, it makes me want to hug her.”
“Your fetish is beyond comprehension.”
When Mr. Angelo said that, Lord Cyrus looked slightly offended. That expression was so funny I burst out laughing. Maybe catching my mood, Lord Cyrus chuckled awkwardly. Mr. Angelo laughed heartily too.
Ms. Kaede also narrowed her eyes, hiding her mouth with the hem of her clothes.
—And so, the four tourists and their guide all became a little friendlier.
We set off home together with a warm, cheerful atmosphere and returned to Tender’s Inn.
“We’re back! Mama, what’s for dinner today?”
Isaac waved his hand energetically, and the landlady, who happened to be in the garden, waved back with hands twice as big as his.