Chapter 62

Amelia kicked off the ground and gently took flight.

"---Kweee!"

Flapping her wings, *flap, flap*, she approached me. I was surprised that she could fly. Forgetting that I was restrained, I shouted, "Amazing, Amelia, amazing! You're flying in the sky!"

Amelia, who had flown over to me, bit into the vine.

"Kweckwe!"

"Who are you?" I shouted. The vine trembled in response.

"---Mel, Amelia, don't move! Just for a moment."

Hearing Liette's shout, I stiffened my body. Amelia had retreated—just then, a *whoosh* sound of something slicing through the air was heard. *Thud!* Something pierced the tree trunk. Twisting my body to look in the direction of the sound, I saw an arrow had pierced through the vine and into the tree. This must be Urgas's arrow.

Then, arrows were continuously fired, severing the vines.

Urgas, as expected. I was impressed, but suddenly, my restrained hands, feet, and torso were free.

"---Gyah!"

I thought I was going to fall, but Amelia caught my body. I couldn't straddle her properly in mid-air and fell in an awkward position, using Amelia as a cushion. I felt bad about it. With considerable momentum, we rolled on the ground.

"Mel!"

"LisLis medic!"

I was helped up by Urgas and Liette. Vice-Commander Berry ran past us.

It seemed that the laughing vine hadn't been completely defeated and had escaped. Vice-Commander Berry, who was fast, was chasing it, followed by Gar.

The gray wolf had been successfully eliminated.

"Ah, uh..."

I was in a daze, but I snapped out of it when Amelia looked at me with concern.

"Amelia, you're amazing! You can fly now, right?!"

"Kwekwe~!"

Amelia kicked off the ground again and flapped her wings. She floated gently, circling above my head.

I was glad. Even though her wings had been broken once, she could still fly. I was moved to tears. I had to thank the marquis who had healed Amelia's wings.

I was really happy.

I hugged Amelia tightly, burying my face in her feathers.

"Kwe~"

"Thank you for saving me."

"Kwe!"

Amelia was saying, "It's okay!" I also thanked Urgas.

When I looked up, Zara was approaching.

"Mel, are you okay?"

"Ah, yes, thanks to you."

"That's good..."

But, was it really good?

I shifted my gaze to behind Zara and was startled.

There, the captain stood with a bloodied sword, looking more terrifying than usual.

"Hey, Zara"

The captain grabbed Zara's shoulder and, the moment she turned around, headbutted her.

However, an unexpected situation occurred.

The captain, who had headbutted, pressed his forehead and groaned in pain.

"---Ouch, this stonehead!"

It seemed Zara's head was harder than the captain's. I almost laughed but bit my lip to hold it back.

"Damn..."

"Sorry, my head is hard."

"You, what did you eat to have such a hard head... No, that's not the point!"

When I was captured by the laughing vine, Zara had taken her eyes off the gray wolf. It was a fatal mistake.

"If you do this again, you'll be removed from the second squad."

"Yes, I understand. I'll be more careful."

The captain slapped Zara's shoulder. "I'm counting on you," he said threateningly.

Next, he turned to me with a scary face.

"LisLis, you—"

His face was too scary. Probably the scariest I've ever seen.

Sweat formed on my forehead, and my heart was pounding.

"Be careful."

"Yes, sir."

I braced myself for a scolding, but that was all he said.

The forest returned to a quiet silence.

The captain was digging the ground and covering the gray wolf's remains with soil. Zara helped.

Perhaps because I felt relieved, my knees gave out, and I collapsed on the spot.

"Kwekwe!"

This time, Amelia supported me.

"S-Sorry..."

"Kwekwe~~"

The series of events, from the battle with the gray wolf to being captured by the laughing vine, had worn down my nerves.

"Captain, do you know what this vine is?"

Urgas had climbed a tree and pulled out the laughing vine that had been pierced by an arrow. The vine was about the thickness of an adult male's thumb, yellowish-green in color, with no thorns. The cross-section was the same color as the outer skin. If it moved or was toxic, it would be dangerous, so the vine was placed in a bottle and soaked in holy water.

"It doesn't seem to be the vine of a strange plant."

The vine of the root vegetable-type monster was apparently a deep green, and the inside was jelly-like. This vine looked different both inside and out.

"LisLis medic, did you see anything at the end of the vine?"

"Sorry, I was suspended and couldn't really grasp the situation."

"Right."

Liette and Amelia, who were right below, also only saw the vine. The mystery deepened.

We gathered around the bottle containing the vine, discussing it, when Vice-Commander Berry and Gar returned.

They had tracked it but couldn't find it.

"We know the direction it escaped. We'll have to search persistently."

The captain said this with a stern face, but I couldn't understand why he had said we might finish the mission in one day. Probably because he thought it was the work of a strange plant.

We retraced our steps and headed to a slightly open area in the forest we had passed earlier. Vice-Commander Berry gave us instructions.

"LisLis and Lichtenberger, Amelia, stay here."

"Understood."

"Got it."

"Kwe!"

Liette would set up a barrier, so there was no need to worry.

Even if I followed, I would just be a hindrance.

The captain and the others left to search for the laughing vine again, leaving me, Amelia, and Liette behind.

There happened to be a maple tree nearby. I decided to collect the sap.

I cut into the tree several times with a knife, and sap slowly oozed out.

I scooped it up with a spatula and poured it into a bottle. I repeated this mundane task.

After about an hour, the bottle was full. There were some wood chips floating in it, but I had no tools to filter them.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"I have some free time, so I thought I'd boil it down."

"Hmm."

I piled up stones to make a makeshift stove and used the peat fuel I had made before. Liette helped me start the fire.

I placed a pot on the stove and poured in the freshly collected sap.

The sap bubbled and boiled, emitting a sweet aroma.

After boiling for a while, the sap thickened, changing from colorless to amber.

After about thirty minutes, a shiny honey was complete.

"Let's have lunch, shall we?"

"Sure."

The captain and the others had taken bread and dried meat with them. They were probably eating somewhere.

Looking at my watch, I realized it was well past lunchtime. I had been so engrossed in watching the color change of the sap that I had lost track of time.

Amelia rummaged through her bag and found a leather pouch containing dried fruit.

I took out a round loaf of bread and cut it.

I spread the freshly made honey generously on the bread and took a bite.

"Mmm!"

It was richer and had more depth of sweetness than before it was boiled down. The aroma was also delightful.

It went well with the fluffy bread. It wasn't cloyingly sweet, and I could eat several slices.

The salty dried meat after the sweet bread was also delicious.

Usually, one piece would satisfy me, but I ended up eating three in a row.

Liette seemed to like it too and was enthusiastic about buying it when we returned to the capital.

She was seriously considering buying a gold coin worth of honey. Scary.

I poured water into the pot I had used to boil the sap and brought it to a boil. Since we couldn't wash it, this was to clean it.

However, it also had a pleasant aroma.

I poured it into a cup and tried it. It was a slightly sweet hot water, which was also delicious.

Amelia also wanted to drink it, so I poured some for her.

She blew on it to cool it down, which was quite cute.

"By the way, I hope the captain and the others are okay."

"I can't imagine them losing."

"True."

Still, I prayed for their safe return.

About an hour later, the captain and the others returned.

"---We had a rough time."

Unusually, Vice-Commander Berry looked tired.

"Huh?"

"That's—"

In the captain's hand, he held something surprising.