Chapter 75

Climbing the slope connected to the forest by following the vines growing on the cliff.

Fortunately, it was more gentle than upstream, and I was able to reach the mountain path without any help.

All that's left is to descend toward the foot of the mountain.

Just in case, I sprinkled holy water, but Zara walked with her knife drawn from its sheath as a precaution. I followed, gripping my magic wand, Gura, tightly.

The forest was eerily quiet, stirring unease.

It seemed Zara felt the same—

"…It would be nice if we could recover my weapon too."

"Indeed."

Zara's magic axe, Luxuria. Apparently, she had thrown it away before falling off the cliff. Without a doubt, it must be disheartening to be without a weapon.

About three hours had passed since we started descending.

We were checking for edible plants as we went, but all we found were poisonous herbs and fruits. This was the first time I had encountered a forest so thoroughly devoid of anything.

Naturally, our stomachs were growling.

"Oh, something usable!"

The food magic of my magic wand, Gura.

I gripped the wand tightly and focused on summoning the magic circle.

A glowing circular spell appeared before my eyes.

"Yay!!"

It seemed to be a magic that only worked when hungry.

A circle floated within the magic circle. Was this a choice? The last time, only one option appeared, but this time there were three.

Perhaps river turtle, fish, and citrus fruits?

Assuming the condition for increasing the number of options was touching ingredients, I had been trying various things.

With a pounding heart, I peered into the magic circle—

—Choose your ingredient

Ingredient name: River turtle

Ingredient name: River turtle

Ingredient name: River turtle

Three choices of river turtle!! Or rather, one choice.

Why were there three identical options? Anger welled up inside me.

My stomach growled, but the only option was river turtle.

"Ugh, river turtle, a bit…"

I didn't want to eat just a roasted river turtle again. When I asked Zara, she had a dubious expression.

There was no river to wash the blood away, and it would be difficult to prepare and eat it here.

"Still, the condition for increasing the number of ingredients that can be created by magic is not 'touching with the magic wand Gura.'"

"Perhaps it's 'touching living ingredients.'"

"Ah, I see."

The mystery was slightly unraveled, but the hunger problem remained unsolved.

However, once the spell was activated, it seemed I had to choose. The magic circle wouldn't disappear no matter what.

I had no choice but to select the river turtle. Reluctantly, I touched the words "river turtle" with my magic wand, Gura. A black object floated up, enveloped in a bright light.

"—What!?"

But its appearance was different from before.

The river turtle was wriggling, with a long neck extended.

"No way… it's alive."

The last time it was dead, but this time it was alive. I was at a loss as to why.

Zara captured it and put it in a leather bag to prevent it from escaping.

"What is this magic, really?"

"Strange."

That's all we could say.

We continued on, enduring our hunger.

We came across the path where we had fought the spirits, but there was not a single feather of Amelia's or Zara's magic axe, Luxuria.

Disappointed, we continued down the mountain.

◇◇◇

Finally, we reached the foot of the mountain.

When I explained to the caretaker that we had become separated from our companions, he sympathized with us.

Moreover, he shared soup, bread, and fruit juice with us, who were hungry.

I immediately gave the fruit juice to Sura.

Sura's transparent body turned purple.

Then, we indulged in our first meal in half a day.

The warm soup seeped into our tired bodies. It was a simple dish with only vegetable scraps and salt, but it was delicious enough.

The bread was hard, and we softened it with the soup.

It was delicious. I was moved by the taste of food prepared with human civilization.

"Thank you."

"No, if you go to the village, there are even more delicious things."

Compared to the river turtle, it was a feast. I was filled with gratitude.

"However, I'm worried about the others who got separated…"

Apparently, this forest had undergone significant changes in the past year.

"Originally, it was a thin, withered forest."

It was a forest that brought no blessings, but merchants and others used to pass through the mountain path that connected to the neighboring country. For a long time, it was a lonely place that no one else approached.

"The change occurred a year ago. It became an incredibly rich forest."

The cause was unknown. The Magic Research Bureau conducted an investigation, but they failed to determine the reason.

"The old men and women in the village say that the spirits have returned to the forest."

"Was there no spirit before?"

"Yes, according to village legends, they disappeared in a forest fire half a century ago."

"I see."

The reason for the increase in magic in the forest and the valley was likely due to the return of the spirits.

However, this point was not mentioned in the current materials. Perhaps the bureau members did not conduct interviews? If so, it would be disappointing.

We thanked the caretaker and left the mountain hut, riding the horses we had left there to head to the village.

An hour later, we arrived at the village and decided to tidy up.

The village was small, with thirty houses, two shops, one restaurant, and two inns. It was more of a settlement than a village.

I saw stone houses for the first time. They were built without gaps, and the colors were beautifully laid out. The craftsmanship was impressive, and I thought they looked like works of art.

Well, there was no time to gaze at the village idly.

"Zara, this is a small amount, but—"

I handed her a wallet containing two silver coins, our current funds.

"Mel, you don't have to—"

"Please use it."

Zara needed to obtain a weapon. Even if weapons were available here, they would likely be expensive.

We immediately went shopping.

We entered a store that seemed to sell everything.

"Welcome."

The elderly shopkeeper greeted us with a voice that lacked any warmth.

The store was cluttered and dusty, with shoes, bags, books, clothes, and carpets piled up by type.

Zara dug through the pile of clothes and found two thick coats with fancy yarn, shirts, and pants.

"Is this okay, Mel?"

She had chosen a long gray coat, a white shirt, and black pants for me.

The price tag was more than double the market rate, which shocked me. It was even more shocking because they were second-hand items.

Next, we went to choose a weapon—

"Ah!!"

"This is—"

Zara's weapon, the magic axe Luxuria, was being sold with a sale tag.

Even though it was on sale, the price tag read one gold coin.

"No way."

"Someone must have picked it up and brought it here to sell."

I went to protest to the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me, that weapon is ours!"

"Huh?"

"We lost it in the forest."

"I don't know anything about it."

What!?

I was trembling with anger, but Zara told me to calm down.

I showed the shopkeeper the knight's armlet to prove our identity—but he didn't even flinch.

He even clicked his tongue.

It seemed that in this village, where there was no knight's garrison, the authority of the knights was zero.

It seemed there was no point in arguing, so we had no choice but to buy it.

"Selling stolen goods for one gold coin is outrageous."

"That's a fine black steel item. One gold coin is a bargain."

I was speechless. It seemed the shopkeeper had a good eye for quality.

"We have no choice but to buy it."

"But—"

Zara patted my shoulder. It seemed she was telling me to give up.

However, our funds were not enough.

"Then, would this be enough?"

Zara removed an ear ornament with a small red gem.

"That's—good quality."

I looked at Zara's face. She always wore the same ear ornament, so I wondered if it was important to her. If it was just for fashion, she would have worn something else.

"Is it really okay, Zara?"

"It's fine."

"Zara—"

The shopkeeper smiled, which gave me a bad feeling.

"It's still a bit short… How about I buy your beautiful hair as well? I'll add a half silver coin to the exchange."

The shopkeeper pointed at Zara.

He praised Zara's hair over mine, which was a bit frustrating.

Apparently, wigs could be sold to nobles for a high price. I didn't know that hair could be sold.

I thought of the river turtle and tried to negotiate its sale, but I was told it wasn't even worth a half copper coin.

Zara sighed and replied.

"…Alright."

"Zara, really?"

"It's fine."

"But—"

"I've been finding it a bit difficult to maintain recently, so it's good timing."

She untied her hair, gathered it, and cut it with a knife.

"Is this okay?"

"Excellent."

We almost ended up with zero funds, but we managed to get a half silver coin to buy food. However, Zara's hair…

"I'm sorry, Zara, I couldn't do anything."

"The axe is mine, don't worry about it."

But, Zara seemed to have lost something important.

I felt guilty and a bit sad.