Chapter 86

Straddling Amelia, she soared gently.

The streets of the capital city gradually grew distant.

The sky was, as always, exhilarating!

The wind blowing from the front felt as sharp as needles.

Then, she realized something as she looked at the overall view of the ground.

"---Oh!"

It was all white. The area around the capital was covered with a blanket of snow.

She had completely forgotten about the snow.

Snowdrops have white stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. In this silver world, it would be difficult to find them.

She could only hope for Albium's efforts.

Snowdrops were said to be in the forests and plains around the capital. As a precaution against monsters, it would be better to avoid the forest where visibility was poor.

After passing through the forest that surrounded the capital, a plain spread out.

"Amelia, let's land around here."

"Quack!"

She slowly descended.

Looking at the tall trees lined up in the snowy landscape, she felt despair.

The snow was piled up to her ankles.

Even if not, the snowdrops were probably buried.

"Finding snowdrops from here is impossible, right..."

"Quack~"

Maybe she should just become a child of the marquis.

But, wouldn't it be awkward if I remained single forever after Liette got married?

If the marquis asked, "When are you going to get married?" with a frown, I would probably cry in fear.

No, it's too scary to become a child of the marquis family.

I have to seriously look for snowdrops.

First, I took Albium out of the leather bag.

"Albium, are you okay?"

"Umm, it's a bit tricky."

"For the sake of pancakes, please try your best."

"Ah, that's right! Albium will try hard!"

Saying that, Albium jumped out of the leather bag and landed on the ground—but the snow was deep, and he was buried up to his neck.

"Ah, ah, I'm drowning in the snow!"

She picked up the flailing Albium and put him in her shoulder bag.

"Pancake's daughter... surprisingly kind."

"Surprisingly is unnecessary."

She tried to sprinkle holy water to ward off monsters, but Albium couldn't breathe just by opening the lid, so she decided not to use it. If she encountered a monster, she would have to ride Amelia and run away.

"Then, let's start looking for snowdrops."

"Quack!"

"Understood!"

Basically, it would rely on Albium's nose.

She firmly gripped her magic wand, Gra, and took a step forward, alert to her surroundings.

"Ah, there's a sweet smell over there!"

She headed in the direction Albium pointed.

"Straight, straight~"

What she found there was—forest apples.

But they were not ordinary forest apples.

"Wait, these are golden forest apples!!"

Usually, forest apples are bright red, but there is a type that bears yellow fruit in winter. However, they only grow in the wild and are called a phantom fruit.

She tapped the branch with her magic wand, Gra, to make the fruit fall.

Albium caught the falling fruit.

"Ah, amazing, such a good smell~"

"Indeed! Let's try a taste."

She rubbed the skin with her clothes and took a bite.

"Wow, it's sweet!!"

It had a rich, refined sweetness and was crunchy due to the snow.

"Amazing... it feels like a luxurious sorbet."

"Albium wants to eat too!"

"Ah, sorry."

She cut it with a knife and shared it with Albium and Amelia.

"Quack, quack~"

"Delicious~"

"Indeed, it's a phantom fruit."

It would be delicious in a pie. Yes, she could bring it to Zarra as a get-well gift.

"Making it into a jam would be good too."

"Should I mash it and mix it into bread?"

"That sounds good. It would be delicious."

She used her magic wand, Gra, to make the forest apples fall, and Albium caught them.

She put them in the leather bag attached to Amelia's saddle and continued to collect them.

She probably collected about five.

"The rest are too high to reach..."

She crossed her arms to think, but then Amelia pointed out that she didn't have to look for snowdrops.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

That's right.

"Albium, let's go to the next place."

"...Okay."

She didn't want to go into the forest if possible, as the probability of encountering a monster would increase.

"Where do snowdrops usually grow?"

"Various places."

There didn't seem to be a specific location.

She asked Albium to search for the sweet smell again.

"Umm, umm... Ah!!"

It seemed he detected the sweet smell.

They walked through the snow, which was difficult to navigate.

After a while, they reached an open area on the plain.

"Here!"

"Maybe in the snow?"

"Yes!"

Oh, this is promising!

She carefully dug with her magic wand, Gra. Amelia also helped.

Then, what emerged from the snow was—

"Oh, this!!"

Bright red winter strawberries!

And they were as big as a fist. How did they grow so big?

"Amazing, why...?"

"This area has a lot of magic power, so they grow big~"

"Is that so?"

She wanted to make a tart with them. It would be so delicious that her cheeks would drop.

What kind of taste would they have?

"Quack, quack?"

"Ah, yes."

Amelia reminded her, "Don't forget your purpose."

Sorry, I forgot for a moment.

But since she found them, she decided to take the three she found.

"Quack, quack"

"Sorry, I'll dig them up quickly."

She obtained three large winter strawberries!

"Oh!"

She detected another sweet smell.

As she turned around, a chill ran down her spine.

"Quack, quack!"

"Ah!"

A large shadow was approaching from above.

It was—a giant eagle!

It was flying towards them.

"Wait, wait! No, no way~"

"Quack, quack!!"

Amelia took off.

"Wait, wait. Amelia, no!"

She's a sheltered girl! She hasn't had combat training and can't possibly fight—

She couldn't bear to watch and closed her eyes tightly.

I'm sorry, Amelia. I brought you to such a place and can't even protect you.

I'm a terrible mother.

Tears welled up and ran down her cheeks, but—

"—Huh?"

She couldn't hear Amelia's cry.

Could it be that she didn't even have time to cry?

She cautiously raised her head and saw a surprising scene.

The giant eagle's body was wrapped in vines that had grown from the ground, and it was lying on the ground.

Amelia was not flapping her wings but standing on the ground, looking surprised.

Looking closely, Albium was sitting on Amelia's head.

"Ha ha ha, look at Albium's skills!"

"Albium~"

She ran over, hugged Amelia tightly, and handed the emergency chocolate she had saved to Albium.

"Albium, thank you, thank you so much!!"

"Eh? Ah, well, I didn't do much, you know!"

"Thank you."

She asked if he wanted more sweets, but he shook his head, which was unusual.

"...I've never been thanked by a human before. It doesn't feel bad..."

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"N, nothing~"

For now, they left the giant eagle as it was and continued on. The vines would disappear over time.

"That guy was after the winter strawberries."

"Is that so?"

It seems winter strawberries are a favorite of giant eagles.

Despite their fierce appearance, they love strawberries.

This time, they walked quickly to leave the area.

They had to find the snowdrops before being spotted by another monster.

After walking for a while, Albium showed a reaction.

"—Ah, there it is!!"

Albium jumped out of the bag and swam through the snow.

Albium dug through the snow. She and Amelia also helped.

What they found was—white, delicate flowers. Snowdrops.