Chapter 37

"Alright, Lillian. Here we go."

I held up a small, cloudy crystal in front of Lillian, who was staring intently at a single point with a tense expression. As I focused my magic into the cloudy crystal, the magic circle drawn on the parchment began to emit a faint light. In the center of the magic circle, a black sphere about the size of a human head was placed.

"Rue Litt Arnier O Dona Barmieu..."

As usual, I chanted the spell to draw out magic from the object. Slowly, a liquid began to seep out from the black sphere.

"Wow... It smells so good!"

Lillian exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement. Her reaction was very honest. But when she almost reached out to touch the sphere, Natalie stopped her just in time.

"Hey, Lillian. You mustn't touch it."

"I know, I know!"

"Princess, is this glowing liquid the magic?"

Captain Blanche was staring intently at the magic circle. The magic extraction from this object was particularly difficult, and I needed to continue chanting the spell, so I couldn't answer. Instead, I nodded at the three of them, who were all focused on the sphere, and concentrated even more.

"Delnia O Dona Barmieu Stilis..."

Inside the cloudy crystal, a slow, orange glow began to gather. The sticky, syrupy liquid was actually fruit juice. Yes, the black sphere was a fruit. More specifically, it was the fruit of the Scrimwood. Knowing that it was the fruit of the Scrimwood, I was even more motivated to enjoy its delicious taste.

"Still, I didn't expect the Scrimwood fruit to have such a good smell."

Captain Blanche removed her fingers from her nose and took a deep breath.

"Did it smell different when the captain and the others ate it?"

"It was incredibly foul. The smell was so strong that words couldn't describe it."

"And it wasn't this black, was it? It was red and looked very delicious, right, Captain?"

"Yes, we were deceived by its appearance."

Captain Blanche and Natalie made grim faces, as if remembering the incident. Indeed, my encyclopedia described the Scrimwood fruit as a red fruit with an incredibly foul smell, and its taste was astringent. However, the fruit in front of us was black and emitted a sweet, irresistible aroma.

Actually, this black fruit was collected by the Duke based on Mr. Mylan's memory. The story goes back four days.

◇

The day we arrived at Midleague Castle in the Galbreath territory. We were supposed to have a simple introduction, but it was ultimately postponed. Just as everything was about to be ready, the Duke informed me that he had to go on a monster hunt. Despite the long journey from Martial Raid and the lack of rest, I braced myself, thinking it must be an emergency. However, according to Chaos, this was part of Galbreath's "daily routine." A report from the fire eagle squadron left behind indicated that a group of the magic birds, Bergenions, had gone berserk.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's your duty as the Duke. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You must be tired from the journey. Rest. I wish I could stay, but the berserk magic birds might attack the towns. I'll return as soon as I can, so please wait here."

"Yes, Duke."

"That's not it, Melfi. What should you call me?"

The Duke, fully armed with two spears on his back and four swords at his waist, lifted a strand of my fluffy hair. Captain Blanche had washed and combed it, making it soft and fragrant. Looking up, I saw his amber eyes slightly golden, and when our eyes met, I was taken aback by his appearance.

"Please come back quickly!"

"Melfi?"

"Why do you always do this, Aristide? It's so embarrassing."

I turned my head away, not wanting to show my blushing face. The Duke, chuckling, probably with a mischievous smile, said:

"I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Surprising me like that is not good."

"Understood, I'll announce it then."

His teasing tone made me glare at him. As expected, he smiled with a smug look, but then suddenly became serious and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Melfi, do you remember the duties of a Duchess?"

"To comfort and heal the Duke."

"Don't pout. Your cuteness heals me. Allow me a little."

"Is that really true?"

He pulled me closer with a genuinely happy smile, despite my skepticism.

"It's true. When I return, please prepare a delicious meal for me. I want a stew with the leftover Roiamoodler. Zanas would be good too. Magic use makes me hungry."

"I think ordinary food is fine."

"Is that so? I'll be satisfied with anything delicious. Besides, the prospect of hunting for delicious ingredients makes me more motivated. Is there any monster you're interested in? I can bring it back for you."

It seemed the Duke was emphasizing that he wanted to eat monsters. While Chaos and Mylan were fine, there were others present who didn't know me well, like Captain Blanche and the knights. They were all listening to our conversation, so my guess was probably correct. If the Duke said he wanted to eat monster meat, the knights would be more accepting.

I hesitated, but the Duke nodded, indicating it was fine. However, I was hesitant about asking for a large monster (since he was going to deal with a group of berserk Bergenions), so I decided to ask for a smaller one.

"Then, the Scrimwood fruit."

"Scrimwood? That's... well..."

The Duke hesitated. The Scrimwood was one of the monsters he regretted eating. I could hear Lillian, who was standing behind me, exclaim "Yay!" softly, which was probably not just my imagination.

"It was incredibly foul, but Mylan thought it was sweeter than nectar... right, Mylan?"

Mylan, suddenly addressed, coughed.

"Lady Melfiera, where did you hear that?"

"It's a secret. Mylan, was it really the Scrimwood fruit?"

"It was overripe, turning black. It was very fragrant and sweet, like a melting happiness in the mouth. However, eating too much led to a miserable aftermath."

The Duke described the Scrimwood fruit as foul and astringent. How could the same fruit have such different opinions? I pleaded with the Duke, hoping to get a definitive answer.

"Please, if you have a moment. The most important thing is for you to return safely. If you have a little extra time, please bring back the Scrimwood fruit."

"Alright. If I find it, I'll bring it back."

The Duke hugged me tightly, then turned to Chaos.

"Alright, let's head to the fort before sunset."

"Understood. I'll arrange the dragon riders for tomorrow morning. Sir, please ride the fire eagle."

"Blanche, I'll leave it to you. If I'm late, please show Melfiera the library and allow her to read any book."

Captain Blanche saluted sharply. The Duke smiled slightly and said nothing more. The knights left the room at Chaos's command. The Duke had said we would see him off here, so I was left in the parlor.

(Duke, Aristide... please be safe.)

The magic birds that had chased us on the dragon during the day. The thought of a group of berserk magic birds was terrifying. I considered using the cloudy crystal to cause an explosion, but the only one left with magic was the Roiamoodler, which was too powerful and might harm the Duke and the others.

(Ah, waiting is so frustrating.)

That night, I was restless and couldn't sleep well. The next day, the Duke still hadn't returned, and I went to the library at Captain Blanche's suggestion, but I couldn't concentrate. Despite the interesting books and materials, I couldn't focus. I spent the day quietly in the parlor, worrying, while the three from the Blanche squad and the maids they sent over were concerned about me.

Finally, the Duke returned late at night, three days later, having successfully dealt with the Bergenions.

◇

The black Scrimwood fruit was a souvenir the Duke had found for me while hunting magic birds in the Elzenie Great Forest. Lillian was overjoyed, exclaiming, "I want to help and try it!" I was also driven by curiosity, not wanting to be outdone by Lillian. The Duke, who had been working almost non-stop, was currently sleeping in the adjacent Tail room. I asked Chaos to let me work with the Blanche squad while the Duke was sleeping.

"Rue Litt Arnier O Dona Barmieu Stilis Umt La Yenbriol!"

I carefully finished the final spell. Extracting magic from a magic tree was more difficult than from a magic beast. Unlike magic beasts, which have clear weaknesses, magic trees are essentially plants. The only difference is that they absorb magic along with nutrients.

A magic beast dies when its heart stops or its head is severed. In contrast, a magic tree, being a plant, has no heart, organs, or brain. Even if a branch is broken, both the trunk and the broken branch can survive for a while. The clear death of a magic tree is when it withers (or is burned). Extracting magic from a living fruit was a challenging task.

(Still, the magic is so concentrated.)

Trying to extract only the magic while leaving as much of the juice as possible resulted in a sticky, syrupy magic-infused cloudy crystal.

"Princess, are you done?"

Lillian was fixated on the Scrimwood fruit. I had only extracted the magic from the flesh of the fruit. Most fruits concentrate their magic in the seeds. If the fruit was left to sit, the extracted magic might seep back into the flesh from the seeds.

Seeing Lillian fidgeting, eager to try the fruit, I decided to let her cut the Scrimwood fruit.