Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
It’s clear that the arrangement of the flowerbed has changed. However, Luke didn’t want to make an issue out of it.
As long as he could secure mana grass, he had little reason to care about how the flowerbed was formed.
Yet, Luke did not like the arrangement.
The flowerbed filled with vividly colored mana grass still looked beautiful, but it was only beautiful to the eye.
Originally, the arrangement Luke had planted was designed to ensure the smooth supply of nutrients among the mana grasses, so he had to change the arrangement that disregarded that design.
And thankfully, Kirke, Daphne, and Sorbi rolled up their sleeves to help with the task.
Luke approached with a satisfied smile at how quickly the work had finished.
“With all of you pitching in, it was done in no time. Thank you.”
“What? This is nothing!”
“I’ll help anytime you ask, just let me know.”
“Right! When the sisters are helping, it goes fast.”
“Indeed. You’re all quite skilled. Have any of you done this before?”
“Ah… haha! It’s just that I’ve been a Forest Keeper for so long…,” Daphne said.
“Exactly! We work in the forest every day,” Sorbi chimed in.
Nod, nod.
Kirke just nodded her head.
Luke didn’t understand why they were reacting so strangely.
Still, he chuckled and replied to them.
“But you don’t have to do that every time. It’s all my enjoyment as well.”
Taking care of the flowerbed was one of Luke’s few hobbies apart from magic and research.
Cultivating mana grass was essential for making potions, so he ended up finding it fun.
And since awakening in this era, Luke had come to enjoy gardening even more.
Back then, the technology to handle mana grass was underdeveloped, and many types of mana grass were difficult to grow. Interestingly, handling those challenging varieties turned out to be quite fun.
Still, sometimes he felt that doing something together with everyone wasn’t so bad.
Unlike the past when he could do almost everything alone in the Material Plane, he didn’t feel omnipotent now.
With the inability to manipulate time and space, climate, or even teleport, there were tasks that required pure labor.
“But I might still ask for help occasionally. When the seasons change, I’ll need to rearrange again.”
At Luke’s words, the other Forest Keepers quickly responded.
“Sure! Anytime!”
“That’s a good idea, a different flowerbed for each season. Well, summer mana grasses tend to be particularly beautiful.”
“Right, right.”
Mana is the energy of life.
Thus, summer, when vitality is most active, is precisely when the forest’s mana surges the most.
There were many types of mana grass that could only be cultivated during that time.
Thinking about where to plant new mana grass filled him with anticipation.
In particular, he wanted to grow Demiright.
Demiright is a type of mana grass known as “the Eye of God,” which bears turquoise bell-like flowers.
The reason it is called the Eye of God is that it only blooms two flowers at very high altitudes.
As if a god were looking down at the earth with two eyes.
The honey that falls from that flower was called “the Tear of God,” and in the past, it was a highly valuable magical material.
Long ago, it was abandoned because it was less efficient to cultivate than to gather, but it seems that modern mages have managed to breed it so it can be cultivated even at lower altitudes.
However, there seems to be a hint that the improved variety cannot yield honey, piquing his curiosity.
What could the reason be, and how can the issue be resolved? It seems quite intriguing.
In an age where the gods have vanished, making them weep.
It’s truly paradoxical and oddly pleasing.
While Luke was smiling to himself, Sorbi muttered with a hint of regret.
“But what about these flowers?”
Sorbi’s gaze was directed at the flowers he couldn’t dare plant, those mana grasses that couldn’t be arranged in a way that wouldn’t hinder the growth of the other types.
“Um….”
Suddenly, Luke had a decent idea.
It may not be much, but it should be enough to create something.
——
A little later, he headed out to meet Yerna, who was returning from her patrol.
After waiting a moment, he soon spotted Yerna walking towards him, hands behind her back. Luke approached her with a quicker stride to greet her.
Splosh, splosh. The ground, still damp from the rain that had ended a few hours ago, was muddy enough that he could have slipped. Yet, Luke lengthened his strides and walked carefully.
Ultimately avoiding a fall, he smiled at Luke and gently ruffled his hair.
Today, Luke’s hair was particularly nice.
Having indulged his impulses often enough to ruffle Luke’s hair, it seemed Yerna had grown used to doing so, as she looked down at him without any sign of displeasure and said.
“Yerna, welcome back! Was everything alright?”
“Yeah, nothing unusual. What about you, Luke? Everything fine?”
“Of course. What could possibly happen to me, who was just tending to the flowerbed?”
“Really?
A brief silence ensued, and then they both spoke simultaneously.
“Yerna, I have something for you.”
“Luke, I have a gift for you.”
They paused, realizing how identical their words were, and simultaneously stopped talking.
Then almost at once, they both burst into laughter.
“It’s quite a coincidence that both of you have gifts for each other.”
“Right? It’s a pretty amusing coincidence.”
As she said this, Yerna pulled out the object she had hidden behind her back.
It was none other than a floral crown.
Seeing Luke tidying up the flowerbed made her think it would be nice to make him a crown, and it seemed Luke had a similarly whimsical thought.
Yerna smiled as she looked at the small flower ring that Luke was holding.
“It seems we both had similar ideas. What a coincidence.”
Yerna placed the floral crown she made atop Luke’s head.
Perhaps because she had spent so long ruffling his hair and measuring its size, it fit perfectly.
“It suits you well; it’s really beautiful.”
Luke’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he chuckled wryly.
“Haha… this is… a bit surprising.”
He hadn’t expected Yerna would also come up with something floral.
Especially a crown. Luke didn’t like crowns that much.
Not merely because he didn’t like being adorned.
It was a memory from long ago.
One day, Renie had made a floral crown.
He thought it was quite pretty at the time.
It probably was pretty.
Although he was not the one who wore the stunning crown.
That beautiful crown didn’t suit Kail Propston’s head, and he remembered teasing him with laughter for a while.
At that time, he had lived as a mage, so he might not have fully understood those feelings, but perhaps he was a little envious then.
Just enough to slightly disrupt the Circle.
Yet, as long as it made her happy, it didn’t concern him.
So, Kail. He didn’t want to let you die…
Later, when a statue honoring Kail was erected, and sometimes adorned with a crown made by someone unknown, it filled him with an uncomfortable sense of oppression and made him dislike crowns.
To Luke, it had become like an artifact that evoked unpleasant feelings.
A waste of useless resources, unnecessary adornment, meaningless effort.
Thus, he had ignored and suppressed the memories and feelings linked to it.
But now that the floral crown was placed atop his head, it strangely felt warm, making him not want to take it off.
Perhaps there was something magical about that crown, he thought…
“Were you feeling like this, Kail?”
You must have been very happy to receive something like this from Renie.
Slowly relaxing his previously frozen expression, Luke finally smiled and said.
“Then, it’s my turn now, Yerna. Hand.”
Now that he had been crowned, he was ready to put the ring on her finger. His tone sounded oddly like a noble proposing, which was quite endearing.
So, Yerna playfully extended her hand with a hint of elegance.
Then, as Luke carefully slipped the ring onto her finger, he said.
“The flower language of the Refen’tes flower symbolizes memory. Today, yesterday, and long ago….”
Luke infused a bit of mana into the ring and activated the pre-prepared enchantment.
The enchantment was designed to help one accept memories positively.
It was magic that allowed bad memories to remain just memories and good ones to turn into cherished recollections.
He hoped today’s memories would overshadow the ones that had troubled Yerna for so long.
“The wonders of infusing emotions into magic are quite remarkable, aren’t they?”
He had previously thought magic should be detached from emotions.
After meeting Py, hearing the stories of Shirud’s grandfather Sorid, and being close with many children and people, he realized many feelings he hadn’t noticed before.
It was intriguing to discover that a mage could be this emotional.
However, he didn’t think it was a terrible thing.
Couldn’t a magician be this emotional to this extent?
Even if the Circle tried to obstruct it, emotions must hold some value, after all.
Of course, he shouldn’t be as sentimental as Shirud.
“I hope you wear it on your finger today. For me, and for you.”
As Luke finished speaking with a smile, Yerna merely smiled back.
“Sure, I’ll keep it on as long as you don’t take off your crown.”
“Thank you, Yerna. I will do the same.”
Luke looked up slightly at the darkening sky.
Then, with a bright smile, he said.
“Yerna, shall we take a short evening walk?”
This time, his expression was not merely cute, but rather grown-up.
Could it be that he had matured again?
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Yerna stood up and took Luke’s hand.
As they walked along the forest path, Yerna thought to herself.
If Luke were a boy, it might be a big deal for her.
“Yerna, by the way, are there still fireflies in the forest?”
“Luke, you want to see fireflies? Then let’s go!”
