Chapter 4

“Kya! This is it!”

Roo emptied her cup and shouted.

The cup in Roo’s hand was very small. It was a cup she had brought with her when she left the Fairy Village, specifically designed for fairies.

Roo filled the cup with fruit wine once again. She had already had several cups, but the bottle of fruit wine showed no signs of running out. After all, since it was being consumed by a fairy, only a tiny amount was being used.

“This fruit wine is really to my liking.”

The fruit wine Roo was drinking was the most expensive wine in Harrington Village. Although Ariel would be paying for it, it wasn’t much of a burden. The money they received from selling the troll corpse was more than expected.

After selling the troll corpse, Ariel and Roo had come to eat.

The location was the inn run by Kanna’s parents.

It was said that there was only one inn in Harrington Village.

Ariel and Roo decided to have their meals and stay the night at this inn. They weren’t particularly tired, but since they were in the village, it wouldn’t hurt to relax and stay for a day.

The inn was bustling with people. Everyone glanced curiously at Ariel and Roo. To the villagers, an elf and a fairy were quite unfamiliar sights.

“Why are they staring like that?”

Roo grumbled discontentedly, but Ariel didn’t react much. Ariel was naturally simple-minded and didn’t care about people’s gazes.

Besides, Ariel was busy focusing on the bread placed on the table.

The bread on the round plate.

Perfectly baked, steam rising, and emitting a fragrant aroma.

It was the bread Kanna had recommended. It had cream inside, and just imagining the taste made Ariel’s heart race.

Ariel grabbed the bread and took a big bite.

“!”

Ariel’s eyelids fluttered.

The soft, sweet cream melted in her mouth.

It was a taste of pure bliss.

Ariel devoured the cream bread in a hurry. Cream smeared around her mouth, but she didn’t notice. The bread was that delicious.

“Big sis…”

Roo sighed softly, brought a tissue, and wiped Ariel’s mouth. Then she handed Ariel a glass of milk.

Ariel took the glass and gulped down the milk. Roo watched with a proud expression.

After all, she’s still a kid, eating bread and milk so deliciously, Roo thought as she sipped her fruit wine. Her face was already flushed red.

After finishing the cream bread and emptying the milk, Ariel felt a slight regret. She wanted to eat more, but her stomach was already full.

“Excuse me…”

At that moment, someone approached and spoke. Both Ariel and Roo turned to look.

Standing beside them was an old man with white hair.

“What do you want, old human!”

Roo shouted warily, and the old man bowed politely.

“I am the village chief of this village… I heard that esteemed guests had arrived and came to greet you.”

“Hmm.”

Roo puffed up slightly at the village chief’s words.

Being called esteemed guests clearly referred to Ariel and Roo.

The village chief was the highest-ranking person in the village, and for him to come personally to greet them, it was only natural for Roo to feel proud.

Roo crossed her arms arrogantly.

“So, you’re the village chief of this village?”

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t be so nervous. My big sis and I are just planning to stay quietly for a day and then leave.”

“I-I see. But…”

The village chief hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Before that, could I make one request?”

*

The village chief’s request was to find a flower called Patricia. Patricia was extremely rare and hard to find.

There was no information on where Patricia grew, and no one sold it.

Even Lloyd, a merchant who traveled between cities, had tried to find Patricia but failed. It wasn’t about the price; the flower simply wasn’t available.

“But since you are an elf and a fairy, perhaps you could find Patricia…”

The village chief bowed with a desperate expression.

“Please… You are our last hope…”

“Why do you need Patricia?”

Roo asked, and the village chief explained the situation.

“It’s to cure my daughter Daisy’s illness. Daisy has contracted the ‘Freezing Disease,’ and only by eating Patricia’s petals can she be cured.”

“Freezing Disease?”

Roo tilted her head. She had never heard of such a disease.

The village chief forced a bitter smile.

“You might not have heard of it. It’s as rare as Patricia… Those who contract it start freezing from their limbs until their entire body freezes, leading to death.”

The village chief’s daughter, Daisy, was currently frozen except for her heart. She couldn’t move and had no consciousness. If this continued, she would soon die.

“We even brought a priest from the city and tried high-grade potions with strong healing effects, but they didn’t help much. They only slowed the symptoms. To fully recover, we need Patricia…”

Tears streamed down the village chief’s cheeks.

“I’m an old man with not many days left, so I have no regrets… But I want to give Daisy a chance to live. If you can find Patricia, I will give you all my wealth. So please, I beg you…”

It wasn’t just the village chief. The villagers had also gathered around, bowing to Ariel and Roo.

“Please, Elf, Fairy.”

“Daisy is a kind and lovely child. Please save her. She can’t die like this.”

At this point, even Roo couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

Roo glanced at Ariel. Ultimately, the decision was up to Ariel.

But…

“Big sis…?”

Ariel was holding the glass, her eyes closed. Her head tilted slightly, and her shoulders rose and fell rhythmically.

Along with soft breathing sounds.

“……”

Ariel had fallen asleep.

*

Ariel had been feeling drowsy since the village chief greeted them.

After eating the cream bread and milk, her stomach was full, and she gradually felt her strength drain away. Her eyes kept closing.

It was a food coma.

Ariel had suffered from food comas even before being transported into the game. The symptoms were so severe that she had to take medication after lunch. Otherwise, she couldn’t function in the afternoon.

But who knew it would apply even after being transported into the game? Was it a mental illness? Or just a habit?

Regardless, Ariel had fallen asleep while listening to the village chief’s story, and after an hour, Roo finally woke her up.

“Big sis…”

Gently tapping Ariel’s cheek, Roo’s touch made Ariel open her eyes groggily. The glass she had been holding had long been taken by Roo and placed on the table.

Ariel sat up straight, pretending she hadn’t been asleep. But it was too late.

The village chief and villagers, who had been at a loss seeing Ariel asleep, had been waiting outside the inn for an hour.

Roo sighed softly and explained the situation to Ariel.

It was the same story the village chief had told earlier.

After quickly finishing the explanation, Roo shrugged.

“You were asleep, so you didn’t see it, but the villagers swarmed in… It was so overwhelming. I may look tough, but I’m a soft-hearted fairy. Anyway, big sis, what should we do? Should we accept the village chief’s request? I don’t really care about humans, but… he did offer all his wealth. I don’t know exactly what kind of flower Patricia is, but as a fairy, finding it would be a piece of cake.”

No race was more knowledgeable about flowers than fairies. Even if the name was different, Patricia was surely a flower Roo knew.

“And well, thinking about it, it’s a bit pitiful… Seeing how the whole village wants to save her, the village chief’s daughter must be a kind-hearted child.”

Roo wanted to accept the village chief’s request if possible. She wasn’t the type to easily refuse requests.

Roo asked Ariel with a slightly pleading tone.

“Should we find that flower?”

“Okay.”

Ariel agreed immediately. After all, their goal was adventure.

Finding Patricia would also be part of the adventure.

Helping someone in trouble during an adventure and receiving a reward was a no-brainer.

*

Ariel and Roo left the inn and met the village chief again. When Roo confidently said they would find Patricia, the village chief and villagers bowed respectfully.

“Thank you so much, Fairy!”

“Thank you!”

Roo’s cheeks turned red as she coughed awkwardly.

“Ahem, ahem, you should thank my big sis. If she hadn’t agreed, I wouldn’t have moved.”

“Thank you so much, Elf!”

The villagers bowed to Ariel again. Ariel nodded slightly.

Roo spoke to the village chief.

“By the way, I’d like to know more about Patricia’s appearance. Just saying the human name Patricia doesn’t help me much.”

“Ah, yes. Let me show you.”

The village chief took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

It was a drawing of a flower.

The petals were detailed, and the colors were filled in.

Roo examined the drawing closely, then her expression darkened slightly.

The village chief asked worriedly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Is this flower called Patricia?”

“Yes… Is it not?”

“At least, we fairies don’t call it that.”

“Then…”

“We call it something else.”

Roo continued with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

“This is the Corpse Flower.”

Silence fell around them.

The flower in the drawing was incredibly beautiful. It didn’t match the name “Corpse Flower” at all.

“Indeed, if it’s the Corpse Flower, it’s not easy to find…”

Roo muttered with a serious face. She wasn’t her usual playful self.

“The Corpse Flower only blooms on cliffs. If that were the only issue, it wouldn’t be a problem. I could just fly over and pluck it. The problem is the blooming period. The Corpse Flower usually exists in a weed-like form and suddenly blooms at a certain moment.”

Roo pointed at the drawing in the village chief’s hand.

“It blooms beautifully like this… but it only stays like that for three minutes. After three minutes, it withers immediately.”

In summary, Patricia only grew on cliffs, had an unpredictable blooming period, and only lasted for three minutes.

No wonder it was rare.

“Hmm…”

The village chief and villagers’ faces darkened.

Even a fairy, knowledgeable about flowers, said it was hard to find. It felt like their last hope had vanished.

As if to lighten the mood, Roo clapped her hands.

“Well, don’t be too disappointed. It’s difficult, but not impossible. We fairies can intuitively sense when a flower is about to bloom. Of course, the same goes for the Corpse Flower. If I fly around the cliffs and observe, I’ll find a Corpse Flower about to bloom. It’s a hassle, but that part is simple. The problem is…”

Why the beautiful Patricia was called the Corpse Flower among fairies.

That was the real issue.

“The Corpse Flower emits a deadly poison the moment it’s plucked. It’s so lethal that even a troll would die instantly. If you’re captivated by its beauty and pluck it, you’ll die on the spot. A properly educated fairy would never touch a Corpse Flower… but there are many uneducated fairies in the world.”

Countless fairies had died trying to pluck the Corpse Flower.

Thus, where the Corpse Flower bloomed, there were also many fairy corpses.

That was why it was called the Corpse Flower.

“But it’s okay. We have my big sis. My big sis can pluck the Corpse Flower without any problem. She may look delicate, but she’s the one who took down a troll with her bare hands.”

“Ooh…”

The village chief and villagers’ faces began to brighten.

Roo, feeling a bit excited, flew up into the air and shouted.

“Just wait. My big sis and I will find Patricia by today. We’ll definitely save the village chief’s daughter!”

“Wow!”

The villagers cheered loudly at Roo’s words.