Chapter 5

Ariel and Roo confidently left the village and searched for Patricia deep in the forest near the cliff.

Such places were teeming with monsters, but it wasn’t a problem. Ariel easily defeated every monster they encountered.

Ariel was diligently applying the lessons learned from the troll incident.

Monster heads must not be damaged. Monster heads are valuable. Damaging them means a loss.

When selling the troll, they couldn’t get a good price because the head was missing.

So Ariel leaped high and struck the monster’s crown with the edge of her hand.

This way, only the brain was shocked, and the body remained intact. No blood was spilled.

This time, Ariel easily defeated three Minotaurs and stored their bodies in her inventory.

Minotaurs were massive monsters, but Ariel’s inventory had no volume or weight limit, so they fit easily.

Watching Ariel, Roo stuck out her tongue in amazement.

This was hardly a battle. It wasn’t even hunting.

It was just a one-sided slaughter.

Monsters that once made her tremble in fear now seemed slightly pitiful.

Whenever Ariel’s afterimage blurred, another monster fell dead.

The monsters didn’t even seem to know what hit them. They just looked confused, tilted their heads, and collapsed.

“Sister… Didn’t you say you were a mage…?”

Of course, Roo knew how Ariel was defeating the monsters.

Ariel leaped high and struck the monster’s crown with the edge of her hand. That was it. She killed them by striking, not with magic.

“But why do you keep… killing them by striking…?”

Ariel’s answer was simple.

“Just because.”

*

Humans often get lost in the forest.

It’s better when it’s bright, but once the sun sets, they have no idea where they are.

To humans, all trees look the same, and grass is just grass.

But fairies are different. As forest dwellers, fairies never get lost in the forest.

They intuitively understand the forest’s layout and can find their way.

So sometimes, when humans get lost in the forest at night, a fairy appears to help.

Just following the glowing fairy allows humans to safely escape the forest. Though, these days, humans are too busy trying to catch fairies, so such incidents are rare.

Anyway, fairies are that familiar with the forest. Even in a forest they’ve never been to, they know where things are and can find them easily.

Thanks to this, Roo found Patricia not long after leaving the village.

“Sister! I found it!”

Patricia was still in the weed stage but looked like it would bloom soon. They could pluck it then.

The location was, as expected, the cliff.

For any other creature, the height was enough to fall and die.

Ariel waited below the cliff on the ground, while Roo fluttered around, waiting for Patricia to bloom.

“Hehe, things are going very smoothly.”

Roo was in a good mood.

The village people had desperately wanted Patricia but couldn’t get it.

Now, she and Ariel had easily obtained it. What a great achievement.

They could show the dignity of the forest-dwelling elves and fairies.

“Oh.”

A faint light emanated from the weed-like Patricia. It was blooming.

“Sister! Now!”

Soon, Patricia bloomed beautifully, spreading its petals.

For a moment, Roo was mesmerized and almost approached but managed to hold back. Approaching wasn’t good.

Patricia emits deadly poison when plucked or broken, but even in its blooming state, it releases a bit of poison.

It’s not enough to kill, but it can cause headaches and dizziness.

Thud.

Ariel kicked off the ground and leaped.

It was a light movement, but Ariel’s body soared hundreds of meters in an instant.

Patricia didn’t need to be searched for; it was already spreading its petals, making its presence known.

Ariel grabbed Patricia’s stem and pulled it out. Instantly, a thick green smoke erupted, engulfing Ariel.

It was a poison mist.

For any other creature, it would have been fatal, but not for Ariel.

Ariel landed on the ground as if nothing had happened, holding Patricia in her hand.

“Wow, success, Sister!”

Roo flew over and clung to Ariel’s face, rubbing against her.

Ariel looked down at the Patricia in her hand.

It was exactly like the picture. They could take this back.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over where Ariel stood.

Looking up, something was rapidly descending from the sky.

A winged monster.

A Wyvern.

In the blink of an eye, the Wyvern slashed at Ariel’s face with its claws.

Ariel wasn’t hurt. Not even a scratch on her face.

“Ahhh!”

But Roo wasn’t so lucky.

Roo, who was clinging to Ariel’s face, was caught by the Wyvern’s claws and dragged away.

“Si-sister! Sisteer!!”

Roo struggled and screamed.

Even as a fairy, Roo had some defensive measures. If a monster tried to eat her, she could flap her wings to release powder.

The most effective was sleep powder.

A monster hit by sleep powder would fall asleep, allowing the fairy to escape.

Normally, Roo would have done that, but now it was impossible.

Being dragged into the sky by the claws, it was hard to release sleep powder on the Wyvern. She couldn’t even move her wings.

Watching Roo being taken, Ariel pondered.

Saving Roo was simple.

Just leap higher than the Wyvern and strike its crown. That’s all.

But then Roo’s earlier words about magic came to mind.

Come to think of it, she had never used magic.

But she was a mage, so maybe she should try it.

Thinking this, Ariel extended her hand.

Though called magic, it was actually a skill.

Ariel had two skills.

Magic Missile and Shield.

Now, she needed to use the offensive skill, Magic Missile.

It was a basic skill, but with infinite intelligence and attack power, she had to control its strength. Just a little weak.

Whoosh!

A blue light shot from Ariel’s hand. The light pierced through the Wyvern’s head like a bullet.

That was it.

The Wyvern scattered feathers as it fell, and Roo, now free, quickly flew back to Ariel.

“Haha, Sister! Thank you! That was so cool!”

Ariel suddenly realized something as she watched the Wyvern fall in the distance.

The way she had been dealing with monsters until now was very inefficient.

There was no need to strike with her hand. She could just use Magic Missile. It was simpler.

Having learned another lesson, Ariel turned and headed back to the village.

They had successfully obtained Patricia, so now all that was left was to deliver it to the village.

*

After Ariel and Roo left to find Patricia, the village chief anxiously waited at the village entrance.

Time was running out.

The chief’s daughter, Daisy, was already frozen except for her heart.

Soon, even her heart would freeze.

The chief’s anxiety made the village atmosphere gloomy. Even the usually lively tavern was quiet today.

“…Maybe they’re not coming back?”

“Patricia is said to be incredibly hard to find.”

“Maybe they just left the village…”

The villagers whispered among themselves.

They were also worried about Daisy, but it was hard to place too much hope on an elf and fairy they had just met. It wouldn’t be strange if Ariel and Roo had left.

“Ah!”

Then, a guard watching the village palisade shouted in surprise.

“Th-they’re coming! No, they’re here!”

At that, the chief quickly looked up, and the villagers also turned their gaze forward.

Something was rapidly approaching from the forest.

An elf with silver hair, running against the sunset.

It was Ariel.

Ariel quickly reached the chief. Despite her fierce speed, her breathing was calm.

Ariel indifferently handed something to the chief, who received it with trembling hands.

What the chief received was the long-desired Patricia.

“Th-thank you…!”

The chief, with a choked voice, immediately turned and ran towards his house.

There was no time to hesitate. He had to feed Daisy the petals of Patricia as soon as possible.

The villagers followed the chief, and Ariel and Roo also headed that way.

People gathered around the chief’s house. Everyone held their breath, hoping Daisy would be safe.

As the sun set, painting the streets crimson, no one made a sound.

Then, after a while.

Creak.

The chief’s house door opened, and someone walked out.

A girl with a slightly pale complexion but a bright smile.

The chief’s daughter, Daisy.

*

That night, a festival was held in Harrington Village.

It was a celebration of Daisy’s recovery. The villagers gathered in the plaza, eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves.

The chief asked Ariel and Roo if they wanted any reward. He was willing to give his entire fortune for saving his daughter.

But what Ariel wanted was simple.

“Cream bread…”

Ariel wanted cream bread.

The chief blinked and looked at Ariel. He thought she might be joking, but Ariel’s expression was serious.

That was all Ariel wanted.

Money? She still had money from selling the troll’s body, and her inventory was full of monster corpses.

“Hmm… Are you really sure that’s all…?”

The chief hesitated. Giving cream bread as a reward to the savior of his daughter’s life didn’t sit well with him.

“Hey, old human! What do you think of our sister!”

Then Roo shouted angrily. Roo, who had been drinking fruit wine, was completely drunk, her face flushed red.

“Our sister is not greedy like you humans… Don’t insult our sister’s pure heart…!”

Roo staggered and collapsed onto the table. She didn’t move. She had fallen asleep from drunkenness.

Though Roo had just blurted out drunken words, the chief felt deeply enlightened.

The pure hearts of the forest-dwelling elves and fairies!

He hadn’t realized it. He had only thought in human terms.

Elves and fairies are not greedy like humans. No matter how much money you give them, they won’t be happy. Money holds no meaning for them.

They didn’t want a reward. They had simply helped out of pure kindness.

Misunderstanding that heart… The chief reflected. And he bowed respectfully to Ariel and Roo once more.

“I’m sorry. I won’t mention rewards anymore… Instead, I will cherish your kindness for the rest of my life… Thank you so much…”

The chief, with reddened eyes, quickly turned away. It was embarrassing for an old man to shed tears in front of others.

Watching the chief’s retreating figure, Ariel muttered softly.

“I said I wanted cream bread…”