“As for its special properties, it can help ease fatigue, nerve pain, skin diseases, cuts, stiff shoulders, and joint pain.”
Madeleine and Parfeil applauded after I had finished listing the water’s properties. There was no mistaking it—the spring’s water was high-quality.
“Also, apparently it has some purification effects.”
“Millefie, by ‘purification,’ do you mean the ability to dispel brainwashing and hypnotic magic?” Madeleine asked.
“Yes, that’s what it says.”
I recalled having learned about that at the magic academy. Perhaps the water had been blessed by spirits. A hot spring with purification effects was quite a rare find indeed.
“Oh, how about we make some lotion using the hot spring’s waters?” I suggested.
“Millefie, that’s a great idea!”
Lotion would make for a great item to buy after a hot springs trip. You could use it yourself or give it to a friend as a souvenir.
“But just using the hot spring water to make the lotion might be ineffective.”
“Why is that?”
“Just being in the hot springs already makes your skin smooth, right? People might say that since they’ve already bathed in the spring water, they won’t need the lotion,” I explained.
“Oh, that’s a good point.”
We would need something other than the beautifying hot spring water to make the lotion a more attractive purchase.
“We could make the container out of perlite... But we’re not allowed to take perlite, so we can’t do that.”
“But making an attractive vessel might be a good idea in itself,” Madeleine said.
However, just making its container attractive still wasn’t enough. We needed it to be something unique to Diamant.
I was trying to think some more, arms crossed, when a white squirrel that had been clinging to my back jumped right in front of me. It squeaked as it raised its hand, seemingly saying that it had an idea.
“Oh? So you’re saying that there’s a kind of flower that’s unique to Diamant that grows in the middle of the forest? And it has a skin-brightening effect?”
“Squeak!” said the squirrel.
“That’s it!!!”
Apparently, the flower was called a “snow jewel.” They were rare flowers that bloomed in the snow and could only be found growing in Diamant. A lotion made from hot spring water and mixed with the brightening substance within the snow jewel flowers would be an item completely unique to Diamant.
“It’ll be dangerous for us to head into the forest, so I’ll ask Van to do it for us.”
I contacted Van through the water mirror once more. Somehow, he was still in the bath.
“Mille-Feuille, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Did something happen?”
“No, I just had a request for you. Also, why are you still in the bath?”
It had already been an hour since I had last contacted Van. I couldn’t believe that he was still soaking.
“My skin tends to get puffy right after I transform into a dragon. I’m trying to get rid of that by soaking in the bath.”
“I see.” I then told Van about the snow jewels. Van seemed to take great interest in them as he nodded intently while listening to me talk.
“All right. Let’s look for this flower tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
With that, our work for today was finished. Madeleine said her thanks, and we ended today’s gathering.
That night, Van visited me on the balcony in his dragon form. Right now, he was about medium-sized. I opened the glass door and asked him what was going on.
“Mille-Feuille, I asked Marquis de Noisette about the snow jewels, and apparently they’re very difficult to find in the daytime since they blend in with the snow. We should look for them at night since they have a faint glow. We can go now.”
“Okay. I’ll put on my coat.”
The coat I’d had custom-made from Diamant had just arrived earlier today. It was made using fur from beasts caught in this region, which meant it was completely resistant to the cold. I put on a gown over my sleeping garment and pulled the coat on over that.
“Parfeil, I’m heading out.”
“Stay safe, milady,” Parfeil said, though she looked dissatisfied, possibly because she wasn’t coming with us. She glanced at the white squirrels squeezing themselves into my pockets and sleeves and muttered to herself, “If only I were that small too...”
I waved goodbye to her and climbed onto Van’s back. He flapped his gigantic wings and we flew off into the night.
The deep blue night sky was dotted with stars twinkling like diamonds scattered all over. What a gorgeous evening sky, I thought. It was a thousand times more beautiful than it looked from the ground.
“Mille-Feuille, are you cold?”
“I’m fine. Van, look at the stars in the sky. It’s almost like I could grab one.”
“You’re right,” Van said. He apparently had never paid attention to the sky until now. That sounded like such a waste, considering he could fly like this. “I had been living without paying attention to the beautiful things all around me. Mille-Feuille, thanks to you, I’ve finally freed some space in my heart to do so.”
“That’s good to hear,” I said.
I sincerely hoped that nothing else would trouble Van anymore and that he would live a life that was happy and peaceful every day. I hoped that even more strongly than I would otherwise, considering what had happened in my past life.
“Van, I hope you live for a long, long time.”
“As do I. I dream of being surrounded every day by my great-grandchildren and my great-great-grandchildren.”
After flying for a while, we finally reached the forest. I had thought that it would be covered in complete darkness now, but small lights dotted the forest landscape like the stars in the sky. They weren’t just in a small portion of the forest either—the entire forest was glowing. It was as if I were seeing the starry night sky itself on the ground. The wonderful scene took my breath away.
“Van, are all of those snow jewels?”
“Looks like it.”
“It’s gorgeous. It’s like I slipped into a dream,” I muttered.
“You’re right.”
Van, who had been talking this entire time, went quiet and took in the overwhelming beauty of the forest.
“Mille-Feuille, I’m going to land,” Van said.
“Okay.”
Van was careful not to make me uncomfortable as we descended. We got closer and closer to the flowers below.
Our landing was soft, like a feather falling to the ground. Once I confirmed that our surroundings were safe, I alighted.
A snow jewel was blooming right next to me. I got excited seeing the flower glowing brightly before me.
“Van, look! The flowers really are glowing!”
“This is amazing.”
“It really is...”