“This is as far as we came last time. We turned back here.”
Near the summit, I checked the familiar ground. I couldn’t see those footprints anymore, but I knew this was the place. I remembered it clearly. I’d never forget how terrified I’d felt. I hadn’t reacted fast enough when Old Badger had told us to get down. I’d trembled at the sight of the goblin tracks. That warrior had gotten so angry at Old Badger that he’d reached for the hilt of his sword. I’d had no idea how things would turn out back then. Even now, I could picture all of it in vivid detail.
“S-So you came all the way...here and then turned back? H-He must’ve been...a very cautious leader.” Liluetta slumped to the ground, breathing heavily.
Hearing Old Badger praised like that made me kind of happy. But still, I had to admit that I’d gotten ahead of myself. After hearing Liluetta say she might be able to find the spot, I’d picked up the pace and gone way too fast. That was on me.
“Are you really sure...that there’s a spot around here...with valuable herbs?” Yune asked, panting.
I had the same question in mind as I let out a deep breath and wiped off some sweat with my sleeve. Even I was starting to feel exhausted after coming this far. Climbing a mountain was no easy feat. Maybe it felt even more tiring now that I knew this was actually a mountain, not a hill. Or maybe it was the extra effort of keeping pace with the other two.
“Do you want to rest for a bit?” I asked.
“No, I’ll start right away,” Liluetta replied.
I could tell Liluetta was worn out, but she wasted no time getting to work. Picking up a long stick from the ground, she carefully traced a large circle in the dirt. It was big enough for her to stand inside it with her arms outstretched. Within that, she drew a second, smaller circle. At the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—she added intricate symbols.
Oh, I recognize this. I’ve seen it in books.
“Is that a magic circle?” I asked.
“Technically, it’s a magia circle,” she corrected.
I had no idea what the difference was, but judging by her serious expression, it must’ve been important. I decided not to push her any further. She continued adding more symbols and letters that I couldn’t read, meticulously inscribing every detail. Once she was finished, she stepped outside the circle and stretched her arms out as far as they would go. Then, she planted the stick firmly at the center of the double-ringed design.
Liluetta closed her eyes. Slowly, she inhaled and exhaled, focusing and steadying her breath. She murmured words too quiet and indistinct for me to make out, but I could tell she was casting a spell—a chant in an ancient, forgotten tongue, said to hold great power.
Her small, pale hands withdrew from the stick. A moment later, it fell to the ground with a soft thud.
“That way.” Liluetta pointed in the direction the stick had fallen.
“Um...” Wait, that’s it? I thought. Shouldn’t there be some kind of flash of light, a sound, or something mysterious happening? All she did was let a stick fall over, right?
“What’s with that look?” Liluetta asked me.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your eyes are saying it!”
Wow, my eyes sure are expressive...
“Ugh, just watch!” Liluetta puffed out her cheeks in frustration, picked up the stick, and placed it at the center of the double circle once again. She chanted the spell, and this time it felt a tiny bit different. She removed her hand from the stick.
“Huh?” I couldn’t contain my surprise. The stick had lost its support, but it didn’t fall. It stayed standing upright on its own.
The stick wasn’t stuck in the ground or anything. It didn’t even seem all that well-balanced, so it really should’ve toppled over as soon as Liluetta had let go. But it stood there, perfectly and unnaturally still, without a single wobble.
“I’ve set the search area here. Right now, the stick is unable to point anywhere, so it’s staying in place,” she explained, but the words barely registered. I was too mesmerized by the strange phenomenon happening right in front of me. This wasn’t the first time I had seen a spell, but I’d never had the chance to watch one this closely.
“Changing search target. Where is Kiri?” Liluetta spoke, then repeated her chant. The moment she did, the stick tilted. With another soft thud, it fell to the ground with its tip pointing right at me.
She had just searched for me with a spell. I had no idea how it worked—it had to be a mystery beyond explanation. But this proved that magic could locate things.
“This is a detection spell,” said Liluetta. “It’s the most basic form, so it only shows the direction. But that should be enough as long as what we’re looking for is nearby, right?”
Magic.
I’d seen it before—flames appearing at the tip of a spear, wounds healing instantly—but I never imagined it could be used to find things too.
“The first time, I searched for a place with a high concentration of magical energy. If it’s called a mana pool, that must mean magic is densely gathered there, right?” Liluetta waited for my answer.
“I think so.” I didn’t know the details, but I did know that “mana” was something like magical energy. So, a mana pool must be a place where magic accumulates. “Being able to cast magic spells like that is really amazing,” I added.
Liluetta corrected me again. “It’s magia,” she said. “People use words like ‘magic’ and ‘spellcasting’ to describe what we do, but the proper term is magia.”
She was really particular about that. I still didn’t get the difference, but it was probably important.
“So with, um, magia, we can actually find the mana pool...” I trailed off.
“Never mind that, sonny. Back to yer map. I’m gonna show ya where to find the mana pools where you can go pickin’.”
I still remembered all the places Old Badger had pointed out on that rainy day. But the map he’d used was old and vague, and he’d only said something like, “Somewhere ’round here.” I’d never actually been to any of them.
“What are you doing?” Liluetta asked. “Let’s go.”
“Are you okay, Kiri-o? Did you get tired too?” Yune added.
Liluetta and Yune were so close that I flinched and took a step back in surprise. They peered at me with strange, puzzled looks, like I was some kind of odd specimen, and that snapped me out of it.
Shoot, I was lost in thought. That’s not good. I can think about all that later—right now, we’re in the middle of an adventure.
“S-Sorry, it’s nothing. Let’s go.” Shaking off my distractions, I took the lead and started heading in the direction where the detection spell had pointed.
I couldn’t do much right now. I lacked knowledge, skill, and experience. I wasn’t even old enough. In other words, there was hardly anything I could do for Liluetta and Yune. So, for now, I decided to follow in his footsteps. One by one, I would recall the lessons my adventurer mentor, Old Badger, had taught me, then pass them on as best I could. I would guide these two girls through the places he once led me, until they found another party to join. That felt like the best way to honor Old Badger’s memory.
After walking a good distance from the first spot where the staff had fallen, Liluetta used the search spell again. Then we walked even farther, she cast the spell once more, and we continued on.
Mountain paths were never straightforward. Obstacles and steep terrain forced us to take detours. Even if we knew the general direction of our destination, we had to be careful not to stray off course. Casting the spell three times had been the right choice. If we’d only relied on the first attempt, we never would’ve made it this far.
“Are we really going in there?” Yune’s weary complaint was understandable. The direction indicated by the search spell led us into a dense part of the forest where trees grew with branches intertwining and vines draping down like curtains. A dark, suffocating overgrowth loomed ahead, like it was warning us to stay away.
But still...
“Yeah, this is the place,” I muttered, and I knew I was right.
Somehow, it felt the same as before. The area near the mana pool Old Badger had shown me had already been cleared of branches, so it’d been easier to walk through, but otherwise the greenery had been incredibly thick there too. The air even felt the same. This place was just like that one.
“Let’s go. My detection spell pointed us here. There has to be something,” Liluetta declared, standing firm after a slight hesitation. She was the one who had cast the spell, after all. The spell had led us here, so we were definitely close to a place where magic was concentrated.
“I’ll try to pick the easiest path for us. Just follow me.” Gripping my spear, I took the lead and started pushing through the dense undergrowth and thick foliage. Without a kukri like Old Badger’s, I had to break small branches with my hands and search for gaps we could pass through. I used those broken twigs to clear away spiderwebs as we moved.
Liluetta looked like she was about to cry every time her fluttery skirt got caught, but with Yune and me encouraging her, she managed to keep going.
Then I started to feel something on my skin—something warm and comforting, almost like a slow, gentle surge of energy. And then, a scent I recognized tickled my nose.
“Ah, we found it.” The words slipped out of my mouth. I was just so thrilled we actually made it here.
“Wow,” Liluetta murmured in awe, her cherry-red hair rustling in the breeze.
“It’s beautiful...” Yune whispered, brushing her wavy, chestnut-colored hair aside. She was at a loss for words after that.
Just like the other mana pool, the breathtaking sight in front of us was like something that came straight out of a fairy tale. The trees completely gave way to a vast expanse of purple blooms that seemed to be under the protection of the surrounding terrain. None of the flowers had been trampled—in fact, there were no signs of anyone having disturbed this place.
It was so beautiful that it felt almost unreal. Maybe it really wasn’t part of this world. Perhaps this scenery could only exist in a place like a mana pool, somewhere beyond the ordinary. Maybe this was actually a fragment of another world overlapping with our own.
“Lucky us. There’s still some left to harvest.” I knelt down to examine the flowers and let out a sigh of relief. And then, without even thinking, I smiled and said, “Thank you, Liluetta. We only made it here because of you.”
“Huh?” Liluetta blurted.
Her surprised expression was too funny, and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.