Buhiik Buhiik Buhiik

  A little boar roamed the forest, passing uhe green opy and over the lively bdes of grass. It snorted and snorted, nodding its head up and down as it followed the sweet st of its favorite berries.

  Plump, pink, and juicy, the berries were. A delighted expression bloomed across the little boar's face as it buried its fa the bushes, mung its time away, listening to the peaceful symphony of the tranquil forest.

  "Waah～! There's so many! And more here too! And here! Oh! Another one!" ［Yuna］

  Well, it was tranquil until a certain silver-haired elf came prang around, running from pce to pce as she collected herbs and fruits with sparkling eyes, extremely excited like a hyperactive kid who had bee loose in the park.

  "L-Lady Yuna! Please wait! You're too fast!" ［Marika］

  "Yuna, watch your steps. You might trip with how fast yoing." ［Grey］

  Following behind su eic person were her than Grey and Marika. Both had worried expressions on their faces, for entirely different reasons. The tter one, sounding more like an overprotective father than a ed boyfriend.

  The sun had already reached its Zenith, and now, it's slowly desding from the sky. After visiting Lobo vilge, Marika ihe two in the forest to pid collee fruits and herbs they could use.

  And as one would expect from Yuna, the overexcited alchemy maniac, the moment she got permission te from the forest, she quickly dashed her way through, only leaving trails of dust behind. It was only then that Marika realized her mistake.

  If it wasn't for the fact that Yuna quickly got distracted by ead every pnt life she saw, she would have already arrived at the e of the forest long ago. Marika would have had no catg up to her. She was simply too nimble and fast on her feet.

  "Huff... Hufff... La... Lady Yuna... Huff..." ［Marika］

  In addition to that, Marika was just a normal person. After chasing the ever so excited Yuna around for several minutes, it was only to be expected that she got exhausted, trying to grasp her breath as her feet stopped moving.

  "Are you alright, Marika? You just rest, you know?" ［Grey］

  "A-Ah... Yes... Huff... But Lady Yuna.... Huff..." ［Marika］

  "Don't worry about her. I'll watch over her, so you take a rest." ［Grey］

  Hearing Grey's words, Marika could only feel relief flood her chest. She quickly sat down on the soft, green grass, finally able to take a breath of the fresh and fragrant air. There really was no pce much more perfect for rexation than the forest.

  Well, even if Marika could finally rex, the same couldn't be said frey. If before, all he o look after was the clumsy Marika, now, he also o look after his hyperactive girlfriend, making sure she won't go overboard. In simpler terms, he was babysitting once again.

  If it wasn't for his "Eyes of Heaven", he would have had to follow the excited Yuna around wherever she goes. Though he was a little a first, now, he couldn't help but thank God fiving him such cheat abilities.

  "Still, this forest sure is beautiful, huh... To think so many kinds of pnts and fungi are present here. How do I say this... It's quite iing..." ［Grey］

  "Hm? Is that also not the case in other forests, Lrey?" ［Marika］

  "Well, sure, they're also beautiful, but they're not as diverse as the one here in Ti. Maybe, about a third of this...?" ［Grey］

  Said Grey, ending his statement with a tilt of his head. Though it was just a simple and rough estimate, he wasn't wrong. Despite the diversity of animals remaining about the same, there really were more kinds of flora in Ti.

  Well, it wasn't only pnt life. The ke from before was also quite amazing, able to tain even a coral reef and much more life thahe sea from Lista. It was also the reason why the innd vilges weren't very affected by the appearance of the Leviathan.

  Lastly, trary to the diversity and quantity of pnt and aquatic life, monsters could barely be seen. From yesterday sihey arrived, Grey has yet to enter one in the forest, not even a single slime oblin.

  The mrey thought of it, the more mysterious and iing the archipego became. If there wasn't the threat of the Leviathan, he would have already gone ahead with Yuna and iigated by themselves. It truly is a shame.

  "Hmm... The outside world, huh... I wonder what it looks like..." ［Marika］

  But just as Grey was ied in Ti, Marika was also ied about the outside world she never knew of until yesterday. She was a naturally curious child, uo help but daydream what it's like over the horizon.

  "Then, should we take you outside sometime?" ［Grey］

  "R-Really?! Would that be okay?!" ［Marika］

  "Yeah. I don't see why not. It shouldn't be too much of a problem. As you as we get the Great Chief's permission, that is." ［Grey］

  "Th-There's o worry about that, Lrey. I'm sure Papー I mean, the Great Chief would approve of it. I'm sure of it!" ［Marika］

  Excited as a little child, Marika fidgeted as soon as she heard Grey's words. It was as if her previous exhaustion was but a passing lie, now able to talk so fast it was as if her mouth was a mae gun on rapid fire.

  Well, it wasn't too bad of a sight to see. pared to how stiff she was ag before, Marika ag like a child was much more preferable. She has loosened up quite siderably, now able to speak out her mind fortably.

  "Ah! But we'll have to defeat the Evil Beast first, alright? After that, we could take you on a tour around the own, Lista." ［Grey］

  "Of course! I'm sure Lrey and Lady Yuna defeat the Evil Beast!" ［Marika］

  Marika's voice brimmed with fidence as she decred such words. It didn't even cross her mind how destructive of a battle it would be if ever it really was a Leviathan. She was too excited to care, and that's all that mattered.

  "What are you talking about?" ［Yuna］

  "Oh, Yuna, you're back. And... those are..." ［Grey］

  "Oh! I just found a couple fruits nearby. Do you want some?" ［Yuna］

  "Please, and thank you." ［Grey］

  Casual as one be, Yuna invited herself to take a seat beside Marika, sitting on the ground. She then handed a couple fruits to Grey and Marika, fres, apples, soursop, berries, and many more.

  Well, that's how it would seem. But iy, Yuna didn't just pick a "couple" of fruits. Inside her ste ring was a mountain load. Grey knew because he was the whole time. Still, he decided to keep it to himself, not wanting to spoil Yuna's fun.

  "Mmn～! So sweet!" ［Yuna］

  "Agreed! Apples really are the best!" ［Marika］

  Sweet and satisfied expressions were afloat the forest as the young dies dug in on the fresh fruits Yuna had just picked. Seeing such faces, there was o waste more time. Grey also peeled the cottonfruit he got, feeding himself soon enough.

  A surge of sourness filled his mouth as he tinued chewing on the fruit's flesh. But something was just nht. He then poured some salt on his hand, dipping the flesh of the cottonfruit on it before he once again took it to his mouth.

  'Yup... This is how it should be...' ［Grey］

  It was just like how he remembered it. The mix of sourness and saltiness flooding his mouth, sweetness and tartness drifting along it. A taste of his childhood he had almost fotten. A bittersweet memory was adrift his mind.

  Well, his childhood memories weren't the only ones which were jogged. Grey also remembered something given to him just retly. And with it still being high noon, there was er time. He quickly opened his "Iory" and got himself a couple of things. A piiket was one of them.

  There were ns. Grey suddenly whipped the piiket in the air, soon ying it down on the soft, grass-covered forest floor. With Yuna and Marika's eyes on him, he then took out a couple boxes and pced them atop of the b.

  "Hm? Lrey... This is..." ［Marika］

  "Oh? Isn't this?" ［Yuna］

  "That's right. It's Captain Jack's meal boxes. Shall we dig in?" ［Grey］

  There was no time to waste. As soon as Grey asked such words, the two agreed almost immediately, Yuna being the one most excited, still not full after eating a load of fruits she just picked. It's Yuna, after all.

  As soon as they opehe boxes, hot steam and an appetizing aroma drifted in the air, wafting through the whole forest. All sorts of seafood dishes were packed in the meal boxes, ead everyone arousing their appetites,

  ""Thank you for the meal!!""

  "A-Ah! Th-Thank you for the mealth!" ［Marika］

  Marika was about to eat, but as soon as she saw Grey and Yuna perform some sort of prayer, she immediately stopped oracks, mimig them as much as she could, all the while bitio the end. The other two could only giggle and chuckle ever so softly.

  A warm atmosphere about them, and soon enough, they dug in on the meal boxes, a rush of fvor caressing their tohere is nothing more o be said. They were simply and truthfully delicious.

  "D-Delicious! I've never had something like this before!" ［Marika］

  "Hahaha. Have some more." ［Grey］

  "Y-Yes! Thank you!" ［Marika］

  Grey was a little worried at first, thinking how different the dishes might be from Marika's normal pate. But seeing such a wonderful smile on her face, it seems like such worries were for nothing. She was enjoying herself happily.

  As for Yuna, well... Should one say more? It was Yuna, after all. She was stuffing her face full, dish after dish without stopping her hand. Her face was even brighter than Marika's, looking even more excited. It was Yuna, alright.

  "Ah, right, Grey, Marika, what were you talking about while I was gone? Was it something iing?" ［Yuna］

  "Hm? Iing?... I guess you could say that. Marika said she was curious about the outside world, so I said we'd take her there once we defeated the Evil Beasts. That's the jist of it." ［Grey］

  "Oh? By that, you meant Lista, right?" ［Yuna］

  "That's right. It's the own, after all." ［Grey］

  "But that might take some time, doesn't it..." ［Yuna］

  Yuna's words were on point, silence swallowing the forest. Not only Grey, Marika's spoon and fork also stopped oracks, a slightly crestfallen expression painted on her face as she faced reality from Yuna's words.

  While defeating the enemy could be easy, the problem is when it would appear. Though it could appear today, tomorrow, or the day after, it could also take weeks or even months before its reappearance. After years, maybe they could decre it safe again, but that's still too long. Everything was very uain.

  No more responses came after Yuna's words. Yuna simply fed herself another fried shrimp, her mind wandering elsewhere as she thought of some things. A smile soon formed on her face as a wonderful idea popped inside her head.

  "Ah! Then how about we use those? The pictures, I mean." ［Yuna］

  "Oh! Good idea!" ［Grey］

  Marika still in the dark, Grey and Yuna's minds suddenly synced and Grey opehe "Iory" once again, taking out dozens of photos they had taken along their adventures. All of which tained amazing pces Marika had seen before.

  As soon as Marika id her eyes on the pictures, though she didn't know what they exactly were, she khat they tained something amazing, full of life and colors. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of them.

  "Lrey, Lady Yuna, this is..." ［Marika］

  "They're pictures. It's a little hard to expin, but you just think of these as some form of preserved memories or something like that." ［Grey］

  "Un! These are amongst the photos we have of our travels and adventures. And as for the toere talking about just now, this is it." ［Yuna］

  Yuna was excitedly rambling on as she pointed from photo to photo. And everytime her index finger moved, Marika's eyes would follow, always sparkling iement and curiosity. Happiness was surging deep in her heart.

  She looked, she looked, and she looked even more. Whilst they ate lunch, Marika kept staring at the photos, like a mesmerized child. The little sadness she once felt was no more, her eyes gazing at the photos as a smile bloomed on her face.

  "Hmm..." ［Marika］

  "Is something wrong, Marika?" ［Yuna］

  "No.., It's just... Lady Yuna seems ro be always in these photosー" ［Marika］

  Cough Cough Cough

  Greatly surprised by Marika's words, Grey suddenly coughed and almost choked on his food. Though she khat Marika had no ill iions, he just didn't expect his hobby of taking photos of Yuna would e back to bite him. It was all too sudden.

  Meanwhile, Yuna, being the one on such photos and also knowing why it was like that, was now furiously blushing, turning her face away to hide the embarrassment. Two birds with oone.

  "A-Are you okay, Lrey?!" ［Marika］

  "Y-Yeah, just a little surprised is all... Anyway, about the honorifics, don't you think it's about time you drop it? You just call us by our names, you know?" ［Grey］

  He was desperate alright. Grey didn't even think any harder, simply wanting to shift the topic of the versation to something else before it gets even worse. Thankfully, Marika was an i child who was quite easy to trick.

  "Uhh... But... How could I dare address the Emissaries of Gods so lightly. It's very impolite and improper." ［Marika］

  "How so? We're fih it, so there's no worries." ［Grey］

  "Un! We would also love that! We're friends now, aren't we?" ［Yuna］

  At Grey and Yuna's words, Marika was made speechless. Though it was true that she has beore fortable with them and that they were also open to her, it still hasn't sunk in that they were treating her dearly as a friend. Hearing it, she couldn't be any happier.

  "Th... Then... Could I call you Big Brrey and Big Sister Yuna?" ［Marika］

  Yet another ued instance. Grey and Yuna were simply wishing to remove the honorifics attached to their names, but who would have thought that Marika would like to address them as such. They were a little surprised.

  Despite her clumsiness, Marika has been very knowledgeable and skilled. So much that Grey and Yuna pletely fot she was still 15 years old. Seeing her aeek remihem of Iris when they first met.

  "Is... Is it weird, after all?" ［Marika］

  "No, not at all. That sounds good to me." ［Grey］

  "Un! Looks like we got yet another little sister!" ［Yuna］

  A proud decrati out in the air as Yuna patted Marika's head, making the tter's face turn even more redder. Though she was the one who suggested it, she didn't think it would be so embarrassing.

  Time passed and lunch tinued. After ing up after themselves, everyohen explored the forest once again. It was still early iernoon so they still had a lot of time on their hands, enjoying the forest as much as they could.

  And as usual, Yuna was going ham on colleg once again. Though she made sure to mind not depleting the forest of its resources, the amount she gathered is no joke. If Grey could take a peek inside her ste ring, he was sure he'd find mountains upon mountains worth of herbs.

  "Ladー I mean, Big Sister Yuna sure loves pnts, huh..." ［Marika］

  "Well, she's an alchemist, after all." ［Grey］

  "An alchemist? Like an herbalist?" ［Marika］

  "Well, you could say that... They're people who use pnts and other materials to create medie like potions and ois." ［Grey］

  "I see..." ［Marika］

  Hearing Grey's words, Marika could finally uand Yuna's behavior. She herself had met a lot of herbalists in their vilge, and all of them happeo have a rather extreme liking to herbs, roots, and the likes. Just like Yuna.

  The only problem with what Marika is thinking was that even amongst the alchemist and herbalists, Yuna was areme case. There's only a few who pare to her when it es to gathering herbs and sweeping the forest almost . She was unlike any other.

  "Ah! e to think of it! There's 'that pce', isn't it?" ［Marika］

  "'That pce'...?" ［Grey］

  "Umm... I haven't been there myself si's forbidden to enter, but there's a p Ti with a lot of strange herbs." ［Marika］

  Or so she says, but hearing her words, Grey couldn't think they were simply some "strange herbs" as Marika had said them to be. Grey's intuition was saying that it's not that simple and that they're even more valuable than Marika makes it out to be.

  "By strange herbs... You mean those that turn the air cold as ice or sometimes busting into fmes?" ［Grey］

  "H-How did you know?! Big Brrey, are you a mind reader?" ［Marika］

  "Hahaha. I'm not. It's just a hunch, a hunch." ［Grey］

  And Grey was right. The "strange herbs" Marika was referring to were her than magits which are very valuable ingredients in alchemy. Very sought out items by both alchemists and collectors alike.

  "Yuna! We're going somewhere fun! You in?!" ［Grey］

  A rge and adventurous smile on his face, Grey called out to Yuna, and the tter simply tilted her head in fusion. But the very moment she heard where they were going, the little fusion she once felt turned iement. Aremely high level of excitement.

  Led by Marika, the three hit the forest paths once again and traversed the rough and uerrain, all the while the forest's peaceful and calming melody pyed in the background. Only a fun aing adventure awaited them.

  It didn't take too long before they reached the spot. Rather than in the open forest, it was sheltered inside a rge cavern, light only seeping through from the cracks and holes in the ceiling. A very secretive location.

  Evehe pce was not dim at all. All sorts of colors, ranging from red to violet, glimmered in the walls as the some of the pnts glowed ever shtly, illuminating the dark and moist cave as the water droplets trickled dowactites.

  "A... A... Amazing! There's so many magits! I haven't seen these! And these ooo! Wait, no, I shouldn't dilly-dally any longer! I o pick them! Wait! How do I even pick them?!" ［Yuna］

  A loud outburst echoed in the air as Yuna's head turned left and right and her eyes swam in all dires. She could barely tain herself, wanting to just dive towards them, pick them up, and store them ie ring.

  Well, who wouldn't be excited? After all, not only were there flowers which glowed like nterns, there were also flowers that breathed literal fire, grasses which turns moisture into ice, and even ones which electricity is coiling over. It was a mystical paradise.

  "Now, now, Yuna, let's not p get too excited, shall we? You might hurt yourself if you act recklessly. I'll appraise them first." ［Grey］

  "A-Ah, of course! Please, and thank you!" ［Yuna］

  Grey didn't waste a single sed. As soon as he finished his words, he quickly used his eyes and appraised every si all at once. And, oh boy, the results are even more shog than he expected.

  Not only were the number of magits in the area numbering thousands, possibly much higher, they are also amongst the highest quality as well. Some were even amongst the ingredients to make Divine-Grade items. It was not just a simple cavern, it was a treasure trove.

  "Hm? Is something wrong, Grey?" ［Yuna］

  "No... Nothing... The magits are all safe to pick." ［Grey］

  "Yaay～! This is the best!" ［Yuna］

  "Ah, right. Just make sure not to piuch, alright? Or else, we won't be able to get more when we e back. Practice moderation!" ［Grey］

  "Un!" ［Yuna］

  Or so Grey says, but what he was actually worried the most was how the hell did su is. He simply couldn't his head around why su isoted isnd was so abundant in resources.

  The barriers, the diversity, the absenonsters, and now, even a pce full of magits. Ti just became more and more mysterious the more time passed. The mrey learnt, the lesser he knew. A total mystery.

  'Haah... Just what the hell is this isnd...' ［Grey］

  CHAPTER 231 END