Chapter 352 – The Fragrance of the Wood Spirit

When I headed to the stables to entrust Corulis to their care, Lindwurm and Saphir both came out together, likely having caught our scent, and headed straight toward Elliot and me. Lindwurm appeared relatively calm, but Saphir looked quite happy.

“I’m back,” I said, stroking Lindwurm’s nose bridge, and he responded with a low rumble in his throat.

“Oh. Welcome back, Saphir.”

Elliot embraced Saphir’s neck as she rubbed her head against him, wearing a wry smile as she licked his face.

“Greetings, everyone.”

The stablehand Matthew appeared at that moment, saluting us. He showed a surprised expression when his eyes landed on Corulis, but quickly returned to a calm demeanor—truly fitting for someone working at the Royal Castle.

“Hello, Matthew-san,” I greeted him.

“Welcome back, Sir Theodore. Lindwurm and Saphir suddenly reacted and left the stables, so I wondered what was happening… Now I understand. No wonder they went out looking so happy.”

Matthew smiled. When he mentioned “went out looking so happy,” Lindwurm turned his head away. Hmm. Well, given Lindwurm’s personality, I won’t press the matter.

“Matthew, I’d like you to look after Corulis in the stables. Would that be possible?”

“Yes. As you wish.”

“If they show signs of hunger, please feed them the contents of this wooden box.”

Princess Adriana handed over the wooden box she had been carrying using Levitation.

“This is… a stone?”

“Beryl Mall seems to have ore as their main food source. They convert the Magical Power contained in the ore into energy for their own activities, you could say.”

“I see… That’s astonishing.”

When I added that explanation, Matthew widened his eyes but nodded.

“Well then, Corulis. We’ll start moving around tomorrow, so today please listen well to Matthew and be quiet and friendly with everyone else.”

When Princess Stephania instructed Corulis, they nodded meekly.

As Matthew headed toward the stables, Corulis followed behind with a lumbering gait.

“Well then. I suppose we’ll start moving around tomorrow. You both must be tired from your long journey.”

Princess Stephania nodded with satisfaction.

“Yes. I’ll take my leave for today as well.”

Elliot seemed planning to ride Saphir home. I suppose I’ll also ride Lindwurm and return through the air.

“Then, I think I’ll head home too.”

“See you tomorrow. Let’s meet at the workshop.”

“See you later, Theo-kun.”

“Until then, Ambassador.”

“Yes.”

With Princess Stephania, Princess Adriana, Alfred, and Mercedes seeing us off, Elliot and I soared into the sky together.

“You mentioned building a shed for Saphir in your new home’s garden.”

“Yes. I’ll take her back like this. First, I need to pick up Camilla.”

Camilla should have gone to my house with everyone while Elliot was away. Elliot will accompany me to my house first, then return home with Camilla and Saphir.

Cutting through the wind, Lindwurm and Saphir headed toward my house.

“—Well then, Sir Theodore, I’ll take my leave here.”

“Yes. Then please rest well.”

“Good night, Elliot brother-sama. Camilla sister-in-law.”

Ashley and I saw off Elliot and Camilla as they mounted Saphir and flew away. Though Elliot’s house is just a stone’s throw away, I could see them ascend from the garden and immediately descend. I nodded once their figures disappeared from view.

“Well then, I should take care of what needs to be done.”

First, to select a spot for planting the fig sapling, I looked around the garden.

A place that wouldn’t interfere with training and had good sunlight. With those conditions, the options were rather limited. I previously set up a hammock in the garden… The area next to it seemed good.

“How about around here?”

“Are you sure I can have such a warm spot?”

When I suggested the location, Floria showed an unclouded, happy expression and tilted her head. Like Seraphina and Tephra, and the Wind Spirit I saw before… I get the impression that Spirits tend to have bright personalities.

“Sure. We can do training on the other side of the garden, and there’s plenty of space for normal use too. Just to protect the sapling, I’ll put a fence around it.”

“Mm. Thank you,” Floria said gratefully.

Well then, let’s transplant it from the pot right away. First, I’ll transplant Harvesta to a different pot.

Then I remove soil from the spot where I plan to plant the fig sapling, transfer it there, and cover the roots with soil again.

After confirming it was firmly fixed in the ground, I turned back to Floria.

“How’s this?”

“I think it’s good. Once the roots spread, it’ll be more firmly anchored.”

Then Harvesta’s pot came floating over as if drifting through the air and landed snuggly next to the sapling. Seeing this, Floria smiled happily again.

As for Harvesta’s pot, it was a special one Alfred made during our journey on Sirius.

We wondered what would happen if we made it so Noble Leaf could move with some degree of free will, so we incorporated a Levitation Magic Tool into the pot… Hmm. It seems they’ve decided the spot next to the sapling is their designated position.

“It’s fine for this season, but… when it gets cold, make sure to come inside properly,” I told them.

“They say they understand. Harvesta seems to enjoy being able to move on their own too.”

Floria translated Harvesta’s feelings for me.

“I heard that after this tree grows, you’ll build our homes in its branches.”

Fortok, the leader of the Carbuncles, asked me. The other Carbuncles also seemed quite interested, watching our work from a slight distance while lined up.

“That’s the plan. If you have any requests, I think I can accommodate them to some extent, so it would help if you could gather opinions now about what kind of homes you’d like.”

“Aye, understood. I’ll ask everyone. The mansion isn’t bad, but we Carbuncles feel most at home in trees, you see.”

I see. It seems Floria’s presence is quite timely. The Carbuncles climbed onto Floria’s head and shoulders, and Floria seemed to enjoy it too, smiling cheerfully.

Well then. Now that I’ve finished what needed to be done today, I’ll relax a bit.

Stretching lightly, I moved from the garden to the Game Room and settled down when Cecilia brought me tea.

“Thank you. Was there anything different while I was away?”

“Things were quiet here as always.”

“The Labyrinth Village residents and training are progressing smoothly.”

“Mm. Thank you both. That helps a lot.”

“You honor us with your words.”

Cecilia and Mihaela bowed.

As Irmhild played quiet music, I settled down, drinking tea while reading a book I borrowed from Peresford Academy.

Lindwurm also came to the window and lay down quietly. As usual, he seemed to be entertaining the Carbuncles with his tail. Balor and Caduceus also appeared to be playing with the Carbuncles, letting them cling to their legs as they fluttered around the Game Room or giving them rides on their backs. Hmm. It’s quite a peaceful and calming time. It really makes me feel like I’ve returned home.

When I raised one hand, Lindwurm rested his chin on the windowsill. As I lightly stroked Lindwurm’s head and turned the pages of my book, a faint sweet scent drifted through the Game Room, mingling with the aroma of tea.

“…There’s a nice smell in here.”

“It feels calming.”

Ashley noticed it and looked up, while Grace smiled.

“This must be the fig tree’s scent. Since it comes from a Dryad, it might have some magical effect. It would be interesting if we could mix it into Magic Potions or perfumes.”

“That might be possible. Dryads were supposed to be skilled in illusion and Charm Magic.”

Claudia closed her eyes as she responded to Rosemary’s words.

Indeed, among plant-type Monsters that emit scents, many had effects like sleep or Charm.

“I can give you some if you need it?”

“Really? Then, I’ll take you up on that.”

Rosemary took out a flask from her Magic Bag. Floria extended her clenched hand toward it, and droplets fell between her fingers into the flask.

“Thank you. I think this will be plenty.”

“You’re welcome.”

Rosemary laughed happily. …She’s the type who gets motivated when it comes to research like this.

“It’s similar to an Extraction. The components seem quite dense.”

Rosemary wafted the flask’s opening with her hand, checking the scent. Noticing Marlene watching with interest, she offered the flask to Marlene too.

“In cases like this, you waft the scent with your hand. Directly might be too strong sometimes.”

Marlene nodded meekly and imitated Rosemary’s method.

“For now, I’ll check books related to Dryads for reference in Mixing. With some Luck, I might be able to make something interesting.”

“It would be interesting to coat arrowheads with it.”

“That’s good. If we can hit directly, it would likely be effective indeed.”

Rosemary hid her mouth with her feather fan and shook her shoulders at Sheila’s idea.

…I wonder if it would become something like a Charm Arrow.

In that case, we’d probably store it in small vials and apply it to the tip of Irmhild’s Light Arrows before firing. With Floria here, we can obtain the raw materials, and if Rosemary’s Mixing goes well, we can expect an Enhancement to our combat capabilities.