~Chapter 39~
The sound of rustling came from the bushes, and the one who appeared was… a middle-aged woman wearing a worn-out robe.
Her robe looked so old and frayed, Leah wondered if it was even still holding together. She had messy, curly orange hair and looked to be in her 40s, with noticeable freckles.
She looks more like a wanderer than a mage.
Leah figured she probably wasn’t dangerous, so she carefully lowered the rock she had picked up earlier.
“Oh! I didn’t know someone was here!”
The mage seemed just as surprised, having spotted Leah a little late.
“Um, not many people come here… are you lost?” Leah asked her.
“Nope, I’m not lost. Are you from around here?”
“Yes, I am… But wait, you’re not lost?”
So this stranger—this mage—had found her way to the drop flower field, which even locals needed directions to find?
“Is this the place where drop flowers bloom?”
“…You came looking for drop flowers?”
Leah’s expression turned cautious. A mage, especially an outsider, coming all the way here just for drop flowers made her a bit uneasy.
She was worried this might be someone from a magic tower trying to harvest a huge amount for research or profit.
“I promise I’m not a bad mage. Maybe I look a bit weird, but I swear I’m harmless.”
Noticing Leah’s reaction, the woman held up her hands a little in a harmless gesture.
“I just heard there’s a special flower here in Lorem Mountain and wanted to see it for myself.”
A mage just here for sightseeing? Yeah right.
Then again… aren’t mages basically ruled by curiosity anyway?
She walked over to Leah on tiptoes, being careful not to step on any flowers.
“…I might take a small sample for research, but I’m a wanderer. It’s not like I have a lab to store tons of stuff.”
Was she reading Leah’s mind or something? It was like she knew exactly what Leah was worried about.
“Is that true?” Leah asked, more relaxed now.
“Of course! I hate mages who mess up ecosystems in the name of research!”
The woman clenched her fists in protest.
“I totally get your concern. If it really bothers you, I’ll just look and not pick anything.”
“…No, it’s okay. You don’t have to go that far.”
Her polite response made Leah feel a little bad for being so guarded.
“If it’s not too rude, can I ask what kind of mage you are?”
Now that she was closer, Leah carefully asked.
“Oh wow, I’ve been rambling without even introducing myself!”
“I guess I’ve been doing the same.”
“But you’re local, so I should’ve gone first.”
The mage removed her floppy hat.
“I’m Dorothea. I’m a purification mage.”
“I’m Leah. So you graduated from the Royal Academy then?”
In the Valerius Empire, only nobles had family names. If someone didn’t have a last name, they were a commoner.
“Yup. I’m a commoner, but I was lucky enough to be born with mana and got into the Royal Academy.”
Dorothea said humbly.
Leah didn’t know much about the academy—her grandma never talked about it in detail—but she could guess it wasn’t the kind of place just anyone could get into.
“My grandmother graduated from the Royal Academy too.”
“Really? Your grandma must’ve been amazing.”
“If that’s the case, then you’re amazing too, Dorothea.”
“Haha, you’re making me blush.”
Dorothea rubbed the bridge of her nose, clearly flustered by the compliment.
“I’m a purification mage, but because of my teacher’s influence, I’m also into healing magic and potion making. So I travel around the empire doing research.”
That explained her ragged robe—must’ve been all that traveling.
“I heard there’s a flower here that gets plump and full when it rains, so I rushed over.”
She had come all the way from a faraway city just to see the flower.
“Sure, I heard it blooms all year, but not knowing something is torture for a mage.”
Leah nodded. It reminded her of her grandma, who was also someone who couldn’t sleep if she was curious about something. Leah had taken after her in that way.
“Do you live in Lorem Mountain, Leah?”
“Yeah. But I’m not a miss—I’m married.”
“Oh wow! You look so young, I didn’t realize.”
“I even have a daughter.”
“A daughter?! You must be older than you look!”
Dorothea looked completely shocked.
“Haha, yeah.”
“So are you here for the drop flowers too?”
“Yup. I just came to check them out before harvesting.”
“Can I ask what you use them for?”
“I’m making a magic potion.”
“You’re a mage too?”
“No, I just learned a bit from my grandmother.”
“You can make potions without going to the academy?”
“My grandma taught me how.”
“That’s amazing! Teaching someone potion-making is way harder than just learning it!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, like, a lot harder! What’s your grandma’s name, by the way?”
“Ellen. Her name’s Ellen.”
“If she taught you how to make potions from scratch, she must’ve been famous at the Academy…”
Dorothea tilted her head.
“Anyway, I’m only good at making basic ones.”
“I’ve never even heard of a potion made with drop flowers.”
Dorothea leaned in close to Leah.
“Did you come up with the recipe
yourself?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Then I bet your grandma was a legend at the Academy. And if you had gone there too, you’d be one too.”
Dorothea said it with total confidence, and Leah blushed.
She didn’t think she was all that special, so the praise felt a little overwhelming.
“If it’s okay with you… could I watch you make the potion with dropflowers sometime?”
“Sure, but….”
The potion was going to be made in the eastern annex of the Blümhart estate, where the official mages worked.
The duchess had told Leah she could use the space for making it.
“There’s a patient in the capital who needs it, so I’ll be making it there.”
“Ah…”
Dorothea sighed when she heard “capital” and didn’t say anything else.
Judging by her curious personality, Leah thought she’d definitely ask to come along—Maybe she has bad memories of the capital?
“…I have my own reasons for not going to the capital. But is it okay if I at least watch you harvest them?”
“Of course. As long as it’s not for a magic tower doing shady research, you can even help pick them.”
“Really? I swear I won’t take them to any tower. Thank you!”
Leah told her that they’d meet again when it rains next.
Dropflower petals get plump when it rains, but shrink again afterward.
However, if you harvest the flower during the rain—roots and all—it stays plump.
It was a mysterious flower found only in Lorem Mountain.
“Then see you when it rains, Dorothea.”
“Yup! See you then!”
Dorothea waved as she tiptoed out of the field the same way she came.
Leah turned and headed back to her cabin.
She lay down, completely wiped out, but her stomach started growling, so she got back up.
All she had was the bread and strawberries, so she made do with that.
She’d be leaving again soon anyway, so buying groceries wasn’t really worth it.
It’d be a waste if anything went bad.
After a simple dinner, Leah sat at her table and pulled out her potion recipe notebook.
Main ingredient is the dropflower, then you need finely ground healing stones…
She reviewed the ingredients and reread the steps she’d written down—again and again.
She hadn’t succeeded on her first try back then either, so she was a little nervous now.
I need to make it quickly for Lady
Penelope.
She went over all the critical parts she’d marked, thinking about what to be extra careful with.
She kept at it until she finally fell asleep just as the sun was rising.
—
By the time it was almost 11 AM, Leah was still stuck in a dream.
In the dream, she was struggling to make the potion with dropflowers.
Just as she was getting super frustrated from failing over and over—
Knock knock.
A real-life sound pulled her out of the dream.
“Uuugh… I’m so tired…”
She groaned and slowly opened her eyes.
Knock knock.
There it was again—a knock on the front door.
“…Who could that be? Alma maybe?”
Still groggy, she stretched and walked to the door.
“…No one there?”
She thought she heard someone mumbling outside.
…Someone’s there.
Assuming it was Alma, Leah opened the door while still in her messy sleepwear.
“Alma, what are you doing here so earl—”
She looked up as she rubbed her eyes.
“…AH!”
Then she saw who was standing there—and slammed the door shut in shock.
“Hey! You can’t just slam the door in someone’s face like that!”
Standing outside…
was someone Leah absolutely did not expect.
