Chapter 8

# Chapter 8

Eldarin moved one finger in a circle.

The cart filled with sweet potatoes began moving toward the storage building by itself.

Kaian could not take his eyes off it.

"Are you selling all of those?"

"Except what we'll eat."

"Right? Of course."

Kaian's cheeks puffed with satisfaction.

Eldarin watched him fondly.

His cheeks had regained some color.

He finally looked more alive.

She casually held out a sweet potato.

"Want to try one?"

"You can eat it raw?"

"Of course."

Kaian took a huge bite from the sweet potato Eldarin had cleaned with magic.

Crunch!

"Whoa! The more I chew..."

Munch, munch.

Kaian's entire face twisted miserably.

Unable to swallow or spit it out, he spoke through a mouth full of sweet potato.

"It tastes like nothing..."

"Nothing."

"Literally nothing."

"Puhahaha!"

For the first time, Eldarin burst into loud laughter.

Kaian looked up at her in disbelief.

"Sweet potatoes need to dry in the shade for about one or two weeks before their sweetness develops."

She smiled.

"We'll cook them properly then."

"That's cruel..."

"Spit it out. It'll return to the earth."

"Blech..."

After about a week, Kaian had become fairly used to life in Eldargrove.

Every morning, he drank the astragalus tea Amber prepared for him.

Amber was still cold toward him.

"Ugh..."

"Drink all of it. Nothing is better for restoring your energy."

Afterward, Kaian spent breakfast and tea time asking Eldarin whatever questions came to mind.

For example...

"The wooden platforms around the house, can I use those?"

"Of course."

Eldarin turned a page.

"There should be larger platforms near the windows."

"You do not need to enter or leave a house only through the front door. That is merely a custom created by humans."

"Do whatever is comfortable for you here."

"Where is your room?"

"My room is on the top floor."

She looked at him sharply.

"There are dangerous things there, and a lady's room is not somewhere you enter carelessly."

"Do not go near it."

"Ugh. Stingy."

"Amber's room is on the sixth floor."

"I see."

Kaian nodded seriously.

"So this is a five-floor building."

"Wise."

"Are all the books on the first floor?"

"Now that I think about it, most of the books are in my room."

Eldarin considered it.

"Hmm. I'll move everything except the dangerous books to the second floor."

"Yes!"

Then Kaian paused.

"But the second floor is..."

"The place you burned."

"Shh! Shhh!"

Field work was still difficult.

But it was rewarding.

Kaian had become pretty good at digging sweet potatoes.

He could roll old pumpkins.

He could pull radishes straight from the ground.

Amber turned the crops they brought back into surprisingly delicious meals.

Best of all, field work was helping Kaian recover quickly.

He could now move comfortably around the house without the walking stick.

"Amazing! Even the best doctor in the Valancia Empire couldn't have healed me this quickly!"

"That simply shows how rich Eldargrove is in mana."

Eldarin added solemnly,

"Always be grateful to mana."

His stamina had improved greatly too.

For the first three or four days, Kaian often collapsed after field work.

But starting yesterday afternoon, he had enough energy to read.

Kaian excitedly told Eldarin,

"So starting tomorrow, I'm going to practice climbing the tree."

"...You wouldn't listen even if I told you not to."

She sighed.

"Practice carefully."

The wooden platforms on the outside of Eldarin's house only reached the third floor.

If Kaian wanted to climb higher without magic, he had no choice but to climb the tree itself.

If he reached the top, he might finally see how large Eldargrove was.

I'm excited.

Maybe I can even draw a map.

Kaian was adapting extremely well.

But there was one thing even he found difficult.

Sensing earth mana.

"I sit in the fields with my eyes closed every day and breathe like you told me..."

Kaian sighed.

"But I still don't understand it."

"You've become quite close with the earth spirits, haven't you?"

"That means you've made progress."

"Hmm. Really?"

"Yes."

Eldarin gave him a calm look.

"Do not rush."

Kaian liked the earth spirits very much.

Their bodies gave off a soft yellow glow.

They were warm and comforting, like sunlight filtering through leaves.

Eldarin had told him that among the spirits of the five manas, earth spirits were the least cautious around others.

It must be because they're similar to the accepting nature of earth mana.

I want to learn that too.

Every day, Kaian washed away his impatience with sweat.

Then, this morning...

Eldarin finally brought up the subject Kaian had been waiting for.

"I'll tell you how to begin treating your inner world."

It was almost a miracle that Kaian did not spit out the astragalus tea in his mouth.

Gulp.

He quickly swallowed.

"What? What do I have to do?"

"Go to the volcanic region."

Kaian blinked several times.

What?

Where?

He tilted his head.

"Did I hear that wrong?"

As far as Kaian knew, shocking a patient was generally considered bad treatment.

But Eldarin repeated herself.

"I said to visit the volcanic region."

Kaian tilted his head even farther.

Maybe mountain-goat elves had medical common sense that was completely opposite to the Empire's?

Perhaps frightening patients made them recover faster?

"Of course, I'm not telling you to enter the volcano itself."

Eldarin calmly took another sip of tea.

Only then did Kaian jump.

"Well, obviously not!"

So far, the only thing Eldarin had taught him was farming.

She had not even allowed him near magic.

And now she wanted to throw him at a volcano?

With a hoe in his left hand and a sickle in his right?

A place where he would melt without leaving a trace?

Absolutely not.

Kaian firmly shook his head.

Eldarin ignored him and continued.

"You only need to bring back a medicinal herb from the volcanic region."

"An herb?"

"What kind?"

"About twenty kilometers south of here is the Ignis Mons volcano."

"Near the end of September, a medicinal herb called Flame Veil grows in that volcanic region."

"It contains the power of fire and is resistant to most heat."

Then she looked at Kaian.

"It will help prevent further damage to your inner world."

Kaian remembered the flames raging inside his inner world.

If he wanted to learn magic, he could not leave it like that.

He smacked his lips helplessly.

"So Flame Veil can help stop the fire inside me?"

"And it's twenty kilometers away?"

"Correct."

"How far is twenty kilometers?"

"For an average adult..."

Eldarin thought for a moment.

"Perhaps five or six hours of walking."

Kaian stared at her.

"Hah."

A dry laugh escaped him.

Six hours for an adult?

Then how long would it take with eight-year-old legs?

Kaian deliberately showed how ridiculous he thought it was.

"Hah!"

"Hah!"

"Hah!"

Eldarin simply closed her eyes and enjoyed the taste of her tea.

Kaian narrowed his eyes.

I think she's drinking something strange.

Eldarin drank pine needle tea every morning.

Apparently it cleared the mind.

But now Kaian was beginning to suspect it had cleared her mind so much that there was nothing left inside.

Once I learn magic, I'm cutting down every pine tree in this place.

Unfortunately, that did not change the fact that he had to go to the volcanic region.

Kaian crossed his arms and asked seriously,

"Can an eight-year-old learn to ride a horse?"

Eldarin answered just as seriously.

"Have you seen a horse anywhere since coming here?"

"...No."

"There are none."

Kaian nodded as if he had expected that.

He had asked just in case.

Apparently, there really was no livestock building.

Looks like I'm walking.

He glanced at the calendar.

There were ten days left in September.

Kaian tried to sound optimistic.

"Well, I should be able to make the trip somehow within ten days, right?"

"By the way..."

Eldarin added,

"Flame Veil loses its effect unless consumed within twelve hours of being harvested."

"Once you collect it, it would be better not to delay."

"Huh?"

Kaian froze.

"Wait."

"Let me organize this."

He went through everything she had told him.

First...

Walk twenty kilometers.

Then, assuming he did not roast alive in the volcanic region, find Flame Veil somewhere in the area.

Dig it up.

Then walk another twenty kilometers back...

Within twelve hours.

Mission complete.

"You understood perfectly."

"It's such a simple mission."

Kaian smiled dangerously.

"Very simple."

He felt the flames inside his chest rising and quickly gulped down his astragalus tea.

Then he grabbed his head.

Suddenly...

A horrible chill ran down his back.

Kaian slowly looked at Eldarin with a twitching smile.

"Um... Eldarin."

"What about field work while I'm doing this...?"

"You still have to do it."

"Have you forgotten the rules?"

"Ha."

"Hahaha."

"Hahahahaha."

Kaian laughed like he had gone insane.

For several days, he had thought Eldarin was a good mountain-goat elf teacher.

He wanted to punch his past self.

His laughter disappeared.

He hurriedly opened the pocket watch.

Then he began calculating with his fingers.

Tea time after lunch ends at two.

Field work starts at 8:40 the next morning.

That gives me... about eighteen hours.

Kaian took a deep breath through his nose.

Then blew it out forcefully.

If he had horns right now, he would have become an angry bull and rammed Eldarin.

Unfortunately, he was nothing more than a fragile little butterfly.

But butterflies have butterfly methods!

Kaian decided to sound as pitiful as possible.

Tears quickly gathered in his turquoise eyes.

"Eldarin, do you hate me?"

"Is that why you want to watch my soul burn away?"

"That would be a rather unpleasant hobby."

"What did I do wrong?"

"Is this because I burned the house?"

"Hmm."

"You did burn it twice."

"But you don't need to apologize to me."

Clatter.

Amber happened to arrive with fresh astragalus tea and set the cup down.

For some reason, the sound seemed unusually loud.

Kaian decided it was his imagination.

Then he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"Wait."

"Why did you say I burned it twice?"

"I only remember one time."

"Don't falsely accuse me."

"Hmm."

Eldarin looked at him.

"So you really don't remember."

"Think carefully."

"You didn't even know a proper spell. How do you think you entered Eldargrove?"

"Well...!"

Kaian stopped.

"Hmm."

"I never thought about that."

"How did I get in?"

Kaian blinked blankly.

Eldarin sighed.

Then she slowly began telling him what had happened.

"Inside Eldargrove, there is one spirit that does not fully obey my control."

"A water spirit."

"It often runs away from home."

"That day, it secretly left the subspace again and saw you."

"You were staggering through the forest."

"Apparently it became worried and approached to check your condition..."

She stopped.

"And then...?"

"..."

Eldarin remained silent.

Kaian swallowed.

This feels bad.

What had he done now?

At this point, someone could call him a serial spirit bully and it would not sound strange.

"What did I do...?"

"You..."

"What?!"

"You thought it was an enemy."

Eldarin closed her eyes.

"You chased the poor little spirit while carrying a huge fire around your wrist."

"Imagine how frightened it must have been."

Kaian's mouth fell open.

"The terrified spirit ran back into Eldargrove."

"And accidentally brought you inside with it."

"You continued chasing each other inside the house until you finally passed out."

"What happened to the spirit?"

Kaian asked urgently.

"Is it okay?"

Eldarin gave him a strange look.

"Hmm..."

"It's fine."

That answer felt suspicious.

Why had she paused?

Kaian's face became serious.

"Eldarin."

"Tell me the truth."

"Did I..."

"It's fine."

"You merely..."

"Merely?"

"Burned all of its hair off."

"Huh?"

Eldarin poured more pine needle tea.

"Until its hair grows back, it refuses to come out."

"It's currently hiding beside Twofold Lake."

"At least it won't run away from home for a while."

"So perhaps it wasn't an entirely bad result."

"What kind of nonsense is that?!"

Kaian nearly jumped.

"Eldarin! Do you know how important hair is?!"

Kaian understood the value of hair very well.

Once, he had gotten chewing gum stuck in his second brother's long hair.

Even though his brother knew it was a child's mistake, he glared murderously at Kaian every time they met afterward.

The entire family nearly collapsed from exhaustion trying to convince him not to skip the Academy out of embarrassment.

In the end, Liana had brought a famous hair designer from the Imperial Capital.

Only then had the matter been resolved.

Kaian grabbed his own hair again.

Does Eldargrove even have a hair designer?

Do I have to learn?

Watching Eldarin casually sip pine needle tea while calling the whole thing a decent result only made the fire inside Kaian burn hotter.

He sighed deeply.

"Where is Twofold Lake?"

If he were even remotely human, he should go apologize.

"About twenty kilometers north."

"Ah."

Apparently, he was not quite human enough yet.