Chapter 91

On this day, Woodbaum and I came to a spring at the foot of Snowlea Mountain, following the suggestion of the one-eyed knight. Kugaru, Tina, Rekka, and two other knights were with us. The purpose was for Woodbaum to recuperate in the clear spring and for Rekka to guide us around the area. The spring is located a bit up the mountain, so the knights don't usually patrol this far, but they probably think it's important to know the terrain of Snowlea Mountain.

Mother wouldn't come up to the summit where her residence is, so the knights wouldn't chase her away.

There was no snow in this area yet, and around the spring, grass as tall as me grew densely. The stems were brown and resembled pampas grass, but they were shorter than pampas grass. In about a week, all of this would wither, and when winter came, snow would fall and accumulate, freezing the spring and turning it into my new playground.

"What a beautiful spring."

Rekka got off her horse and looked around at the scenery when we arrived at the spring. Then, Woodbaum, parting the grass, said,

"A walk is nice too,"

and took a sip of the spring water. We had come here leisurely on horseback.

"I want to drink too."

On the other hand, I hadn't walked at all, as I had been riding on the leader's back with the one-eyed knight, but I felt thirsty for some reason, so I was let down. Kugaru, who had been clinging to me, also jumped down to the ground on his own.

"I can't see anything..."

I pushed through the small pampas grass-like plants and stretched my neck to reach the spring next to Woodbaum. The water was so clear that the bottom was visible, and it was cold to the touch.

"This is a pleasant place."

After quenching his thirst, Woodbaum said, and then licked my head while I was still drinking. Kugaru, frowning, bit the back of my neck, pulled me away from Woodbaum, and dragged me into the grass. He still seemed to be wary of Woodbaum.

"You two are getting along well."

Woodbaum, apparently unaware that he was being guarded, said with a smile and sat down. He had been pulling up and eating the pampas grass-like plants, but they didn't seem very tasty, so he stopped after one.

One of the knights pointed to the forest we had just come through and said to the one-eyed knight,

"Should we go into the forest and look for something Woodbaum can eat?"

"Sure, thanks."

Woodbaum chimed in after the one-eyed knight.

"Is that okay? Thank you. If there are acorns, those would be great. If not, some soft grass."

"Got it."

"I'll go too. Take your time, Woodbaum."

With that, the two knights and Tina went into the forest to look for acorns. The one-eyed knight and Rekka stayed behind to rest the horses and watch over us.

"The knights of the fortress are all so kind."

"Yeah, they are."

Agreeing with Woodbaum,

"Milfee, let's play!"

Kugaru lightly bit my tail and invited me to play.

"Hmm, okay... Whoa!"

The moment I agreed, Kugaru pushed me down and then quickly fled into the grass. It might have been just what he wanted, but I had to get revenge for being pushed down, so I chased after Kugaru into the tall grass. However, the golden grass blocked my view, and I couldn't see the black shadow hiding in the grass, even when I stretched my neck out.

The one-eyed knight and Rekka, who were much taller than me, seemed to be able to see where Kugaru was and were watching us with a gentle smile. I stopped and listened. Kugaru's scent was mixed with the grass and hard to distinguish, so I tried to find him by sound. However, he was also lying in wait and making no sound.

With no choice, I ran around blindly. Running through the grass was quite fun, but the problem was that I couldn't tell where I was. I stretched my neck out again to confirm the one-eyed knight's position. Since the one-eyed knight was there, the spring was over there, and I had come from the other direction.

I muttered "Okay" to myself and started running again, making rustling sounds in the grass.

However, just then, Kugaru, who had been hiding, suddenly jumped out from the grass. He had been waiting for me to pass by, holding his breath. I tried to dodge at the last moment, but there wasn't enough time. I was caught by Kugaru and had my ears and cheeks bitten, though not seriously. But I wasn't just going to take it. I opened my mouth wide to bite back.

"Ah, no! Stop it!"

At that moment, Woodbaum's worried voice was heard.

"Don't fight! Be nice to each other!"

Seeing us growling and biting each other, he might have mistaken it for a real fight. The one-eyed knight was explaining to the suddenly standing Woodbaum that it was just play, so I continued my battle with Kugaru without hesitation. We rolled around in the grass, wrestling and tumbling.

The fight got more intense, and we were so engrossed in our play that we didn't realize we were getting closer to the spring. When the one-eyed knight and Rekka's hurried footsteps were heard, signaling that they had sensed the danger, Kugaru and I had already fallen into the water. There was a sizzling sound, and Kugaru's tail flame went out.

"Oh no! Oh no! Milfee! Kugaru!"

Woodbaum's worried voice was heard from a distance. The momentum of the fall had caused us to sink underwater for a moment. However, while I was floundering in the water, Kugaru, who dislikes water, had quickly escaped to the shore.

But when I surfaced and exhaled, Kugaru, realizing the situation, flew back into the spring. It seemed he was trying to help me. Despite being a fire spirit and not liking water, he took such action for me, which made me happy.

However, the wave created by Kugaru's dive made me sink again, and his efforts to rescue me were actually pushing me further underwater. It was suffocating!

"Milfee! Kugaru!"

Woodbaum, seeing the situation, also jumped into the spring, creating a big splash, and the spring was in chaos. I appreciated their efforts, but I could float and even dog paddle, so I wished they would calm down a bit.

While we were splashing around, the one-eyed knight grabbed us by the scruff of the neck and pulled Kugaru and me out first. Then, the one-eyed knight and Rekka lifted Woodbaum by his horns and carried him to shore.

"Phew, phew... Thanks, I'm saved. The water was colder than I thought, and it surprised me."

Woodbaum said, dripping water from his body. Kugaru and I shook our bodies, sending water droplets flying. Rekka hurriedly brought towels and said,

"Are you all okay? I'm sorry, I should have stopped you before you fell..."

"It's fine."

I said, shaking my body again. It wasn't Rekka's fault. Besides, falling into the spring didn't make me uncomfortable except for my wet fur. Unlike the fortress's bath, the water here was originally snow from Snowlea Mountain.

However, for a fire spirit, entering the water must be as unpleasant as me soaking in a hot spring. Thinking of this, I asked Kugaru,

"Kugaru, are you okay?"

Kugaru, who had lit a small flame at the tip of his tail, answered in a slightly smaller voice, "Yeah, I'm fine." He probably wanted to dry his fur immediately but was trying to be strong in front of me. I thought he should take care of himself first, but Kugaru started grooming the water off my body. The one-eyed knight dried Kugaru's body with a towel, and Rekka was drying Woodbaum.

Then, I noticed something odd in the surroundings. There were five tall, twisted trees that seemed to blend in with the scenery but didn't quite fit, appearing around the spring.

"Did Woodbaum...?"

These twisted trees were similar in shape to the one that had lifted me up yesterday. Woodbaum, looking up at the twisted trees, seemed to notice them for the first time and said,

"I must have grown them in a panic when Milfee and Kugaru fell. Because of my illness, I can't grow them straight."

Just then, Tina and the others returned from the forest and, seeing us wet and the strange twisted trees, asked,

"Um... What happened?"

Well, a lot of things.

After that, Woodbaum ate the grass and fruits that Tina and the others had brought back, and Kugaru and I played modestly to avoid falling into the spring again. The horses and the knights rested, and we all spent our time in our own ways. The spring seemed to have a purifying effect, as Woodbaum's fur had regained some of its luster. So, in a way, falling into the spring was a good thing. I decided to think of it that way.

"Deputy Leader."

When Kugaru and I were tired of playing and Woodbaum was full, Rekka took out a pocket watch and said,

"Shouldn't we head back to the fortress soon? It will start to get dark in about an hour."

It only took about an hour to get back to the fortress from here, and even if it took an hour, it wouldn't suddenly go dark. I thought we could stay a bit longer since we had come all this way, but Rekka seemed eager to leave. He had been checking the time and fidgeting for a while.

"Yeah..."

The one-eyed knight, noticing Rekka's restlessness, decided to head back.

"Let's start heading back slowly. Get ready."

He gave the order to everyone.

"Do you have something to do after this?"

When Rekka helped Kugaru and me onto the leader's back, I asked him,

"No, not really. I just thought it would be dangerous to cross the forest in the dark."

It was a serious answer from Rekka, even though the sun was still high in the sky. So, we returned to the fortress while it was still light.