{The moment you touched that door, you had already invaded the spirit’s territory, so there was nothing we could do.}

The butterflies were serious in apologizing, seeming genuinely sorry to me.

‘No, it’s not my fault… It’s the fault of the one who entranced me! Why enchant me?!’

Upon reflection, I became indignant. What was this spirit doing, entrancing innocent people?

‘Of course, Gloria has committed many sins, but I haven’t! Doesn’t the spirit know that?!’

If I could talk to the owner of this maze, the spirit, I wanted to question it from A to Z.

{Yeah, yeah! You’re absolutely right, Gloria!}

{Right! Why entrancing innocent people and dragging them into the maze?!}

{Anyway, spirits are nasty!}

The butterflies fluttered, agreeing and supporting my words. Sighing, I tried to calm my anger by stroking the rabbit in my arms. The fluffy rabbit fur was effective in calming my rage.

‘Alright, I need to meet the owner of this maze and sort this out. If I pass through the maze, I can meet them, right?’

To my question, the butterflies responded with uncertain voices.

{Yeah… But…}

{It’s not easy to get through the maze.}

{The Spirit’s Maze is tricky to navigate.}

{But we’re here… We’ll manage somehow, Gloria!}

{Right! We’ll help you!}

“…?”

Can I trust these guys? I feel uneasy…

{Alright, let’s go~!}

{We’ll lead the way! Let’s go!}

They might not be reliable, but I had no choice but to rely on the butterflies.

At least these guys are amazing at finding their way.

{Wow, look at that flower! The nectar is incredibly sweet!}

{That fruit too! I haven’t seen it in ages!}

‘…’

These kids… If they don’t find the way and get distracted by useless things, what are we going to do?!

‘You guys, I’ve been wanting to say this, but please be serious when it’s time to be serious!’

{Tsk… You’re like an inlaw, Gloria.}

{In serious situations, you need to bring humor~. Gloria, you don’t know the art of elegance?}

{It’s not ‘bring’, it’s ‘add’.}

{Aha! Look over there! A tree bearing the fruit of the perpetual snow!}

“Ah, you guys, seriously…!”

I yelled in frustration, startling Grayan and April.

The wolf and the rabbit were staring at me with wide eyes. I sheepishly scratched my cheek and explained.

“That’s because the butterflies kept talking nonsense…”

“Ah…”
Grayan and April also seemed curious about what nonsense the butterflies were talking about. But I didn’t want to tell them. The fact that the great spirits of the World Tree were such fools…! I couldn’t dare reveal that truth!

“Anyway, it’s worrying…….”

“……?”

I looked at Grayan with a question mark as he casually brought up the topic. Grayan’s gaze was directed beyond a dim and thick fog.

“We must escape this maze soon…….”

“Ah, if not……?”

“Our existence will disappear from the real world.”

“……Yes?”

“Simply put, the people in the real world will forget us.”

“……??”

What, what’s that? It’s scary!

‘No, was this maze so dangerous?!’

What have the Inse Rescue Association been doing with such a maze in the facility……?

“To explain further…… you may consider that a person who can’t escape a spiritmade maze will lose their existence. It’s a common occurrence in the Kingdom of Elowin.”

“…….”

A common occurrence……? This kind of thing?

“But here…… it’s a cult facility, isn’t it? Why would there be a spirit’s maze here, really…….”

“Well, in my opinion…….”

It was the moment Grayan was about to answer.

{Gloria! Try this!}

{It’s a Perennial Snow fruit!}

{Hurry, hurry up and eat!}

The butterflies teamed up and brought something, chanting cheerfully.

I just found out that these guys could lift objects…….

‘No…… what’s this?’

I was annoyed by the butterflies that kept bothering me in this serious situation. They seemed to try to soothe my mood, flapping their wings and saying,

{This is Perennial Snow fruit. It grows only in the spirit’s domain on a Perennial Snow cherry tree. If you eat it, your eyesight improves, your diseases heal, and your body becomes robust, and sometimes you gain miraculous abilities!}

{But it tastes bad―.}

{Be quiet.}

“…….”

I stared blankly at the fruit brought by the butterflies. The rabbit in my arms was also looking at the unusual Perennial Snow fruit with curious eyes.

The fruit was as white as snow, and it really seemed to live up to its name. I hope it doesn’t taste like snow……. It looked very similar to a cherry just by its shape.

{We brought it for Gloria!}

{Right! Try it now!}

‘……Alright, I’ll eat it. Thanks.’

I accepted the fruit without soul, responding to the chattering butterflies. But this, surprisingly, was heavy.

‘What, what’s this? Is it a metal ball?’

It felt suspiciously like a fruit……. but the touch was definitely that of fruit. Soft and springy.

Grayan was watching with interest beside me. I gave him a sidelong glance and slowly took a bite of the white fruit.

‘Hmm, this is…….’

……Surely, this taste is……!

‘It tastes like snow!!’

It’s not just named Perennial Snow fruit; it tastes like snow too! Or is it the Perennial Snow fruit because it tastes like snow? Is that it? Is it?!

‘It’s tasteless! What is this!’

{It tastes bad as expected―.}

{You’re supposed to eat it that way. How about it? Don’t you feel a surge of energy? Or that your eyes are suddenly brighter?}

‘Well…….’

I didn’t feel any remarkable effects. I also gave the fruit to the rabbit. The rabbit sniffed at the scent and then widened its eyes, slapping the fruit with its front paws.

{Aah! The precious Perennial Snow fruit!}

{Bad rabbit!}

{Tyrant rabbit!}

April, who had no way of knowing (and probably wouldn’t care even if she did know) that the butterflies were betraying her, snorted “Kiheung.” and then washed her face with both front paws.

As if to scoff, ‘Why eat something so tasteless?’