Jade, who was panting with laughter, chattered cheerfully.

“Since spells are meaningless here, would it be possible to put magic into lazulite?”

“……”

“It needs a bit of processing though. Should I just do it myself? I usually left it to ordinary people. I know the theory well though.”

“……”

“If embedding magic is the most important element, could we capture the magic generated in a knight’s body? What do you think?”

Seeing the handsome back of his head with no response, Jade giggled.

“Hey, Axel.”

“……”

“Are you really going to act like such a blockhead with that face? Is this your first time doing something nice for a woman?”

The face that finally turned was quite angry. His furrowed brows showed it. Normally she might have been a bit more cautious, but today it was just amusing.

“I said thanks for bringing it. You know I can really have fun tinkering with this, right?”

“I get it.”

Despite his irritated voice, his still slightly red ears diluted everything. Jade was delighted that such joy could exist in peaceful daily life.

“By the way, nothing happened outside?”

“What?”

Jade put on her most solemn voice.

“Romance.”

Axel finally exploded and growled.

“Shut up! Just give back the lazulite.”

“Ah, that’s absolutely not happening. This is mine now. I won’t give it even to you. Anyway, let’s continue this conversation while drinking tonight.”

“I’m not drinking that stuff!”

What do you mean you won’t drink. You were managing the liquor bottles more enthusiastically than me.

Giggling, Jade fled around the table and took out the alcohol she had kept in the coldest, shadiest spot under the window.

It was made to maximize the fragrance by using the characteristics of moon flowers that only bloom under moonlight, placing them by the window only at night.

“I’m going to Ollie’s house. I promised to give her a small bottle. Meanwhile, slice the meat well. Got it?”

Axel snorted and refused to answer, but knowing he would be near the meat and knife anyway, Jade put on her gloves excitedly.

“The sun will set soon, so come back quickly. Understood?”

Though his tone was irritated, today it was just funny. Even in that state, the content was still showing concern, which made it funnier.

But she decided to stop teasing and hold back. The rest should be enjoyed as a side dish with alcohol in the evening.

Once you’re honest, you become grumpy all the time, huh.

Ah, she felt like she could even pierce through the snow with her gaze. This is fun, so fun!

Going to Ollie’s house while holding onto clothes getting heavier from absorbing water was more arduous than expected, but touching the stone in her pocket gave her strength.

Jade, looking like a drenched mouse – but peculiarly, a very happy mouse – knocked on the old woman’s door.

“Ollie, Ollie!”

“Oh my, how noisy.”

The old woman who appeared coughing, blocking a goat trying to come out with her, grumbled.

“You’re probably the only one running around so excitedly on a snowy day when the whole forest is falling asleep.”

“No. Axel was walking around just fine too. Anyway, I thought today would be good for drinking! Moon flower wine!”

At that, Ollie quickly changed her indifferent expression and received it swiftly.

“Oh my, such a precious thing!”

Jade pouted.

“You seemed to be treating me coldly just now.”

“It must have been your imagination, young mage. Did you age it for seven days under moonlight?”

“Of course. The moon has been bright lately, so it should have turned out really nice. Just one glass will make you happy, you know?”

The book said so. At her confident voice, the old woman chuckled.

“If the young mage says so, I should believe it. This is too much in exchange for a dusty wine bottle. But for someone soaking wet, you look very happy. Did a blind bird fall in front of your house?”

Shaking her head, Jade smiled brightly and showed the green pouch.

“Look at this.”

“What is it? Ah, lazulite…. Why?”

The old woman who immediately recognized the lazulite as soon as the pouch was opened was certainly extraordinary, but that wasn’t what Jade wanted to boast about.

“Axel got it for me. He went out of his way to get it so I could play with it. Considering the day we first met, isn’t this amazing progress! He was going to throw it away in the forest, remember?”

“Oh my.”

Ollie smiled a genuinely pleased smile.

“For that boy to deliberately bring it, it is progress indeed. I’m glad you two are getting along.”

“Right? I’m glad too. Oh, how about drinking the moon flower wine together? At Axel’s house?”

“Thank you for the invitation, but I’ll sip it slowly by myself, saving each glass. I think it’ll taste really good even if kept for a long time.”

Without the homeowner’s consent, they exchanged invitations and refusals as they pleased.

“If you change your mind, come anytime. I’ll head back before it gets too late!”

“You’re already soaked, but make sure to pull your hat down tight.”

Jade grinned and started hopping back through the snow. It looked like she was struggling not to get more wet, but she seemed to just sink deeper.

Seeing her off, Ollie muttered.

“I know my place too, how could I interfere? The older you get, the more thoroughly you should distinguish these things.”

If something else starts to linger in eyes that were indifferent to everything.

“The world is still worth living in after all. I didn’t particularly expect it. Hope of chasing that boy out of the forest is growing bit by bit.”

Chuckling, Ollie hugged the bottle preciously and closed the door. The sound of chickens clucking could be faintly heard.

I should have just told Axel to go. His legs are much longer than mine, so only below his calves would have gotten wet.

She briefly regretted it on the way back, but seeing the crimson light leaking through the shutters made her feel better. Jade flung open the door.

“Ollie said she’d enjoy drinking it! When I invited her, she said no.”

Axel, who had perfectly regained his composure by now, replied calmly.

“That old woman always likes to secretly sip one glass a day.”

“Really? That’s too bad. I’m curious about a lot of things regarding Ollie. Drinking makes you feel more honest somehow. Do you think she would have come if you said you brought some nice meat?”

“I don’t know. I still don’t think she would have come though.”

Jade, who had wiped herself dry and changed clothes – though they were all Axel’s – cheered as soon as she approached the table.

“Are we not holding back today?”

“No need to hold back.”

“Why? Didn’t you say if winter gets longer, the merchant might be even later? You said the continuous cold seemed ominous?”

On the table, there was a generous spread of thinly sliced grilled meat with vegetables, bread, cheese, and butter. The fruit jam and cookies that Jade had been groaning about but left untouched were also laid out without restraint.

“So anyway. You want to eat while looking at the stars?”

You’ll regret it in the cold.

Axel said, raising one eyebrow, and Jade smiled brightly.

“We’ll just look for a bit and come back in. They say moon flower wine is best drunk under moonlight. Wouldn’t it be nice to drink even one glass like that!”

Shrugging as if to say ‘suit yourself’, Axel pulled out all the blankets that had been placed on the small sofa and dumped them on Jade.

Then he put a chair and a small wooden table on his shoulder and walked out to the front yard.

Outside was fully winter. As winter came, days where the sun set in the blink of an eye repeated.

She thought that if she were alone, the short days would be conducive to feeling depressed, but since that wasn’t the case, it was just a useless thought.

“Wow.”

“The fire’s hot, so move back.”

“Do you know who I am? I’m a fire attribute magic specialist.”

“I know, so move back.”

Axel could easily pull Jade’s chair back with just one hand. Though they moved slightly further away, the flames blazing over the firewood scattered their warmth sufficiently around.

The moon, which had been full for several days, had suddenly become gaunt, halved, and the stars were exerting their power. It was a very good day for stargazing.

As she was enjoying the sky with a happy heart, blankets poured down over her head. Wrapping herself tightly in the blankets Axel had thrown with a careless hand, Jade finally transformed into a bear.

“Aren’t you cold? You should take a blanket too.”

Axel was dressed simply. Though his outer garment was leather, his attire looked too comfortable, which was worrying.

But he replied indifferently.

“You’re the one who had a fever not long ago.”

“I’m sorry, but that wasn’t ‘not long ago’. Quite some time has passed. And it wasn’t a fever, it was body aches from overexertion, you know?”

“Whatever, just cover yourself properly.”

After one minor bout of body aches, he seemed to view Jade as the ‘typical weak mage’. He didn’t seem to understand at all how one could get a fever in a well-heated house.

Jade, who took pride in her health compared to other mages, felt very wronged, but it was difficult to change perceptions.

“Ta-da.”

Jade pulled out two large bottles from her bosom. They were five times larger than the one given to Ollie.

“I’m really… really looking forward to this…. It’s been three years since I read about moon flower wine…. But three years of just sucking my thumb without even getting to see a moon flower…. They say it’s sweeter than honey if made well….”

Ignoring the wistful look, Axel snatched the bottle.

“You already seem drunk.”

He placed clean glasses on the low table and opened the tightly sealed cork. As he did so, round, soft lights floated up through the opening.

“Wow, it must have turned out really well. It’s exactly like what I read in the book!”

Jade exclaimed with suppressed joy. When poured into the glass, the wine was a completely transparent liquid, but light was still pouring out of the bottle’s mouth.

The two didn’t drink right away, instead observing the stars reflected on the surface of the wine.

“They say if moon flowers absorb moonlight well, they glow like that later.”

“That’s interesting. But what kind of book teaches you how to brew alcohol?”

“I have a friend who’s a heavy drinker. If I tell him I drank moon flower wine, he’ll burst with jealousy.”

As Jade giggled, Axel also smiled slightly.

“Looks like you’ve found something to brag about.”

They raised their glasses to their lips. Axel just moistened his throat lightly, while Jade gulped it down from the start.

But their reactions were quite similar.

The two opened their eyes wide and met each other’s gaze, and they immediately tilted their glasses again. This time, the angle was steeper. The glasses emptied in an instant.

“…Should I go pick more moon flowers?”

As Jade muttered, licking her lips, Axel also seemed to ponder, stroking his chin.

It was that amazing. Not only the fragrance that instantly hit the nose, but the not-too-sweet taste with a hint of bitterness at the end blended well, giving the feeling of sucking honey from a flower.

The only difference was that you could gulp down this honey without feeling unsatisfied.

Jade was visibly excited, while Axel showed no outward signs, but his hand movements in pouring and drinking became faster.

The two began to empty the large bottle at lightning speed, without even eating the food.

But what they didn’t know was that Ollie was an incredible drinker, and the proof of the distilled spirit used to make the moon flower wine was extremely high.