“The reason merchants enter this forest is to exchange goods.”

“What kind of goods?”

“Well, things like game or medicinal herbs that aren’t found in other forests.”

“I guess the Athanase Forest would have such things too. It’s a vast forest that has existed since ancient times.”

Jade nodded with interest, but that wasn’t the important part.

“But would those goods be available every day?”

An uneasy feeling crept up her spine.

“…No.”

“Right. That’s why merchants usually visit once a quarter.”

Trembling hands grasped the glass of water in front of her. She tried to shake off the bad premonitions flashing through her mind, but it wasn’t easy.

“D-Don’t tell me…?”

“This quarter’s visit happened a few days ago. The next one won’t be for at least a few months.”

Fragmented words flashed through her mind in an instant.

Subjugation team, disappearance, Felix Broen, heir position in danger!

Jade banged her forehead on the table. It’s over, it’s all over.

After that, Jade pestered Axel incessantly, asking if there was any other way out, but he shook his head.

“Isn’t there anyone who knows a way out? No one besides the merchants?”

“Do you know why this place is nicknamed the Hermit’s Forest?”

“I don’t know! I wasn’t interested in the Athanase Forest!”

Axel chuckled at the answer that came back like a scream.

His face, seeming to enjoy others’ misfortune, looked quite mean, but it was still so handsome that it was even more irritating. The oddly twisted corner of his mouth was like an attractive villain straight out of a novel.

“That answer itself is very fitting for a mage. Anyway, it’s because it’s a good place to hide. This forest is alive, you know.”

“That’s just a figure of speech, right? People often say forests are alive, don’t they? Right?”

Axel poured cold water and handed it to Jade, who was trying to cling to even the smallest hope.

Whether he meant for her to come to her senses by drinking cold water or not, Jade gulped it down anyway. She was so flustered that she didn’t even think to smell it this time.

“No, it’s real. The forest boundaries change periodically. Thanks to that, even existing paths disappear, so if you move carelessly, you’ll get lost. Did you see the skull by the lake?”

“Why is there a skull?”

“A warning that you could die if you get lost? Apparently, the owner of those bones died going around in circles in the same place.”

Jade was appalled. What?

“Then how do the merchants who come here get in!”

“They’re people who have been doing this for generations, so they have knowledge accumulated over a very long time. They say there are landmarks that don’t change, but I don’t know much about it.”

Axel got up from his seat, looking pleased at the mage’s gloomy face.

There was always so much to do in the forest at any time. There was a lot to prepare before fully entering the water season.

He generally didn’t have much fondness for mages, so he had little intention of comforting her by postponing his busy schedule.

And Jade noticed this. Even knowing he was the one who saved her, she felt annoyed for no reason.

“By the way, do you know what?”

“What.”

Fire magic was fundamentally destructive in nature. It was like that even when not used aggressively.

And Jade was very skilled in fire magic.

“If I can’t leave, you’ll have to keep me here longer.”

Seeing Axel’s face immediately change to an annoyed expression, Jade felt a little better.

“I’ll be in your care from now on.”

So in the end, both people in the small but cozy cabin became depressed.

Most people who lived in the Athanase Forest had come here because they were tired of the outside world.

The threats of large and small monsters, merchants who visited only three or four times a year. It wasn’t an easy place to live, so they must have been tired of something enough to endure it.

The same was true for Axel.

He was tired of people’s desires to push him into a position he had never wanted, and he was sick of the burning eyes that would kill anyone for that position.

Even if that position was covered in gold, it had no value if he didn’t want it.

Life free from shackles was liberating, but certainly less convenient.

This was especially true before the water season, winter, arrived. He had to move very diligently, not for comfort but solely for survival.

At first, this inconvenience was unfamiliar and tiring, but he soon got used to it, and Axel was able to spend five winters well.

He would probably be able to spend this one well too. Even though a stranger, no, a strange mage had arrived.

That mage didn’t give up easily after hearing that she couldn’t leave the Athanase Forest right away. For about 4 days, that is.

Day 1.

As Axel was returning from hunting, he noticed leaves suddenly falling and looked up.

“……”

“…Hello?”

Up in a huge tree, the mage was dangling like a fruit.

“Um, I was experimenting to see if spells work above a certain altitude. A little experiment.”

Watching her slowly slide down the trunk, he was dumbfounded.

Axel passed by with quick steps and slammed the door shut. This time, he was determined not to care whether she fell or not.

Day 2.

The next time, they met in an unexpected place, not near the house. As he was returning from the lakeside, pulling his horse, he suddenly found the mage trapped in the bushes.

“……”

“…Haha. That’s a nice horse.”

He was so taken aback that a question unconsciously slipped through his lips.

“…What’s that thread?”

There was thread trailing behind the mage’s body. It looked like she was spewing spider webs despite not being a spider.

“No, I wanted to go out far. To see if the paths really change. But I didn’t want to lose my way back, so I left a mark…”

It seemed she had unraveled the thread from the clothes he had given her when she fell into the lake. Axel coldly pointed out.

“All the thread behind you is tangled.”

“Oh no!”

Axel breezed past as the mage hurriedly pulled at the thread. The mage returned much later with a dejected face, with no trace of the clothes left and only a handful of thread in her hands.

Day 3.

By now, it wasn’t surprising to encounter her anywhere. The mage seemed to feel the same, as she greeted him first with her face covered in dirt.

“Haha, hello…”

Her speech was halved, as if she had become somewhat familiar. Her dirt-covered face with only her eyes wide open looked like an autumn squirrel, so he couldn’t even get angry.

“…Yeah.”

This time she was digging the ground. He had no intention of asking why. Yeah, she’s quite persistent, that’s all?

He sighed deeply and just kicked away a few of the stone fragments scattered around as he passed by.

And Day 4.

As soon as he came out in the morning, he unexpectedly encountered plaintive purple eyes right in front of the door. Thanks to that, Axel experienced the feeling of his heart dropping for the first time in about 5 years.

He took a deep breath and then burst out.

“Hey!”

“Is there really no way out? Really? Tell me it’s a lie! I have to get out. I have a lot of work to do!”

“How many times do I have to tell you there isn’t? I can’t get out alone without a map either. Move aside so I can go wash up!”

After three days of struggle and his firm denial, it was impossible to deny the conclusion. Finally, the mage accepted that she couldn’t leave and became dazed.

After that, for several days, the mage either stared blankly at the ceiling from the sofa in front of the fireplace or lay sprawled on the carpet with gloomy eyes. One or the other.

She wasn’t visible this morning, so she was probably face down in her room.

Axel stepped out to the front yard. He tried to shake off thoughts of the mage and recounted what he needed to do in his head.

He needed to prepare more dry firewood since he didn’t know how long this winter would be, and he needed to hunt diligently to store extra food in advance.

In the water season, if it snowed, it was difficult to go hunting as his feet would sink deep. Since he didn’t raise other livestock, he would have to exchange with other people to eat later.

That’s when he saw a woman sitting in the front yard with her mouth half open, looking dazed.

Axel thought indifferently. Has she expanded her lying-down territory already?

He had no interest in aesthetically evaluating someone’s face, but this mage’s face certainly didn’t seem suited for such a pathetic expression.

Her light wheat-colored hair combined with her delicate features gave a soft impression, and her uniquely long, downward-slanting eyes with large pupils gave an intelligent and passionate feeling. Her eyelashes, long enough to seem excessive, added glamour like fan decorations.

But the owner of the face didn’t seem to have any intention of using it in any way.

Axel inwardly clicked his tongue as he tried to brush past Jade. If only his trouser leg hadn’t been grabbed.

Clear, upturned purple eyes were staring up at him. As he had felt they were a unique color from the first time he saw them, now in the sunlight, he briefly thought they looked like jewels.

I wonder why her name is Jade when she has such a color. Isn’t it a rarer shade than blue?

After a moment of distraction, he warned in a bored voice.

“Let go.”

“Where are you going.”

The woman who had given up hope of leaving soon had clearly decided to go all out. Her tone was as bold as if she had known him for at least ten years.

Axel didn’t back down either.

“What’s it to you?”

“Take me with you. I can’t just sit like this every day. I need to do something. It looks like this might be longer than I thought, so I need to get familiar with the nearby paths too.”

Jade, who spoke in a gloomy voice, got up, dusting off her bottom.

“Take you with me?”

Axel reviewed what he had to do. And he coldly refused.

“No.”

“Why!”

“Want me to tell you why? You’ll get hurt.”

Jade thought for a moment but decided that getting hurt and gaining new knowledge would be better. It was a thoroughly mage-like way of thinking.

“I’ll take the hurt.”

“I’m going to cut trees to make firewood and go hunting, but you look like you have no talent for either of those. You probably can’t even lift an axe, and you won’t be able to catch animals. Magic is useless in this forest.”

The indifferent voice was clearly speaking only the truth, so Jade was deflated but not hurt.

“That means you’d just be a bother if I took you.”

This could have been a bit hurtful. But even at this coldly delivered judgment, Jade didn’t give up.

“Then I’ll just follow you to where you cut trees. Please! And if you show me the way, I’ll go visit Ollie’s house. Please! How about that? I’ll just quietly watch without getting in the way!”

She was looking up with a pitiful face, as if begging.

Axel considered for a moment and thought it was quite a good idea.

If he wasn’t planning to get rid of her right away, he would have to show her the way anyway, and he also needed to let her know that firewood was scarce.

It was more effective to show than to just tell.

“Fine. But follow quietly.”

Axel two steps ahead, Jade two steps behind.

The two began to make their way through the forest.

But if Axel had misjudged anything, it was that mages as a species don’t know how to be quiet in the face of a new environment.