“Wow, that, that! That’s a Tilbury tree! Oh, if we had come a little earlier, we could have picked the flowers! The dried fruit is good for colds, should I pick some? Do you like tea?”

“…..”

The Athanase Forest had various nicknames, most of which were not positive. The Forest of Hermits, the Forest of Death, the Black Forest, the Silent Forest, and so on.

Especially because of its main characteristic that ‘magic doesn’t work’, magicians considered it an ominous place, and since magicians, who had the most scholars, didn’t even set foot near it, related research was very slow.

So maybe that’s why it could be called the Forest of Hermits or the Silent Forest, but anyway.

Still, since it was a forest that had existed since ancient times, it was expected that there would be colonies of various living things, and that turned out to be true.

As a magician, Jade found it hard to contain her excitement. It was enough to instantly push away the past few days she had spent wallowing in sadness.

She had spent days trying to shake off her worries and overcome them by comforting herself, but she thought that if she had looked at the forest in detail during that time, she could have regained her strength faster.

Of course, from Axel’s perspective, this back-and-forth seemed like the magician had finally gone completely mad.

“That! That’s a really precious medicinal herb! I’ve only seen the flowering ones in books. No, I have to dig it up. Wait, I’ll dig it up quickly.”

Jade, who had rushed over, squatted down and wrestled with the soil for a while. Then she returned, preciously cradling a single plant.

“…..”

It’s annoying to keep her around.

Despite having a face like a small animal that had discovered an acorn colony, she was also incredibly talkative. In just a few minutes of walking, she had completely drained his energy. The man had to suppress his desire to neatly wrap up Jade and kick her out again.

As Axel stood there with one eyebrow raised crookedly, Jade quickly said:

“I’m sorry. This is really the last one! It’s really good for treating external wounds. When it’s in bloom, the root is really concentrated with… I’ll make this medicine for you!”

“I don’t need it.”

“Oh, then for Ollie.”

“Since when have you known the old lady?”

“She became my benefactor a few days ago. She told you not to abandon me, right?”

Her skill at bantering back was impressive, considering she had been lying in despair not long ago.

But since it had been a very long time since they had such a smooth back-and-forth conversation, Axel, who had lost his immunity, strode ahead. If she didn’t come now, he’d just have to abandon her and go.

But unfortunately, after that, Jade kept up well, only letting out continuous sighs of amazement and regret.

Axel glanced back and muttered in a low voice.

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a magician interested in herbology.”

“Ah, I… don’t have much talent for earth attribute magic. I was so angry that I couldn’t do healing magic that I learned herbology. Well, even so, it just increased my baggage and I never had any use for potions. If there’s a need to go out somewhere, earth magicians always come along one by one.”

“I see.”

Jade smiled brightly.

“But you seem to know a lot about magicians. Can I ask what you did outside?”

Eyes trying to peer into his inner thoughts. The man adjusted his axe without answering.

I’ve just spilled all my information and haven’t gained anything in return.

Jade moved her feet with dissatisfaction, but her curiosity only grew at his silence.

While the man was currently holding an axe with a long handle and a crude blade, the sword she had seen on the first day she opened her eyes was always in its place. Under the window facing outside.

It was a simple shape, but that simplicity was taken to such an extreme that it even felt splendid at first glance.

The Athanase Forest was not just recognized as a place where magic doesn’t work.

Because magic doesn’t work, it was called a land abandoned by the gods, and therefore a place people avoided. Consequently, those who gave up all outside obligations and rights sometimes came in to escape oppression.

However, that man clearly looked closer to a hermit than a fugitive. No, he might be closer to a knight wearing the shell of a hermit.

“Wow.”

But before her thoughts could continue further, she was newly captivated by the scene before her eyes.

The sunlight shining through the large trees in the wide clearing flickered like a curtain woven with gold thread in the wind, and the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze constantly tickled her ears.

Jade didn’t bother to shake off the languid feeling she felt for the first time in a very long time at this peaceful and beautiful scene.

This forest is really a beautiful place.

It was just a space she wanted to escape from, but facing it like this, its sparkle was so vivid. Even if just for a moment, she thought it was fortunate to see such a scene.

However, the man, looking around the area with an indifferent face as if familiar with this beauty, seemed to have finally found the tree he wanted.

Seeing the prominent veins on the man’s large hands as he gripped the axe handle tightly, Jade sat down on a stump.

I’ll just watch and cheer in my heart.

The carefree intention to watch didn’t last long. Jade found herself standing up with her hands politely clasped together.

She was in the midst of reflecting on the years she had taken warm rooms for granted before falling into the forest.

Cutting down trees was truly arduous work, and it wasn’t easy even for such a large man. She wanted to help, but it seemed there was nothing she could do with her strength, so she just sat quietly with her mouth shut.

The whole forest shook with each of the man’s movements. Thump, thump.

Even though Axel was wearing a loose top, the shape of his back muscles bulging and then subsiding was constantly visible.

After a long effort, the tree fell, but there was still plenty to do afterwards. The branches had to be cleared, then split into appropriate sizes, and prepared for transport.

Jade was allowed to help clear the small branches, but she wasn’t even permitted to help with the splitting.

“No.”

“Why?”

“You can’t do it.”

Jade, who had a strong aversion to being told she couldn’t do something, immediately rebelled.

This habit came from hearing the sentence ‘Miss Jade, this will probably be difficult for you’ too many times when learning water or earth attribute magic.

“No, I can do it! Take a rest, I’ll do it.”

When seeing the purple eyes sparkling with interest, it was clear that she wanted to try it herself, not for Axel’s sake.

Axel glanced at Jade’s slender wrist, typical of a magician, and then stuck the axe in the ground.

Kids need to try to understand. And this magician was acting worse than a child.

Axel decided to rest for a while, sitting on the stump where Jade had been sitting. Having received implicit permission, Jade excitedly ran over and grabbed the axe handle.

“…Huh?”

“Not going to do it?”

Hearing the mocking voice from behind, Jade barely managed to lift the axe, but only then realized it was heavier than she thought.

Not only the axe blade, but also the handle part made sturdy and even wrapped in leather, combined to make her arms tremble.

How do I swing this? No, how did he swing it?

“Can’t do it, right? Put it down.”

But experience was important. Whether it works or not, you have to try!

Jade ignored Axel approaching and brought down the axe to chop the thick tree trunk, but the axe didn’t stick into the wood and instead bounced off.

“Aaah!”

“Hey!”

Ignoring the mother bird chirping at strangers, Axel poured out an incredibly long scolding. Jade listened with her lips pouting.

“You have to try to know? Don’t do things you can’t do properly! Why are you swinging when you can’t even lift it properly? Do you know how dangerous it is when the axe bounces off? What if the axe blade gets stuck in your foot?”

He didn’t look talkative, but he wasn’t like that at all. Jade mumbled excuses.

“No… you have to try to know… how do you know if you haven’t tried…”

“Do you have to burn your hand to know fire is hot?”

“I’m kind of like that…”

Axel gritted his teeth for a moment. He looked up at the sky, closed his eyes and opened them again to calm himself, then issued an order to leave.

“Go home now.”

His already short patience must have worn out completely. Jade grumbled as she gathered the herbs she had pulled out.

“Can I use the brazier and pot?”

“Yes, so please go.”

“When will you come back?”

“…After hunting.”

“Oh, I see. But aren’t you thirsty? Should I bring you some water? Where is the water anyway?”

As Axel finally got angry at the continued questions – these damn magicians! – Jade scurried away. Then she came back because she didn’t know the way to Ollie’s house, turning Axel’s stomach inside out.

Since it wasn’t a far clearing to begin with, Jade arrived at Axel’s house without getting lost. She was startled to see a black horse lounging nearby that wasn’t visible when they left, but calmly greeted it.

“Hello?”

The horse that had been with Axel before stared blankly at her for a while, then walked behind the bushes.

What a pretty horse. The mane looks sturdy too. But anyone can see it’s not a wild horse, but one of good lineage.

Tilting her head and lost in thought, Jade only entered the house after a while. Jade first cleaned the dirt off the herbs with water, tied them with string, and hung them by the window.

“Hmm, it would be perfect if the weather stays good from now on.”

The root of Loroa was truly excellent for treating external wounds.

It was also an ingredient for wound healing potions. After drying it well, you put it in water and boil it while stirring continuously for five hours, then add swallow-wort and simmer gently for two more hours to complete it.

It was a relatively simple potion to make, but it reduced infection and made the prognosis positive. It’s just that the ingredient, Loroa root, was hard to obtain.

“It seems there’s no doctor here, so it must be difficult to treat injured people. So I’ll give this and find someone to leave with me in return!”

Jade smiled, praising herself for coming up with a clever idea.

Then she left the house and followed Axel’s directions, passing a small tree with its bark peeled off and circling around a tree with red leaves. Then, behind the hidden bushes, a small house seemed to shimmer.

As she approached, an old woman with a straight back was scattering feed. The chickens moved here and there following her hand gestures.

“Hello.”

“Well, who do we have here. It’s nice to see you sparkling after only seeing you sleeping all this time.”

“Right? My eye color is quite pretty. I’m Jade Brown.”

“What a pretty name for a young lady. You can just call me Ollie.”

The old woman smiled gently. Jade also gave a bright smile in return.

“Thank you again. According to Axel, if it weren’t for Ollie’s scolding, he might have left me in front of the house again.”

The old woman called Ollie smiled gently and shook her head.

“What thanks… I just added a few words. The decision was made by that Axel fellow.”

“But without Ollie’s words, that Axel person would never have accepted me.”

“Oh my, it’s confusing, so stop elevating me.”

A rooster crowed in displeasure, seeming not to like Jade. Jade stepped back to allow it to eat the feed scattered at her feet.

“I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy.”

“Oh… alright, alright. Take this.”

Jade received a bowl containing something yellow with a puzzled face. What is this?