Path to the Eternal Flower

"That's right, is there a problem?"

"Well... not exactly a problem. Yesterday a customer came from there, and he said many monsters suddenly went berserk and became very strong."

That’s useful information.

"Sorry, but may we know the details?"

"Hmm... I think that was all he said... oh wait, if I didn’t mishear, the bandit activity there is also suspicious. They attacked nearby villages and kept asking about the whereabouts of a certain flower... what was it called again..."

"The Eternal Flower?"

"Yes, that’s it. But the customer also said the flower was just a myth, and something like that couldn’t possibly exist."

"Thank you for the information."

"Oh, no problem. I’m glad I could help."

The innkeeper moved over to other tables and started chatting with the guests there as well. Seems like that’s part of their service. The information he shared with us was very useful. If this world had the internet, I’d have already given this inn a five-star rating.

Silva suddenly stood up and lowered her head.

"Sorry if I’m being selfish, but... can we go there right now? I can’t let those bandits find the Eternal Flower first."

She’s right. Even though we don’t know their true motive for seeking the flower, we can’t allow them to be the ones to find it before us. I glanced at Mr. Brian.

"Alright then, I’ll prepare the carriage."

We quickly packed up our belongings, loaded them into the carriage, and set off at full speed toward Mount Kathu.

On the way, I noticed the anxiety on Silva’s face. Her fists were clenched, and she trembled. Rin tried to calm her down, but she didn’t budge. As much as I disliked her noisy and rude behavior, I disliked seeing her like this even more.

"Relax. If even the locals don’t know where it is, then there’s no way those bandits will find the Eternal Flower so easily. We’ll definitely get to it first."

Silva looked at me.

"You’re right."

She answered with a forced smile. Well, it’s not like I don’t understand how she feels. Hopefully nothing bad happens later.

Mr. Brian urged the horses with all his strength. It didn’t take long before we could see the towering white mountain stretching up into the sky. The air suddenly turned icy cold, and snow began to fall.

Silva pulled out several thick coats. She wore the largest one, then handed another to Rin. She even had one that fit Wufy perfectly. Wait, what about me?

"Hey... I know you probably hate me, but do you maybe have one more for me?"

"Ah, sorry, I forgot."

Damn it.

"Rei, you can wear mine if you want."

"Thanks Rin, but that’s not necessary."

Eventually, we arrived at the nearest village to Mount Kathu and got down. The place was quieter than I expected. Probably because of the bandits roaming around here.

Mr. Brian knocked on the door of a local inn. The door didn’t open, but a voice came from inside.

"Who’s there?"

"It’s me, Brian."

The sound of a lock being undone echoed, and the door swung open. A burly man with a bald head, thick beard, and heavy winter clothes stepped out to greet Brian.

"Brian, what are you doing here?"

"It’s been a while, Robert. I was assigned to escort Lady Silva here. On the way, I heard that the bandits’ movements have gotten out of control."

"Yes, you’re right. What’s strange is that they’re searching for the Eternal Flower, which is only a myth passed down in this village."

Silva suddenly shouted.

"The Eternal Flower exists!"

"..."

The air turned heavy and silent.

"Ah, I’m sorry. You should all come in first."

Robert invited us inside and closed the door. We sat down at a nearby table.

Silva lowered her head toward Robert to apologize.

"Sorry for shouting like that, but the reason we came here is also to search for the Eternal Flower."

"I see. But we, the villagers here, have never seen it at all. Still, seeing how the bandits are so determined to extract information from us about it... well, maybe it really does exist."

"Robert, do you know where the bandits went?"

"I’m not sure. The last time, we managed to drive them back into the mountain."

"So they’re still around here..."

Unable to endure the cold any longer, I cut in.

"Um... Mr. Robert, do you happen to have any warm clothes?"

"Of course, let me get one."

A moment later, Robert returned with a comfortable coat for me. After that, all of us except Mr. Brian decided to set out to find the Eternal Flower. According to Robert, the bandits were only amateurs, but their numbers were quite large.

The road here was tough to pass. It was slippery, and the piled-up snow slowed us down. I pulled out the drawing of the Eternal Flower and showed it to them. Suddenly, Wufy barked at the sight of it.

"Woof!"

"What is it, Wufy?"

Wufy slipped out of Rin’s arms, circling around and tilting his head as if telling us to follow.

"Wait, have you seen this flower before?"

"Woof!"

I never thought Wufy had seen it before. We first met him in the forest near Mikaor village, and I assumed he was from there. Turns out he and his mother had traveled quite far.

I could see Silva and Rin’s faces lighting up with joy. Both of them hugged Wufy.

"Wufy! You’re amazing!"

"Thank you, Wufy. If we manage to find the Eternal Flower, I’ll give you the best meat from our village."

"Woof!"

Well... I didn’t expect things to turn out like this. After that, we followed Wufy as he led the way to the place where the Eternal Flower could be found.