After Helise and Hubert gave up on having Fatenai lead the way, they left the cabin early the next morning without even saying goodbye to her. Fatenai returned to her life from before: every day, she practiced swordsmanship and learned from Darwin how to cultivate the plants they had gathered in the forest. She also waited each day for Little White to bring them new plants and new surprises.
Helise and Hubert were just an insignificant little interlude. Nothing had changed.
Another week passed. The weather was exceptionally fine. It was early morning, just after daybreak, and the morning mist had yet to fully disperse. Dawn poured through the lush green canopy and spread softly across the earth. The mist wove a thin, shimmering veil that drifted in midair, dreamlike and unreal.
That was what Fatenai thought as she walked through the forest.
She wore a white shirt and pants that were easy to move in, and carried a brown backpack that seemed a little heavy for her. Her platinum-blond hair was simply tied back. She followed an old man who looked as though age had made it difficult for him to walk, but whose steps were actually light and nimble. A dog trailed behind them.
Darwin had suddenly "felt like" going on a "wilderness expedition," and had strongly invited Fatenai to join him.
"Look at that Manelda Mushroom. Its growth changes somewhat when the mana conditions in the morning mist shift." Darwin was a workaholic who devoted himself to his work. Fatenai had once managed to speak at length about her own subject, but unlike her sometimes pained expression when she thought of those things, he clearly enjoyed himself as he spoke. "What do you think that is?"
"Waterdrop Grass?" Fatenai studied the spot Darwin was pointing at. "Or maybe a Balo Flower? Their leaves look similar..."
"Waterdrop Grass is fascinating. When you touch it, droplets of water appear on its leaves. I've never heard of anything with that trait." Darwin's words made Fatenai feel just how ignorant she still was. "Plants grown in pots aren't necessarily representative, either. Waterdrop Grass, for instance, doesn't grow in particularly damp soil, while Balo Flowers are the opposite, no matter how alike they look."
Fatenai nodded earnestly, though much of what she felt was guilt.
Some things couldn't be made up for with just a few days of learning. Darwin probably knew what she was thinking, so he brought her out with him. These conversations did little for someone who already knew so much; they were practically a waste of breath. But Fatenai benefited immensely.
By the end of the day, she understood that the so-called expedition had really been a lesson for her. Perhaps that went beyond what Darwin had originally intended when he began teaching her. Fatenai understood his kindness and felt deeply grateful.
This routine continued for a full five days.
"The soil's starting to turn black." Darwin wasn't in a good mood today. He crouched by a clearing, dug up some soil with the small trowel he carried, then put it in his palm and sniffed it. "It's as if something has contaminated it. Strange... If it's going to kill these plants, how have they survived for so long?"
"Rose Month is almost here," Fatenai said, remembering something. "The continent goes five months without sunrise, and the whole world is covered in darkness. Maybe this is a sign. The color of this Shuluo Grass is starting to fade, too. They should have some way to protect themselves, but I don't know how they'll do it."
In this world, roses weren't a metaphor for love and beauty. Instead, they stood for evil and darkness, representing the five unusual months without sunlight. During those months, the earth turned pitch-black, plants couldn't grow, and the fields lay barren.
Next month would be the first month of Rose Month, and she still hadn't found a way to get through those five months.
She couldn't go without food and drink like the Summoners, and she couldn't move to a town, either. Most importantly, she had no income. Even if she went to a town, she wouldn't be able to find anywhere to live. That was the reality Fatenai had to face.
"Incredible! It's impossible to imagine, and yet it sounds so fascinating!" Darwin didn't share her worries; he only found it interesting. "No sunlight! Then plants can't grow. How do they deal with that? And how will mana flow then? I can hardly wait to find out!"
Fatenai wasn't in the mood to answer him. She began thinking about which of the plants she'd learned about recently could be used as supplies to last through those five months.
Suddenly, Fatenai stopped in her tracks. She heard a faint whimper, a sound that made her heart tremble. Whoever made it seemed to be on the verge of death.
Fights happened every day in the forest, mostly between animals, though there were sometimes disputes between adventurers. Fatenai had seen very few of them, however. This sound seemed to come from some kind of animal. As she stood there, still pondering it, Little White had already dashed anxiously toward the sound.
Little White's humanlike intelligence was almost unbelievable. Lately, whenever they went out, it never interrupted Fatenai's study of the forest. It simply followed behind her, rolling around or chasing butterflies.
What had it found? Or did it know the creature making that whimper?
Fatenai followed, walking through a patch of trees. There, beside an Eisole Beech, lay an injured unicorn.
It was a marvelous creature that made one's eyes light up. It was taller and larger than a horse, with pure white fur. The tips of its coat were unusual, seeming to glow from a distance. Most striking of all was the horn on its forehead, a full two yards long. Its eyes were like clear crystal, stunningly beautiful.
Sadly, one of its legs had a terrible wound. A bloody hole, as though it had been pierced by a spear or some similar weapon, made the sight painful to behold.
Fatenai took in the unicorn's condition. Little White was already beside it. The unicorn struggled to raise its neck, and Little White rubbed against it as if trying to comfort it. The unicorn's eyes were full of weakness.
Fatenai approached, but her arrival didn't upset the unicorn. Perhaps it was too weak to stay alert. Its beautiful eyes blinked as it gazed at Fatenai. There was no wariness or fear in them, only a hint of curiosity, stirring pity in her heart.
"Poor thing. Who hurt you like this?" Fatenai couldn't help stroking the unicorn's coat. It seemed hesitant at first, but when it sensed no ill will from Fatenai, it relaxed and let her do so.
As she stroked the unicorn's fur, she found it softer and more comfortable than any pelt she had ever touched. Fatenai turned her gaze to its wound. Up close, it was horrifying. She looked beneath the unicorn and saw that its blue-black blood had stained a patch of grass.
Blood was still pouring from the wound. If they waited much longer, it might die from blood loss.
"What a sacred animal!" Darwin hurried over, unable to hold back an exclamation when he saw the unicorn. "But how did it get so badly hurt?"
The unicorn raised its head to look at Darwin. Perhaps the creature was so extraordinary that it could sense his presence, which surprised Fatenai.
"Let's save you first..." As Fatenai spoke, the markings on the back of her hand gradually appeared. She slowly laid her hand over the unicorn's wound. To keep it from panicking in a misunderstanding, she kept reassuring it. "Don't worry. I'll save you... Don't worry, just relax..."
The unicorn was even more perceptive than Little White. It obediently let Fatenai place her hand on its wound. The markings slowly melted away and disappeared. When Fatenai withdrew her hand, the hideous wound had vanished.
"Sometimes, I feel this is truly a miracle," Darwin praised. "The art of these Masters is like the greatest power God has bestowed upon humanity."
The unicorn could feel the strange change in its body, too. Its eyes gradually brightened, and even showed a hint of surprise. Its expressiveness only endeared it further to Fatenai, who couldn't help patting its head.
"I heard you're not a believer," Fatenai said. She was in a good mood now, so she asked the question she hadn't asked before.
Darwin fell silent. Fatenai thought her words had hurt him, so she apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up. I was just curious... After all, this is a world with a God, but everything you've said challenges His authority. And in the end, you succeeded. That achievement surpasses everything."
"Those achievements mean little to me." Darwin's accomplishments would become famous in later generations, but their full glory had not been revealed during his lifetime. Or perhaps he simply didn't care. "They were what I wanted to do, that's all—even if it meant I would never see Emma again."
"I'm sorry for bringing up something painful." Darwin's wife had been a devout believer, unlike him, who didn't believe in God. Their opposing beliefs had led to a past so sad that even Fatenai felt sorrow hearing about it.
"Do you want to study this world, Lonai?" Darwin suddenly changed the subject, just as unexpectedly as Fatenai had asked her question. She thought it over and nodded. Though saying so made her feel she was being presumptuous, Darwin seemed relieved to hear her answer. "Good."
It seemed like a meaningless little interlude, and no one knew what those words foretold.
Many years later, a disheartened adventurer met the most famous mage of the age in the Eisole Forest. The mage was as beautiful as the legends claimed. She rode a tall, imposing unicorn, her platinum-blond hair falling all the way to her ankles—like a goddess or elf from an epic.
The adventurer asked her how to live in a world one didn't like. Without hesitation, she replied:
"Get to know it, and make it your world."
Before you continue