Chapter 29
It took Reuters a few days to get back on track, as he was busy catching up from his ten-day absence.
Reuters reported to the prince’s office as usual and handed him the papers he needed to sign.
Dante took the papers from him, leaned back in his chair, and looked down at them.
Reuters, who had been waiting quietly across the desk, finally opened his mouth as if remembering something.
“Oh, I took care of the investigation support paperwork that was on your desk the other day.”
“You did what?”
“This is the application form for Princess Letier’s magical plant investigation team. I submitted it to the relevant department. The final list should have already arrived to Her Majesty the Empress by now.”
Letier…? Plant Research Team…?
Dante, who was searching his memory at the sudden list of words, immediately crumpled the paper he was holding.
“Ah.”
Oh, that’s an important document…
He frowned and muttered softly to Reuters, with a puzzled face.
“Reuters.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you doing something I didn’t ask you to do?”
“Yes…?”
That’s my job…?
Reuters just blinked his eyes blankly, his face blank.
Dante put down the crumpled paper he was holding and covered his forehead.
There must have been some mistake, but Letier’s documents were not discarded and reached the Empress.
He was lost in thought for a moment, then he let out a low sigh and asked.
“Is the investigation very dangerous?”
“I don’t think so. So far, many wizards have advanced to the middle part of the forest, and there are no living monsters left as of now.”
“Just because it hasn’t been discovered yet doesn’t mean it won’t be discovered in the future.”
“But… I’m telling you that the probability is very low.”
Reuters glanced at the prince’s face, which still had no expression on its face.
I could tell what he was worried about.
“Is there a possibility to withdraw the application?”
“No. You know Her Majesty the Empress…”
An angry muscle rose in his sharp jaw.
The Empress had been quiet lately, and now she was touching him where he least expected it.
“I don’t know what she was thinking, but if she was trying to piss me off, she succeeded.”
“……”
“Let’s go to the investigation team’s departure ceremony. When is it?”
“It’s the day after tomorrow.”
“That’s pretty quick to tell me.”
“I apologize.”
Reuters bowed his head heavily.
Dante stared off somewhere on his desk, then sighed and closed his eyes.
* * *
“The day after tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ve written down the preparations here, so you’ll need to gather your things and come to the front of the magic tower the morning after tomorrow, as we’ll have a brief departure ceremony there and leave immediately.”
“Ahh…. Yes, I understand.”
Letier nodded.
The knight who gave her the instructions completed his duties and disappeared into the end of the hallway.
Letier looked down at the paper she was holding.
It was a guide containing things to prepare and a rough schedule.
“The day after tomorrow? Isn’t that too soon?”
Lucy asked, standing beside her.
“I guess so.”
“You said it’s two days and three nights, so I don’t think I should pack a lot of clothes for you.”
“Yeah, keep it as simple as possible.”
Lucy walked towards the closet with a worried expression on her face.
I regret not bringing many light but active clothes.
“I thought you’d be attending a fancy banquet at the palace, but I never thought you’d suddenly join an investigation team.”
“Me too…”
“My dear princess, do you think you’ll be able to sleep on the cold, hard ground in a thin tent? You’ve never left a fluffy bed in your life…”
“Would it be very uncomfortable?”
“Of course it would, I would like to bring you a mattress!”
Lucy answered, turning over each hanger in the closet.
It was fortunate that the investigation period was not long.
“I think I can sleep for a couple of nights, so I’ll be well rested when I get back…”
“I’ll bring you a thin blanket so you can sleep on the floor like a quilt.”
“Yeah, thanks Lucy.”
Letier walked past Lucy, who began to organize her things, and picked up the book on the nightstand.
As soon as I heard that I had joined the investigation team, I went straight to the imperial library and borrowed this book.
<Types of modern and contemporary monsters>
‘I never thought I would read such a terrifying book…’
Letier sat up in bed and flipped through the thick pages.
Even if the monsters in the Forest of Memories were all but gone for now, there was a good chance that the monster’s plants that bloomed in the places where they died were likely to have similar habits to them.
Just as the flowers blooming on the corpse of a monster that had a terrible poison in its teeth could have a similar poison.
“Hmm….”
Certainly, since I had the dream of my past life, the speed at which I accept new knowledge has become incomparably faster than before.
Letier was able to assimilate much of the book’s knowledge just by skimming through it once.
She perused the borrowed book without moving from her seat for some time.
* * *
Two days later, the day of the magical plant survey team’s departure.
Letier and Lucy went out to the front of the magic tower on time.
Ephron, who had arrived first and was standing around the tower, spotted her and came running.
“Princess!”
“Ephron, I am relieved that you came with us. I didn’t get any sleep last night…”
Lucy said as she handed Letier’s luggage over to Ephron.
Ephron took the luggage that Lucy had handed him to the front of the tower, where several horses were gathered.
He loaded the bag onto one of the smaller horses and looked back at Letier and asked.
“Princess, do you remember riding a horse?”
“It’s been a long time since I rode, but… I think I remember.”
“Try riding one, I’ll show you.”
Ephron quickly picked up Letier, who had come close, and placed her on a small horse.
Letier held the reins in an awkward position and stamped her feet.
“Heee!”
“Whoa…”
It was awkward at first, but I was able to get the hang of it quickly, perhaps because I had ridden it as a child.
Letier rode her horse around Lucy and Ephron to reassure them.
“Is this okay?”
“Hello!”
At that moment, three people standing on the opposite side of the tower approached them.
There was a tall, towering figure and two shorter ones, the shorter ones wearing identical robes, so much so that at first glance they looked like twins.
The tall man was wearing very thick glasses, which gave him a rather innocent look.
“Oh, hello.”
Letier quickly got down from her horse and greeted him formally.
Letier, who shook hands with the man as a representative among them, looked at everyone.
“I’m Isaac, a scientist who’s joining the investigation team. I assume you’re the ones traveling with us to the Forest of Memories?”
“Yes, that’s right, I’m Letier, also a scientist.”
“I used to study animal behavior.”
Isaac smiled meekly and waved his hands up and down.
As his greeting ended, the shorter men standing beside him removed their robes in turn.
One by one, the shorter ones standing next to him removed their robes, revealing a people who looked alike except for their gender.
A young-looking woman among them opened her mouth.
“Hello, I’m Wendy, a new member of the Wizards, and this is Walter.”
“Nice to meet you!”
Letier bowed slightly, secretly wondering if they were related.
Isaac, who was standing nearby, stretched and said.
“It seems like the scientists on this investigation team are the two of us and the botanist over there!”
“Is that so?”
Letier turned her head in the direction Isaac was pointing.
Not far from the tower, someone was crouching, looking at the floor.
“I think she’s still observing the plants.”
“Ah…”
Letier nodded quietly.
The botanist had long hair braided at the back.
She was so focused on the floor that he didn’t even realize her hair was dragging on the ground.
Zoologists, botanists, and chemists…
“Members of the Magic Plant Investigation Team, please gather here!”
At that moment, someone was heard shouting from the platform in front of the rooftop.
At his call, people who had been scattered here and there slowly gathered in one place.
There seemed to be roughly ten people gathered in one place.
It wasn’t that big of a deal.
“This magical plant investigation team is made up of three scientists and four magicians. The rest are all knights.”
Wendy, who was standing nearby, blurted out.
When did you come…?
Letier, who was surprised by Wendy approaching without a sound, answered as if she was as surprised as possible.
“Oh, thank you for letting me know.”
Wendy nodded once and walked away as silently as she had come.
Ephron looked around, subtly protecting her from others getting too close.
As the people gathered, the leader who had called them together spoke again.
“Since we seem to have gathered here, I will briefly explain the purpose and schedule of this investigation team. First of all, as you know, the main purpose of this investigation team is to investigate new plant species within the Forest of Memories.”
Letier, who was listening to the general manager’s voice, held her breath without realizing it.
“Although we have proven a certain level of safety through sufficient preliminary investigation, there are still many things about the Forest of Memories that are unknown. Let’s each take care of our own safety.”
Here and there, answers like ‘yes’ and ‘understood’ popped out from the knights.
I felt Ephron, standing next to me, grip the longsword he was holding tightly.
“I won’t say anything more since everyone who joined the investigation team is an expert, but if you come across anything that looks dangerous, ask the nearby knights or attack magicians for help. Before harvesting magical plants, make sure to wear the protective gloves we’ve provided, and put the magical plants you’ve harvested in a file inside your magic pouch.”
Letier swallowed once and thought over the precautions in his mind once more.
My heart was pounding with anticipation, worry, fear, and curiosity.
“If you’re ready, let’s go without delay!”
The general manager, having finished speaking, went down to the podium.
“Princess, we shall depart as well.”
“Yes! Just a moment.”
Finally, as I was looking around with the intention of waving to Lucy, Letier stopped when she found someone familiar.
A person standing under the stage and talking to the general manager.
It was someone she knew very well.
