SYFP Chapter 33

Rustle.

‘Again?’

The bush that had seemed to move moments ago rustled once more.

Letier stood frozen in place, her eyes fixed on the trembling leaves.

This time, she was sure. She had seen it with her own eyes—the bush had moved on its own.

She inhaled deeply, ready to scream if necessary.

After what felt like an agonizingly long few seconds, the bush rustled violently—and then, the knight standing guard suddenly burst out.

“Scientist!”

The knight…?

Letier exhaled the breath she had been holding in one big puff.

Seeing her standing there, the knight let out a relieved sigh.

“I was worried when you didn’t return for so long—I thought you had gotten lost.”

“Oh, no… I was just on my way back.”

“I was concerned… I woke another knight to take my place and came to escort you back. Did you manage to fetch some water from the stream?”

The knight took the water bottle from Letier’s hands and frowned in confusion at its emptiness.

“You couldn’t find the stream?”

“Huh? No, that’s not it…”

“Oh, you couldn’t find it! Then follow me!”

Without waiting for her response, the knight turned and began leading the way—right in the direction she had just come from.

Letier stood there, momentarily dumbfounded, before realizing who was in that direction.

Panicking, she rushed after him.

“Wait! Wait a moment!”

“Hm?”

“Ahhh! Just—just wait a second!”

Letier deliberately raised her voice as much as possible.

She prayed that Dante—who was still bathing unknowingly—would hear her and quickly put his mask back on.

“Scientist, please lower your voice. Others are still sleeping,” the knight chided, as if scolding a child.

It wasn’t fair. But if she didn’t do this, Dante would end up in a very awkward situation.

So, instead of arguing, she forced herself into a coughing fit.

“Cough, cough! Ugh!”

“Are you all right? Did something go down the wrong way?”

The knight stopped and patted her back in concern.

Letier kept coughing while sneaking glances toward the stream.

Hurry… Hurry and put on your clothes, Your Highness!

And then, at that very moment—

“What’s going on?”

Dante emerged, fully dressed in his usual attire—his mask back in place and his robe wrapped tightly around him.

Finally, Letier felt relief wash over her, and she let her forced coughing subside.

“Oh? Oh! Are you the mage?”

The knight, belatedly recognizing him, spoke in surprise.

Wait, another person had left the camp unnoticed, too?

“Goodness, you shouldn’t wander alone like that! Let’s get our water and head back to camp.”

The knight, leaving Letier and Dante behind, hurried toward the stream and plunged the bottle deep into the water.

With just the two of them left alone, Letier suddenly felt awkward.

Avoiding Dante’s gaze, she looked down—only for her eyes to land directly on his chest.

His clothes were still damp from his earlier bath, clinging to his body.

The thin fabric outlined his broad muscles, revealing his firm, well-defined physique.

‘Ugh…’

Letier shut her eyes tightly.

She could feel the heat rising in her face, her ears burning, and her whole body growing hot.

The images from earlier kept replaying in her mind.

“…Are you feeling warm?”

Dante suddenly reached out, gently cupping her cheek.

Letier flinched, her body stiffening.

“Your face is warm.”

“Ah… I-I must still be drowsy from waking up…”

“Did you have trouble sleeping?”

His voice was gentle.

She felt a strange ticklish sensation near her heart and nodded slowly.

“I fell asleep too early, so I woke up in the middle of the night.”

“That’s quite a predicament.”

His tone carried a faint trace of amusement.

Noticing the unexpected warmth in his voice, Letier glanced up at him.

Even though she couldn’t see his expression, she could feel the kindness in his masked gaze.

“Let’s head back!”

The knight returned, carrying a full bottle of water.

Letier immediately stepped away from Dante and followed behind the knight.

Her mind was all over the place.

If she went back to her tent now, she was absolutely certain she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep until morning.

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

The next day, the magical plant research team officially began collecting and classifying specimens.

Wearing the protective gloves they had been provided and carrying enchanted pouches, they moved around in pairs with knights.

Letier also gathered several unfamiliar fruits from nearby trees and carefully stacked them inside the pouch’s internal compartments.

If processed properly, these fruits could be used to create high-quality oils.

Feeling pleased, she hummed a little tune as she moved from place to place.

“Letier, how’s it going?”

Wendy approached her with Walter, who looked exactly like him, standing by his side.

“Wendy! This is actually pretty fun. What happens to all the plants we collect?”

“They’ll be sent to the Magic Tower. The mages and university professors there will conduct experiments on them. If you’re interested, you can come too.”

“Wow, really? I’d love to go!”

She grinned excitedly.

Wendy nodded at her response.

Just then, a short distance away, Isaac—who had been carefully inspecting the ground—called out to them.

“Come here! I found something interesting.”

“What is it?”

Letier, Wendy, and Walter all walked over to where Isaac stood.

He was pointing at a patch of plants growing on the ground.

At first glance, they looked like nothing more than ordinary leafy plants.

“…Why?”

“Doesn’t this look… kind of like an animal footprint?”

“A footprint?”

At his words, Letier crouched down and examined the ground carefully.

The plants had grown in alternating, rounded depressions, forming what looked eerily like the footprints of a massive beast.

However, as far as Letier knew, there was no creature that caused plants to sprout wherever it stepped.

“It does resemble an animal’s footprint, but… there are no tracks leading in or out. Maybe it’s just how these plants naturally grow.”

Wendy responded casually.

Isaac nodded but still looked puzzled.

“…I think I’ll follow this trail and see where it leads.”

“Just don’t go too far.”

“The end of this path is a cliff. Even if I wanted to go further, I couldn’t.”

Shrugging, Isaac began tracing the plant-like footprints.

With a curious expression, he soon disappeared behind a large tree.

“Sir Knight, could you follow him?”

Letier turned to a nearby knight and made the request.

“Yes, understood.”

Just as the knight turned to follow Isaac, a piercing scream erupted from the direction Isaac had gone.

“Aaaah! Aaaagh!!”

Everyone whipped around in shock.

Isaac came stumbling out from between the trees, his face completely drained of color.

He staggered backward, almost tripping, before dashing toward the knights and cowering behind them, trembling violently.

Scattered around the clearing, the knights instantly dropped into defensive stances, drawing their swords.

“What happened?!”

Wendy pulled closer to Walter and shouted.

Efron, who had been watching from afar, sprinted over and shielded Letier behind him.

Letier’s gaze darted around, searching for Dante.

But his black mask was nowhere in sight.

“T-There… over there…!!”

Isaac stammered, unable to finish his sentence as he pointed frantically toward the trees.

Tension filled the air as everyone turned to look in the direction he indicated.

The knights swiftly moved to form a protective barrier around the scientists and mages.

Silence.

Despite the rising suspense, nothing moved.

Impatience creeping into her voice, Wendy shot Isaac an exasperated look.

“What in the world did you see, Isaac?”

“I-I don’t understand… I swear I saw something move there…”

Isaac’s voice trembled as he spoke.

Wendy sighed and raised her hand, summoning a gust of wind.

“I’ll check it out.”

As a wind mage, Wendy controlled the air to part the dense foliage.

The branches that had been blocking their view lifted effortlessly, as though an invisible hand had brushed them aside.

“…See? Nothing’s—”

Wendy’s words abruptly cut off.

Because right there—exactly where Isaac had been pointing—was an enormous flower, large enough to swallow a full-grown person whole.

The gaping, open maw at its center quivered.

For a moment, Letier’s mind blanked.

Then, recognizing the plant’s features, she quickly spoke up.

“Oh, that’s just a flower. Large flowers like that can be found in the southern regions of the Trillante Empire—”

“It’s moving!”

One of the knights shouted.

From the open center of the massive flower, long, snake-like tendrils began to slither out.

“…Tentacles?”

“Stay alert!”

The knights braced themselves, lowering their stances.

Efron, standing protectively in front of Letier, quickly began assessing an escape route.

If the situation turned dangerous, he needed to ensure the Lady got to safety first.

The tendrils emerging from the flower moved fluidly, like creatures sensing their surroundings.

Then, as if locking onto prey, they suddenly stopped—

—and turned sharply in their direction.

“Damn…!”

“Lady, stay behind me!”

Realizing the imminent danger, Efron shouted.

And then—

The tendrils, like falcons diving for their prey, lashed toward them with terrifying speed.

“Dodge!”

Efron instinctively grabbed Letier and rolled them both to the side.

Thanks to him, she narrowly avoided the monstrous appendages.

Others weren’t so lucky.

The knights and researchers who couldn’t react in time were struck with brutal force, sent flying through the air like ragdolls.

“Urgh…!”

“Aagh!!”

“Are you all right?!”

What had been a peaceful expedition had, in an instant, turned to chaos.

Those who managed to regain their footing drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

The monstrous flower’s tendrils, merciless and relentless, showed no intention of letting them escape.