“What… what is this?”
The startled people stared at the sharp tendrils, frozen in place as if they had suddenly turned to stone.
They still gripped their swords, remaining on high alert.
The tendrils stood still, as if they were enjoying the falling rain.
“They stopped moving…!”
“I-Is this working?”
The mage controlling the large amount of water turned to Letier and asked.
Letier nodded.
“These things stop moving when they get hit with water! Now’s our chance—finish them off!”
At her shout, Wendy, who had been standing in a daze, pulled Walter forward and stepped up.
They resumed their attack, hurling fire pillars at the motionless tendrils.
Now powerless, the tendrils burst apart under the relentless flames.
Dante, who had rushed to Letier’s side, glanced down at a fallen tendril fragment and muttered softly.
“Gibrina Salamander, huh.”
“That’s right. It seems to be a magical plant born under the influence of the salamander—it inherited its characteristics.”
“These things are so much easier to cut now that they’re soaked!”
From nearby, Efron shouted as he slashed at the tendrils.
And it was true.
The once-tough plant, which had effortlessly deflected sharp blades, was now drenched and weak, its thick outer layer softening as if melting away.
“Cut them down, now!”
“Yes!”
The tide of battle shifted quickly.
In less than a few minutes, the towering tendrils that had loomed over them were shredded to pieces, piling up on the ground.
“Hah… hah…”
“Haaah…”
The water mage, Wendy, Walter, and everyone else who had been relentlessly cutting down the tendrils were utterly exhausted.
Even as they scanned their surroundings, they remained on guard.
“…Is it over?”
“These damn tendrils…”
The water mage, who had been intensely focusing, let out a deep sigh and stopped channeling his magic.
The rain that had been pouring down like a waterfall also ceased.
Dante, after slicing the last twitching tendril at his feet, turned back to Letier.
There was no telling when another attack might come.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“You’re drenched.”
Dante stepped closer, brushing Letier’s wet hair back.
Letier looked up at him—just as soaked as she was.
Her mind was still reeling.
“Lady Letier! Are you all right?”
Efron, having just finished dealing with the remaining tendrils, ran over.
He bent forward, resting his hands on his knees, catching his breath.
“Efron, are you injured?”
“Hah… No, I’m fine. But how did you know these things were weak to water?”
“Ah…”
At Efron’s question, the other expedition members, who had been listening quietly, turned their attention to her.
The weary scientists, mages, and knights all fixed their gazes on Letier.
From the distance, Wendy asked again.
“Lady Letier, do you know something about these magical plants?”
“I don’t know much about magical plants, but before coming here, I studied some of the more well-known magical creatures.”
“Magical creatures?”
“These tendrils show the same characteristics as the Gibrina Salamander. If you look closely, you can see the distinctive wave-like patterns, and their skin turns purple when burned.”
At her explanation, the others began examining the tendril fragments scattered on the ground, soaked from the water.
“That wavy pattern… I thought I’d seen it somewhere before.”
Isaac, who had collapsed onto the ground, muttered.
“The Gibrina Salamander is a magical beast that usually lives on land but enters the water to rest. In other words, when submerged, its biological functions slow down, and it essentially goes into a dormant state.”
“So that’s why they froze when we doused them in water.”
“…Like they were falling asleep.”
“You’re amazing, Lady Letier!”
Exclamations of understanding echoed around.
The expedition leader, who had been sitting in stunned silence, muttered with a grimace.
“Then… these things… they must have been born from magical beasts’ corpses, inheriting their traits?”
“For now, that seems to be the case. If we encounter more aggressive magical plants in the future, we need to share any knowledge we have on magical creatures.”
Wendy turned to the group and firmly stated.
At that moment, some of the knights turned on the expedition leader with anger in their voices.
“Damn it…! Didn’t you say the mages had already surveyed this place? That we just needed to escort the scholars and scientists? So why the hell is this happening?!”
Faced with their outrage, the expedition leader scowled and snapped back.
“At the time, there was nothing here! We didn’t see anything like this!”
“It must have been self-defense.”
Letier, who had been quietly standing by, finally spoke.
She thought of the vast, lush gardens of Lenever Castle as she continued.
“Self-defense?”
“When plants feel attacked, they release protective chemicals. Some medicinal herbs, for example, exude substances that drive away leaf-eating insects.”
“Wait. Are you saying… they thought we were attacking them?”
Murmurs spread through the group.
Abel, the botanist who had remained silent until now, suddenly looked at Letier in surprise.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.
“Letier is right. Unlike previous expeditions that merely passed through, this time, we collected plant samples. Surprisingly, plants communicate with each other through chemical signals, warning their kin of potential threats.”
“…..”
“The chemicals released into the air from the harvested plants must have alerted the larger magical plants, provoking them to attack us.”
A heavy silence fell over the group.
After a while, Isaac murmured in a small voice.
“So… this is our fault.”
“But what good is realizing that now?! We need to focus on getting out of this forest—fast!”
Suddenly, Wendy shouted in a loud voice.
She clapped her hands sharply to lighten the mood and called out,
“Come on, everyone! This isn’t the time to rest! We need to get out of this cursed forest as soon as possible.”
“But we don’t know what kind of magical plants might appear up ahead. And we’ve already been through enough chaos with the tendrils.”
“Is there another path?”
Letier turned to the expedition leader and asked.
He let out a thoughtful hum, hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“There’s a path leading straight to the western outpost near the cliff instead of heading toward the forest entrance, but it’ll take much longer.”
“What? The cliff is way too dangerous!”
“But it’s outside the dense forest, so it might be easier to avoid those magical plants.”
At his words, everyone turned to look at the steep cliffside.
The narrow path meant that even a single misstep could send them plummeting below.
But then again…
They turned back toward the other direction.
‘We can’t go back into that forest full of magical plants, either…’
Letier pressed her fingers against her throbbing temple.
Neither choice was an easy one.
“But even on the cliff…”
At that moment, Abel spoke cautiously.
“Plants can survive in extreme environments too. There’s no guarantee they won’t be aggressive.”
“……”
She had a point.
If they encountered hostile magical plants on the cliff, there would be nowhere to escape.
“But creatures that live on cliffs aren’t much of a threat.”
This time, Isaac spoke up from the other side.
“At most, you’ll find small creatures that burrow underground. They don’t pose a major danger to humans. Even if magical plants were born from their corpses, they likely wouldn’t be that dangerous.”
“So, they’d be like gatlings.”
“Exactly. And those creatures don’t even come to the surface. They’re sensitive to light. Any magical plants derived from them would likely just cling to the ground.”
Isaac’s tone was firm.
For the first time since entering the Forest of Remembrance, he looked like a true scientist.
“Alright, then what do you all think about taking the cliff path?”
Wendy looked around at everyone.
“Well… how should we know? You scientists should decide. Just pick whichever option is less dangerous.”
One of the knights muttered reluctantly.
Others nodded in agreement with his words.
“You heard them. Letier, Isaac, and Abel—our scientists. We need your opinions. What do you think?”
“I think the forest path is better. At least we now know how to deal with those tendrils. The cliff is a complete unknown, which makes it more dangerous.”
Abel continued,
“The vegetation near the entrance of the forest won’t change much. That means the likelihood of encountering something other than tendrils is low. If it’s just more of the same, we can handle it.”
“But you can’t know that for sure. There’s a much higher chance that no magical plants exist at all along the cliff path.”
Isaac shook his head firmly.
Adjusting his slipping glasses, he spoke with certainty.
“As long as we’re careful on the cliffside, it’ll be the safer route.”
“Oh great, now we have conflicting opinions. Letier, what about you?”
Wendy turned to Letier, who had been listening quietly.
Following her lead, everyone else also turned their gaze toward Letier.
Suddenly put in charge of the decision, she looked around in surprise.
Uh… I’m neither a botanist nor a zoologist. I’m just a chemist who came along because the Empress suggested it…?
Seeing the expectant faces waiting for her decision, she hesitantly opened her mouth.
“W-What if we try heading toward the cliff first? If we check the path with our own eyes, it’ll be easier to decide whether to continue or turn back.”
“I agree. If we follow that path, we’ll reach it quickly, so it’s not far.”
Wendy supported Letier’s suggestion.
At their proposal, Abel and Isaac both nodded.
“Then please lead the way, Captain.”
