The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 215

“That nymph, you know? She desperately prayed to please save her, saying it would be fine if she could never bloom even a single beautiful rose again in the future, just let her escape from this terrifying yoke—the residents found it truly pitiful to see.”

“Anyone would want to live, so there’s nothing strange about it.”

Evelyn, no matter what happens, I will definitely protect you. As Cassis clenched his fingers that had grown hot without him knowing it and made this vow, the coachman spilled out the last of what he knew.

“But an amazing miracle happened. From the vine covered in blooming roses, one large and beautiful white flower—definitely not a rose—shot up!”

“A flower….”

The rose nymph bloomed another flower? Cassis was on the verge of shaking his head at such a strange story.

“Then a small flower identical to it sprouted from between that nymph’s hair, and the vine danced as if it were alive and took the nymph right into it. When she came to her senses, both the white flower she’d never seen before and the hundreds of roses that had been blooming on the vine had all disappeared! But there was only one person who saw it. That grandmother I mentioned earlier.”

“……”

“The grandmother believed her entire life in what she had dimly seen as a girl. She believed that nymph had completely transformed and was living well somewhere else, and in exchange, the rose vine left here had become unable to bloom even a single flower each year. Of course that’s natural, since it lost the nymph who had been living with it! Hahaha….”

“What an amazing story that doesn’t seem to be true.”

“That’s right. It was a particularly hot day in early summer when roses bloom fully—just like now. Oh, and the grandmother passed away, so there’s no way to ask for more details.”

Had the shimmering heat haze violently stirred up inside one woman’s mind? Or was it a truth that everyone had overlooked without knowing? This rose vine, left behind by the elves who had withdrawn thinking that nymph must have died, would know the answer.

Cassis reached out his hand and touched a part of the vine densely covered with thorns.

He could feel it. Though faint, it had a history of containing the clear air unique to Jupiter, and it was indeed a vine that had been tended by a nymph’s caring touch. The place Cassis’s fingers reached, threading precariously between the thorns, was a stem where a few of the precious flower buds had formed.

He let a bit of the World Tree’s energy flow out, but unfortunately there was no response. Usually the order was for ordinary plants to die first and nymphs to follow, but this seemed to be a side effect gained from surviving with the order reversed.

This rose vine had somehow managed to continue its life even after losing its nymph, but a mental connection with it seemed impossible even momentarily. Therefore, any clue to determine the truth of that strange story had essentially disappeared.

“Hmm….”

Instead of being disappointed, Cassis bestowed a small grace, converting and letting flow a small amount so that the struggling flower buds could absorb his energy. Beyond this, even if he wanted to give more, it was an impossible range according to established laws. Before long, a few rose leaves trembled and gleamed with a sparkling luster.

His business at the village entrance was finished. He returned and gently touched the shoulder of Evelyn, who was sleeping peacefully inside the carriage, to wake her.

“We’re here, wake up.”

“Uh… mmm…. Already?”

“Yes.”

As soon as Evelyn, awakened from sleep, stepped out onto the familiar road corner mixed with dirt and gravel, her eyes quickly became moist.

Beyond there existed everything that made up her past! The familiar village chief’s house, the short poplar tree and the front yard where Faye’s wedding venue had been set up though it would be cleared away by now, the residents’ houses, the wheat fields and the furrows where corn had been planted….

Instead of comforting her as she instantly became tearful, he lightly touched the back of her hand with his long fingers. Then she tried to compose her trembling eyes and let out a hot breath.

“I’m confident… I won’t cry. I’m fine.”

“In my eyes, you’re already crying.”

“No…! Ah, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what I came here for, but my heart won’t calm down quickly. Huu… huu, I’m fine now.”

“Should I send the carriage back?”

Cassis asked her as she barely managed to erase her sorrowful expression. They had agreed to stay in this village only during the day today, then leave on another journey riding a single horse as a cover story. And they had made a plan to enter Jupiter’s borders again under cover of complete darkness to avoid people’s eyes, with the coachman currently separating that horse from the carriage.

Evelyn nodded.

“Yes. I’m fine….”

“W-wait! Wait, just a moment!”

“It’s… it’s the village chief.”

She drew in a breath upon spotting someone running frantically from the lower road that wasn’t visible to them. The village chief must have been so urgent that the straw hat on his head was fluttering behind him, caught by the string tied below his neck. Instead of Evelyn, who was frozen in shock, Cassis spoke to the coachman.