Chapter 61 The Drinking Water Of The Spirits
On the tenth day of exploration,
As usual, Lukas and Charles-kun stood at the front, followed by me, Lina-senpai, Chelsea, and Olivelle-san guarding the rear.
Yet, there was still no progress today.
"...Let's take a break again tomorrow. Not just for a day, but for multiple days. Let's thoroughly reexamine things."
Walking through the deep forest every day was taking a toll on us physically, not to mention the mental fatigue from not finding any clues. It seemed necessary to take a few days off to reset both mind and body.
Olivelle-san nodded approvingly at my words. Feeling reassured that he agreed, I was about to ask Lina-senpai and Chelsea to help with gathering information when...
"Chelsea-san, watch out!"
――Olivelle-san's voice pierced through the air.
I reflexively looked behind Chelsea and noticed a dull light in the bushes – the sharp eyes of a monster.
Without thinking, I reached out to Chelsea, grabbed the hem of her clothes, and pulled her towards me. I caught her falling body and looked up, seeing light green hair swaying in front of me.
"Olivelle-san!"
Amid Lukas's frantic voice, the Hero's crest spread beneath the monster's feet. In an instant, a dazzling light emitted from the crest enveloped the monster.
When I opened my eyes reflexively, the monster was gone.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but their relief was short-lived as a new monster emerged from the bushes.
"Get back!"
Olivelle-san retaliated once more. The monster, resembling a boar with large fangs, was larger than the previous one, causing deep furrows on Olivelle-san's brow. Charles-kun stepped forward to protect us, using magic to support Olivelle-san, tilting the battle slightly in our favor.
Just as Lukas was about to join the fight, another monster charged towards him from the bushes.
"Lukas!"
I involuntarily shouted my childhood friend's name. The monster that emerged from the bushes was even larger than the others, a beast-like creature.
Although caught off guard, whether from his daily training or sheer determination, Lukas managed to block the monster's fangs with his sword. However, facing a monster two sizes larger than his 14-year-old self, he was easily overpowered. Despite managing to block the fangs, he was swiftly knocked down by the monster.
As Lukas lost his balance, he found himself at the edge of a cliff.
Just as he was about to fall, forgetting about the monster, I rushed to his side.
"Lukas!"
In the corner of my eye, I saw Olivelle-san cutting down the boar-like monster. Without hesitation, he went after the other monster – the one that had knocked down Lukas. Charles-kun, while protecting Lina-senpai and Chelsea, also supported Olivelle-san.
Lukas managed to regain his balance at the last moment and grab onto the cliff. However, his hand slipped due to his weight. Just before his hand completely slipped from the cliff, I reached him and grabbed his hand.
"Let go, Laura! You'll fall with me!"
"I can't possibly do that!"
I raised my voice to scold my foolish childhood friend.
Sweat beaded on my forehead. It was impossible for me alone to pull Lukas up to the top of the cliff. Desperate and realizing that getting help was difficult in the current situation, I clenched my teeth in despair.
Olivelle-san was engaged with a giant monster, Charles-kun was guarding Lina-senpai and Chelsea. If Charles-kun and the others were to come to our aid, they might become targets for the monster Olivelle-san was fighting. There was also the possibility of other monsters lurking elsewhere. In short, no one could act recklessly in the current situation.
So I thought I could do something until Olivelle-san defeats the monster, but my heart pounded in my chest as Lukas' hand slipped through mine slowly. My mind went blank. No ideas came to mind on how to get through this situation.
The only thing I knew for sure was that I couldn't let go of his hand.
"Laura, let go of my hand!"
"No way!"
His voice is lower and angry than usual. And he used rough language.
Lukas' hand, which I should have been holding onto, slipped away. Without thinking, I leaned forward and grabbed my childhood friend's hand with both of mine - at that moment.
Suddenly, my body tilted forward. By the time I realized the ground beneath us was crumbling, we were already falling into darkness.
"Lauraaa!"
Chelsea's anguished scream shook my eardrums.
I realized Lukas was holding me tightly.
* * *
――Splat.
A drop of water falling on my face woke me up.
I slowly opened my eyes. I saw blue clothing in front of me. I noticed I was lying in a position where Lukas was hugging me.
"Lukas!"
"U-ughh..."
I quickly leaned over to check on my unconscious childhood friend's face.
He furrowed his brow, with sweat on his forehead. There didn't seem to be any bleeding, but he must have hit his body hard.
I frantically looked around for the bag I brought. It contained a healing potion.
Luckily, I found it nearby. Most of the potions had spilled, but I found one intact healing potion. It may not be very potent, but it should be enough for first aid.
I tore some leaves nearby and wiped the potion bottle. Since it was in a separate compartment from the poison, I knew the spilled liquid was from other potions, but I wiped it just to be safe.
After drying it thoroughly, I wiped the mouth of the bottle with the hem of my clothes. Finally, I was ready and administered the healing potion to Lukas.
Slowly, his eyelids opened, revealing his blue eyes. As his eyes met mine, my childhood friend jumped up, saying,
"Why didn't you let go of my hand!"
"Why did you tell me not to let go!"
I reflexively retorted.
Lukas was the first to look away from our intense gaze. He clenched his fists, looking down.
"I'm glad both of us are safe, but if something had happened to Laura..."
Lukas bit his lower lip. He seemed to be saying that if something happened to me, everyone would be sad.
It was comforting to know he cared, but his words applied to him as well.
"If something happened to you, Lukas, I would feel the same way."
With that response, Lukas fell silent.
――Looking back, it was unlikely that Lukas, the future Hero-sama, would die in such a place. It was a considerable height, but the dense trees cushioned our fall, sparing both me and Lukas from fatal injuries.
The existence of the future Hero-sama (Lukas) itself was a sign of survival. He was the most essential character in the main story. I had failed to consider even the basic premise of this world in the heat of the moment.
While it sounded good to say I panicked at the sight of my childhood friend in danger, irregular situations required me to utilize my memories from my past life.
With my thoughts finally calming down, I reconsidered what to do next. Arguing was not the solution. First of all...
"Let's meet up with Olivelle-san and the others."
That was the priority. I helped Lukas up, and since we were together, it was almost certain we would safely make it out of the forest.
However, we still needed to figure out how to reach Olivelle-san. As I pondered, I noticed a large tree stump.
At the base of what seemed to be a large tree stump, a white flower was blooming. It was the first time I had seen a flower in this forest, and suddenly, I remembered.
"Wait, this path..."
It looked familiar. The landscape depicted with precise graphics resurfaced in my mind.
Yes, I had walked this path in "Last Brave"! There was no mistake. And ahead of us was...
"Lukas, this way!"
While Lukas was surprised by my sudden movement, he had no choice but to follow me as he leaned on my shoulder.
Walking through the unnaturally opened trees, it felt like a path guiding the "player."
If my memory serves me right, and if the structure of this forest is exactly the same as "Last Brave," there should be a spring ahead on this path. It serves as a collection point, and upon investigating, I was able to obtain the item "The Drinking Water of the Spirits"!
Feeling the pace quicken with anticipation, I consciously slowed down my steps to tread the ground slowly and steadily. However, Lukas stopped as he covered his left eye.
"Ugh."
"What's wrong?"
"My left eye feels hot..."
Startled by those words, I peered at Lukas' face. Clearly, the Hero's crest was emitting light.
I tried to recall, but there shouldn't have been such a depiction in the game. Is it resonating with something, or is it trying to guide the Hero?
"Lukas, sorry. Can you hold on a little longer? Then we can take a break."
I said while peering into his face. Although we should probably take a break right away, we were so close to where "The Drinking Water of the Spirits" was. If we could reach there, maybe we could heal our wounds.
Lukas smiled faintly in response to my words, took it as an answer, and started walking again.
Suddenly, we emerged into a clearing where the trees were absent as if they had been deliberately removed. Well, more precisely, there was a significantly different giant tree towering in the center, with a trunk thickness that was incomparable to the others. Around a radius of a dozen meters from that giant tree, there were no other trees, creating a natural clearing. Sporadically, white and blue flowers bloomed as if to suggest that someone had arranged this place.
In reality, this place was created by the god (creator), but that didn't matter now. I started walking, keeping an eye on Lukas who was gasping beside me.
The impressive trunk created steps on the ground. Being careful not to trip over them, I steadily approached the base step by step.
And there it was...
"...we found it."
A spring was bubbling up.
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