Chapter 32
☪ Before evening Mirania took Grecan up to the witch forest. The Witch Forest, a part of the Mountain of Life, was a mysterious place lined with medicinal herbs that would have enchanted the pharmacists of the human continent. The herb Mirania was looking for was the root of a white flower. The white flower is a flower that blooms on the cliff where the full moon rises. It has strong energy and is effective in enhancing sexual desire. As long as sexual desire was improved, there’s no significant difference from the energy drugs currently used by humans, but there was one more efficacy point. ‘The essence made from the roots of white flowers has an effect of getting healthier the more you sleep.’ It’s a precious herb, but it’s not a herb anyone could get. This was because although healthy, it does not extend the lifespan of humans. What the Prime Minister really want for the Emperor was not to live long, but to have a healthy and satisfying sex life with the young empress. The Prime Minister’s request to Mirania this time was to lie down and eat the fruit. Mirania looked around, strutting about to take any other useful herbs. Rustle~ Forests are a treasure trove of life, inhabited by tens of thousands of life forms. Occasionally, the sound of wild animals passing by passed her ears. “Growl” Mirania looked down on the side. Grecan growled low and ready to attack. Soon she noticed that a squirrel climbed up a branch from where Grecan was staring. Grecan’s ear which stood close slipped down. Grecan, fully prepared, did not fall off Mirania’s side in any case. ‘You really think you’re protecting me?’ Mirania thought. A man who was once an enemy was now protecting me? “…Is something wrong?” She thought it would be better than running to kill soon, so she pretended not to know the difference. Mirania and Grecan soon reached the cliff where white flowers often bloom. “You’re relaxed.” Mirania climbed the mountain collecting useful herbs. The stench of an animal that hid itself among the trees flowed in with the wind. As the bewildered beast faltered, Mirania climbed the mountain as if nothing had happened. Then the tree moved by itself and blocked the front of the beast lurking on the other side. As she repeated that, there was nothing that could stand in the way of Mirania. “Roar!” Grecan, unable to calm his tension, raised his head at the sound of a roaring beast screaming through the dense trees, but there was no attack. Something feels strange. Mirania noticed something and looked around, but before she knew it, she could only see the trees. “Growl.” A tree blocking the view was suspicious, but nothing else stood out. As she passed the tree through the dense forest like a thorn, the surroundings became bright because of the moonlight. It was getting dark and the moon was rising above Mirania’s head. The round moon poured a twinkling halo over Mirania’s head. Mirania’s thin, silver hair shone more delicately in the moonlight. In Grecan’s black eyes, the mysterious figure of Mirania was embedded. His tail, which stood up close to her, fluttered softly. Then, Grecan’s ear pricked, “Growl” Grecan lowered himself to the side and raised his voice threateningly. At Grecan’s glare, showing the unprecedented tension he felt, Mirania cast her gaze in the direction he was looking. It felt like the air was holding her breath. Something was lurking. ‘Hmm, I’m in trouble.’ The place was an empty vacant lot without a single tree. There were all the bushes up to the ankles, and that was not enough to block the front of the venomous beast. “Danger.” Grecan warned. Feeling threatened by the air, Mirania focused on the space where the darkness moved. Slip~ Soon afterward, wolves with fairly large bodies appeared in the dark. There were five wolves, well three times bigger than Grecan. The gray wolf at the forefront had a scar on his eyes like a bandit, half as big as other wolves, giving off a much more threatening atmosphere. The wolf, who appeared to be the captain, secretly glanced at Grecan and Mirania. Grecan’s fur, feeling the gaze, stood up straight. “Great…” His voice was a little lower too. A nervous light was evident. Grecan was a good hunter for his age. He was able to hunt alone and procure food, but that was the beast within the range he could deal with. Grecan acted so mean that he was called to be a wolf’s poison, but he has never fought a life-or-death battle with such a large kind. Wolves, on the other hand, laughed at Grecan’s size. Grecan seemed to be guessing that he wouldn’t be able to deal with any of them. Grecan’s eyes calmed down like a general who was about to fight a bloody battle between life and death. “Mirania.” Mirania, who was wondering what magic to use to bring the wolves back without hurting them, watched Grecan step forward. “I’ll attack, you run away.” A determined light appeared in Grecan’s eyes. It’s like a warrior’s eyes that ignored death. Mirania thought as she looked at Grecan, who had gained strength and was brave. ‘What do you mean?’ She doesn’t think she’s in a situation to run away anyway. Mirania looked wistfully at the confrontation between Grecan and the five wolves. Roughly speaking, it seems to mean that he will deal with those wolves and that she should run away in the meantime. “Growl!” “Grrr, Roar!” Grecan and the wolves began to bark in a threatening voice as a search battle. Mirania, who was out of their fight, felt increasingly weird. At this moment, Mirania was like a reward for the battle between the wolves, Grecan, and the beast. Realizing that, Mirania’s face rotted. “It’s rude.” While Mirania couldn’t contain the absurdity, Grecan, who was fully prepared, jumped forward at the same time as the big wolf moved. He also did not forget to leave a word to Mirania. “Run!” “Oh my!” Mirania thought she might have been impressed if she had been a werewolf woman, and Mirania snapped her fingers as she tried to push the naughty word out of her head. Snap~ “Oh!” A tree appeared in front of a wolf who was trying to rush in from different directions. The startled wolf managed to pull himself aside from the tree. The tree belonging to the broad-leaved tree was a grateful tree that spread wide leaves and became the shade of the fire of small friends in the mountain, but its habitat was quite far from here. However, Mirania summoned the roots of the tree to this place with delicate magic. The broad-leaved tree, excited by the refreshing magic of the Great Witch, fluttered its broad leaves toward the wolf. Stretch~ Snap, snap! Starting with that, all the surrounding trees moved and blocked the wolf’s front. The wolves, who were suddenly blocked by a shield made of living wood, barked in embarrassment. “Awoo!” There was even an unfortunate howling that contained the regret of missing the prey in front of their eyes. There were signs of pacing, but none of the wolves succeeded in getting out. “What?” Grecan, who apparently had his nose stuck in a tree, stood in front of several trees with a bewildered look on his face. He sniffed, but he smelled nothing because the wolves had already left. “…” He glanced puzzled at Mirania, but she was already moving. “Hurry up” Grecan rushed to Mirania’s side. She came by and glanced down at Grecan, but she didn’t say anything, and Mirania walked higher through the mountain. As night fell, the number of beasts appeared to increase. Not only wolves but also bears and wildcats often blocked their way. But no one could come close to even one of the collars of Mirania. Some predators even softened their intention to attack as soon as they met Mirania and rubbed Grecan’s back and tail onto his legs. Grecan, who remained on alert, looked embarrassed when he saw a wildcat wandering around Mirania with an ecstatic expression. Finally, he realized that the existence of the forest was not a threat to Mirania. He relaxed and the gentle Grecan followed Mirania’s footsteps. Mirania searched every corner of the cliff, but when no white flowers were found for an hour, she began to worry. “It’s annoying, If I don’t get it this time, I have to wait another month.” White flowers had a habit of making it a main habitat in a place where there was a lot of moonlight. Moonlight does not always shine on the same place, so it does not have a fixed native place. So it was a pretty difficult plant to collect. Mirania’s eyes were sharp as she looked around the cliff. Mirania’s eyes, standing in one place and looking through the cliff, sparkled. “I see it’s over there.” The white flowers happened to bloom in the middle of the cliff. “You spread it in a troublesome place.” It was difficult to even use a broom because it was in the middle of a sheer cliff opposite her. It was obvious that the broom would scratch her while climbing the cliff. Mirania considered ways to collect the white flowers safely. “Growl.” Meanwhile, Grecan lies under the tree with his front paws together. A rough nose covered the fluffy bushes on the ground. Every time Mirania moved, his black eyes moved and followed.