NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16.1
16.1. Collecting Crystal Flowers
“Heh… not bad, who’s it for? Lises, right?”
Nord asked with a teasing tone after hearing Genius’s answer. Crystal flowers bloom in certain parts of the royal capital, with petals and stems so transparent they resemble crystal. That’s why they are called crystal flowers. While regular crystal flowers are relatively easy to find, pink ones are a different story, and so is their meaning.
Normally, crystal flowers have translucent, bluish petals, but during specific seasons, crystal flowers growing in swamps sometimes bloom with rare pink petals.
Nord, not being a scholar, didn’t know why this happened, but he did know the story surrounding these pink crystal flowers.
Long ago, an adventurer fell in love with the daughter of a noble family. The daughter didn’t dislike the adventurer, but noble marriages were all about family alliances. Knowing that a marriage between people of different social classes was forbidden, the daughter said this to the adventurer:
“The only thing you can offer me is a crystal flower.”
On the continent of Ilva, it’s common in all countries to gift flowers as a way to express feelings. It’s called the language of flowers. In this flower language, the meaning of a crystal flower is “affection.” It conveys a feeling greater than what one might have for family or friends, but it doesn’t allow for romantic love. With this, the daughter suppressed her feelings, but sometime later, the adventurer returned.
“I offer you this crystal flower.”
Hearing these words, the daughter felt a mix of relief and deep sadness, thinking the adventurer had given up on her, and she reached out to take the flower. But the flower handed to her wasn’t the usual crystal flower; its petals were a brilliant pink.
At the time, it was believed that crystal flowers only had blue petals, but this adventurer had discovered the rare pink ones in a swamp during his travels. Seeing something impossible—a crystal flower with different-colored petals—unleashed the emotions the daughter had been suppressing. Like this rare pink crystal flower, she wanted her “impossible” love to come true. In the end, their love was realized, and the adventurer and the noblewoman were united. It’s a famous tale.
The place where the adventurer found the crystal flower is the swamp in the Kingdom of Hamill. The love story that took place in a distant land spread to the people of the continent of Ilva, including the Kingdom of Hamill.
To this day, the crystal flower’s meaning remains “affection,” but the pink ones have a different meaning. Their meaning is “I will always love you.”
It was clear why Genius was so flustered. He was planning to confess his feelings to his childhood friend, Lises. Nord, who had been friends with Genius since they became adventurers, was surprised that they weren’t already a couple. After all, they were always inseparable, whether during adventures or breaks. Though they slept apart during campouts, with Lises staying with her female friend Almina, Nord had assumed they were already together.
Even Nord, who wasn’t particularly good at matters of love, could see that Lises also had feelings for Genius. If Genius confessed, she’d probably agree without hesitation.
Therefore,
“If that’s the case, I’ll have to help you out.”
Nord felt an even stronger desire to take on the swamp quest, spurred by the urge to support his friend’s love.
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After that, Nord and Genius went off to gather their party members to take on the swamp quest. Nord invited Elsa, while Genius approached Shino and Geigos.
Elsa was on vacation, so Nord visited her lodging, but she wasn’t there. He left a note through the door crack saying, “Let’s talk about the quest. I’ll be at the guild,” and then headed back, earning some small coins from simple quests in the meantime.
When Nord returned to the adventurer’s guild to report on the completed quests, Elsa was already there. Although the note had been pointless since she never returned to her lodging, Nord didn’t mind and explained the situation to Elsa.
“I’ve always admired that kind of story,” Elsa sighed dreamily and immediately agreed to join the quest.
After telling her they’d meet at the guild the next day, Nord headed to Genius’s inn. Unfortunately, Genius had failed to catch Geigos, but Shino had agreed to come along. Nord told Genius that Elsa would be at the guild the next day, then went home and slept soundly.
The next morning, Nord arrived at the guild earlier than usual, and soon enough, everyone gathered. It seemed Geigos had already taken on another quest, so the team for this quest would be Nord, Elsa, Genius, and Shino. Although Elsa and Genius had never met before, they quickly introduced themselves and began discussing which quest to take.
The primary goal was, of course, to find the pink crystal flower, and the secondary goal was to defeat the serpent. So, they chose a quest that would allow them to accomplish both.
When a party has its own specific goals, it’s common to take on several quests in the same area to maximize efficiency. Since Genius’s party often took on long-term quests in far-off places (focusing on quests requiring more manpower and offering higher rewards), they understood this balance well.
In the end, they chose a few collection quests in the swamp, along with one to harvest venom glands from vipers, which also lived in the swamp, just like the serpents. Unfortunately, there was no serpent hunt quest available this time. After checking that they had all the necessary gear—especially protection against poison and insects—they set off for the swamp.
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The vast wetlands stretched before them, with reeds and pampas grass creating a golden carpet. The soil was likely rich in nutrients, and the plants stood tall, nearly as high as small trees. These tall grasses towered over Nord, obscuring whatever might be lurking beyond.
The soft, marshy ground left footprints but didn’t sink beneath Nord’s weight, holding him up well enough.
Through the tarp of the wagon, Nord felt the cool wind from distant mountains brush his face. Despite being in a swamp, the air was surprisingly dry and pleasant.
“The humidity’s not as bad as I thought.”
“Yeah, I expected it to be much more damp.”
Elsa agreed with Nord’s observation as they stepped down from the wagon.
“Well, it’s autumn, so it’s a bit better. In summer, it’s supposed to be unbearable.”
Shino and Genius, dressed lightly, followed them off the wagon. “We spent the summer out west,” Genius added. The western regions were known for being more comfortable during the summer. Genius and his party must have planned their quests with that in mind. “What about you guys?” he asked.
“We were in the forests and mountains.”
Nord had spent the summer doing hunts for rank promotion quests in those two regions. The forests provided shade from the sun, and the high elevation of the mountains helped keep things cool. If they had been in the swamp during summer, it would have been miserable.
“Alright, everyone ready? I’ll lead, so watch our rear.”
Shino, the scout and ranger, took the lead as they began their exploration of the swamp.
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“It’s really easier with a scout around.”
After yet another battle with monsters, which ended in an ambush and a single strike, Elsa continued gathering nearby plants while commenting.
“Well, that’s my job after all.”
Shino, moving quickly and efficiently as ever, finished collecting materials before scanning for anything else of note, responding casually.
“Yeah, you’re always making things easier for us.”
“I’m deeply honored by your praise.”
Shino jokingly replied to Genius’ gratitude. Despite his lighthearted tone, Nord noticed Shino was still carefully monitoring the surroundings.
In truth, Shino’s skill as a scout was impressive. He could detect traces of monsters from the slightest clues and even estimate how recent they were with reasonable accuracy. Thanks to him, despite the swamp’s poor visibility, they had consistently succeeded in launching ambushes of their own.
Shino also excelled at quickly spotting valuable materials, allowing them to rapidly complete the requests they’d taken on. Among the defeated monsters was the poisonous snake Viper, from which they managed to collect enough armor materials.
“Since this is a swamp, the tracks are easier to see.”
Shino muttered nonchalantly. Nord looked down at the ground beneath his feet in response. The dark, swampy soil was marked with footprints, not only from himself but from his companions and possibly even monsters that had passed through before them.
Nord, having some basic scouting skills, understood how remarkable it was that Shino could read so much information at a glance. Nord could barely make out the direction of movement from the tracks.
“I wish we had a ranger scout of our own…”
Elsa’s comment reached Nord’s ears as he seriously considered the matter. Having completed many missions as stone-level adventurers, it wouldn’t be long before they received a quest for promotion to crystal-level. Perhaps they could tackle that quest alongside Genius and his group.
However, Genius’ party already had five members. If Nord and Elsa joined, that would make seven. The party was well-balanced: Geigos the spearman and Genius the swordsman formed the front line, while Lyses handled healing and Armina supported with her bow from the backline, with Shino providing flexible coverage in the middle.
Since Nord and Elsa were both skilled frontliners, they wouldn’t drag the party down, but it could cause the rear line’s support to falter.
While temporary cooperation was fine, a permanent addition to the party might not be the best idea. Perhaps Genius realized this too, which was why he hadn’t suggested it so far.
For short-term goals like promoting to crystal-level, it might not matter, but for long-term goals—like advancing to bronze-level or iron-level adventurers—they might need new allies.
That’s what Nord was thinking about.
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