Translator: Haruto.

Lulune and I entered a luxurious restaurant where we were having a lovely meal, until all of a sudden, an agitated man barged in.

“Lulune-sama! Is Lulune-sama here?!”

He’s wearing a tailcoat and appears to be a butler or something of the sort. He looks around the place and when he spots us, he comes running towards our table.

“You are Lulune-sama, aren’t you?!”

“Um, yes, I am…”

Lulune seems to be a little displeased with the abrupt interruption of our meal. That being said, her expression is so subtle that even I had a little trouble picking up on it at first.

“Err, I’m terribly sorry for spoiling your meal, but would you please accompany me to my lord’s mansion?!”

“…Why, though? I’m enjoying my food right now.”

The butler is bewildered by Lulune’s cold demeanor for an instant, but he really must be in a pinch since it doesn’t take him long to recover his composure.

“The thing is… Rhea-sama, the daughter of His Excellency, the Earl of Arcana, is currently suffering from a terrible illness that has taken a turn for the worse, and… she doesn’t have much time left.”

“…I see. Do you know the name of her sickness?” Lulune asks, standing up in a hurry and putting on her jacket.

The eyes of the butler widen briefly before his serious expression returns and he answers, “She suffers from an illness known as the Curse of the Woods. We thought that perhaps you could do something about it, Lulune-sama…”  

“Ahh, the Curse of the Woods, huh… I understand. I’ll help her.”

The Curse of the Woods is an illness that has been around for ages. It gradually transforms the victim’s body into wood until they become nothing more than a tree.

He must have come looking for Lulune not only because she’s a hero, but because he believes that she’s probably the only person in town capable of solving the problem.  

In order to dispel the curse, you need Mandragora Extract. Something that can only be found in the deepest parts of the Evil Forest.

Lulune turns to me and apologizes, “I’m sorry Alize-san. Do you mind if we cut our meal short? I’ll make it up to you some other time.” And just like that, she follows the butler out of the restaurant.

Now by myself, I scratch my head and say, “Honestly, that Lulune is just… Well, I’m at least glad to see that her desire to help others remains the same as I remember.”

I grab my jacket, stand up from the table and whisper to myself, “Good grief… I guess it’s time for this old man to get a little serious.”

***

I, Lulune, follow the butler of the Arcana family to the Earl’s mansion. The butler’s expression is a mixture of agitation and nervousness.

It’s understandable, though. He’s asking one of the heroes for a favor so he must be worried about what kind of reward I’ll demand from them. But in spite of that, I can tell his desire to save Rhea-sama is genuine. That’s why I also felt the need to help them.

I require Mandragora Extract to dispel the curse, which only appears in the deepest parts of the Evil Forest. Because of my low fighting abilities, I’ll have to put my life on the line to obtain it. I wish I could ask Akane, the strongest fighter in our group, for help but the sky castle is too far away now.

They’ve gone up north to search for Alize-san, and since Arcana is located in the mid-southern part of the continent, it’d take me at least two weeks to reach the sky castle and return to the city.

…Well, you reap what you sow. I’ll have to try solving this issue by myself.

After reaching the mansion, the butler guides me into the room where Rhea-sama is staying. She’s lying in bed and half of her body has already turned into wood.

“We… We only have a week,” I say, and the woman that was standing beside her breaks into tears. I presume she’s Rhea-sama’s mother. Her father, the Earl of Arcana, grits his teeth in frustration.

“But… don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” I say confidently.

Truth be told, I only have a fifty-percent chance of making it back alive from the Evil Forest, but saying that would just make them worry even more for no good reason.

Thanks to how confident I seem, hope returns to their eyes. I walk to Rhea-sama’s side and say, “It’s okay, I’ll save you.”

“…Lulune-sama?” She asks with a shaking voice and moving only her eyes.

“Yes, my name is Lulune. As a hero, it is my duty to save you so just wait patiently for my return, okay?”

Rhea-sama’s expression changes slightly, turning into a smile.

“Thank you…”

She thanked me… I have to steel my resolve.

“Okay, I’m off to the Evil Forest. I’ll be back in no time.”

I then leave the mansion and head towards the Evil Forest as fast as my legs can carry me.

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