After a while, the shopping group came back so we decided to once again head for the northern forest.
Us kids and Tricia got on the cart, which was pulled by the Golem. Lyell and the rest also boarded it in turns and had lunch. They made sure to keep the cart surrounded by three people, which was a proof of their skill.
"These kinds of adventures aren't half-bad."
Cortina surveyed the surroundings while munching on her preserved food. The fewer people there were, the harder it was to keep the surroundings in check.
However, Queen Blossoms weren't such hostile beings. If they controlled the area around the mountain, there was probably no need for such vigilance.
Before long, the green covering our surroundings disappeared, gradually replaced by steep rock. At the same time, the cart started slanting more and more, arousing the feeling that we were climbing the mountain. This meant that we were halfway up the mountain.
Incessant tremor assaulted the cart, and our butts and semicircular canals started to hurt.
"Ugh."
"Nicole, again?"
"Sorry, I have motion sickness."
"I-It's no surprise given all this shaking."
The cart clunked as it advanced uphill. Being an unexplored region, there was no real road, but Lyell and others chose the path where they thought the cart could pass.
Maria cast Cure on me since I was feeling sick. This wasn't like Heal that could only heal injuries, but also mental abnormalities. It showed a decent effect even when it came to a cart sickness like this.
"Nicole, did that help?"
"Yup. Thanks, mommy."
It made me feel kinda uncomfortable to be still calling Maria with mommy, but considering my age, it was more proper to do so. Seeing me in such a state, Cortina cast Levitate on the cart.
This simple magic allowed one to float things up to several dozen centimeters from the ground, and it was mainly used to avoid pitfalls and similar land traps. However, using it in our scenario allowed the cart to ignore the unevenness of the ground and advance smoothly, which decreased the shaking quite a bit.
"This should make it a lot easier."
"Thanks too, Cortina."
"No problem."
Cortina answered with a broad smile. It was the smile that had once charmed me. Realizing that my face got flushed a bit, I shifted my gaze and pretended to survey the surroundings.
"I've never had an adventure like this."
"Such convenient fellows they are."
Tricia said something disrespectful without batting an eye. She was a rare kind of person who didn't cower before the six heroes. Perhaps that's what allowed her to share such friendship with Cortina.
"It consumes Magic Power, so I'd rather not use it much."
"It is indeed useful, but it has its drawbacks when it matters the most."
Maria and Cortina explained why she waited so long to use it. Levitate could last long, but it consumed an appropriate amount of Magic Power.
Moreover, while the user's mind was preoccupied with its control, their reaction to the sudden enemy attack might be delayed. As such, she tried to refrain from using it too much.
But at this rate, both I and Tricia would have gotten exhausted just by riding the cart, so she had no choice but to use it.
"The view is turning smokey. I suppose it's about time we put the masks on."
Lyell who was walking at the forefront noticed the dimness ahead and gave a warning. Just as he said, it gradually turned smokey and our visibility worsened.
We put on our respective Magic Items bestowed with Purify. Although he called it a mask, it wasn't shaped to cover the whole face, but only the mouth area.
Given how it was almost the end of spring, wearing it made us uncomfortably hot, but that was hardly a matter to address when we were climbing a volcano.
"It stinks."
"It's the characteristic smell of a volcano. It's bad for the body to smell it for too long."
"So that's where this Item comes into play?"
"Michelle, you should keep this in mind too. You'd have more opportunities to climb the mountain in the future."
"Okay."
Michelle had the Gift of Marksmanship. And that had even reached the ears of the nobles in the capital of the northern alliance.
Meaning, she could potentially be taken into the army in the future. When that time came, the knowledge she gained during this adventure would prove to be useful.
"We all have matching pairs!"
She showed no concern to my warning and innocently spoke those words. They were so innocent, in fact, that it could blow away the future I was so anxious about.
"Yup. Not bad."
Lyell, Gadius, Maria, Maxwell, Cortina.
Tricia, Michelle, Letina... And finally, me.
Everyone found it bothersome to return to their houses for those Items, so we just bought the same one for all of us. It gave us a sense of solidarity, different from being in a party.
I responded to Michelle with a smile... but that's when I noticed it.
"There... Something's there!?"
"Huh?"
Cortina was the first to react to my shout. Instead of questioning me, she decided to inspect the surrounding presences and noticed what was out of place.
"True... Maxwell, release the Golem."
"On it!"
Maxwell followed her instructions and immediately called off the Golem. He then set up his staff and took a stance to be able to cast Magic at moment's notice. Cortina and Maria also jumped down from the cart and remained alert.
"They are there... Huh?"
"Yeah, we are surrounded."
Lyell and Gadius also set up their respective weapons and inspected the surroundings. As if to respond to their reaction, a giant shadow stepped out from the mist.
Aberrations with the withered tree-like physiques that gave off humanoid impressions—Treants had surrounded us.
