「《Create Water》」


  She muttered the spell aria and the water gushed out from the palm of her hands. She pushed the water gushing out from her palms to her face and appeased her thirst. Flora kept drinking the water for a while.

  「Fuha…………..」


  After drinking the water with such zeal for thirty seconds, she finally took a breath. Maybe thanks to drinking the water, she noticed that her willpower and stamina had returned a little.

  「Now I’m drenched. If I don’t move to another place to take a rest……….」


  When she noticed that the ground where she sat was wet due to her water magic, she whipped her heavy body to stand up again.

  「《Radiation》」


  Flora casted the illumination magic again and went to look for a place to rest. A few minutes later, she found a suitable tree root for her to use as a resting place. With all the leaves scattered on the ground, she expected it to be like a makeshift cushion.

  「Yup……….. 《Heal》」


  After slowly resting on the ground, she leaned her entire weight on the tree and then applied healing magic on her sore limbs that had accumulated fatigue. Though healing magic couldn’t completely cure muscle pain and fatigue, it was better than nothing. When she was done with that ――、


  （So……… Tired.）


  Was the first thing she felt. Not even one minute after that, a wave of sleepiness attacked Flora and she started dozing off. The moment she closed her eyes, her consciousness was swallowed by total darkness.

  ◇　◇　◇


  The next morning…


  「Nnh……」


  Flora was woken up by the cold air around her. The scenery she saw when she opened her eyes was still that of the forest.

  （…………. I see. I……….. Fell asleep huh. It’s cold.）


  Flora recalled the situation she was in.

  It was strangely cold. Her body felt listless, heavy, and her joints were screaming in pain. That was natural as she hadn’t covered herself with a blanket.

  Flora forced her listless body to stand up but――,

  「……….. OUCH! ? 」


  When she tried to move her body, a sharp pain attacked the nape of her neck.

  「W-What! ? 」


  Her body trembled and she unintentionally swept the nape of her neck with her left hand. In doing so she felt that something was swept away by her left hand. When she looked at that something that was swept away, there, she saw a spider――、


  「HYIII! ? 」


  Flora was completely awake in the next moment. Her face paled the moment she understood the situation.

  「NO!　NO!　NO!　NOOOOOOO! 」


  Flora began dusting her body in case there was another bug attached to her body. She kept clapping on her dress including the parts below her dress.

  After dusting her body, she knew that the only insect that was attached to her body was only that spider――、


  「………. Nooooooooo.」


  Flora was on the verge of crying. After carefully dusting her dress, she now tried to touch the pained place bitten by the spider.

  「Thank god it didn’t cause a bloody wound.」


  Flora felt relieved after knowing that there was no bloody wound on the nape of her neck but she didn’t let her guard down yet.

  「………………. Faster. I have yet to leave the forest.」


  Flora moved her legs immediately so that she could leave the forest even one second faster. Though her body was hurt all over adding to hunger pangs that attacked her, she couldn’t hope for luxuries.

  「………….. EH? 」


  After walking for around ten minutes, Flora felt a light dizziness. She brushed that aside as light anemia due to her forcing her body to move despite the hunger, so she whipped her staggering feet to move again. And then, one hour later――,

  「Eh……………………… I…………………… Am outside the forest? 」


  The scenery she saw was where the sea of trees came to an end.

  （Did I………………….. Leave the forest?）


  Flora was standing dumbfounded but she soon enough moved her feet again.

  （I’m leaving it. I’m leaving the forest. It would be great if there’s human settlement nearby, but…….）


  She finally stepped out of the forest while thinking so. Outside the forest was a slightly elevated hill that commanded a good view of the surrounding area.

  Flora discovered a group of buildings that looked like a village far separated from the forest.

  「V-Village. That must be a village. Thank goodness……….」


  Flora was feeling so relieved to the point of slumping down where she stood. But――,

  「…………… I must go there. I have to go to my sister’s place.」


  Flora suddenly stood back up a while later. She squeezed the last of her willpower to move her listless body towards the village with a sluggish gait.