Chapter 584: A Stimulating Tale

After parting ways with Erwin-sama and the others, we joined up with the group of alchemists who had been preparing to head into the mountains for the purification effort. By the time we arrived, the wagons were already loaded down with sacks of Rapid-Growth fertilizer, piled high and secured in place.

“Thank you for loading the fertilizer. That helps us a great deal.”

“Not at all, this is hardly any trouble,” one of the alchemists replied with a polite shake of his head. “If we proceed as planned and finish dispersing the purification powder, the conditions at the foot of the mountain should improve significantly.”

I nodded in agreement. Once the foothills were cleansed, the wildlife would likely begin to return, little by little. And when that happened, it would finally be safe for the villagers to come back as well. It might still take time before forestry operations could resume in full, but at the very least, raising livestock should become possible again.

“I hope the fertilizer we spread yesterday is already starting to take effect.”

“Have no fear. If it’s fertilizer made by Julius-sama, there won’t be any problems.”

The alchemists spoke with absolute certainty.

That was… a surprising amount of confidence. In fact, they might have had more faith in my work than I did myself. All I could do was silently hope that their trust wouldn’t be misplaced.

Before long, the “Green Restoration Team,” as someone had taken to calling it, began to move out. A faint sense of nervous anticipation stirred in my chest as we followed after them.

We advanced along the upward slope, the path gradually growing steeper. I stole a glance behind me—Sophia-sama seemed to be keeping up without issue, and Fabienne looked fine as well. Relieved, I turned forward again.

For a while, everything went smoothly.

Then, suddenly, the group ahead grew noisy.

Moments later, they came to a halt.

“Did something happen?”

“Could it be… monsters?”

Fabienne clung tightly to my arm, her expression pale with unease. I offered her a reassuring smile, doing my best to ease her fears.

“I don’t think so. I don’t sense anything like that around here. Right, Lionel?”

“Indeed. There are no signs of monsters in this vicinity,” Lionel replied calmly. “However… I do detect the presence of small animals.”

Now that he mentioned it, I could sense it too.

Small, faint signs of life.

Maybe birds—creatures with wider ranges—had already begun returning to the mountain? Still, it felt far too soon for that.

Curious, I made my way through the cluster of people at the front to see what had caused the commotion.

“Julius-sama! Please, look! This area—this is where we spread the purification powder and Rapid-Growth just the other day, and yet… look how much greenery has already grown!”

“As expected of the magical concoctions and fertilizer created by Julius-sama. Their compatibility must be exceptional!”

…Compatibility?

I’d never heard of anything like that—some kind of “combo effect” between magical medicines. What were they talking about?

Pushing through to the front, I finally saw what everyone was looking at.

And for a moment, I forgot how to speak.

Before us stretched a vast expanse of green.

Grass had sprouted thick and lush across the الأرض. Here and there, even the trees had begun to show signs of life, young leaves budding vibrantly from their branches.

“What is this…? How did it turn out like this? This should’ve taken much longer…”

“Could this really be the result of their compatibility?” Fabienne murmured in wonder.

“No, I’ve never heard of anything like that,” I said quickly, shaking my head. Then, as realization struck, I raised my voice. “In that case… this is undoubtedly the work of the Forest Spirit!”

Fabienne had looked ready to accept the “compatibility” explanation, so I hurriedly cut in with my own conclusion. A few voices around us murmured in agreement—”I see, so that’s it.”

…Why won’t they believe me?

I was trying to give all the credit to the Forest Spirit. Honestly, that seemed like the most reasonable explanation.

Yesterday, we had removed the “black giant tree”—the source of the corruption spreading through the land. With that gone, perhaps the Forest Spirit had finally been able to devote more of its power to restoring the greenery. And this… this was the result.

If anything, it wasn’t a matter of synergy between my concoctions—it was the Forest Spirit working in harmony with the fertilizer.

But there was no way to prove that.

Unfortunately.

And judging by the looks of things, more people seemed convinced that I was responsible for all of this.

…Maybe I should apologize.

Sorry about that, Forest Spirit.

“Julius-sama!”

“Y-Yes? What is it, Sophia-sama?”

“How wonderful… truly wonderful!” Sophia’s voice trembled, her eyes glistening as if she might burst into tears at any moment. “At this rate, the restoration of greenery may be completed far sooner than we ever hoped. I’m so glad I asked Daniela-sama for this, even knowing it might be unreasonable…”

Uh-oh.

This was bad.

If she started crying here, it would look like I’d done something to upset her. And now Fabienne looked like she might start crying too.

This was getting worse by the second.

“Sophia-sama, it’s still too early to celebrate,” I said quickly, forcing a steady tone. “There’s still plenty of corrupted land ahead of us. We can’t afford to stop here.”

“…You’re right,” she said after a moment, composing herself. “That is precisely why I came here. Let us move forward.”

It seemed her words had reached everyone around us as well. The atmosphere shifted instantly—faces tightened with renewed determination.

People checked their equipment briskly, and before long, the group began advancing deeper into the forest once more.

Good… somehow, I managed to steer things back on track.

“As expected of you, Julius-sama,” Nero said admiringly at my side. “Your words alone changed the entire mood.”

“Thanks, Nero. By the way… could you show me what you’ve been writing in that notebook later?”

I hadn’t missed it—the way his pen had been flying across the page at an alarming speed this whole time.

At this rate, Nero might genuinely be planning to turn my so-called “heroic tale” into a book.

That needed to be confirmed.

Even if I had to resort to slightly forceful methods.

“Ah… I’d rather not,” Nero said with an awkward smile. “When we return, I’m supposed to tell Lillie about your adventures, Julius-sama. I’m just jotting things down so I won’t forget.”

I see.

So that notebook contained stories meant for Lillie.

In that case, it might even include passages written specifically for his younger sister. Prying into that would be… a bit too intrusive.

“I understand. But Nero, make sure you tell her things as they really are, alright? Don’t go embellishing anything about me.”

“Of course,” he replied immediately, flashing a bright, confident smile. “There’s no need to embellish anything. The truth alone is more than exciting enough.”

“O-Oh…”

Something about that answer made me uneasy.

“The truth alone is exciting enough”…?

That made it sound like I was constantly getting into trouble.

…Would it actually be better to ask him to tone things down a little?

But then again, doing that felt like admitting defeat somehow.

Ghh… what a dilemma.