Chapter 629: Prayer

Colourful flower crowns lined the ground before the monument honouring the Green Spirit. There were floral necklaces, bracelets, and anklets as well.

Naturally, the women and Mira also wore similar flower crowns. Everyone looked delighted.

“Brother Julius, I shall treasure this flower crown for ever!”

“Kyuu!”

“I’m happy to hear that, but I don’t think it’ll last very long. What should we do?”

The flowers would probably wilt within a few days. It would be painful to see Rosalia and Mira’s faces when that happened. Mother and Sister-in-law Daniela also seemed to be struggling with how to tell them; both had furrowed their brows.

“Lord Julius, can you not solve the problem with a magic potion?”

Lady Fabienne tugged firmly on my sleeve and looked up at me. When had she learnt such a technique? There was no way I could refuse her now. Evidently, she also treasured the flower crown I had given her.

“In that case, I’ll make a preservation solution. Sprinkling it on the crowns periodically should keep them in the same condition for a long time.”

In the game, it had been invaluable alongside a small ice store when transporting ingredients that deteriorated quickly. One application had almost completely eliminated deterioration, but there was no telling how it would behave in this world.

“A preservation solution?” Mother asked suddenly. “I’ve never heard of such a magic potion.”

“It’s rather specialised. It’s normally used to prevent ingredients from deteriorating.”

“…Could it be used in skin lotion?”

Ah, so that was why Mother had shown an interest. Realising what she meant, Sister-in-law Daniela fixed me with an intent stare.

What should I say? It might be possible, or it might not. I wouldn’t know until I tried.

“I’m not sure, since I’ve never tested it. When I make the preservation solution, I’ll experiment.”

“Please do,” Mother said.

“Please,” Sister-in-law Daniela added.

They had both asked. That meant I absolutely had to complete it, didn’t it? I had already developed skin lotion, so I would try adding an extra ingredient to its formula.

“Brother Julius, may I truly treasure it?” Rosalia asked.

“Kyuu?”

“Of course.”

“Hurray!”

“Kyuu!”

When I stroked their heads, they narrowed their eyes happily. Lady Fabienne offered her head beside them, so I stroked hers too. That should satisfy everyone.

Oh, Father was smiling wryly. At least he didn’t appear inclined to stop me from developing the potion. In other words, I had his official approval.

Right?

“Now, let us all offer our prayers,” Father said. “We should visit this place regularly from now on.”

“Shall we improve the road?” Brother Alex asked.

“Hmm…”

His suggestion made sense for future visits. A proper road would make it easier for us to come and go, but the same would be true for everyone else. I didn’t want people who heard rumours about this place to arrive in crowds and damage the beautiful flower field.

Surely these flowers bloomed here because they cherished the Green Spirit.

“If many people begin visiting, this view might disappear,” I said.

“That would be a great pity,” Lady Fabienne agreed. “I believe the Green Spirit must love this view as well.”

When we gently expressed our opposition, everyone began reconsidering. The final decision belonged to Father, and we would all obey his judgement.

“We shall postpone improving the road,” he said at last. “The walk here provides good exercise. If a path like this is enough to make us complain, the Green Spirit will laugh at us.”

“Indeed,” Brother Alex replied with a chuckle. “Unless we show the Green Spirit that the Heine family remains healthy and vigorous, the spirit will never be able to rest in peace.”

That appeared to settle the matter for now.

At that moment, I felt two distinct sensations of someone sighing with relief inside me. Could one of them have come from the Green Spirit?

It seemed the spirit truly didn’t want the flowers that adored them to be trampled and spoiled.

Of course, we had stepped on and picked some of those same flowers ourselves.

I’m sorry.

Next time, we’ll bring the universal plant nutrient Lady Fabienne makes, so please forgive us.

After praying before the monument, we left the flower field. I wasn’t the only one who felt refreshed; everyone looked wonderfully content. The fatigue from our journey had vanished, and we returned to the mansion with light steps.

By the time we arrived, it was nearly lunchtime. For the first time in ages, the entire family ate lunch together.

Someone was usually absent from every meal except dinner, so it was surprisingly rare for all of us to gather during daylight hours.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Every member of the family looked cheerful. I hoped we could visit the Green Spirit regularly and enjoy lunches like this one in the future.

Now, what should I do next?

We had obtained the clover seedlings we needed and, by good fortune, found cacao fruit as well. I also had to make the preservation solution.

The order of priority was preservation solution, planting seedlings, and then chocolate. Planting would take time. If I waited until afterwards to make the solution, the flower crowns might already have begun to wilt. I needed to work quickly.

As soon as lunch ended, I took Lady Fabienne to the compounding room.

“Lady Fabienne, we’ll make the preservation solution first. Once that’s done, we’ll plant the seedlings in the clover field. Nero, please prepare the seedlings and Rapid Growth No. 2.”

“Certainly.”

Nero left the compounding room. We had to hurry and complete the preservation solution to protect everyone’s flower crowns.