“Huh? Master, what’s wrong?” Hikari asked back in the present.

“Nothing.” I couldn’t tell her I’d been thinking back on that scene from the slave traders.

“Yeah?” Hikari asked. Then she noticed I was looking at the Spirit Tree, the Tree of Eliana. “Master, is it okay?” she asked me.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” I told her.

The Spirit Tree loomed in front of us. I combined my Appraisal and Analysis skills to reveal its information.

[Spirit Tree] Tree created by ***.

Mana Value 10,000/10,000

The mana value hadn’t gone down even after the moontree fruit harvest the night before.

“Master, come!” We spent a little while gazing up at the Spirit Tree together until Hikari suddenly seemed to remember she’d been sent to call me to breakfast. Right away, she started pulling me by the hand to join the others.

“Thank you for bringing Sora, Hikari.” The first one to speak to me when we made it back to the others was Mia.

Mia had once been the Saint of the Holy Kingdom of Frieren, where the machinations of a demon had briefly caused her to be slandered as a pretender. The misunderstanding had been resolved, but since the demons were still after her, we’d decided it would be dangerous for her to remain in Frieren.

That was why she was traveling with us now.

After reflecting for a moment on the adventure that had first brought us together, I gave voice to my thoughts. “Mia, have you ever thought about growing out your hair again?”

Her hair used to go all the way down her back, but it was currently cut short. She’d cut it to aid our escape when we’d left the Holy Kingdom’s capital.

Mia looked surprised by