「So? What about apples?」

「Emm. Before we talk about that……where did Muriel-sama go?」

「She’s probably playing with the children in the village」

「Un….Muriel-sama is a key point of this conversation, so I would very much like her to be present」

The moment Katie made a troubled face, Muriel coincidentally came back.

「No ja. Marion came running down the hill in tears. Did you lot bully her?」

「Bully? We only licked her tail then she ran away」

「So that’s what it was. She’s surprisingly sensitive….mm? Are you that inquisitor, Katie?」

「Yes. It’s been a while, Muriel-sama. Actually, I might have uncovered the reason behind your loss of power. In order to confirm it, I came here to Silverlight Barony to ask for everyone’s assistance」

「No ja!? Are you speaking the truth!? You’re quite something」

「I’m honored to receive your praise!」

Hearing her praise, Katie’s face slackened.

「So that’s why you came here. I thought you just wanted an apple」

「Thought so too~」

「Katie is bad at talking. Were you to say that in the beginning, we would’ve listened with all due seriousness」

The moment Sheryl said that

「I didn’t have time to talk!」

Katie lashed out in anger.

「Everyone with their chocolate and licking…..you could’ve spared at least some attention to me!」

「Oh, good girl, good girl. You’ve been through a lot. Iris and Eclipse are both young. However, the only true Guardian Deity, which is This Mistress, cares about you」

「Uu…..Muriel-samaa……」

When Muriel patted her head, Katie clung to her pitiful chest.

Muriel must’ve appeared as the ideal goddess in Katie’s imagination.

However, were she to be present since the beginning, she would’ve said something along the lines of 「This Mistress wants an apple too」no doubt.

「So why did Muriel lose her powers?」

「About that. As I said earlier, it all revolves around apples! Baroness Sheryl. Are you aware that two hundred years ago apples were a specialty of Silverlight Barony!?」

「More or less. We had a rivalry with our neighbor, Cunningham Viscounty」

「Right! Cunningham Viscounty entered the apple market way before Silverlight Barony, which reduced their share. However, Muriel-sama suddenly lost her power two hundred years ago and Silverlight Barony became abandoned. Following these events, Cunningham Viscounty once again occupied the best position on the apple market….doesn’t that make you suspicious!?」

「…..Eh? That’s it?」

Iris questioned.

「What do you mean?」

「There is no actual proof, right?」

「The proof……I’m about to uncover!」

Katie answered as she struck a pose.

It’s nice to be motivated.

However, at that point, Iris has already lost interest in the conversation.

「Good luck investigating, Sweet dreams」

「Are you going to sleep!? Iris-sama is a Guardian Deity too! Do you not want to learn the reason behind everything!?」

「I want too…….but the success rate of your plan in a bit too low」

「I shall succeed! I believe in myself!」

「I do not」

「Those who believe shall find salvation!」

「…….I think it’s a god who should say this line」

「Don’t mind the details!」

「You shouldn’t forget about the details while investigating」

As Iris pointed out the flaws in her line of thought, tears welled up in Katie’s eyes.

「Big sister Iris. Bullying is no good~」

「That’s right, She worked hard to come up with the slightest of clues, let’s at least pretend we believe her. I’ll do my best to pretend!」

「Pretending, Sheryl, you are……..」

Mentioning that in front of the person in question seems crueler than simply ignoring her.

Iris suspected she did that on purpose, but apparently, she is just an idiot.

The moment Sheryl noticed her slip of a tongue, she immediately tried to cover for herself.

「I’m not pretending. I properly believe. Cunningham Viscounty is suspicious」

「I’m grateful for your concern….but I’m fine. I have Muriel-sama! Muriel-sama definitely believes me!」

「Umu…….however, to sever a god’s power is not a feat normal people are capable of. That’s a god’s work. Which means This Mistress has to suspect the gods she’s acquainted with……umu」

Muriel folded her arms as she spoke in a troubled voice.

Which in turn made Katie feel troubled.

「Hey, hey. Unless we have a better clue why not accompany Katie in her investigation? We have nothing to do during winter anyway」

「Puni」

Hearing Eclipse, Punigami nodded saying「You’re idle anyway」.

「Well, we are…..we have too much free time…..but that’s the best situation for me…….」

「Stop saying something unreliable and properly investigate」

「You’re quite disobedient today, Eclipse. Are you out of sweets today?」

Eclipse, just as her looks tell, she is innocent to the core.

However, that’s only true when she has sweets.

The moments its effect fades, she turns into a biological weapon faithful to her mission.

The last time that happened, she took Sheryl hostage in order to bring Iris back to the Kurifot continent.

Her disobedience might be caused by the lack of chocolate.

「Sheryl. Chocolate please」

「Yes, here」

「Eclipse. Eat this」

「Yay…..munchmunch. Yummy! Don’t ignore Katie’s opinion please~」

「She’s like that even after she ate her chocolate….alright, if you insist so much」

「Good for you, Katie」

Eclipse smiled. Bright as a sunflower.

A goddess in the flesh.

Recently, she might have acquired enough faith from the villagers to be a real goddess though.

Iris too had some divine presence to her…..but not as much as Eclipse.

No, perhaps she was a goddess, after all, considering how she made forest and lake with her magical power.

「I’m not going to lose to Eclipse!」

「Punini」

「It’s a fool’s errand」Punigami couldn’t help but say.

Iris’ posture immediately deflated.

However, since she was aware of it herself, the damage wasn’t too great.

「Well, for starters. If someone interfered to steal Muriel’s power he must’ve left some traces behind. Like a seal or something. In other words, Muriel, come here. I’m going to investigate your body」¹

「Investigate This Mistress’ body!? S-Should I take my clothes off!?」

「How did it come to that!?」

「But, you know, when This Mistress sees you beckoning with your finger on top of the bed and wanting to investigate her body, This Mistress can’t help but associate…..」

「I-Is that so…..no, don’t make careless assumptions!」

Seeing Muriel and Iris screaming at each other with red faces, Eclipse tilted her head.

「What did you imagine~?」

「Eh, well…..」

「No jaa……..it’s hard to explain….」

「Tell me~」

Seeing Iris unresponsive, Eclipse pulled on her pajamas.

However, she couldn’t honestly answer her.

It was too early for Eclipse.

As she thought how to gloss over it, Sheryl came to her rescue.

「Eclipse-chan. Muriel-sama and Iris-sama must’ve thought something bad. They feel embarrassed and can’t tell anyone」

「Is that so? You can’t think bad things」

「「Yes」」

When once gets scolded one apologizes.

Problem solved.

「Back to investigation」

「No ja」

Iris put her hands on Muriel’s back and focused her consciousness.

When Muriel was only a soul, Iris discovered her with detection magic.

This time she used detection magic on her body.

The lesser the area the bigger the accuracy.

As long as there is something “else” she should be able to discover it.

「……Ah. There is something」

「No ja!? That came out of nowhere!」

Muriel jumped in surprise as she couldn’t stop with no ja, no ja.

After all, this problem bothered her for over two hundred years.

Iris discovered it by only lightly touching her back, of course, she would be surprised.

「There is an enchantment resembling a seal….pretty strong one too. I’m not able to solve it」

「Eeh!? Is there something Iris-sama can’t do!?」

This time it was Sheryl who jumped in surprise.

「Of course there is」

「Well, I guess I do know about your inability to talk to strangers and get up in the morning」

「……In other words, if I can’t undo the seal, there is nothing to be done about it」

「Undoing the seal seems harder than waking up in the morning after all」

Sheryl nodded as if convinced.

Sheryl’s interpretation was convenient for Iris, but she didn’t find this outcome satisfactory.

「I’ll also try~」

Eclipse put her hands on Muriel’s back instead of Iris.

「Un, un…….impossible. That’s terrible. Who did that to Muriel?」

Eclipse puffed her cheeks and spoke as she gave up.

She wasn’t frustrated because of her failure, but because there was someone out there who intentionally sealed Muriel’s power.

「I don’t know who did that…….but the spell receives a steady supply of magical power. From that direction」

Iris pointed with her finger.

Everyone looked in that direction.

They only saw the walls of the church, but Cunningham Viscounty was also in that direction.

The inquisitor of the Great Temple of Divine Will looked through the information in the headquarters.²

She was searching for the records regarding Silverlight Barony.

However, the archives were rather badly organized on top of Silverlight Barony being abandoned or two hundred years. She had a hard time finding relevant material.

But Katie finally managed to find a thin file regarding Silverlight Barony

Apparently, the first Silverlight Baron was an outstanding knight and received the territory three hundred years ago as a reward for his efforts against monster threats.

Silverlight Barony put a lot of effort into cultivating apples.

The neighboring Cunningham Viscounty had been in the same trade for longer, but its sales fell short of Silverlight Barony.

However, from a certain year onwards, Silverlight Barony failed to obtain great harvests due to irregular weather.

On top of that, the water source dried up and the land followed suit, which brought us to the present day.

Thanks to that, the apple sales of Cunningham Viscounty reached their previous values.³

「Suspicious….extremely suspicious!」

Katie’s glasses shone brightly as she looked through the file.⁴

Katie’s intuition told her there was something suspicious with Cunningham Viscounty.

However, she had no idea what that was, so there was a need for her to personally investigate.

She felt uneasy about doing it alone and decided to enlist help in Silverlight Barony.

△

「…..And here I am」

「I see. Were you to come a bit sooner, you wouldn’t have missed on udon」

「What? Udon?」

「Ah, you don’t know about udon. You are so behind the times」

Iris answered halfheartedly as she lied on her bed.

Katie, who sat in the chair, expressed her lack of understanding.

「Punipunini」

「You had no idea about udon before going to Wagaka village yourself though」 Punigami, as Iris’ pillow, answered in exasperation.

However, such a thing didn’t matter.

Only present held importance.

Iris knew about udon, Katie didn’t.

Therefore, Iris had the right to be smug.

「I’m not sure how should I face discrimination on the food basis. More importantly, apples! Apples!」

「Apple are good too, but I want some chocolate~」

Muttered Eclipse as she rolled on the very same bed.

「Yes, here some chocolate」

Sheryl, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulled out chocolate from her pocket.

「Yay. Munch munch……yummy~」

「Ah, Eclipse-chan is so adorable! I almost want to eat Eclipse-chan who eats her chocolate!」

「I don’t think I’m that tasty though~?」

「I wonder about that. Let’s try it. Licklick~~」

「Hiyaa, it tickles」

「Hey, Sheryl! What are you doing to my sister!」

「I’m licking her cheek, nothing much!」

「I can see that! I’m telling you to stop!」

「Understood. In that case, I’ll lick Iris-sama」

「Eh? Stop….hiyaa, it tickles!」

「Sister Iris is so cute. Then I’ll lick the other cheek」

「You too, Eclipse!? Someone save me!」

The moment Iris screamed on top of her lungs, the door of the church opened with a bang and Marion rushed inside with great momentum.

「What’s happened, Iris!? The scream just now…..what is this situation?」

「As you can see, I’m under an assault of Eclipse and Sheryl」

「How enviable…..I mean, sloppy! Stop this instant!」

「But Iris is so cute……」

「Yes, I can’t agree more. We aren’t at fault. Iris-sama is unbearably cute」

Sheryl said with a serious face.

「Um……you might be right…..」

Marion tilted her head and muttered lacking in confidence.

「No, don’t be deceived, Marion! Sheryl’s logic is twisted! Save me!」

「Ah, sorry! I’m going to save you now!」

Marion jumped on the bed, threw Sheryl away and put Eclipse in a Nelson hold.

「Mumu. I can’t lick Iris like that~」

「You don’t have to! Sisters aren’t something you lick!」

「Is that so? Do you not want to lick Iris?」

Innocently asked Eclipse.

Unlike Sheryl and Jessica, who ask such things to tease, Eclipse was genuinely interested.

Which made it rather embarrassing to answer.

「I-I don’t want to lick her a-a-at all!」

Marion immediately stuttered.

「Hmmmm……」

Eclipse looked at her in suspicion.

At that time. Sheryl made a sudden comeback by circling behind Marion and licking the tip on her tail.

「Uhiyaaa!」

「Umu…..that’s the taste of lie」

「Really? I’ll try too」

「Sure, go on」

「Licklick……I don’t understand」

「You have to try harder than this」

「Is that so? Licklick」

Led by Sheryl, Eclipse kept licking her tail.

「Ticklish! Stoooop it, save me mother!」

Marion escaped the church on the verge of crying.

「Excuse me……isn’t it about time to hear me out?」

Katie, who stayed silent until now, cautiously asked.

Iris completely forgot she was present.

「……You could’ve saved me from this licking hell anytime, you know?」

「No, with my power it wasn’t possible…..besides, you looked happy despite the thing you’ve said….」

「There’s no way that’s true!」

「Punii?」

Even Punigami voiced his doubts.

Why was she doubted?

There’s no way something like that is pleasant.

She felt ticklish and disgusting…..supposedly.

However, the more she thought the more she felt strange, so she changed the topic and decided to hear Katie out.

Iris, Punigami, and Sheryl on top of Marion.

Eclipse, Muriel, and Maruka on top of Jessica headed to the cave.

The cave was located relatively close, so they chose not to fly.

It was enough for dragons to simply roll it with their front legs.

「See, that. That’s the cave’s entrance」

Maruka pointed ahead of her from Jessica’s back.

There was a hole in a cliff in a place she pointed at.

Large enough for a dragon to fit through.

Much less snowballs.

「Marion. You’re almost there. Do your best」

「Un……rolling it with just the front legs is unexpectedly exhausting……」

「How about pushing it with your hind legs?」

「Puni」

「That’s what dung beetles do!」

With a furious cry, Marion pushed the snowball into the cave.

Jessica followed right after.

Once they did their job, the dragons transformed into humans and breathed in relief.

「It’s hot outside but it’s cool in this cave」

Said Sheryl while impressed.

「It’s quite comfortable here. This Mistress almost wants to live here」

「Are you going to quit being the Guardian Deity of the Silverlight Barony, Muriel? You’ve done your part. Leave the rest to me and Eclipse」

「Even though we became friends. Too bad」

「I-I won’t quit! This Mistress shall protect the Silverlight Barony!」

Muriel denied in a hurry.

「Hey, hey. Can I take a bit of snow home?」

Muttered Maruka as she stood before the snowball.

「How much?」

「Un…..this much!」

Maruka drew a circle in the air a size bigger than herself.

Compared to the snowball it was indeed “a bit”, but it wasn’t something you can easily carry in your arms.

For normal humans that is.

「Everyone, step aside for a second. I’m going to cut it……ei!」

Iris put magical power in her arm and carved a block with her handsword.

She further cut it in easy to carry pieces.

Every piece put together should be about enough to fulfill Maruka’s request.

「Amazing! Not only dragons, but Iris is also strong!」

「S-Something like that……」

Iris blushed as she was praised.

Then she carried the snow blocks to the village together with everyone.

She felt cold, but with Giga Inferno Flame’s protection, it wasn’t a problem.

「By the way, Maruka-chan. What are you going to use this snow for?」

Asked Sheryl.

「To boil udon. You’ve helped us all, so you must stay for udon!」

「Udon, is it?」

Apparently, 『udon』is a type of food.

Perhaps a specialty of this village.

「I’m home」

Screamed Maruka as they neared the village.

Her parents and the village head were waiting for her there.

「Oh, Maruka! Did you guide them properly?」

「Nice work, Maruka. You’re our pride」

「Mou. You’re exaggerating, mother, father. I’ve only gone there and back」

「Umu. Maruka has always been a responsible child. I wasn’t worried at all. That being said…… is it snow you are carrying?」

「Un. I wanted to treat everyone some udon!」

The moment Maruka said udon, her parents gently smiled.

「I see. You are our benefactors. Treating you with udon is the least we can do」

「Village head. Let’s have an udon party this evening」

「Umu. Very well. You’ve heard her. How about staying overnight in our village and eat some udon? I’ve never tried udon boiled with melted snow water myself」

Having said that, the village head swallowed.

This udon must be quite tasty.

Iris and the rest swallowed in anticipation.

「I understand. Then we shall impose on your hospitality」

Sheryl selfishly accepted. However, no one was against it.

Their heads were already full of udon.

They had no idea what kind of food that was but since Maruka and the rest recommended it so much.

It had to be good.

※

Udon seemed to be a noodle dish made of wheat flour.

A relative of pasta, you could say.

The villagers gathered in the center of the village and boiled udon in a ridiculously large pot.

It didn’t look like their first udon party.

Both, the elderly and the children participated.

However, only boiling wasn’t enough to surprise Iris.

But then they washed udon in cold water.

While they were at it, the village head gave instructions.

Then they warmed udon in the hot water and put it in a bowl together with soup.

「…..I can see how the water shortage can happen」

Muttered Iris.

「There is no other way. To prepare delicious udon one must not be stingy with water!」

Replied Maruka as she slurped udon to her side.

Iris answered half-heartedly as she tasted her own udon.

Iris was puzzled at the udon eating technique at first, but it was surprisingly easy.

Chopsticks are rather convenient once you get used to them. ⁵

It went well with udon.

Slurpslurp…..

Tasty. Tasty indeed.

No wonder Maruka bragged so much, it’s taste was above Iris’ expectations.

However, the way they use water……

No, udon must be essential for this village’s survival.

More so than water.

That’s why water shortage was inevitable.

Slurpslurp…..

「Puni」

Punigami, who was Iris’ chair, wanted to try udon too.

「Ah, sorry. Wait a second…… Here, Punigami」

Punigami didn’t like hot food, so Iris blew at it before spilling it at Punigami’s body.

Punigami took udon inside and dissolved it.

「Punipuni!」

Apparently, udon felt good even for slimes.

He wobbled in delight.

It lessened his capability as a chair, but Iris felt happy when her friends were happy.

Therefore, she fed him more.

Then, Punigami’s body color changed for blue to white.

「Here you are, Iris. As antisocial as always…..」

Marion walked closer with a bowl.

As Marion said, Iris was further…..no, much further away from everyone else.

After all, the majority of people were concentrated near the pot.

They had fun in their own loud ways, so Iris couldn’t possibly join.

「Because you looked lonely, I’m going to eat together with you」

Maruka said with a smug face.

「I see….thanks Maruka. For taking care of Iris」

「I-I’m not lonely! Punigami is with me so it’s okay!」

「Iris. I think having a slime as your only friend says a lot by itself. You need some human friends too」

Lectured Maruka.

「Punipuni」

Punigami too wobbled in agreement.

「No, no, no. I have friends besides Punigami. Like Marion!」

「Marion is a dragon. Do you have any non-monster friends?」

「…..Umm」

Iris was at a loss of words.

Indeed, Marion was a dragon, as well as her mother, Jessica.

Eclipse is a demonic biological weapon, Muriel is a Guardian Deity.

Which leaves.

「Sheryl is a human. See, I have proper human friends」

「You thought so much and only one came out」⁶

「…..Yes」

Iris honestly nodded.

「Then I’ll be your friend. So you have to come and play again」

「Alright……Maruka is a good girl」

「You are welcome. You should talk with others more when you come again」

「……I’ll try」

She answered in a small voice.

「You should try harder than that」

「Punini」

Marion and Punigami spoke in exasperation.

But for Iris talking with strangers was a big hurdle to overcome.

After all, not every human is a nice person.

They also tend to die to monsters and demons due to the difference in abilities. ⁷

They have to be treated with care.

More than anything, the notion of humans being scary was firmly imprinted in her mind.

She couldn’t do much about it.

Iris’ illness could only be cured in a century.

「Iris-sama, how about more udon? Ei!」

「Udon is tasty, Iris. Next after chocolate!」

「The world is vast. One day, we’ll be able to eat udon in the Silverlight Barony」

「Fufu. Should I open an udon shop?」

The rest came to Iris’ place.

Everyone seems to like udon.

「Eveyone become prisoners of udon. It’s tasty though…..maybe we should eat it like once a month?」

She would have to talk to people if she comes again.

Even so, udon is tasty and she had to get used to having conversations, or so she thought.

Today marks the day of the book’s official distribution.

You might see it on the shelves already.

It may differ depending on your region, but treat me well nevertheless.