Leave a comment

The Almoria grass fields were located about twenty kilometers northeast of the city. It was even farther from the city than the place where I previously went to collect Dark Matter.

Going outside the city with Arkecius was a first since the Dark Matter collection.

Since then, the reforestation had progressed further, and green formations engulfing relics of the old city’s ruins dotted the wasteland. Being early in the morning, the intercity transport ships were actively moving to and from the city.

As usual, Alfe was perched atop Arkecius’ head, while Hom ran alongside, using Wind Flow. I watched Hom closely on the display screen, but my concerns were unfounded. She kept pace with Arkecius, controlled by me, without losing her breath.

On top of Arkecius, Alfe cheerfully swung her legs and hummed a tune.

I wasn’t sure if she was trying to help me relax or if she simply enjoyed singing, but I found her voice comforting and pleasant.

“The forest is coming into view,” Alfe said, finishing her song and hydrating herself before speaking to me through the communicator. As she said, the forest where we had been attacked by the Auro Rabbit was drawing near.

“We’re doing well. Can you keep up this pace, Hom?”
“Of course, Master,” Hom replied, looking up at Arkecius. I zoomed in on the display to observe her closely and saw no issues so far.

Maintaining our pace, we continued north past the forest where we had been attacked by the Auro Rabbit. Soon, the Kazah Pass, our landmark, came into view. Around the spring at the base of this pass, the Almoria grass grew in abundance.

Beyond the spring, nestled in the Mount Kazah, was supposedly the base of the homunculus trafficking organization that my father had been concerned about.

“There it is…”

I could see an area cluttered with scrap, junk, and cargo containers, likely the place in question. From this distance, I couldn’t grasp the full extent of it, but if it was an organization, they had probably used old-world relics to build a makeshift fortress.

I scanned the surroundings cautiously, but I didn’t spot any suspicious machinery. It would be best to dismount Arkecius and gather the Almoria grass while we had the chance.

“Alfe, can you see it?”
“Yes, those leaves beyond the red flowers are all Almoria grass.”

The red flowers Alfe had pointed out were growing in clusters, just beyond the shade of some trees, a little away from the spring.

“Let’s park Arkecius here and start collecting.”
“Alright.”

Alfe nodded at my suggestion and used her floating magic to descend from Arkecius.

“This way, Hom.”

Alfe took Hom’s hand and headed toward the cluster of Almoria grass. I hurried to catch up, parking Arkecius and grabbing the pre-prepared bags for storing the Almoria grass.

“Leafa, how’s this? All of this is Almoria grass.”

As I approached the area Alfe had indicated, the characteristic fragrance of Almoria grass filled the air. The fresh, slightly sweet scent wafted gently throughout the area.

I didn’t notice it as much when I was Glass, but the keen sense of smell in children was remarkable, I thought to myself.

“Will this much be enough to make your mom better?”
“Yes, but we’ll need a significant amount to synthesize the Black Stone Disease suppressant, so let’s gather as much as we can. I’ve already thought about how to preserve it.”

The important aspect of Almoria grass was its components. By storing the extracted elements in a nutrient solution, as I did in the experiments, we won’t need to come back for more each time.

“Should we collect as much as we can fit on Arkecius then?”
“I’ll carry as much as I can too.”
“If we do that, we might end up depleting this entire patch.”

The preservation bags we brought were already filled with Almoria grass. This should be enough to last us about a year.

The bigger issue was that depleting this patch would make it difficult to obtain more in the future. I wanted to avoid venturing further from the city and into the dangerous areas beyond the wall as much as possible.

“There’s still more on the mountainside, so I think we’re okay for now,” Alfe said, standing up and surveying the area.

She pointed out other patches of Almoria grass, “Look, there’s more over there by those yellow flowers, and also near that small white—”

Alfe abruptly stopped speaking and tugged at Hom’s and my sleeves.

“I can’t explain it well, but I have a bad feeling… We need to run.”
“…Understood.”

While neither Hom nor I had noticed anything amiss, Alfe’s Pure Eye must have seen something. Her premonitions were always accurate. I quickly led Hom back to Arkecius.

“Let’s get out of here quickly.”

Maintaining a calm facade, I packed the Almoria grass into Arkecius and we set off. As we retraced our path at an accelerated pace, I scanned our surroundings through the video monitor, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

We could see the intercity vessel approaching. At this rate, we might avoid any troublesome situations. Concerned about Hom getting exhausted, I decided to slow down a bit.

Reducing Arkecius’ walking speed, I checked on Alfe and Hom. Alfe still seemed tense, her body stiff with apprehension. Hom, carrying the excess Almoria grass, was running in a wide arc to avoid the approaching vessel.

“Hom, why are you avoiding the vessel?”
“Something feels off, Master,” Hom replied, her voice tinged with unease.
“I feel it too,” Alfe added. “It’s heading straight for us.”

Her words made me realize the source of the unease. Ahead of us lay Kazah Pass and Mount Kazah—places no vessel would typically head towards.

“Could it be—”

A warning echoed in my mind. I gripped the controls tighter, realizing we needed to evade and distance ourselves from the vessel immediately.

But before I could act, armed Subordinate Units were launched from the vessel.

“Hahahaha! Found you, Homunculus!”

Laughter echoed as the distance between us and the Subordinate Units quickly closed.

“Master!”

Hom leapt forward to protect me, but the Unit’s arm didn’t target Hom—it snatched Alfe, who was sitting atop Arkecius.

“Leafa!”
“Alfe!”

Alfe’s body was completely enveloped by the Unit’s crude arm, her only reaction was to call out my name in terror. Both Hom and I froze, helpless.

“That’s right, don’t even think about trying anything funny. Who knows what might happen to this little lady if you do?”

I wanted to send a distress signal to Father, but with Alfe as their hostage, we had no options.

“…Do as they say, Hom.”

Understanding the weight of my pained command, Hom reluctantly complied.

Because of my carelessness, the very thing I feared most had come to pass.