“No way, this is a huge haul.”
Annamaria dropped the heavy basket she’d been carrying with both arms onto the ground with a thud.
She stretched her back, looked down into the basket, and wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
Her black hair, escaping from under the cloth covering her head, stuck unpleasantly to her sweat-moistened skin.
But she was far too satisfied with the basket full of Groanwood Gemitoalbero branches to care.
A sly smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
The basket was tightly packed with branches about as thick as a thumb.
Their bark was dark brown and cracked, giving off an ominous vibe.
From the dense pile of branches, faint groaning noises seemed to leak out—”Uuuu… uuuuuu… waaah…”—adding to the eerie feeling.
“Ugh… I really don’t like having this much Groanwood around. Are you seriously going to bring all this back to the manor, Annamaria?” The silver cat perched on her shoulder muttered with obvious disgust.
“Of course, Galileo. You’re my Galileo, aren’t you? Aren’t magical trees like our allies?”
“Magical trees and Cat Dragons aren’t allies. Besides, I don’t just groan for no reason.”
Galileo flicked his long tail once, then fluttered the small silver bat wings on his back.
Galileo was a magic beast of the Cat Dragon species and Annamaria’s familiar.
At first glance, he looked like a rather plump cat, but the tiny wings on his back marked him as something else entirely.
“Groanwood is said to be the most important ingredient in magical pharmacology. With this much, you can make a good amount of potions. Poison and love potions alike start with this. But what we really need right now is a cure for the Transmission Disease. And that also depends on Groanwood…”
As she spoke, Annamaria’s gaze drifted down the slope where she stood, across the pastures and toward the brick-lined town beyond.
Behind her rose the verdant Padova Mountains, white clouds flowing like mist from their ridges.
The Trie Kingdom lay in the southeastern part of the Adaniura Continent.
The town at the foot of the Padova Mountains in the northwestern Trie Kingdom was Parsa, the capital of Karana Province.
The quietly green town blended seamlessly into the landscape, filled with the sound of the afternoon bells ringing from the Parsa Church of the New Holy Faith.
The Parsa Region, centered on the provincial capital of Parsa, was sustained by grazing and wheat production.
It was neither so poor as to cause famine deaths nor wealthy—just a modest land.
This Parsa Region was jointly governed by two count families.
One was the Romano Family, masters of military power.
The other was the Fullranet Family, wielders of magical strength.
“We need to stockpile more cures to prepare for the Transmission Disease’s spread. The Royal Magic Association has already issued forecasts predicting an outbreak,” Annamaria murmured as she looked over the town.
Her nails were dirt-stained and blackened, her fingertips roughened from labor.
She wore a dull deep green cotton dress, her apron off-white and frayed at the edges.
No one seeing her dressed like a peasant would guess she was Annamaria Furlanetto, the Countess and heir to the Fullranet Family.
Annamaria slumped her shoulders.
“If only we had the funds… Then I wouldn’t have to work so hard gathering potion ingredients in the mountains. We could just buy from the Magic Medicine Guild.”
The Fullranet and Romano Families, lords of the Parsa Region, had long struggled with financial difficulties.
It was a backwater, a tiny frontier domain.
They needed reserves to protect their people when disasters struck, but that required money.
Wheat, sheep’s wool, goat and cow’s milk—these yielded only meager income.
If the domain had mineral or magical gem deposits, they wouldn’t be so strapped.
But all the Parsa Region had was the towering Padova Mountains, which formed the border with the neighboring Barth Kingdom.
And these mountains were more of a burden than a blessing.
They brought relentless strong winds year-round, and heavy rains and snow from clouds crashing into the peaks.
On top of that, they were a den of magic beasts.
Outlaws and rogue sorcerers took refuge there, hidden from human traffic.
Long ago, the mountains had been home to the legendary, ruthless great witch Zoe.
One hundred fifty years ago, Zoe ruled the Padova Mountains area.
She cast magic even on the land itself, turning it fertile and calling it a paradise.
But she punished those who displeased her by transforming them into magic beasts and forcing them to slaughter their own kin.
She ruled through terror.
To this day, she remains a figure of fearful legend, and parents still warn misbehaving children that: Zoe will come for you.
“If you can gather Groanwood in the mountains, why not just do that? Why bother buying it?” Galileo’s violet eyes twinkled as he asked.
“It’s tough to gather it in the wild. Groanwood isn’t a tree that grows everywhere. To supply the population of the Parsa Region, you really have to buy a lot at once from the Magic Medicine Guild. The guild produces and sells Groanwood commercially, so they have plenty in stock.”
“Then why not produce it yourself?”
“It’s not that easy. That’s why I’m collecting natural specimens like this. If the production method were established, not only would the Parsa people be saved, but it would be a fortune for me! Although the Magic Association’s regulations prohibit unauthorized cultivation.”
Galileo cast a cool glance at Annamaria’s clenched fists.
“You’re trying illegal cultivation, aren’t you?”
“Even if I cultivate it, I don’t violate the rules as long as I don’t sell it—that’s a loophole in the law.”
“Didn’t you just say a fortune?”
Annamaria lifted her face and pulled off the cloth covering her head.
Her glossy black hair flowed in the breeze, and she brushed it back.
Her green eyes gleamed with resolve, and she responded with the smile of a countess.
“Oh? Did I say that?” She shifted her tone abruptly and laughed softly.
“Did you notice? When you want to hide your true feelings, your speech suddenly becomes very polite.”
She knew that well herself.
Speaking politely helped her hold back her true thoughts.
She hadn’t been very good at lying before, but mastering this polite manner allowed her to tell lies smoothly.
Her gaze returned once more to the view below.
“Well then, let’s go back. To our Fullranet Manor.”