After seeing Anima off, I returned to the inn and found Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san in the room we were in earlier.
　The two of them scurried around, their faces brightening after they noticed us.

''Miyama-san!''
Miyama-senpai!

　They run over to me and ask me a few questions to make sure I'm okay.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.
　And although I thought we would be having a chat with Lilia-san and the others, Yuzuki-san stands in front of me with her face down.

''Um...senpai...I, well...''
Yuzuki-san?
'I'm sorry I was so scared I couldn't move...'

　I knew immediately what Yuzuki-san wanted to say.
　She seems to feel guilty that she caused me to be injured because of her inability to escape, and she spins words of apology with her face down and her shoulders shaking.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get the best out of it.

'I'm glad you're not hurt.'
"....sen....t....t...?　Senior!
Whoa!

　Yuzuki-san heard my words, her body trembled, tears appeared in her eyes, and then she jumped on me.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.


I'll be fine. Look, I'm as safe as I can be...
''Hai ... senior ... thank you for saving me ... thank you.''
Yeah... but in the end, I was saved by Lilia-san and the others too, so I can't talk about it in a big way.

　Yes, after all, I didn't win the Black Bear after all, and I think I would have died if it weren't for Zeke.
　So when I tell her with a bitter smile that I can't speak too highly of her, Yuzuki-san squeezes her hand behind my back.

''That's not true........Senpai, that was cool. It was so, so, so cool.
Well thank you.

　I place my hand on Yuzuki-san's head and gently stroke her.
　No further words are needed, and Yuzuki-san buries her face in my chest as it is for a while.
　As I continue to stroke her head until she calms down, after a short pause, Yuzuki-san releases her hands from her embrace and moves away from me.


Yes.
'Once again, thank you very much!　"Kaito-senpai!

　Then he smiled brightly, like a flower blooming.





















　Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san returned to their usual condition, and while I was explaining to them about Anima and other things with Lilia-san and the others, Rei-san came back with a very tired look on her face.

''Rei-san, welcome back. What's wrong with Anima?
Yeah, yeah. They're guarding the area where the wall was broken now.
You look exhausted, don't you?
''Well no, she really does have a strong personality. He immediately tried to hit the security captain who tried to give him instructions.......yeah. Fortunately, thanks to Miyama-kun's advice, he was following my instructions. Thanks to that, I ended up joining the security force for a while too.

　It seems that Anima, as usual, took a bite out of the security force's stuffing station, saying that she wouldn't listen to orders from anyone other than me, as usual, and Rei-san, who was following up on that, apparently decided to join the security force without a break.

I'm sorry about that..........
'No, he's definitely got a strong personality, but his abilities are quintessential. He even carried a large amount of materials used to repair the wall with one hand.

　Although she has some difficulties with her personality, it seems that Anima, who has a power comparable to that of a baronet-level high-ranking demon race, is a very useful human resource for the security forces.
　Even if you factor in her personality and plus or minus, it's said that it's enough to tilt it slightly in the positive direction.......yeah. Hey, next time I see Anima, I'm going to tell her to properly follow the security force's work instructions.

　Then Ray-san joined in the chatter, and the topic of conversation shifted to tomorrow's Treasure Tree Festival...and Harvest Festival.

''So the harvest festival will be held tomorrow as planned?
''Yeah, we're very careful to keep the harvest festival safe, originally, so that even children can participate in it... and it's ironic, because since the Dead King-sama uprooted the Black Bear, we can say it's rather safer than in previous years.
Okay.

　It seems that with the extinction of the most dangerous black bears in the elven forest, the harvest festival is now safer.

Speaking of which, where do you hold the harvest festival after all?
'The Forest of the Spirits' east of Rigforesia.
The Forest of Spirits?
The treasure tree that is the crown of the festival is the tree where the spirit resides, the spirit tree. It is only at this time of year that the spirit tree bears fruit, and it is the specialty of Rigforesia.

　Yuzuki-san's question is answered by Rei-san.
　It seems that the forest of the spirits is a forest where the spirit race lives, and the spirit trees that grow there are the treasure trees.

Does that mean that the participants will harvest the fruit?
'Yes - it's also a great opportunity for the elves to make friends with the spirits.
''The fruit of the spirit tree is a mysterious fruit that will deteriorate in taste if not harvested together with the spirits, but spirits are very shy. The trick to harvesting the most fruit is to be friendly to them.

　Fia and Rei-san explain my doubts to me in turn.
　Apparently, spirits are very shy, which is why each participant goes into the forest individually to interact with the spirits and collect the fruit.

'In case you're wondering, there will be a competition to see who collects the most fruit and get a ranking, but this is kind of a bonus.
Yes, the 'spirit mage' inevitably has an overwhelming advantage at this point~
""Spirit mage?"

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
　I'm not sure I've ever heard of the word "spirit mage", but when Fia mentioned it, Kusunoki-san, Yuzuki-san and I nodded our heads.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. It is a very honorable position for the elves to be a spirit mage. I'm a spirit mage by the way.
Oh, so Fia-san can call spirits?
Yes, I think we should call him...

　Yuzuki-san asks with a bit of a bite, as if women are more interested in spirits and such, after all, and Fia smiles calmly and floats a small magic circle in her hand.
　The green magic circle shimmers a few times, and a small translucent fairy, less than thirty centimeters tall, appears from it.

　The spirit, which is all green and feels like a translucent girl, can be rightly said to be just like the image, and Yuzuki-san gets even more excited.

''Wow, she's cute.......just touch her--aah!
"Hmmm, I told you. Spirits are very shy and the only people who can touch their bodies are spirit mages.

　Yuzuki-san reaches out her hand, and the spirit quickly hides behind Fia-san.

''How about it, Kaito-senpai?''
'What?　Me?

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about, but I'm going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.
　While I felt this was a strange reaction, I slowly reached out my hand so as not to scare it, but when the spirit saw me reach out, it disappeared with a huff.

''Even Miyama-sama, as usual, can't do that with a spirit?

Gone?　I didn't repatriate him, and he disappeared instead of running away?

　I returned the words with a wry smile to Lunamaria-san who was rushing in, and when I turned to Fia-san.......for some reason, Fia-san had a divine expression on her face and was muttering something small.
　As I nodded my head at the situation, the magic circle in Fia-san's hand once again emitted light, and the genie returned.

　And then the spirit slowly approaches towards me and holds out the object in its rear hand while fidgeting and moving its body.......a small nut.

''Huh?''
Will you give me...?

　Seeing this scene, the three elves, Rei-san, Fia-san and Zeke-san, looked surprised.
　I was also curious about the three of them, but when I spoke to the spirit in front of me first, the spirit gave a small nod.

''Thank you.''

　As I thanked him and accepted the fruit, the genie spun around me in a somewhat happy manner and then flattened it to various parts of my body.
　Huh?　I thought the only person who can touch a spirit is a spirit mage?

What's this?
"...Miyama-kun!　What the hell did you do?
'What?　No, it's nothing...
"It's a 'sign of affection' that the genie doesn't harvest with you like a harvest festival, but gives you what he's picked. In other words, that spirit is like a friend who wants to be your friend.
Oh, really...

　I have no idea why, but it seems that this spirit liked me.
　As proof of this, when I reached out my hand to the genie that came near me, the genie was able to touch it without running away.
　And Fia-san, who had been watching the scene with her mouth wide open and stunned, dropped her shoulders a little while later, gaping.

''........Are you okay?　Fear.
''Well Ray it took me twenty years to become a spirit mage. ...for a moment?　In an instant....like that....
Dear Fear, I'm sure you're well aware that this one is just a freak.
That's right, Miss Fear!　Mr. Kite is just crazy!　He's really a monster in many ways, so...

　The hot accusations by Lunamaria-san and Lilia-san, called follow-up, hit me.
　

　Dear Mom, Dad--I heard about the harvest festival and about the genie. And for some reason - the genie was dear to me.