In a part of the area around the Forest of Spirits, not far from the city of Rigforesia, there were the figures of Ragehart and Silphia who had joined the security force.
　It was an unprecedented situation with half of the guards being decimated, and the two of them seemed quite serious at first as they were guarding the area... but... contrary to such vigilance, the harvest festival was progressing peacefully and calmly, and soon it would be time to call it lunchtime.

　Nearly two hours have already passed since it started, but there is no sign of any demons or even animals appearing in front of the two of them at all, let alone demons.
　If you think about it, it's only natural in a way.
　The death magic power released by the Death King Isis once covered the entire Elf Forest. That's right, a death spell so incredibly powerful that it could break the hearts of half of the guards in the aftermath.......

　If this is the case, there is no way a wild animal or demon with the ability to sense danger in the wild would ever think of leaving its home, and would definitely stay in its nest for a few days, shivering.
　If this is the case, there's no way the fierce beasts and demons that would interfere with the harvest festival would come around, and the two of them have no time to waste.

　You can find a number of different types of shoes for sale in the market.

''Oi~. Ray, Fear!
Oh, what a surprise.

　The elven man calls out their names with a big wave of his hand, and apparently they knew each other, and Ragehart lightly raises one hand to return the greeting.
　The elven man and woman stop when they get to the two men, and this time the elven woman speaks to them with a gentle smile.

''Are you two joining the guard?''
Yeah, the situation was the situation. Well, it looks like it was a no-brainer after all.
Are you guys going to the harvest festival?
'Oh no, I wasn't in on it. I'm just here to pick her up.

　Sylphia replies back to the woman's words, followed by Reijhardt asking about the two of them.

'I was actually planning on joining the guard but he insisted so I'm joining the harvest festival. I'm just heading back for lunch now.
Yes, because it wouldn't be much fun without you, the "last time winner".
'Yes, yes but it's a shame Fia isn't joining us. There's no point in competing without a rival.

　The elven woman is a spirit mage just like Sylphia, and they are good rivals and best friends who compete with each other in friendly competition.
　In fact, last year, a woman won the championship, but the difference in points between her and Silvia's was very small.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.

''........Hey, hey, um, can we not do that this year?''
"What?
See!　It's not too late, you can still abstain now and....
Wait, wait, Fear?　What the hell are you talking about?
'No, Fear is right. I know what you're capable of. But you're too dull this year.

　The man and woman looked surprised at the words Sylphia told them, and when the woman listened back with some confusion, Reyjihart followed suit and recommended abstaining.

''Oh come on, what are you joking about, even Ray?''
No, I'm not kidding!　This year it's not good ... this year we have a 'monster' in the mix.
"A monster?

　Hearing Ragehardt's words as he tells them with a faintly pale face, the man and woman nod their heads with an expression that seems to say they don't understand the reason again.
　After a bit of silence passes between the four of them, Silphia slowly opens her mouth.


'Yeah, but Fia withdrew her intention to join that yesterday. After witnessing the awfulness of that girl...
"That girl?
I think it would be better to abstain. Otherwise all the pride and pride you've developed as a spirit mage will be smashed to pieces.
'I agree with Fia. I don't mean to underestimate you by any means. She's just too much of a monster.
"...and...

　Seeing Silphia and Rajhardt, who recommend abstaining so desperately that the word "crisis" is applicable, I understand that the man and woman are not joking, either.
　

''........Oh dear, you guys, do you seriously think she's going to lose?　You remember how many berries she collected last year, right?　"186." A record high, right?
That's not...
Sure, that number is tremendous in an average of around 50...

　Certainly, if you think about it normally, the person that Ragehart and Silphia currently have in mind is not a spirit mage, even though she has tremendous talent.
　


"What?
As long as the two of you are willing to go to such lengths I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige. I think we're going to have to take it seriously.
'Oh!　Good, let's break a little record!
'Yes, I'm doing very well this year, 'the spirits are in a better mood than ever before' ... I'm going to show you this year that I'm going to cross the 200 mark.

　Reidhardt and Silphia thought for the women and advised them, but it ended up igniting the hearts of the women who were not very motivated for this competition, which lacked a rival in Silphia.
　The woman declaring the unprecedented number of 200 left Reidhardt and Silphia unconsciously at a loss for words.

''Haha, that's the spirit!　Whoa?　If you spend too much time on this, you'll miss your lunch.
''No, I'm not going to eat lunch, I'm going back to the forest. And if you're going to be more powerful than Sylphia you can't be too careful.
Well, I'll be one step ahead of you at Rigforesia, then.
Yeah, keep your hopes up then, both of you. Thanks for the tip. I'll be off.

　The man and woman conversed in front of the two hardened men and women, and the woman turned back the way she came and went back to the forest of spirits, while the man also proceeded towards the city of Rigforesia.
　

''........Fia, she's an awesome spirit mage, isn't she?''

...Two hundred is a hell of a lot, isn't it?
Yes, it's a truly historic achievement.
....
....

　They exchange words quietly and the woman is no longer in sight. They look at each other quietly, looking at the direction she had gone in.

''But why is that?　I still can't imagine a future where she can beat Miyama-kun, but...
........which is odd. Me too....

























Well thank you.

　I take the berries together and thank the genie for holding them out in front of me before taking them and putting them in the bag.
　It seems that quite a bit of time has passed since we started, and when I looked at the clock, it was already a good time to say it was lunchtime.
　It's about time we took a break and decided to have lunch.

How many are we talking about now?　I think it was 'about 300 pieces'?

　I think as I look at the bag, which works the same way as a magic box and doesn't feel heavy.
　I've been taking fruit almost without a break so far, and there are probably a little more than three hundred in there.
　But as a first-time participant, I'm not sure if this is a large number or a small number... I should have asked Ray and the others.

　No, in the first place, I don't know what the cause and effect was, but Lilia-san and the others treated me like a candidate for the championship and even put money on my head.
　Honestly, if it was just Luna Maria-san, I would have gotten away with it, even if I let it all go, I would have gotten what I deserved, but with Lilia-san, Sieg-san, Kusunoki-san and even Yuzuki-san, I feel a bit of pressure from the stone.
　Well, there's no point in thinking about it, so let's do our best in the afternoon as well, as much as we can.

''........Nevertheless.....

　Having collected my thoughts, I suddenly move my gaze.
　Out of the corner of my eye, I see so many different colored spirits that they fill my field of vision.
　Spirits that noticed my gaze and waved to me, spirits that flew around my body happily, spirits that touched my body in a floppy manner.

"As expected of the Forest of Spirits, there are so many spirits in there...

　The spirits are not as timid as Rei and the others said, on the contrary, they have been leading me more and more to places where many fruits are growing on the trees, and they are willing to help me harvest them.
　Hmmm. It seems that the spirit people are very friendly to the human race because they provide a place for this kind of festival.

　Dear Mother, Father - I think the harvest festival is going reasonably well, but after all, there's a reason why this forest is named the Spiritual Forest... --there are a hell of a lot of spirits out there.