Chapter 240: You can see it…
The time was midnight, about to change days. Thanks to the moonlight it was only a little bright, and the temperature was easier to spend than when the sun was out. Rather than easy to spend, there were times the wind made it feel chilly. The only ones camping in this area were the students, so quite a silence wrapped the surroundings.
If there were insect sounds it would be tasteful, but all that came was the sound of grass swaying in the wind. Normally there would be insect sounds, but because a Stampede happened recently the insects seemed to have decreased. The whole plain had been filled with blue slimes, so if you said it could not be helped it could not be helped...
I sat in my own tent with my knees up, only my legs outside the tent, looking toward the students. It was a three-person tent so even I with a large body could lie down and stretch out, and the entrance was wide so I could look at the students like this. If I noticed something abnormal I could stand right away. I still thought a slightly large tent size was the correct answer. I was looking at the faintly glowing lantern-type light magic tools in the students’ tents when both arms wrapped around my neck from behind and hugged me. I felt weight as if a chin had been set on my right shoulder. Looking right out of the corner of my eye there was Teine’s smiling profile.
"It’s going well, Raide-sama."
"Yeah. I really can’t hold my head up to everyone. Teine, making you come along too... nmu?"
"Didn’t Sharle tell you? I’m not coming along reluctantly. I’m beside you because I like Raide-sama."
Teine sealed my mouth with one hand and pressed against my back so hard the shape of her chest changed. I smiled in a troubled way and nodded. Teine’s body temperature was a little high and felt good in the plain’s night. The spring-breeze scent from her hair eased my heart too. I gently stroked the arms Teine had around my neck with one hand. She smiled happily so I could not take it.
After enjoying the comfortable space for a while I saw several people walking this way from the students’ tents. I tilted my head, excused myself to Teine and had her let go, then stood and narrowed my eyes at who was walking over. Erika and Roll, plus Monica and one adventurer... what’s wrong. Feeling unwell?
Monica was a quiet girl. I had seen her often reading in the classroom. She grew dark green hair a little longer than her shoulders and put it in braids coming forward over both shoulders. Her face was a bit baby-faced, her build ordinary, and her chest bore pears. The four of them came right in front of me with slightly troubled faces. I tilted my head more and asked,
"What’s wrong. Did something happen?"
"Monica-san has something she cannot stop being curious about and came to consult me."
"Something curious?"
"She says she can see things glowing green on the plain... we can’t see them."
"Master, can you see them?"
...No way. She can see that with the naked eye. I turned a surprised face toward Monica. She trembled with a start and hid behind Erika’s back. I hurried at Monica’s reaction, smiled in a troubled way, and apologized that I had not meant to scare her. She nodded even while looking away, so I let out a breath of relief. I put one knee on the ground so I would not scare her, put on a serious face, and said,
"Monica, can you see several of them?"
"Y-yes. Dotted across the plain... right nearby too..."
"Do you know what is glowing?"
"Yeah. I know. No, but I’m surprised... seeing it with the naked eye should be quite hard."
"With the naked eye...?"
I turned my face toward Erika, who had a surprised expression, nodded, then stood and started explaining to the four. A ridiculously rare flower called Tears of the Plain that only bloomed at night was glowing. Because it bloomed on the plain you would think you could pick it anytime, but the glow was so faint that seeing it with the naked eye was hard. To see it you had to make a certain magic tool, but making that magic tool also needed rare materials, so I had never seen anyone who made and held one. The ones whose existence was confirmed were because an adventurer happened to camp right in front of Tears of the Plain, noticed, and picked it.
"In the royal capital’s records the last confirmation should have been a year ago."
"A year ago... um... I..."
"Want to try picking it, Monica?"
"Eh..."
"You’ll want to confirm that what you saw isn’t an illusion, right? And without Monica’s guidance we can’t get close to Tears of the Plain."
I grinned at Monica. She started glancing at Erika, Roll, and the adventurer’s faces. The three smiled kindly at Monica and said "Let’s go." I watched that scene warmly. After quite a lot of hesitation Monica looked up at me as if she had made up her mind and spoke with stronger words than before.
"Instructor, I... want to see."
"Good. Then..."
"Kyah? Eu, Instructor!?"
I scooped Monica into a princess carry. Monica reacted with surprise. For the record Erika was looking at me with dead eyes, one hand to her forehead, sighing as if tired. ...No. If I don’t do this Monica’s stamina won’t last, right? I don’t know where they’re blooming either, and I need Roll and the adventurer to watch the surroundings.
"Quietly, all right? It’s night so voices will carry. Now, point us where we should go."
"Ah, um... that way."
I started walking following Monica’s guidance and dimmed the lantern light a little so the glowing Tears of the Plain would not disappear. Erika walked behind me and tapped my back lightly. Teine walking beside me had a happy smile. I had Roll and the adventurer stay a little apart watching the surroundings as we walked the moonlight-lit plain.
Just as Monica had said it was right nearby, we reached a place where one Tears of the Plain was blooming in less than a few minutes. The four of them stared at the Tears of the Plain glowing faintly, beautifully green, and let out small breaths. I set Monica on the ground. She crouched in front of the Tears of the Plain and I could see a moved smile.
"I would not notice this. If you look away you cannot see it..."
"Pretty... being with the instructor really is fun."
"I get it. Being with Master never gets boring."
Why does the topic become that? I rubbed the back of my neck with one hand and dropped my eyes to the Tears of the Plain too. It looked like a dandelion but the color was a pretty yellow-green, and because it glowed faintly it looked fantastical. Part of why it was hard to find was that it blended into the plain’s grass, but finding Tears of the Plain on this vast plain without a magic tool was truly an ordeal. I put one hand on the head of Monica, who was fixed on the Tears of the Plain. She looked up at me with a slightly surprised face.
"Did you gain a little confidence?"
"Eh..."
"I’m an instructor. I intend to watch the students well. Monica found this. So stick your chest out. It’s a ’special’ thing only Monica can do."
"Ah... au. Yes... yes, Instructor."
Monica looked at me with a full smile then returned her eyes to the Tears of the Plain again, touching it with both hands in a gentle way as if she had found a treasure. ...Sorry, but why are you hitting me, Erika? Erika started tapping my back lightly. I looked at her with "What’s wrong?" and got appealed to with dead eyes, "You do not understand?"
This time I really did not understand. I sent a look asking Roll and the adventurer for help, but they smiled in a troubled way and shook their heads. I smiled wryly and rubbed the back of my neck with one hand. Teine poked one of my cheeks with her index finger and gave me the answer in a voice only I could hear.
"Because you were a handful."
When was I a handful... I think I was just being an instructor.