5

It was finally two months after the completion of the elixir that Noel reached Beth’s greenhouse.

“Noel-sama, welcome back.”

Everyone from the Magic Institute had dressed formally and lined up in Beth’s greenhouse, waiting for the arrival of the national hero this Magic Institute had produced.

There was no one in this Magic Institute who did not understand the meaning of the great feat Noel had accomplished.

And each time Noel was asked to make a speech or give a greeting, he stated that this great achievement would never have been possible without the cooperation of everyone at this Magic Institute, bringing tears to the eyes of the people of the Magic Institute.

Everyone waited for Noel’s arrival with excited expressions.

Noel, with a pale face, showed everyone a broad smile.

And he had likely reached his limit.

Staggering, the moment he entered the greenhouse, Noel collapsed onto the sofa.

“Ah… Everyone, you protected the Magic Institute well while I was away. I thank you.”

After somehow managing to say only that much, even though everyone had gathered there, Noel began to snore lightly and fell asleep just like that.

Although the members of the Magic Institute watched over Noel anxiously, after Ezra quietly checked only Noel’s pulse and breathing, they decided to let him sleep as he was. Surrounded by the members of the Magic Institute whom he trusted, he must have felt reassured, and the thread of tension must have snapped.

After all, even the members of the Magic Institute who had not been directly involved with the elixir had been dizzyingly busy after the elixir’s completion, coordinating and dealing with each department, and responding to inquiries. Many of those matters carried heavy responsibility, involving high-ranking nobles and royals, and even foreign diplomacy, where a single mistaken response could turn into a major issue.

Even Meg, who was only Naranda’s maid, had been so busy that she had not been able to take a day off for more than a month.

Looking at the dark black circles under Noel’s eyes, they thought of the amount of work Noel had endured and the weight of it.

It was midnight when Noel finally woke up.

Even though he had arrived at the Magic Institute while it was still evening, after his arrival, it seemed he had seen everyone’s faces, felt relieved, and fallen asleep just like that.

As usual, the sofa he had collapsed onto smelled of the familiar medicinal herbs from Naranda’s room.

Noel raised himself and looked around the greenhouse.

The plants were arranged as usual. The sofa was as usual. There was no sign that anything had changed.

It was the greenhouse that had supported Noel’s heart through his busy days.

He had heard that among Ezra’s disciples, there was someone who specialized in grass magic, and that person had been put in charge of managing the greenhouse after Beth left. As expected of something done by Ezra’s disciple, there were no mistakes. The greenhouse had been kept in very good condition.

Rather, the piles of soil that had been left alone when Beth was there, and the shovels that had been left out, had been put away, and it was considerably organized and neat.

Noel softly cast a simple appraisal spell on the medicinal herbs nearby.

A-class. Excellent work.

However, after releasing the appraisal magic, Noel collapsed onto the sofa again and almost began to cry.

(This is different.)

(This greenhouse is not Beth’s greenhouse. It is beautifully arranged, but that is all it is—a greenhouse.)

It was no longer the greenhouse Noel had longed for.

When Beth had been there, every plant in this greenhouse had stretched out its branches and leaves as it pleased, just as they were, in the joy of life.

Whether insects or animals, all living creatures had been overflowing with the joy of living.

When Noel placed himself in this greenhouse, it had seemed to him that every existence was an existence of joy.

Even his own cursed life had seemed like a beloved life.

But now, every plant and every animal was formal and distant toward Noel.

Back when it had been the greenhouse Beth cared for, it had been as if every plant and every life shared the joy of being alive. They had rejoiced together in the morning light, welcomed the coming of night together, and simply felt the preciousness of one another’s existence.

Noel looked up at the sky blurred by tears.

It seemed the greenhouse ceiling had become cloudy from the strong winds recently.

Even though the sky was filled with stars today as it had been that night, even the starlight seemed to have faded, and the stars looked far away.

The straw mat Ezra had woven was carefully propped against the wall of the greenhouse.

The stray cat that had luxuriously used the straw mat Ezra had woven for naps had still shown its face for a while after Beth left, but it had apparently stopped coming.

What was moving sluggishly through the darkness was a nocturnal small animal.

When Beth had been there, he had looked forward every night to the troublesome sports festival this small animal held, as if it were the visit of an annoying friend. And yet, Noel could no longer think of the visit of this animal, once a friend, as anything more than the activity of a nocturnal small animal that had nothing to do with him.

(It is as if the magic has been undone.)

Noel looked around the greenhouse, which had suddenly become far away from him, once more.

It was a greenhouse that had been properly and carefully maintained, with no flaws to be found.

In the corner of the greenhouse, there was a pile of dead branches and dead leaves that had been carefully gathered.

Among them, Noel found an ugly creature he recognized.

Then, as if tumbling off the sofa, he rushed out and ran to the edge of the greenhouse.

“Hey, Nana-chan, Nana-chan, are you alive??”

It was the banana slug that Beth had spoiled. Beth had named it Nana-chan and doted on it.

The banana slug, which had grown far too large, was in a near-death state.

Most likely, the magician managing the greenhouse had activated pest-extermination magic.

Banana slugs were generally pests.

“It’s all right. It’s all right now.”

While shedding tears, Noel gave this ugly creature precious goji berries, just as Beth had done, and even though he knew himself that it was foolish, he applied precious healing magic to it.

The banana slug slowly moved its large body and ate the goji berries Noel had given it, slowly, slowly.