“Hanna? Are you there?”
Just then, Kurt, Jessie, Jim, Patty, and Mario came to see if Hanna was with them.
Jin asked them what they were going to do, and they said that they were going wiley picking.
Wileys were a type of wild strawberry. They were quite sour and not very good. However, they could be boiled and turned into jam.
In Kaina village, the children went berry picking and made jam in their own homes. However, as boiling the jam used a lot of fuel, it was only done rarely.
That is, until Jin made a magic stove last year. And so households with children were all going to make jam this year.
“That sounds interesting. Mind if I go too?”
Saki had been listening and sounded very enthusiastic.
And since Elsa went wherever Saki went, Jin decided to accompany them as well.
Of course, Reiko, Edgar, Ehr would go as well, which meant that Gon and Gen did not have to.
“Brother! Over here!”
“…Hah. Phew.”
Jin and Saki had underestimated how tough the kids were. Neither of them had much energy.
On the other hand, Elsa was moderately active, and she walked on with the children who were carrying baskets.
The wileys grew in a forest that was to the east of Kaina village.
There were many broad-leaved trees and it was rich with wild grass and flowers. The wileys were mostly found in a craggy area that was just a little further north from there.
Of course, that meant that it was a little difficult to walk, and so Jin and Saki lagged behind.
“Brother! There are wileys from around this area.”
Hanna informed him. Jin started to look around. Saki was searching as well.
“Oh, there they are. Hanna, do you mean these things?”
As she was wearing glasses, Saki was able to find them before Jin was.
“Yes, that. Gather a lot, okay!”
After that, Jin and the children spread out in order to search for the wileys.
“Don’t go anywhere dangerous.”
Jin warned.
“Yes. Got it.”
The children replied as they all disappeared into the forest.
“I guess I should too.”
Jin had been sitting down tiredly, but he now got up.
“Father. There are some over there.”
Reiko told Jin. However, Jin would have preferred to find them himself. And so he had Reiko take the ones she had found.
Ripe wileys were soft and easy to squish, but now that Reiko had a sense of touch, she could gather them easily without breaking them.
“Ah, here they are.”
Jin found a clump of them and put them in the basket at his waist.
Saki seemed to have a lot as well.
Elsa was moving around quickly and had gathered a lot already.
After an hour, the baskets were all full. And so they decided to empty theirs in the very large basket that Ehr was carrying.
The large basket was now nearly half full. They would have to gather for one more hour then.
“All right. Let’s do this.”
The mischievous Kurt said as he excitedly ran off.
“…I’m good.”
“What a coincidence. Me too.”
Jin and Saki had no energy and were currently regretting that they hadn’t brought any water.
“Are you all right? Father?”
“Master. Are you tired?”
Reiko and Ehr were both concerned about him.
If he was being honest, he would have said that he had underestimated the trip, as it was a place that children went.
Jin tried biting into a wiley to see what it was like. But it was too sour and he didn’t care for it at all. Saki was the same.
“…There were a lot over there.”
Elsa returned. The basket on her waist was full of them. And then she looked at the exhausted pair.
“…I think you two need more regular exercise.”
She said bluntly.
“Yes. I am ashamed. My father wouldn’t be like this. He’s always flying around and looking for new things.”
Saki was an indoor person. Her father was an outdoor person.
Just then…
“Brother!!”
They heard Hanna shouting.
“What is it, Hanna?”
Jin stood up and rushed to the place where Hanna was.
“It’s terrible! Kurt and Jessie!”
“Huh?”
Hanna’s face had gone pale.
“What happened?”
Elsa and Saki came running behind him.
“Kurt and Jessie fell off of the cliff.”
“They did what!?”
And then the three of them followed Hanna as she headed into the forest. They walked through grass and shrubs until they reached a cliff that was about 10 meters high.
There was a river running right underneath it. It was a nameless river that connected to the Elme river.
“See. Over there…!”
They looked to where Hanna was pointing and saw that Jessie was hanging onto the side of the cliff at the halfway point, and Kurt was on the ground below him.
The cliffside looked like it would crumble at any moment. Perhaps it would cause a small avalanche that would crush Kurt completely.
“Jessie! I’ll come for you right now. But don’t move!”
First, Jin called out to Jessie in order to calm him down. This was because any further movement could result in him falling.
“Oh, brother Jin…”
Jessie looked relieved when he saw Jin.
“So…how should I do this.”
Small rocks were falling down. It did not look like it would hold for much longer. They would be in danger if he didn’t save them quickly.
“All right. Reiko, Edgar, Ehr. Help me.”
Jin told them his plan.
“…And there it is. I want to help them as soon as possible. Please help me do it.”
“Yes, father.”
“Yes, Lord Creator.
“Yes, Master Jin.”
“Ji-Jin…are you sure it will work?”
“We have to try, don’t we? My earth magic won’t reach them from here. And I have to help them before it crumbles. …Reiko, go.”
First, Reiko jumped down to where Jessie was hanging.
As Reiko was able to control her power completely, she landed without a single stone falling to the ground. However, both of their weight was on the cliffside now, and it began to shift.
Reiko immediately picked Jessie up and threw him with just the right amount of force. It was Edgar that caught him.
Next, Reiko dove down to the bottom before the side of the cliff could crumble. She picked up the fallen and Kurt and inspected him quickly. According to ‘Analyze,’ he had not hit his head. He had fallen down and fractured a bone. It was the pain that had caused him to lose consciousness.
Now that she was relieved, Reiko climbed back up the cliff.
It was steeper than 60 degrees. And boulders were starting to roll down the edge. Reiko moved side to side in order to avoid them.
The reason that she couldn’t throw him, like Jessie, was because it was possible that the wounded Kurt would not be able to handle the force necessary to throw him 10 meters into the air.
The falling boulders caused others to fall as well. And before they knew it, an avalanche of debris was falling.
Once Reiko was halfway up, she threw Kurt towards Ehr, who was standing there and waiting.
Now, the pressure on Kurt would be halved. She had decided that he would be able to survive it.
And Ehr caught him in a firm grip.
It was then that the avalanche came straight towards the now empty-handed Reiko.
Reiko darted up the slope even faster now. She was running like the wind.
From the time she first jumped down, up until the time she got back up again; it was all less than 10 seconds.