“Nn… Did we maybe overdo it a little?”

I stood to the side of the… construction area, trying to get a bit of an overview. And what I saw was a little… worrying, so to say.

“They adapted quite quickly, though.”
“Nn, they did. But I feel like they shouldn’t have to plot out a path through the barricades in the first place… We definitely overdid it.”

We had added so many pitfalls that most paths through the barricades were blocked by at least one pitfall. They weren’t covered up yet so most of the time the mercenaries simply elected to jump over them. A few even made a sport of it to see how many pitfalls they could jump over.

However, that wasn’t so simple when it came to carrying things around. Four mercenaries carrying a log couldn’t exactly jump over a pitfall. Not that it had stopped them from trying… Now, however, they had simply figured out a safe path and were now carrying everything through this path.

“Uhh… What’s done is done, I guess… We should stop for now, though, I guess.”
“It’d be bad if we blocked their path now, yes.”
“Nn.”

They’d definitely get mad at that point… Or maybe not. They’d just figure out how else to deal with this. They might use planks to temporarily cover the pitfalls, for example.

“Anyway, now that I look at this from afar…. Are they building a miniature fort?”
“It… does look like one.”

In the centre of the construction area, they had erected a wooden mini fort. A small, elevated platform with two ramps, surrounded by simple walls that were a little taller than a person. Someone had even hung a flag from the walls.

“I was wondering if we’re just building barricades all over the place but it seems they actually had a plan.”
“Yumi, did you not notice while we were making the pitfalls?”
“... I didn’t.”

Apparently, I was a little late in realising this… Oh well…

“Either way, it’s pretty impressive work, right?”
“Yes, I agree. They’re amazing.”

A small fort surrounded by barricades, pitfalls and whatever other things we could think of. This was a little beyond what I expected for a ‘playful game’ with Korwen’s daughter but it was impressive nonetheless.

“But… Yumi, don’t you think this is a little much for just one person?”
“I do…”

The mercenaries defending a small fort against a single girl… Really, the longer I thought about it, the less human she seemed to me. Probably a little rude to think that of a person I hadn’t even met yet, but I couldn’t help it. I mean, trained mercenaries with actual battle experience are constructing a defensive perimeter to fend off a single girl—though it was just a game for them. But even if it was just a game, it sounded utterly ridiculous to me.

“Then again, we’re talking about Korwen’s daughter… and I know he is ridiculously strong, so maybe…”

His daughter wasn’t going to smash through those barricades or wreck the fort, was she? We were talking about Korwen’s daughter here, so I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. But I sincerely wished she wasn’t like that.

“This isn’t the first time they did this so I guess it’s fine? They probably know what they’re doing.”
“I hope so…”

We wouldn’t be able to change it anyway. And in the first place, we had contributed quite a bit to this situation. It wasn’t like we were innocent here.

“Don’t worry so much, Sis. It’s just something they’re doing for fun anyway.”

It’d defeat the entire purpose if we kept worrying. Seriously, this was just some fun. It wasn’t like any traps or so were really dangerous. I ordered the tentacles to only strip the equipment of whoever fell inside. They weren’t going to hurt someone. And all the other traps were pretty innocent as well, like our water bucket.

Speaking of the water bucket, the mercenaries had added more traps similar to the water bucket it seemed. I could spot a few more buckets on top of the barricades, including the dolls that kept guard next to them. They were probably going to add a few more traps soon as well.

“It might be better not to walk into that unprepared… I am confident I’d miss most of the traps they are setting up there.”
“That’s not something you should be confident in, Yumi.”
“Then, can you spot them, Sis?”
“...”

See? It was easier said than done. If they really wanted to hide those, there was no way we’d be able to spot them.

“Thankfully, it’s not like we have to go inside anymore for today… It’s getting late. Ahh, I’m looking forward to dinner.”

Finally normal food again. No rations or anything. Just normal, delicious food. Just thinking about it made me hungry already.

“Ehehe, Yumi, you’re drooling.”
“What? Seriously?”

I immediately raised my arm to wipe my face in a hurry… except there was no drool.

“Sis… Don’t tease me.”
“Sorry. But you really looked like you would start any second now so I couldn’t help it.”

Well, if she couldn’t help it, I’d forgive her…

“But we still have some time until dinner. What should we do?”
“Nn, that’s a good question… Anything else you want to make?”
“Not really. At least, I can’t think of anything we could do right now.”
“Oh? That means you did think of some?”
“Well…”

Now, that got me curious. What kind of trap did Karen think of?

“It’s more like I tried to remember all kinds of traps that I know off… But the only traps I know of are pretty dangerous.”
“Dangerous? How so?”
“Setting up a weapon to a string so that it stabs whoever passes by?”
“... You know how to make something like that?”

With a strained smile, Karen shook her head.

“I don’t. But I did encounter a trap like that before.”
“... In the slums?”
“In the slums.”

Right… Where else would you encounter something like that…

“That sounds really dangerous.”
“That’s their purpose, after all. Otherwise, there would have been no point to them.”
“True… But I don’t think I ever saw a trap like that while we were there?”

I did have to run from a few thugs here and there but I didn’t have to evade any traps.

“The area where we lived wasn’t occupied by any gangs, so you wouldn’t encounter any. In a few other parts of the slums, you’d encounter either a group of thugs or a trap at every second turn.”
“... I’m glad that we’re out of that place. Seriously.”
“Ahahaha…”

I only stayed there for a short time but I didn’t want to know what would have happened if Karen hadn’t picked me up.

“It wasn’t so bad as long as you knew which places you had to stay away from. And whenever it seemed like trouble was coming, I would just stay inside the hut and wait until it calmed down.”
“Huh…”

But… even if she said it like that, it was definitely still dangerous. The slums were a place where it wasn’t all that unusual to find a body in some dark alley. Even in a comparatively ‘safe’ part of the slums. Just remembering it made me shiver.

“That’s why…”
“Nn?”

I turned to Karen, expecting her to continue. Instead, I found myself in her arms.

“I’m really happy that I’m out of that place.”
“... Nn, I am too.”

Even the short time I was there was tough on me. And it had been incomparably worse for Karen, who lived there for years.

“Hehehe. Hey, Yumi.”
“Nn?”
“I think I have an idea. For this game, I mean.”
“Oh?”

That was a sudden change in topic.

“Let’s ask Miss Elder and the elves if they want to join in. With the elves' magic, I’m sure we could do some amazing things. Nobody would suspect a plant to turn into a trap, right?”
“Now that you mention it… That’s a pretty good idea.”

While I didn’t know the exact limits of the elven magic, I did know that the elder could do some pretty amazing things. She knew a lot about plants and with her magic, she could grow all sorts of things.

“Nn, that’s a great idea, Sis. Let’s do that.”

I jumped up to my feet, ready to fetch the Elder and her kind.

“Hehehe, I wonder what kind of things the Elder can make.”
“Yumi… Don’t be too hard on her. The Elder and Mr Captain’s daughter both.”
“I’ll try to.”

I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t…

“You’re so childish…”
“Oh? I am fairly sure you enjoyed this, too.”
“I am. I guess we’re both being childish then.”
“As are all the mercenaries here.”

A gathering of big children, really. And the bigger they got, the bigger their pranks got. In scope, of course.

“But the captain didn’t tell us to stop.”
“Even after you dumped water on him.”
“...”

Oh sh— I had just managed to forget about that…

“He won’t be mad, right?” I asked in a whisper.
“...”

Karen only uncomfortably averted her gaze.

“...”
“:.. Let’s go and look for Miss Elder.”
“... Nn.”

We’d find out if he was mad whether we wanted to or not… But right now, we’d do our best to avert our eyes from reality. Yeah.

“That said… Where is the Elder? I haven’t seen any of the other elves either.”
“That’s a good question… Maybe they’re in the forest?”
“Nn… That’s not even that unlikely, isn’t it?”
“It isn’t. They surveyed it before, after all.”

Right… But if they were somewhere in the forest, there was no way we’d find them.

“However, I don’t think that the Elder would be with them. We should be able to find her somewhere in the camp,” continued Karen.
“I guess you’re right… Oh well, let’s go.”

Seeing my reaction, Karen giggled in a quiet voice. Not that I understood what was so funny…

The two of us walked around the camp, looking for the Elder or any of the other elves. As we expected, the other elves weren’t around, though. We asked someone and apparently, they really had gone back to the forest to do something. What they were doing there was a mystery, though. Probably another survey or something?

Fortunately, though, he could send us in the direction of the Elder. She was taking a break according to him. And when we arrived, she really was there, taking a break. Now, this wouldn’t be a problem… if not for her company.

“... Captain.”
“... Mr Captain.”
“Well, well, if it isn’t Yumi and Karen. You sure got me good, didn’t you?”

Korwen grinned at us, amused by something. He, the Elder, and a few other mercenaries I only knew from passing were all gathered together around a table. I could spot a few mugs here and there as well as… a bucket. The bucket.

“So, what do you two have to say about pouring a bucket of water over the head of your boss? You got guts for sure, don’t you?”

Korwen’s eyes narrowed, staring at us like a predator watching his prey. He was angry. He totally was. In that case, there’s only one thing to do. Apologise and pray.

“... We’re sorry.”
“We’re sorry!”

Seeing us apologise so quickly, Korwen stared at us for a few seconds before he burst out in laughter. Wasn’t he angry? Why was he laughing now?

“Stop it, you two! I’m pulling your leg. It’s my fault for getting drenched, don’t you worry about that. I’m not angry!”
“...”

So he wasn’t angry? He was… just messing with us?

Don’t scare me like that!

That nearly gave me the shock of my life…

“Mr Captain… Please don’t do things like that. It’s bad for the heart.”
“Sorry, sorry. Just a little payback. Let me have that, at least. Forgive me, you two.”
“Mm… Only this one time.”
“Ahahaha…”

Korwen smiled wryly at Karen’s less-than-amused reply. We couldn’t really complain since we dropped a bucket of water on him… even if it was by accident.

“Anyway, what are you two here for? You didn’t come just to apologise, did you?”
“No… We wanted to see the Elder.”
“Mm? Huh? Me?”

All eyes went towards the Elder, who was a little surprised at the sudden attention.

“What do you two need me for?”
“Err, we wanted to ask if you have any interest in helping out with the… stuff we’re building?”
“Ohh, the welcome gathering for Mr Korwen’s daughter?”
“Yes. That.”

Could you call that a welcome gathering? Rather than a welcome gathering or welcome party, it was more like a welcome battle.

“I am not sure how I could be of any help but if you need me, I would be glad to be of use.”

Yay, help secured!

“Ha, I can already guess what those two want you for. Yumi, Karen, you’re surprisingly mean beneath those pretty shells.”
“Captain, that’s not something you should say. That’s rude.”
“But you’re not denying it, are you?”
“...”

How would I even deny that? Here we were, thinking of traps and other mean things to ‘welcome’ someone we never even met.

“Well, don’t feel bad about it. I hate to say it as her father, but the more obstacles you put in her way, the happier she’ll be. As long as you don’t get her hurt, you all can do whatever you want.”

Korwen sighed, lifting his mug and taking a deep sip.

“Just who did that girl take after…”
“Cap, that’s obviously you.”
“Yeah, definitely you.”
“No doubt about that.”
“You lot, you want some extra work today, huh?”

He glared at the mercenaries taking jabs at him. They just shrugged him off, though.

“Say, Cap, who else ya think that girl got it from?”
“Well…”

Korwen clammed up, fully well knowing that the only other option would be a disastrous suggestion. Disastrous for him.

“Haaa…”

After a while, he sighed again, not even bothering to answer the question anymore.

“Maybe she’ll calm down one day.”
“Impossible.”
“Don’t say that. Seriously.”

He took another deep sip from his mug. It looked like he was trying to drown his worries in alcohol.

“Yumi, Karen, mayhap we should go?”
“Nn? Ah, yes, Miss Elder.”

I nearly forgot why we were here. While we had been listening to Korwen, the Elder had gotten up and joined us.

“Then, let’s go.”
“Wait, Yumi!”
“Nn? Captain?”
“I’d like to borrow you and Karen for a little after dinner. That fine with you?”
“That’s fine, I think.
“Good. Then go. Shoo, shoo.”
“Yes, yes.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his attempt to get rid of us. 

With the Elder in tow, we returned to the construction area. Not much had changed in the short while we had been away. The Elder, however, hadn’t seen it in a while.

“Ohhh, this has become quite a sight.”
“Nn, they’re quite amazing.”
“I wholeheartedly agree. I did not expect to see such dedication to this project of theirs.”
“Especially considering it’s only for a single occasion.”

I had to wonder a little… What would happen with all of this afterwards? Err… Not my problem.

“A castle surrounded by protective walls…”

The Elder looked at the wooden mini-castle in admiration.

“Yumi, I have to wonder one thing.”
“Nn?”
“Mr Korwen’s daughter… to my knowledge she is neither magician nor manakin, am I correct?”
“Huh? Err, as far as I know, that is correct. Why?”
“This structure, should it be well defended, should be all but impossible to conquer by a single warrior. A magician could cast spells, blowing away the barricades, tricking the enemy and evading the traps. And a manakin’s abilities allow them to perform feats nigh impossible to copy for anyone else, making them difficult to account for. However, if she is neither, that would mean she has to get through this purely on her own physical and tactical ability. I can scarce imagine such a young girl to be able to perform such a feat.”

I widened my eyes at the Elder’s assessment. It was similar to what Karen and I had been discussing earlier… yet, somehow the way she talked about it spoke of her experience in this matter.

“I admit, I am rather curious about this girl now.”
“You aren’t the only one.”
“Hahaha! I can imagine!”

The Elder laughed, smiling brightly. Then, she turned to me, an expectant gaze lingering on me.

“Now! Tell me, Yumi, how can I be of help?”
“Nn, we were wondering if you could help out with your magic. Especially in regards to traps and all that. It’s just… I’m not quite sure what kind of things you can do.”
“Mh, I understand. To keep it short, I can grow all kinds of plants and control them to a degree. I can also give them simple orders. However, their effectiveness depends on the complexity of the order and the type of plant. If it makes it easier, imagine it similar to your tentacles but with all kinds of plants.”

Similar to my tentacles, huh…

“May I suggest a few things?”
“Nn? Of course, go ahead.”
“There are several flowers that might be useful as traps. The… Mhm… I do not know the name in your language… We call it the ‘Itching Flower’ in our language.”
“Itching flower? I can already imagine what kind of flower that is.”
“It will likely not surprise you that this flower is very popular among the young elven children. Especially when it comes to pranks.”

Yeah, no doubt about that.

“I think I know what flower that is,” commented Karen.
“Huh? You do?”
“Yes. I don’t know the name either, but I remember that you could make an itching powder from a certain flower’s fruits. A few children in the slums sold it sometimes… and it was mistakenly thought of as something different usually… It always caused an uproar.”
“...”

Wow. Those kids had guts for sure. I wholeheartedly approved.

“I fear you think of a different flower, Karen.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, most of my brethren would be far too lazy to make a powder out of fruit. The flower I mean can cause itching just by touching its leaves. Admittedly, it is not very potent compared to the powder you mentioned but it can be quite a bother nonetheless.”

I really wanted to ask her how she even knew about how potent either version was in the first place… Unfortunately, I lost my chance as the Elder immediately squatted down on the ground, working her magic to grow a flower.

“Mhm… I believe this is good enough. Be careful now..”

In front of us was a very unassuming flower. Yellow petals and green leaves. Nothing unusual at all.

“So… That’s the flower?”
“It is. If you are curious, try touching the leaves. Especially their underside.”
“... Do I want to do that?”
“Hahaha!”

The Elder laughed at my question. No, seriously, I knew it was going to cause an itch. Why should I do it?

“It would be better to know what you are using, wouldn’t it? It is not that bad. It’ll disappear in a few minutes. Not to mention you can just wash the place you touched and it should stop. Ah, but don’t try to lick it or anything lest you want your mouth to itch instead.”

That sounded infinitely worse than just an itching finger so I would absolutely refrain from that.

“Ugh… I’m going to trust you on that, Miss Elder… I will definitely regret this.”

I stuck out my finger, cautiously touching the flower. First, I poked the petals and… nothing happened. Maybe they didn’t cause the itch? Next, I poked a leaf…

“... Ah.”
”Does it itch, Yumi?”
“It does. Just a little, though.”

Rather than an itch, it was closer to a subtle prickling. Admittedly, this could be quite annoying in its own way. It was hard to ignore but not really a bother.

“If it’s like this I guess it’s not too bad.”

Sheesh, this was a bit of a bother, though… Wasn’t it slowly getting worse? Or was it just my imagination? Seriously, it was itching… Was there some water here? Apparently not… I should have made sure there was some water here before doing this…

“Yumi, don’t scratch it.”
“It’s itching, Sis.”
“You still shouldn’t.”
“...”

No, seriously, this was a bother… and the Elder was grinning at me.

“I need some water.”

I had to get rid of this itch. Spirits, this was annoying. It wasn’t bad but it was just bad enough to draw my attention.

“Haha, no worries, Yumi, I have some here. Show me your finger.”
“...”

The Elder held out a waterskin, still grinning. Somehow, this irked me. But the itch was worse so I obediently held out my finger. The Elder poured some water on it and rubbed my finger clean.

“Ohh, it’s gone. Freedom.”
“Hahaha, it’s quite bothersome, is it not?”
“Nn…”

I gently rubbed my finger, even though the itch was already gone. Seriously…

“Hey, Sis, why don’t you try it, too?”
“No thank you.”
“Come on, you don’t want to be the only one left out, do you?”
“Miss Elder hasn’t touched it either.”
“Oh, I know more than enough about its effects, Karen. I vividly remember to this day when several young elves dropped a basket of these flowers on me in my sleep.”
“...”
“...”

Wow, that had to be the absolute worst way to wake up imaginable. What kind of torture was that?

“What happened to them?”
“I taught them about various other plants with similar but far stronger effects. They especially enjoyed it when they could try them out first-hand. They did not dare repeat that mistake.”

Right… Not sure who I should pity more right now… At least she got her revenge.

“So, err, this flower… How do you suggest we make use of it?”
“The girl is a mercenary so she will without a doubt wear thick boots. There would be no point in growing them on the ground. Same for her hands.”

Was there even a way to get these flowers on her then?

“However, if we grow the flowers on the barricades around the height of her waist, chances are high some leaves might find their way between the gaps of her armour.”
“... Wait, wouldn’t it be far worse than just touching them?”

If the leaf got inside her clothes, the itch wouldn’t stop. Worse, it would wander wherever the leaf was.

“Worry not. The leaf only causes the itching for a short while. It will be worse than just touching them but not by much.”
“I see…”

Maybe whatever caused the itch was used up quickly? Something like fine hairs that broke off?

“I guess we can do that then… But we should probably hold back a little. I don’t want her to hate us because we made her whole body itch.”
“Fair enough. Does anyone know how tall she is?”
“No.”
“I don’t.”

How could we? We never met her.

“We should probably ask someone?”
“That would be preferable. Knowing her height would make the flower more effective.”

The Elder smiled innocently. Or at least it seemed innocent to me. The situation was anything but. Another case of a pretty outside but a mean inside?

“What about Lily? She knows her, does she not? Is she not here?”
“I haven’t seen her, at least… Maybe she’s busy with something else?”

Lily should know about this… tradition of sorts, right? If she wasn’t here, didn’t that mean she had no interest? Then again, I could hardly imagine that.

“How about we just ask her? She’s over there.”

Karen pointed towards the camp. Leaning against a wagon was Lily, watching the construction site together with Rina. they seemed to be talking about something.

“Well, so she is here…”
“She was here earlier as well.”
“Really? I didn’t see her.”
“She was only watching from the side.”
“Ohh…”

Then I must have missed her. Sorry, Lily, here I had thought you didn’t care about this.

“Oh well… I’ll call her then.”

I moved a few steps in their direction before raising my voice.

“Lily! Lily, come here for a moment!”

I raised my arms, drawing attention to me. Thankfully, Lily had heard my shout and turned in our direction. She said something to Rina and then jogged over in our direction.

“Well, that was easy enough.”

Now we could ask Lily once she reached us.

“By the way… Yumi?”
“Nn?”

I turned to Karen, only to find her scowling for some reason.

“What is that weird patch on the ground there?”
“Patch?”

I looked in the direction Karen was pointing. A pile of leaves was gathered there…

“... That’s the pitfall we tried to hide, isn’t it?”
“I think so.”

And Lily was running straight towards it.

“Lily! Stop! Ground! Stop!”

Lily’s eyes widened a little in surprise, before she looked downwards, spotting the pile of leaves. She laughed and then sped up. She wasn’t going to… But behind that pitfall… was another one, slightly better hidden.

“No, Lily, don’t!”

And she jumped.

Then disappeared from sight.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

A scream echoed through the area.

… Oops.