A Single Mother's Farm of the Gods
Chapter 115: Retrieving the Lotus

Chapter 115: Retrieving the Lotus

Julia and Princess Margaux always love to visit the forest and forage there. Elaina can guess the reason why.

Princess Margaux, despite being a princess, loves nature and loves to work with dirt, animals, and plants more than handling tea, social gatherings, socializing, shopping in stores, and cosmetics. She also likes the fact that she can practice her Druid abilities passively while in the forest, allowing her to slowly but surely master the powers that she can’t practice if she is currently staying in the castle.

On the other hand, Julia is taking advantage of this time to broaden her knowledge in identifying medicinal herbs in the wild. She compares most of the things she sees using the little booklet she said to be a gift from the one who teaches her magic and apothecary practices. Because she is a fast learner and pretty much adept in doing things like that, she excels a lot in this aspect and even Elaina appreciates the way Julia knows more than she does.

Still, compared to the two, Elaina has the most experience three in terms of exploring the forests. For Elaina, she didn’t need to use those guides, magic, and other stuff that would make things easier living in the wild. She survived in pure instinct and her pure will to live, which she used during the times when she thought the challenge was impossible.

Since they were going to the forest, Elaina left the farm and went to go to her brother and pick up the bag. It is also a good way to find his actual home now that he is in the Darcero Kingdom.

Troy had already given her the directions on where his new apartment is currently located and the moment he said it was just beside the clinic, Elaina already knew where to go.

She didn’t need to look for her brother since he was currently outside and was speaking to someone who frequently visited the farm.

"Brother, are you finally done with unpacking?" Elaina asked, catching the attention of Troy.

"Ah, I was just about to go there since I just finished putting all of my luggage in place. Here, take it."

Elaina took the storage bag from Troy before she faced the First Princess and greeted her.

"Good afternoon, First Princess."

"Miss Elaina! I was just about to go and visit my sister when I ran with your brother here."

"Oh yeah, I just remembered. Thanks for permitting my brother to move in here even though the ban was currently ongoing."

"Nah, he was already applying even before the ban was currently present. And since he can just bypass the ban, I allowed him since I know him that he is different from your parents. I trust him well enough to not treat him as someone suspicious despite being sometimes pretty suspicious at times."

"Hey, just because we have been friends since we were part of the academy here in Darcero doesn’t mean you can be mean to me. I am perfectly fine and have never been more suspicious," Troy defended himself while making a dumb face.

"Well, it doesn’t matter. Now that you are already registered as a Darcero Citizen, you are already part of this kingdom no matter what you do. So anything that was currently happening back in the Luminiera Kingdom is no longer affecting you."

Elaina nodded. "Didn’t know that you two had a lasting friendship together. Thanks for looking out for my brother, Princess. As much of a dork this guy is, he is reliable so don’t hesitate to ask help from him if there is anything he can help especially in terms of machines and stuff related to that."

"Of course. Anyways, is my sister already back at home? I didn’t see her after the closing event on the beach so I guessed that they went back home much earlier."

"Yeah. We are preparing to venture out into the forest and gather some things there as well as try to hunt some wild game as well."

"If that is the case, I will come with you guys. Since you said I needed more experience regarding that part, then perhaps I should also try that as well. Of course, if you are okay with it," Princess Tabatha asked.

"It’s fine as long as you don’t bring too many guards. I think the shadow corps are fine since they blend into the shadows and can’t disturb the local wildlife."

"Sure. I don’t want them to steal my hunts as well, so I will gladly accept that condition."

After the conversation, the two girls said their goodbyes to Troy before heading to the forest. As for Troy, he is currently on his way to the meeting place with Doctor Fey. He can’t help but be excited about it after all since this is still what he considers a date.

...

...

...

When the two arrived back at the farm, Julia and Princess Margaux were already dressed appropriately for exploring the forest. The two have gone there many times already and they both know the drill already.

"Hey, Sis! Are you visiting us? Well, we were about to go to the forest for a while so it might be bad timing," Princess Margaux revealed to Princess Tabatha.

"No worries since she will be coming with us," Elaina revealed.

"Really" Princess Margaux was surprised.

Princess Tabatha nodded in response making Princess Margaux happy.

"Sis! Everything is in preparation now, we can go anytime!" Julia said.

And like always, Shardu guards the doorway like always but this time, the cat is now with Zaza, guarding the place together.

"Like always, we will come back with a reward, but now for both of you, so if any intruders are present here on the farm while we are out, then don’t hesitate to attack, alright?"

Shardu only gave a light nod while Zaza opened its eyes a bit before returning to sleep.

"Okay, let’s get going."

...

...

...

The four are now exploring deep into the forest, while Elaina and Julia are gathering the forage that they can find in the forest like fallen fruits, medicinal herbs, mushrooms, wild berries, and even wild veggies, Princess Margaux is currently telling Princess Tabatha what to watch out in the forest for, and what kind of things that Princess Tabatha found fascinating.

It didn’t take them long to arrive in the area where the lotus was present based on the Almanac that Elaina had. She needed to take a few of those lotuses and bring them back home.

But the moment they entered the area, a big fish leaped out of the pond and landed in the nearby open area.

"A fish?" Princess Tabatha was startled but Elaina already gripped her sword tight. She might not be as nimble as before, but Elaina can still fight.

"Get ready to fight, that’s a Swamp Walker Trout. It can walk and run on land and is pretty hostile to anyone invading its territory," Elaina walked in front of the others to get herself ready for the action. Seeing Elaina’s initiative, Princess Tabatha also ready herself for action.

The Swamp Walker Trout finally got its groove and stood up properly before looking in the direction of Elaina and the girls. Without hesitation, the fish charged forward and attacked.

Because it looked straightforward, Princess Tabatha decided to attack it first.

"I got this!"

"Wait, don’t..." Before Elaina can even stop Princess Tabatha, the princess charges forward and attacks, only for the fish to immediately headbutt Princess Tabatha before her sword can hit.

"Julia!"

"Got it!" Julia immediately manipulated the water nearby and enveloped Princess Tabatha inside it, shielding her from further damage.

"You shouldn’t attack the Swamp Walker Trout head-on. I found it the hard way when I first met this guy in the past. Despite being a walking target at first glance, the moment you try to attack it head-on first, you will suffer as it will then ignore all your attacks and charge at you headfirst, using its head that is as hard as a boulder during charges. We need to time its charge before attacking."

After it attacked Princess Tabatha, the fish immediately changed targets and immediately headed to Elaina and the other girls.

"Scatter, girls!"

The two immediately jumped away from their way while Elaina remained as she gripped the sheath of her sword with a tight grip on the hilt of it, ready to pull the sword out anytime.

As soon as the fish is ready to headbutt Elaina out of the way, Elaina slashes horizontally in front of her while moving to the side, avoiding the fish charge completely.

The fish continues its charge before it fell down and died, revealing that the fish was cut in half as it passed through Elaina’s sword.

"The fish was pretty weak but for unprepared and those who are not familiar with this fish, a battle with this will take some time."

Elaina sighed in relief. With the presence of the fish, Elaina can guarantee the purity and healthiness of the lotus she is going to retrieve. One of the best signs of a healthy body of water is the presence of fish.

As for Princess Tabatha, she realized that she does lack the necessary knowledge to tackle things the same way as on the battlefield. It seems that this task alone will be something that she will be happy to learn.

...

...

Back in the farm, a figure stands in front of the gate. She can feel it, the presence of her daughter is indeed inside the farm.