CH 300

Princess Mia Presents a Somewhat Reasonable Argument

“I promise you that a bowl of delicious mushroom stew is the key to victory!”

The council members couldn’t help but agree with her because of how sure she sounded. All but Keithwood, who spoke up right away because he was shocked that everyone seemed to lose all sense at the same time.

“H-Hold on a minute.”

As Sion’s servant, it was his job to stop his master from acting on bad decisions, even if it made Sion mad for a moment. He had a job to do, and now was the time to do it! He bravely stepped in front of Mia’s fast-moving waggon of momentum because he was worried about Sion and knew this was a very bad idea.

“There are many kinds of mushrooms, some of which are poisonous and some of which are not. As far as I know, it is very hard to tell them apart. It doesn’t seem wise to try to do it ourselves.”

“Ah, Keithwood, I knew you’d say that. You have always been careful when you are near mushrooms. That was smart. But don’t worry, because what you’re talking about has already been taken care of.”

“Huh? A solved problem? How exactly…if you don’t mind my asking?”

Mia smiled sneakily when he asked her that.

“Please think about what kind of island you are standing on. Isn’t it a God-blessed island? If that’s the case, nothing toxic could grow here or be brought in, right?”

“Ah…”

Keithwood couldn’t think of anything to say. The safest place on the continent… Paradise on Earth… People often used these words to describe Saint-Noel Island because God had blessed it. Because the water in Noelige Lake was so clean and holy, nothing toxic, whether it was plants or animals, could live on the island. It was such a common idea that it made sense.

“But…,” he said.

He tried to argue back, but her quiet smile made him stop.

“I know what you’re trying to say, and I get it. If a poisonous mushroom got past the island’s divine protection and onto our plates, which is very unlikely, we’d be in a lot of trouble. Is that what you care about?”

She talked slowly and in a way that seemed like she was talking to a small child. To be honest, it was a little annoying.

“To do this, we can just ask an expert to come with us, and I just so happened to meet one of these people recently.”

“You know someone who knows a lot about mushrooms? Who could it be?”

“It’s Citrina Yellowmoon, the daughter of one of the Empire’s Four Dukes. She looks like she knows a lot about them.”

“…Yellowmoon, the young one?”

Keithwood’s eyebrows furrowed in thought when he heard this name.

“But…isn’t it possible that the House of Yellowmoon is working with the Chaos Serpents? “Can we depend on them?”

The question didn’t make Mia lose her cool.

“Yes, the House is being looked at, but I don’t think Citrina has anything to do with it. But let’s say I was wrong to trust her and she really is a Serpent. Do you think she would do something so obviously in this case?”

“That’s…”

In fact, it was a good argument. Duke Yellowmoon had to know that people were suspicious of  him. He must know that his daughter Citrina is also being looked at.

He could try to get rid of the whole student council by sacrificing Citrina, but then we would already know it’s him, so it’s unlikely that we’d all get a taste of the stew at the same time, and he must be aware of that…

If the first person to try the stew got sick, the others would probably stop eating it. Some kind of slow-acting poison could be used, but the chances of finding mushrooms with this kind of poison on the island were, again, slim. Keithwood didn’t think it would work as a plan because too much of it depended on luck.

“Also,” Mia went on, “I think that as members of the student council, we need to do more than just work together. We need to make friends, and it’s my fault that I haven’t had enough chances to do so so far. So, I’d like to make up for it by using a big event like the Holy Eve Festival to throw a private party for the council so we can all have fun and get closer.”

“Well, that’s very nice of you…”

Her points were valid, but for some reason, Keithwood couldn’t stand to hear them.

The problem with them might have been that they were too good. They reminded Sion of the kind of reasoning he used to get ready to charge into danger.

“Bel and Citrina are also good friends, and they both said they wanted to come with us if we went mushroom hunting,” Mia said before turning her head.

“Miss Rafina, I think there might be a forest on the island that would be perfect for this?”

Rafina touched her chin with her finger and frowned.

“It’s true that the east side of the island has a small forest. I’m not sure, though, if mushrooms grow there or not…”

Mia waved her hand off this worry like it was nothing.

“Oh, don’t worry. Citrina will come along. I’ve also done some reading about the subject myself. Correct, Chloe?”

“Uh, yes. You’re right.”

In recent weeks, Princess Mia has been reading books to figure out how to make the mushroom stew party a success.

Oh, so this was premeditated. Plan instead of a whim.

Keithwood’s explanation might have been a little too kind. Even so, he kept listening as Mia went on blithely with her story.

“You’ll be on the peaceful island of Saint-Noel, which is a blessed place where nothing poisonous can grow. Citrina and I, both experienced mushroom guides, will show you around. How could something go wrong?”

Keithwood looked at the self-proclaimed “veteran mushroom guide’s” confident stance.

He couldn’t think of a time when he was less sure of things.