Chapter 310

Mushroom First!

After leaving the academy, the group took a short walk to their destination in the woods. When they got there, everyone let out a breath of wonder.

They saw a sea of golden leaves. Light from the sun seeped through the leaves and dripped onto the yellow path. The whole forest was dyed a bright yellow, and it was brightly lit and very colourful.Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

Mia said, “What a strange forest...”

Behind her, Rafina chuckled.

“Oh my, Mia. Is this the first time you’ve seen autumn foliage?”

“‘Autumn Foliage’? Is that what you call these trees?”

Previous-timeline Mia didn’t care about forests at all. She hadn’t paid much attention to the life cycle of trees, so she was amazed by the strange colours on display.

“No, no,” said Rafina, giggling.

“Autumn foliage are the changing colours of leaves in the fall. Some tree species’ leaves turn red, but it looks like all of the ones here turn yellow.”

“Oh, my... What a strange thing...”

Mia then started making up stories in her head.

Hm... This forest is not too far from the school... I might be able to get Abel to come back... We’ll be the only ones in this forest, and we can walk around and maybe even hold hands. Mm, that’s a great idea!

She heard a soft murmur at that moment.

“A yellow forest...”

When she turned to find out what was going on, she saw Citrina looking at the forest. Her usual perfect smile was gone, and it had been replaced by...nothing. There was no way to tell what she was feeling from her face.

“Rina? Is there a problem?”

Mia asked with a frown on her face.

“Hm? Oh no, nothing is wrong. I guess you could say I just felt a connection with these trees. I mean, I’m a Yellowmoon, and these leaves are all yellow, see?” she said quickly, as if she were making an excuse on the spot.

Then, her lips went back to their normal shape.

“Yes, I understand what you mean. If I were a member of the House of Yellowmoon, I would probably feel the same way about a forest that was only yellow.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Your Highness. Now, let’s move forward. Please follow Rina,” Citrina said as she took the lead.

The forest was filled with golden tones. The glow of the yellow leaves above reflected off the amber leaves below, bathing the eyes in golden colours.

“Whoa— Gotcha. Be careful.”

She heard a voice that was both soft and familiar. She felt her body fall into the soft arms of another person.

“...Eh?”

When she opened her eyes...

“Are you okay, Mia?”

Abel’s face was just a few inches from hers!

But wait! Mia was in the mood to look for mushrooms today. So, she wouldn’t be scared when Abel hugged her. She was a mushroom, and mushroom was her. Nothing could get her away from Mushrooms. Mushroom First!

Oh moons... He’s so handsome and so dreamy! He looked so cute in that apron, and now—Oh, what a difference! It’s so good!

...Well, that’s it for Mushrooms First.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“N-No, I’m fine. It’s all right.”

She quickly pulled away from him.

“Merciful moons, I’ve been such an idiot...”

Abel shook his head as her cheeks turned red.

“No, that’s not right. Actually...”

He reached for her hair while making a sly face.

“Huh? Wha—”

His hand came back from the side of her head with a leaf between his thumb and forefinger. This made her look at him with a confused look.

He said with a laugh, “In a way, I’m glad that happened. Now I know that whatever you do with your hair, you look good.”

After saying that, he walked away.

Mia was so confused that she could only come up with a fourth “...Eh?” when she was left alone.

And so it was shown that, even though she believed in the supremacy of fungi, all it took was a hug from Abel to make her forget about mushrooms.

Mia lied about being a Mushrooms Firster.