Tremble tremble.

“…Ugh, it’s not working.”

The broom didn’t even lift off the ground. In the end, Liria gave up on flying and trudged along.

It was when she was passing under a large tree, following the path.

-Shwiek!

Flap flap!

At the threatening sound of a wild animal, the birds sitting on the branches all startled and flew up at once.

Liria, also tense, quickly hid behind a rock and watched.

Rustle.

Rustle rustle.

There was something in the tree.

‘This sound…, it couldn’t be a snake, could it?’

Rustle!

Unexpectedly, what came down the tree was a small white animal.

Its elongated body covered in fluffy white fur looked just like a winter scarf or stretched-out laundry.

This was an animal Liria had seen in her previous life.

“…It’s a ferret!”

The ferret that set foot on the ground was scurrying towards somewhere. It was so fast it was almost rolling.

It was too quick to see properly, but it seemed to be carrying something in its mouth.

She had seen it in internet videos from her previous life; ferrets have a habit of hiding precious items in their hideouts.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so why not follow it?

Tap tap tap!

Liria, who had been following, suddenly stopped. The ferret had slipped into a small burrow it had dug.

If she dug up the burrow now, the ferret probably wouldn’t stay still.

‘I need to lure that fellow out.’

Liria took out a piece of jerky she had packed earlier, tore it into small pieces, and dropped them in front of the burrow.

One piece at a time as she moved away.

Now all that was left was to wait.

She’d hide behind a tree trunk, and when the ferret came out of the hole, she’d pounce and search the burrow.

A few minutes later.

A pink nostril twitched, and a small round face popped out.

It had black eyes, nose, and mouth, all there, along with white whiskers.

So cute.

Liria swallowed her rising laughter and prepared to move.

‘Good, you’ve taken the bait.’

Stealthily.

The ferret approached carefully on its small feet, sniffed the jerky scent, and snap! It grabbed it.

Rustle.

Then it quickly went back into the burrow.

It was so agile that it took less than a few seconds.

It ended before she could even say “Oh?”

‘Oh no. I should have dropped it further away.’

Biting her lip, Liria decided to change her strategy this time.

She still had one more piece of jerky left in her bag.

‘Let’s get its attention first.’

Liria suddenly revealed herself in front of the ferret.

Their eyes met.

Round, black eyes like watermelon seeds.

“Hey, take a look at this. Isn’t it larger?”

Flap flap.

Liria waved a larger piece of jerky in front of the ferret, then tossed it far away.

Rustle rustle!

Instantly, the ferret darted towards the fallen treat, its paws making quick work of the forest floor.

“That’s right! Mind if I take a quick look at your home?”

While it was chewing on the jerky, Liria quickly peeked into the ferret’s burrow, gently digging with her broom.

Liria’s prediction was correct.

Inside, a round golden object was shining brightly.

“I finally found it!”

Liria reached into the burrow and pulled out the object she had grabbed.

It was a golden compass.

At that moment, the ferret didn’t stay still either.

It charged at her, making that strange sound again.

“Shwiek!”

“Ah, mommy!”

Startled, Liria dropped the compass on the ground. She quickly picked it up, but the ferret’s body came up with it.

***

It had been 10 minutes since the standoff with the creature began.

Dangle dangle.

The ferret held onto the compass with its teeth, refusing to let go.

‘How strong is its bite force?’

Even with Liria holding the compass’s string like this, it absolutely wouldn’t release it from its mouth.

“Ugh, you’re more persistent than you look, aren’t you?”

Looking closely, its rice grain-like teeth were quite sharp. Ferrets are weasel-like animals, so they can be quite fierce. It’s fortunate she wasn’t bitten.

The ferret made sniffing sounds and wriggled.

The goal was in sight, but there was no time to quarrel with this creature.

Time is still ticking away!

Liria looked at the golden compass with an anxious heart.

The sand left in the hourglass was already less than one-fifth.

“No. This is going to end at this rate.”

Grrr.

She tried pushing and petting, but the ferret wouldn’t budge.

“Can’t you just lend this to me once? I promise I’ll return it after I use it.”

If only she had one more piece of jerky, she would have succeeded.

“No, wait. I’ve found the compass anyway, so can’t I just take this whole thing with me?”

When she first moved to the Spirit Forest, the transportation portal didn’t disappear but remained there. She could go straight there!

Having made up her mind, Liria picked up the ferret and the compass together and started to retrace her steps.

Tap tap tap!

But had she wandered too far from her starting point?

“…Huff huff. Ha, I’m out of breath.”

At this rate, it seemed difficult to make it in time.

There wasn’t much sand left in the hourglass now.

Maybe 2-3 minutes at most?

Without riding the broom, there was no way she could make it.

“I can’t give up here. I must succeed. For Father’s sake, if nothing else.”

Liria closed her eyes and gathered mana as if praying desperately.

Whoosh.

Zap!

Endless mana gathered into Liria’s heart, her mana heart.

It was such a large amount of mana that even Liria herself was surprised.

‘To think I could gather this much mana…’

However, now was not the time to be amazed.

Bwoong.

As soon as she connected the mana to the broom, it rose into the air.

Just as she was about to mount it.

“…Squeak!”

The weight on the compass felt lighter. It seemed the creature had finally allowed Liria to have the compass.

Hop.

Liria gently patted the head of the ferret that had jumped to the ground and smiled brightly.

“…Phew, I’m saved! Thank you. I don’t know if I’ll see you again, but I’ll repay you with something delicious later. Goodbye!”

Liria bid farewell to the ferret, quickly tucked the golden compass into her pocket, and mounted the broom.

Swoosh!

The broom that took off in an instant initially flew around unable to find direction, then cut across the Spirit Forest like the wind.

“Wow, it’s really fast.”

The forest full of light was beautiful even from afar. She was so clumsy at flying that she didn’t even know how she arrived.

When Liria came to her senses, she had already arrived in front of the transportation portal.

As if signaling the imminent end of the time limit, cracks appeared on the hourglass with a crackle.

“No!”

Liria closed her eyes tightly and put her foot in the portal just as the hourglass disappeared and.

Bang! Boom!

Loud fireworks and flower petals burst forth.