"Hanna-chan, are you there?"
Just as they were finishing up, Kurt, Jessie, Jim, Patty, and Mario arrived in a group to call for Hanna. When Jin asked what they were up to, it turned out they were headed out to pick Wylies.
Essentially, Wylies were wild strawberries. They were too tart to be pleasant on their own, but they could be boiled down into a delicious jam. In Kaina Village, the children usually gathered the fruit for their families to preserve, but because fuel was such an expensive commodity, jam-making was a rare luxury.
However, because Jin had introduced magi-stone magic stoves the previous year, it seemed that every household with children was planning to make a proper batch this time around.
"That sounds like fun. Would you mind if I tagged along?" Saki asked, clearly eager.
Since Saki was going, Elsa decided to go as well, which naturally meant Jin was going too. Since Reiko, Edgar, and Ar would be accompanying them, there was no need for Gon or Gen to come along.
"Honi-hyan, over here, over here!"
"...Hah... whew."
Jin and Saki had underestimated the children's boundless energy. Both were severely lacking in physical stamina. Elsa, on the other hand, was used to regular activity and kept pace easily with the children and their baskets.
The Wylies grew in the forest to the east of Kaina Village. The area was thick with broadleaf trees and wild flora. Further north, the terrain became somewhat rocky, and it was there that the Wylies were said to be most abundant. This made for difficult footing, and Jin and Saki quickly fell behind.
"Honi-hyan, the Wylies start around here," Hanna called back.
Jin surveyed the area as instructed. Saki did the same.
"Oh, I see them! Hanna-chan, it's these, right?"
Thanks to her new glasses, Saki managed to spot the Wylies even faster than Jin.
"Yup, those! Collect lots, okay?"
With that, the group scattered—Jin included—and began the hunt for berries.
"Don't go anywhere dangerous!" Jin shouted.
"Okay!" the children chirped back before disappearing into the foliage.
"Well, I suppose I should start too." Jin, who had been sitting on a log to recover his breath, finally stood up.
"Father, there are some over there," Reiko informed him.
However, Jin wanted the satisfaction of finding them himself, so he simply asked Reiko to gather that particular patch for him. While ripe Wylies were soft and easily bruised, Reiko’s upgraded tactile sensors allowed her to harvest them with ease without crushing a single one.
"Oh, found some."
Jin eventually discovered a cluster of his own and placed them into the basket at his hip. Saki seemed to be finding quite a few as well, and Elsa was moving about briskly, already having gathered a substantial amount.
After an hour, their individual baskets were full, so they emptied them into the large basket Ar carried on her back. Since the large basket was still less than half-full, they decided to forage for one more hour.
"Alright, I'm gonna do my best!" the rowdy Kurt shouted, dashing off with renewed vigor.
"...I think I've had enough," Jin groaned.
"What a coincidence. Me too," Saki agreed.
Lacking in stamina, both Jin and Saki were deeply regretting their failure to bring water.
"Are you alright, Father?"
"Master, are you exhausted?"
Reiko and Ar looked on with concern for their respective masters. To put it bluntly, the adults had underestimated the terrain simply because it was a place children frequented.
Jin tried a Wylie, but it was far too sour for his tastes. Saki had the same reaction.
"...I found this many over there."
Elsa returned with her waist basket overflowing. She looked at the two panting scholars. "...Both of you... lack of exercise," she muttered.
"Ah, how embarrassing. I suppose your father wouldn't have this problem, Saki. He's always flying about in search of rare things, isn't he?"
It seemed Saki was an indoor person through and through, whereas her father, Toa, was a dedicated outdoorsman.
Just then, a scream rang out.
"Honi-hyan!" It was Hanna.
"What's wrong, Hanna?" Jin stood up and ran toward her as fast as he could.
"It's terrible! Kurt and Jessie!" Hanna's face was deathly pale.
"What on earth happened?" Elsa and Saki arrived right behind him.
"Kurt and Jessie fell off the cliff!"
"What?!"
Led by Hanna, the three of them rushed deeper into the woods. Stepping over tall grass and pushing through thickets, they reached the edge of a ten-meter drop. Below them ran a nameless river that fed into the Erme River.
"Look, there...!"
Following Hanna's pointing finger, they saw Jessie caught on a rocky outcrop halfway down the face. Kurt was lying motionless at the very bottom. The cliff looked unstable; one wrong move could trigger a rockslide that would likely bury the boy.
"Jessie! Stay right there, we're going to save you! Don't move!" Jin shouted to reassure her. If she panicked and shifted, the rocks she was perched on might give way.
"Ah, Jin Onii-chan..." Relief washed over Jessie's face the moment she saw him.
"Alright, what's the best way to do this?"
Small stones were already trickling down the face. They didn't have much time before the whole thing gave way.
"Reiko, Edgar, Ar—I need your help." Jin quickly outlined his plan. "That's the situation. We need to move fast. Help me."
"Yes, Father."
"Yes, Creator-sama."
"Yes, Jin-sama."
"Ji—Jin, will it really work?" Saki asked nervously.
"We have to try. My earth magic can't reach that far. We have to get them out before it collapses. Reiko, go!"
Reiko leaped down toward the ledge where Jessie was trapped. With her power under perfect control, she landed without dislodging a single pebble. However, the combined weight of the automaton and the girl caused the rock to groan and tilt.
Reiko immediately scooped Jessie up and tossed her upward with exquisite precision. Edgar caught the girl firmly in his arms.
A split second later, Reiko dove toward the bottom of the cliff, moving faster than the stones that had begun to roll. She gathered Kurt into her arms and performed a swift examination. A quick 'Analyze' confirmed he hadn't struck his head. It appeared he had suffered bruises and a possible fracture from the fall, and the sheer pain had knocked him unconscious.
Relieved, Reiko began her ascent.
The slope was over sixty degrees. The rockslide had begun in earnest now, but Reiko sprinted upward, weaving left and right to dodge the falling boulders. She hadn't thrown Kurt like she had Jessie because she feared an injured child wouldn't survive the acceleration required to toss him ten meters straight up.
As the tumbling rocks gathered momentum and a true landslide began to roar, Reiko reached the midway point and threw Kurt toward Ar, who was waiting at the top. In this scenario, the acceleration felt by Kurt was less than half of what a throw from the bottom would have required. Reiko judged it well within the limits of what he could endure.
Ar caught him securely.
Now unburdened, Reiko faced the brunt of the rockslide alone. In a flash, she surged up the remaining slope. Her speed was like a gale; less than ten seconds had passed from the moment she first jumped until she stood safely back at the top.