===
"Grimm. Grimm. Grimm.", Prayer Master lowered his head for a short second and repeated her name, possibly to remember her name.
Prayer Master gestured with his small paw toward a circle of stones nearby, the center arranged for a campfire. "The previous heroes of this world had once researched a way to pin a spatial point for anyone. When you ignite the flames, the campfire stop will ignite a spell placed by the heroes so that when items containing the spell activators are crushed, the person will be transferred to the last campfire."
The rabbit continued his explanation, seemingly unbothered by how much information he was providing. "But because the main spell creator died before improving the spell, if you don't have the spell activator, it will also naturally activate from the person, but only when they are at their deathbed. That's also another reason why almost all people die if they don't have the spell activator."
Grimm tried to absorb this information, though her headache made it difficult to concentrate.
"I know I'm giving you too much information," Prayer Master acknowledged, "But let me continue. You should meet 'Calth'. He specializes in Soul manipulation. He can help you use the souls your body has to help your soul grow stronger. The stronger your soul is, the stronger your body becomes. So, in short, he will help you level up your body."
The rabbit pointed toward a figure seated beneath a large tree some distance away.
"You should also go find Leaf before leaving the protection of the Forest," the Prayer Master added. "Leaf is not like the other fairies that you might find around here. I am sure she will be of use to you."
Grimm was about to head toward Calth as suggested, but something caught her eye - a small, glowing figure dancing in circles around a flowering bush. Curiosity drew her toward it instead.
As she approached, she could see it was a fairy, no larger than her hand, with translucent wings that caught the light like prisms.
"Hi? My name is Grimm," she offered tentatively.
The fairy stopped its dance abruptly, turning to look at her with an expression of disgust. "Huh? An Undead? Eww. Stinky, go away!!" it exclaimed, making an exaggerated retching motion.
From behind her, Grimm heard a deep chuckle. She turned to see a man watching the exchange with amusement. This, she presumed, must be Calth.
A vein throbbed in Grimm's temple. She felt speechless at the fairy's rudeness and embarrassed at the man's chuckle. With a dignified "Hmph," she turned away and walked toward Calth instead.
"You must be Grimm," the man said as she approached. "I heard you talking to that black rabbit and that fairy." He chuckled again, clearly entertained by her interaction with the rude fairy.
Grimm felt momentarily speechless.
The man, Calth, was handsome. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties. He had black hair and eyes. There was nothing distinct about him, but there was something different about him. In his presence, she felt a dark pressure that seemed to emanate from his very being.
It felt as if a predator was looking at her.
She dismissed the feeling, focusing on why she had come.
"Prayer Master told me you can help me 'level up'?" she asked directly.
Calth nodded. "Yes."
He gestured for her to sit across from him on a flat wooden bench by a broken building. "Please let me introduce myself. I used to be an adventurer, but after exploring every place and leaving behind hints for many to come, I decided to retire." He extended his hand. "Please give me your hand."
Grimm hesitantly placed her hand in his.
His touch was cool but not unpleasant.
"You have eight thousand and fifty-five souls," Calth said after a moment, his eyes briefly unfocused as if reading something invisible. "How many would you like to consume? I would recommend using all of them. The stronger you are, the higher the chances you won't die from random beast attacks."
Grimm considered this advice. "You seem experienced. I will first talk with the Prayer Master to see if he has something important on him to trade; if not, I shall follow your advice..."
"Uh huh," Calth nodded. "If you see any red markings on the ground, try to touch them," Calth said as he released her hand. "I placed a spell using beast blood such that whenever someone touches it, important hints and information are transmitted to that person."
Grimm nodded gratefully. "Thank you." It was a piece of extremely valuable information.
"You should meet Leaf before looking around this place," Calth continued while pointing in a direction. "Leaf should be north of here. After talking to her, please return. I will prepare some extremely important gifts for our hero."
Grimm nodded again and rose to her feet. The headache had subsided, and her body felt remarkably better after talking to and being in contact with Calth. She gathered the [Drake Blade] and her other possessions, then set off northward as directed.
The path through the Holy Forest was beautiful but uneven, winding between ancient trees and flowering underbrush. Occasional small glowing humanoid beings, which Grimm now recognized as fairies, darted among the branches, though none approached her after the first's rude dismissal.
The path ahead curved around a massive tree trunk, leading deeper into the mysterious forest and whatever fate awaited her there. As soon as she walked ahead, Grimm suddenly heard a gentle melody floating through the air.
"La~ lala~ lalala~"
A small green fairy drifted into view, her tiny body swaying side to side in rhythm with the song she was singing. The fairy in question had fair white skin, short green hair, and green eyes, along with long, pointed ears.
The fairy was wearing a type of green leotard and green glass slippers. Just like any other fairy, she has two pairs of long, green fairy wings.
Unlike the others who kept their distance, this one seemed completely absorbed in her melody, unaware of Grimm's presence.
No, maybe it was aware, but had no animosity towards her.
'Well... She should be Leaf, right? Well, at least, I should ask her where Leaf should be if she's not.' Cautiously, Grimm approached. The fairy's singing trailed off as she noticed the newcomer, her green eyes widening with curiosity.
"Hmm? Who are you? I haven't seen you in the Holy Forest... Wait!" The fairy's delicate wings fluttered excitedly as she circled around Grimm, examining her from every angle. "Oh! It's you!"
Grimm remained silent, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Fufufu~ You must be bewildered with one surprising thing happening after another, right?" The fairy smiled kindly, though Grimm still felt uneasy. "It's fine. Don't worry. The forest is protected by a holy barrier. It's safe here!"
The green fairy bobbed her head happily and, with a bright smile, asked, "My name is Leaf. Can you tell me yours?"
"Grimm," she responded flatly.
"Grimm? What a grim name hihihi~," Leaf said, clearly finding her own pun hilarious as she continued with a chuckle. "You seem to be heading to the Lost Empire afterward, right? You seem to have come from there."
Grimm nodded cautiously. "Is that a problem?"
Leaf shook her head, her wings shimmering with the movement. "Hihihi~ Well, you are free to go wherever, of course. But it's extremely dangerous to go alone. Please let me lend you my help. If you summon me in combat, I'll support you to the best of my ability. So summon me a lots, alright~?"
Grimm felt moved by the offer and nodded at Leaf, who bobbed her head in happiness.
"To summon me, you will need to give this drop of blood to Calth. He was thinking about giving you some gifts before you go on your adventure. So make sure to talk to him~ He should be somewhere in the Holy Forest!"
Leaf extended her finger, and magically, a red spherical crystal formed in the air before gently floating down into Grimm's palm. Grimm carefully tucked it into her clothes for safekeeping.
She had already seen enough magical things, so it wasn't that astonishing for her to see Leaf give her a drop of her blood that looked like a ruby to her.
"Before you go, I just want to make sure you know about it. You're completely free," Leaf said suddenly, her tone shifting. Her tone made Grimm tilt her head in confusion.
"I mean it," Leaf continued, her smile taking on a strange shape. "If you don't like someone, feel free to kill them! If there is a man you want, feel free to take him by force! This country is destined to perish and disappear anyway, right?"
Grimm froze, her mind going blank for a moment.
Hot anger began to bubble up inside her, remembering Jean's noble sacrifice, his words about every life having value. Her hands clenched into fists, knuckles white with tension.
Leaf chuckled when she saw Grimm's reaction. "Just kidding~~ Hihi~ See ya! Let's meet again~"
With a final bob of her body, Leaf darted between the trees, her green glow fading until she disappeared completely into the forest depths, leaving behind Grimm, who stared at her as she disappeared.
"..."
With a deep breath, Grimm adjusted the Drake Blade at her side and turned back, She needed to talk to the Rabbit Master and Calth before she started her journey back to the Fort Ivern.
'Leaf is a fairy, so she might have trouble making connections like humans and understanding them. Since the world is about to end, her suggestion might have been from her misunderstanding of the degeracy of the other people she might have met who were not good people.', Grimm made a reason for Leaf's behavior.