Chapter 14: Yellow, White...and Red

“Mm... Mmm...”

With a quiet groan, Mia slowly opened her eyes. The world was a blur. She rubbed her eyes, blinked a few times, then rubbed them again. Finally, she sat up and looked around.

“This is... My, where am I?”

The beauty surrounding her took her breath away. Thick yellow foliage swayed overhead, dropping small leaves that gently danced their way to the ground, which was blanketed by a layer of white as even as newly fallen snow.

“Are these...white mushrooms?”

She took another look at her surroundings and gasped at the remarkable sight, realizing that she’d been lying on a bed of white mushrooms. The soft, squishy carpet had broken her fall.

“Yes, now I remember... I fell from the cliff...and these mushrooms saved me from hurting myself,” she said, tenderly stroking the cap of one of her tiny heroes.

Only then did it occur to her that her right hand was balled tightly into a fist, and that there was something inside. Uncurling her fingers revealed the horse charm Bel had made.

“Oh thank the moons. I didn’t lose it. If I’d dropped it somewhere here, I’d have a terrible time finding it again...”

She gingerly hoisted herself to her feet, bracing for any sudden jolts of pain. None came. As far as she could tell, she wasn’t injured. Her mushroom outfit likely deserved some credit too, seeing as it was thick enough to have functioned as a cushion. Mia had finally come into her own as a maiden of the mushrooms. Favored by their blessing, she was now a true Mushroom Princess.

...What even is a Mushroom Princess?

“Well, this is the very definition of a lucky mistake... I’ve managed to stumble my way to the Belluga mushrooms.” She grinned greedily at the vast expanse of white around her. “And sweet moons, there are so many... This is an all-you-can-pick mushroom bonanza!”

Recalling that Citrina had mentioned there was a place in the forest where lots of Belluga mushrooms grew, she figured this was clearly it. She’d struck gold. Well... Let’s just say the name of the things did include the words “Belluga” and “mushroom.”

“Marvelous... Absolutely marvelous! I need to tell everyone...” She looked around and paused, noticing something odd. “My... What’s that?”

The white mushroom carpet was dotted here and there with ones that were entirely red. It was an eerie sight, like drops of blood spilled on a field of fresh snow. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the source of the aberrant color was something she’d seen before...

“Your Highness!”

“Miss Mia!”

A familiar pair of youthful voices reached her ears, followed by the sound of people descending the cliff.

“Ah, you came for me...”

Seeing that Bel and Citrina had appeared, she turned her gaze upward.

Hm, if those two can make it down here, then the height can’t be much of a problem. The rest of the group should be able to make it down too. The actual picking of the mushrooms won’t be any problem. The issue is, these mushrooms here...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a Bel-sized mass slamming into her.

“Oof!”

The young girl all but tackled her to the ground.

“Omigosh, I’m so glad you’re okay, Miss Mia.”

Bel wrapped her arms around Mia and squeezed.

“Oh, Bel, you silly girl...” Mia gently stroked her granddaughter’s head. “Look, it’s your charm. I got it back for you.”

She softly peeled Bel off her and dropped the troya into her dainty little hands.

“Ah, this is...”

“You worked really hard to make it, right? Next time, make sure you tie a nice strong knot, so it doesn’t go flying again. I can’t keep diving off cliffs to get it back,” said Mia, in a tone far too preachy for one whose dive was entirely involuntary and the result of a spectacular failure of tree climbing.

Her pretentious attitude, however, did not bother Bel in the least.

“...Thank you so much, Miss Mia.”

Bel simply wrapped her arms around Mia and squeezed again.

“Aww...”

Mia beamed contentedly at this earnest display of affection. For a good while, Bel kept her face buried in her grandmother’s chest. After thoroughly indulging in a long embrace, she finally took a proper look around herself.

“Wow! What a beautiful place this is, Miss Mia!”

She promptly dashed off.

“Wait!” Mia hastily threw out her hands in a halting gesture. “Hold it, Bel. You can’t go trampling all these mushrooms. They’re supposed to be very tasty.”

The thought of losing her hard-found trove of Belluga mushrooms to a pair of tiny rampaging feet gave her a minor panic attack.

“Okay, Miss Mia.”

Bel stopped where she was, but continued glancing around with an eagerness that unnerved Mia, who couldn’t help but feel that Bel’s curiosity might cause her to resume her mushroom flattening spree any second. Suddenly, Bel’s eyes widened.

“Look, Rina, do you see that red mushroom? What is it? Is it tasty too?” she asked, having spotted one of the red ones hidden among the white.

Mia felt a pang of disappointment at the fact that her dear granddaughter hadn’t posed the question to her.

“Oh, I don’t know. My memory’s a little hazy, but probably not.”

Hearing Citrina’s reply, Mia grinned.

“My, Citrina! A mushroom that you’re not familiar with? Oh, but I suppose I can’t blame you. This one is rather exotic,” she said with the utmost smugness. Then, she turned to Bel and, somehow managing to make her smug grin even smugger, said, “That’s a salamandrake, and it’s very poisonous.”

She glowed with pride. After basking in her own hubris for a while, she remembered to add, “Oh, and by the way, it’s dangerous to even touch, so stay aw— Gah! Bel!”

Bel was already walking toward it. Mia yanked the girl back by the collar.

“You need to stop doing that. There are lots of dangerous mushrooms, so you need to listen to veterans like us and follow our instructions. Right, Rina? Hm? Uh...Rina?”

Finding the lack of a reply odd, Mia turned toward Citrina. For some reason, she was just standing there facing the ground, her expression shrouded by her hair falling over her face.

M-My, how odd. Why am I feeling this chill again?

It felt like something cold was filling her bones. But it lasted only a moment, dispersed by a charming giggle from Citrina.

“Wow, it’s really impressive how much Your Highness knows about mushrooms. What a surprising talent.”

What remained was her usual smile. It was sweet, flawless, and...in Mia’s opinion, a little frightening.

“In any case, I think it’d be best if we head back.”

Figuring they couldn’t keep dawdling at the bottom of the cliff, the three of them made their way back to the picnic site. Upon returning, they were greeted with relief by their friends, who’d been looking for them.

“Just so everyone knows, we found some poisonous mushrooms in the forest.”

The group’s expressions quickly changed to concerned frowns at Mia’s announcement.

“...Are you sure, Mia? They really were poisonous?”

The deepest crease touched the brow of Rafina. Though she’d been relieved of her duty as student council president, as Duke Belluga’s daughter, she was still responsible for anything that happened on Saint-Noel Island. A safety concern like this was not something she could afford to ignore.

“I’m absolutely certain. Very poisonous. They’re called salamandrakes, and they’re these beautiful red mushrooms—”

“E-Excuse me, Princess Mia,” interjected an anxious Keithwood, “but just to be sure, you didn’t bring any back, did you?”

“Of course not. I’ve been told that it’s dangerous to even touch them,” she said, remembering Muzic, the hunter she met in Remno, and the look on his face when she’d reached for one of them.

Mia had an affinity for big men, and Muzic was a pretty big fellow, so she was receptive to his admonishment. Judging by how sternly he’d warned her, she figured barehanded contact would not end well at all.

“Ah... R-Right. Of course you didn’t. Someone as wise as yourself wouldn’t possibly bring back something so dangerous. I don’t even know why I asked,” said Keithwood in the tone of someone who knew exactly why he’d asked.

Mia scowled, peeved by the sheer relief in his voice.

“Well, I’ll have you know that they’re very pretty mushrooms, and if I had some gloves, I’d have brought back a bunch,” she said facetiously.

“No! For the love of the sun, please don’t!”

Keithwood did not take the joke well. His visibly paling face amused her, and a devious smile spread across her lips.

Oho ho, this might be interesting... she thought, delighted by the prospect of teasing a young man about his anxieties. Legitimate anxieties, yes, but still teasable. Mia the Seductress strikes again!

“Oh, I remember now. It’s him, isn’t it? The hunter we met that time...” said a nodding Sion.

“Um, I’ve read about that mushroom in an illustrated reference book,” Chloe added. “It’s supposed to be really poisonous. It’s obviously deadly if eaten, but apparently even just touching one can kill you...”

“A mushroom like that, here on Saint-Noel... But poisonous things aren’t supposed to grow on this island...” murmured Rafina, gaze lowered in troubled contemplation.

Keithwood was next to speak.

“In that case, what about the mushrooms we’ve already picked? Some of them might be poisonous too. We can’t afford the risk.”

“Those are fine,” Mia reassured him. “That’s why we have Rina here with us, so she can make sure they’re safe. Right, Rina?”

Citrina nodded.

“Yes. The mushrooms we’ve picked so far don’t resemble any poisonous varieties I’m aware of, so they should be safe to eat. As an extra precaution though, I recommend getting confirmation from professional kitchen staff as well.”

“I see...” Keithwood inclined his head. “I guess it’s fine if we get a professional opinion...”

Mia sighed as she listened to the exchange.

Well, this is rather disappointing. I finally found a place where Belluga mushrooms grow, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get to go pick any. With the way this conversation is going, we’re definitely going to pack up and head back to the academy. This forest will probably be off-limits for a good while too...

She’d come so close. She’d touched the things. But unfortunately, the treasure trove of Belluga mushrooms and their purportedly exquisite flavor continued to elude her tongue. It was terribly frustrating. She blew out another discouraged sigh and sat down...only to freeze mid-motion.

Hm? What’s this?

One of her pockets bulged unnaturally, as if it held something that was being pushed outward by her hunkering form. She didn’t remember putting anything in that pocket though. Slowly, she slipped a hand in to retrieve the offending object.

Oh... Oh my... This is... It can’t be...

She could scarcely believe her eyes. There, in her hand, was a white mushroom.

A Belluga mushroom?! But... How? When?

She tilted her head, mentally retracing the day’s events.

It must have happened after I fell down the cliff. When I hit the ground, it somehow got into my pocket. But still, it’s probably risky to eat this, isn’t it? Hm...

A tiny Mia in a white mushroom suit whispered into her ear.

“It certainly is. Rina told us, didn’t she? There’s a poisonous species that looks a lot like Belluga mushrooms called false Belluga mushrooms...and now that the salamandrake we found has proven that poisonous mushrooms can grow on this island, it’s far too risky to eat this.”

However, her evil counterpart in a red mushroom suit objected.

“What are you talking about? We finally have it. We’re holding the exquisite Belluga mushroom in our hands right now, and you want to just throw it away? Nonsense. Besides, even if it’s a poisonous false Belluga mushroom, we’ll just have to deal with a tummy ache for a while,” argued the tiny pint-sized Mia. She continued to whisper fervently into her master’s ear. “We know what we’re doing. We have the knowledge, and we just gained hands-on experience. We’re a bona fide mushroom expert now. Not to mention, we found the Belluga mushrooms. And we did it all by ourselves! We’re so good at this, we can totally call ourselves the Mushroom Princess! So take a good look at that mushroom... What does our mushroom sense tell us?”

She stared at the white mushroom, eyes narrowing like an antique appraiser trying to determine the true value of an unearthed artifact.

“Hm... My mushroom sense says... This one’s good to eat!”

So decided her gut. Furthermore...

“Also, for it to show up in my pocket like this is nothing short of a miracle. This is clearly God giving me the thumbs up, in which case it’s my divine duty to consume this mushroom!”

Somewhere far in the distance, there may or may not have been a faintly Ludwig-sounding voice shouting, “Miracles don’t happen that easily!” His ghostly admonition, however, failed to reach Mia’s ears.

And so, with an air of blithe innocence, Mia followed her group out of the forest.