Chapter 94: A Wish on a Shooting Star

The night sky viewed from the Floating Island was exceptionally bright. 

There wasn’t a single cloud, making the stars crystal clear. 

“Shining stars~ scattered across the night sky~” 

Humming softly. 

A massive river of light flowed overhead. 

The Milky Way was always beautiful and wondrous, no matter how many times you saw it. 

“Look over there!” 

Elenia pointed urgently at the night sky. 

Whoosh— 

A streak of light cut across the night sky. 

“Do you know? When a shooting star falls, if you make a wish, it comes true.” 

“A wish?” 

“It looks like another one’s about to fall. Hurry and make a wish.” 

Elenia closed her eyes and clasped her hands earnestly. 

I followed along in the moment. 

A wish, huh…. 

When it came time to actually make one, nothing came to mind right away. 

Up until now, I had wished for my own cozy nest. 

Abundant food and family to share it with. 

But now, all of that had come true. 

It had become a life of plenty with nothing more to wish for, and I was satisfied. 

Yeah, if I had to make one. 

…Please let this happiness never end. 

I made the wish with a heartfelt plea. 

But then. 

BOOM! 

With a tremendous roar, the Floating Island shook violently. 

“Whaaat?! What’s going on?!” 

A sudden massive impact struck the Floating Island. 

It was at least ten times stronger than when the Red Dragon took off or landed. 

Ding! 

[Warning! The Floating Island has collided with a shooting star!] 

[The Floating Island has sustained serious damage.] 

My mouth hung open in shock. 

I made a wish! So why is something like this happening?! 

Elenia’s face turned quite serious. 

“This is bad!” 

The Floating Island shook ominously. 

No way. 

“Is… is it falling?!” 

My home! My fields! My land! 

Everything I’d built up over time, ending with just one meteor collision?! 

“A meteor crash ending?!” 

I clutched my head with both hands. 

“Calm down. The Floating Island isn’t that fragile.” 

“Oh, really? Phew, thank goodness.” 

I tried to calm my pounding heart. 

Taking a deep breath helped settle my startled chest a bit. 

After a short wait, the Floating Island stopped shaking. 

But small vibrations continued. 

“Have you calmed down now?” 

I nodded. 

Then. 

Ding. 

[Due to the damage, the Floating Island’s power is decreasing. 30% reduction.] 

[Due to severe damage, the power may continue to drop.] 

“Shouldn’t we repair it right away?” 

“We probably should. But…” 

“But?” 

“Gathering the materials is a bit tricky.” 

Elenia crossed her arms and frowned, looking troubled. 

That made sense. 

To repair an ancient artifact like the Floating Island, the materials would have to be special. 

“Just how difficult is it? We can’t just sit here doing nothing.” 

If it falls, my cozy home! 

My plans to live peacefully in leisure! 

Everything would come crashing down. 

Ding. 

[Emergency Mission! Please restore the Floating Island!] 

[Powerful materials containing the four major elements are needed.] 

“The four major elements?” 

“Earth, fire, water, and wind.” 

“Powerful materials containing the four major elements… that’s a really tricky problem.” 

I stroked my chin, pondering. 

“Luckily, don’t we already have three?” 

“What? Me?” 

My eyes widened in surprise. 

We already had three? 

“The Hydra’s tooth containing the water attribute, and the flower that never wilts, containing the earth attribute.” 

“Th-this?” 

“They’re very powerful materials.” 

It was an unexpected stroke of luck. 

“Then what’s left?” 

“Don’t we have the Fire Dragon? She’s practically fire itself.” 

“Oh, right!” 

If I explained the situation well, I could probably get one scale. 

“We’ve already got three!” 

I didn’t realize the precious connections I’d built would help like this. 

“The last one, we’ll have to get ourselves. 

It has to be a very powerful material, just like the others.” 

“Hmm… now that I think about getting it, it’s overwhelming.” 

A very strong wind. 

I was clueless about these things. 

“Where do I even start? I can’t just search blindly.” 

“Don’t worry. I know someone who can help you.” 

“Really? Where is this person?” 

Elenia chuckled. 

“Go to the Magic Nation!” 

 ***

The Magic Nation. 

One of the three countries on the Western Continent, a magical city-state. 

As a nation advanced in magic, towering mage towers were easy to spot wherever you went. 

“Wow. That’s a mage tower! It’s really tall! Wow! Everyone’s flying around!” 

I looked around with sparkling eyes. 

People riding broomsticks and flying carpets in the air instead of carriages. 

It was a nation of scholars and mages, as numerous as the mage towers. 

Most carried staves instead of swords. 

“Oh, right, I shouldn’t be standing around like this.” 

I ran along the street. 

And finally arrived at one mage tower. 

“Is this the mage tower Elenia mentioned?” 

Unlike the other sky-piercing mage towers, this one was quite short. 

I cracked the door open a bit and peeked my head through the gap. 

“Anyone there?” 

It was quite dark inside. 

It took time for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. 

“Wh-who is it?” 

A rather flustered, soft voice came from the shadows. 

“Oh, um. I’m looking for Mr. Porin.” 

“Th-that’s me? Wh-what brings you here?” 

“I need to ask for some help. Could we talk face to face?” 

“Uh, well…” 

He seemed flustered. 

Maybe he was shy? 

“Elenia sent me.” 

“E-Elenia?” 

Thud. 

Something fell inside. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Oh, I’m f-fine. P-please come in.” 

I stepped inside. 

At first, it was too dark to see anything, but gradually my eyes adapted to the darkness. 

“Here….” 

Countless books filled the walls, reaching all the way to the top of the tower. 

In the center, there was a desk and several book towers stacked up to shoulder height. 

“Ugh!” 

And from a collapsed pile of books, a person emerged. 

That must be Porin. 

He looked like a boy around Yumini’s age. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yes.” 

The sound I heard earlier must have been the books collapsing. 

As I helped him out of the books. 

“Huh?” 

A pair of droopy antennae stuck out from his head. 

“OH!” 

He hurriedly searched for his hat to cover the antennae. 

“As I thought. It’s Mr. Porin, right?” 

He was a book spirit. 

Also known as a ‘bookworm’ spirit. 

Elenia was confident I’d meet a bookworm spirit here in the Magic Nation. 

Because there were the most books here. 

It seemed Porin lived hidden among humans. 

“Th-thank you for helping me. But why did you want to see me?” 

“I really need Mr. Porin’s help.” 

“M-Me?” 

“There’s a problem with the Floating Island.” 

“Huh?” 

I calmly explained the current situation to Porin. 

Worry appeared on his face. 

“So that’s what happened.” 

“That’s why I came to seek your wisdom, Mr. Porin.” 

“A powerful wind….” 

He closed his eyes. 

It looked like he was flipping through the pages in his mind. 

“Ah! Just a moment.” 

As if something came to mind, Porin started climbing a ladder. 

His small body climbing high up looked a bit precarious. 

“Found it!” 

He pulled out a book and came down. 

It was an old tome that clearly showed its age at a glance. 

“You’ll find what you’re looking for in here.” 

Flip. 

Porin, seated at the desk, opened the book. 

“Not a dragon, not a unicorn. Not a hydra either.” 

He muttered to himself as he quickly turned the pages. 

“Ah! Found it!” 

“Really?” 

I quickly scanned the page. 

“This is….” 

“Yes! It’s the Thunderbird. A legendary creature from myths.” 

The picture on the page showed a beast with sharp eagle-like eyes and beautiful wings. 

A being imbued with powerful strength that summons storms and thunder, its majestic and dignified appearance was impressive. 

If it was this creature, I could definitely obtain a powerful wind attribute material. 

However, finding one that appears only in myths wouldn’t be easy. 

I couldn’t even be sure if they were still alive and not extinct, and even if they were, it was an ultra-rare monster. 

“But won’t it be hard to find?” 

To my question, Mr. Porin answered. 

“You don’t necessarily have to find a living one.” 

“Oh! That’s right!” 

Someone might have Thunderbird materials. 

“Thank you for your help. You saved me!” 

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Hehe.” 

Mr. Porin smiled bashfully. 

“Th-then, try going to the Magic Association. You should be able to find various information there.” 

“The Magic Association?” 

As expected of a bookworm spirit, Porin knew a lot. 

“So this is the Magic Association.” 

The scale of the association was enormous. 

*** 

The association building, composed of several structures and gardens, looked like a massive castle. 

Young mages bustled in and out constantly. 

That was natural, since this place also served as a training ground for young mages. 

It held many academic conferences regularly too. 

“Fabir?” 

At the familiar voice, I turned around. 

“Miss Ellis?” 

It was Ellis, the alchemist from the herb shop. 

“What a surprise to see you here!” 

“How did you end up here, Miss Ellis?” 

“I took a vacation! There’s an important conference today!” 

“A conference?” 

Come to think of it, Miss Ellis had mentioned conferences several times. 

“And you, Fabir?” 

“I’m looking for something.” 

“If it’s something from the Magic Association, it must be quite something, right?” 

“Yes, I’m looking for Thunderbird materials.” 

“Thunderbird?” 

Ellis raised an eyebrow. 

“Why that?” 

“There’s a bit of a situation.” 

“But you know you need to be a member of the association to use their information network, right?” 

“Ah… is that so?” 

No wonder it was going too smoothly. 

“I’ll help you!” 

“Now that I think about it, you are a member of the association, Miss Ellis!” 

Why didn’t I think of that with such a capable person right in front of me? 

Maybe because I only ever saw her buried in research in the herb shop warehouse. 

Ellis smiled with her usual bright, sunny smile. 

“However, since it’s an important conference, I have to attend! Could you wait a bit?” 

“Of course.” 

“Then, come with me to the conference hall. I’m sure you’ll like it too, Fabir!” 

“Huh? Oh, okay.” 

Before I knew it, I followed Ellis to the conference hall. 

“Th-this is….” 

“It’s my conference! Today, I’ll be presenting the research I’ve been doing at the herb shop!” 

“Re-research?” 

“Hurry inside. It’s about to start.” 

There were quite a few people in the conference hall. 

All gathered to see the youngest alchemist, Ellis. 

Murmur, murmur. 

“Wow, Ellis’s first conference.” 

“But I heard she went quiet after graduation.” 

“I heard she’s in a remote small city in the kingdom.” 

“Did she open an alchemy shop there?” 

“No, I think she’s working at a herb shop as an employee.” 

“What?” 

“Anyway, I’m looking forward to what topic she’ll surprise us with today.” 

The interest in Ellis was high. 

She was the youngest alchemist. 

In other words, an elite. 

A little later, Miss Ellis confidently stepped onto the podium.