In the castle's library, Vera, upon seeing Ranch's arrival, angrily said, "Who are you? Get away from Ranch's body immediately, or don't blame me for being rude!"
A familiar laugh echoed as Daisy's apparition appeared in front of Ranch.
She wore revealing clothes, unabashedly displaying her perfect figure, and even intentionally wrapped her arms around Ranch, looking at Vera with a sneer, "As a follower of the Dream Goddess, you actually fell for Ranch. Isn't this a betrayal of your goddess? And, are you sure you have the capability to take any action?"
Daisy seemed extremely confident, and the next moment, her apparition disappeared.
Ranch's expression darkened, having realized what had just occurred.
He was certain that Daisy's true form had descended through the power of the curse, silently attaching itself to him.
With this thought, Ranch angrily cursed, "Daisy, come out!"
Vera shook her head and said to Ranch, "Ranch, she's gone. As long as her curse lingers on you, she can locate you at any time through it. The only way to get rid of her is to remove the curse."
Vera's words surprised Ranch.
Or rather, before this, Ranch didn't know much about Vera.
Seeing Ranch staring at her, Vera shyly lowered her head and explained in a soft voice, "I practice a special type of dream magic, which leans towards the psychic spectrum, so I could sense the curse on you."
"Is there a way to remove the curse?" Ranch asked.
Vera nodded, her face turning red as she answered,
"There is, but I can't do it myself. However, I can take you to the Dream Realm, a fantastical place that can remove the curse from you. Come with me, Ranch."
The two left the library and entered a luxurious bedroom filled with fragrance and decorated in a girlish style.
Ranch realized this must be Vera's personal bedroom.
Curious about what Vera was planning to do next, he saw her walk to the door, quietly close it, and with an air of nervousness, say to him,
"My mind power isn't that strong, so to take you into the Dream Realm, we need to use a special method."
"What method?" Ranch asked.
Vera's face grew even more flushed, resembling a ripe apple.
She looked up into Ranch's eyes, slowly closed her own, and quietly awaited a certain moment's arrival.
Ranch understood her intentions but chose to refuse.
He had to admit that Vera did indeed stir his heart at this moment, but when he first met her in the Wolf Fang Mountains, he merely thought of her as an innocent girl.
He didn't harbor any improper thoughts towards Vera, although it seemed Vera had deliberately approached him.
After a moment, Vera opened her eyes, puzzled, and asked, "Ranch, what's wrong?"
Ranch placed his hands on Vera's delicate shoulders, earnestly saying, "I want to know what's happening in Mapleleaf."
Vera nodded and began, "Alright."
They sat on the edge of the bed, and Vera started to recount the story, with Ranch gradually learning the full picture.
As a member of the Dark Empire's royal family, Vera inherited not only the royal prestige but also an exceptional talent for magical cultivation, receiving the Dream Goddess's blessing during her magical advancement.
The Blessing Necklace was a divine gift, and her journey to the Wolf Fang Mountains with Butler Haren was for a rare material rumored to be there.
However, the information turned out to be false.
Haren was ambushed and severely injured, forcing Vera and her entourage to head to Mapleleaf.
Upon arriving in Mapleleaf, they were warmly welcomed by Viscount Layne, who also informed them about the events occurring in Mapleleaf.
As for these events, Vera knew little, as Butler Haren, perhaps out of some concern, did not disclose everything to her.
Knowing these things, Ranch became even more convinced that this was an utter conspiracy.
The conspiracy initially targeted Vera, and he was merely someone who had intersected with Vera along the way, thus getting entangled in this plot...
But what exactly exists in Mapleleaf to make these people so bold as to target a member of the Dark Empire's royal family?
That was something Ranch couldn't figure out.
There was another point Ranch couldn't understand either.
So, he directly asked, "Vera, did you intentionally approach me that day in the Wolf Fang Mountains?"
Hearing this, Vera nodded.
She whispered, "Ranch, do you remember what happened twelve years ago, in the back mountains of the Muir family?"
Vera's words triggered a long-forgotten memory in Ranch.
He remembered his youthful aspirations of becoming a magus, fantasizing in the back mountains about his future self, when he accidentally saved a girl being chased by a common wild beast in the mountains.
The memories overlapped, and Ranch couldn't help but blurt out, "You... were that girl?"
The truth was so simple yet coincidental, was it not a kind of fate?
After sharing this past event, Vera seemed much more cheerful.
She closed her eyes, boldly wrapped her arms around Ranch's neck, and whispered, "Ranch, relax your mind."
This was something Ranch, evidently, had more experience with.
He gently lowered his head, brushing his lips against the girl's soft ones.
Just as he felt Vera's body tense up, his consciousness seemed to be pulled into a space, plunging into a brief darkness.
"Where is this?" Ranch instinctively spoke.
Looking around, he found himself and Vera sitting in a small boat, surrounded by water on all sides, with no land or islands in sight.
Moreover, he felt extremely thirsty and hungry at this moment, and Vera's face was covered in sweat, her eyes tightly shut as if she had passed out.
Just then, a gentle and mysterious voice sounded beside their ears, "Welcome to the Dream Realm."
"Who's there?" Ranch asked weakly, supporting Vera.
Then, he saw a Dream elf formed from the sea water appear in front of the small boat.
The Dream elf looked puzzled and, sensing Ranch's condition, suddenly let out a sharp cry,
"A magic apprentice and an intermediate magus, how did you enter the Dream Realm? Wait, this girl is a follower of the Dream Goddess? And you? Why is your mental consciousness still intact? Dreamfruit, you've actually eaten dreamfruit!"
As if the word "dreamfruit" held some special mana, the sea began to churn.
Countless Dream elves appeared, circling the small boat, their gazes filled with longing and reverence, leaving Ranch baffled.
It wasn't until the leading, taller Dream elf noticed Ranch and Vera's dire state that they were pulled into the sea.
Expecting to suffocate, Ranch instead felt a sudden relief in spirit; all negative sensations like hunger and thirst vanished, and the pained expression on Vera's face faded, as if she was about to awaken.
At this moment, the tall Dream elf who had pulled Ranch into the water spoke, "Esteemed guests, my name is Daniel, and I am the chief of the Dream elf tribe in the Dream Realm."
"Chief Daniel, what's with them?" Ranch, now recovered, curiously asked, gesturing towards the numerous oddly gazing Dream elves gathered around them again.
Daniel explained, "It's because you carry the scent of dreamfruit on you."
This explanation only deepened Ranch's confusion.
Sensing Ranch's unfamiliarity with the Dream Realm, Daniel offered a more detailed explanation, "A year ago, a disaster struck the Dream Realm, contaminating vast tracts of land and killing all the dreamfruit trees. The Dream elves who originally lived in the Dream Realm had to forcibly transform themselves and retreat into the sea, becoming Dream elves to escape this mysterious calamity. However, we've always wanted to cleanse the land of its contamination, but we lack the means to do so; only the dreamfruit trees possess that ability."
"So, there are no more dreamfruits in the Dream Realm?" Ranch pinpointed the crux of the issue.
Daniel nodded, affirming Ranch's guess.
He then pleaded, "Noble guest, you bear the essence of having consumed a dreamfruit. If possible, we'd like to request your assistance in bringing back a dreamfruit that has drifted to the outside world. As for the reward for bringing back a dreamfruit, we assure you it will be satisfactory."