Chapter 505 - Third Episode: The Forest in the Southwestern Part of the Royal Capital Region
The Dryad's Forest in the Royal Capital area is apparently west of the cave where the Demon Lord will be resurrected. In that area, there is a wide plateau surrounded by mountains on the border between the Central Mountain Range to the south and the Flatlands to the west, and it's predicted to be somewhere on that plateau.
The plateau rises sharply to the north and east, surrounded by steep valleys and cliffs. Since it's close to the Demon Lord's cave, many monsters live there, and it's said to be something humans cannot climb up on foot.
Even if one could climb up, it was said that due to the thick fog covering the entire plateau, one would lose their way, and exploration was fundamentally impossible.
We're going to walk through that plateau, which could be called a demon realm, to the Dryad's Forest together with the beastmen. The difficulty must be beyond imagination.
"Alright, here. It's the first break point. Everyone, let's rest."
The Wolf leader, who was carrying me on his back, stopped.
The sound of splashing water can be heard.
Fresh water is gushing from a crack in the rock in front of us.
When I slowly got off his back, the feel of the moist moss was gentle on my feet.
"I'll keep watch."
A voice fell from above the tree.
It's Violet. She kept up with the beastmen, who ran through the forest as fast as a horse on flat ground, without even losing her breath, while jumping from branch to branch soundlessly and skillfully.
"Amazing. I thought we wouldn't lose in terms of speed."
It's the Deer Man. He's supposed to be the one to carry me and flee in case of emergency, but it seems Violet, who goes above the trees, was faster.
"On flat ground, you guys would be faster. In the forest, I have the advantage because I can jump from tree to tree."
Violet, who is laughing with an easy expression, is jumping to various trees and climbing up and down them soundlessly and quickly. She's doing something with the legs on her sides, but her movements are too fast to tell.
Since she said 'keep watch', I thought it was scouting the surroundings, but it seems it's not just that.
"Hey, Violet. What are you doing?"
When I asked, she said "Wait a bit," and after climbing up and down the surrounding trees, she jumped down with a hop.
"This should do it."
"?"
I don't know what 'should do it' means.
"You see, I was connecting the tree leaves and the undergrowth with thread."
"What do you do by connecting them?"
"It's like a trap for keeping watch. I've stretched thread across the undergrowth. If something approaches, it'll touch my thread, right? Then, the undergrowth and the tree branches will shake and make a sound."
That's amazing. Moreover, you can't tell at all by looking.
"Where are you stretching it?"
The Wildcat Sister approaches a nearby tree, saying "Let's see."
"All the surrounding trees. So, don't touch the trees too much."
"What happens if I touch them?"
"If the thread gets tangled, you won't be able to move."
That's scary.
The Wildcat Sister hurriedly jumped back.
After all, it's spider silk. It's a possible story. Anyone has seen a spider's meal scene.
"U-Um, could it be that we can no longer leave this place?"
The Deer Man asked. That might be the case.
But, it probably means it's that safe. We should just rest slowly. After all, we can't use barriers.
"Exactly. As expected, Jeanne understands."
It's the first time I've been hugged by the legs on her sides.
The beastmen were nervous, but once they realized it was safe as long as they didn't move, they sat down in a circle.
After all, they've been running through the forest for nearly two hours. Even though we were sent to the edge of the plateau in the bowl, there's no way they wouldn't be tired. Even for me, who was being carried, it feels like the ground is shaking just by standing, perhaps because I was being shaken the whole time. If I were to run, I'd likely trip immediately.
The next break is apparently at lunchtime, so there's still a long way to go. We decided to pull the plug on the barrel of honey wine the Boar Man carried on his back and share a toast. I opened the lid of the barrel the Horse Man carried and let Renata's clone, who was inside, out. She's the size of a finger since she's the negotiator. Accordingly, the clone's body is also small, but she can drink alcohol. I scooped some into a small bowl Bonnie made and let her drink.
I took out dried meat from my storage bag, shaved it with a knife, and distributed it to the carnivores. The Wolf, the Fox, and Violet.
"Please have this. It's a new product from our shop."
To the omnivores, herbivores, and the sweet-loving Wildcat Sister, I served Miana's new work.
"Hmm. In Harmonia, huh. It's crispy and delicious, but Highway Cookies are... eh! What is this, it's delicious!"
Fufufu. If you're off guard, the strawberries simmered thoroughly with honey will melt in your mouth. Since the strawberries Miana and Flora carefully raised were a bumper crop, she made jam. It's a sweet baked with a method she learned at the port of Harmonia, with plenty of that jam stuffed inside the dough. It was first unveiled at the farm's banquet and was a huge hit. Now it's a very popular product at the Fourth Store. There's even talk of having the Alraunes operate a strawberry farm and forming a business alliance.
Come to think of it, various fruits can be cultivated. It's fine to eat the fruit raw, but if we make it into jam and sell it as sweets, wouldn't we be able to enjoy various flavors? Lyudmila and Flora seem to be considering making a large-scale orchard in consultation with Wilson-san.
"If possible, could we also be included as companions?"
The Horse Man and the Deer Man. These races have recently been participating in the Northeastern Forest recovery operation. Strictly speaking, they are in the middle of training for seasonal work in the winter, but they have apparently established good relations with the hornless ones among the herbivores.
"It might be good if the Alraunes could migrate to the Village."
Unfortunately, the current situation in the Flatlands is not one where beastmen, who are classified as monsters, can walk around openly. Even during the banquet, the bandits are constantly taking turns keeping watch.
"Hmm. The living environment is not bad, but... they wouldn't settle in the Village."
Is it that spirits and monsters don't get along after all?
"It's no good unless spirits or humans are nearby."
It's Renata's clone.
"Are we beastmen no good?"
"It's not that beastmen are no good, but you have to do full-scale agriculture. Otherwise, they'll lose their motivation."
"Recently, we've been doing it exactly as Bishop Jeanne's companions taught us."
"Is it Lyudmila?"
Serena's clone looks this way, so I nod. However, it's far from full-scale agriculture. She only taught the precautions when planting turnips; the method itself is not much different from a home garden. It's far from mass production for sale.
"Agriculture requires persistence and stubbornness. You beastmen are impatient and whimsical, right?"
"Is that so?"
The Horse Man and the Deer Man are looking at each other and tilting their heads. They probably don't have any recollection of that.
"Maybe so."
It's the Wildcat Sister.
"I think so too. I agree with the Wildcat."
It's the Fox Man.
"Is that so?"
"I don't know."
The Wolf Man and the Boar Man entered the group with no recollection.
"We don't do things like eating something after raising it, right? Recently, the Otter has been trying to turn fish into monsters, right? He's constantly checking on the fish, but he was lamenting that they don't get big easily. But it takes at least two or three months, right? It's impossible in two or three days."
She's laughing gently.
"Ah, humans are really persistent. I'm guiding Godwynn's subordinates and hunting, you know. If they're going to pursue, they walk and chase for a whole day. We do it for an hour at most."
It's the Fox Man. I thought hunting was fundamentally about pursuing, but apparently, it's not. However, since Beatrix and I are bad at that, we ride in the bowl or set bait.
"Isn't it faster to run?"
It's the Wolf Man.
Well, for a beastman, it would be. No ingenuity is needed.
"That's it. We can do that. Because our senses are sharp, we find them immediately, and because we're fast, we can catch up if we chase. However, humans can't do that. Instead, they corner them slowly."
Everyone is nodding at the Fox Man's explanation.
"In short, they are compensating for the difference in physical ability by taking time. Otherwise, they can't catch prey and will die. Isn't agriculture the same? They're piling up various ingenuities, right? It's different from just throwing seeds in a field and eating what grows. Cultivating only the same crop requires various ingenuities, right? They're working that steadily."
At any rate, those who are fast run out of breath quickly. So, they chase in a group and wait for the prey to get tired. In the case of an individual, they corner them by following traces like footprints. It's the basics of human hunting. There are those who are bad at it, though.
"In other words, are you saying we can't wait because we can do it quickly?"
"Yes. To be precise, there was no need to wait. That's why we can't endure when we have to wait."
Those with high ability have fast processing speeds. Those who are not have to take time. Everything is like that. Instead, they compensate for the slowness of individual processing speed by taking time, exercising ingenuity, or sharing the work in a group. That would be an ordinary human.
"Then, are we not suited for agriculture?"
The Horse Man and the Deer Man. If they aren't suited, the food situation in winter won't improve. However, that doesn't mean we won't join forces.
"Why don't we compensate for each other?"
"Even if you say compensate, specifically how..."
"There are areas each of us is bad at, right? For example, Alraunes are originally plants, so their radius of action on their own is limited. Even though they look like that, they are full of curiosity, so they'll be happy if you take them here and there. I think about once a week is fine."
They like things like springs gushing quietly in the forest, but since there are many dangers, Alraunes can't go alone. If a beastman is with them, it'll be safe.
"But can't Alraunes not go to places far from their main body?"
"Please transplant them into flowerpots. If you put mountain soil in the pot and have sun-warmed water made by putting river water in a jar or pot for a day, it'll be fine."
"Flowerpots. I see, I hadn't thought of such a thing. Come to think of it, I heard humans plant plants and trees in such things, but those were for transporting plants and trees, weren't they?"
"No, that's another story..."
Since they like nature as it is, they didn't have the idea of placing potted flowers in a house. Let's start from there.
However, for an Alraune's relocation, the soil of the destination is important. If they don't get used to it gradually, the roots will be damaged and they'll weaken. For now, the talk settled on becoming friends during training in the Northeastern Forest or while doing seasonal work.
"But how much of an enemy can this barrier, or rather net, prevent?"
The Wolf Man is asking timidly. It's actually a question that should be asked at an earlier timing, but he was probably being considerate of Violet.
"Most things larger than a human get caught."
I heard there are no magic beasts smaller than a human even around the foot of the plateau. Much less those on top of the plateau. Almost everything will get caught. If they get caught and can no longer move, those inside are extremely safe. After all, the Dryad's Forest is close. There shouldn't be anything that breathes fire, which is the only weakness of spider silk.
"Then, it's a relief. As expected of a technique used by an Arachne."
"But you know, there's a weakness."
"Like letting small things through?"
"That too. But also, if they use short-range Teleport, they'll pass right through."
Look, like this, she said, and for some reason, the legs on her sides moved.
"Gyah!"
A scream was heard from diagonally above.
At the same time, the sound of rustling leaves can be heard.
"W-What happened!"
The Wolf Man stands up with a sword and the Boar Man with a spear.
The Fox Man sidled up to the Deer Man and the Horse Man, and the Deer Man and the Horse Man snuggled up as if to protect Serena's clone. The Wildcat Sister went on all fours in front of me toward where the scream came from.
"It's fine. I caught it."
Conversely, Violet is quite calm.
Every time she moves the legs on her sides, the rustling sound gets smaller. Then, with a 'thud' that sounded quite painful, some kind of animal fell down.
Dark brown, long ears, it's surely a rabbit.
"Heh, a good one got caught. The meat looks firm and chewy."
Violet, having turned into eight legs and full of a 'rustling' feel, approaches. It's quite a good performance.
"H-Help me!"
The rabbit tangled in the thread screams.
Once caught in a spider's web, all that's left is to be eaten.
"Yo, isn't it a rabbit. What do you want?"
The Wolf Man is picking up small stones and throwing them. Of course, he doesn't hit him. He's just teasing him.
"Y-You know, right? It's reconnaissance, reconnaissance. At times like this, we rabbits who can use Teleport are the first to be mobilized."
"I should have contacted you properly that I'm guiding a human. Both the Dryad and the people of your village have consented. And yet, what's with the secret reconnaissance. Well, it can't be helped if it turns out like that."
He's smirking. The reason he's not approaching is probably because he's worried about getting tangled in the thread himself.
"I'll apologize, I'll apologize, so help me!"
"Is the reconnaissance the Dryad's instruction?"
"I-I can't say."
"Then, it can't be helped, I suppose."
The Wolf Man glances at Violet.
"Is it okay? I was hungry!"
"S-Stop it—!"
In the end, the rabbit confessed.
The one who issued the instruction for reconnaissance was the Dryad.
"You are being quite doubted."
When I gave the Rabbit Man, who was rescued from the tangled thread, honey wine to drink, he told me so along with his thanks.
"Well, I'm sure she'll understand eventually."
I can only rely on Serena's clone's words.