Chapter 508 - Fourth Episode: The Dryad of the Royal Capital Region III
As a result of the Dryad meeting concluding, Serena also decided to dispatch a clone.
Apparently, the clone was shocked to see Serena's forest, as it was quite different from her own forest.
As expected, the plateau must be harsh. Serena seems to want to help improve it with her clone's eyes.
"If I go with Sister, we'll surely find some good ingenuity."
"It would be nice if we find some."
Against Serena, who is full of motivation, Renata is not so much. It might be quite difficult.
I return to the forest with Serena's clone. Since it's already evening, it's a bit cold.
"It's a bit cold here."
Serena's clone is shivering.
Since the altitude is high, the temperature must also be low. She suddenly came up here. It's no wonder.
"Is that so? Shall we make a bonfire?"
"Fire is out of the question!"
The beastmen, who are strong against cold, seem fine. Since the Fox Man is here, he could light a fox-fire, but Serena refused.
"Are you sisters not cold?"
"Hmm. Since I've been spending winters in that state for a long time, I've become a bit sturdy, I suppose."
"I'm also fine with this much."
Getting used to it is a great thing; regardless of the Dryad of the Royal Capital area, Renata also seems fine.
"Is Jeanne not cold?"
"I'm wearing autumn/winter gear, so I'm fine with this much. But it gets cold at dawn, and I might not be able to sleep."
Not as much as a boar, but it's made to be fine even in midwinter. As long as I don't spend time in the snow or in a drafty place, it should be okay. However, a bonfire is necessary at dawn after all. Just in case, I brought a hide with a Warm magic circle drawn on it, but it's only the size for one person.
"Then, I'll endure."
She's putting on a brave face, even though it would have been fine to go back just for the night.
"Then, shall I make a cocoon for you?"
It's Violet. It's the first time I've heard that a spider makes a cocoon.
"You see, I'll wrap you round and round with my thread."
Come to think of it, that Ogre was wrapped round and round in no time.
"I see. A cocoon a spider uses to protect its eggs."
Serena seems to know.
"Yes. It's the non-sticky kind, so it's fine. It's similar to the silk humans use, so it's warm."
"Then, please do that."
"Then, crouch down. Bend your knees and make yourself small."
No sooner had she said it than thread came out, and she was wrapped round and round in no time. Since she's a clone, she was originally small, so only her face is sticking out from the white ball.
"It's quite comfortable."
Serena's head is smiling. (T/N: 'Head' refers to the face sticking out of the cocoon.)
She looks like a new species of monster.
"The cold of winter is not good for trees."
Serena's clone, with her head sticking out of the ball, began a lecture.
Even if you say so, you can't control the temperature.
"Do you have no intention of going down to the foot of the mountain?"
She suddenly threw in a suggestion to move.
"If we go down, humans will invade."
"Negotiate with Eleanor. What Eleanor wants to conclude is the cutting down of trees in a part around the Demon Lord's cave and mutual non-aggression, right? You should just decide the boundary line as you like on this side and make her consent."
Perhaps having become fed up with the cold, she suddenly blurted it out.
That's the final negotiation line for humans.
"Is such a thing possible?"
The clone of the Dryad of the Royal Capital area is surprised. That's only natural. After all, she was effectively driven away by humans.
"Of course, it's possible. If humans were to betray us, we just have to make them realize how much of a sin it is to defy a spirit. If such a situation occurs, I will also join in."
She's saying something quite radical, but can she counter Prominence?
"But humans use ultra-high-level fire magic..."
Just as I expected. She's completely terrified.
"It's fine. If you move, the beastmen will be with you, right? They just have to nullify it."
Hmm?
"We can't use Prominence."
It's the Rabbit Man.
When I look at the Fox Man, he's nodding. It seems fox-fire and Prominence are different. After all, they're beastmen. They're basically bad at fire magic.
"Then, with Magic Break..."
"Impossible. Our magic control is higher than humans, but we don't have magic above Prominence... over-ultra-high-level, so it's impossible."
"Then, with Magic Barrier."
"Impossible for the same reason."
"Then, how about with Magic Reflection?"
She's getting quite irritated. She's lost her composure considerably.
"That's holy magic; it's magic we can't use."
"It's fine. There are scrolls."
"They won't sell them to us."
"Jeanne will make them. Since Jeanne's magic control is equivalent to ultra-high-level, it's possible to repel Prominence."
Why does it turn out like that?
Renata's clone is bursting out laughing.
We could go to the Dryad's Forest through the tree the clone gave power to. For the Dryad as well, she can feel relieved because the terrain along the way won't be seen by me, a human. When going to Serena's forest, it's also via a clone. I have never yet visited Serena's tree by walking from the edge of the forest.
After finishing the first-time greeting with the main body, I was shown her forest.
I understood by actually seeing it, but it's quite different from Serena's forest or the Dryad's forest in Northern Gram, which were so beautiful I gasped in spite of myself. How should I put it, it's plain.
First, the humidity is low. Or rather, it lacks moisture. Precisely because it's on a plateau, the places where underground water from the mountains gushes out are fundamentally few, and the water sources are waterfalls and streams from the mountain's snowmelt, and the ponds and marshes where that water collects. The ground also has a rugged feel with rocks lying around, and there are cliffs. The scenery is harsh.
Perhaps because there's little moisture, there's little moss. Since winter has just ended, most of it has withered and turned brown. I heard it recovers as it gets warmer, but thanks to that, the ground has little green. The scent of soil is stronger than the scent of plants and trees.
Perhaps because the north wind is strong, the trees are also compact. They don't extend thick branches leisurely and widely. They look like large shrubs. Somehow, I feel like they are growing diagonally toward the south.
The voices of small birds can't be heard much. It must be because the altitude is high. I feel like animals in general are few. It's better to say the forest is hushed. There's no lively feel.
"It's quite different from Serena-sister's forest, but this is my forest."
It's after seeing Serena's forest. Perhaps she's embarrassed; the Dryad of the Royal Capital area said so with a downward look.
"Heh, more than I thought. It's being managed firmly. Right? Sister."
"That's right. I was worried that since it's north of the mountain range, the sun wouldn't shine, but you've chosen a good place."
"I-Is that true? Thank you! The previous generation chose the place, but it's the sunniest spot on this plateau!"
Her eyes are sparkling at the words of the two. (T/N: 'Two' refers to Serena and Renata.)
I, an amateur, don't understand, but the perspective of experts is different.
"Is the water snowmelt?"
"Yes. The snow that piled up in winter is the lifeline. Since there are many marshes and wetlands, and not so many rivers."
The ends of the rivers apparently become waterfalls and pour down below the plateau.
"What kind of way do the rivers below the waterfalls flow?"
As expected, she probably doesn't know as far as below the plateau. After the Dryad became speechless, she looked at the Rabbit Man.
"Um, since the plateau is wide, there are several waterfalls, but roughly speaking, they gather into three rivers. Generally, there are two rivers flowing east and west to the north of the plateau; one flows west and then changes direction to the north, to the sea. One flows east and then joins the river flowing from the northern plains to the sea, or continues flowing east and joins the large river in the center of the plains."
He picked up a fallen branch and began to draw a simple map.
"Where were you originally?"
"Um, I believe it was the starting point of the two rivers flowing east and west, north of the plateau. North of the wetlands at the foot of the plateau."
On the map, it's the area sandwiched between the two rivers flowing toward the northern plains. The entrance to the cave where the Demon Lord lives is to the southeast. And the forest where the Demon Lord's army was lurking is on the other side of the eastern river. In other words, the Demon Lord's army's habitat and the Dryad's Forest were adjacent with the river in between.
"Then, the division of east and west is simple. Let's decide that humans must not enter the area surrounded by the two rivers, including the wetlands."
"I-Is it okay?"
Before I knew it, Serena's clone was taking charge. As expected of the negotiation lead. She's fast at summarizing.
"How should we do the north and south. It's fine if the south, including the plateau, is non-aggression, right?"
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
Even Renata's clone started saying so.
The Dryad of the Royal Capital area can no longer keep up.
"Is there no clear division? Since the hunters won't be satisfied with the whole forest, if we just decide the boundary with their territory, I'm sure it'll be settled."
"It would be simple if it were a river, but... Rabbit-san, is there nothing?"
Since the Dryad of the Royal Capital area is panicking, the consultation partner has changed to the Rabbit Man.
"Hmm. It's not that there's nothing, but..."
"Is there something?"
"Is there one?"
The two are biting onto it intensely.
According to the Rabbit Man, there are apparently ruins of a highway humans made in the past. The highway extends south from the northern end of the forest zone where the old Dryad's Forest was, and turns east halfway. To the north of the cave where the Demon Lord lives, the east-west crossing river mentioned earlier is a natural water moat, but the highway extends to the south side of that.
"It's roughly like this. Beyond this, it becomes the river flowing from the foot of the plateau, but it's an approach not just from the front but also from the side. 'Feint', is it? Humans like that kind of thing, right?"
The Rabbit Man, who drew a line that looked like a highway on the drawing on the ground, began to talk about the state of the highway ruins.
"The road width is, well, wide. There are stone walls lined up on both ends. There are fortresses made of piled stones at the northern end, which is the entrance to that highway, and near the river, which is the exit. But they were probably made in ancient times, so they are in a tattered state now. Since trees and grass are growing thicker than in the surrounding forest, maybe it can't be used as a highway?"
It's surely the one Eleanor-sama was talking about. It would be the highway prepared in the ancient Demon Lord subjugation war. She said it was blocked, but...
I glance at the Dryad of the Royal Capital area. Noticing my gaze, she looked away.
"Hmm. So, are the hunters coming that far?"
"That's right. However, they are using the underground so the fortress ruins don't stand out. Probably monitoring soldiers."
It's a secret base for Paratroop Jaegers. They're probably digging holes anyway.
"Trees are growing more than in the surrounding forest, huh. Hmm."
Renata's clone said so and looked at the Dryad of the Royal Capital area. Serena's clone is also looking along with her. Both of them have heard Eleanor-sama's story.
The Dryad of the Royal Capital area, who is being looked at, is looking awkward. It's confirmed.
The one who crushed the highway was the Dryad of the Royal Capital area.
The second generation.
Having inherited the memory from the tree, she feared the power of human magic and at the same time tried to take countermeasures. So, she sent out a clone for reconnaissance to the place where Prominence was released. She tried to monitor human actions.
As a result of monitoring, what she found out was that the burnt ruins were leveled and had become a highway. That very rarely, carriages were passing. That the carriages entered from the north and went to the fortress along the river. That the humans riding on the way there and the humans riding on the way back were different. That the hunters didn't come south from that highway.
Probably, burning down the trees with Prominence was for highway construction. Even though there was no Demon Lord, they were fighting the remnants of the Demon Lord's army. They must have used a rough method to urgently establish an approach from the side. The reason they stopped halfway was because it was enough if the width for the highway was secured. The reason it didn't spread was probably because they had placed people who use water or ice magic in advance to prevent the fire from spreading.
"And, did you grow trees and crush the highway as revenge for being burned?"
At Renata's clone's words, she nodded with a "Yeah." She looks just like a child who was found out doing a prank.
"You did well! That is exactly what the tree spirit Dryad should do. What you did is only natural."
Serena's clone is praising her. When she requested Violet and was lifted by the legs on her sides, she was stroking the Dryad of the Royal Capital area, saying "good girl, good girl."
The Dryad of the Royal Capital area looked up with an "Eh?" and then her eyes sparkled all at once.
"Right? Right? After all, it's frustrating to just be on the receiving end. I thought I had to do something back..."
"Exactly. Humans are arrogant at any rate. We must make them realize that even if they use Prominence, we will not easily yield."
"That's right. So, I was scared, but I did my best!"
"You have brilliantly avenged the previous generation's grudge. I'm sure the previous generation is also happy by the side of the tree."
"Yes! Thank you!"
I see. The souls of dead Dryads are by the side of the trees.
At any rate, the Dryads' negotiation plan was summarized.
Originally, the highway was outside the Dryad's Forest, but they'll make that the boundary for non-aggression. Since the highway goes down from north to south, turns east, and reaches the river as it is, it's not on the west side. However, they decided that if it's not there, they should just make it, and the three Dryads decided to cooperate and make what could be called a green wall that divides the area sandwiched between the two rivers spreading to the north of the plateau into north and south. The negotiations with humans haven't started yet, but finders keepers. It's not too late to negotiate after making it.
"We need to make it in no time. Let's call Elves for reinforcements."
Serena's clone is enthusiastic. She's probably happy to take back the region where her kin was ended.
"What shall we do with the current forest?"
"Isn't it fine as it is? Since you've made it this well, it's a waste to let it go."
The Dryad of the Royal Capital area blushed at Renata's clone's words.
"It is just as Sister says. This is not a relocation, but an expansion of the territory."
"But how shall we manage it. It's impossible to maintain both above and below the plateau."
"Let's have Elves do the top of the plateau."
Serena, isn't that a bit too pitiful for the Elves?