What Changes, What Remains (12)

Having entered Zieden from the small states through the forest along the border, I was, well, technically breaking through a sealed border, so approaching human settlements carried considerable risk.

In the first place, I had no reliable information about what sort of attitude Zieden took toward travelers—or elves, for that matter.

I had managed to hear a few rumors, but the rumors about Zieden circulating in the small states were unavoidably skewed toward the negative.

For the people of the small states, Zieden was an enemy country that had not only disturbed the peace of the central continent, but might invade at any time, so that was only natural.

But rumors so negatively slanted, and further mixed with conjecture born of fear and anxiety, were not something I could simply take at face value.

Whether I became involved in the current situation or continued to watch silently from the sidelines, I would need a little more information from a variety of perspectives before making a decision.

I couldn't imagine what those circumstances were, but Zieden must have had reasons of its own for doing what it did.

Of course, to those who had been invaded and those who had suffered damage in the process, such circumstances and reasons should have been completely irrelevant.

Resentment over the destruction wrought and the lives thrown into jeopardy continued to spread even now.

But I had no reason to let that resentment drag me along with it.

If I were to wield my power, it should be for my own feelings—resentment or anger—or for my convictions.

Or to protect the people close to me.

Ah, in that regard, I did feel that I wanted to remove the threat hanging over Jampemon and the Kingdom of Rudoria.

I didn't think I wanted to go so far as to destroy the country of Zieden—not now, at least... Hmm.

Apparently, I did want to do something about the current situation; I was simply struggling and wavering over what I should do.

I felt that I had once been less hesitant about using my power, but had I changed somehow after my journey through the eastern part of the continent?

Even while thinking about all that, I continued walking without stopping, heading toward an elven settlement in this forest.

Judging by the size of the forest, it was probably a small settlement without a spirit tree—in other words, one not protected by a barrier that borrowed the power of spirits.

Elves generally had little interest in the world outside the forest, but the extent of that indifference depended on the forest's size and whether it had a barrier that borrowed the power of spirits.

In a large forest, humans almost never wandered into the center in the first place, and even if they deliberately tried to reach an elven settlement, the barrier would confuse them and prevent them from arriving.

But in a forest that was not large enough to have a spirit tree, hunters might accidentally wander close to the center, or a human army might even attack an elven settlement.

Indeed, that was what happened several decades ago, when a noble of the Kingdom of Rudoria—a count or perhaps a marquis, if I remember correctly—attacked an elven settlement.

Therefore, even if the elves living in forests that were not particularly large did not actively involve themselves with the outside world, they should still have lived with a certain wariness of it.

They might drive hunters who wandered into the depths of the forest away before they could approach the settlement, concealing the place where they lived so it would not be discovered.

Then perhaps the elves of this forest had sensed something about the changes taking place in Zieden.

Of course, that was only a faint hope—just a possibility.

At the very least, I should be able to find out how long ago an elven caravan had visited this forest or one nearby.

Elven caravans stopped in forests to purchase fruit, so if one had passed through Zieden, it should have visited one of the settlements to trade and exchange greetings.

If the visit had been recent, that would mean elven caravans had been passing through Zieden, and that the country still had not changed its attitude toward elves.

In other words, I could probably visit a town without any problem.

But if elven caravans had not visited Zieden for a long time, then I should avoid approaching a town after all.

If I absolutely had to, I could sneak in under cover of night, but that would be very much a last resort.

As I neared the center of the forest, I asked the wind spirit to pass along word.

If I got any closer to the elven settlement without greeting them, I would startle them unnecessarily.

For a human, that would be the equivalent of barging into someone else's house without even knocking.

The wind raced through the forest, making the leaves rustle noisily.

The elves would probably—or rather, definitely—try to welcome me as an honored guest.

Even if I told them that wasn't necessary, it would only make them feel obliged to go out of their way for me.

That was precisely why I needed to greet them in advance and give them time to prepare.

Ah, I keep saying that this forest isn't particularly large, but that's by elven standards—whether or not it is large enough to have a spirit tree. From a human perspective, this is more than large enough to count as a large forest.

The scent of the trees was strong, and signs of wild animals were everywhere.

It was a peaceful, bountiful forest—a fine one.

Of course, a bountiful forest would naturally be home to suitably ferocious monsters, but for now, there was no sign of any lurking nearby.

Before long, the returning wind brought me word that the settlement welcomed me.

I nodded once and started walking again.

A peach of immortality would be the best gift, after all.

It was a fruit from a spirit tree found only in the Huanggu Empire, unlike anything the elves here knew.

Since they were elves too, surely they would be pleased.