The Deep Forest (3)

I've been traveling for a long time too, so I've seen all sorts of dangerous places.

For example, the volcanic region in the north.

It was a dangerous place inhabited by monsters that could camouflage themselves as rocks or swim through magma.

The Black Snow Prefecture of the Huanggu Empire.

Monsters clad in rock, with gravel mixed even into their flesh, roamed there; water was scarce, no greenery was visible, and drifting volcanic ash tormented all living things.

There were also the great wetlands separating the central and eastern parts of the continent.

Humans called it the Man-Eating Great Swamp, and it was a dangerous region.

Water and greenery were abundant, but the rich environment supported countless monsters, large and small, making it a dangerous place.

Yet the Pulha Great Forest was known as a place just as dangerous as those—or perhaps even more so.

First, the number and variety of monsters nurtured by its abundant environment were no less than those found in the Man-Eating Great Swamp.

And the deeper you ventured, the denser the trees became, making it easy to lose your way.

If you got lost in a forest teeming with monsters, there would be no need to explain what fate awaited you.

Since nature was so abundant, food was easy to find even in the forest.

But among the many varieties of plants, quite a few were poisonous.

If you consumed poison because you lacked knowledge or were fooled by similar appearances, you'd still end up dying in the forest.

In other words, the Pulha Great Forest truly deserved to be called a dangerous region, both for the number of monsters it contained and the harshness of its environment.

Well, around Vistcourt, since it was on the outer fringes, the monsters were smaller and weaker, and adventurers came and went, so the area had been comparatively cleared.

Vistcourt was the town where adventurers gathered, drawn by materials from monsters they had hunted and the natural bounty found only in the Pulha Great Forest.

Even so, many Vistcourt adventurers entered the Pulha Great Forest every year and never returned.

Some were eaten by monsters, some accidentally ventured too far, and some had their skin cut by poisonous leaves... The reasons varied, but the Pulha Great Forest swallowed people.

However, the hardships of the Pulha Great Forest did not bare their fangs at me, a high elf.

Otherwise, on that day, when I left the deep forest and set out for the outside world, I... would have ended up in a monster's belly.

Ah, looking back now, I think I was lucky that day.

Compared to now, I hadn't trained my body as much, and my sense of danger was duller.

If the monster I encountered immediately after passing through the barrier had been a large one I couldn't have escaped simply by taking refuge in the trees, rather than a Grand Wolf, then perhaps... just perhaps, I wouldn't have survived.

The trees and spirits let me know when monsters approach, but that encounter really was completely unexpected.

Recalling that, I hide myself among the trees.

Then the trees cover me with their leaves, hiding me from view.

Unaware of me, an enormous snake slithers along the ground, large enough to swallow a cow whole with ease.

Some species of snake are said to detect heat with organs near their noses, but the leaves blocked even my body heat, letting none of it escape.

I quietly wait, holding my breath, for the giant snake to move away.

I don't feel tense.

Anywhere but the Pulha Great Forest, I would hunt it myself before it found me, but in a place where the trees are this dense, fire is difficult to use, so even if I hunted it, it would be difficult to use it as food.

But those trees are hiding me now.

As long as I remain hidden in the forest like this, I'm confident that no monster could find me.

I simply let the giant snake pass me by.

Fortunately for both of us, we avoided having to fight for our lives.

Snake meat is surprisingly tasty, but... well, I wasn't all that inclined to go out of my way to hunt one in this environment.

Once the giant snake disappeared from sight and its presence had completely receded, I resumed moving through the forest.

The Pulha Great Forest does indeed have many monsters.

The deeper I go into the forest, the denser the power filling the surroundings becomes.

It makes me laugh a little to think that I once lived in this environment as though it were perfectly normal.

Of course, I was able to live there without worry precisely because monsters couldn't enter the barrier.

It was only after I left, traveled the world, and learned all sorts of things that I came to understand the depth and vastness of this place.

I also came to understand that an environment this rich must have something serving as its source.

I suspect that source is the immortal bird, though... I really hope I'm right.

If I don't find the immortal bird here, I'll have to take Airena east again and begin my search from atop the Fuso Tree.

Ah, it doesn't have to be the Fuso Tree; any place high enough to reach the clouds would do, even a very, very tall mountain.

I haven't tried it, but if I asked the water and wind spirits that form the clouds for help, as I do when walking on water, would I be able to walk across them?

If I rode a cloud and controlled the wind to move it, there should be a good chance I could find the cloud where the giants lived.

However, if I entered the giants' country that way, I was a little worried about whether I'd be welcomed.

They might welcome me as one of the ancient ones, out of kinship between members of an ancient race, but if I had the choice, it would probably make a better impression to have the immortal bird act as an intermediary, just as in the myths.

Especially since I wouldn't be going alone—I would be bringing Airena, too—I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

After continuing through the Pulha Great Forest, I reached a point where the deep forest was only a few days away and sent a wind ahead as a herald.

Elves lived around the outer reaches of the deep forest, while high elves lived in the central region.

This time, I wanted my advance notice to reach the high elves in the central region directly, so I made the wind somewhat stronger.

...How should I put it? It felt like knocking on my family's door after we'd grown distant, and was inexplicably awkward, but there was nothing for it.

Now then, I wonder what kind of response I'll get?

The elves near the outer edges should welcome me and come out to greet me.

But as for the high elves, I have no idea how they'll treat me for leaving on my own.

Would they be angry?

Would they be indifferent?

It was hard to imagine, but would they perhaps welcome me?

If they did, that might make things even more awkward.

Ah, after all, this was where I was born.

I couldn't help imagining all sorts of things.

Well, yes, whatever awaits me, I'll go find out for myself.