The Deep Forest (5)

"I see. So you met a true dragon. That explains the aura surrounding you."

Salix bit into one of the celestial peaches I had given him as a gift. He narrowed his eyes at the sweetness, and his ears bobbed up and down.

He must have been in an exceptionally good mood; it was the first time I had ever seen him make such a childish gesture.

That was the story of the eighty years since I left the deep forest.

Even with only the important points picked out, it was still a fairly long story.

But Salix listened to the end, sometimes nodding, sometimes looking exasperated, and sometimes interjecting with questions.

And he did so in an almost unbelievably good mood.

I couldn't imagine that hearing how I had apprenticed myself to a dwarf to learn smithing or learned the sword from humans would be pleasant for a high elf like him.

"I see. And then I climbed the Fuso Tree that grew in the eastern island nation, higher than the clouds. I ate its fruit, dreamed of a giant, and brought back some seeds."

The seed of the Fuso Tree would be planted in this deep forest by Salix's own hands.

The celestial peaches would be as well.

Since the seed hadn't been planted by a giant, the Fuso Tree would probably not grow into such an absurdly huge tree, but in a hundred or two hundred years, we should be able to eat the fruit of a new spirit tree.

"I see. No, it is an excellent gift. I am grateful. But if you've encountered both a dragon and a giant, then I understand—you returned to this deep forest in search of an immortal bird."

I nodded at Salix's words.

The conversation was proceeding much more smoothly than I had expected, and I was deeply grateful for that.

And the fact that Salix had immediately thought of the immortal bird from my story proved that one existed in this deep forest.

Sensing an opportunity now that I had found a promising lead, I leaned forward to try to persuade him, but Salix stopped me with a hand.

"To think that leaving this deep forest would lead you to discover a secret known only to the elders. How fascinating, Child of the Maple. Very well. I don't know whether your wish will be granted, but you should meet the immortal bird. Before that, however, there is something I must tell you, and something I must ask you."

His voice was quiet, but it held an intensity that brooked no refusal.

Salix, whose cheerful mood had changed completely, looked at me with a serious gaze.

What on earth had happened?

It was truly unlike a high elf to show so much emotion on his face.

"First, I must apologize. The elders, myself included, treated you far more strictly and nagged you far more than the others. We must have made you feel terribly constrained. I'm sorry."

With that, Salix lowered his gaze slightly.

It was truly astonishing.

I was so stunned and bewildered that I didn't know how to respond.

"As for why we treated you more strictly than the others... it was because we judged that you possessed memories from before you were born as a high elf. Ah, you never actually said so aloud, of course."

But the impact of Salix's next words was far greater than anything that had come before, and my mind refused to comprehend them.

No, no, no way.

Why?

How could that be?

Even if my behavior had seemed unnatural, there was no way he could have arrived at the idea that I possessed memories from a previous life.

"It's no wonder you're surprised. But listen, Child of the Maple. You are still one of our kind. There is nothing strange about you. Someone like you is born among us high elves about once every thousand or two thousand years."

Salix had risen from the tree root without my noticing and placed a hand on my head.

As if a parent were trying to soothe a child.

Though I thought high elves weren't supposed to have any concept of family.

No, but he had brought up another matter I couldn't possibly overlook.

High elves like me—high elves who possessed memories of a previous life—had apparently been born from time to time before me.

"I told you that the souls dwelling within high elves are immortal souls, didn't I? Most high elves acquire that immortality after gaining life as high elves. But the timing varies. Some possess it from the moment they are born, while others gain it around the time they develop self-awareness."

Salix continued.

Ah, I was beginning to understand a little of what he meant.

In other words, after I died in my previous life, my soul acquired immortality before those memories were lost, and I was born into this world retaining those memories, incomplete though they were.

And this was something that happened, albeit rarely, among high elves.

"Yes, children like you, who acquired immortality of the soul before birth, retain memories of their previous lives. Memories of having been the king of proud beasts in another world, or of having lived as a human or another race."

What I felt at those words was a relief beyond anything I could put into words.

I had thought I was blending into this world, but somewhere in my heart, I must have wondered whether someone who learned I possessed memories of a previous life would judge me an outsider.

Perhaps I had feared that somewhere inside without even realizing it.

But now I had been told that possessing memories from my previous life was not abnormal.

"However, children who possess memories from before birth often want to leave the deep forest at least once. Such children also have thoughts and knowledge unlike those of other high elves, so their influence on those around them is strong. Apparently, there have even been cases where several others followed them out."

I see.

That was something I would have considered a good thing before leaving the deep forest, but now I could understand the worry behind it all too well.

If multiple high elves left the deep forest, the impact would be far too great—not only on a settlement whose population was small to begin with, but on the outside world as well.

Several high elves who could destroy a country single-handedly traveling together would be, to the other races, a walking natural disaster. I was hardly in a position to say that, though.

"Actually, the two who gave birth to me were high elves who had left the deep forest. When I was conceived, they apparently returned here. Ah, so technically, I am a high elf who knows what parents and children are like. That's why I worry about my own child, and about the mischievous child my child gave birth to—my grandchild."

Salix said this with a hint of pride.

Perhaps that was also why he had been easier to approach than the other elders.

And perhaps he had gone out of his way to tell me this so he could put me at ease.

"So the elders, myself included, tried to make you adopt our values so that you wouldn't want to leave this forest—or at least wouldn't leave together with the others. Though it seems to have had the opposite effect. They regretted it before becoming spirits, too. They wanted to apologize to you."

I see.

So that was the source of the misunderstanding I had held about the elders, and the reason for his apology.

No, but... yes, surely that was all in the past by now.

Even if the elders had treated me from the beginning the way Salix was treating me now, I probably still would have left the deep forest.

"However, most of the high elves who left the forest apparently returned to this deep forest. No matter how many bonds they formed, those bonds would disappear when their lives ended outside the deep forest. I don't know the outside world myself, but I feel the same way. There may be stimulation out there, but nothing more meaningful than that."

After a short pause, Salix's eyes showed genuine concern for me as he spoke those words.

Why?

Was it his responsibility as an elder, or his awareness of me as one of his kind?

Of course, it was probably both of those things, but I sensed another, somewhat more personal emotion from him now as well.

"However, some high elves did not return. I don't know whether they lost their lives in an unforeseen accident and became spirits, or found a way to live in the outside world. That is why I ask you."

What was I to make of that?

The outside world was not entirely free of unexpected dangers.

The monsters in dangerous regions, for one thing, and the vampires as well.

Even a high elf could lose their life by letting their guard down while acting alone.

But perhaps there had also been high elves who had spent their entire lives outside the deep forest.

"Would you not consider spending time in the deep forest once more? I think you should, and if you do, you may meet the others. If you don't leave, no one among our kind will consider leaving the forest with you, either."

Salix was probably saying this because he was truly concerned about me.

I could somehow tell.

I found it hard to imagine that any high elf would consider leaving the forest with me, but it was only natural for him to be wary of that as an elder.

"What one gains from spending time with short-lived people is probably only sentiment. But we immortals are different. Ah, if you return to the forest, the Flower of the Violet will surely be happy. After you left the forest, she said she was going to search for you, and persuading her otherwise was quite difficult."

Speaking of the Flower of the Violet, she was one of the high elves I had been relatively close to in the deep forest. Her other name was Viola.

But no matter how well we had gotten along, I couldn't imagine that someone as calm as her would follow after me and search for me merely because I had disappeared.

It was far too unlike her.

Even so, Salix was remarkably talkative.

Why was he so concerned about me?

But whatever the reason, my answer had already been decided.

It was a tempting invitation.

Tempting enough that I could imagine a day when I, too, might want to do that.

But that day was not today.

There was no way the outside world offered nothing but stimulation, and that all one gained from forming bonds was mere sentiment.

No... I had certainly felt that way many times myself.

However, Kaeha left me her techniques, and whenever I swing this sword, she will surely be there.

Shizuki and Mizuha gave me the role of adviser, and even after their deaths, it will remain a bond connecting me to the Yosogi style.

"Thank you, Salix. I was very glad to confirm that this is my homeland. But I still have things I want to do in the outside world."

There was no hesitation in my answer.

I would search for the immortal bird and take Airena above the clouds, to the land of the giants.

I would meet Win and cross swords with Win once again.

I also had to go laugh at Azvaldo, who was probably polishing his throne with his backside, and at my shitty dwarf master.

Besides those, I could think of so many things I wanted to do, or needed to do.

At my words, Salix's expression turned just a little sad.

But perhaps he understood how firm my resolve was, for he said,

"I see. Child of the Maple, you must be seeing something I cannot. But I want you to know one thing. Yes, as you said, this is your homeland. Come back anytime. I will wait for you until the day I become a spirit, too."

With that, he exhaled.