Chapter 71
The trees seemed to care about us, shifting their roots aside just a little to make the ground easier to walk.
If I were walking through the forest alone, they wouldn't need to be so considerate, but with two children along, I was grateful for the trees' kindness.
We made brisk progress through the forest, at a speed that would probably astonish even a veteran hunter.
Even so, by the time we reached the deepest part of this forest—the destination we were aiming for—the sun would probably have set.
As it happened, deep in this forest was an elven settlement whose people were currently in the process of moving to a forest in another country.
That was our destination, and it was too far away for a day trip, so we'd be spending the night there.
Naturally, neither Kaeha nor her mother was particularly pleased about Mizuha, a girl, spending the night away from home, much less camping outdoors, even if it was only for one night.
Even so, they had allowed this two-day, one-night trip—too elaborate to call a hike, yet too short to call a journey—because I had promised to bring Mizuha back safely.
I had built up enough trust with the two of them for them to believe me when I said that.
There was another reason, too: Kaeha and her mother probably felt that it was unfair to the children to let only Shizuki travel all the way to Vistcoat.
Thus, after some difficulty, they had reluctantly given us permission, making this trip possible.
I probably wouldn't receive permission a second time, and I wasn't asking for it, either.
Even so, the reason I wanted to bring Win and Mizuha into the depths of this forest was that... there was something here they could only see now.
Yes, if even some of the elves currently away on their migration returned, not only Mizuha, who was human, but even Win, who was a half-elf, would no longer be allowed into the deepest part of the forest.
So this really was their only chance to see it.
We continued through the forest, passed between the trees, and reached the elven settlement. And there it was.
“Huh!? U-uh, wow...”
Bathed in the red glow of the sinking sun, its imposing majesty made Mizuha catch her breath, then let out an awed sigh.
It was a mysterious giant tree, shaped like a small hill and known as a spirit tree; only one was said to grow in the deepest part of a great forest.
It was said to be the crystallization of the forest's life, and the land around a spirit tree was filled with power.
More strangely still, a spirit tree would appear only before someone capable of seeing spirits.
Because Win and I were here, it was visible to Mizuha as well, but if she came here alone at some later date, she would no longer be able to find this giant tree.
Win might already have seen a spirit tree at the settlement where they lived before I took them in, but that would have been when they were barely old enough to know what was going on, and there was no harm in seeing it again.
This forest's spirit tree wasn't particularly large, though that couldn't be helped given the forest's size.
Naturally, it was incomparable in size to any other tree, but a spirit tree growing in a much larger forest could reach twice this size.
And a spirit tree that truly grew to such enormous proportions would bear Apua fruit, the condensed bounty of life.
Back in my homeland, in the deep forest, spirit trees bearing Apua fruit had been everywhere, so I didn't feel particularly awed by them.
It was only after I ventured into the outside world that I learned there was a rule that only one spirit tree could grow in the depths of a large forest.
“Eisa, look!”
Win suddenly called out to me and pointed.
There, blooming beautifully on one of the spirit tree's branches, was a single flower.
Ah, it seemed that even the spirit tree was welcoming our visit.
It had been some time since the elves who lived in the surrounding settlement had left, so... perhaps the spirit tree was a little lonely, too?
I found myself wondering about that.
If so, please wait just a little longer.
According to Airena, far more elves than I had expected were trying to return to the forests of the Kingdom of Rudoria.
I soothed Mizuha, who wanted to climb the spirit tree and pick its flower, by telling her it was dangerous. Then, while Mizuha continued to run me ragged, I hurriedly roasted a wild rabbit I'd brought down with my bow and arrow, along with some edible mushrooms I'd found, for Win, who was looking at me with sad, hungry eyes.
While we were bustling about like that, the sun quickly sank and night arrived.
The three of us—Win, Mizuha, and I—ate dinner around the campfire.
“Thank you for bringing me along, Eisa-san! I'm having so much fun today! Do you think I might be suited to being an adventurer?”
Mizuha bit into her meat with a radiant smile, thanked me, and then asked.
Well, who could say?
She was probably brave, at least.
She had honed her swordsmanship at the dojo and could spar with the adult disciples.
She had the heart to be moved by things she had never seen before, and she didn't mind spending time outdoors.
Yes, she did seem suited to it.
“Hmm, I'm not sure. You might become an amazing adventurer like Master Kaeha, or you might die just as easily. ...But if you're going to become an adventurer, you'd better be able to eat snakes, too.”
But I deliberately avoided giving her a definite answer and teased her instead.
At the mention of snakes, Mizuha was at a loss for words, then tugged at Win's cheek after Win laughed at her.
Still, she wasn't even ten years old yet.
Both Mizuha and her twin, Shizuki, were mature for their age, but they were still far from being adults.
They still had plenty of time to choose their own paths.
Although from my perspective that time would pass in the blink of an eye, it wouldn't be the same for them.
Still, if Mizuha chose the path of an adventurer, I thought I could at least provide her with weapons and armor.
Just as I had done for Kaeha before.
And even the house in Vistcoat, if she needed it.