Chapter 343
After planting the Wise Tree, I parted ways with Iris and left the courtyard for the city. The festival atmosphere had already vanished, but I was delighted to see the city overflowing with the energy of everyday life. It was completely different from how it had been at first, when the air was thick with gloom.
For now, I decided to make a rough plan for the day: perhaps I would go earn some EXP with Cal. When I headed for the plaza where Cal usually waited, I found an unexpected person standing there with her legs planted wide.
"Shiitake? That's unusual. I can't believe you're outside your workshop."
It was none other than Shiitake, who was famous for rarely venturing out—not just into the field, but even into the city. Since she spent all her time holed up in her workshop, it was unusual to see her anywhere in the city. However, whenever something caught her interest, she sometimes charged straight toward it. She must have had something she wanted to do or somewhere she wanted to go with Cal's help.
"Been waiting for ya, Izamu-san."
"Why are you talking like a delinquent...? So, what is it?"
"The festival's over, y'know~? We gotta start investigating the desert soon, don't we~?"
"Didn't we already make plans for that?"
When Iris asked me to pose, we had discussed exploring the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea.' She wanted to collect that sand to mix into the cement used for the city walls. Everyone had agreed that we should gather materials to make the walls as sturdy as possible, so we had all gotten together and scheduled a day when everyone could play for an extended period.
"I know, but I wanna go already~!"
Shiitake lay down on the plaza floor and flailed her short arms and legs, insisting that she wanted to go, go, go. Good grief, she was throwing a toddler's tantrum! She was about my age, wasn't she? Only kindergarteners were allowed to move like that!
I sighed in exasperation while thinking about the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea.' We had decided to explore it after 'The Wonderful Aspect of Autumn: Food' and, taking everyone's circumstances into account, had scheduled it for the week after next. A new event called 'The Wonderful Aspect of Autumn: Activity' had been announced, but since our planned date was afterward, the schedules would not overlap.
However, it was also true that we could go anytime we wanted. That was because there were several people who could guide us to the area.
The 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea' was dangerous for Dark Elves, but apparently many Dark Elves, driven by curiosity in their youth, had ventured to places they could see in the distance. I had been advised that if we went to their village, someone there would surely be willing to guide us close to the area, and that we could negotiate with them. I had also been told that since many Dark Elves were cheerful, they would probably agree without much trouble.
For Shiitake, who had been eagerly looking forward to visiting the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea,' waiting until next week might have been torture. Then again, considering how she charged straight toward anything that interested her, perhaps she had already endured as long as she could. Sigh... I suppose it couldn't be helped.
"All right, stop lying down. I'll gather everyone who's logged in and willing to come along, myself included, and we'll go take a look."
"Oh! Just like you, Demon King-sama! You really get it!"
"However! This is strictly a preliminary investigation. We won't conduct a detailed exploration, and we'll avoid fighting monsters as much as possible. Boss battles are completely out of the question. If you can't agree to those conditions..."
"That works for me, sir!"
According to Kirils, the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea' was an extremely dangerous place. That was precisely why we intended to proceed while ensuring everyone's safety.
However, just as we had done when investigating the area before conquering the 'Black Death Ice Forest,' a small group should be fine as long as we only investigated near the entrance without venturing too far inside. The only question was whether anyone would come with us... but surely we had kind companions who would volunteer.
Once the decision had been made, we needed to act immediately. When Shiitake posted in the clan chat that she was recruiting a party for a preliminary investigation of the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea,' Uro, Eiji, and Mikelo volunteered after a short while.
After meeting the three of them in the plaza, we set out. Cal grasped Shiitake with its forelegs, while Uro and Eiji rode on its back, and Mikelo flew with a tentacle tied to Cal's tail. When I considered that we would have had to travel entirely by land without Cal, I realized once again how much he helped us.
"So? Why did you suddenly decide to conduct a preliminary investigation? It was Shiitake's idea, wasn't it?"
"Good guess."
Riding on Cal's back, Uro held back their long hair as the wind blew it around and confidently asserted that Shiitake had to be the reason. Uro was absolutely right. Everyone seemed to understand Shiitake very well.
Still, although her freewheeling personality sometimes caused us trouble, she never meant any harm. Normally, she was a little... just a little calmer. Besides, all of us in the clan relied on her for potions and all kinds of useful items. So I decided to laugh this off and forgive her.
"We've never entered the Dark Elves'... 'Dark Forest of Temptation,' was it? But there are some nasty monsters there, right?"
"Yes. The name was either Test Subject or Experimental Subject... I've forgotten the exact details, but in any case, it was apparently a monster created by an ancient civilization. There is no way we could defeat it in our current state, and we have no idea what might happen even if we merely provoked it. Even if you find it, don't touch it under any circumstances."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Understood."
While we were having that conversation in the air, we arrived at the 'Dark Forest of Temptation.' From there, we would proceed on foot through the forest toward the Dark Elf village. I had visited the area before, and I had shared the map data with everyone in the party, so we had no trouble finding our way.
After several battles, we safely reached the village. Cal was nearly tempted by the fragrant smell of fruit along the way, but perhaps he had learned from his previous mistake, because he managed to resist. Good job!
We spoke with Elder Radem-dono, who was also Kirils's grandfather, and explained that we wanted to visit the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea' before asking him to introduce us to someone who could guide us partway there. Radem-dono was surprised to hear that we intended to head for such a dangerous place, but he allowed us to take a guide under two conditions.
The first was that the guide would accompany us only until we reached the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea' and would not be made to enter it. The second was that when the 'Phantom Peach,' which had only just begun being cultivated in our city, matured, we would give the village several of them.
Apparently, the Dark Elf who had participated as a judge had bragged about the 'Phantom Peach' after returning to the village. The Dark Elves who heard about it were extremely envious and said they wanted to taste it too. Dark Elves were surprisingly gluttonous.
We had only just begun cultivating it, but I promised that we would give them seeds or saplings if it grew successfully. Radem-dono visibly sighed with relief. He must have had a difficult time dealing with them too. The two guides chosen as payment for the 'Phantom Peach' were female Dark Elves.
"I'm Efa. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Tuel. You people are quite brave."
The two of them were apparently among the most skilled scouts even among the Dark Elves. They knew the forest inside and out and, naturally, were familiar with the safest route to the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea.' They were exactly the people we needed most at the moment. I was deeply grateful.
After resting briefly in the village, we set out with the two of them leading the way. Their skill as scouts was remarkable. They spotted monsters along our route early enough to let us detour around them or launch successful ambushes.
Their abilities as scouts were probably equal to Ruby's. However, this forest was essentially their backyard. Within it, there was no doubt that the two of them were superior to Ruby.
"Hmm? The atmosphere of the forest seems to have changed..."
"You noticed that? From around here, Steel-Eating Trees become more common. Look, there's one over there."
Efa answered Shiitake's question. What she pointed to was a conifer with metallic bark. According to what I had heard from Kirils, Steel-Eating Trees grew along the boundary between the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea' and the 'Dark Forest of Temptation' and were trees that grew by feeding on metal.
I had heard that Steel-Eating Trees gradually encroached on the Sand Sea and were also used as weapons by the Dark Elves. Their presence meant that the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea' was getting close. We were almost there.
"We'll be gathering Steel-Eating Tree branches and leaves around here, so we don't know much about the area beyond this point. Don't expect us to get through as easily as we did before, all right?"
"Got it. We'll be careful."
"More importantly, can we cut down one of these Steel-Eating Trees?"
While listening to Tuel's warning, Shiitake patted the trunk of a Steel-Eating Tree and asked. Efa and Tuel exchanged glances, then tilted their heads in unison.
"Cut it down...? Um, I'm not sure."
"Can they even be cut down? The branches and leaves are as hard as metal, you know? That's why they're used as weapons."
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Do your best, Eiji-kun!"
The two of them were confused because they had no idea whether it was even possible to fell one. Dark Elves were not a Race known for great physical strength, so they had never considered trying to cut down a Steel-Eating Tree, which was like a mass of metal. There was no precedent, so they did not even know whether it was possible.
However, Eiji, whose raw Strength was high even within our clan, was here. Shiitake thought that his axe might be able to fell a Steel-Eating Tree.
"Huh? You're putting me on the spot here? Well, I'll give it a try... Nnngh!"
Eiji readied a gigantic double-edged axe as tall as he was, gripped it firmly with both hands, twisted his waist as far as he could, and swung it like a baseball batter. A tremendous, ear-splitting sound rang throughout the forest, and birds that must have been perched in the branches flew away in a flurry. I instinctively covered my ears, and when I looked again, I saw that Eiji's axe had sunk halfway into the Steel-Eating Tree.
"Whoa! Nice going, Eiji-kun!"
"No, what's amazing is the Steel-Eating Tree. I used a Martial Skill that could mow down about three ordinary trees at once... I never expected a tree that wasn't even a monster to withstand it."
No, no, the fact that he could mow down several trees at once was already plenty abnormal. Well, this was a game, so perhaps that was how things worked. Regardless of my opinion, it had been proven that a Steel-Eating Tree could be felled by someone with Strength on Eiji's level.
While Eiji played at being a lumberjack, the rest of us kept watch over the surrounding area. Since each swing produced a tremendous noise, we expected that monsters might come running.
"Nnngh! It's going down! Watch out!"
Contrary to our expectations, however, no monsters came running, and the peaceful period continued until Eiji had felled the Steel-Eating Tree. Efa guessed that they had been frightened by the unfamiliar sound.
After Shiitake collected the fallen Steel-Eating Tree as an item, we resumed our journey toward the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea.' The proportion of Steel-Eating Trees in the forest gradually increased, until at last we passed through a forest where nothing but Steel-Eating Trees grew and finally arrived at the 'Soul-Eroding Rust Sand Sea.'