CH 128

“What should I say, the atmosphere in the village feels gloomy. …… What’s really going on here?”

Unlike human towns, most of the buildings in the elven villages were made of natural materials. Although there were no houses built on trees, a good number of the houses were made of wood, and although the streets were paved, there were no cobblestone pavements.

And such a townscape … A village? The elves living in the forest were naturally present, but their expressions were all gloomy. The forest where we landed seemed brighter than the village where the land had been cleared.

“That’s not for me to say, …, although I’m sure you’ll know right away because there’s no way we can hide it.”

“? Is that so?”

“Yes, sir. This way.”

We walked through the village, guided by the elven man. Then a large tree came into view in front of us, and as we approached the tree, Tia’s expression turned grim.

It was a spirit tree. A large tree, if not a giant tree, about two times larger than the surrounding trees, and its pale light was a sign that the tree was filled with the power of the spirits.

But now, there was a shadow on the light. This was because something like a black vine was entangled in the lower half of the spirit tree, and the black haze generated by the vine was blocking the light.

“……….. terrible.”

“…… Please talk to the village head. We are almost there.”

The man who was guiding us distorted his face in pain at Tia’s muttering, which must have leaked out unintentionally. We walked and eventually arrived at a large meeting hall-like building, where we were ushered into a hall where an elderly elf with a long white beard and a mature elf man who looked to be in his forties or fifties were waiting for us.

“Welcome, my fellow brethrens from far and wide. I am the head of this village, Torutilato. And this is …….”

“Hohoho, I am just an old elf, who has lived the longest in this village. I came here because I heard that someone had appeared who greeted in a very nostalgic way. …. you are quite young, eh? Who in the world taught you that greeting?”

“Huh!? Um, that was normal in my village… but it seems it’s different around here.”

“That’s right. People who used to make such ostentatious greetings have long since disappeared in the last 300 years. It’s been 200 years since I last heard it myself. Now there is no one to teach it.”

“Does it mean anything?”

Tia asked with a serious expression, but the old elf, who identified himself as just an old man, laughed, rubbing his beard in amusement.

“Hohoho! Meaning! If you ask me what it means, it’s because it’s long, right? I guess the majority of people thought that it would be better to just greet people normally without being so ostentatious, and that’s why no one says it anymore.”

“Huh? Is that…okay? Tradition should be preserved and handed down, right?

“There is no good or bad. It’s the flow of the time. What is necessary is born and what is unnecessary disappears. Some of the things that disappeared may have been necessary, but if they are truly necessary, they will be born and disappear again and again, and one day they will take root as common sense. If you try to preserve what is unnecessary, it will eventually disappear. If you try to erase what is necessary, it will always come back to life. That is how we have erased something and brought something back to life. It is the privilege of youth alone to claw at the great will that flows in the heavens.”

“Huh. …”

Looking at her expression sideways, it seems that Tia was not quite sure what to make of it. Well, to be honest, I don’t understand it either, maybe it’s an elf feeling or an elderly feeling …… I don’t have either. Yeah, I don’t know, but I’ll agree that it sounds like he is saying something profound.

“Hohoho, You don’t need to force yourself to understand. Anyway, I just wanted to meet a young lady who was talking about something I hadn’t heard in a long time. I am sorry, chief, but my business is done now.”

“I understand. Well, that’s enough about the elder’s business, let’s move on to mine. I heard you said earlier to the watcher that you felt the shadow of a spirit. … Did you see it before you came here?”

“Yes. It was in a very, uh… terrible state.”

“Right. I thought I was doing my best to do something about it, but I am ashamed as the …. village head that even outside of the village, signs of it had leaked out.”

“No, no!”

Tia hurriedly shouted because she didn’t actually feel anything. But the village head shook his head emphatically and continued talking in a somber voice.

“It doesn’t matter. Although it has only been 30 years since I took over as village head, years have nothing to do with my duties. Therefore, I would like to ask you, have similar problems occurred in other villages?　If you can do something about those black vines, please tell us how. Of course, I will give you a reasonable reward. …… how about it?”

“Ed?”

“Yeah, First of all, would you mind showing me the spirit tree again?”

When Tia asked me to talk about it, I answered, and the village head looked at me with a surprised look on his face.

“You are going to look at it? Not Lunaritia-dono?

“Oh, no, of course Tia will come along. But I have my own knowledge and experience. If there’s something I might get to know if I look, I’d better look. …..Or is there a rule against letting humans near it?”

“U-uh, There’s no particular rule about that, but …… no, but …….”

At my suggestion, the village head folded his arms and began to ponder. According to my knowledge and experience so far, there was no strict rule as to whether or not elves can have extra people of other races near the spirit tree, and it may or may not be a problem depending on the feelings of the elves who live there.

If we could gain the trust of the elves, we would be able to get close to them, but there was no trust, as we had just met them. In short, we need to make a good first impression….

“Please, Satocho-sama, I cannot bear to see the spirit tree in that state. I don’t know if we can do it, but if there is anything we can do, we would like to help somehow.”

(T/N: Satocho-sama:- Village head/Chief)

Unlike me, who was somewhat calculating, Tia, who had completely good intentions and turned even my … own greed into good intentions, expressed her desire to the village head. Perhaps sensing Tia’s heart in those large jade eyes, his mouth eventually opened slowly.

“… I understand. If that’s the case, I’ll allow it. No, rather, I’m in a position to ask. Please save the Spirit Tree.”

“We will do our best. Right, Ed?”

“Of course!”

“Then, let’s go right away. Elder and Anaiale, come with me.”

“Understood”

“Hoho, Alright”

The village head, Torutilato-san, Anaiale-san who guided us, the elder who seemed to have lived more than 300 years judging from his story, and me and Tia. The five of us walked back the way we came and walked to the spirit tree.

Along the way, there were elves standing guard, but when the village head called out to them, they naturally gave way. When we reached the base of the tree, the village head opened his mouth again.

“This is the current state of the spirit tree.  We frequently use spirit magic to promote plant growth, and I have tried special fertilizers and holy water imported from the land of humans, but the situation has not improved in any way. I would like to say that maintaining the status quo is the best we can do….but even that is tough these days.”

“Poor thing …”

The tree was covered with a thin layer of black ivy, and the mist emanating from the ivy was indescribably painful. Tia slowly reached out her hand to touch the tree.――

“Stop! Don’t touch―― it!?”

Tia’s hand gently touched the trunk of the tree.