CH 138

Chapter 138 – We Saved A Child!?

“It’s around here. There are large fruits that are the color of a sunset.”

Ecleshia said as she seemed to hover in the air ahead of me.

On this day, Ecleshia and I were traveling north of the village through the forest.

As she walked, Ecleshia asked me with a slightly worried expression.

“By the way. That night… Were you alright?”

“Huh? What night?”

“Uh, well, on the boat…”

“The boat… Ah, that was about a week ago.”

On that day, I had built a boat after Iria suggested it, and we had spent the night there.

We ate fish from the river and took a bath. And the others came and… My memory was a little foggy after that, but I had a good time.

“It was a fun holiday… We should all go to the sea next time.”

“Uh, yes. But I think that everyone is a little too…”

Ecleshia suddenly blushed.

“What is it? Are you not feeling well?”

“No-no, it’s nothing. But more importantly, you can see them now.”

Ecleshia pointed up ahead.

The sunset colored fruit… There was a cluster of orange trees.

“Oh, there they are. While berries are nice, these are even sweeter. I wanted to grow some near the village.”

“In that case, I will tell some of my Ents to carry them back to the village.”

“Aye, thank you. There are so many ripe oranges here.

The Ents knew the forest well.

And so they had a wealth of knowledge when it came to plants. I had told them about various fruits, and they told me about the oranges and apples that could be found in the nearby forest.

And since the area of activity was broadening for the Ents, it was possible that they would find even more fruits in the future.

“In any case, now we can make an orchard.”

We had already carried some of the berry trees from the elf lands back to the village.

While it was difficult to raise a tree from a seed, the Ents were capable of moving fully grown trees.

And so even after these oranges had been picked, we would be able to pick more of them within a year.

I decided to take a few of the oranges and then returned to the town with Ecleshia.

“Oranges can be eaten as they are, but you can also make juice or jam out of them. And you can use them for all kinds of recipes as well.”

“Oh, I look forward to that.”

We said as we walked through the forest. It was then that a lone girl suddenly appeared from between the trees. She was an Ent.

Just like Ecleshia, Ents were capable of appearing while in this fairy-like form.

“Lady Ecleshia! To the west of here, people who are likely human have invaded the forest.”

Ecleshia looked at me and then asked,

“What did they look like?”

“They were all very small. Almost like dwarves.”

The dwarves lived in the east. And the demihumans of the alliance had been told to not go to the western part of the Ent forest. So it was hard to imagine that these were dwarves.

In that case, they must be human children.

The Ent continued in a frantic voice.

“They all look quite weakened… I didn’t want to drive them away, so I rolled some fruit in their direction while keeping an eye on them.”

“Thank you. I will go and see them.”

“I will go too. Take us there.”

Ecleshia said, and so the Ent started to run to the west.

Ecleshia muttered to me in an anxious voice.

“Hmm… Could this be the people from the southern city that you talked about before?”

“It is quite likely. Perhaps only the children were able to escape. Or maybe they are from Varthburg and just got lost.”

“In any case, we should hurry… Joshua, hold onto me.”

“…Huh? Woah!”

A vine hung down from a tree and then grabbed my arm and pulled me up into the air. And like that, I was carried through the forest.

Ecleshia almost looked like she was flying as she advanced.

“Joshua. Does it hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. This is quite convenient.”

“I am relieved then. Melk and the others thought this would be a good idea.”

“The children will likely enjoy it.”

“Aye. Thanks to that, the forest has been quite lively recently.”

Ecleshia answered. Just then, the Ent who was ahead of us said,

“We’re almost there!”

“I see. Let me down then.”

We arrived at our destination in no time, and so I started to walk towards the figures ahead of me.

When we got closer, I saw that there were children lying weakly on the ground.

And so I rushed towards them while being deliberately loud.

“Are you alright?”

“…Are-are you alright, mister?”

One of the children asked.

It was a girl who was no more than ten. Her face was red and she was panting.

The other children seemed to be a similar age, and there were about ten of them.

All of them looked very exhausted. They must have been running from the south after all.

“Don’t worry. Just wait a moment, and I will cast healing magic on all of you.”

And so I cast healing magic on the children who were lying on the ground.

For now, it healed all of their wounds. However, due to their fatigue and immense relief, they soon drifted off to sleep.

Ecleshia and the Ent then brought some blankets made of leaves and put the children on top of them.

“Thank you. Both of you. It seems like they are all safe for now…”

“Should we carry them to the village?”

“No, moving them might make their condition worse.”

“Then we will wait for them to recover here. I will make a small hut.”

“Very well. Then I will have the Ents gather some fruits.”

And like that, we decided to take care of the sick children.