CH 27

On the shore of the forest lake, a small bonfire was lit. Souya was leaning against the large tree, keeping a diary in his parchment notebook. He had already collected the necessary amount of night grass from the surrounding area, and all that was left was to return to Ilstadt and receive his reward at the adventurer’s guild.

Mia, who had completed the great task of rescuing Connie, the ghost boy, had fallen into a deep sleep in the evening. It would be better to let her rest tonight until morning.

Nearby, Merylou was playing the ocarina. In the grass around the area, the faint flickering of night grasses combined with the sound of the ocarina to create a fantastic scene.

“Phew …… I’m tired.”

“Good work.”

When Merylou finished playing the ocarina, took a breath, and sat down, Souya put down his notebook and pen and gave a small clap.

“That was amazing, Merylou-kun. Did you learn this in your hometown, Yggdrasil Forest, the Tree of Life?”

“No …… The ocarina itself came from my home village. I didn’t start playing it until I started traveling.”

“Oh, I see.”

“…… On my journey, I ran out of street money. I started playing the ocarina to earn some money …… Forest elf wood elf travelers like me are rare. That’s why, even though I’m not very good at it, I still get a lot of customers who stop by.”

“And now, thanks to that, you’re pretty good at it, aren’t you?”

When Merylou put away her ocarina, she made a little gesture of contemplation.

""

“Yes, I am. I guess I’ve improved a lot in two years ….. Souya, how old are you?”

“Thirty-seven this year.”

“…… I knew it, I really am than Souya. I spent a hundred years in my hometown. I’m 102 years old now. So I’ve only been traveling for two years.”

“That’s a long life. You’ve lived a long life, though you’re still on the younger side of the forest elf wood elves.”

“…… Yeah, they’re all over a thousand years old. When I was back home, I never thought that a hundred years was a long time. That’s how deprived we all are of ambition, living like we’re dead. We forest elf wood elves have accepted our fate of immortality and stagnation due to the restrictions of the Yggdrasil Tree of Life.”

Merylou looked down. Twenty years ago, Souya had heard from a Wood Elf he had been adventuring with that there was a constraint on the entire Wood Elf race, a geas of immortality and stagnation.

“Merylou-kun. You are here now, away from your home, the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil Forest. Are you going to reject immortality and stagnation? Are you going to choose the same fate as us humans?”

“Yes, I intend to …… Well, I’m not going to say that’s right. Accepting immortality and stagnation and protecting the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil, is the important mission of the Wood Elves. In the beginning, I was planning to return to my hometown as soon as I took a peek at the outside world …… But, I don’t think I can keep on living as if I were dead.”

She stretched out her arms and fell on her back with the grass as a pillow.

“The stars are beautiful here. We can also count them as they fall.”

When Souya looked up at the sky, he saw the stars shining brightly on the twin moons of the sixteenth night of the year.

“Hmm. It’s a spectacular sight.”

“Souya …… do you believe that Connie made it to her mother?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

Souya’s eyes, gazing vaguely at the night sky, caught sight of a meteor with a trailing tail.

The next morning. Souya woke up to the sound of the noisy voices in his foggy, waking head.

(Good grief …… what’s going on?)

When Souya rubbed his eyes, he reached for his glasses and put them on.

“Kyaa, Merylou-san, that’s cold!”

“Heh heh heh, take this!”

When Souya turned his attention to the voice, he saw Mia and Merylou bathing in the shallows by the lake.

By the way, I hadn’t taken a bath in a long time. … although I hadn’t. This situation is.

“…… Oh, Souya’s awake, too. Why don’t you come over here and take a dip?”

Merylou waved to Souya. She was in her natural state, with no clothes on either top or bottom. It is a shame that the body shape is not as good as it should be, as it is typical for wood elves.

(…… Culture is different)

Souya recalled the Wood Elf girl who traveled through the forest twenty years ago. Come to think of it, I wonder if there’s ever been an oddball in this tribe who would consider traveling the outside world. 

“Hey, Merylou-kun. You and I both don’t mind …… But It would be bad for Mia-kun.”

Souya smiled and held out his hands in the direction of the two people in the shallows.

“Ahhh …… S-Souya-san, don’t ……”

“I’m not looking.”

Soya responded immediately to Mia’s shaky voice, but Mia was right next to Merylou, so naturally she was in his line of sight.

The only thing that saved Mia was that she was wearing a thin sheet of cloth, but unlike Merylou, the goodness of her body’s growth, which was not suitable for her petite size, was a poison to Souya.

(…… Even if I’ve seen it, it’s probably not my fault. What do they say about these things, I believe?)

Souya pretended not to notice, leaned against the tree and took out the salted meat and lime that he had planned for breakfast.

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This is the end of chapter 2. Thank you for reading this far.

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