CH 34

Chapter 34: New Wind

Guiding Selene and Sana to their respective tree stump seats, Gee starts the class about the sacred tree in a happy mood.

“Sacred trees are one of our most precious materials.”

Gee swings the white wooden stick―― the sacred tree branch, as if it was a sword. And, as if reacting to its master’s will, the branch glows blue, leaving a trail of afterglow behind along the trajectory.

“How’s it? Pretty cool, right?!”

“Not really?”

Selene’s answer left Gee’s heart crumbling. If it was actually a giant sword or something, it’d have a bigger impact on Selene for sure, but from her perspective, it just looks like he’s swinging a big glowstick.

“O- oh, right. I forgot that you’re a human…… Alright! I’ll show you just how cool this bad boy actually is then!”

Returning to his energetic self, Gee stands in front of a nearby tree. The tree’s pretty small when compared to other trees nearby, but it’s still thick enough that an adult needs to stretch their arms out just to hug it fully.

“Here I go!”

As if responding to Gee’s call, the sacred tree branch emits an even stronger radiance. A whitish-blue light wraps around the branch and transform into a shape of a sword.

“Lightsaber!?”

“What are you talking about? Well, just watch.”

Gee hums and swings the sword of light around like a baton before firmly holding it with two hands.

“Wrrraaaaaaghhh!!”

Letting out his warcry, Gee swings the branch horizontally. In the next moment, the thick tree is cleanly cut through. The tree creaks and falls with a loud noise.

“That’s about it.”

『Oooh, that is certainly amazing!』

“Coolー!”

Selene applauds, and Butler marvels at the sacred tree branch’s power. Cutting through the tree this cleanly in one swing isn’t a feat anyone can do, no matter how absurdly strong their arms are.

“Inhuman, feat!”

“Well, yeah, I guess. I’m an elf after all……”

She wants to say that it’s a feat no human could achieve, but since Gee is not a human in the first place, he doesn’t know how to reply to that compliment. Still, he gets that it’s a compliment nonetheless, so he smiles brightly, showing his white teeth.

“That stick, sword, not is, why, can cut?”

“You sure are dumb, eh? Sacred tree branchs are basically swords to us.”

“You’re the dumb one here. That doesn’t explain anything at all.”

Sana, who’s sitting next to Selene, mutters, seemingly already fed up with him.

“Selene-sama, let me explain on behalf of my dumb chief over there. Every tree in this White Forest has magic power in it, and the branches from the strongest and longest-grown tree are what he’s using, that’s what we call a sacred tree.”

“Haaa.”

Even with Sana’s easy-to-understand explaination, Selene isn’t really interested in this sacred tree thing. It doesn’t matter to Selene whether the elves use sticks or swords.

“And because the sacred tree branch already contains a great deal of magical power, if the wielder knows how to use magic, it can be transformed into a very powerful weapon, just like Gee did earlier.”

“I’m bad at precise control though. Sana’s much better than me in that field.”

“Well, yeah.”

Sana proudly puffs up her chest. If we’re talking about purely combat abilities and who has more magic in their tank, Gee’s the winner here, but when it comes to controlling magic precisely, no one’s better than Sana.

『That makes sense now. I was curious about the arrow that restrained me, surely that was ivy from a plant hardened with magic.』

Butler recalls that moment when he was bound. That arrow is probably not an ordinary wooden arrow, but vines from that sacred tree that they mentioned. When she shot it out of her bow, she hardened it with magic, and by remotely releasing her magic, it returned to its vine state, and then she hardened it again, that’s probably what happened.

“Humans use iron swords, right? Us elves don’t need stuff like that. I have this bad boy right here after all.”

Said Gee as he releases the magic from the branch. The blue phosphorescent light disappears, at it reverts back to being just a normal white stick again. According to Gee, even in this state, it’s still stronger than iron or steel.

『I see. This answers many questions I had about the lives of the elves.』

“What, mean?”

『When I was observing the elves in the village, I found out that all of them use wood-based tools and whatnot. That makes sense now; if they have this much tough, water- and fire-resistant wood, they would have no need for iron tools.』

“I see.”

Butler’s very satisfied with his new knowledge, yet Selene just brushes Butler’s explanation aside. Selene is, after all, a creature that only seeks bodily pleasure, she has almost no interest in intellectual stuff. Rather than listening to boring lecture, deepening her friendship with Gee is more important.

“Sacred tree, want.” (Shinboku)

“Hmm? You want one for yourself too?”

She’s trying to say, ‘Let’s deepen our friendship’ but both Gee and Sana couldn’t possibly know that.

“Hmmmm…… I don’t think human can use our sacred tree, given how little magic they have.” (Gee)

“Just a small one is fine. Think of it as giving her an amulet or something.”

“Can’t help it then. Just a small one, alright?”

Said Gee as he takes something out from his pocket and hands it over to Selene. It’s a tiny pure white flute, a little bigger than Selene’s hand.

“This is my signal flute, it’s made from a sacred tree. I have spare ones, so it’s yours.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Selene accepts the flute from Gee. It’s her custom to take whatever she can get for free. 

“How about you give it a try? You have magic power just like us, so you might be able to use it too.”

“Okie.”

Selene grips on the pure white flute, concentrating her mind.

“Ramen, somen, copenhagen……”

Selene starts reciting her own unique chant, something she hasn’t been doing much lately.

Due to various events that kept coming her way, Selene had to mobilize the few brain cells she had to deal with those events, so she completely forgot that she was born into a world with magic. But now she remembers that she used to want to try casting spells and other magical stuff.

But she couldn’t cast a spell back then, no matter how hard she tried, so she’s given up for a while now. However, she now has this sacred tree, and perhaps she, like Gee, can create a cool-looking sword as well.

“Not, working……”

But reality is harsh. The white flute in Selene’s hand remains unchanged, it doesn’t even make a sound.

“Can’t help it then. Elves and humans have different amount of magic after all……”

“W-, wooooogh!”

Interrupting Sana, Selene cries out in fury. This goddamn flute, how dare you get people’s hope up just to let them down later? Selene, now enraged by the flute, swings it around left and right.

『Princess, please don’t be so reckless……』

“Yaaaargh!”

Although Butler tries to gently warn Selene, she’s too worked up to hear him. She single-mindedly grips the flute even harder. Since it’s rod-shaped, if she squeezes it hard enough, something’s going to come out eventually. Such a dumb train of thought runs through her small brain.

“It’s out!”

After pouring her heart and soul into it, Selene’s finally able to release her magic! At the tip of the flute, a small blue light blade comes out, but it’s as small as a candle’s flame.

“……Tiny.”

It’s kinda…… depressing. Selene speaks out her thoughts frankly. It’s very inferior when compared to Gee’s over-a-meter-long light sword that could cut through thick trees easily. Her sword couldn’t be classified as a lightsaber, it was more like a light paper knife.

“W-, well, yeah…… we all have things we’re good and bad at, don’t think too much about it.”

“H- he’s right. And the sacred tree itself already has the property to ward off evil magic. You don’t need to try too hard to turn it into a weapon.”

『You have no need for barbaric tools such as weapons Princess. This Butler will always be the sword you can wield anytime.』

“Sniff……”

Everyone tries to comfort half-crying Selene, but their kindness hurts Selene even more.

“Uwaah! Gee you idiot! Go die!”

Selene runs away as she cries. It’s not really Gee’s fault though, she’s just throwing a tantrum at this point out of jealousy.

“Ah, please wait Selene-sama! Gee! I’ll snap your stupid stick in two later!”

“Haaah!? You’re the one who told me to let her use the sacred tree!”

Gee and Sana begin to blame each other, causing a large commotion, which causes the elves in the surrounding area to gather, forming a crowd. And, in the midst of all the chaos, the friendship-deepening session come to an end without the word “friendship” being mentioned even once.

A few hours later, after her head cooled down, Selene apologizes to Gee for shouting at him, and after a long overdue, she finally somehow managed to tell him that she actually wants to deepen friendship with the elves. Gee and Sana turn to look at each other, whispering something, but Gee replies only with “I’ll think about it.“

Although Selene get to keep the sacred tree flute as sourvenior, she still hasn’t heard from them yet that she’s welcome to visit them again in the future, making her somewhat dissatisfied. Still anxious, Selene comes up with a plan in her mind.

① Return to Helifalte for the time being, and calls the dragon over somehow.

② Next, tell Arue about the plan and guide her, pretending to be kidnapped by the dragon and getting sent back to the elf village again. As for what and how she will explain the situation to the dragon, she’ll come up with it somehow when the time comes.

③ After that, somehow stay in the elf village.

That’s about it. As you can see, most of the plan consists of the word ‘somehow’ in it. Most of the plans that Selene has come up with in the past always have the word ‘somehow’ in them, and perhaps because of her good luck, she has also somehow managed to live with it this far, so she isn’t really that concerned about it.

By the way, this way of thinking is considered ‘leaving it to chance’ or ‘happy-go-lucky’ by most people, but for Selene, it’s a well-thought-out plan.

『Considering the relationship between humans and elves, it’s no wonder why they respond the way they did. Things don’t always go smoothly.』

While Selene isn’t satisfied with the vague reply she got from the elves, Butler tries to sooth her. But since Selene wants to return to the elf village as soon as possible, she’s going to force her way through and get the deal set in stone.

The next few days passed without any incident, and Selene’s just indulging in the luxurious life as usual, until the last night she could stay in the elf village finally arrived.

The elves prayed for Selene’s safe return, so a large celebration was held. Dinner consists of various fresh fruits, and the party is centered on a massive bonfire. Around the bonfire, young elven girls begin to perform their traditional dance. Butler watches the rarely seen traditional dance of a different culture with great interest, while Selene’s eyes only reflect the breasts of the young elven girls.

Watching Selene look at the elf girl so intensely as if she were going to devour them, Gee pats his own chest. Gee’s still anxious about whether or not the humans will accept the elf way of life, but this young girl besides him doesn’t seem to worry about it at all.

“Selene, you really…… want to come here again?”

“Un, with nee-sama.”

“Hmm……”

Feigning indifference, Gee sits cross-legged while looking at the dancing elven girls, but the entirety of his mind is currently occupied by the young human girl next to him.

‘Is she seriously trying to establish an exchange with us elves?’

While Selene’s engrossed in watching the girls’ breasts, Gee looks at her profile, his expression seemingly trying to pry into her mind.

“……Did the dragon bring you here for that purpose?” 

“Eh?”

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

Elves worship dragons. Although they don’t know what’s on the dragon’s mind, at least they know that the dragon definitely knows what it’s doing. Of course, it’s just that the elves decided to worship dragons as apostles of god on their own accord. The dragons don’t actually do anything for the elves, and the elves didn’t ask anything from them either.

‘Still, what if the dragon is trying to do something that is in our best interest?’

Gee puts his hand over his mouth, thinking deeply. What if the dragon finally heard our prayers and decided to do something for us?

As the chief of the elves, the only thing Gee wants for his kinsmen is a ‘new wind’. Elven society is a meritocracy. That’s why Gee was appointed as the chief at such a young age. But unlike his old, conservative predecessors, what the young Gee wants is to see the outside world—the world that isn’t the White Forest.

Sure, the White Forest might be vast, but he has always wondered if there are other wonderful worlds that the elves have never seen before. For example―― the world of humans.

Gee takes off his shoddy iron pot on his head―― his crown, and looks at it closely. He obtained this object when he confronted one of the human adventurers and they dropped this. At the time, Gee was very surprised when he saw this pot.

For humans, this is just a worn-out pot that has past its prime, but to the elves, who have always used wood as materials and have no need to develop iron-making technology, something like this pot is a rare sight.

“Humans, huh……”

Gee mumbles to himself quietly so that Selene wouldn’t hear him. Is it really that the red dragon sent Selene to the elves to fulfill this wish of his?

A rare human that resembles the elves very much, has enough magic power to withstand the White Forest, and above all, wishes to have an exchange with them―― doesn’t this girl fit all the conditions above?

“It might not be all that bad.”

Humans are enemies who intrude on their territory, subjects of elimination. In the eyes of the elves who had dealt with adventurers before, humans are nothing but barbaric creatures. However, when Gee saw the young human girl behaving modestly while living in their village, he noticed that not all humans were like that.

They can gradually exchange and interact with each other by using Selene as a bridge between humans and elves. Such an idea is terrifying, but it also sounds very appealing. Fear and hope will always accompany you when you step into a new world.

In any case, they still must return this young girl to the humans. After that, surely this young girl will report about the elves to the humans. It’ll all be fine if they leave it in Selene’s capable hands. Gee strongly believes so. Gee gazes at the young girl besides him, who’s watching his people’s traditional dance with sparkling eyes.

He and his people will protect her at any costs, not only because their promise with the dragon, but also to protect the possibility that she’ll, one day, show them a new wide world, even if that possibility is slim―― Gee resolved himself.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Before we enter the White Forest, I have something to tell you all.”

At the entrance of the White Forest, Milano turns to face the members of Selene search party. Although there are less than ten of them in this party, including Milano, each of them is an elite. Actually, there were five times more applicants than this, but those with families, wives, and children to take care of are excluded as much as possible.

After all, controlling a large group of people would be difficult, and in the worst-case scenario, the elves would regard a large group of people as an invasion of some sort. Taking these factors into consideration, he decided to enter the White Forest with the fewest men possible.

Milano turns around to face the brave warriors who has volunteered go along with his selfishness. The application for joining Selene search party was conduct quietly and only within the castle perimeter. Although the King had already pardon him for this mistake, and in the extreme case, abadoning Selene would be the most beneficial to the nation, Milano still decided to go.

Still, the fact that more than a few dozen people volunteered to go surprised him. Selene might not be very well known to people outside the castle area, but those that live within the castle area all know her.

It’s not so surprising considering that she cooks and serves lunch to the prince almost every day, as if she were his lover trying to snuggle up to him. Selene herself is completely unaware of it, but those around her see her that way.

“As you all know, from this point on, it’s uncharted territory. Adventurers from Valbell have been actively trying to explore, but the results are unsavory.”

Milano speaks solemnly. It’s a mysterious place where no humans live from this point onward. Information regarding the creatures that lurk in the forest, or the elves, is nonexistent.

“I wish to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for following along with my reckless plan. Some of us have loved ones waiting for them at home, but you still show your unwavering loyalty by accompanying me. However, I cannot guarantee that you and I will return out alive.”

Milano speaks in a straightforward manner, neither threatening nor intimidating, but the expressions of the search party members remain the same.

“We are not adventurers. Our only goal is to rescue Selene. There is a high possibility that Selene is currently at an elf settlement, but I’m afraid we wouldn’t be welcomed by them. We should avoid fighting as much as possible, but when push comes to shove, I hope that you all will be ready.”

Milano and the team all knew how the adventurers from Valbell treated the elves, and how the elves treated said adventurers. It’s very likely that the elves regard the entire human race as their enemies.

“It will be a dangerous journey. If you feel that you’re not ready for this journey, you’re free to leave me, there will be no punishments if you decided to do so. I’ll not force you to come with me. If you wish to turn back, now is the time.”

This is Milano’s last confirmation of their will, his final ultimatum. In the worst-case scenario, if Milano has to go alone, then he will. But the brave warriors who have followed him this far have no intention to turn back, not in the least bit.

With their will confirmed, Milano felt apologetic and, at the same time, reassured. It’s very unlikely that Selene’s going to be where he’s heading to, but with his hand-picked elites, he definitely will be able to overcome this crisis. He believed so.

“Forward!”

As if to ward off the anxiety that’s creeping up on him, Milano orders the brave men to enter the White Forest with a loud and determined voice.