Once the human had climbed onto my branch, catching him was no work at all.
I could move a branch and catch him, or tie him up with mana. The droplet was shy around strangers, but she knew how to fight.
But before taking a one-dimensional response, there was something to think about.
If I caught him, would there be no trouble afterward?
He said he had received a request, so a client must exist. If the backing behind that client was someone of high status, I might be pointlessly stirring up a hornet's nest.
If it was a noble, I'd be catching a noble's employee. Even if the bad intent came from their side, it'd be more than enough as a pretext to openly wield power.
More seriously, the investigator might not simply be an investigator.
He himself might think he was an investigator, but from a noble's perspective, it was possible he had been sent as an openly suspicious human while they waited for him to be caught, creating a pretext.
If so, catching him for no reason would make the situation extremely tangled.
Even though a suspicious human was wandering around right now, the village hadn't caught him. I could see that the elves were being careful too.
For now, I should send him off unharmed and tell the village chief what the human had investigated.
It'd be better for the whole village to put in all its effort than to repair the fence while half-doubting.
"Have I roughly looked over everything? I'm out of food too, so should I head back?"
The human sketched a map of the terrain and features, then climbed down from my body. He ate a handful of nearby fruit, stuffed some into his pocket as well, and left.
His back moved farther away.
Should I call the village chief?
Just as I was about to turn my gaze, I suddenly saw a familiar shape in front of the human.
A small beast with white, fluffy fur.
Its snow-white snout twitched. A mana stone was chewed with a munching motion.
Waaah, it's a rabbit I know.
The human pushed through the thicket and discovered the rabbit.
"A rabbit. I needed food anyway, huh?"
His eyes stared fixedly at the rabbit's snout.
The mana stone was chewed and disappeared into its mouth.
"Huh?!"
His eyes went wide.
"The open-pit mine really existed?!"
The human swallowed dryly.
"F-first, collect evidence."
His trembling hand hurriedly drew a dagger.
The rabbit stopped eating and looked at him quietly.
The dagger was raised and thrown. Its trajectory aimed for the rabbit. The red rabbit eyes looked at the dagger, then its body tilted slightly to the side. The dagger grazed past and stuck into the fallen leaves.
"Hm?"
For an instant, the white shape disappeared. The rabbit's form sprang up and rammed into the human's abdomen. A shockwave burst out.
"Guhk!"
The human jolted, and drops of blood flew. The man collapsed and rolled through the fallen leaves.
The rabbit landed calmly.
After finishing the rest of the mana stone, it approached the human. Its small hind foot kicked fallen leaves backward. Leaves showered over the human's head.
Satisfied, the rabbit hopped away.
Wa, waaah. The rabbit's incredibly stroong.
A while later, the human coughed blood.
"What kind of rabbit is that?"
My thoughts exactly.
It seems the news from the village meeting about people losing to a rabbit was true.
The human rose while clutching his abdomen and looked around the ground. Mana stone powder was carefully picked up. His eyes grew hazy as he examined the powder.
"In that case, a mere slave caravan's request isn't important. If I can report the existence of an open-pit mine to the local lord alone, a noble title isn't just a dream."
I see. So it's a greedy resource.
—Wait. That doesn't sound like good news.
Will formed into language arrived, ignoring the distance.
The human staggered as if pressed down.
He barely regained his balance, then looked around in shock.
"Who are you!"
Should I catch him for now?
When I gave the signal, the droplet girl who had secretly followed him moved. The mana net I had given her just in case spread across the sky.
The human's eyes widened, and the net covered his body.
"You cowardly elf bastards!"
His hands flailed and pushed the net away. The hooks of the net tangled with his clothes and snared him.
"If you're going to fight, fight fair! You pointy-eared bastards who only know how to shoot bows!"
I don't know exactly how severe that is, but it sounds like very bad language. I learned a vulgar word that wasn't in the dictionary.
The droplet giggled and threw the spare net. When his reaction grew fiercer, she laughed even more happily and threw another net.
She looks truly happy. I'm worried about her future. Will this be all right......?
The droplet, who had been doing that for a while, suddenly paused. At some point, the human had stopped reacting. The droplet girl tilted her head in confusion.
Was he pretending to be dead?
When I looked inside, the human wasn't breathing.
Waaah?
His hand, still clutching his abdomen to the end, entered my view.
His internal organs had ruptured.
The lord of all creation had lost to a rabbit and died.
Waaah?
***
"He investigated this much."
Village chief Eldrin checked the human's possessions. When he reached everything from population analysis to a terrain map, he clicked his tongue.
"You said the client was a slave caravan?"
—Yes.
"That is good news."
Eldrin sank into thought.
"I asked acquaintances in a nearby city to send regular news, and I heard there is a slave caravan scheduled to pass along the route this early winter. It seems to be that one."
Waaah, so this is how one becomes a village chief.
"It is good that we learned in advance. I was wondering how to balance winter preparations and defense against plunder, but now we can respond exactly according to the size of their forces."
Eldrin hoisted the corpse onto his back. He looked back at Termia, who had been peeking from behind.
"The weather will grow cold and winter will come now, so help Lord Tree avoid freezing. Find tree-care methods in my study and read them. That will leave you short on hunting time, so I will tell them to let you take food from the village storehouse."
"Ah, yes!"
Waaah, he gave her a plausible, minor duty and naturally supported her with food. It must be extremely hard for an orphan to get through winter alone.
I don't think just anyone can be a village chief.
Eldrin left.
Termia stood on tiptoe and watched his back.
"That corpse is the suspicious human?"
—Yes.
"How did he die?"
How should I put it?
—He was hit by a rabbit.
"What?"
The girl made a stunned expression.
***
The weather grew chilly.
Even in autumn, I hadn't felt it, but now I really could feel the cold.
Along with the passing season, my soul grew.
【Lightning-Struck Sapling Lv.6】
Exp: 0/6,000,000
[Influence Radius]
33,050cm → 39,450cm
The gravestones that had seemed endless came to an end.
A peaceful forest spread out.
At the edge of my vision, a house covered in autumn leaves came into view.
Village chief Eldrin was sitting at a yard table and looking down at a map.
Waaah, it must be the village chief's house.
I could see arrows drawn on the map. Words were written like supplementary explanations.
Is it a battle plan? This word is, well, I memorized it, but I can't quite remember.
I quietly consulted the copied dictionary.
Ah, right. Preemptive strike.
The arrows led outward from the village.
He plans to ambush the slave caravan in return.
It seemed the operation went through the village meeting. The next day, Termia came and told me about it.
"I've been assigned to stay behind and stand watch. Some combat personnel will remain, but most will leave, so it's an important role where I discover an enemy attack in advance and inform the village."
—You've been entrusted with a responsible task.
"Yes."
Termia agreed seriously.
"So, if it's not rude, may I watch the surroundings from here? The village chief said it'd be good to climb a large tree and look down."
—I don't mind. But what's that in your hand?
I saw a pigeon trapped in a wooden cage.
The pigeon cooed.
"He gave it to me so I could get familiar with it in advance. If I discover an enemy attack, I write the size of their force on a note and send it to the village."
Termia placed the cage on a stone. She took grain from the small bag at her side and put it into the cage.
"Here, try eating."
The pigeon cooed and ate.
"This child is very smart. Watch carefully."
Termia cleared her throat.
"If you have ten fruits and eat one, how many fruits are left?"
The pigeon cooed.
—Waaah, it answered correctly.
"It's very smart."
Termia agreed seriously.
Then, perhaps finding herself funny, she giggled.
"In any case, since that's how things are, I'll practice climbing for a while."
—Yes. Coming down quickly is important too, so practice both evenly.
"That's true too."
Time passed.
Before long, early winter arrived.
If clouds descended to the ground, it felt like snow rather than rain would fall.
The gentleness of spring, the splendor of summer, and the many colors of autumn had all passed, and winter had come.
Autumn fruits disappeared, leaving only a winter grassland. Half the autumn leaves had fallen, and bare branches shyly revealed themselves.
When I lowered my gaze, I saw a familiar neighbor.
The pink flower is still blooming.
I had linked the pink flower with the yellow flower field in my mind, but maybe that was a limited perception. The pink flower simply blooms here. Even when the seasons change.
"I brought insulating cloth!"
The girl ran over.
She was holding rolled-up cloth.
"If we wrap it around your trunk, you won't be cold in winter."
My trunk was wrapped round and round. The cold feeling clearly lessened.
—Waaah, did you weave this long thing alone?
"Yes!"
The girl nodded, then paused and added,
"An older girl I know did."
Ah, I see.
—Please thank her for me.
My gratitude to an elf whose face I don't know.
"How is it?"
—It's very warm. I can feel the affection of the person who made it.
"Her skill really is amazing."
Termia looked pleased, then unwrapped the cloth.
"When today's operation ends, I'll wrap it around you again."
—Let's do that.
After hiding the cloth in the grassland, the girl checked her supplies.
"Bow, arrows, pigeon, note."
The preparations were complete.
Termia climbed my trunk. She settled on the thick branch we had chosen in advance.
"The goal is to keep the village safe until the forces return in the evening."
A hair tie was held between her lips. Both hands gathered her golden hair and tied it.
"Prioritize reporting over combat."
The girl slowly inhaled and exhaled.
"Good."
Her gaze watched the forest beyond.
Her alert posture continued from morning.
The village chief must have judged it safe enough to decide on an ambush, but I think it's good to prepare without carelessness.
The wind tickled my leaves.
The long shadows of the world stood upright.
Noon came.
"Are those people?"
The girl stretched her neck and narrowed her eyes. When she seemed about to fall, I quietly supported her with a branch.
—Do you see something?
"Five mercenaries. They look human."
Waaah?
A while later, the mercenaries entered my field of vision. Armed humans carefully walked through the autumn forest while watching their surroundings.
Voices whispered.
"There's no sign of anyone."
"Is it already over?"
"Aren't we too late? Captain, this-"
"Quiet. We're nearby, so shut your mouths. We might be early."
The conversation disappeared before I could hear much.
Is that person the captain?
I examined the possessions inside his clothes. There was a dagger, medicinal herb powder, and an identity tag. He really was a mercenary.
I examined his various pockets.
In the pocket at his chest, I found a folded map. It wasn't a simple map. It was a map with an operation plan and a long explanation written on it.
It feels wrong to evaluate it this way, but the written vocabulary seems very low-class. Is this practical mercenary vocabulary?
His handwriting was bad too, so it was difficult to read, but I somehow managed by comparing it with the practical language dictionary.
So it's an operation based on the premise of an elf village being attacked by slavers.
While the slavers and the village fought, they planned to infiltrate from behind, grab people, and run.
There was even a backup plan to pretend to be lost mercenaries if their timing didn't match the attack.
Since the details on the slavers' side were vague, they didn't seem to be on the slavers' side. It seemed they were mercenaries who happened to hear about the attack plan and came for a windfall.
All sorts of people come here.
I checked the mercenaries' level of armament, possessions, and identity tags.
—That's the situation.
"I see!"
Long contents were written on the note with a swish, swish, swish.