I sent the pigeon off.
"I think my work here is done. Even if I did something here, I don't think I could make a better report than this."
Termia wiped the sweat from her palms on her clothes.
—You've worked hard since morning.
Rather than moving quickly, the human mercenaries were concentrating on slowly grasping the atmosphere while watching every direction.
Maybe they thought the timing of the raid hadn't lined up, because they seemed intent on maintaining the excuse that they were lost mercenaries.
Were they hoping an elf from the village would just happen to find them naturally?
If they had arrived earlier than the raid, perhaps they intended to stay in the elf village and stall for time, then betray them once the slavers arrived.
Or were they thinking of kidnapping only the elves they encountered and running away?
There was no explanation like that on the operation map. Still, I think they must have planned about that much through conversation on the way or by reading the situation.
But we finished figuring out their inner thoughts a long time ago. What would begin when they met the elves wouldn't be conversation, but a shower of arrows.
Termia climbed down from my trunk.
"But when facing five humans, will they be able to catch them without taking any damage?"
—Wouldn't it be difficult to have none at all? Even if hunting is everyone's livelihood, hunting is different from combat.
If the mercenaries worked well together, it was hard to imagine finishing them cleanly without damage. If someone got excited and chased too far, it'd be no work at all for one of them to die to a counterattack.
The girl pondered.
"If we reduced them by one? No, by about two, wouldn't that help enormously?"
—That'd be good, but wouldn't it be dangerous?
"Looking for an angle itself seems safe."
—What kind of method is it?
The girl giggled without explaining.
"I don't think there's anyone in the world who could see you, Tree, and simply pass by."
***
Fallen leaves made sounds as they were stepped on.
The human mercenaries advanced slowly while watching every direction. Since there really wasn't even a sign of anyone, they were fully tense.
Suddenly, one mercenary noticed something strange.
"What's that?"
His finger pointed toward the far side of the sky. Beyond the view packed tight with yellow and red autumn leaves, the still-green top of a tree could be glimpsed.
Yes, that's me.
The distance at which we discover each other is hugely different. I guess elves and humans have a tremendous difference in eyesight.
Or is it simply the difference of being familiar with the neighborhood?
"Should we go up there once? It looks like we might be able to see the village situation."
The mercenaries who confirmed me brightened.
"Instead of doing this, let's check clearly and make the plan again. It's dangerous to draw weapons and enter when we don't know the situation at all."
"Right. Elves have filthy tempers, so when they're sensitive, they shoot arrows before you even approach. Captain, I don't see any isolated elves to grab, so let's just check once. I'll climb up."
"......Should we?"
The mercenaries moved quickly.
When they arrived at the clearing, the mercenary captain stopped at the edge of the forest. He frowned, then hid his body in the undergrowth. His gaze swept over the clearing.
"Tsk. Is it open on every side? What kind of tree stands in a position like that? If we all go, it'll be perfect for getting shot with arrows. You said you would climb up, right?"
His chin jerked as if telling him to go.
"What? Uh, I didn't know it would be in a position like that."
"So are you doing it or not?"
At his temper, the mercenary stood with an uneasy expression.
"If you have complaints, take this at least."
The captain handed over his hand shield as if being generous. It seemed fairly expensive, because the mercenary accepted it gratefully. The resentment that had just formed was gone from his face.
I see. Not just anyone can be a captain.
The mercenary came out of the undergrowth while staying alert. As he drew closer, he relaxed a little and looked up at me.
"What the hell is this size?"
His gaze swept between my branches. After checking whether anyone was hiding there, he rolled up his sleeves. The mercenary climbed my trunk.
Wa, waaah.
I have so many guests.
I guess I am a hotspot for reconnaissance.
Once he had climbed high enough, the mercenary looked toward the village. He gave a brief exclamation, as if he could see it all at a glance, then focused on understanding the village.
But you know.
I think when people live, they sometimes experience unavoidable consequences.
Even if taking one bite to check whether something is a poisonous mushroom looks truly foolish, in a desperate situation with no food, someone has to risk their life and try eating it.
Even if people do their best, they can die if their luck is bad. This is his own fault, though.
An arrow was shot from the undergrowth.
The arrow, fired from the exact opposite side of the mercenaries, cut through the air without a sound, hidden in the blind spot created by the enormous tree.
The arrow pierced the man's neck.
Drops of blood sprayed, and a sound like escaping air leaked out.
I hurriedly supported the corpse as it tried to fall. Various items slipped down and settled on my leaves.
From the undergrowth in the blind spot, Termia peeked her head out. When she confirmed the result, her face brightened as if she were about to cheer, but she quickly restrained herself and hid again.
I had wondered, but I think Termia has a lot of talent for archery. It makes no sense to hit something tens of meters away so easily after practicing hard for about a year.
After some time passed, the humans became noisy.
"Why isn't he coming?"
"Didn't he get hit by an arrow?"
"There wasn't anything like that, was there?"
The captain frowned.
"Don't make a fuss. Wait. The village situation might be too ambiguous to grasp with a quick look."
"Isn't he dead? He's taking too long."
The captain, who had been watching without taking his eyes away, grew irritated.
"If he were dead, the hand shield would have fallen. I didn't give him fixed armor, so why hasn't that round thing dropped?"
"Ah."
"If you're going to hold petty complaints, why don't you go check?"
His chin jerked in a half order.
The mercenary looked reluctant, then stepped out of the undergrowth. He glanced around and quickly ran toward the center. His gaze searched above the tree.
"Can you see something? Hey?"
No answer came back.
The anxious mercenary must have thought it was more dangerous to stand openly, because he climbed the trunk.
When he saw his comrade's legs between the branches, his expression brightened.
"Hey, why aren't you answering......"
A drop of blood fell and wet his forehead.
The mercenary flinched and raised a hand to touch his forehead. Red blood stained his fingers. His gaze blankly looked down at the blood.
"Ah......?"
There was the sound of an arrow.
His neck was pierced through, and a branch supported the corpse.
Termia seems to shoot calmly and well. Considering how she shot a wolf in the eye right away because she was startled when she met one for the first time, she has talent for hunting.
Some time passed.
"Why isn't he coming again?"
With the human's short question, conversation disappeared.
The remaining two looked back at the captain.
The captain swallowed dryly.
"This is strange. Something went wrong."
After agonizing, he stood while putting distance between himself and the clearing.
"We're going back."
"What?"
"I said we're going back."
His subordinates panicked.
"What about those two?"
"We can leave a note, can't we?"
"Ah-ha."
The captain scribbled out a note and tied it to a twig. Then he turned and ran without delay. His flustered subordinates hurriedly followed.
Are they leaving?
I watched their backs, then called Termia.
—They gave up and ran away.
A blond head peeked out from the undergrowth. She looked around, then walked out.
"They ran away?"
Termia thought it over.
"It's a shame, but chasing them alone would be hasty, right?"
—Yes.
"Then let's inform the village about this too! Since five have become three, it should be easy to resolve."
The girl looked around. Since the pigeon had been sent off, the only messenger who could quickly notify the village was the droplet.
But where did the droplet go again?
The droplet could be found in an unexpected place.
"What is that now?"
The fleeing mercenaries stopped.
Beyond the view dyed in autumn leaves, one round droplet was floating.
On her head she wore a horned helmet, and at the droplet's side she held a mana sword like a toothpick.
The droplet stabbed with the toothpick sword, swish, swish, swish. A falling autumn leaf was cut apart and scattered.
"What is that?"
The mercenaries' expressions turned bizarre.
The captain, searching his memory, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"Is that a familiar, by any chance?!"
"What? What's that?"
"It isn't an animal, but, no, that's not the point! Catch it right now before it calls a mage!"
The captain drew his sword and rushed in. The droplet giggled, then flew away in escape. His bewildered subordinates drew their weapons and ran with him.
Wa, waaah?
Why are you there?
The droplet and the mercenaries disappeared outside the range of my vision in an instant.
Waaah?
Whether the droplet had survived could only be confirmed after the elf pursuit party followed after them.
"When we found them, they were all dead."
The corpses, whose appearances were neat, each had a single small puncture wound in the throat. They were marks that seemed to imitate Termia's arrows.
Waaah?
When I looked back, the droplet flinched.
She transformed into the form of a girl, put her hands behind her back, and whistled. The bloodied toothpick sword was hidden behind her.
There's a liar heeere.
***
All life dies.
Maybe the expression "dies" itself was wrong.
After taking the shape of a person, becoming soil, growing as a plant, and being eaten again, perhaps life does not die at all.
So let us say death is returning to nature.
The humans returned to nature.
Since they were merely experiencing ahead of time something they would experience someday, I don't think there's any need to be greatly sad. It's also their own fault.
The subjugation of the slave caravan ended splendidly.
Perhaps because it was a surprise attack, it was a one-sided victory with few casualties on our side.
"The village chief said to tell him if there is anything you need from the list of spoils."
A list of items was placed by my base.
"Because the slave caravan also works as peddlers on the side, there are all kinds of things. Take your time looking. I'll wrap the cloth around you again."
Termia wrapped the insulating cloth around my trunk.
—Thank you. But is it all right to take everything like this? Won't it cause trouble?
"The slavers deserve whatever happens to them anyway. The reason my family could live safely in a human village was that humans themselves despise slavers. They aren't worth dealing with, more than a supply of meat."
The insulating cloth was tied in a knot.
"They say this slave caravan also had kidnapped humans of unknown identity, so they have to hand those over to the local lord. Whether they know or not that even if slave trading is legal, kidnapping is illegal."
Termia clicked her tongue.
I can see why she hates them.
I looked over the list of spoils.
—There are a lot of items, but I'm not sure.
"Is there nothing you need? Something you're lacking, perhaps."
Something I'm lacking.
—I want to make the droplet a younger sibling spirit. Is there anything that might help with that?
Termia tilted her head.
"I've been curious since before. What is a spirit?"
—A spirit is nature with intelligence.
Should I put it more concretely?
—I'm trying to grant intelligence to nature.
Termia went blank.
Silence flowed, then she said flatly,
"Isn't that not really something for a sapling from the local hill to do?"
So she had been worrying about that all this time.
—I think I misspoke then. It was the moment I met people for the first time, so I made a slip of the tongue.
"Ah, I knew it."
—I'm not just a sapling from the local hill.
That's right.
—I'm a mysterious ordinary sapling from the local hill.
This is correct.
"......"
Termia stared at me without speaking.
After doing that for a while, she simply straightened the insulating cloth meticulously.
"In any case, I'll tell the village chief. The village chief really knows a lot, so he might choose something that can help you, Tree."
—I hope so.
The next day, one spoil that the village chief had chosen and chosen again was delivered.
A deep-blue greed, a place where nature dwelled.
It was a lump of mana stone.
It's nature itself, I suppose.
***
I think I may have nagged a little too much.
When I looked at the droplet girl, both her cheeks were puffed out.
She had been like that since yesterday.
Sitting on a pink flower, she had spent all day only puffing out her cheeks without even looking at me. Anyone watching would think she was the spirit of the pink flower.
When I scolded her because I was worried, I guess I overdid it.
—Isn't it tiring to stay like that?
The droplet girl answered by whipping her body around and looking somewhere else.
Oh dear.
I chose my words slowly.
—I think I worried too much. I didn't know our droplet was that strong. Who would have known you would bravely punish those scary mercenaries even when they charged at you?
The droplet didn't particularly react. But I could feel that she was listening to me.
—I'm sorry I didn't know you. I'll apologize. So will you understand how I felt too? My worrying heart got ahead of me, and the nagging came out. I like you as much as you like me. My heart ended up running ahead of my head.
The tension left the droplet girl's shoulders. I could clearly feel that she had softened.
Still, I suppose it was hard to look back immediately because of her pride.
I lifted the mana cube with a branch. It was something I had asked Termia to dig out of the ground, not the sulking droplet.
—I'm going to make your younger sibling starting now. Are you not going to watch? If you get a sibling, you'll have to live together. You'll miss a moment that happens only once.
The droplet girl conflicted seriously. Bubbles bubbled up inside her watery body.
—How do you think you would have felt if I hadn't watched over you when you were born? Wouldn't it have been awkward to talk?
The droplet girl glanced sideways.
When I waited without saying anything more, she gave an exaggerated sigh as if she could not help it, then flew off somewhere.
The droplet girl who returned brought a plate-shaped stone.
A plate-shaped stone.
It was the special stone the droplet had given me as the first gift from her outing outside.
The plate stone was placed on the mana cube.
Her little hand pointed alternately at the stone and the cube. Then both arms hugged them tightly at the same time.
—You want to make it based on that stone?
The droplet girl nodded.
I seeee. Though she pretended she wasn't interested in a sibling, the droplet had been excited and had planned it all out.
It seems she really had been lonely.
Motivation blazed up.
All right, let's make her a sibling.
—Can you put the lump of mana stone on it too?
The mana stone was added on top.
I didn't know how I should make it, but I think I knew the feeling.
When we caught the self-proclaimed mana stone investigator, there had been a moment when the language was transmitted over distance the instant I felt we absolutely could not let him go.
Maybe that sensation was Divinity. Isn't that roughly right?
I inserted the lump of mana stone and the stone into the cube.
I concentrated my mind and gazed at the stone.
What words would be good to offer?
—I want you to become part of our family. I want us to play together, live together, and share happy times.
Will poured out.
The wind surged, and my leaves shook.
—Just as this world is beautiful, I hope your life will also be beautiful.
The cube trembled.
[A large amount of mana is being influenced by mystery.]
It floated up, then rotated slowly as it compressed.
At the center, the mana stone melted. The mineral mixed with the stone.
Memories made a mind, and the earth formed a body.
Its outer shape transformed and imitated the droplet.
[A small earth responds to mystery.]
All the mana swirled and condensed.
[Existence dwells within matter.]
Light burst out.
Inside the light, a round stone appeared.
Now, what shape do you like?
At this point, the droplet changed into all kinds of animals and decided on the form she liked. The droplet was a droplet. What about you?
The light faded.
The wind calmed, and my leaves settled.
The floating stone lost its mysterious feeling and dropped according to gravity. It hit a root at my base, bounced several times, then rolled across the grass. It bumped into a rock, wobbled, and stopped moving.
I waited for a change for a while.
Sunlight warmed the stone. A passing ant touched the stone with its antennae. Then it just passed by. Because it was a passing ant.
Waaah?
The droplet tilted her head.
Her gaze asked if this was right.
—Wait and see.
I shifted my gaze.
[You have acquired 【Solid Mana Spirit Manifestation】.]
【Solid Mana Spirit Manifestation】
Manifests solid mana in the form of nature. Grants a great advantage in the use of nature, but requires sincere affection and respect.
It says it worked......?
The droplet approached the stone. When she tapped it with a little hand, the stone rolled. When it touched a blade of grass, it stopped right there.
There was no will in its movement.
It's just a stone.
No way.
Can't it move?
Because it's a stone......?