When spring came, the forest stretched awake.
Sprouts rose through the soil and basked in sunlight, and moss grew to wrap around trees. On bare branches without leaves, spring flowers bloomed alone.
"A beautiful sight."
The crown prince muttered while leaning against me.
—You think so too. I like watching the scenery around me from here. The sight of sunlight falling between the leaves in the morning, and shadows covering rocks at night.
The crown prince blankly watched the scenery. Within that scenery, the droplet girl lay on a blade of grass and watched this way.
"Tree, hm, what would be good to call you?"
—A title isn't important. Call me whatever feels comfortable.
"There is a name that comes to mind, but it is embarrassing, so I will comfortably call you Tree."
—A good idea.
The crown prince thought blankly.
"Tree, what do you think of me? I would like you to tell me honestly."
I had never thought deeply about it.
If I had to speak honestly......
—A person raised nobly, lacking understanding and respect for others? A person addicted to self-pity, who merely spends time without improvement or growth?
The crown prince whipped around to look at me. His expression was shocked.
"Is that not too, too harsh?"
—I thought about softening it. But I felt you had never heard it from anyone else and probably wouldn't in the future, so I tried saying it once.
I let out a laugh. Is this what it feels like when Termia plays pranks?
—Now that you hear it, doesn't it feel new?
The crown prince laughed hollowly.
"It truly does feel new."
His gaze returned to the scenery.
"Did you hear it from Velesa? I just came after apologizing. I certainly did not have any vile intent, but looking back, I spoke ambiguously. I was thoughtless. And so, as the price, I was hit one more time."
The handprint on his cheek was clear.
Waaah?
I see. If the two of them already finished talking, there's nothing more for an outsider to say.
—Then I'll correct it to a person raised nobly, whose understanding and respect for others are slow.
The crown prince laughed hollowly.
"How very grateful."
Then he looked at the droplet girl sitting on a blade of grass.
"......That little girl did lead me here, but I do not have any worries I particularly need to speak of."
His eyes soaked in the past.
"I can now stand before my younger brother's grave without crying, and I have grown calm enough to pass Father without getting angry when we meet. It has already been ten years since my younger brother died. What leads my current life is not my younger brother, but the pasts I chose."
People aren't strong enough to stay immersed in one emotion for a span of time long enough for rivers and mountains to change.
Even vengeance and hatred end up being forgotten in the pleasure of a breakfast eaten one day.
"How did it come to this?"
The crown prince sank into thought.
"I have come too far to turn back."
I didn't particularly intend to interfere with his muttering, but still.
—What has come too far?
"My situation."
The crown prince muttered self-mockingly.
"I threw away ten years by wasting time. How can I recover those years? I have come too far."
Is that so?
—Why do you think you need to recover them? The past can't be turned back in the first place. Just as, even if you realize late that you misspoke, what you can do is not gather the past back up, but meet the other person and apologize.
I called the droplet girl with will.
The droplet flew over and poked the mark on the crown prince's cheek.
"Ugh! It feels bruised, so do not do that."
The crown prince recoiled in fright.
—In my opinion, you're prepared to live without recovering those ten years. Acknowledging your mistake and going to get hit isn't something just anyone can do.
"......Those are pleasant words."
The crown prince smiled bitterly.
—Of course, I don't like how hard you're enjoying self-pity right now. I can see the childishness of someone raised precious, so I find it unfortunate in many ways. Creating a sad atmosphere and waiting for the other person to comfort you really does make it seem like you wasted ten years.
"What?"
The crown prince went blank for an instant.
He stammered for a while, then whipped around.
"Are you not suddenly making a person too, too ashamed?"
—But acting spoiled toward a neighborhood tree really is embarrassing. I think it'd be very embarrassing to mention elsewhere.
"No, you are not a neighborhood tree, you are...... phew."
The crown prince swept a hand over his face.
"You play severe jokes."
I let out a laugh.
—Still, now you agree that you're a person addicted to self-pity, who merely spends time without improvement or growth, right? Or would you like to try correcting this one with all your might too? One slap to the cheek might solve it.
"How very motivating."
The crown prince rubbed his cheek. Perhaps it really was bruised, because his cheek twitched in pain.
The crown prince blankly looked at the scenery for a while, then slowly asked,
"......What do you think I should do?"
—What do you think you should do?
As if he had wanted to say it all along, the answer came immediately.
"I should do the studying and training I have neglected."
After muttering it again, the crown prince brushed himself off and stood.
He dusted off the soil, looked back, and glared half playfully.
"I will surely avenge the prank I suffered today. Be prepared."
—Waaah, how frightening. I'll look forward to it.
The crown prince snorted a laugh.
"Look forward to it. Even if the results are slow."
Then he turned.
"I will be going now, sacred tree."
His footsteps grew distant.
The droplet secretly followed after him.
Before long, his back disappeared.
He's gone.
After watching that direction for a while, I quietly said,
—I think you can come out now.
My leaves rustled.
Termia, with leaves stuck to her head, groaned as she climbed down.
"I should have just left. I panicked and climbed up for no reason."
—Yes. The conversation became much longer than expected.
Because the droplet suddenly brought the crown prince, Termia, who had originally been talking with me, could neither leave nor do anything but hide.
"I don't know whether it was all right for me to eavesdrop."
Termia looked embarrassed.
"I didn't know that nuisance's inner thoughts would be that complicated. People really should be looked at deeply."
He's still a nuisance. Well, that's true.
"Still, even if we have to wait and see, if he stops being a nuisance, I can at least stop myself from shooting an arrow into his butt when I return."
Termia spoke as if showing generosity.
"And it feels wrong for me to say this and that about something Big Sister Velesa already settled."
—Actually, I don't think there's a need to worry about Velesa. She's someone who can catch wolves alone.
"Right. Her taste is sewing, so she's a seamstress, but even her hunting itself is among the top in the village."
As she spoke, Termia quietly added as if it were an important fact,
"I caught a wolf alone too, though!"
The girl giggled.
"But the nuisance calls you sacred tree. That feels good in its own way. Which is better, holy tree or sacred tree? I'm more attached to holy tree because I named that one, though."
Waaah? You named it?
Termia narrowed her brow and thought.
—Please don't worry about that. Holy tree was an act.
Ah, right.
—The lord's castle has finished sending large numbers of people, and the migrants seem to have assimilated to some degree, so isn't it about time to tell the village the truth?
The girl glanced at me, then pretended not to hear.
—Excuse me......?
***
I read a book in the village chief's study.
There really is a huge difference in taste and production between wild fruits and selectively bred fruits.
Enduring winter on only wild fruits may truly have been a slapdash method.
—You'll help with land reclamation once Termia brings seeds back, right?
When I asked, the stone girl nodded indifferently.
—Thank you. If you reduce your sleep and work for us, everyone will be comfortable.
......Waaah? Now that I said it, the nuance isn't very good.
But it's true that the stone really does sleep all day. I suppose I can't help wanting her to get along well with other people too.
I tried looking for the droplet to speak to her as well, but I couldn't see her within my territory.
I heard the crown prince was learning swordsmanship from his guard and receiving homework from Teacher, so perhaps watching that is fun.
Everyone has things to do. I feel like I'm the only one free.
Though it's normal for a tree to be free.
Unlike me, who was free, I was worried about whether Termia, who hurriedly left for the city, would be all right.
The lord had abandoned the territory and marched on the capital, so there was no way public order nearby would be properly maintained.
The sacks of flour they had been unable to eat and only piled up were also a massive amount, as expected of support from the lord's castle. It was perfect for bandits to see and target.
Would she have arrived by now? Is it too soon? Is she in the middle of the road?
At the very least, I want to see where she is.
Suddenly, my will reached somewhere outside my territory.
It was the wooden bow made from my body and now far away.
Waaah?
The surroundings of the wooden bow entered my sight. Though narrower than my original range, it was wide enough to see roughly what needed to be seen.
In the middle of a road between forests, carts loaded with sacks of flour were moving in a line. Elf village guards armed with bows and swords surrounded the carts and escorted them.
In one large cart, treated as if it were being protected, Termia and Teacher the elf were sitting.
Unlike the other personnel, who were walking or watching the surroundings, they seemed to be moving comfortably.
Termia's position in the village is higher than I thought. I didn't expect her to sit in the same place as the elite Teacher.
Termia groaned as she read a bundle of papers.
"Before a vassal performs benevolence and charity, he must be careful whether he is offending his lord's temper. Increasing honor and spreading fame through wealth is nothing but greed and usurpation, an attempt to surpass the lord's name, and if one truly desires loyalty, it is right to spread that honor and fame in the lord's name?"
Waaah?
Does that mean if you show off your name through good deeds, your superior may hear of your high reputation and find you insolent, so you must be careful?
"Isn't that living in too harsh a world? Teacher, you wrote this yourself, right? Do you live thinking like this?"
Teacher clicked his tongue.
"Stop complaining and memorize it all. The morality of a person and the way of getting along in the world are different, so those who can't distinguish the two don't live long."
Termia groaned.
"This is just meant to broaden the range of my thinking through extreme assumptions, right? Because I still lack this wide and varied perspective?"
"It seems your head isn't unteachable."
Teacher smiled and looked satisfied.
"There aren't many who grow jealous just because a subordinate earns fame through good deeds. However, if you want to immediately recognize the reason and think of how to use it when you discover a similar case in a rival, you must put these perspectives into your head beforehand."
"Ah, my head hurts. For now, I read today's amount, so I'll finish reading the history book."
Excuse me, you two.
As far as I know, I heard this was literacy study, but what you just did isn't literacy study, is it?
I'm not sure this is right.
Termia began reading not the bundle of papers, but a thick book. Perhaps the vocabulary written there was difficult, because she flipped through a noble vocabulary dictionary as she read.
Waaah? That's a noble vocabulary dictionary.
While Termia read, I began copying the dictionary.
It was something I had done a few times, and thanks to manipulating solid mana for amusement and becoming more skilled in crafting, I could copy the dictionary quickly.
A thick solid-mana dictionary was placed on a branch.
Woohoo, I obtained a noble vocabulary dictionary.
I've become a sma-art sapling who can exchange letters with nobles.
However, the journey wasn't entirely smooth.
Before long, the peaceful atmosphere quickly ended.
"Attack!"
An armed group rushed out from the forests on both sides and charged.
With their sturdy armament and the identity tags inside their clothes, no matter how one looked at them, they were mercenaries, but right now they were simply bandits.
The elves, who had already noticed the attack, calmly shot arrows. Prepared shields were raised, and the mercenaries closed the distance in an instant.
Wa, waaah. This is serious. Many people will die.
Termia examined the mercenaries.
"The captain......"
A vicious-looking man shouting and pointing from behind.
The bow I gave her was quickly aimed. The mercenary captain looked back, and their gazes met.
The bowstring was released. The bow's leaves twisted to adjust the trajectory, and the string flexed elastically to strengthen the power.
One trajectory split the air.
The mercenary captain opened his eyes wide and raised a shield. His body was hidden, and his remaining arm crossed over his vital points.
In slowed time, the arrow's trajectory headed toward the shield.
This will definitely bounce off.
I want to help, even if I have to cheat a little.
Since my Divinity level rose, should I try anything?
I poured will toward the arrow.
Mystery crossed space through the bow.
If I am truly a sacred existence, then the bow made from a part of me must also be sacred.
If the bow is truly sacred, then the arrow shot from that bow must also be sacred.
Part of the world, part of nature, part of me, show the result.
The wind blew.
The arrow touched the shield. With a tremendous roar, the shield was pierced. The mercenary captain was skewered and dragged away, crashing into a tree.
A shockwave rang out.
The shattered tree fell with a thunderous crash.
Dust rose.
Silence spread over the battlefield.
Gazes gathered on the source of it all.
The girl blinked with a blank expression.
"Ah......?"
Woohoo, a hundred shots, a hundred hits.