The girl only picked up her arrows and left.
So she's an elf. I can tell at a glance.
However, the girl's clothing was poor and ragged. She wasn't exactly like the noble elves of my imagination. Maybe I had carried a pointless prejudice.
For a while, I watched in the elf's direction.
The girl didn't enter my territory again. I waited to see if she would shoot an arrow wrong, but all was quiet.
Instead, I was able to watch a new demonstration from the droplet spirit after it finished going out.
A small water-colored girl aimed a bow with a serious expression.
A mana arrow was placed on a mana bow. A string made of water was drawn and released. The arrow flew weakly with a whoosh.
It grazed the target pebble and fell with a tap. It was where the other two arrows had already fallen.
A perfect reenactment.
The water-colored girl looked back with sparkling eyes.
Perhaps because it noticed I cared, it had been wearing its horned helmet tightly and going out often in the elf's direction lately. It seemed to have learned archery.
—Waaah, what a sharpshooter. You must be the greatest droplet sharpshooter in the world.
The spirit waved both arms and giggled.
Then it controlled water to make water arrows and shot the bow one after another. Water arrows flew with whooshes and struck the arrow spot exactly. Water splashed with soft slaps.
It really is a sharpshooter.
The droplet seemed to think archery was a game where one avoided the target and piled up arrows. If the elf girl ever saw it, wouldn't she be terribly embarrassed?
It was an awkward yet enjoyable spectacle, but another thought quietly came to me.
The droplet is surprisingly shy around strangers.
The spirit abruptly kidnapped the rabbit and often played mischievous pranks on hummingbirds and ants. But maybe that was possible because they were familiar beings.
If I thought about how curious it usually was and how it liked slightly naughty pranks, it should have done the same to the elf girl. A strange life-form that walked upright. What better prank target could there be?
But in reality, it was quiet.
For a person, if a flying droplet played with water and ran away, it would be natural to chase after it in bewilderment. The fact that the girl hadn't appeared until now might mean the droplet hadn't made contact at all.
Maybe it only hides and watches before coming back.
The water-colored girl looked back. She tilted her head, then stared at me. Did it sense even a hint of my feelings?
—It's nothing.
The droplet is shy around strangers.
It might feel embarrassed, so I should pretend not to know.
***
Time passed.
·Maximum Height
1,520cm → 1,920cm (Max)
·Capture Amount
Average 90/d → Average 120/d
My body had grown completely.
I'm a 20-meter sapling.
Within the area I could see, there were no trees taller than me. I'm breathing the highest air.
After some time, my soul grew too.
【Lightning-Struck Sapling Lv.4】
Exp: 0/4,000,000
[Influence Radius]
20,250cm → 26,650cm
Woohoo. Shall I look outside?
My field of vision widened, and the elf girl's practice place came into view at once.
I thought it would be a clearing, but it wasn't. It was only a straight area of weeds. I could see a board fixed to a tree at the end.
As I watched while refreshing myself with a dew face-wash, the elf girl arrived at the practice place from dawn.
Waaah. So diligent.
The girl seemed sleepy, because she yawned long and rubbed her eyes.
She alternated between looking at the target board and a flat tree root protruding nearby, rubbing her eyes, then simply flopped down on the root and took a nap.
Waaah?
The girl diligently took a nap.
Only after dawn passed and morning came did she wake, wiping away drool. She stretched, then took jerky from a small bag and ate it.
Then she discovered her slightly grown nails and carefully trimmed them with a small dagger. She spread her neat hands and examined them for a while, looking satisfied.
Only after that did the elf girl rise and pick up her bow.
The bowstring aimed at the target, and her expression became serious.
Isn't that exactly the same as what the droplet showed me?
The bowstring was released, and the arrow flew. It grazed the side of the target board and fell into the grass with a tap. It struck a wooden arrow that had fallen in a similar spot and made a sound.
Wa, waaah. I didn't know even the result would be the same.
The girl looked at the result with a sulky expression, then took out a new arrow.
Contrary to the joke-like result, fairly serious practice continued. Dozens of arrows aimed for the target. Half missed, but half struck the board.
Perhaps the result was not to her liking, because the girl crossed her arms and groaned. Then she steadied her heart and aimed the bowstring again. The sound of arrows split the air.
Morning passed, and noon arrived.
The girl took a few pieces of jerky and some medicinal herbs from her bag, chewed them, stretched flexibly once, and aimed the bowstring again.
Waaah? Is she doing this all day?
The droplet, which had come out at some point, clung to a blade of grass while pretending to be dew and watched the practice. It was skillful camouflage, as if it had done this many times. As expected, it was shy around strangers.
But since it was wearing a horned helmet, it was not dew-like at all. You're horned-helmet dew right now. You don't exist in nature.
Or could it possibly be hoping to be discovered by chance?
Like loitering nearby while waiting for the other person to speak first because it was too embarrassed to start the conversation?
But the droplet's subtle expectations were betrayed.
Because the other party focused only on practice.
The girl practiced until around sunset, then retrieved her arrows and, in place of the broken ones, picked up thick branches.
Then she folded her fingers as she reviewed how many times she had missed, slumped her shoulders, and went back.
She really practiced all day.
The droplet, which had likewise loitered all day and returned, reenacted what it had seen and then sagged over a rock. Its round appearance flattened out like a steamed bun, and its horned helmet slid down weakly.
Wa, waaah.
—Are you all right?
Without reacting, it became even flatter.
It went from steamed bun to pizzaa.
I don't know how to comfort it.
It is a problem of shyness, but shyness can also come from a kind heart that is considerate and careful toward others. Since it is not a completely bad personality, telling it to fix itself feels too harsh.
—If you want to become friends, how about this? You secretly help her, then make a surprise appearance. Enough to make her think, My goodness, such a mysterious droplet exists? And it even helped me?
The droplet maintained its pizza state for a while.
Then, perhaps liking the idea, it rippled and returned to its round state. The horned helmet settled neatly on top.
The horned-helmet droplet bounced.
—All right. I'll help you.
I reviewed the elf girl's practice.
She missed often enough that even she was gloomy about it.
But I can't tell whether this means she's bad or good.
The board was about the size of a rabbit, and the distance was around thirty meters. Hitting half seems good, doesn't it? But since she herself was disappointed, maybe not.
I did not know her skill level, but I could roughly see the reason she missed.
The ground is the problem.
The forest is not an artificial space. The place she steps on when shooting the bow is soil, weeds, or sometimes stone.
They were all carefully chosen spots, so they were similarly flat. Even so, the stone floor must be very slightly higher. Her posture changed, because every time she stepped on stone, she missed.
If she keeps doing it, she will get used to it, check beneath her feet, and adjust her stance, but if someone else makes her aware of it a little, she'll realize quickly.
—Let's remove the stone and cover it with soil.
I made a small shovel. When I handed it over, the droplet transformed into a small girl and accepted it.
The droplet girl flew off in a hurry and reached the place. She looked back and forth between the shovel and the floor stone, then stabbed the stone with the shovel like a knife.
Waaah? That's not how you use it.
Come to think of it, I hadn't explained how to use it.
The droplet girl glanced in my direction. Judging that it was still a distance where I couldn't see, she carelessly discarded the tool she did not understand and touched the stone.
Moisture gathered and wrapped around the stone. The stone trembled, then floated. Soil debris fell away.
With a gesture, moisture-heavy soil rose up. Soil filled the space where the stone had been removed. Once it was packed full, the stone descended and thumped it down, compacting the ground.
Waaah. You work much better than I expected.
I felt a little embarrassed for making one shovel, handing it over, and not explaining anything.
The droplet girl looked satisfied after finishing the work. As if about to return, she picked up the shovel, then paused and examined it closely.
Then, whether she realized it or remembered seeing it somewhere, she dug the ground with the mana shovel. The ground was dug easily.
The droplet girl's mouth fell open. Her gaze alternated between the already finished work site and the clean shovel.
Then she looked back in my direction. After thinking hard, the water-colored girl quietly sprinkled soil on the shovel. Her hands spread the soil evenly.
A little while later, the droplet returned.
—You're back. Did you do well?
The droplet girl nodded.
Then she raised the dirt-covered shovel high. She followed it by pretending to scoop soil with the shovel and compact the ground.
The dirt-covered shovel was lifted high in both hands.
—It helped a lot......?
The droplet girl quickly nodded. She smiled brightly, flew over, and hugged a branch tightly.
It was a cold but warm heat.
My leaves covered the droplet girl.
—I really like you too.
Giggling laughter tickled my leaves.
***
The next day, the elf girl came to the practice place.
She was bewildered by the spot where the stone had disappeared and poked it with her foot.
The girl groaned for a while. She wondered whether her memory was strange or the scene was suspicious, then gave up and simply began bow practice.
Unlike yesterday, most of the arrows hit the target.
Woohoo. My diagnosis was accurate.
The girl also seemed to realize it quickly, because she changed her position and posture while shooting arrows. Their trajectories struck the target easily.
After verifying the cause, the girl's face turned red. She fanned herself with her hand, then covered her face with her palm. Her ears were bright red.
When you study alone, it's natural to miss small details. There's no need to be embarrassed.
Time passed.
My roots fully grew and filled the earth.
·Influence Radius
20,250cm → 26,650cm (Max)
·Production
60,750/d → 79,950/d
Summer had long since passed.
The neighboring flower field that had dyed the world yellow and danced in the wind had withered. The petals drooped and their color faded.
As time passed, the petals dried one by one and fell. The splendid appearance of the flower field lost its strength and color.
The yellow scene that had covered my vision became a green landscape before I knew it. Just as unknown grass is called weeds, the flowers became weeds.
So this is how it ended up.
It lasted a long time, but faded according to the order of things. Still, this isn't something to be sad about. If I wait, fruit will form, winter will come, and seeds will make the flowers bloom again.
I watched the droplet pretending to be dew while sitting on the lone pink flower, then basked in the sunlight. Sunlight, thank you again today.
Time passed again.
My trunk and branches grew and supported the sky.
·Maximum Height
1,920cm → 2,560cm (Max)
·Capture Amount
Average 120/d → Average 160/d
Woohoo. A 25-meter sapling.
The nice thing about living as a sapling is that I grow taller just by sleeping. I'm already twice as tall as the surrounding trees.
Right now, it seems I can't see because the trees are dense, but if I grow taller, won't I be able to see the elf girl too?
When that time comes, I'll be able to proudly introduce the droplet, which has given up on loitering and now only watches from afar.
This is the mysterious droplet that helped your archery practice. Now that you're friends, it may play mischievous pranks from today onward, but its heart is warm, so please get along with it.
After imagining it, the introduction felt somewhat lacking.
I should think hard about the droplet's introduction.
While I pondered, time passed, and my soul grew.
【Lightning-Struck Sapling Lv.5】
Exp: 0/5,000,000
[Influence Radius]
26,650cm → 33,050cm
Woohoo.
Now I can see the elf girl's back as she finishes practice and returns.
I checked right away.
Yellow and red autumn scenery covered my vision.
Inside the scenery, the girl gathered her arrows and walked with jerky in her mouth. She followed a path made by animals, crossed tree roots, and pushed through thickets. Fallen leaves were stepped on, leaving footprints.
After she walked for a while, one gravestone placed among the trees came into view. It must have been recent, because it was clean, without moss or mold.
The girl only glanced at it and kept walking. More and more gravestones appeared among the trees.
Suddenly, in one place, gaunt elves dressed in poverty were digging a corpse pit. They wore quarantine clothing, with cloth covering their mouths and noses and even gloves on their hands.
An elf corpse was laid in the freshly dug pit.
An elf covering it with soil noticed the girl. A gesture came, telling her to hurry past because it might be dangerous.
As if this was a sight she often saw, the elf girl bowed her head and quickened her steps.
At this point, I widened the narrow vision I had been focusing.
I swept my gaze across the scenery to the very edge of my field of vision.
White gravestones adorned the lush autumn.
Gravestones continued without end.
Waaah?