Chapter 127 – Chapter 127 ― Please Protect This Land (4)
Episode 127 ― Protect this land (4)
Roan’s face brightened.
Roan, who was about to pick up his box, barely stopped his hand and activated the ‘Search Red’ magic.
It was the divine magic that he had recently learned from Helen to reveal everything evil.
“Good…”
Fortunately, there are no pitfalls.
Aina asserted, ‘If you’re a proper forest fairy, you won’t have such cowardly thoughts’, but shouldn’t I take care of my body?
The box is just big enough to fit one scroll. Picking it up with one hand, Roan quickly exited the cave.
If someone delivered a note, it would be natural to want to keep an eye on who took it.
It’s very likely that someone outside of Roan’s ‘detection’ is watching Roan.
Currently, Roan’s ‘detection’ range is 300 meters in radius.
Although much of the view is obscured by the forest, Aina says that forest fairies can detect outsiders coming in and out using smells or footsteps a few hundred meters away.
At least it was a dangerous area to use magic, so it was rather safe for Roan.
Even if someone gets caught in Roan’s ‘detection’, all you have to do is get out of here quickly without worrying about magic.
Roan’s speed is not inferior to the forest fairy.
Roan hurriedly returned to the castle and called for Aina to open her chest. It was an action in preparation for unknown magic.
“A forest fairy left behind?”
“Okay.”
“… It’s good, this. It is a piece of paper that no one can use.”
What was in the box was an antique scroll. Before she even opened the scroll, Aina said the first thing she saw.
“Looks like the guards told the elders.”
“Watch? The town guard?”
“Hmm. Although they are called the guards, their role is similar to that of the knights here. Like the elders, they are the elite who protect high-ranking people and prepare for important dangers in the village.”
“You’re not an ordinary soldier.”
“Huh. Forest fairies don’t have a job as soldiers.”
It seems that forest fairies, who all use bows and swords to some extent, do not need soldiers.
Roan gently unwrapped the scroll and inspected the contents inside. However, soon after reading the entire text, Roan’s expression darkened.
“… What did you write?”
Curious, Aina stuck out her head with the scroll in Roan’s hand.
“… Ah. … Then I would like to.”
Aina awkwardly wiggled while holding her fingers together.
— We don’t have enough trust to listen to each other. The demons live in the manner of the demons, and the forest fairy lives in the forest fairy’s way.
Do not defile this forest where the goddess rests and protects.
“It’s firm.”
“The village is conservative. Because I have something to protect. Still, it was a letter written by the elders, and there was a reply… There are some positives, even dust.”
“Is it positive?”
“I think so. Leaving a message for a reply means that the guards knew that the demons would come soon… Did nothing happen?”
“Does that mean anything good?”
“If the forest fairy made up her mind, your majesty would have been arrested already.”
Roan’s eyes narrowed.
“I have the confidence not to be attacked by the forest fairy. Rather, even if a forest fairy was mercilessly beaten by me in that cave.”
“… Ugh, ugh…”
In an instant, the tip of her ears turned bright red.
Aina, who couldn’t meet her eyes for a while at Roan, who smiled round and round, cleared her throat a few times and cleared her throat.
“Hmm, hmm. Oh, anyway. If there is an idea to capture His Majesty, there are many ways, from physical traps to mass attacks. Your Majesty knows, right? Regardless of whether or not it succeeds, I was able to think enough to captivate them.”
“Hmm.”
“I read in the letter that His Majesty left behind that there was no hostility. It means you accepted it.”
“Hmm, is that so… I’m sorry about that.”
Roan rested his chin on his chin, immersed in his thoughts.
I could hear his slender fingers tapping the desk at regular intervals.
I looked down at his hand and thought, ‘How about holding that hand…? It was around the time when Aina, who thought for a moment, was startled by her thoughts.
Roan asked Aina.
“What does Goddess Laurecia mean to forest fairies?”
“A protector, a friend, and the only one you can trust.”
“But isn’t the Goddess God? Hmm… So, unlike us and humans, there is no substance. Isn’t that just an idea?”
Recalling the idea that a forest fairy’s lifespan is close to a thousand years, Roan added a word.
“… Now.”
“That’s what forest fairies older than me are claiming.”
Aina shrugged her shoulders.
“There is even a story that the Goddess directly fought with us a few thousand years ago. But who can believe that.”
It was ironic to see a forest fairy who lived longer than anyone else denying the myth.
“It is said that there were dragons and land fairies back then, but now only traces of them remain as ruins and artifacts. Without that, no one would have even believed they existed.”
“… Right.”
“As scholars say, the story of the Goddess could be just a symbol after all.”
“You mean that the goddess’ agent has been transformed into the incarnation of the goddess who stood in her story?”
“Huh. Is that enough talk?”
“Hmm…”
However, Aina smiled.
“But even though there are younger generations who say that, the reason why we can’t deny the goddess’s story is that forest fairies live in the dark forest after all.”
“… Ah.”
Roan let out a short exclamation.
The Dark Forest is a mysterious place.
A large forest that has been maintained for thousands of years.
Mysteriously, the climate near the forest has just the right amount of rainfall and sunshine for the forest.
If you move only a few tens of kilometers from there, the climate changes as if you were in a completely different world.
That is also the reason why demons and humans try to stay near the dark forest even though they are afraid of forest fairies.
Because it’s much more comfortable to live in.
There is a saying that if someone other than a forest fairy goes deep into the dark forest, they will wander and disappear because they cannot find the exit. In the game, it was displayed as a status ailment that causes confusion.
Fortunately, I went as far as the cave that is the border between the dark forest and the demon dwelling, but if I went a little deeper than that, I wouldn’t be able to move a single step without Aina.
“Is the forest itself the blessing of the goddess?”
“Yes. We who use magic know. That this is a miracle that cannot be achieved with simple magic.”
“Then, if the goddess protects our demons… If there is something like proof that I have shared my power with the goddess.”
Aina widened her eyes.
“Is it worth talking to the forest fairy?”
“Revealing ruins or making crystals shine… A miracle like that?”
“Hmm.”
“Um, if it’s like that, I think anyone will be moved when they see such a wonderful sight.”
Aina rubbed her chin with her feet on her desk and leaned back in her chair.
In a dangerous position, as if the chair would tip over and hit her head on the back of her.
But, like her trick, she seemed to calmly weigh the situation, keeping her centered.
“… But ruins and crystals… Can’t you show it to the forest fairy yet?”
“Yes.”
If the forest fairies find out that there is something close to them that will help me.
If the story doesn’t go well, the forest fairy can block the ruins or cave. Taking hostages, so to speak.
If that happens, I can’t just walk away.
It might really become an all-out war.
“Since we can’t use divine power, there’s no way to recognize His Majesty’s power like Helen did.
Even though it’s a demon, if you can use the power of a goddess that is more powerful than that of a human priest… First of all, I think the elders will be surprised.”
“Hmm.”
Roan’s expression brightened.
Until Aina had her next words.
“It’s a story when His Majesty is alive and able to reach the village.”
“… Alive, Rani.”
Roan frowned at Aina’s terrifying words, and Aina averted her gaze in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, but the forest fairy hates letting even humans into the dark forest. I hate the demons even more. To meet and talk with the elders, you have to go all the way to the village, but to go to the village…”
“You have to get past the guards.”
“Huh.”
Looking at Roan’s troubled face, Aina hesitated. Like feeling sorry for Roan.
“This is not the fault of all demons or people, but… The village, um. It’s important to the forest sprite, and it’s also a very weak point.”
“You can imagine. It is a place where the old and the young are kept together, so it must be so.”
“Huh. There have been quite a few attempts to rob the village using it.”
“What… ?”
Roan’s expression changed from surprise to stern.
“… I didn’t mean to rob you of money.”
“Yes. Well, forest fairies have outstanding beauty from a human point of view, and they can use magic. There were quite a few fools who expected that if they raised them from a young age, they would make wonderful slaves.”
Aina let out a sigh and leaned back deeply in her chair across from her Roan.
“That’s why the village guards have no mercy.”
That’s why you can’t help but understand.
I have the sincerity to give you an answer, but
I wonder if he won’t let me go if I approach him any further.
Once checking the forest fairy’s letter, Roan sent Aina back and leaned back in her chair with her deep sigh.
“Neither of them is easy.”
A pained sound came out of nowhere.
Count’s work too,
As for the forest fairy.
In the end, it’s all about whether you can trust them.
How nice it would be if those with the ability joined forces to eat well and live well together.
‘What a waste of time this is.’
Roan felt sorry for him.
Most of all, it hurts my heart that my existence itself is an object of absolute distrust outside the demons.
Both the demons and himself called the Demon King.
How long will it take to clear this stigma and become someone who can be trusted?
There are things you can try to get the Goddess card, but you can’t be sure until you try.
Roan, who buried his face in his palms and took a deep breath, shook his head.
I needed to clear my complex mind a bit.
‘For a moment… Let’s do something else.’
On the desk are some books I brought from the library this morning.
These are three recommended books that seem to be related to Fiora.
“… This is, um.”
One of the three is strange.
「Demonic Sword」
「Ancient swordsmanship and magic—development of martial arts」
「The story of the unknown land, Rayorun」
“Rayorun?”
Why is Rayoroon suddenly here?
Rayorun, in the far west,
It is a large island country beyond Merde.
Because Merde is in between, you can’t even see Rayorun’s stuff in Evirzio, and only know his name.
I heard that it is a closed country that hardly trades with Merde.
The book is surprisingly thin and the text is large.
Less academic feel than the previous two volumes.
It looks a bit more fun.
With a light heart, Roan picked up 「The Story of the Unknown Land, Rayorun」.
The story that Roan found while gently flipping through an old bookshelf is unexpected but very familiar.
“… Hmm?”
Another God’s story… ?
It seemed that the mythology of this world would not be realized without the Goddess Laurecia.
First of all, she is the mother of all things,
Because he is the highest god.
Is it similar to how everyone is a relative of Zeus in Greek mythology?
It was similar to the books I had already read to help the Count find clues to the decision.
Goddess Laurecia sought out those who would fight alongside her to stop the demons from coveting this land.
Renowned dragons, land fairies, and forest fairies joined the battle of the goddess and fought fiercely against the devil.
However, if there is a difference in this book from other books, the point of view of this story is that it is centered on Rayorun.
— In faraway Rayorun, the demons tricked the demons into attacking the goddess Laurecia. The legend of Rayorun tells that Fiora, the leader of the monsters, joined the goddess’s expedition.
In the end, as all readers know, the expedition ends with the devil sealed, and everyone except the forest fairy is on the road to destruction…
“Uh… ?”
