Two days had passed since we left the village and entered the forest.
Although we were moving according to Esena’s instructions, Kousuke no longer knew where we were headed.
Kouhi and Mitsuki seemed to know the direction of the village, but Kousuke had already lost track of the village’s location.
“Brother, are you alright?”
Esena, walking close beside Kousuke, looked at him with a worried expression.
“Ah, I’m fine physically. I’m just anxious because I don’t know where we’re going.”
“I’m sorry…”
At Kousuke’s words, Esena looked down with a dejected expression.
Actually, Esena didn’t know the exact reason either, but she felt that something was waiting for them.
She had said that she might understand if we got a little closer, but she was also showing signs of impatience as we still hadn’t figured anything out.
Kousuke hastily waved his hands at the dejected Esena.
“No, no. It’s not your fault at all, Esena. It’s me who’s the problem for getting anxious over something like this.”
Kousuke felt sad saying it, but it was generally true.
Even though he was an Avatar, he wondered if it was right to be anxious just wandering in the forest.
It seemed his sense of things was still stuck in the past.
There was also the question of whether it was appropriate for an Avatar to be moving through the forest on foot, but he chose to ignore that for now.
Kousuke tried to somehow comfort the dejected Esena, but help came from another direction. It was Mitsuki, who had been walking a little ahead.
“Esena, stop blaming yourself. It doesn’t seem like it’s only due to your lack of strength.”
“Did you find something?”
Kousuke tilted his head as Mitsuki spoke, looking towards our path. Mitsuki’s way of speaking made him feel like she sensed something.
“Yes. Although, it might be natural to say the least… It seems we’ve been inside a barrier for a little while now.”
“A barrier?!”
Kousuke, who hadn’t noticed anything at all, looked surprised. He had gained confidence in magical fields through crafting magic tools, but it had been completely useless.
Seeing Kousuke’s expression, Kouhi looked around and added some information.
“The barriers around here aren’t created with magic tools or magic circles like you do, Kousuke. They are blended in with naturally occurring elements like trees, rocks, and the flow of rivers.”
“Of course, magical elements are also included,” Mitsuki added after Kouhi’s explanation.
In other words, unlike barriers made with magic circles or magic tools, the natural elements in this area were arranged to make it difficult to get lost and to lose sight of the goal. Of course, it wasn’t just that; magical barriers were also in place, making it even more confusing. The natural arrangement and magical elements complemented each other, creating a more sophisticated barrier.
“With this type of barrier, the naturally derived elements become stronger over the years, so it’s natural that Esena has difficulty noticing what’s there.”
“Compared to the trees around here, Esena is just a newborn. Even with her knowledge from the World Tree, there’s nothing she can do about this.”
While adding further explanation to Kouhi’s words, Mitsuki patted Esena’s head to comfort her.
“Even we, who are saying this with such authority, know that there is a barrier, but we don’t know what the whole thing is like.”
Kousuke was surprised by Mitsuki’s next words.
“What?! You two don’t know the whole scope of it either?”
That was truly beyond Kousuke’s expectations. He had assumed they knew everything they were talking about.
Kouhi replied to Kousuke with a apologetic expression.
“All I know is about this area. At worst, this entire forest could be the barrier itself.”
“That’s right. For such a vast area, there’s only one existence I can think of that could do something like this, isn’t there?” Mitsuki looked at Kousuke with a smile.
By this point, even Kousuke could guess what existence they were referring to. Kousuke turned his gaze to Esena and patted her head again, as she seemed to have regained her spirits.
“Well, let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ll find the answer if we keep moving forward, right?”
At Kousuke’s words, Kouhi and Mitsuki nodded and continued to advance.
***
About three hours further after realizing the existence of the barrier, a small event occurred.
Since Kouhi and Mitsuki were there, we weren’t suddenly surrounded. Instead, we were politely greeted by several elves. Nana hadn’t reacted either, as if she knew they had no hostile intent from the start. She had probably sensed their presence but deliberately ignored them. Anyway, the elves who came to greet Kousuke and the others immediately bowed and said,
“Are you indeed Kousuke-sama and your party?”
Kousuke, who had a vague premonition since they appeared, nodded without hiding anything.
“Yes. We are.”
When Kousuke said that, the slightly tense atmosphere among the elves weakened. They probably knew about the elf hunters appearing in this forest. Even though the tense atmosphere had weakened, they still didn’t seem to have completely let down their guard. Kousuke, understanding the reason for their attitude, decided to maintain an unconcerned demeanor.
Perhaps seeing through Kousuke’s intentions, one of the elves continued.
“We believe your destination is the same as ours. Would you mind accompanying us? Someone is waiting for you at our village.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Kousuke nodded at the elf’s words. Seeing that, the elves began to return the way they came. It was the same direction Kousuke and the others intended to go. It seemed the elf village was somewhere ahead. By the way, as soon as the elves were detected approaching, Esena had disappeared. Although the criteria for this are unknown, she seemed to choose who she reveals herself to. For now, she only appears to the Tower’s managers. And also, to a very small number of people in the elf village of the Tower.
Kousuke and his party moved with the elves flanking them. They weren’t just in front, likely because they were wary of Kousuke’s group. Nevertheless, with Kouhi walking in front and Mitsuki behind, it could be said that it was a mutual arrangement. Putting aside these behind-the-scenes exchanges, after about an hour’s walk from where we met the elves, something that looked like a settlement came into view. It had a similar feel to the elf settlement in the Tower, which was probably due to the elves living surrounded by the forest. While Kousuke pondered this, the group arrived at the entrance of what appeared to be a settlement. As if it had been planned from the beginning, we were able to enter the settlement without any trouble at the entrance.
Upon entering the village, Kousuke and his party were led by the guiding elves to the front of a particular building. It was the largest building they had seen so far.
“Someone is waiting for you here.”
One of the guiding elves said that and rang a bell-like object attached to the building. Then, a voice came from inside, and the guiding elf informed them that Kousuke and his party had arrived. It seemed that their arrival had been properly communicated here as well, and they were smoothly led inside the building. Furthermore, here, they would part ways with the guiding elves. The guiding elves showed a moment’s hesitation on their faces, but the person who came to greet them intervened, and they said nothing further. And now, Kousuke and his party were about to meet the person who had sent for them.
We have entered the Elf Village.
By now, can Esena understand what she felt?
