After the discussion with Shurein and the others, Kousuke visited the Elf Village in Seuri Forest.
To be precise, he came to meet Yutta, the World Tree located in the center of the village.
He wasn’t sure if the “talking tree” from the fortune-telling results was Yutta, but if there was any anomaly in the forest, she would be the best person to ask.
The elves in the village were knowledgeable about the forest, but when divine tools were involved, they were not reliable enough.
Conversely, even if there were no anomalies in the forest, it would simply be accepted as one of the results.
This time, Kousuke was accompanied by Kouhi and Mitsuki, of course, but also by Colette, Silvia, and Shurein.
Colette was the liaison with the elves, Silvia was related to divine tools, and Shurein had come simply out of curiosity.
Floria had also wanted to come, but it was decided that it would be too many people, so she was asked to refrain this time.
Kousuke’s reception upon visiting the village was as before.
However, it wasn’t like the previous visit where a large number of elves came out to greet him; they simply showed their respect by watching Kousuke from a distance after his sudden arrival.
Under their gaze, Kousuke and the others explained the situation to Shiomara and immediately headed for the foot of the World Tree.
“Welcome, Kousuke-sama.”
As soon as Kousuke approached the World Tree, Yutta appeared and bowed her head.
“I’m sorry for the sudden visit.”
“You are welcome to visit anytime, Kousuke-sama.”
As Yutta said that, Shiomara, who was waiting behind her, nodded greatly.
Kousuke could only offer a wry smile inwardly at the two of them (?), but without answering, he decided to get straight to the point.
“Thank you. So, the reason I came this time is…”
Kousuke said this as a preamble and then spoke about the divine tool.
However, he omitted the explanation that the divine tool had disappeared from the divine realm, and simply stated that he was looking for a divine tool.
“…And so, the fortune-telling results indicated this. Yutta, do you have any leads?”
When asked by Kousuke, Yutta looked down, lost in thought for a moment, then raised her face and said.
“…About two months ago, I felt a fluctuation in the forest’s barrier. It was brief and returned to normal immediately, so I dismissed it as my imagination, but perhaps this is it.”
If the divine tool entering the forest had caused some kind of influence on the barrier, it was plausible.
The fact that it returned to normal immediately was bothersome, but it was certainly worth investigating.
“I see. It’s definitely worth investigating, but…”
Upon hearing Yutta’s explanation, Kousuke nodded immediately, but his expression turned grim at the same time.
Among those present, only Yutta accurately understood the meaning of Kousuke’s expression.
Although Kouhi and Mitsuki didn’t show it on their faces, they didn’t understand why Kousuke had made such an expression.
If even those two didn’t understand, the others were even less likely to.
Amidst them, Colette tilted her head and asked.
“I think we should be happy that we’ve found a potential lead, but is there something wrong?”
“Ah, well, that is…”
In response to Colette’s question, Kousuke nodded and explained what he could think of in their current situation.
If the reason for the fluctuation in the forest’s barrier was indeed due to the divine tool, then the divine tool possessed the power to exert such an effect on the barrier.
If that were all, it would be fine, but the problem lay in what happened afterward.
The fact that Yutta only felt the fluctuation for a short time might be related to the divine tool’s abilities.
It was understandable that the divine tool caused a fluctuation within the forest.
However, the fact that the barrier returned to its original state without any change afterward suggested that the divine tool might have the ability to return the barrier to its normal state and hide itself.
Of course, it was also possible that someone had entered the forest by taking advantage of the barrier’s fluctuation and taken the divine tool from the spot.
However, it was more probable that the divine tool had hidden itself by its own power without affecting the barrier, rather than being taken away in such a coincidental, almost miraculous, manner.
And in that case, another significant problem arose.
Shurein, who had been listening to Kousuke’s explanation with a nod, tilted her head and asked.
“What is the problem?”
“If it has the power to move within the barrier and not even affect it, wouldn’t you think it would hide itself so I can’t find it when I get close?”
When Kousuke said that, the faces of those gathered became as grim as Kousuke’s had been earlier.
Indeed, they understood that what Kousuke said was perfectly plausible.
“Then, what shall we do? We don’t mind searching the forest, but distinguishing it as a divine tool… Ah, perhaps not?”
Shurein, who was about to say they couldn’t distinguish it, paused and looked at Silvia with a tilted head.
Upon receiving Shurein’s gaze, Silvia’s expression became troubled.
“…If a tool is presented to me, I can distinguish whether it is a divine tool or not. However, searching for whether a divine tool is present in a location might be difficult.”
As Silvia said that, everyone nodded in understanding but still wore troubled expressions.
After all, not even knowing what a divine tool was, it would be quite difficult to search a vast forest, even with some leads.
Seeing everyone’s troubled faces, Kousuke made a provisional proposal.
“Well, regardless of the divine tool’s power, we’ll go and see the place where the barrier fluctuated first.”
“Oh? You’re okay with it even if it might escape?”
Colette tilted her head, and Kousuke nodded firmly.
“Yes. First and foremost, we need to investigate whether the fluctuation was really caused by the divine tool.”
“That’s true.”
Colette nodded at his reasonable explanation.
It was uncertain whether Kousuke’s investigation would reveal details, but without investigating, nothing could be known.
Even if there was a possibility of it escaping, simply knowing that the divine tool was there would significantly change the future developments.
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Having confirmed Kousuke’s intentions, it was decided that everyone would head to the location where the barrier had fluctuated.
Although there was no problem with Kousuke present, they entered the forest after obtaining permission.
However, the barrier was still active within the forest, so an elf guide walked ahead of Kousuke and the others.
The barrier itself was quite large, and the location where Yutta sensed the fluctuation was outside the barrier, thus necessitating a guide.
In fact, it took about three days after Kousuke’s party left the village to reach their destination.
By the way, since it was known that the journey would take several days, Colette, who was raising children, had returned to the Tower’s Village.
“This area is where I heard the fluctuation occurred.”
As the guiding elf said this, Kousuke began to look around the vicinity.
If a divine tool was present or had been present around here, he should be able to sense its divine aura.
However, the forest was filled with various presences, including ordinary trees.
Kousuke sighed deeply at the difficulty of detecting only the divine aura of a divine tool amidst them.
Yutta sensed a fluctuation in the barrier.
For Yutta, it was a very slight change, and she had forgotten about it until Kousuke asked.
And Kousuke, upon arriving at the scene, is struggling.
The continuation is next time! lol
