We live at the foot of Dragon Peak.
Winter’s Grand Harvest Festival.
In the end, the great eruption of Mount Holm continued until we finished picking flowers.
“By the way, was it okay to hunt down all the plant monsters?”
That’s what eradicating them means.
Thanks to the efforts of Doran and the others, the carnivorous plant monsters that inhabited the grasslands were completely wiped out.
What’s more, with the cooperation of the magic beasts, we also managed to clear out the monsters!
Doran answers my question while wiping sweat from his brow.
“No need to worry. They revive with the seasons. Both monsters and magic beasts.”
“Hmm? This is a strange land, isn’t it?”
A monster nest, in other words, is a limited area where monsters appear at a higher density than elsewhere.
However, if you completely drive out the monsters from there, it returns to being ordinary land.
The monster nest in the Great Forest spreading across the eastern border of the Yorttenitos Kingdom is like that; once the monsters in the nest are defeated, it returns to nature.
Well, the fact that new monster nests are constantly being born due to the curse of a certain Demon Lord is a secret from the people of the Yorttenitos Kingdom…
“Perhaps the carnivorous plants are planting seeds underground? If so, even if we eradicate the monsters rampaging on the surface, there will be a next time, right?”
“Sefina, you’re sharp! The plant monsters might be multiplying from bulbs.”
“Um, should we take some seeds back?”
“Oh my, oh my. Priscilla-chan, that would be problematic. The forbidden territory would become a habitat for carnivorous plants.”
“We could pick flowers to our hearts’ content.”
“We could make money to our hearts’ content.”
“In that case, shall I leave the task of picking to Yufi and Nina?”
“Mist is a monster.”
“Mist is a demon.”
No, no, you two, who led this adventure into chaos, are more evil than Mistral, you know? To my retort, everyone laughs.
Then, Yufilia and Nina protest with puffed cheeks, so I calm them down by calling it a joke and patting their heads.
Normally, this would lead to another lively commotion…
But today, everyone was exhausted.
Yufilia and Nina seemed satisfied with my pats and sat down with smiles.
We all sat down on the temporarily peaceful grassland, slowly healing our fatigue.
However, unlike humans, the Spirits were still full of energy.
“Alright, line up.”
“In order, mind you?”
“Um, everyone?”
For some reason, the Earth Spirit King and the Fire Spirit King were at the front of the line of Spirits that formed before me.
What exactly is about to begin?
“Speaking of which, wasn’t there a story about Elnea-kun giving rewards to the Spirits who performed well?”
“Madrine, what a thing to remember!”
Or rather, Priscilla-chan was the one who started it.
And Priscilla-chan is also shamelessly in line.
“So, all of these are Spirits.”
“I’ve never seen them before, but they’re amazing.”
“I never thought those cute sisters over there were Mimicho Race.”
Doran and the others gazed at the Spirits forming a line with curiosity.
It seems that the adventurers, while collecting the perennial, mysterious flowers, have also become accustomed to this chaotic situation.
Even when magic beasts run around nearby, they are only slightly surprised and not frightened.
They understood that the magic beasts were completely attached to Priscilla-chan and Alicia-chan and wouldn’t attack them.
And it seems the Spirits also understood that even if they play pranks or rampage, they wouldn’t harm them.
“So, what kind of reward should I give to the Spirits?”
I’m in trouble.
I haven’t prepared anything.
Suddenly, being told to give rewards to the Spirits, I have nothing on hand.
In my predicament, Ares-chan, who was also in line, offered some advice.
“Spirit Tree, Spirit Tree.”
“Ah, right!”
That’s it. That was the way.
The Spirits, regardless of their attribute, cherish and admire the Spirit Tree.
And what I’m holding is the Spirit Tree!
“Alright, then, I’m going to give you your rewards now.”
“Yay!” cheer the Spirits.
The Earth Spirit King and the Fire Spirit King also jump with joy.
And Mount Holm begins to spew smoke again!
“Spirit Kings, please calm down a bit! Also, because your bodies are too large, please bow your heads in front of me?”
The Earth Spirit King and the Fire Spirit King, with bodies as massive as giants, followed my instructions, knelt down, and bowed their heads.
I held the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword with both hands, raised it high above my head as if in solemnity. Then, with the tip of the wooden sword, I lightly tapped the heads of the Spirit Kings, “pon pon.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Not a violent tapping, but rather, like a cleric performing an exorcism on a believer, I swung the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword as if to ward off evil. Then, I gently touched the Spirits as if bestowing a blessing.
The Spirits came before me, and were happily tapped on their heads and shoulders, “pon pon.”
“Blessings upon the Spirits of this land.”
A clear energy spread from the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword. And so, blessings were given not only to the Spirits who formed a line before me, but also to the surrounding nature and animals.
Then, a faint breath of life began to sprout in the grassland, which had been devastated by our rampage.
“It’s still early for spring, but with the blessings of the Spirit Tree-sama, no one will oversleep.”
“Now, bloom magnificently this spring!”
The Earth Spirit King and the Fire Spirit King exhorted the Spirits who received the blessings of the Spirit Tree.
The Spirits danced with the two Spirit Kings, the guardians of this land.
As the Spirits became invigorated, the still-chilly wind gradually warmed, and the sunlight also became warm.
“The ground has become slightly warm.”
Lyra, who was sitting with her butt on the ground, placed her hand on the ground and exclaimed in surprise.
“The volcanic smoke has subsided.”
“Green is returning to the ravaged mountainside from the eruption.”
At Yufilia and Nina’s words, everyone turned to look at Mount Holm, and indeed, the mountainside was beginning to be covered in green.
“Is it early spring?”
Lulled by the warmth, Mistral smiled softly.
But it was still the middle of winter, with not even the beginning of spring having arrived.
“Hey! Winter is our season, isn’t it?”
“That’s right, that’s right. The Fire Spirit King’s influence is already strong, so we can’t play around much even in winter!”
“That’s unfair!”
“It should be colder!”
Snow Spirits, perhaps?
A white, fluffy Spirit, drifting with the gray clouds, complained.
And as if to defy the breath of spring, it began to dance merrily in the sky.
“My goodness, how strange. To see spring flowers and a snowy landscape at the same time.”
“This is truly the miracle of a Goddess!”
“…Unfortunately, Madrine, it’s the influence of the Spirits?”
“No, Elnea-kun. It is because the Spirits are also under the protection of the Goddess that so many lives can coexist like this.”
Madrine’s assertion felt a bit forceful, but since Alicia-chan, the sage of the Mimicho Race, and the Spirits themselves did not object, we decided to let it be.
And Doran and the others, after listening to the Miko’s sermon, were deeply moved and captivated by the miracle shown by nature.
However, nature being revitalized by the influence of the Spirits is not always a good thing.
“Elnea-kun…”
Tapped by Sefina, I suddenly looked at the grassland.
Then, several places where the earth began to bulge.
I have a bad feeling!
“Speaking of which, plant monsters appear every season, right?”
The winter ones were hunted down earlier.
But this surrounding area is experiencing an early spring…
As we watched with bated breath, flowers peeked out from the soft surface of the soil, breaking through.
But I won’t be fooled.
Beneath those cute flowers, carnivorous plant monsters lie in wait with their eerie mouths open.
“Um, are we going to pick flowers again?”
Priscilla-chan, who was dancing with the Spirits, looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Everyone…”
Gulp, Doran and the others watched with tense expressions.
I confirmed everyone’s faces and gave the order.
“Run!”
With a meaningless scream, “Kyaa!”, we fled from the grassland like a bolt of lightning.
“Even so, you’re not laying this on too thick, are you?”
“Alicia-chan… you’re already laying it on too thick by running with the magic beasts!”
Priscilla-chan and Ares-chan are even being carried on the shoulders of the Fire Spirit King as they flee!
Incidentally, the Earth Spirit King was carrying Doran, who couldn’t run fast with his heavy equipment, under his arm and was chasing after us.
“Well, I agree that this is going too far.”
Let’s leave the spring harvest for when Doran and the others come hunting again.
Escaping the grassland where the carnivorous plant monsters inhabited, we returned the way we came, making a ruckus.
Wyverns with scorched brown scales looked down at our noisy group from above with a look of exasperation.
“…And so, everyone returned safely!”
Before sunset, we were able to return to the village where Anya grew up.
Of course, we parted ways with the Spirits and magic beasts on the way back, right?
“Nyan.”
After all, if we had returned to the village with that unrestrained large group, it would have led to new chaos.
The Wyverns also flew overhead randomly before returning to their territories.
Come to think of it, the Wyverns went home without releasing Lyra’s command.
This means that Wyverns won’t attack people in this area from now on?
That would be wonderful!
However, we decided to keep Lyra’s command to the Wyverns a secret from the villagers.
It would be problematic if the villagers underestimated the threat of Wyverns or developed a wrong perception of the Dragon Race because of this matter.
We are the exception; for ordinary people, Wyverns and magic beasts are simply threats to their lives.
“Everyone, we were worried.”
The villagers greeted us with the entire village upon our arrival.
“Hey, listen. Mount Holm spewed fire.”
“Wyverns flew in flocks in the southern sky. It was terrifying…”
“You know, it suddenly became warm like spring. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
They each spoke of the strange experiences and rare sights they witnessed during the day.
“Everyone, calm down. We managed to pick the flowers safely, so we’ll be staying here tonight and I’ll listen carefully then.”
That’s right. We’ve already coordinated with the adventurers.
The eruption of Mount Holm due to the invigoration of the Spirits, the seasons advancing, and other events such as violent tremors of the earth are a secret from them, okay?
“Nyan.”
It seems that for the adventurers, this adventure was an earth-shattering experience, and they agreed with our cover-up efforts, saying, “Anyway, even if we tell them about this experience, no one will believe us because it’s too outlandish.”
However, they seemed to remember one last thing.
“You know, I’ve heard rumors from the Capital City.”
The five adventurers looked at us with solemn expressions, recalling their memories.
“When a fearsome Dragon Race appeared in the Capital City, a savior appeared who controlled beautiful dragons, or so the story goes.”
“That’s right. And when the Demon Race attacked, it is also said that they descended with terrifyingly giant dragons and many races.”
“Wasn’t there a saying that the savior who appears in times of crisis for the Yorttenitos Kingdom brings salvation along with natural disasters?”
“Certainly, the savior who commanded those was a beautiful… celestial maiden, accompanied by lovely women?”
After looking at the beautiful women, Doran and the others looked at me.
And then, they tilted their heads.
“I’m not a celestial maiden or anything!”
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