“Could we please get to the main topic soon?”
Kousuke said to Yutta, lest the conversation derail indefinitely.
“I agree,” Yutta replied, nodding before beginning to speak.
“I heard that a portion of Kousuke-sama’s divine authority manifests as magic circles. Is that correct?”
“Well, whether it’s divine authority or not, I’m aware it’s my specialty, I suppose?”
Kousuke tilted his head as he answered Yutta’s sudden question.
Next to him, Colette and Shurein were holding their foreheads.
They were thinking, if she can do so much with magic circles, what else could she do with divine authority?
Though they didn’t voice it.
Yutta smiled at their reactions and continued without missing a beat.
“I have a favor to ask of Kousuke-sama.”
“A favor?”
Kousuke pondered what kind of favor someone from the World Tree could possibly ask of him, but couldn’t recall anything specific.
From the flow of conversation, he surmised it involved magic circles, but he couldn’t imagine how he could help Yutta, who had existed in this world for so long.
However, Yutta simply nodded at Kousuke.
“Yes. Currently, this forest is protected by a barrier I created.”
“Yes, I know.”
While they had arrived via a teleport gate this time, Kousuke had previously entered the forest by traveling along the road from the outside.
He had witnessed the barrier firsthand then, so he was well aware of it.
What he didn’t understand was why Yutta was bringing it up now.
“However, that protection has recently weakened.”
“What!?”
It wasn’t Kousuke who exclaimed in surprise at Yutta’s words, but Shiomara.
Colette also looked surprised.
“Ah, I see.”
“What!?”
When Kousuke added his understanding remark, Colette cried out again in surprise.
Shiomara seemed beyond words.
Yutta looked impressed by Kousuke’s reaction.
“As expected. Did you notice?”
“Actually, I’m more surprised that you two *didn’t* notice…”
Yutta made a troubled face at Kousuke’s words.
“It’s not just these two. The people in the village haven’t noticed either.”
“What!? But isn’t there any actual harm being done?”
Yutta shook her head at the surprised Kousuke.
“It’s true that more people are trying to infiltrate the forest, but for now, it’s within the limits that the villagers can handle. However, I suspect it’s only a matter of time before…”
“I suppose so.”
Yutta looked relieved at Kousuke’s emphatic nod.
“It’s helpful that you’re so quick to understand. …Blind faith can be problematic in situations like this.”
As Yutta spoke, she glanced at the two elves, and Kousuke nodded in understanding.
“So that’s how it is.”
Afterward, Kousuke let out a deep sigh.
Kousuke, who had been an Avatar for over a decade, didn’t deny people’s faith in him.
However, he also understood that blind faith could be problematic.
The elves’ faith in him for safe childbirth was a prime example.
However, Kousuke believed that faith naturally arose among people, and he had no intention of denying it.
But that didn’t mean he could explain how to ensure a safe childbirth if asked.
He couldn’t answer such questions, as he simply didn’t know.
Blind faith could lead to such situations.
In Yutta’s case, the situation was even more complicated.
The village in Seuri Forest had long been protected by the barrier Yutta had created with her power.
However, even a barrier created by the World Tree wasn’t perfect.
It could be broken by an attack stronger than Yutta’s power, and it had weaknesses.
Yet, for the elves, the World Tree, which they had long revered as a god-like existence, was thought to have no such flaws.
This was what Yutta meant by “blind faith.”
The reactions of Colette and Shiomara clearly demonstrated this.
“I see.”
Shurein nodded in understanding after hearing Kousuke’s explanation.
Colette and Shiomara had not yet recovered.
The shock they had received was that significant.
Seeing them, and realizing that the conversation wouldn’t progress with them in that state, Shurein unhesitatingly asked,
“Then? Yutta-dono, knowing that the barrier is weakening, why are you neglecting it?”
“Because I cannot repair it immediately.”
“What?”
Shurein tilted his head at Yutta’s instant reply.
Kousuke added a follow-up for Shurein.
“The barrier Yutta created for this forest relies heavily on the arrangement of natural objects. And in the previous incident, several routes that allow entry deep into the forest became known.”
“Ah, I see now.”
Shurein, though not as knowledgeable as Kousuke, nodded in understanding.
Vampires, known as guardians of contracts, generally possessed strength in those areas.
Of course, some vampires were not skilled in such matters.
Shurein, able to grasp the situation from the fragmented information provided by Kousuke and Yutta, was indeed impressive.
“Once a path has been entered, the barrier cannot function as such again without the arrangement of trees being altered. But changing the arrangement of trees would take decades, wouldn’t it?”
“Magnificent. That is precisely correct.”
Yutta praised Shurein wholeheartedly for his deduction, but Shurein shook his head.
“With some knowledge, one could deduce this much, I suppose? …Or perhaps not.”
Shurein said that once, but he sighed as he looked at Colette and Shiomara, who were slowly recovering from their shock.
“Ideally, the elves would notice and reinforce the weakened areas, but given their current state, that seems impossible.”
“Indeed.”
“That’s right.”
Shurein and Yutta nodded vigorously at Kousuke’s half-exasperated words.
“So, you wish to borrow Kousuke’s power?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
When Shurein looked at her, Yutta nodded again.
“In the future, I will be able to maintain it solely with my own power as before, but for now, assistance from others is necessary. I was hoping the Avatar could assist with that.”
“If that’s the case, I’d be happy to.”
Kousuke readily agreed, as it was a beneficial arrangement for him as well.
After all, he would have a chance to interact with a barrier truly created over a long period.
Such opportunities were rare.
For his own hobby and to protect the village connected by the teleport gate, it was something Kousuke needed.
“That is all well and good, but what about explaining this to the elves? Surely, you cannot proceed without explaining it to them?”
Having confirmed that Kousuke and Yutta had reached an agreement, Shurein spoke while looking at Colette and Shiomara.
Hearing Shurein’s words, Kousuke and Yutta also looked at them with grim expressions.
In the direction of their gazes, the two elves wore awkward expressions.
This is a story about how you shouldn’t just believe blindly.
Especially when it comes to the gods in this world.
Even though Colette had been repeatedly told that gods were not omnipotent, her reaction was thus. One could only imagine how ordinary elves would react.
