“Hmm. A possibility of an anomaly in the forest. Monsters…?”
Floria asked Colette, who had explained that their departure would be delayed.
However, Colette shook her head, misunderstanding Floria’s question.
“That’s unlikely. If there were signs of a flood, we would know immediately.”
“That’s right. I couldn’t see any such signs either,” Shurein agreed, looking at the forest from the same spot.
If there were any precursors to a flood, even Shurein would have noticed. They knew that even if they didn’t know the cause of a flood, monsters would become more active before one occurred. At least, there were no signs of that. In fact, considering the Central Continent’s forests, which were already more active than other continents, this area was eerily quiet, almost peaceful.
Everyone was relieved to know it wasn’t a precursor to a flood, but of course, they weren’t letting their guard down. They still didn’t know the cause of the anomaly the children had found among the spirits. It was possible that it just hadn’t reached a stage where humans could detect it yet, and the spirits might be sensing something. Since a flood could happen at any time, they couldn’t be completely at ease even if there were no signs now.
With that in mind, Colette continued, “Besides, there are various reasons why spirits get agitated. Even something trivial to us can cause that state.”
“Really?” Kousuke tilted his head at her explanation, prompting Colette to elaborate.
“Yes. The reason I don’t always try to pay close attention to the spirits is because that happens quite frequently.” Sometimes, things that are insignificant to humans or elves can be a big deal for spirits, such as a slight change in the environment or something unusual happening. Spirits can react to such things by indicating danger, which is why Colette doesn’t deliberately try to look too deeply into their state on a regular basis.
Kousuke, having heard Colette’s explanation, nodded in understanding but looked somewhat worriedly at the self-propelled wagon where the children were. “That’s one element that eases our minds given the current situation, but it’s a troubling issue when you consider the children.” Based on Colette’s explanation, Seiya and Shia would be constantly seeing spirit warnings that normally wouldn’t warrant concern. However, since spirit warnings could sometimes be genuine, they couldn’t be completely ignored. Seiya and Shia’s sight was innate, so they couldn’t simply turn it on or off like Colette.
“….Well. But I imagine there’s a difference between a strong warning and what we’re seeing now, so they just need to learn to distinguish between them.”
“Can they do that?”
“If they can’t, they’ll be constantly frightened by spirit warnings. Besides… Ah, maybe I should ask Esena to help them communicate with spirits?” Colette trailed off into a monologue, and Kousuke tilted his head and asked, “Can’t Colette and Shurein already communicate with spirits?” Colette and Shurein regularly received various information from spirits. Kousuke asked, thinking the children were the same, but Colette shook her head.
“Spirits have different levels of power. It seems both of them can hear the words of powerful spirits without any effort, but they can’t hear the weaker ones. It’s the same difference in perception between me and Shurein.” The amount of information that could be obtained from spirits varied depending on the compatibility and abilities with the spirits. Similarly, the spirit causing the anomaly in the forest this time was weak, so it required considerable effort to properly understand its message.
“I see. …So, that means it will require quite a bit of training?”
“Well, yes,” Colette nodded with a wry smile. Even Colette, the World Tree’s Shrine Maiden, had to concentrate hard to perceive some spirits. It was clear that considerable training would be necessary to be able to hear their whispers. However, Seiya and Shia, who could see their forms from birth, might acquire this ability easily.
Miku was the same, but how to nurture a child’s abilities would be entirely up to the parents’ educational approach. Of course, there was also the perspective that those who are meant to grow would do so on their own, without unnecessary interference. However, that too was contingent on having a certain environment. The closest beings to a child, their parents, had no excuse to abandon that responsibility. Failing to properly understand and nurture a child’s inherent abilities would only lead to unfortunate outcomes for everyone involved.
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As a result of their discussion, it was decided that they would camp at their current location for the night. Colette mentioned that they would likely know more within half a day, but they decided to wait until morning anyway. Furthermore, even if they waited half a day and started moving, they wouldn’t reach the next town until late at night. It was better not to move rashly. Everyone unanimously reached this conclusion.
Though it was an unplanned overnight stay, they were prepared for any contingency. The children seemed completely accustomed to camping and proceeded with preparations according to the adults’ instructions. It was a testament to their spirit that Seiya and Shia wanted to go to the place where they had indicated the anomaly. Colette accompanied them this time.
“How was it?” Kousuke asked Colette upon her return. The subject was omitted, but there was no need to state it explicitly.
Colette shook her head in response to Kousuke. “….It hadn’t changed.”
“I see. So, deciding to wait and see for one night was the right choice?” Kousuke mused, arms crossed. Colette nodded in agreement.
“Yes.” It hadn’t been a full half-day since they first saw it, but the spirits had been agitated for quite some time. It was enough time to think that perhaps something truly was happening. Of course, it was still too early to conclude anything, so they decided to continue monitoring the situation.
Naturally, when camping, dinner was finished before sunset. While eating under the moonlight was not impossible, it was full of dangers for the children. There was no need to take such risks, so after finishing their meal before sunset, the children went inside the self-propelled wagon and went to bed as darkness fell. After the children had fallen fast asleep, Colette, accompanied by Shurein and Mitsuki, who had better night vision, went to check the usual spot again. Upon returning to the campsite, Colette reported that the situation had not changed from earlier in the day. After such a long period, it was problematic to simply ignore it as usual. They decided to check one more time in the morning to determine their next course of action.
This is a story about how seeing too much can also be a problem. And in the forest, there seems to be an anomaly?
