We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Welcome to the Dragon King’s Forest.
“This is a good opportunity. Kamila, would you like to go to the Dragon King’s Forest too?”
“Wow. That looks like an amazing forest! Is it okay? I want to go!”
“Mist has secured this time’s sacrifice.”
“Mist has chosen this time’s victim.”
Yuffilia and Nina’s interjections startled the Shooting Star Miko.
“Elder sisters? I’m sorry, Lady Shooting Star. It’s a misunderstanding. Please don’t be deceived by these two’s words.”
“Speaking of which, Sefina was the victim last time, wasn’t she?”
“Lady Madrine. You are the Head Miko, so you shouldn’t join in Yufi and Nina’s lighthearted banter, should you?”
“Muki! If that’s the case, Ruiseine, you should also respect me as the Head Miko. Besides, what do you mean ‘one by one’!”
The matter of the Forest Spirit King’s baby brought by Yun and Rin sounded like a serious problem to the Shooting Star Miko.
However, seeing Mistral and the wives of the Ys family in their usual cheerful state, it didn’t seem like a crisis.
So, Kamila cheerfully volunteered.
“Wow! I definitely want to go! I want to see the Forest Spirit King’s baby!”
At Kamila’s volunteering, Rin smiled mischievously.
“Hmm? Do you think you can meet the Forest Spirit King’s baby that easily?”
“Hey, Rin!”
Yun was painfully smiling next to her.
The entourage heading to the Dragon King’s Forest included Mistral as the representative from the Ys Family, Ruiseine, Yufilia, Nina, and Madrine.
Unfortunately, Laira was unable to participate due to her service to Revalia, and Sefina could not accompany them because she had to go to the Spirit Tree rooted at the top of the Sacred Mountain.
And from the Shooting Stars, a large group of Miko, including Kamila, would be accompanying them.
“There are more than I expected, aren’t there?”
“Most of the Miko who aren’t on the ‘One Wish Thousand Days’ training period have volunteered, haven’t they?”
Mistral, nodding at Ruiseine’s words, looked back.
Behind Mistral and Ruiseine, who were walking at the front leading the path to the Dragon King’s Forest, followed a dozen or so Miko.
The path from the mansion in the Forbidden Territory to the Dragon King’s Forest, thanks to Elnea’s efforts in compacting it over time, had become a narrow but splendid road.
Because of this, even those who cannot use Spatial Jump can visit the Dragon King’s Forest without much difficulty.
The journey, which once took several days round trip, had now been shortened to a point where it could be completed in one day.
However, if any incident were to occur en route or within the Dragon King’s Forest, they might not be able to return to the mansion on the same day.
Therefore, several of the Shooting Stars, who were not on the ‘One Wish Thousand Days’ training period, remained as replacements for the Miko currently offering their prayers for training.
However, it was an event that even Mistral and Ruiseine had not anticipated, with almost all the other Shooting Star Miko participating.
“Make sure you accumulate plenty of valuable experiences!”
The Miko who remained watched the departing Miko with regret that they couldn’t go.
“Well then, I will give you some instructions before we enter the Dragon King’s Forest.”
And, sometime before noon.
Mistral said to the entourage, who had arrived safely near the Dragon King’s Forest with hardly any monster attacks.
“The forest you are about to enter is probably not like any forest you have ever known. The entire forest is under a Bewildering Technique, and if you stray from us, you will get lost immediately. But don’t worry, we will always come to get you. That is all.”
“Wow, huh!?”
The explanation from Mistral was so abrupt, starting with the premise that the Dragon King’s Forest was not an ordinary forest, that Kamila and many other Miko looked utterly bewildered.
“Wow. Mist, is that all? You know, there are Mimicho and Spirits living in the Dragon King’s Forest, right? Like, any advice related to them…?”
If you don’t have Mimicho nearby, you have virtually no opportunity to interact with Spirits. Even so, the Shooting Star Miko had interacted with Spirits to some extent through Priscilla and the Mimicho at the mansion. However, since they were entering a deep forest where Spirits resided, they thought there should have been more detailed explanations.
When Kamila asked, Mistral smiled softly.
“Yes. Elnea would surely explain every detail of the precautions to avoid making you anxious or putting you in danger. That’s her good point. But, I’m a little different?”
Ruiseine and the others seemed to be leaving it to Mistral, watching the situation without intervening.
“The Forbidden Territory is very vast. In human terms, it might be about the size of a country? There are still many places we haven’t been to, and places we don’t know.”
Elnea decided to open an inn in the Forbidden Territory and invite guests, albeit to a limited extent.
The first guests of the Dragon King’s Inn were the Shooting Star group.
Elnea, Mistral, and the others who hosted the guests, as well as the Mimicho living in the mansion, were spending their days trying new things.
“Elnea will surely do her best for her guests. But, Kamila, even if you were to go to places we haven’t been to or don’t know, if you ask if we can do our best, the answer would probably be no. If a problem occurs in a place beyond our sight, beyond our reach, would you give up and say ‘because there was no explanation’?”
“Wow, I couldn’t!”
“Right? So, my policy is to tell you only the minimum necessary, and then leave the rest to you.”
If you receive a thorough explanation, you probably won’t have any problems. Even if you fall into danger, you’ll likely be able to deal with it. But what if you encounter a situation for which you haven’t received an explanation? The person encountering it might give up thinking and fall into despair.
Besides, receiving various explanations always leads to complacency.
What will happen? How to deal with it if something happens? Being aware of these things is completely different from being in a situation where the unknown lurks.
And if you encounter an unexpected situation, an unknown danger, it is highly likely to lead to significant damage due to your complacency.
Therefore, I deliberately avoid giving superfluous explanations, hoping you will gain experience by experiencing various things yourself and learn how to live in the Forbidden Territory.
Mistral explained this.
“Also, you Shooting Stars have the ability to overcome minor problems on your own, don’t you? I’ll add this one thing: in the Dragon King’s Forest, there will surely be no guarantee of life, no matter what happens, so you can rest assured about that.”
“Wow, wow, what an amazing forest!”
Mistral judged that no matter what happened deep in the Dragon King’s Forest, it would be fine for the Shooting Star Miko, which is why she didn’t add any unnecessary explanations.
The Shooting Star Miko also correctly understood Mistral’s intent and nodded sincerely.
“Now that the explanation is finished, shall we go? First, we’ll aim for the Mimicho village. We need to hear more details from Lord Yuuri.”
The Mimicho living in the Dragon King’s Forest include those who emigrated from the Dragon Forest, including Yuuri, and other Mimicho who do not live in the mansion.
Carly and Kate were concerned about letting Mimicho with deep problems live in the Dragon King’s Forest.
Nevertheless, after observing the diligent daily lives of the Mimicho who had gained a new lease on life and their earnest attempts to interact with the Spirits, they invited several individuals as “qualified” to the Dragon King’s Forest.
Thus, the Mimicho village deep within the Dragon King’s Forest was gradually increasing its residents.
Led by Mistral and Ruiseine, the group stepped into the Dragon King’s Forest.
Immediately, the dense scent of the forest filled the nostrils of the Shooting Star Miko.
“Wow. I can tell just by entering. It’s a wonderful forest!”
“Oh, Kamila. You can tell ‘just by entering’?”
“W-wow. No, Mist. I can feel it clearly. I feel a sacred and pure presence from the entire forest.”
“Are Miko superior in that kind of perception? Can they discern the forest’s mystery and presence even when they can’t feel the Spirits?”
“Are there already many Spirits around? Unfortunately, we can’t sense their presence, but we can still feel the forest’s atmosphere and presence.”
Elnea’s path continued even as they went deeper into the Dragon King’s Forest.
However, as Elnea herself often got lost, following the path did not necessarily mean they were heading to the Mimicho village.
Mistral, with a wry smile, grabbed Kamila’s hand as she tried to stray a little to peek into nearby bushes.
“Hey. You’ll get lost the moment you step off the path. Also, Spirits don’t just live in the Dragon King’s Forest. When Yun and Rin came to the mansion, many Spirits came as well.”
“Wow, really!?”
Kamila and the Shooting Star Miko looked around with interest.
However, unfortunately, they couldn’t sense the presence of Spirits.
Even Mistral and the others couldn’t quite sense the presence of Spirits that weren’t manifesting.
Nevertheless, by sharpening their consciousness, they could vaguely hear the faint voices of the gathered Spirits through their special ability to hear the voices of all things.
“They’ve arrived.”
“There are a lot of them, aren’t there?”
“It looks like it’s going to be fun.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Spirits began to stir around Mistral and the Shooting Stars as they entered the Dragon King’s Forest, and some of the more eager Spirits had already begun to manifest.
A soft light floated up in front of Kamila.
Kamila was surprised for a moment, but quickly understood that the light was the manifestation of a low-level Spirit. She then reached out her hand to touch the Spirit.
The Spirit of faint light, as if playfully evading Kamila’s hand, floated deeper into the forest.
“Wow, it’s cute.”
“Ah.”
Kamila, mesmerized by the Spirit of faint light, took a step off the path while following it with her eyes.
At that moment. Kamila’s figure disappeared before the eyes of the Shooting Stars.
“There goes the first lost one.”
“There goes the first sacrifice.”
Yuffilia and Nina laughed.
Mistral also smiled wryly, regretting she couldn’t intervene in time.
“Oh dear. It can’t be helped.”
Yun, who had manifested, flew into the depths of the forest with a troubled expression. And Yun’s figure also quickly disappeared from the forest scenery.
“As you can see. If you stray from the path or get away from us, you’ll get lost immediately.”
By the time Mistral spoke to the Shooting Stars, the situation had already become quite lively.
“Kya! Something got inside my clothes!”
“W-wait! Please don’t take my clothes off?”
The twin Shooting Stars, Viletta and Viletta, were in distress, holding onto their clothes. Viletta fidgeted, trying to get the Spirit that had invaded her Miko’s attire out, while Viletta desperately held back a small dog-like Spirit that was pulling at her Miko’s attire.
“Don’t do that, give back my staff.”
“Please don’t pull my hand. You’ll get lost if you stray from the path.”
“Kyaa!”
One Miko had her staff snatched away due to carelessness, another Miko was led deeper into the forest by the hand of a maiden-like Spirit, and yet another Miko was suddenly bound by a vine and pulled into the depths of the forest.
“This is getting fun.”
“Lady Madrine, you are the Head Miko, shouldn’t you be concerned about the Shooting Star ladies?”
“Muki! What do you mean ‘one by one’! I am a splendid Head Miko!”
“That Head Miko is being attacked by Spirits.”
“That Head Miko is about to get lost.”
“Kii! Don’t just laugh and help me!”
Madrine shouted and vanished into the depths of the forest, becoming the first of the Ys family to get lost today.
“Fufufu. I wonder if we’ll be able to finish the business with the Forest Spirit King’s baby today and all return to the mansion?”
“Mist, you seem to be enjoying yourself?”
“Oh, Ruiseine, aren’t you having fun?”
“Of course, I am having fun!”
“It’s a waste not to enjoy yourself when dealing with Spirits.”
“It’s a shame not to play with the Spirits.”
Spirits began to gather around Mistral as well.
The Dragon King’s Forest became even more boisterous.
“Seriously. It’s not just Elnea; the whole family loves a commotion!”
“Oh, Rin? Elnea considers you all family, so doesn’t that mean you consider yourself a fan of commotion too?”
Rin grimaced at Mistral’s sharp retort.
Just then, more Spirits than those gathered around Mistral and the Shooting Stars rushed in.
“Rin, play with me.”
“Rin will play with us.”
“Rin is motivated.”
“Yay! Today, Rin will dote on me to her heart’s content.”
“Dudes, attack!”
“Yay!”
“W-wait!”
Spirits began to manifest. Spirits that didn’t manifest but clung to Rin.
The Shooting Star Miko, while being attacked themselves, were astonished by the overwhelming number of Spirits swarming them.
