There isn’t a big change to the forest itself.
The trees are taller than the ones on the island, and the flowers on the ground are brimming with vitality.
Sunlight reflects brightly on the river, and animals are chilling without fighting.
This is nature. I feel like the word paradise applies here.
Again, it feels… Unnatural.
“This is unexpected.”
Says Elga with a troubled tone while looking at Yggdrasil covered in mist.
“Was it not like this?”
“Yes. Yggdrasil is like a pillar of the world, and I’ve heard that the great spirits came to this island because it rooted here…”
Last time we were here, it was too far, and we couldn’t see it clearly.
It’s trembling like it’s a mirage, and Elga sounds baffled.
“Dear, I’m going to tell the elder about this.”
“Yeah. Hey Luna, go with her.”
“Eh…”
Luna doesn’t sound too happy with that, but when she sees the tension on Elga’s face, she gives up and follows Livia.
He doesn’t seem panicked, but it might be dangerous.
“You should go too Reina.”
“…But…”
“I don’t think this is good.”
It’s one thing if I’m here alone, but I don’t know if I can protect Reina in this unusual situation.
That’s why I say it strongly, and she nods after facing down.
“…”
“Snow?”
Snow, who was staring at Yggdrasil without saying anything, suddenly starts walking.
“Have to go…”
“Where are you going!? Wha…!?”
The moment I reach out to stop her, Snow’s body turns into golden particles and disappears.
“Eh…? No way, Snow? Snow!?”
Reina is panicking at Snow’s sudden disappearance.
She runs to where she disappeared, but we have no idea what happened here, so I can’t let her run off alone.
I hold her from behind, and our eyes meet.
“Reina! Calm down!”
“But Snow…!”
I hold her tightly from the front, and caress her back to calm her down.
At first she tries to pry me off to go look for her, but I hold her tighter, and after a while, her body starts to tremble and she gives up. She then holds onto me silently, as if masking her anxiety.
“It’s okay, I’ll do something.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I promise.”
I wipe the tears from her eyes, and hold her again, and she finally stops trembling.
“When you go back, can you tell Wil what happened?”
She jokes a lot, but she knows a lot about this island, so she should be our best bet.
She likes Snow too, so I’m sure she’ll help us.
“Will you help too, Elga?”
“Yeah, I think we might have some trouble here. And…”
Elga looks straight at me with a reassuring smile.
“I’m supposed to be like a bro to you two. If I’m not gonna help here, when am I gonna do it?”
“Hahaha, thank you so much.”
My body is tough, and I might not get hurt, but when it comes to fantastical problems like this, I lack the knowledge and experience.
It’s good to have someone who will help.
It would be nice to have Reina with us too but… I don’t want her to be in danger.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Reina, Livia, and Luna leave, and Elga and I move forward.
The trees are big, but I usually walk around the island to hunt, so I don’t have a problem.
Still, I’m in a big rush.
Animals approach us and don’t run away, not wary of us at all, really making me feel like conflict is a thing that just doesn’t exist here.
“Do you know what happened to Snow, Elga?”
“No, but that lil’ girl is a great spirit. She’s got the power to get over anything, so don’t worry.”
“…Yes.”
I nod, but I’m still worried.
That girl that’s always clinging to me or Reina is now alone. Probably scared.
She might be crying for her mommy and daddy. Just thinking that makes my chest hurt.
“It really is weird.”
Elga whispers as he runs next to me.
“It’s weird how we haven’t met anyone here. Not an elf or a high elf…”
“Don’t they have a village like yours?”
“Yes, this whole place is their village.”
“This whole world…”
We run quite a bit, but Yggdrasil is still far. But there’s also a lot of forest between us and the barrier now.
I don’t know if this place is bigger than the island, but it’s definitely big enough that if I stand on one end, I can’t see the other.
“It’s a lot different than the alfar village.”
“They used to be one race, but they’ve been apart for so long, that they’re gonna be different.”
Thankfully, there are no hostile monsters here, so we can keep running at full speed, and Yggdrasil gets closer and closer.
“Finally…”
We stop when we reach it, but we see high elves lined up, as if ambushing us.
They don’t seem wary of us, but the way they’re staring at us with their emotionless eyes makes me a little tense.
Then one steps forward.
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Thanks for the treat.