/
We easily made it to the place where the Demon King was supposed to be, the nearest town, without any particular incident. Well, it was only a matter of riding in a horse-drawn carriage on a proper street, so it was only natural.
We visited the Adventurer’s Guild in the town we arrived at, and first tried to gather information about the place where we thought the Demon King was. ….
******
“Ah, that’s the Forest of Tranquility, isn’t it?”
“The Forest of Tranquility? Is it really a place with such a big name?”
I casually broached the subject with the young lady at the reception desk, asking her about the topography of the area. I thought it was a rather empty place since Tia couldn’t find out anything about it. ……?
“Ahaha, indeed it sounds like it could be the name of something, but actually there’s nothing there. To be precise, it’s more like there used to be something but now it’s completely gone…”
“Gone? What do you mean?”
The lady at the reception desk continued talking to Tia, who was tilting her head next to me.
“About 10 years ago, the number of demonic beasts living in that forest gradually decreased. With that, the plants that could be used as a source of income stopped growing, and even the number of animals decreased. … Now there are only small insects in there. So it’s kind of been called the ‘Forest of Tranquility’ for the past few years.”
“Not just demonic beasts, but almost no flora or fauna? How is that possible?”
“I’m not saying that there are no plants at all. ….　There are some plants and flowers that are not worth any money, but they grow normally. In the beginning, there were a lot of lumberjacks who came here because they didn’t want to be disturbed, but it seems that the quality of the trees has declined over the years, so now there are only a few requests a year for surveys.”
“I see. …… Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.
We thanked the young lady at the reception desk and left the Adventurers’ Guild. Afterwards, we gathered in our room at the inn and decided to rearrange the information we had just heard.
“That’s how it is… So Eleas, what did you think when you heard the story at the Guild?”
“Eh!? Umm… it’s a mysterious forest.”
“Oi Oi, Don’t state the obvious…”
I chuckled, and Eleas rushed to speak up.
“I-it’s not like that!? It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, it’s just that it’s really strange. …… From what I’ve heard about the disappearance of demonic beasts and animals and the quality of the trees, it’s possible to consider that the power of the earth has weakened and the forest itself is dying. However, if that were the case, wouldn’t the trees and grass be visibly withered for everyone to see….”
“Fumu, good. You’re thinking about it. So, Tia, what did you think?”
Eleas, with a sullen face, was poking me on the shoulder, but I didn’t pay attention to that, and talked to Tia. Tia gave us a warm look and shared her thoughts with us.
“I think Eleas’ point is valid. That’s why I don’t think it’s the earth’s power that’s weakening in the Forest Of Tranquility.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Of course, it is the power of the spirits.”
“Ah!?”
Eleas raised his voice at Tia’s words.
“Fufu, Isn’t it obvious? It’s the root of the entity that’s stealing power from the spirit tree, right? Then it must be the power of the spirits that is being lost from there! I think the reason why medicinal herbs of any kind don’t grow anymore while regular trees and plants do is because of the different amount of spirit power it takes to make them grow. Most of the plants that the guild buys from us have a high concentration of magic, so their growth must be affected by the power of the spirits.”
“I see! As expected of Tia-san!”
“Umu, umu, that’s a good point. Well, I’m the last one. …. I agree with both of you, and I’m reading that not only is it deprived, but that the ‘pollution magic’ is permeating thinly over that area. If you were to take away an inexhaustible amount of spirit power centered there, it would have an effect on the surrounding area, wouldn’t it? Instead, by taking away a certain amount of power and filling it with contaminated magic, it would appear at first glance that there is no imbalance, wouldn’t it?”
“Oh! Certainly, if there is such a thing as a being that sucks the power of the spirit, the elves would immediately recognize it.  But since the amount of power taken is being filled in sequentially, there is no void that’s being created …, so no one has noticed it until now?”
If water were draining from a large lake at a great rate, anyone would notice the anomaly. But what if something else enters the lake to make up for the loss of water? At least from the outside, no one would notice any change in the lake. The only time anyone would notice is at the very end, when even the surface of the water has been replaced by something else.
At first glance, there is nothing unusual going on. At a quick glance, nothing out of the ordinary was happening. That was why the “Forest Of Tranquility” was not caught in Tia’s information gathering, which was looking for overt anomalies.
“That’s what I’m talking about. Maybe, at this stage, the Demon King doesn’t have much power. So he gathers power around grass and other plants that contain a lot of magic, and the animals that feed on them feel the effects of the “pollution magic” that accumulates in their bodies and flee the forest, and then the stronger animals and magical beasts that feed on them disappear…. I think that’s what’s going on. In other words…”
“We can easily take it down now…?”
“Maybe.”
I grinned at Tia, whose jade eyes widened.
It’s an impromptu conjecture, but I was rather confident in it. The reason was that Eleas, the hero of this world, will be in his prime about 100 years from now.
If a Hero was born to prevent the rise of the Demon King, then they would originally face each other in the future 100 years from now. If this world’s scenario was that the Demon King, having built up his power over the coming decades, would begin his activities, and the Hero Eleas would defeat him,…… it was quite possible that the Demon King was also vulnerable now that the next generation of heroes had not even been born.
“Uwaa, you two are awesome!”
“Haha, well, it’s just a difference in the amount of information and experience we have, so it’s not something to brag about.”
“But it’s amazing! Both of you are what I’m missing.”
“You can grow up slowly. But you can’t just spend your life in idleness, no matter how long you elves live compared to other people, okay?. Just living for a long time doesn’t make a person grow up. Whether you become a child who lives long enough or a skilled adventurer depends on your attitude.”
“Understood, Tia-san!”
“Muuu……”
Tia’s words were slightly painful to my ears, but I decided not to listen to them. Yes, I’m still in the process of growing up. It is possible that my actual age is like billions and billions of years old, but my mental age is 20 years old! It’s just the beginning, it’s just the beginning.
“… Let’s do our best together, Eleas.”
“? Yes, I will try my best!”
I tapped him on the shoulder, and he responded with an innocent smile, though Eleas looked a little strange ….. Oh, how dazzling young people are,….. No, I’m young too! I’m sure I’m young! It’s all about the feeling!
“A-Anyway. So, We have easily gathered the information we wanted. Then I’ll go and see the site in person later. …. Eleas, what about you?”
“Right. Based on what you just said, it doesn’t sound that dangerous, so I think I’d like to go with you. …. How about it?”
“I’m fine. What about you, Ed?”
“I think it’s okay taking him with us. But if I or Tia tell you to run away, don’t ask why and immediately run away as fast as you can. Understood?”
“Yes!”
“That’s a good answer. Then, let’s have a good meal and get some rest today, and tomorrow we’ll go to this ‘Forest Of Tranquility’ “
The meeting was settled neatly, and no one raised any objections. Then, tomorrow, all of us finally meet the Demon King of this world.