“Didn’t I tell you guys to play over there so you don’t disturb Miss Neema and the elemental kings?”
“Inaho said she wanted to play tag with the little ones. I was in the middle of trying to stop her when you grabbed me!” He claimed he was trying to stop her, but his voice sounded more excited than repentant.
Looks like this is a lost cause…
“Haku… Hey, Haku!”
“What?”
Just then, I heard Kai call out Haku’s name, and Haku went over to see what he wanted. Kai said something else I couldn’t hear, and Haku began drinking the pond water.
Maybe he told Haku to try the water because it’s clean and tasty?
However, Haku’s manner of drinking was highly unusual.
“Amazing! My hunger is completely gone!”
Immediately following Haku’s cry of wonder, Gratia suddenly leapt into the air. Taking advantage of the opportunity to play, the bugs reacted almost faster than the eye could see, grabbing onto the string of spider thread coming out of his bottom.
However, it seemed that Gratia’s jump was the more powerful because the bugs were dragged along behind the string.
More bugs rushed to their companions’ aid and saved them from being pulled to the ground, but now Gratia was dangling in mid-air. He was flailing his legs with all his might, but so many elemental spirits were holding his thread that he was no match for them.
The bugs flew around here and there with Gratia dangling by his spider thread from their grasp.
“Am I flying?!”
Gratia quickly realized it was the bugs’ doing but seemed to be enjoying himself nonetheless because he became more and more animated.
“Fly faster! Let’s catch Inaho!”
Oh boy, when he’s this worked up, the only one who has any hope of stopping him is Miss Neema.
“Nox, I’m going to take a break.”
I found a comfortable place to sit next to a few relatively calm and easy-going earth spirits and gazed over at Miss Neema speaking with the elemental kings. They seemed to be teasing her, changing their forms, and cozying up to her. She appeared to be having fun, though, so I figured it was fine.
The elemental king, who wrapped wind around him like a cloak, glanced over at me and gave a wry grin.
“The monsters serving this beloved child certainly are fearless, aren’t they?”
That mention of her monster entourage finally reminded her to check and see what the little hellions were getting up to.
Inaho, Seigo, and Rikusei were playing tag with the bugs.
Gratia was flying around, dangling by his spider thread.
Kai was splashing and playing with the water bugs in the pond.
Haku was floating leisurely on the water’s surface.
And Nox was riding on my shoulder.
“Can they also see the elemental spirits?” Miss Neema asked the elemental kings. She seemed surprised but also looked a tiny bit jealous as she watched Gratia being swung around by the elemental spirits.
Heh, when it comes to the serious topic of play, Miss Neema isn’t any different from these guys. They all charge headfirst towards whatever strikes them as “amusing” without stopping to think it over first.
Noticing our mistress was looking over at us, Inaho charged straight for her.
“I was soooo bored because I was told not to get in mistress’s way. But then these guys invited me to play!”
I conveyed Inaho’s words to Miss Neema, who thanked the bugs.
You don’t need to thank them; they weren’t acting out of benevolence—they just wanted to fool around.
The bugs invited Miss Neema to join them and play together, but she wasn’t done speaking with the elemental kings. Thankfully, the monsters were given permission to go ahead and play, freeing me from babysitting duty.
The return trip went about as well as you might expect. Meaning we were swarmed with animals who’d gathered around, hoping to meet Miss Neema.
I shoved the animals aside, and we pushed through the seemingly endless procession until we came to a spot where water was welling up from the ground. A large number of real bugs were gathered here, and the sight caused Miss Neema to pause.
Are these bugs the same ones we saw in the cave on Mount Reitimo? They both give off colored lights that look like tiny sparks of fire.
“There are so many pevans…!”
“These creatures are born here and return to this spot to lay their eggs.”
According to the earth bug, the newborn pevans would live here until they reached maturity, and then leave the elemental forest and make their way out into the world. When it came time for their breeding period, they would return here, lay their eggs, and then set off again.
“Could it be that this spring is fed by the same water that’s in the pond at the elemental palace?”
“That’s right! That water sustains this entire forest!”
I see…
Both Kai and Haku had said that the water from that pond had satiated their hunger. According to the elemental kings, this water contained the Goddess’s Mercy, which gave it the properties of a cure-all medicine.
So, the Goddess’s Mercy also transferred to the pevans who were born and raised here? No, that’s not quite right. The entire forest is reaping its benefits. So that’s why the animals who eat the plants in this forest become so strong.
Miss Neema called it “interesting.”
Unlike the outside world, the “strong eat the weak” laws of nature didn’t apply here. However, this was no place for monsters like us. This forest didn’t need us.
“Oh, I’ve seen this animal in a book before!” Miss Neema ran off, and Inaho and the others chased after her.
An animal that looked like a tailless potte crept up on Miss Neema from behind. I scared it off, but not a moment later, another of the creatures came down from above. But as I approached, that one also fled. That continued, with the animals popping out and making for Miss Neema and me chasing them away.
A particularly small one of the creatures leapt at Miss Neema and clung to her…
What does she call it, a back-pack?
In any case, I reached out and pulled the creature off. It was so tiny it felt like it might break in my hands if I weren’t careful.
I was looking down at the trembling creature clinging to my finger when Miss Neema noticed it.
“It’s so small! Ahh, it’s so cuuute!” She held out her little hands, gesturing to the animal to “come here.”
“Hmm, are you a type of monkey? You look a bit like a marmoset, except your face looks more like a hamster…” Miss Neema said in a quiet voice, clearly speaking to herself. Once again, she was saying things that made absolutely no sense.
Even if I ask, she’ll probably just tell me to forget about it, so I guess I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
I half expected her to announce that she loved this little creature and wanted to bring it home, but that didn’t happen. I didn’t know what my mistress’s requirements were for choosing which animals to adopt into her entourage, but personally, I prefer intelligent and well-behaved animals like Nox.
I’m already exhausted from trying to keep up with the current members and their boundless energy…
Once we made it safely back to the imperial palace, perhaps because they’d worked up an appetite from playing so hard, all the members of our group who hadn’t been binging on that pond water demanded something to eat.
But I didn’t even need to convey their requests—Paul had already prepared food for us.
I was beat and wanted nothing more than to take a little nap.
Inaho was running in excited circles around Spica, chanting, “Food, food!” but for some reason, Spica looked exhausted.
“You look tired… Did something happen?”
“…I was training with Mr. Paul, and let’s just say he didn’t take it easy on me.”
Oh, that tracks. Paul is merciless. He has to be, though, to be able to maintain discipline around here.
That was impossible for Miss Neema. Even now, she took one look at Spica’s tired face and ordered Paul to let her rest.
Paul seemed to be of the opinion that no servant worth their salt wouldn’t be capable of serving their master immediately after a training session.
However, in this instance, Paul was the one to relent.
Miss Neema had Spica sitting at the table with her, and with Lady Karna, they examined the magical stones that had been imbued with the elemental kings’ power. I had no interest in such things, so I lay down on a nearby sofa. Immediately, Inaho jumped up on top of me, having just finished her meal.
“Shinki, are you going to sleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’ll sleep with you!”
Inaho curled up on top of my stomach. Her body heat was pleasantly warm. She made the perfect substitute for a soft fur blanket, so I let her stay. Seigo and Rikusei both scrambled up onto the sofa as well and found spots for themselves to nestle in to sleep.