“This is the path to the next settlement,” Althea told us.
“We still have a long way to go before we reach the heart of the forest,” Fauzard commented.
As we followed Althea on our flying carpet, I took in the scenery of the forest around us.
“The elves really put a lot of care into looking after their forest,” I said.
“The air is so yummy here!” Teto added.
Despite the profusion of trees, there was still more than enough light passing through the foliage. The elves must’ve been thinning it out to let some light through. As a result, the trees were all strong and imposing. We would occasionally spot wild critters running between the boughs, which made me feel a sense of peace, and the cool, crisp air invigorated me.
“The villagers take care of the forest around their settlements,” Althea explained. “But if you venture even just a bit outside of the animal trail, you’ll end up in wild, virgin forest.”
“If things are still the same as before, the virgin forest is the monsters’ territory. I would advise you not to venture near those parts unless you know the forest like the back of your hand,” Fauzard warned us.
Apparently, the wilder parts of the forest had evolved into Demon Dens over the years. From what Althea told us, the elves constantly monitored the main path, meaning that no intruder could trespass unnoticed. This forced any uninvited individual to go through the Demon Dens, where they ended up as monster fodder more often than not.
“I see... That’s a pretty straightforward, low-effort way to funnel outsiders in through the ways you’ve prepared for them,” I remarked.
“And fewer entry points means less need for guards!” Teto added.
From what I had seen up until now, the elves’ kingdom seemed to be a bunch of settlements linked together by a main road like dots on a map rather than a standard nation. This meant that you absolutely needed someone to guide you through the forest, lest you end up lost in the woods.
“There are only three entry points to our kingdom. One is in the Gald Beastman Nation, the other in Lawbyle, and the last one in the Sunfield Empire,” Althea said.
I let out an impressed hum and made small talk with Althea for the rest of the day.
At night, we would camp outside, and mythical beasts would sometimes come over to beg me for pets and mana.
Althea told us that the second and third settlements counting from the fortress were part of the forest’s “middle stratum,” which also happened to be the territory of a lot of mythical beasts. This explained why so many of them came to beg me for mana, which I gladly gave to them by petting them on the head and the back of the neck.
“You’re all so cute. But we have to go now, I’m sorry,” I said when it was time for us to resume our trek.
The mythical beasts didn’t seem pleased to hear it; some of them tried to pull me into their territory by my robes.
“No, no, no, don’t take Lady Witch with you!” Teto said, making a firm impression on the thronging wildlife.
“Please be careful, Miss Chise. There are a lot of interference spells in this part of the forest, which can disrupt your sense of direction. Even we elves can get lost if we’re not paying attention here,” Althea warned me.
“I am sure you two would be fine even if you were to lose your way into the woods, but it would delay our meeting with my contractor’s kin,” Fauzard said.
It was my first time in the elves’ forest, so if I were to let the mythical beasts pull me into their territory, I would definitely get lost. I very much wanted to avoid that, so I quickly scampered back to Althea’s side.
As we resumed our journey, I asked Althea to tell me more about the interference spells she had mentioned earlier.
They’d woven spells into the fog here and there that would disrupt one’s sense of direction, enchanted stones and totem poles meant to attract anyone who looked at them, forcing them away from the mythical beasts’ territories, and beckoned spirits to constantly watch over the woods.
“You’ve really gone all out, huh?” I said.
“It’s impressive you’ve managed to protect such a huge forest!”
“I’d like to say it’s our pride and joy...but all of these spells require mana to activate, and we don’t have anywhere near enough to cover the whole forest.”
For that reason, a nonnegligible number of outsiders would manage to slip past the elves’ surveillance and into the forest. In extremely rare cases, they even succeeded in poaching mythical beasts and abducting elves. This spurred on other unsavory individuals who wanted to make a quick buck. There seemed to be no end to the stream of interlopers.
As we made our way deeper into the heart of the forest, we found ourselves blocked by rivers, fallen trees, and large boulders, forcing us to stray from the animal trail. We stopped by a few settlements on the way; after about a week, we arrived in a certain village deep into the woods.
“Now this screams ‘elven village,’” I muttered.
The closer we got to the World Tree, the stronger its mana signature, meaning that the vegetation in this part of the forest grew much faster. This made it near impossible to clear land to build a village on. Left with no choice, the elves had used their magic to hollow out the inside of the trees and live inside the trunks.
“Even the other elves react like that when they reach these parts,” Althea chuckled.