“The punitive kind, last I checked,” said Gin. “Forced labor for criminals, as you mentioned earlier. Although it’s possible things have changed since I entered the palace.”
“Ah, right, you don’t get out much. I’m a bit of a homebody myself, so I can relate.”
For Gin and I, an afternoon spent studying language in a quiet library was much more appealing than going outside and touching grass.
“I seem to recall you going out fairly often,” he pointed out.
“Ah, that’s just because it’s part of my job. I’m surveying the land, to get a better idea of where to place towers. Eventually, I’d like to wall off the entire forest, to make it safe for humans to live near it. Then it would be easier to establish trade.”
“You can really do that?”
“Yeah, with enough time and resources. I would have started already, but I didn’t want to cause any friction with Doma. They consider at least part of the forest to be their land, after all. I’m hoping to ask for the land in return for keeping the monsters contained. I know I’m building stuff all over it anyway, so it’s a bit late, but I really would like to pursue good relations.”
“I believe that would be a very attractive offer. It’s often said that the lands near the Grimwood are quite fertile, but we’ve been unable to cultivate them due to the danger. If it became difficult or impossible for monsters to leave the forest, I don’t think Doma could ask for a better outcome.”
“Well, I’m sure they’d be fine with the forest simply not existing at all, but that would cause a different kind of problem,” I said with a grin.
“What do you mean?”
Oh, these guys probably don’t know how important trees are to the environment.
“When humans, Sprigians, and most other creatures breathe, we take in oxygen from the air around us,” I explained. “That’s what our lungs are for. Oxygen isn’t the only thing in the air, though. For example, when we exhale, we introduce carbon dioxide into the air. Carbon dioxide is essentially oxygen bonded together by carbon. In that state, it’s toxic to humans. In other words, if you’re trapped in a space with no air flow, eventually you’ll replace all of the oxygen in that space with carbon dioxide and die. Plants like trees fix that. They take in carbon dioxide, strip the carbon away, and release oxygen. If you cut down all of the trees, it lowers the amount of oxygen being produced. You can see how that would eventually be a problem now, right?”
Gin was stunned. “Th-That’s incredible! Where did you come across this knowledge?”
“Oh, right, I guess you’d want to know. I guess you can say it’s knowledge needed to do my job, so I just sort of know it.” I couldn’t exactly tell him it was just basic science from my previous life. It wasn’t exactly a lie to say I’d always known it as the Arbiter, though, since I’d known it before I reincarnated into this world.
He looked at me curiously. “Wouldn’t the ability to speak the same language as the people you’re meant to bring balance to be an essential skill for the job as well?”
Oh crud, he’s onto me. Quick, think up a convincing excuse!
“One would think, but apparently those skills weren’t included. I was upset about that at first, but now I’m glad it gave me the chance to meet you.”
Well, that wasn’t an excuse, I just flattered him instead. Seems like it worked, so I’ll let it go this time.
“R-really? Me?”
He’s blushing, he’s totally blushing! Attack!
“Aw, are you blushing? That’s so cute.”
“You’re just teasing me on purpose now.”
He’s trying to regain his composure, pour on the charm!
“I can’t help it. I adore the way the tips of your ears turn red when you’re embarrassed.”
“Th-They do?”
“Oh yes, red as a ripe strawberry.”
Wow, look at him go! You’d never guess he’s an old man on the inside. I shouldn’t tease him too much, though. A little flirting from him would have done the same thing to me.
When we finally arrived at the gates to the royal capital, we caused quite a stir. Armed guards with spears at the ready barred our path, and I had to get out of the carriage to keep them from attacking the cute doggies pulling it—even though the Faewolves were more than four times my size, they were still cute and fluffy. The guards quickly changed their tune when I showed them the letter I’d received from King Doma, though. It was good to have friends in high places. I would have loved to explore the city more, but with our entourage, we stood out too much. After passing through the main gate into the city, we headed straight for the royal palace.
It really wasn’t hard to locate the royal castle, since it was the biggest thing in the city by a long way. Stone walls and imposing spire towers set it apart from the rest of the buildings. There were walls and gates designed to deter or trap intruders, much like the ones I’d installed outside of Finnelbraugh. Thanks to the layout, it took a considerable amount of time to reach the actual palace. The guards at the palace gates were nervous, but they didn’t freak out like the ones at the city gate. The city gate guards had apparently sent a messenger to the palace ahead of us, so the castle guards knew what to expect. I was just glad I didn’t have to get out of the carriage again.
Once we arrived, there was some confusion about what to do with the carriage. The guards were worried about the Faewolves being in the same stable as the horses. On a hunch, I tried storing the carriage in my inventory. Just as I thought, once it was gone, the Faewolves returned to the dungeon. While they were connected to the carriage, they were treated as part of it, so they were allowed to be outside the dungeon. The only living things my inventory was allowed to hold were nonsentient plants and their seeds. As soon as the carriage was sent to the inventory, the Faewolves were forced back to their original spawn point. I’d have to give them some treats and cuddles later.
By the way, Faewolves were frugivores as well, but their meal of choice was the Sprigian “savor fruit,” which has a skin like a sausage casing and hearty, meat-like flesh. I was quite fond of them myself. If I had to describe the taste, maybe something between pork and beef? They could be prepared in many of the same ways. Savor fruits were an item that you needed to raise your dungeon past a certain point to obtain in the game, but once players unlocked them, they often devoted a lot of their available farming space to them. That was because they were the food source for Sprigarous and their advanced forms, and for Sprigrimalkins too. For the latter, the chef needed to mix the savor fruit with sea-brine fruit to make it taste like fish. The “sea-savor sauté” this recipe produced was the primary food source for Sprigrimalkins and their advanced forms.
Oh, right, the palace. Once the carriage and the creatures pulling it were gone, the guards led us into the palace. Gin and I were flanked by Team Apple, my royal guards. I’d left the rest of my Irregulars at the palace gates to show my peaceful intentions...but honestly, that was like saying, “I left my knife at the door to show I mean you no harm” when your arm was a rocket launcher. The power of the thirty-two Irregulars at the palace gates was minuscule even compared to my royal guard, and my royal guard were just as thoroughly outclassed by yours truly. Of those going to meet the king, Gin was probably the weakest, though he was improving quickly. He was really getting the hang of using magic.