Chapter 390
To Brother Chris’s Territory (3)
Just as I was about to put the stone slate away, the map suddenly expanded into a wide-area view, and a marker appeared in one spot.
Huh? That isn’t anywhere I walked.
It looks like a point between here and the territorial capital on the way back. What does that mean?
“Hardt, is it here?”
Still on his horse, Brother Chris called out to me.
“Yes, the location appearing on the slate is this land.”
Since I was also on horseback while looking at the slate, I wasn’t mistaken.
It was land halfway between the barren area and the capital, covered in tall grass.
“So if we dig here, a hot spring will come out…”
Brother Chris muttered as he stared at the ground.
Up until now, hot springs only appeared when I buried the Fruit of the Tree of Life in suitable land, so this felt different.
“Brother Chris, I don’t think a hot spring will come out even if you dig.”
He looked disappointed at my words.
“… All right. Then let’s go ask the Tree of Life.”
Are you serious?
Brother Chris turned out to be someone with quite a bit of initiative.
From there, we headed straight for the Treant Forest where Brother Gerald was.
I had really been curious about what a forest other than the Great Forest looked like.
We made a detour, but after a day of hard riding, we arrived, only to see tree stumps as far as the eye could see, with no sign of Brother Gerald.
Since we would need to continue on foot from here, we dismounted.
We entrusted our horses to the two knights who were waiting here and watching over Brother Gerald’s horses.
I instructed Hamilton and Kamuela to dig up the Treant stumps and store them in the magic bag.
Stumps can be used for small crafts or as internal boards for furniture, so they’re an important source of income.
Brother Chris and I walked in the direction Brother Gerald should be.
“Brother Gerald and Ripka seem to be working hard.”
“Are they really planning on exterminating all of them?”
Brother Chris looked astonished at how much progress had been made.
As we moved deeper among the stumps, we began hearing booming sounds.
Going further, we caught sight of Brother Gerald and Ripka battling Treants.
“Brother Gerald—!”
I called out loudly, and he seemed to notice us. He stopped fighting and came running over.
“You finished earlier than expected, huh?”
To Brother Gerald’s question, Brother Chris replied,
“Yeah, it was only a confirmation job, so it didn’t take long.”
“Tell me the details later.”
Brother Chris glanced around as he began speaking to him.
“But still, you managed to exterminate a third in just a few days.”
At Brother Chris’s remark, Brother Gerald let out a sigh.
“Haaah? This is only a third? This is going to take forever.”
“You don’t need to get them all. If you defeat the higher-ranked ones, the spread should stop.”
“If we can clear more than half, we should reach the center of the forest, so they’re probably there.”
“You haven’t encountered any yet?”
“I found a few that were a bit strong, but nothing that qualifies as a higher-ranked variant.”
“I see. Still, this really helps.”
“It’s good training for strengthening my fire magic too.”
Brother Gerald added that it was also good practice for coordinating with Ripka.
In the Great Forest, we rarely used fire magic because of the risk of wildfires, and unless you’re somewhere with complete fireproofing, it’s hard to train at full power.
Since we couldn’t help much in a Treant extermination battle, Brother Chris and I sat on some stumps to rest.
“I was surprised earlier, but I’m really grateful they’re progressing so quickly.”
“Brother Chris, are you planning to preserve this forest?”
“Even in the Great Forest, when you defeat Treants, more appear in the same place.”
“That’s true… but this area is full of nothing but Treants.”
“We can’t handle it right now, but once the territory is properly restored, this could become a training ground for the knights.”
“But this land is even more damaged than I imagined.”
“Many of the people who left for work elsewhere never returned. It might take time, but if the land improves, some will come back.”
As we relaxed, the sounds of battle suddenly intensified.
“Looks like they found a higher-ranked one.”
In response, I said,
“Should we go help?”
“No, it’s better to leave it to Gerald and the others. We’d only get in the way.”
The fierce battle lasted about five minutes before returning to the usual sound of normal Treants falling.
It seemed Brother Gerald and Ripka had slain the higher-ranked one.
As the sounds grew distant, we moved to a spot where we could rush over quickly if needed.
Brother Chris also started helping gather the dug-up stumps into one pile using wind magic.
Hmm… only I had nothing to do.
Maybe I could go explore while using defensive magic?
“Young Master Reinhardt, please don’t move from here.”
Meyer cut me off before I could act.
“Why not read a book instead?” Wilson added, agreeing with Meyer.
Hamilton and Kamuela were busy collecting stumps, so they weren’t nearby.
I understood why the guards were being stricter… but still.
Other than the occasional burst of intense fighting, nothing else happened.
Ah, right!
I had brought something from Brother Chris’s cook, thinking I’d try making it somewhere along the way.
Maybe I’ll make it now.