“Makoto, this person is the Wood Oracle, Flona-Oneechan. And, these are the Heroes of the Water Country, Makoto and Prince Leonard.” (Lucy)

“Nice to meet you, Hero-sans. I am the Oracle of the Wood Country, Flona.” 

Lucy introduced us, and the Wood Oracle-san greeted us.

“Nice to meet you, I am Takatsuki Makoto.” (Makoto)

“It has been a while, Flona-san. It is me, Leonard.” (Leo)

Prince Leonard and I hurriedly return the greeting.

“Bye, Lucy. See you later.” (Flona)

“Yeah, later.” (Lucy)

I thought they would converse for a bit more, but she easily left.

Eh? Already?

Then why did we even come here for?

“Lucy.” (Makoto)

“It is okay, Makoto. When someone of the family returns, we have a tradition of everyone gathering, so we can talk to her later.” (Lucy)

I see.

“Even so, to think that the Wood Oracle was actually your sister, Lucy.” (Makoto)

It really surprised me.

“That’s not it. Flona-oneechan is the fiance of my brother. That’s why she will be my sister-in-law in the future. Well, she is from the Walker lineage as us though.” (Lucy)

“What an extravagant household.” (Aya)

I agree with Sa-san’s comment.

The elite household of Lucy.

“That’s not it.” (Lucy)

Lucy makes a wry smile as she turns back to the door.

“Now, come in. This is my home and the house of the Kanan village chief.” (Lucy)

◇◇

A wooden residence that I can see the passing of time in it.

The walls and ceiling are most likely made from the magic wood of the Great Forest, and were manufactured with magic.

The carpets on the floor with complicated patterns had magic letters sewn on it. 

There’s shelves lined up at the walls of the house, and they were tightly packed with magic books. 

It reminds me of the library at the Water Temple.

(This is the home of Lucy, huh…) (Makoto)

I proceed further into the room while observing my surroundings.

There’s a rocking chair deep in the room, and there was one old elf sitting there.

His wrinkles were deep, but his eyes were sharp.

“…I have been waiting, Water Country Hero. You are Prince Leonard, huh.” 

“No, the prince is here.” (Makoto)

I pulled Prince Leonard, who was hiding behind me, and put him in front of me.

For some reason he mistook me for Prince Leonard.

My looks clearly tell I am a foreigner.

““……””

Eh? What’s this silence?

“Geez, Ojii-chan…” (Lucy)

“U-Umu, Lucy, please introduce us.” 

Do that from the beginning! 

“Uhm, this is Prince Leonard of the Water Country. This here is Janet-san from the pegasus knights of the Sun Country. The one here is my close friend and otherworlder, Aya.” (Lucy)

Lucy presents them one after the other.

There were no problems till there.

He quivered slightly at the mention that Sa-san is an otherworlder though.

“And this one here is the noble of the mercantile country Camellon.” (Lucy)

“…Nice to meet you.” (Furiae)

This one’s a complete lie.

She is actually the Moon Oracle, Furiae…but, did she manage to hide it?

“…How beautiful.” 

Easily. 

As expected from Furiae-san.

The grandpa of Lucy is fascinated by her.

“Hey…Ojii-chan.” (Lucy)

He must have returned to his senses, he hurriedly goes back to a serious expression. 

I feel like it is a bit too late for that.

“I am impressed you all have come from far to this humble village of ours. I am the chief of Kanan, Wolt J Walker. You seem to be friends of Lucy, so I welcome you.” (Wolt)

“Wait wait, I still haven’t presented Makoto.” (Lucy)

Ah, right.

I am still the guy mistaken as Prince Leonard.

“Fumu, the man over there that has absolutely no mana. Now that I look closely, there’s no way he would be a Hero.” 

The grandpa of Lucy laughs with a ‘fufufu’.

(I am a Hero…surprisingly.) (Makoto)

My mana is 4 though!

Lucy crosses her hands at her back and fidgets while leaning onto me.

“He is the Country Designated Hero of Rozes and…my boyfriend, Takatsuki Makoto.” (Lucy)

“W-What did you say?!” (Wolt)

I thought his legs weren’t working well since he was sitting on a rocking chair, but he snaps right up and holds his cane aloft?! 

“I heard nothing of this!” (Wolt)

“I am telling you now.” (Lucy)

“I won’t allow it! Not a man like this!” (Wolt)

“What do you mean ‘a man like this’?!” (Lucy)

(It really does feel like Lucy’s family.) (Makoto)

The tension in the air rose instantly like a tea kettle.

“Ojii-chan, that’s not good. You have high blood pressure, so if you get that angry…” 

A female elf that seems to be a relative of Lucy calmed down the Chief-san.

“Haah…Haah…” 

His breathing was rough.

Is he okay?

How old is he?

“…By the way, Lucy, are you pregnant?” 

“Why?! There’s no way I would be, Onee-chan!” (Lucy)

““?!””

Sa-san and I were surprised and looked at each other.

Is that a conversation to do between the family?! 

“Cause you know, bringing back a man here has no other reason but that.”

“I am different! I am different from my mother and sisters!” (Lucy)

“You! How dare you put your hands on Lucy!” 

“I haven’t.” (Makoto)

I hurriedly shake my head.

It is not a lie (depends).

“Eh? You two haven’t done anything? Even though you are in a romantic relationship?” 

“By the way, I am also the girlfriend of Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya)

““?!””

Sa-san’s words made the Chief-san and the sister of Lucy open their eyes wide.

“H-How can this be… Lucy has become the concubine of a Hero.” (Wolt) 

“The world outside is scary…” 

Aah, geez. This is a mess!

I somehow managed to explain the situation.

◇◇

“…A monster stampede came from the Demonic Forest, huh.” (Wolt)

The village chief makes a complicated expression.

I have given him the correct information regarding my relationship with Lucy.

But he hasn’t met my eyes for a while now.

“It would be better to consult with the other village chiefs as well. I will make the preparations. Come here, everyone.” (Wolt)

We were guided deep inside the residence.

There’s a room of around 16m2 deep in, and there was a giant magic circle drawn there.

(What is this place used for?) (Makoto)

“Makoto, this room is…” (Lucy)

My question must have shown in my face.

Lucy explained to me.

Wood Country, Spring Log.

This country is the only one who doesn’t have a King in the West Continent.

A country composed of elves and beastkin.

There’s several hundred villages, and there’s no big city. 

Then, how is it working as a country?

“A council system.” (Lucy)

The explanation of Lucy continued.

“The Council of Spring Log where representatives of the villages gather. The management of the Wood Country is all decided in that meeting. The chairman of the Council rotates every four years to each village. Ojii-chan has also been chosen a long time ago.” (Lucy)

“The Legendary Mage, Johnny Walker, being nominated as the first chairman is a famous story.” (Leo)

Prince Leonard adds.

“Nominated? He wasn’t the first?” (Makoto)

“My great grandfather was a free person, so he didn’t stay in one place.” (Lucy)

“My father, even when passing the 400 years, was an energetic person that made a lot of offsprings.” (Wolt)

The Chief-san says.

The rumored Legendary Hero that has a lot of descendants.

While we were having that conversation, the projections of elves and beastkin were popping up one after the other from the giant magic circle. 

(T-This is…a video conference system?) (Makoto)

There’s a whole lot of projections floating in the air.

There’s around 20-30.

And I could even hear sound from them.

“A call from the village chief of Kanan, huh. That’s rare.” 

“Something happened?” 

“Shaving off my time with my grandchild.” 

I hear the voices of the elders that are most likely the leaders of the villages.

Wow! 

I was underestimating isekais! 

It is like a TV transmission! 

“It seems like an abnormality has occurred in the Demonic Forest recently. A certain city of the Water Country was attacked by a monster stampede just the other day. Is there anyone who knows something about this?” (Wolt)

Lucy’s grandfather asks the village chiefs around.

“Hmm, nothing here…” 

“A stampede isn’t a small matter.” 

“It is something normal in the Demonic Forest though.” 

At first, the reports of nothing special happening continued.

“Now that I think about it, the amount of sightings of undead has increased.” 

“Aah…that’s true. I might have received a report like that too.” 

“There’s someone from my village who saw them too.” 

(Undead…? Not the Snake Church?) (Makoto)

“Lucy, do undead show up often in the Demonic Forest?” (Makoto)

“A lot. Adventurers who died in the Demonic Forest becoming undead is a common thing.” (Lucy)

I see. It isn’t that rare then.

“The Demonic Forest is their sacred ground. They must be coming back to their dying places.” 

“What a problematic thing.” 

“If the numbers increase too much, we will have to think up a countermeasure.” 

The Demonic Forest is their sacred ground?

“Makoto-san, the grave of the Immortal King Bifrons, who was defeated by the Savior Abel 1,000 years ago, is in the Demonic Forest. For the undead, that’s an important place.” (Lucy)

“Aah, I did learn about that in the temple…” (Makoto)

“Why is there something so problematic there?”, Aya asks.

That’s true. Shouldn’t they have moved it somewhere else? Or break it.

“The grave of the Demon Lord has been sealed, but even with that, it is still releasing powerful miasma. Normal humans can’t get close to it. You lack knowledge, My Knight.” (Furiae)

Furiae-san teaches me.

As expected from the Moon Oracle, she knows a lot about this.

“Now that I think about it, where’s the Wood Country’s Hero?” 

“In the training field at the Great Forest. I don’t think they will be coming out till 10 days or more.” 

It seems the Wood Hero has cut off contact with the outside and is training.

It is gonna be hard to meet them then.

“I apologize for the sudden call. I want to gather all the villages in 7 days and have a talk. Can you contact them? The Heroes of the Water Country have come, you see.” (Wolt)

“Understood.” “Can’t be helped.” “I don’t want it to be long though.” “I will try calling the Hero too.” 

The projections of the chiefs disappear one after the other.

(I see…so this is how the Wood Country manages to stay unified.) (Makoto)

Quite democratic.

I’ve heard that the Wood Country is also called the Residents of the Forest, and that they live together with nature.

I thought they had a primitive lifestyle.

They might actually be the most advanced.

(However, would this way of things go well when there’s a war?) (Makoto)

Would a chairman that’s switched every 4 years be able to show powerful leadership?

Well, I won’t complain about how other countries do their things.

We left the meeting room.

After the meeting, a welcoming banquet was held with the people of the Kanan Village.

Most of them were the family of Lucy.

There were a lot of edible wild plants and fruits in the dishes.

There’s also horned rabbit meat and river fish dishes.

The taste was mild, but it was cooked well and was properly tasty.

“Heeh, you are a prince, huh. Cute~.” 

“Hey hey, do you like older women?” 

“Hold it, you are more than 60 years old.” 

“You are in a similar situation as me. Even though you have divorced twice and came back.” 

Prince Leonard was popular with the onee-sama elves.

By the way, they may be considered old by their ages, but they look like they are in their mid twenties.

Also, they are all beauties.

That’s elves for ya.

“M-Makoto-san…” (Leo)

He looked over here and pleaded for help, but…

“Makoto, what kind of relationship do you have with Lucy?!” (Wolt) 

“That’s the 10th time you ask that.” (Makoto)

I have been caught by Lucy’s grandfather.

“You say you are the boyfriend of Lucy, but you are also the boyfriend of that Sasaki-san there too! Isn’t this unfaithful?!” (Wolt)

By the way, Sa-san was snuggling onto me while on top of my lap.

“Hnn, I am drunk~”, is what she is saying, but I find it doubtful she actually is.

“Ojii-chan! Just give it a break already!” (Lucy)

“This is bad! Lucy is beginning to resemble Rosalie!” (Wolt)

“I am totally different!” (Lucy)

“Yeah yeah, Mother Rosalie-sama already had a child by the age of Lucy.” 

“You too, Onee-chan!” (Lucy)

“Did I?” 

The rumored mother of Lucy, huh.

I wanted to meet her at least once.

I wanted to talk to the Wood Oracle, but Furiae-san is talking with her.

Maybe they have a lot to talk about being both Oracles?

We are hiding that she is an Oracle though.

I will have her tell us what she learned later.

The banquet continued, and I, who was wincing at the question barrage of the Chief, lied about going to the toilet and left my seat.

(I’m gonna buy a bit of time here.) (Makoto)

I meet eyes with Lucy and Sa-san.

They probably understood what I wanted to do.

I walk around the dim village.

The elf village has no street lights, so at a glance it looks desolate.

When I looked properly, I could see moonlight grass shining with the moon here and there. 

If I use [Night Vision], it isn’t that uncomfortable.

For the elves that have good eyesight, they probably don’t have any problems with this much amount of light.

The village has a barrier around it, so it is safe.

The village illuminated by the moonlight grass is beautiful.

I carefreely walked around the village.

◇◇

“Oh my, it is the first time I meet you.” 

Below the moonlight, a single female elf speaks to me.

(Is it a sister of Lucy?) (Makoto)

I am most likely not wrong here.

She is the one that resembles Lucy the most within the people I have met until now.

She has blonde hair and blue eyes.

She is so elegant that, if she were a human, she would be mistaken for a noble.

She looks a bit more adult than Lucy, and if she had a calm appearance, she would look something like this.

Was she at the banquet before?

I don’t remember seeing her.

“I am Takatsuki Makoto. I am in a party with Lucy and we adventure together.” (Makoto)

“Oh my! That Lucy, since when did she get a man?” 

The Onee-san says with a smile.

“Hey, want to talk for a bit?” 

Saying this, she grabbed my hand and pulled me.

(T-The people here are really pushy.) (Makoto)

My legs float lightly.

(Floating Magic.) (Makoto)

A slightly popular flying magic.

It isn’t rare to be able to use Float without chanting.

It is just that, within all the mages I have met until now, this is the first time the floating feels so natural.

She is most likely quite the strong one.

By the time I noticed, she had already brought me to the top of the giant tree that is at the center of the village.

There was a thick branch that was just the right size for two people.

“This is the place with the best scenery in Kanan Village.” 

“True. I can look over the Great Forest.” (Makoto)

A big moon and the Great Forest spreading all the way around.

The magic trees of the Great Forest were releasing faint light probably reacting to the mana of the moon.

Within that, there was a place that was specially dark.

That’s the Demonic Forest, huh…

“Is the Demonic Forest bothering you?” 

“Yeah, I came to investigate it.” (Makoto)

“Hmm, but what I am interested in is how far you have progressed with Lucy.” 

She immediately snapped my topic! 

She kept holding my hand, and with her other hand, she fiddles with her bangs.

She is a person with a lot of body contact.

Sa-san is like that too, but I feel like this woman here is a lot more polished in it.

“I have gone to Laberintos and the Great Forest together with Lucy.” (Makoto)

“I didn’t mean that when I said ‘progress’.” 

The elf Onee-san giggles with her hand still holding mine.

“You…your name was Makoto-kun, right? You have a mysterious air around you. Even though you yourself have no mana at all, all the Spirits are interested in you.”  

“You can see Spirits?” (Makoto)

“Of course. Water Spirits, Wind Spirits, Earth Spirits…there’s not many Fire Spirits.” 

Wow! She has mastered the 4 elements.

I spoke to the family of Lucy a moment ago, but most of them couldn’t see Spirits.

“Does that mean…you also see them?” 

She closes her distance.

A distance where her breath touched my cheek.

“Y-Yeah… Only Water Spirits… No, Fire Spirits too.” (Makoto)

“Hoh… Even though you are a human, you can become so close with the Spirits. What a mysterious person. I am interested in you.” 

Saying this, she sits on top of my lap.

She must be using [Float], I don’t feel any weight at all.

“Uhm…what are you doing?” (Makoto)

“Stay still for a bit.” 

Saying this, she wraps her arms around my head…

And at that moment, someone called me from below the tree.

“Makoto~! Where did you go?” 

“I can smell Takatsuki-kun around here though…” 

Lucy and Sa-san have come searching for me.

Sa-san has a dog-like sense of smell. 

“Sorry, I have to go back soon…eh?” (Makoto)

By the time I noticed, the sister of Lucy was gone.

She disappeared so cleanly that it feels as if I was just seeing things.

(What was that…?) (Makoto)

Was I hallucinating there?

I went down the tree while feeling fuzzy about it.

“Hey there, Sa-san, Lucy.” (Makoto)

I call the two.

“Takatsuki-kun! …Hm? Were you with someone?” (Aya)

“I smell an unknown perfume on Makoto.” (Lucy)

“Eh?” (Makoto)

Lucy and Sa-san’s faces approach me.

They stare straight at me.

“N-No, I was watching the moon alone.” (Makoto)

It felt so dream-like I ended up blurting that out.

“That’s a lie.” (Furiae)

“P-Princess?” (Makoto)

Even Furiae-san was here! 

“My Knight is lying! It is just a feeling though!” (Furiae)

A Destiny Magic user talking about it being a feeling is incredibly convincing, so could you not?! 

She is right though.

In the end, I told them about how I was talking to an unknown female elf.

However, when we returned to the banquet, she wasn’t there.

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