Trent's woods are basically some distance away.
　There was enough space for a set about three meters long to walk around normally.
　But... the place where the Rays are going now is clearly a worthy place to call a road.
　Of course, it is not paved with stones or trampled down to form a road.
　But still there is no grass growing in the walking area, and even though it's in the woods, on the ground... or, to be exact, the roots of the trees don't float where the lays are walking.
　It was well trimmed to keep the laymen out of the way to walk.
　Those who see this and say it's not the way to go should be described as quite a twisted person.
　That's the way you might think.
　There, the Rays were now making their way.
　With all this blatantness, the possibility of some kind of trap was no longer in the lay.
　Of course I'm not completely off guard and I'm ready to react if something happens.

"It's kind of stupid to suspect it when it's so obvious,"

　Vihela, walking at the end of the sentence, muttered somewhat dumbfounded.
　Ray agrees with the idea, so he turns his eyes to the trees growing on the left and right sides of the road and replies.

"Most of the time, I'd say that the tree was actually Trent,"

　When I was in Japan, I saw cartoons, novels, animations, games, and so on, the stone statues where I stood meaningfully were actually Golem... Ray was looking at the trees growing around him, thinking like that.

"Well... shall we check it out?"

　While listening to Ray's words, Vihela approaches a nearby tree, saying so.
　Vichela was in a neat line at first, but she must have thought that nothing special would happen after entering this path.
　I would touch the trunk of a tree and try to shave it a little with nails growing out of the back of my hand... but there was nothing really going to me.

"Oh, that's too bad,"

　Vichela returns to the Ray's side, not showing as much regret as she says.

"Well... this is the enemy's territory, so be careful."

　Vihela's arm is so trustworthy that Ray calls out just in case.
　If anything happened, I would have been willing to go and help myself, but I still wanted you to stop being careless in a situation like this where you don't know what's going to happen.

(Well, it would be more accurate to say it was in the enemy's belly than in the enemy's territory.)

　If something in the forest of Trent is likely to be ahead of us, we can literally assume that this is in the stomach.
　Of course I wouldn't bother to say it because Vihela and Seto would know it.

"Glu".

　As Seto purges to move on, Ray and Vichela nod to each other that they will find it clearer to move forward anyway than to talk here.
　And walking down the road created by someone who will be ahead of you, about ten minutes.
　I've been walking for that long...

"At last we see the exit,"

　Ray nods back to Vihela's voice mixed with discontent from behind her.
　Of course I could have reached here in a few minutes if I had taken the set.
　But I could not imitate the sight of a trap so blatantly.
　It must have been felt by Vihela as well as Ray.
　. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(And while we're walking like this, there's a battle going on in front of the forest of Trent. ...I hope there is not much damage over there.)

　It wasn't the adventurers I met at this request that passed Ray's mind, but the researchers.
　Alchemists, magical researchers, scholars…a collection of researchers, but without exception they are all intellectually curious.
　It's only natural that such people would not have come to this investigation in the first place.
　But while researchers may be right to prioritize their intellectual curiosity over combat, it is nothing but trouble for the adventurers who guard it.
　While they are escorting, the researchers are discussing their respective hypotheses about the forest of Trent.
　If this had been away from the forest of Trent, the adventurers would not be so burdened by it... they had been imitated right next to the battle.
　That's what adventurers will want to tell them to stop doing.
　Such a battle is now continuing as the Rays walk down this road.

(We must do something about it as soon as possible.)

　Looking at the exit of the road, Ray thinks so... before long they reach the depths of the road.

"This is..."

　It was Ray, of course, who muttered when he saw the scene spreading out there.
　a fairly large space
　There was so much space there that you couldn't miss from above."
　The ground was covered with moonlight grass, and if it were daytime, we could have seen what we could call a green carpet.
　And thick trees stand in circles, almost like columns, surrounding a wide space.
　Furthermore, in the center of the space, there is a thing that looks like a throne, with the roots of the tree combined with the roots of the tree, who also looks like a human being... no, there is an object sitting on the throne.

"What do you think it is?"

　Vyhela, surprised to see the surroundings, mutters as she looks at a wooden root throne and a human figure.

"I wonder what it is. But, given that it looks like he has been waiting for us so openly, I think it has to do with the forest of Trent."

　Ray muttered, looking at the other person made of the root of the tree.
　They must be willing to communicate with each other because they've been so openly waiting for them.
　That's true, but Ray is at a loss as to what to do in front of a doll made of tree roots.
　Can I talk to you like this... or can I knock you down at once?
　I'm at a loss what to do, but if I'm at a loss here, it'll only put a lot of strain on the adventurers who are currently fighting, so I'm going to move forward and speak.

"Do you understand my words?"

　I asked, but I didn't get any response from the tree-roots doll.
　Now I know I can hear my words if I move, but if I don't even shudder, Ray doesn't know how to react.

"...isn't that really a doll, not a monster, but a real doll?"
"Who makes such a doll here?"

　Getting this far is undoubtedly quite a challenge for an ordinary adventurer.
　What's more, it's not going to be easy enough to get this far and create a scene like this.
　What's more, this large space is something that certainly didn't exist when the Reys were in the sky.
　In other words, if someone really made this, they made it while the Reys walked down the street.

(and he would have made that road, too.)

　Ray sees the other person in front of him and decides it's unlikely.
　If that were the case, the scene that was definitely spreading out in front of me would have meant something.
　Still... even if it makes sense, the doll doesn't seem to respond at all to Ray's call is creepy.

"This chair is quite big, and is it a throne? I don't think it's strange to think that you have knowledge of human beings when you make a throne."
"But there are Goblin King and Oak King, and you don't think it's from there?"
"Ah... well, maybe."

　A confident reply is easily returned, and Ray looks away and caresses Seto as if to mislead her.
　Watching Seto purring, "What's the matter?", Ray comes back to his senses.

"At any rate, sir. Whether it's goblin or oak or auger, I wanted to say that there's wisdom in everything, rather than instinctively rampage."
"That's all I know. ...and what are you going to do?"
"No, whatever you say,"

　A sighing Ray looks again at the throne and the doll made of wood roots.
　With all this trouble, I don't see any meaning in this.
　It was true, however, that when asked what it meant, they would have to turn their heads.

(In the worst case, there is a way to destroy it... but it's true that if you do so in the current situation, you'll find many things unsavory.)

　If you destroy it badly, you don't know what will happen.
　If that doll is actually something that holds the secret of Trent's forest, and its destruction prevents it from spreading any further... then it would be the best outcome.
　But on the contrary, that doll is what keeps the forest of Trent from spreading, and it is possible that the forest of Trent will explode faster than ever before as a result of destroying the doll.

"First of all, I'll try to get close to him. Seto and Vihela, be prepared to respond immediately to whatever happens.""Are you okay? Or are you leaving me?"

　What Vihela says is a little dissatisfaction.
　Why do you leave yourself behind when it might be a battle?

"I don't know what's going to happen as far as this is concerned. and there is no denying that the tree here is Trent."

　At Ray's words, Vihela looks at the trees at the edge of the space.
　Most of the trees that grow in this forest of Trent are larger than a certain size...thick.
　But the trees growing here are even thicker and larger than them.
　If these trees were Trent, there was no doubt that they were more powerful monsters than Trent had ever been fighting.
　At Rey's words, Vihela glances at the surroundings.
　The battle with Trent has also been experienced in this forest by Vihela.
　Vichela stopped Trent's opponent and acted to fight against the huge flowers in the forest.

(But this is certainly an important place for Trent's forest, too, and I'll let him defend it, so of course Trent's companion in the forest... might as well be stronger than the fellow in the outer edge of the forest?)

　The difference between a mere soldier and a member of the Guards passed Viehla's mind at this time.
　Even if they are the same soldiers, there are regular and powerful soldiers.
　I suspect that Trent is, in that sense, a guard.
　The reason why the word "Konohei" came out here is probably because there was something like a throne in every corner.
　I also had the impression that this space was distinctly different from the forests of Trent that we had been walking in.

"It can't be helped,"

　In the end, Vihela nods to Rey's words and prepares herself for whatever happens at any time.
　Seth gazes anxiously at Ray, but whispers at Ray's decision.
　Being seen off by one of them, Ray approaches the throne in the center and the doll sitting on it.
　Of course, I'm ready to fight with death size in my right hand and twilight spear in my left hand so that I can respond immediately if something happens.
　Only the sound of stepping on grass on the ground echoes around.
　Now that we've come this far, Ray's ears can't hear the sound of the battle going on outside the forest of Trent.
　if any adventurer had used explosions, he might have heard them."Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no such person.
　No, it's possible if you want to make an explosion with a marina that can use spirit magic.
　I didn't do it because the guild had found high value in this forest.

(but Marina would have made up her mind when it came to the crunch.)

　Thinking this way, Ray walks on... and eventually arrives at the throne.
　Then I watched a doll made of tree roots.
　It's bigger than Ray, but it's not as big as 3m or 4m.
　Towards such a tree-roots doll... Ray is alert and opens his mouth ready to be ready for anything at any time.

"Do you understand my words?"

　The moment I told him so, the doll twitched its arms, even though there was no wind.