Mako, this is Flona's sister, the Tree Priestess. And this is Mako and Prince Leonard, the brave men of the Water Kingdom.
'Nice to meet you, brave lady. I'm Flona, priestess of the woodlands.
　Lucy introduced me to the tree country priestess and she greeted me.

'It's nice to meet you, I'm Takatsuki Makoto.
It's good to see you, Miss Flona. I'm Leonard.
　In a hurry, me and Prince Leonard return the greeting.

'See you later, Lucy. I'll see you later.
Yeah, later.
　I thought we were going to have a few more conversations, but he left easily.
　Huh?　You're leaving already?
　I didn't want to come all the way out here then.

"Lucy.
It's okay, Makoto. We're all going to be there when they get home. We can talk later.
　I see.

I didn't realize the tree priestess was Lucy's sister.
　Well, I'm surprised.
No, my dear. 'No, Flona is my brother's fiancée. So she's my future sister-in-law. Well, we have the same Walker surname.
A gorgeous family.
　I agree with Sa's comment.
　Lucy, you come from an elite family.

'It's not like that,'
　Lucy giggled and went ahead and turned around in front of the doorway.
'Come on in. This is my parents' house, the home of the chief of Canaan's village.


　◇


　A wooden mansion that seemed to be showing its age.
　The walls and ceilings are probably made of magic trees from the great forest and processed using magic.
　The intricately patterned carpets drawn on the floor were woven with magic letters.

　The walls of the house are lined with bookshelves lined with grimoires.
　It reminded me of the library in the Water Temple.

(So this is Lucy's birthplace...)
　I scurried to the back of the room, observing my surroundings.

　There was a rocking chair at the back of the room, and an old man, an elf, was sitting in it.
　His wrinkles were deep and his body was thin and thin, but his eyes were sharp.

I've been waiting for you, brave man of the watery land. Are you Prince Leonard?
No, the Prince is here.
　I pulled Prince Leonard, who was hiding behind my back, in front of me.
　For some reason, he looks at me and thinks he's Prince Leonard.
　It's obvious that he's an alien, right?

"...and...
　Huh?　What is this silence?

Grandpa....
Mm-hmm. This is Lucy, introduce me to her.
　Let's start with that!

'Well, this is Prince Leonard from the Land of Water. This is Janet, the Pegasus Knight (Knight) from the Land of the Sun. And this is my best friend and otherworldly Aya.
　Lucy introduces them, one by one.
　So far, no problem.
　I'm sure he was quick to respond to the word "otherworldly" from Saasan.

"So, this is Houli, a nobleman from the land of commerce.
Nice to meet you.
　This is the outright lie.
　In fact, Friae is a moon priestess.
　Can she be concealed?

"...and what a beauty it is.
　Looks like he can afford it.　That's what I'm talking about, Freyae.
　Lucy's grandpa is fawning over her.

Hello grandpa.
　Lucy's grandfather, who was aghast, hurriedly returned his expression to a grim one.
　It's a little too late for that.

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming such a long way. "I am Walt J. Walker, Chief of Canaan. When you say you're a friend of Lucy's, you're welcome.
Wait, wait, I haven't introduced you to Mako yet.
　Oh, I see.
　Prince Leonard has mistaken you for him.

"Hmm, that guy with no magic. You're not very brave, are you?
　Lucy's grandfather laughs, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

(He's a brave man... just in case.)
　Magic: 4, though!

　Lucy leaned a little closer to me, squirming with her hands clasped behind her back.

''He's the National Certified Brave of the Water Country (Roses) and he's my lover, Takatsuki Makoto.

What the hell was that?　
　I thought he had a limp from sitting in a rocking chair, but he stood up with a start and shook his cane!

He didn't listen to you!
I'm telling you now.
I won't forgive you!　With this man!
What kind of man is this?

(It's kind of like Lucy's family!)
　The tension is up and down like an instantaneous water heater.　

'Grandpa, you can't. Your blood pressure is too high, you shouldn't get so angry.
　A female elf, who looked like Lucy's family, also came over and soothed the foster chief.

''Zee..........''
　The village chief is breathing heavily.
　Are you okay?
　How old is he, Mr. Foster, how old is he?

"By the way, Lucy. Are you pregnant?
'Why not?　Onee-chan, that can't be true!
!
　I looked at him, and he looked at me, and we both looked at each other.
　That's a family conversation?

Because there's no other reason for her to come home with a man.
'I'm not!　I'm not like my mom and the ladies!
You!　How dare you mess with Lucy!
I'm not.
　I shake my head in a panic.
　I'm not lying (I'm sure).

'Huh?　You guys didn't do anything?　We're lovers, right?
By the way, I'm also Takatsuki-kun's girlfriend.
''!''
　At Sa-san's words, the eyes of Satou-san and Lucy's sister widened.

''What a surprise........Lucy is now the concubine of a brave man.
It's a scary world out there...
　Oh, my God, this is absurd!

　I managed to explain the situation.


　◇


...A stampede of demons from the Demon Forest.
　Lucy's grandfather, the head of the elven village, gives her a difficult look.
　He is telling you the right information about his relationship with Lucy.
　But he hasn't looked at me since a while ago.

''I'd better talk to the other villages about this. We'll make preparations, everyone come this way.
　I was led to the back of the mansion.
　In the back, there was a room about ten tatami mats in size, with a huge magic circle painted on it.

(What to do, the place?)
Mako, this room is...
　Was the question on his face?
　Lucy explained.


　--The Land of Trees (Spring Rogue).


　This country is the only one in the western continent where there is no king(s).

　The country is made up of sub-humans such as elves and beastmen.
　There are hundreds of settlements and no large cities.
　If so, how does it consist as a country?

The council system.
　Lucy's explanation continued.
'The Council of the Woodlands (Spring Rogue), where representatives from each village meet. The management of the Woodlands is determined entirely by that meeting. The chairperson of the council is a four-year member, and it rotates among the villages. My grandfather was elected to chair the council once.

It is well known that the first Chancellor was nominated by the legendary wizard 'Jonny Walker'
　Prince Leonard adds.

'Nomination?　Isn't the first Speaker of the House Mr. Jonny?
Great-grandpa was a free man. He never stuck to one place.
My father, in his 400 years, was still a vigorous man of procreation.
　The village chief said in a whisper.
　The rumored hero of many children.

　While they were talking about this, images of elves and beastmen began to appear on the giant magic circle, one by one.
(Is this.......a video conference system?)
　A lot of images float in the air.
　There are about twenty to thirty of them.
　And from the images in the air, we even heard a sound.

"The chief of Canaan's village muster. That's a rarity.
What's going on?
You've been cutting back on your time with your grandchildren.　
　I can hear the voices of the old men, probably the chiefs of the various villages.

　Wow!　
　I've been licking my lips over this otherworldly fantasy!
　It's like a TV broadcast.

It seems that something strange is happening in the Devil's Forest these days. The other day, there was a mass exodus to a city in the Water Country. Anybody know anything about this?
　Lucy's grandfather asks the foster chiefs around him.

'Ummm, nothing over here...'
That's not an easy thing to do, a mass exodus.
I suppose it happens a lot in the Devil's Forest.

　At first, reports of nothing unusual followed.

''Come to think of it, I've been seeing more and more 'Immortals (Undead)' lately.
'Yeah ... sure. I might have gotten a report like that.
I've seen them in my village.

The undead...?　(Not a cult of the snake?)

'Lucy?　Do the immortals (undead) often appear in the Demon Forest?
That's a lot. It's not uncommon for adventurers who die in the Devil's Forest to become the undead.
　I see, so it's not that rare then.

The Devil's Forest is a sacred place for them. They're here to visit the grave.
It's a nuisance.
If we get too many of them, we need to think about what we can do.
　Is the Devil's Forest sacred?

''Makoto-san. In the Devil's Forest, there is the tomb of the Immortal King Biflonsu, who was defeated by the Savior Abel a thousand years ago. It's an important place for the immortals (undead).
'Oh, I'm pretty sure I learned that in the temple a long time ago...'
Why is that annoying? Sa-san asks.
　'Sure, why not just move it somewhere else or destroy it?

''The Demon King's tomb is sealed, but it still gives off a powerful miasma. The miasma is not accessible to normal humans. "You are unlearned, my knight.
　Furiae taught me how to do it.
　As expected of a maiden of the moon, you know a lot about this.

Speaking of which, where is the hero of the Woodland?
He's training in the Great Forest for his own good. He won't be there for another dozen days.
　I've heard that the heroes of the Woodland are practicing by cutting off all contact with the outside world.
　It's going to be difficult to meet him in this situation.

I'm sorry for the sudden call. I want to meet in all the villages to discuss this in seven days. I want to meet in all the villages in seven days. A brave man from the water country is here for you.
Yes, I understand, but as long as it doesn't take too long I'll keep the word out to our heroes.
　The images of the village chiefs fade into thin air.


　It's very democratic.

　I heard that the country of trees is also called the people of the forest and live with nature.
　I thought they were living a primitive life.
　Maybe they are the most advanced.

(Just wondering if this approach would work in a time of war.)
　Can strong leadership be provided by a chairman who changes every four years?
　Well, I can't complain about the way other countries do things.

　We're leaving the conference room.


　After the meeting.
　The people of Canaan gave us a welcome banquet.
　Most of them were Lucy's family.

　The food was mostly wild vegetables and fruits.
　We also had hornbill meat and grilled river fish.
　It's not very flavourful, but it's very tasty and well-prepared.

You are a prince. He's so cute!
Hey, hey, do you like older women?
Hey, you're over 60 years old.
You're all the same, aren't you, you've been here twice?

　Prince Leonard is popular with the ladies' elves.
　By the way, they are all old in age, but they look like they're in their early 20s.
　And by the way, they are all beautiful.
　It's as good as it gets.

The only thing that matters is the fact that they are all beautiful.
　He looked at me and asked for help.

d*mn it, Makoto!　What a relationship you have with Lucy!
That's the tenth time you've asked me that question.
　I'm in the custody of Lucy's grandfather.

"You claim to be Lucy's lover, and you claim to be in love with your Mr. Sasaki!　Isn't this dishonest!
　By the way, Sa-san is leaning on my lap.
He says, "Hmmm, I'm drunk!" but I doubt he's really drunk.

"Grandpa!　That's about as good as it gets!
No!　Lucy. You're starting to sound like Rosalie!
Not even close!
'Yes, yes, Mother Rosalie would have had children when she was Lucy's age.
You too, lady!
Am I right?

　The mother of Lucy, as they say.
　I would have liked to meet her once.

　I wanted to talk to the tree priestess, but that one is being talked to by Friae.
　Will the maidens talk to each other?
　She doesn't tell me she's a priestess.
　I'll have more information for you later.

　The party continues.
　Fed up with the village chief's questioning attack, I got up from my seat under the pretense of being in the bathroom.

(Let's buy ourselves some time.)
　I make eye contact with Lucy and Sa-san.
　Maybe they get the intentions.

　I took a walk through the dimly lit village.　
　The village of the elves is lonely at first glance as there are no streetlights.

　If you look closely, you can see that moonlight plants are planted everywhere.
If you use your "night vision" skill, it's not too inconvenient.
　It is said that for the elves with high eyesight, life is not a problem with this level of light.

　The inside of the village is warded and safe.
The village, illuminated with moonlight grass, is beautiful.

　I took a casual stroll through the village.


　


Oh, you don't know him, do you?

　Under the moonlight.
　I was approached by an elven woman.

(Lucy's sister, I think.)

　Maybe there's no doubt about it.
　He's the most like the person I've met so far, and he looks like the best person I've ever met.

　Her hair is blonde, and she has blue eyes.
　She has an air of elegance that would be mistaken for a nobleman if she were a human race.

　I wonder if this is what Lucy would look like if she had a slightly more mature and relaxed appearance.
　Was she at the banquet earlier?
　I don't recognize her.

'I'm Makoto Takatsuki. I'm Makoto Takatsuki, I'm in a party with Lucy, and we're adventurers.
Oh my!　Lucy, you've got a man before you know it.
　She smiles and talks a little bit of sycophancy.

Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?
　And naturally, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to him.
(This guy is so pushy.)

　Softly, my foot floated in the air.

(Flight magic?)
　Relatively popular, intermediate magic.
　It's not uncommon for it to be unchanted and flying magic.
　However, it felt more natural to float than any other wizard I've ever met.
　Probably, he's a pretty good user.

　I found myself being taken to the top of a huge tree in the center of the village.
　There was just a thick branch that could accommodate about two people to sit on.

'This is the most scenic part of the Canaan village,'
You're right, you do have a view of the Great Forest.
　A large moon and a large forest.
　Perhaps in response to the moon's magical power, the magical trees in the forest were emitting a faint light.
　In the midst of it all, there was a place that seemed to be extraordinarily dark.
　So that's the Devil's Forest.....

''Are you worried about the Demon Forest?''
Yeah, that's what I came to look into.
'Hmmm, but I'm curious to see how far you and Lucy have come.

　He broke the story fast!
　He grabs my hand and teases my bangs with his other hand.
　There's a lot of body touch.
　Sa-san is too, but he's much more familiar with it.

'Lucy and I had adventures together in the Great Maze and the Great Forest.
That's not what I'm talking about.
　The elf sister who giggles, but doesn't let go of my hand.

''Are you........Makoto-kun?　You have a mysterious air about you. Even though you yourself have no magical power at all, the spirit is interested in you.
You can see the spirits?
''Of course. Water Spirits, Wind Spirits, Earth Spirits ... there aren't many Fire Spirits.
　Great!　He has mastered all four attributes.
　I spoke with Lucy's family earlier, and very few of them could see spirits.

'So you can see them too, right?
　All the way, you can close the distance.
　A distance that feels like breath on my cheek.

''Ha, yes........ I'm only a water spirit........no, two fire spirits.
It's amazing how a human being can become so close to a genie. I'm beginning to be interested in you.
　As he said that, he softly sat on my lap.
　I don't feel any weight at all, perhaps because I'm using levitation magic.

''Um, what on earth?''
Don't move.
　Then he put his hand on the back of my head and...

　Then I heard a voice from under the tree calling out to me.

'Makoto!　Where did he go?
I can smell you around here, Takatsuki-kun...
　I think Lucy and Mr. Saasan came looking for me.
　Mr. Saucer, you have the sense of smell like a dog.

Excuse me, I have to get back to... what?
　I noticed that the sister who looked like Lucy was gone.
　She had disappeared so cleanly that I wondered if I had seen a vision.

(What was that...)
　I wondered if I was dreaming.
　Something didn't feel right, and I climbed down the tree.

'Hi, Sa-san. Lucy.
　I call out to the two of them.

'Takatsuki-kun!　...., what?　Who were you with?
I can smell a strange perfume on Makoto.
What?
　Lucy and Mr. Saasan come close to my face.
　They continue to stare at me.

'No, no!　I've been looking at the moon alone.
You're lying.
Hi, Princess?
　Mr. Furiae is here, too.

'My knight is lying!　It's a hunch!
　Could you stop with the fate wizard's instincts and all that, because I just feel like I'm right!
　You're right, though.

　In the end, it was discovered that I was talking to a strange elven woman.

　However, the woman was still not at the banquet I returned to, and she wasn't there.