††† (Viewpoint of Ferret, Queen of the Elves)

　Ferret, Queen of the Elven Forest, was sick.
　Lately, she hasn't had much of an appetite.
　She can't eat the mushrooms she loves, nor can she eat the fruit of the forest.

　She had no choice but to loosen the fruit, heat it up, add honey and make jam.

　That day, he was still pampering the maidservant, "ahhh" and bringing the jam to his mouth.

　The maidservant stared at Ferrette for a moment as she lay face down on the bed, but decided to give her a hard time.

'Master Ferrette, will you please stop pouting and get back to your political duties?'

　Ferret puffs out his cheeks.

'But I'm sick, you know?　Sick people need to act like sick people.

I think you're in good health, sir.

'But I have no appetite and no motivation. Besides, my heart is always pounding in my chest.

"...What is the time for it to develop?

When I thought about him.

　Ferrette assured him.
　When the maidservant heard those words, she said in dismay.

'That's an incurable disease, isn't it?

Right?

　And Ferrette, who looked up.

Yes, it's the kind of thing that neither a holy fountain nor an elixir can fix. It's called love annoyance.

'Yes!　That's right. Just thinking about that man, Ike-sama, makes my heart skip a beat. I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest. I can't work in this state.

'Well, that means that Master Ferrette won't see you now when his guest arrives, is it correct?

Well, I'll leave it to you to figure that out.

Of course. Well, I'll go tell 'Master Ike' about it.

　When the handmaid said this, Ferret jumped up.
　Then he went straight to the closet and said to the maid of honor.

'I wonder what colour dress Master Ike likes?'

'It's a skin tone, isn't it?　Master Ike is a lord, too.

'Master Ike is not that kind of man!

　Ferret puffed out her cheeks and picked out her dress and began to apply her makeup.
　The maidservant gazed at the back of the dress with a look of relief.




　The Elven Queen's room was full of sunshine.
　A golden-haired beauty sashayed into the room, she was dressed in a light green dress.
　She was still the same beautiful princess who was as stunning as ever, but her mood seemed to be a little slanted.
　She let out this complaint at the opening.

''Who is the beautiful woman beside her?''

It's for Satie.

I'm aware of that. We've met before. No, it's the long-haired woman on the right.

Oh, is that him?

　The beautiful girl interrupted my words.

''I am the Dylokuten Demon King.

　She declared.

'Well, Demon King,'

　Ferrette opens her mouth wide and puts her hand there.

'I didn't expect you to be as pretty as this.

'That would be mutual. A species that has forgotten how to grow old.

''But since you're the king of the demon race, I imagined a scarier one.

Is it?

　It's better not to be fooled by appearances, I was tempted to say so, but I suppressed it and quickly decided to go on with my business.

''Ferret-sama, I heard that Ferret-sama used to study the earth dragons that live in this forest.

　Well, you'd be surprised again where I got that story.

Anemone, I'm sure. You remembered that bird-headed girl.

　Ferret said, and proudly stuck out his chest.
　A modest chest, though, due to the elves.

'Yes, they are. Despite my appearance, I am erudite.'

　It appealed to me.

　As far as Anemone was concerned, it didn't look like it, but this woman, even if she was a hypothetical Elf King, might have a different brain structure than Anemone.

　I thought so, but instead of saying so, I asked the research-loving queen.

'Lady Ferret, I have a question to ask you.

My breasts are a little bigger than anemones. My breasts are a bit bigger than Anemone's, and my waist is slightly thinner. My favorite food is buttered mushrooms and marmalade jam--

..........

　She goes on and on about unrelated things.
　All I wanted to hear was about the earth dragon, but she went on and on.


　She told me about her tastes, of course, but also the perfume she uses, the color of her favorite underwear, and all the little incidents that have happened since I came to the forest last time.

　Why are women such wily creatures?
　Such a thought occurred to me, but I kept my moderation through silence.
　Even if the other party is the queen of a country, and beside her is Sati and the demon king.
　And my dead grandfather had said it too.　
　It's impossible for any wise man to silence a woman, he said.
　I'm not even a wise man, I can't shut her up.
　I went along with the small talk until she was satisfied, and then I waited for her to get tired of talking.

　In the meantime, I look at the women beside me.
　Sati was smiling.
　She is still the same girl who never fails to smile in any situation.

　On the other hand, the Demon King-sama, who is famous for his temper, has a surprisingly calm expression on his face.
　When she closed her eyes as if in meditation, she listened to the queen's words sincerely.
　-- I thought, but that was a misunderstanding, she seems to be asleep.

'ZZZZZZ.'

　It's not a cartoonish sleep, but it's a quiet sleep. You are a dexterous person to sleep standing up.

　I would love to have the same skill, but the Elf Queen seems to be tired of talking before she can learn it.

I'm sure you've got a lot of questions for me, by the way, didn't you ask me something earlier?
　Ferret asks with a smile.

　Now we can get back to the matter at hand. Thinking that, I spoke up at once so as not to get sidetracked this time.

I'm sure you're not going to be able to find a way to make it work. I'd love to hear about that ecological research.

'Oh, yes. As I recall, Master Ike said as much.

Yes, I came to this forest because I wanted to ask Master Ferret about the Earth Dragon.

Didn't you come to see me?

　Ferrette says, sulking a little.
　'Not here, I'm not brave enough to say that it's different.

''Of course, that's my primary objective, but as much as I want information about the earth dragon now.

　Perhaps the flattery worked, but Ferrette spoke about the earth dragon with a twinkle in her eye.

　She speaks eloquently.

'They are earth dragons, or earth dragons, that live in the vicinity of this forest, but they are about the size of a bit of a small mountain.

Oyama?

''It's more of a small mountain than a small castle. In fact, there's an anecdote that it huddled there during the dormant season, with moss growing on its skin, and that a traveler mistakenly fell asleep on the head of a ground dragon.

That's a tough one to travel, isn't it?

No.

　Ferret shook his head fluently.

''The dormant earth dragon is quiet. If you waltz on its head, it won't even get up, let alone get angry. It's not only in the dormant period, but also in the active period. As long as we don't attack it, it will never harm us.''

Oh, I see, there are dragons like that.

Yes. Not all dragons are violent.

So how do these dragons attack people every 20 years?

Earth dragons don't attack people on their own.

But in fact, this territorial dragon is on the move and will attack the village of Azuchi. We want to stop it.

That's probably because there's a ground dragon breeding ground near a village called Azuchi.

A breeding ground?

''Yes, every twenty years the ground dragon appears on the breeding grounds, mating with other males and producing offspring. The territorial dragons do not pass through Azuchi to attack villages. It's just a village in the path of the breeding grounds.

By the way, did the village chief say that only one earth dragon would appear?

'It's probably just that the female ground dragons are too huge to stand out. There should be a lot of small geosaurs gathered at that time of year. Well, this is just speculation.

...I see.

　I press my chin through my mask.
　Dragons that gather during breeding season. It's possible.
　There were many such animals in the past life.

　In fact, I think there are many animals that live separately except during the breeding season, and only meet each other during the breeding season.

　It's not an exaggeration to say that all animals except those that live in herds tend to be like that.

　This other world is similar, and I think that creatures that always act as a pair are more rare.

　If this is the case, then it is possible to control the behavior of the earth dragons by taking their reproductive behavior to the opposite side. I considered this and told Ferrette about it, but when she heard my words, she replied with a dainty smile.

'That's as good as it gets, Ike-sama. You're right.''

　She whispered something to the handmaiden as she said this.
　The elven handmaiden bowed her head grudgingly and disappeared from the queen's room.
　A moment later, she came in with an unfamiliar fruit in her hand.

'What's that?'

　I ask her, and she explains.

'This is a fruit that emits the same smell as the female earth dragon.

Oh, wow.

　I can't help but utter that.
　She then adds the words I'm expecting to hear.

'By the way, geodragon females don't get along very well with each other. So much so that they will cannibalize each other if the same female is nearby.

That's good to know.

　It was the best information I've ever received. I asked the Elf Queen.

　I asked the Elf Queen.

How much time would you like to collect the fruit?

How many?

'The more the merrier, but for now, about a hundred.

Then I'll need a week.

A week...

　He snorted.
　That would mean that we might not be able to make it in time for the march of the Earth Dragon and the Alliance of Various Kings.
　I wanted to somehow destroy the enemy before they destroyed that village.
　They wanted to fight not near Arsenum, but as close to the borderline of the enemy country as possible.
　While I was worrying about this, the Demon King sent out a ship to help me.
　The demon king woke up before I knew it and gave me a warning.

It's just a matter of time. Don't let this girl's tricks get in the way of your success. She wants to be with you and that's why she is playing the shamisen. If you put your mind to it, you'll get together in three days. I've seen the fruit many times on my way to the forest and the whole forest is fragrant.

　Hearing those words, I looked at Ferrette again and she stuck out her tongue like a naughty girl.

''I'm sorry, Ike-sama, I just wanted to stay with Ike-sama for as long as possible.''

　In her defense, she said.

Three.

　He stuck out three fingers.

'You mean three days?'

　I ask.
　She shakes her head slowly.

'I'll give you thirty hours to collect them and show them.'

　She assured me, but added, however.

'Just make out with me during that time, please. I'd like to hear about my sister and all that.

　Ferrette said this and forcefully put his arms around me.
　The Demon King-sama and Sati would get bored with that, but I could only nod my head.
　Aside from the flirting, I was grateful to her and her sister.
　In particular, Ferrette's sister, Anemone, has helped me a lot.
　They are both twin sisters.
　He would be living far away from them and feeling lonely.

　I was willing to at least listen to her if it would give her some comfort.

　I decided to head to the guest room with Sati and the Demon King and tell her what happened last time I left the Elven Forest.