What had happened in this place - the stone floor left lying around after the soil had dried and weathered and washed away, and the decaying, ivy-tangled sign beyond it. As I got closer to it, my guess turned to certainty.

'...... This place was once under the control of the kingdom. I can't read all of it, but it has the coat of arms of the kingdom and the name of the then king on it.
This name is nearly a hundred years old, if the reign of King Kludio was ten generations ago .......

　The area containing this garden is not completely controlled by the kingdom, but it should have been the territory of this country for a hundred years.

　Did a powerful family become so influential that the kingdom lost control of this garden itself? Or did the kingdom itself abandon its management of the garden? There is no proof of either at this point.

''If the kingdom has stopped managing this place, why didn't you ask the people in the vicinity to do it?
'I can only guess that from the ...... situation. I think that for some reason, this forest has become inhospitable. Places where the power of the spirits is strong often reject people. If you're not a mage who can detect the influence of the spirits, you 'somehow' don't want to get close to them and that's it.

　Forbidding people from entering a person under the influence of a spirit is a magic that can be applied. However, if a genie is angry or refuses people with bad feelings towards humans, it should never be left alone.

　Nature spirits bring various benefits to humans, but sometimes they can also cause them to suffer. Elemental spirits are said to be particularly influential, and sometimes the spirits' wrath can appear as a natural disaster - the spirits in the spirit world will return to the spirit world once the summons is released, so they have little impact on this world.

(...... The phenomenon that is appearing in this garden is also due to a mutation that happened to the spirits. There is something else that is affecting the entire plant life in the garden. If such a thing is possible, not a genie, but another higher being ...... but if it is down the road, can it approach and stay safe ......)

　In this situation, where some of the companions are accompanying them, there's no way to make a reckless choice - but as Presha-san and the others had said themselves earlier, there's no choice but to retreat to them.

'Glass-sensei, you don't need to be shy with us. I won't regret my decision to move on, no matter what happens next.
The royal family gave away and neglected gardens ...... You don't get to experience such mysteries when you're in a fortress, do you? I don't mean to play around, but to be honest, my heart is dancing in my chest.

　A path leading to the back of the garden with a sparse stone floor. There, a new plant demon blocked the path - seeing that, Presha-san stood with fighting spirit from all over her body, and Deite-san held her bow. The fact that these women came together with me was once again reassuring.

　　　◆◇◆

Hah!
There. ......!

　Presha-san's spear roared and Deite's arrows shot through the raging plants. Even though these demons are far more powerful than goblins and the like, the two of us didn't hold back as long as we knew their weaknesses.

　The closer you get to them, the more they don't want you to get to them, the more they attack us. But the nettles listened to me and never attacked us.

　Plants of the same species share consciousness as friends. The plants attacking us just repeat the words 'punish those who have abandoned the divine realm'.

　But as they realize that they can't stop us, their voices gradually weaken. And we were on a long downhill slope in the increasingly dense miasma.

　--The miasma is a miasma that has been around for a long time, and it's not until we got this close that we were able to see the existence of it.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get a good idea of what to expect. No, I could tell it was a tree because of its trunk and branch-like parts, not a single leaf, and its surface was decayed and gray.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about the miasma, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about the miasma. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

''Wha-......, my predecessor, ...... this won't even be another step ......''
You can't do this, Mr. Glass!　You're not alone in this: ......!

　Both Presha and Deethe were unable to take another step forward. I could hear the two of them stopping me, but I still couldn't help but advance.

　The being ahead of them was weak and asking for help - it wasn't as easy to imagine.

　They despaired and mourned, and they had no choice but to turn their anger on all humans. There was only one reason to do so.

'I know what it's like to hate the people who abandoned this place: ...... Still, I know it's too much to ask!　Just give me one more chance!　We are not going to betray you again!　I'm not going to leave this place and forget it: ......!

　--not a betrayal.

　--I had always assumed that man would offer up his faith.

　--My conceit has put men off. A god who does not have faith will only decay and be forgotten.

'Your family members aren't convinced by that...... so they turned their wrath on us. I'm sure you feel sorry for them too!　If the land around us continues to wither and die, we can really forget about it: ...... Now, we can still stop it!　We can help you!

　I didn't mean to tell a makeshift lie. I'm not going to be the only one who's been in the same boat for a while.

　If the miasma is causing the land to wither away because of the loss of faith, then I'll offer my faith again. The moxibustion is a very important part of the miasma.

　Still, the rejection intensified, and the miasma grew thicker and thicker without end. Stones mix with the blowing gray earth and graze your cheeks -- you can feel the pain and know that the blood is running down your cheeks.

　-- it's too late now. Even I can't stop my body from decaying. If my roots that hold this land together wither, the soil will rot, and my servants will be turned to demons. Those who were cut down by you were also originally innocent plants and flowers.

　--I shall be a martyr to them, and they shall perish. Abandon this land again, O man!

　A voice rings in my head. If that's what God wants, then maybe there's nothing left for humans to do.

　Still, I can't give up. It's a good thing that the miasma is only a short distance away, as it prevents the miasma from blowing in, but the magic power stored in the magic crystal is already on the verge of being lost.