AN: Woohoo, we finally made it to chapter 100! I'd like to give a bit shout out to all of you who've made it this far! Thank you for reading~!
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[...My children don’t usually attack humans with green eyes unless they get too close.]
Oh? Um, yeah, I think I remember the elves saying something like that before… But it seems like you don’t seem to dislike humans in general, so I always wondered-
[Yes, you are correct… In the beginning of the war I didn’t let my children attack any humans at all, and even tried to get them to protect them instead. It didn’t take long for the Wind and the Fire to realize this, however… They’d never had much interaction with humans since their nds were mostly inhospitable to them, and they never formed an appreciation for them either, since they both had their own creations to watch over. Such disregard bred cruelty… And when they began to use the humans against me, I had to give up on my leniency. I could no longer offer them my children’s protection.]
Oh wow, what complete jerks! I don’t even wanna imagine what all they made the humans do to make you completely give up and let us pnts attack them…
[The only soce is that the others of your kind do not wander, and usually stick to one pce. I try my best to encourage them not to choose a spot too closely located to humans… although there have certainly been times that humans have chosen to locate themselves poorly, ter on.]
Fen’s vilge immediately popped into my mind when I heard that. From what they and the Spirit told me, I’m guessing that Shui was already long set up in that pce before that hidden sve vilge was set up there. I wonder if those lizardmen put them there on purpose, knowing that Shui was there…? If they did, then maybe it’s possible they did it as a test to see if there was a way to still use humans against my kind. Or maybe they even put the town there so that Shui would have an easy meal, and wouldn’t have a need to expand its territory to them eventually? Orrr maybe they were just using Shui to weed out the subpar sves for them so they wouldn’t have so many mouths to feed.
No matter what the truth of it all is, I really don’t like it!
Kill the humans or don’t, but don’t use them for fodder like this!!!
Well, maybe it’s hypocritical of me to be thinking like this when I’m a literal human-eating monster~!
[No, child, I wouldn’t say that that’s the case.]
Oh? But-
[It may be true that you’ve eaten humans, but you’ve stuck to a moderately strict code while doing so. Perhaps it’s a remnant of Cythia within you, but you’re far from being the heartless ruthless monster that you think you are. Case in point: The way you chose to handle the wild-folk.]
The wild folk…? Ohh, you mean the animal people? Jeez, I completely forgot that they had a proper name like that!
[...Yes, the ‘animal people’. You had every chance to be as cruel with them as Cythia wanted you to be, and yet even while fighting against them, you came to your senses and stuck to your morals. Even when you acknowledged that things would be much easier if you just killed everyone, you didn’t, and instead looked for a way that would benefit everyone involved.]
Ah. You’re talking about me making a deal with the Avatar, aren't you…
[You lending out Trig to him, yes. It was quite wise of you; Pleasingly, so. I was greatly surprised and impressed that you offered such a peaceful answer to it all.]
…You know, I’m getting a feeling that you just gave me a backhanded compliment there, Spirit. But since I’m a kind and wise pnt, I’ll be courteous and look past it!
[Thank you, my dear Mellily.]
You’re very welcome, Forest Spirit!
[Actually, if you’re saying my proper name, then it should really be Spirit of the For-]
Yeah yeah, don’t ask for things you know aren’t gonna happen! So anyways, since you brought it up, how is Trig doing out in those windy windy nds?
[...Child…]
I~ Asked~ You~ A~ Question~!
[... ... ...Trig is doing quite well, actually. On top of everything that you asked me to instruct him to grow, I’ve also been getting him to perform a few preventative measures to help revert the desertification of some of the Wind’s nds. He might need to stay another week, but so long as he’s not impeded, he should be able to beat back a good portion of the desert and create more livable areas.]
Wowww, that’s actually really really cool! Is it because of some cool high tech modern day pnting practice type things, or are you using something more magical to-
“Ah, Miss, it’s your turn to go in now.”
Oh right, I was still standing in the line for the shrine this whole time, wasn’t I? I completely got distracted! I’d better hurry in and stop holding up the line; Doesn’t take roots for legs to see all the dissatisfied stares that are coming my way… Sorry Spirit, but we’re gonna have to continue this conversation ter!
[...I’m in no rush, Mellily.]
Yup, I figured as much!
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The inside of the shrine was surprisingly spacious, considering it only centered around one singur waist-height bush. The way the sunlight filtered in through the fancy ttice-work ceiling opening made a super cute and mystical design come down onto the bush, and somehow made it look even more special and beautiful than it already must have. With the way that there were only very average looking benches pced nearby it, you were practically forced to look at the vibrant colors of the camellia flowers on the bush.
Really, you could easily tell that it had been taken care of meticulously, even though it was trapped inside.
So I guess I'm supposed to be praying right now? I wasn’t paying enough attention when I was in line to figure out how people usually prayed to this thing… It’s a good thing no one followed me in here, and that they give you lots of privacy; They would have totally noticed how strange I was, otherwise!
Well hey, do I even have to pretend to pray to this thing? I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna piss off the Forest Spirit if I don’t. Hey, and aren’t I the one who grew this bush in the first pce?! It’d be totally weird if I prayed to my own creation!
[I suppose you do have a point there, child.]
Yeah! I totally have a point!!!
Mmm, well, even if I’m not gonna pray to it, it’s still nice to see the very first thing I grew sitting here so happily, being worshiped by a bunch of people… even if they are doing it for completely wrong reasons. Hello, little pnt! It’s good to see you again. I can tell they’ve been treating you well, but is there anything that you’re missing? If you need something, then maybe I could get it for you.
[That bush should be perfectly fine, child. Cythia’s people have been using their magic to maintain it, so it should be in its peak condition.]
Oh yeah… Mom’s people, huh? That's right. Wow… To think that this is where mom’s people ended up, here with my first bush. It’s a small world after all, isn’t it?
[Actually, compared to Cythia’s memories, I believe that this world is actually quite a bit-]
Hey! It’s just a saying! I don’t mean it literally, okay?!
“Excuse me, Miss. Please finish up in there soon.”
Oh, what? It’s only been a few minutes and they’re already hurrying me up? Ah well, I guess the line outside was moving at a pretty brisk pace. Makes sense that they were fgging people along this quick, I guess; Would probably take a whole day to get through a line that size otherwise. I saw what I came to see anyways, so I guess I can make my exit.
As I stepped out through the exit door of the shrine, a gift-shop stand of sorts greeted me. They had cute flower crowns, flower pels, bouquets, and small saplings, all on offer for purchase. I guess this must be where everyone was buying them from, huh? I wonder if all the camellia flowers and bushes that I’ve seen around town were bought from the shrine like this?
Hmm… I don’t have any money, so it’s not like I could buy one of these and support these guys financially, right? I mean, it’s a silly thing to want to buy something that I can just grow easily in the first pce, but the idea of leaving here without a souvenir makes me kind of sad, you know?
Hey Spirit, what is it that they use for currency here? Is it possible that I could maybe grow it somehow, or-
“Miss. Miss! Follow me! Come this way!”
Before I knew it, a small hand was wrapped around mine, tugging me deeper into the forest.
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AN: Here's my patreon and ko-fi, in case you're feeling generous or curious ;P
patreon.com/user?u=63286737
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