Book Eater

Chapter 101: Great Forest (3)

The next day, the delegation sleepily entered the Great Forest as soon as the sun came up. The sight of trees and bushes that towered above was a fascinating sight. Lone rays of sunlight peeked through the canopy, casting a golden glow over the forest.

However, that wasn’t the only thing that changed for the party.

Theo spoke, “It will be faster if we proceed to the right.”

Edwin nodded. “Ah, is that so?”

Unlike yesterday when the White Tower Master had been in charge, Edwin and Theo were now leading the group. Under normal circumstances, Edwin would be leading solo, but Theo’s newfound detection ability allowed him to notice monsters faster than anyone else, so it was inevitable that he would have the full trust of the White Tower Master.

As a result, he was the second guide for this mission.

Well, to be precise, it is Mitra’s role.

Theo was conscious of the weight of the small girl on his head. Every time he took a step, Mitra’s bud would spin like a pinwheel. A bright and cheery voice rang out from above his head, matching with the beat of the spinning. He didn’t know whether she just liked the environment of the Great Forest, but Mitra was really excited after entering the forest.

“Mitra?”

[Heeeee— .... Woong?]

“I’ll have to depend on you once more.”

Mitra spread her arms wide open as if she’d been waiting for him.

[Hoing!]

She was now familiar with activating her power, so the bud sprouted naturally. The mysterious green light glowed, and information about the area transmitted itself into Theo’s head. The path split to the left and right, so he checked all the possibilities. Theo found that there was nothing on the left path, then he looked down the right.

However, a frown appeared on his face.

“Sir Edwin.”

“Yes, Benefactor?”

“Does this forest have wolves with horns on their foreheads? If we go three kilometers down the path on the right, we will meet them.”

Edwin thought for a moment. “Wolves with horns on their foreheads... Perhaps it’s the thunder-horned wolf.”

Edwin accepted Theo’s words without any doubt. In a forest where they couldn’t see more than a hundred meters in any direction, Theo’s detection ability was extremely useful. As such, Theo guided them through the Great Forest without any interruptions.

“Then we should avoid them. They’re a little annoying.”

“Are they dangerous enough to cause harm?” The White Tower Master asked from where he had been listening to their conversation.

“No, they aren’t dangerous. It isn’t a creature that can survive in the depths of the Great Forest. The greatest threat from the thunder-horned wolf isn’t its combat power but the noise."

Orta asked, “Noise?”

Edwin grimaced. “Thunder will emerge from the horn on the forehead and produce a burst of sound which is exactly like real thunder. It will draw all the creatures in the surroundings and then run away to survive.”

Indeed, it was better to avoid them. The delegation nodded at the easily understandable explanation. Magicians specialized in their own fields, so they didn’t know many of the monsters who lived in the Great Forest. So Edwin’s assessment, born of hundreds of years of experience, was more reliable than any textbook.

Thanks to the guidance of these two people, the party was able to reduce any unnecessary friction. When they did encounter monsters…

Piing!

Edwin only needed to fire his arrow once for the creatures to vacate the area in a hurry. It was different from the storm arrow which had caused massive destruction. This was a fast, translucent arrow that divided into hundreds of shards and pierced the heads of the creatures. It was a technique that was perfectly encapsulated by the term ‘rain of arrows.’

Amazing. This is a master-class strength.

Theo admired Edwin inwardly as he looked across the battlefield. It was incredible that the powerful Edwin was so polite to him. Regardless of whether they were trolls or ogres, every arrow was instantly fatal. Despite lacking in power compared to Theo’s Magic Bullet, the arrow’s deadliness lay in its speed and extraordinary trajectory. Even if Theo predicted its path with his sixth sense, he might not be able to avoid or defend against it.

No, considering that Edwin wasn’t serious right now, his arrow was quite possibly more threatening than Magic Bullet.

“... I’m really glad he is friendly, right?”

[Hoi?]

Mitra made a questioning sound, but Edwin had finished off the stragglers and returned. He pointed at the vacant space where dozens of creatures had previously been and said, “Benefactor, we will take a break here.”

“Here?”

“Yes. There are many powerful monsters living further in, and it is likely that we won’t be able to completely avoid them, even with Benefactor’s abilities. This is the last place where we can rest properly.”

Theo was convinced and glanced at the White Tower Master.

Orta nodded in agreement. “Take a break in that empty spot. We will start moving in two hours, so you are allowed autonomous actions until then. Eat, sleep, take any action that you think you need. However, if you cause an unnecessary disturbance, you will be severely punished.”

The magicians’ eyes shone. They had joined this delegation for the express purpose of discovering the secrets of the mysterious land called the Great Forest. They didn’t care about the fatigue of the last day or two as they studied anything that caught their eye. Someone even got out a shovel and started to dig at the ground. The image of an elegant magician was completely destroyed.

Edwin looked at the scene with a bemused expression. “... Benefactor, human magicians these days are much more energetic than I thought."

“Haha...”

Even Sylvia was stowing a few bottles of stream water in her dimension pocket. It was impossible to reconcile this behavior with the images of magicians depicted in stories. The only magicians who weren’t moving were Theo and the White Tower Master.

Orta walked up to Theo and Edwin. “Sir Edwin, can I ask you one question?”

“Speak.”

“For us humans, elves are known as keepers of the forests. I was wondering if this gathering activity is rude.”

Edwin chuckled. “That rumor is half wrong and half right.”

Elves were traditionally known as a species who defended the forests. In fact, they often defended the forests and animals against those who sought to burn or slaughter them.

Despite this, Edwin didn’t hesitate to say that the rumor was only half right. “We defend the order of the ecosystem, not the simple trees, plants, and animals. Your collection of samples is nothing compared to this vast forest, so there is no reason for me to stop it.”

“Hoh, then what about creating a road with attack magic? The vitality of the forest means it won’t be hard to restore such damage.”

Edwin’s eyebrows twitched at the words. “... Your words aren’t wrong. But there is no reason to create unnecessary confusion. I don’t believe it is right to do such things just to hasten our steps a little bit.”

Orta replied, “These are the values of an elf. You don’t feel the need to smash the framework for progress?”

Edwin slowly shook his head. “That framework is what we must protect.”

Both voices were calm. Nevertheless, Theo could feel the tension between the two of them. The conversation started from a trivial story to an exchange of ideas that was hard for Theo to understand. Humans and elves… Was it possible that different species saw another landscape when stepping foot into the area of transcendence?

Theo decided to just listen quietly to the dialogue between the two masters. Then Mitra suddenly jumped up.

[Hoiiit?!]

Mitra, who had fallen asleep on his head, suddenly raised her voice and looked around.

The two masters were both startled by it and looked around in a hurry, but they couldn’t feel anything. The forest seemed completely normal. Only Theo, who shared his senses with Mitra, heard it.

- Excuse me, who are you?

... Someone was calling out. It wasn’t out loud but a voice transmitted through a mental connection, like Gluttony.

The voice was being broadcast through his connection to Mitra. He recalled that Ellenoa had once spoken to him in this way. However, before Theo could react, he heard someone else speak.

- Why is it so noisy…?The voice sounded drowsy, like the person had just been sleeping.

- What, did something interesting happen??The next voice resonated like a well made bell.

- Don’t talk to me about nothing.?Then it was a low voice, like a beast growling.

- No, I clearly heard it!?It was the first voice Theo had heard.

The four unknown voices touched Theo’s head, and he couldn’t help asking,

... Who are you?

At that moment, his head suddenly became quiet. However, that silence didn’t last long.

- What?! Someone has really connected to the neural network?

- Who? Reveal your true identity!

- Tita?! You don’t think that girl is fooling around do you?

- No way. She would’ve reached the snowfields by now.

- Then who’s the guy who just talked?

Theo was starting to get a headache from the clamor. It was a headache he didn’t feel when he talked to Gluttony, Mitra, and Ellenoa. Was it because he wasn’t accustomed to talking in this way? For now, it seemed necessary to calm down the agitated voices.

Theo unconsciously grabbed his forehead and formed his thoughts clearly.

My name is Theo.

- Theo?

- Eh, I think I heard it before...?

- I don’t know. Who was it?

Finally, the owner of the light voice changed the atmosphere.

- Ah, I remember! The human who saved Ellenoa! Am I right? Answer me!

T-That’s right.

- Excuse me, how much progress did you make? That girl is still neutral right? Did you catch her? Kyah, a romance between a human and elf after a long time! If my memory is correct, it has been a thousand five hundred years!

It was the first time Theo had ever heard such a chatty person, and he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Despite only one person talking, his forehead started to hurt again.

Fortunately, the voice of salvation came quickly.

- T-Theo?! How are you already...?

“Ah, Ellenoa!”

He was so happy to hear her voice that he said it out loud. Edwin, who was watching Theo carefully, jumped at the sound of her name, but Theo couldn’t afford to pay attention to him. Theo asked hurriedly about this unprecedented phenomenon.

Ellenoa replied in a surprised voice.

- Theo has accessed the neural network of Yggdrasil, called Ratatoskr. Only Arv’s direct descendants can touch it.