Afterstory Episode 5: The Former Villager A Hears a Story About a Mysterious Forest

2021/03/30: Typos corrected.

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"Hmm. The Staff of Guidance, huh? Is it really that dangerous?" Melissa asked, tilting her head curiously after hearing the story.

"You might not believe it, but one woman used it to brainwash almost every person of importance in the kingdom. We managed to pull through this time because our opponent was Amy, but if someone with real ambition had claimed that power, the world might have ended."

"Is that so? Well, if the God of Wind said so, I suppose that’s that."

Melissa didn't seem to fully grasp the gravity of the situation, but she appeared to force herself to accept the explanation since it came from a God.

"So, regarding what the God said about a 'place where the wind always blows and ice never melts'... I thought since you and Jerome have traveled the world, you might have an idea where that is."

"Let's see. Would this temple not work?"

"There’s no ice here, so I doubt it."

"True... If that's the case, it must be somewhere cold in the north, right? But we hate the cold, so we didn't visit the northern regions much."

"I see..."

It seemed this wasn't going to be easy.

"In that case, Melissa, did you happen to see anything else unusual during your travels?" Ana asked.

"Oh, Ana. You've certainly started speaking in a very ladylike way, haven't you?"

"Yes. Since I have already become Allen's wife, I wish to carry myself with the grace of a proper lady from now on."

"My, how nice. I wish our Jerry would shape up a bit more, too."

Melissa shot a glance toward Jerome, who was playing with Ciel a short distance away.

As usual, he was being playfully gnawed on and pounced upon from all directions. It was a fairly violent display; if a human were subjected to that, they’d be lucky to escape without serious injury. However, as expected of a Sky Dragon, he seemed completely unscathed.

"Now, about that mysterious place... Let me think..." Melissa tilted her head and went into deep thought for a moment. "Oh, right. I think there was a forest somewhere with an unusually high density of mana. Where was that again...?"

She trailed off, pondering once more. Then, she turned her attention back toward Jerome.

"Hey, Jerry!"

"W-What is it? W-Whoa! Hold on, Ciel! Mom is talking to me right now!"

"Ciel!"

With one firm word from Melissa, Ciel stopped her assault on Jerome. However, the little dragon looked over at us with a face that practically begged for attention.

"Kyu~?"

"It cannot be helped," Ana said, standing up smoothly. She walked over to Ciel and gently stroked her head.

"Kyu~!" Ciel chirped happily, acting spoiled as she rubbed her head against Ana's hand.

"Th-Th-Thank you," Jerome stuttered.

"Not at all."

"S-S-So, Melissa. What was it you needed?"

"Think back. When we were traveling, we found a forest with a strangely high concentration of mana. Do you remember where that was?"

"Ah, um, let's see. I-I believe it was t-t-to the west of Auto?"

"Ah, that’s it! That was it. I remember now. Shall I guide you there?"

"Thank you, that would be a huge help."

And so, we decided to head toward the mysterious forest Melissa and Jerome had discovered.

◆◇◆

After spending the night at the Temple of Wind, we prepared to take flight, but we hit a snag.

Ciel was clinging to Ana and refused to let go.

"Now, Ciel. I promise I'll come back to play again," Ana said, gently patting her head, but there was no sign of the dragon letting go.

"Kyūūūūū!"

"Ciel! No! You can't cause trouble for Ana!" Melissa scolded.

"Kyūūūūū!"

She let out a cry that sounded almost like weeping, desperately clinging on as if her life depended on it.

"Sigh. Once she’s like this, there’s no talking sense into her. Ana, why don't you stay here while Allen goes on ahead?"

"Hmm..."

"No. That won't do," Ana insisted. "I was also personally asked by the God."

"I suppose you're right. Ciel!"

"Kyūūūūū!"

This back-and-forth continued for nearly an hour until Ciel finally grew exhausted. She began to nod off, still hugging Ana tightly.

"Jerry."

"Y-Yeah."

Jerome stepped in and gently pried Ciel away from Ana. Using his tail with surprising dexterity, he scooped her up and cradled her.

"L-L-Leave the h-h-house-sitting to me."

"I'm counting on you, Jerome."

"See you soon, Jerome."

"Y-Yeah."

With our farewells finished, we finally soared up into the sky.

◆◇◆

After flying for several hours, we arrived above a vast forest region far to the west of the Royal Capital of Sentlaren. Since things like GPS don't exist here, I couldn't be certain of our exact coordinates, but we were definitely further north than the highway leading toward Westerdale.

The concept of national airspace doesn't really exist in this world, so it shouldn't cause a diplomatic incident, but we were undoubtedly over the territory of the Sentlaren Kingdom.

"I'm fairly sure it was around here," Melissa said, sniffing the air as she surveyed the canopy below.

Back when I was still an adventurer, I’d heard rumors that the monsters to the west were exceptionally strong. If I recalled the logic of the Otome Game, the party only headed west after the fall of the Royal Capital. In other words, if I used the game as a benchmark, the "strong monsters" could be explained away simply as "high-level end-game content."

But this was reality. If the monsters were strong, there had to be a concrete biological or environmental reason for it.

Melissa had mentioned the forest had a high mana density. I wondered if that concentration of power was the reason the local fauna was so dangerous.

"Ah, over there! Follow me!"

It looked like she’d found the spot. Following Melissa’s lead, we descended toward a sudden clearing in the middle of the dense forest.

There was a small pond at the center—no, "spring" was probably a more accurate description of its size. The banks were covered in a patch of open grassland, making it a perfect spot for a vertical landing.

"We're going down."

"Got it."

We followed Melissa and touched down near the water’s edge.

"Phew."

Once the landing was handled, we unfastened our seatbelts and stepped out onto the grass.

"Good job, Allen."

"It was nothing. Thanks, Ana."

"Oh, no, it was my plea—"

"Alright, alright. I get that you two are lovey-dovey, but can we focus?"

"Ah."

"Sorry."

Ana and I had just started to drift into our own little world when Melissa’s comment snapped us back to reality. Well, she has a point.

I cleared my throat and took a look around. At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary forest, but I noticed some unfamiliar flora growing near the spring.

"I wonder what those plants are. I guess rare species grow this deep in the woods."

"Oh, you're right. They look... surprisingly delicious," Melissa noted.

I wasn't sure what to make of that, but apparently, as a Sky Dragon, Melissa’s diet included local greenery.

"Wait, that's odd. Why does a patch of grass look so tasty to me?" Melissa tilted her head, looking confused by her own appetite.

"That plant... I feel as though I've heard of it somewhere before..." Ana murmured, though she couldn't quite place it.

Since there didn't seem to be any immediate danger, I stepped closer and used Appraisal.

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Name: Moon Magic Grass Effect: A special magic grass that only grows in mana-rich locations. It bears seeds only on the night of a new moon. Rank: Epic Price: ???

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"Moon Magic Grass? It sounds valuable, but..."

"Who goes there?"

The moment I muttered the name, a woman’s voice rang out. Almost immediately, a figure pushed through the nearby thicket and stepped into the clearing.

"I am the Witch of the Forest. These woods are my garden. Leave this place at once."

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Thank you for reading.

The first volume of Villager A Wants to Save the Villainess has been released today. To everyone who has picked up a copy, thank you very much!

For those who have already read the light novel version, did you notice a certain "Oh?" moment?

While you can understand the story perfectly fine without the book version, I believe you’ll find the experience even deeper if you read it.

If you haven’t yet, please consider picking it up at your local bookstore, online retailers, or as an e-book. I’ve received feedback from early readers saying:

"The book version is much easier to read than the web version and has been significantly improved. There are many corrections, so even those who have read the web version should definitely check it out."

I'm sure you’ll be satisfied with the quality!