"No, really, you saved me. Thank you. I never imagined that I, of all people, would be captured by bandits. Honestly, I thought I was just going to be sold off as a slave like this... oh, thank you."
The Dark Elf woman reached out and accepted the sandwich Vihera had offered, expressing her gratitude.
Tossing the sandwich into her mouth, the woman looked around thoughtfully and spoke.
"Still, to think you have a Magic Item carriage like this. That's pretty amazing. Well, Odoban aside, I suppose it's only natural given that Marina-sama is here."
Odoban, who had just been dismissed with an "aside," opened her mouth with an exasperated look.
"Listen here, Jusura. Why on earth did you get caught by bandits? If you'd just used Spirit Magic, you could have handled it easily, couldn't you?"
"Well... you see. The spring sunlight in the forest felt so nice that I was taking a nap. And before I knew it, I was already in that situation. They'd gagged me, so I couldn't use Spirit Magic, and while I'm decent with a bow, I'm not very good at close-quarters combat."
"Unbelievable. You know what's going on in the forest right now, don't you? Why would you go and leave the barrier?"
"Ahahaha. It was just a little adventure. But I didn't leave the labyrinth barrier, you know? I only stepped outside the defensive barrier. ...Well, you know. This and that happened, but in the end my virtue remained intact. I'd appreciate it if you didn't dwell on it."
At those carelessly spoken words, Odoban and Marina felt exasperated yet relieved.
The fact that the bandits hadn't laid a hand on Jusura was likely because she was a maiden—or even if she wasn't, untouched captives would fetch a higher price as slaves. Still, bandits were bandits. It wouldn't have been strange for them to be swept away by immediate desire.
Thinking about it that way, Jusura's safety was close to a miracle.
"But what about meal times? You weren't just captured yesterday or today, were you? If they were going to sell you as a slave, it wouldn't do to have you weaken, so they must have fed you, right?"
"Ahaha. That's right, they did feed me. ...Though, you know, with a weapon pressed against my throat."
At Jusura's words, everyone listening nodded in understanding.
Spirit Magic generally required shorter incantations compared to ordinary magic, but it still needed time to chant in order to call upon spirits.
In a situation where a weapon was pressed against one's throat, it would be faster to slit that throat than to begin the incantation to call upon a spirit.
And with one's throat slit, further chanting would be impossible, making death certain before Spirit Magic could even be used.
"If I were better at close combat, maybe I could have managed something... but like I said, I'm good with a bow but not so much at close-range fighting."
Scratching her head in embarrassment, Jusura was a woman whose features could be described as well-arranged, yet she somehow lacked any feminine aura.
"Seriously, that's exactly why I've been telling you. Not just archery, but train in close combat too. Your skill with the bow is among the best of our group, so you should be able to manage close combat if you actually tried."
"Ahahaha. It just doesn't suit me. ...Well, after what happened this time, I think I'll give it a little consideration. ...Anyway, changing the subject."
Jusura paused there and turned her gaze in turn toward the people inside the carriage.
Rei, Elena, Vihera, Byune, Odoban, Marina.
Normally Ara would be included here as well, but she was currently serving as the carriage driver.
Then, Jusura turned her gaze toward the carriage window.
Through it, she could see Set walking alongside the carriage, and Ielo sleeping contentedly on its back.
"...What kind of group is this?"
"Listen. When I left the forest, the elder gave an explanation, remember? You were there then too, weren't you, Jusura?"
"Huh? Umm... ah... right. I remember, I remember. Something about borrowing Marina-sama's help to treat the World Tree, or something like that."
"Why don't you remember it properly?"
"Well, the elder's talk was so long. And I just gave in to sleepiness."
At Jusura saying she had fallen asleep, Odoban displayed an expression of pure exasperation from the bottom of her heart.
The elder's address was, naturally, something of great importance.
To be told she had fallen asleep because she was drowsy left one at a loss for words.
"Ahahaha. Well, you know. Don't worry about it. Everyone knows I'm not exactly the serious type anyway."
"You never change, Jusura."
At Marina's words, who had been watching the exchange between Odoban and Jusura, Jusura smiled bashfully.
"Hehe. Oh, but my archery skills that Marina-sama taught me have improved. I'm one of the top hunters in the forest."
"Is that so? I may have taught you archery, but that was when you were still small, so there's no need to be so formal about it."
Even as she said that, it was clear she was happy to have someone who looked up to her. A smile—one that, unusually for Marina, carried no seductive charm—graced her lips.
"Hehe. What Marina-sama taught me is a precious memory to me."
"It makes me happy to hear you say that. ...So, Jusura. Changing the subject, but how are things in the forest?"
Marina, who had been wearing a gentle smile, adopted a slightly more serious expression and asked.
At that question, Jusura also dropped her playful demeanor, shaking her head with a serious expression to match Marina's.
"Compared to when Odoban left, things have definitely worsened. It's not like it's accelerating dramatically, but the World Tree's barrier is still weakening. Actually, the reason I was caught by bandits is because of that too. An area that used to be inside the labyrinth barrier..."
"I see."
This meant that the World Tree's condition was growing more critical by the moment.
Amidst all this, Rei suddenly voiced something that had been on his mind.
"Why did the World Tree weaken so much? I mean, I heard it caught some kind of disease, but it's called the World Tree, so it must be a pretty special tree, right? I just can't see it weakening this easily."
"...I left the forest a long time ago and haven't been back since, so I can't really say. How about you two? At least when I left the forest, the World Tree didn't seem like it would fall ill."
Odoban and Jusura, who received Marina's gaze, exchanged glances and wore troubled expressions.
Marina had left over a hundred years ago, and they were likely recalling that time.
But soon, Jusura shook her head.
Odoban aside, Jusura was still young—at least by Dark Elf standards.
Just as had been mentioned earlier, when Marina taught her how to use a bow before leaving, she had still been quite small.
Compared to Jusura, Odoban—though younger than Marina by Dark Elf reckoning—was old enough to remember those days clearly.
"That's right. For a while after Marina-sama left, the World Tree shouldn't have had any kind of illness. I think it started weakening a little bit around the time Jusura began wandering the forest on her own. Of course, it was so gradual that I never thought it would turn into something this serious."
"Gradual, huh. That's the insidious part. If the World Tree had weakened suddenly in a short period, it would be different, but when it's gradual, it's hard to notice. Especially for us, since we live long lives, it's even harder to sense."
Unlike typical Dark Elves, Marina had left the forest out of a desire to see the outside world, which gave her words a certain undeniable weight.
"Wow... hey, Marina-sama. Is the outside world really that interesting?"
At Jusura's words, her eyes shining with curiosity, Marina smiled and nodded.
"Yes. It's certainly quite different from living in the forest. It was tough adjusting at first, but Odoban should be able to understand that much, right?"
"That's true. When I first stepped outside the forest, it was quite difficult. Well, even so, I somehow managed to adjust."
Odoban, likely recalling various stories of her own failures, muttered with a complicated expression before turning her gaze back to Jusura.
"So, to get back on topic—aside from the barrier weakening, has there been anything else unusual?"
"...Um, I think I mentioned hearing that they've started seeing monsters in the forest that they'd never seen before."
"Hold on."
Rei, who had been listening to the three Dark Elves' conversation, suddenly spoke up as if he had noticed something.
At this, Odoban's face stiffened for just a moment, but fortunately, the only one who noticed was Marina.
(Perhaps that was a mistake on my part. I didn't expect her to be this intimidated by Rei's mana. ...No, perhaps this is the normal reaction.)
The mana released by Rei when he removed the Ring of the New Moon had completely cowed Odoban.
Marina would have liked Odoban to get along with Rei, if possible.
Even if not to that extent, she at least didn't want Odoban to do anything hostile.
"There was a barrier set up around the forest, right? But monsters were already coming out before?"
"Oh. That. Even though we call it a forest, it's quite vast. Far more so than that forest where you recently fought the Cyclops. So the World Tree's barrier only covers the area around where the Dark Elves live. After all, we need to eat to survive, right? And if we're going to eat anyway, wouldn't you prefer the meat of high-rank monsters?"
Monster meat was apparently an important food source for Dark Elves as well.
And since they were eating it, Rei could understand the preference for delicious meat—the meat of high-rank monsters.
"So if the barrier were strong and wide, the monsters that serve as food wouldn't show themselves, huh."
"Exactly. Plus, we need materials besides food."
With a few exceptions, Elves and Dark Elves generally had more individuals with high mana than humans.
Naturally, they were not poor at Alchemy using that mana, and they could create a certain level of Magic Items themselves.
What they needed then were materials, and among those materials, many came from monsters.
Hearing that explanation, Rei's eyes gleamed with curiosity.
(Magic Items made by Dark Elves, huh. Honestly, it would be a lie to say I'm not interested. ...I hear the reward for this job is World Tree materials. Maybe I could have an alchemist from Marina's homeland craft a Magic Item for me? They'd be used to handling World Tree materials, after all.)
Since they lived in a place where the World Tree stood, they would naturally be accustomed to creating Magic Items using various materials from it.
That was Rei's reasoning, but before he could voice it, Jusura spoke up.
"Anyway, that's roughly how things are in the forest. I don't think anything will happen immediately, but it's definitely getting worse. So I'm counting on you all, whom Marina-sama brought here."
As Jusura added, "You saved me, after all," several of those listening smiled wryly.
Originally, they had intended to head straight for the Dark Elf forest without stopping at the hideout after defeating the attacking bandits.
If Rei had simply listened to those words, Jusura would likely still be captive in the bandit hideout.
Of course, if they had known Jusura was being held captive, the others would have readily agreed to raid the hideout.
But they had no way of knowing that.
Because of that, this incident had been largely a matter of circumstance—one could even call it a stroke of luck.
"...Marina. I would like to ask something. Is it possible that there are more bandits beyond this point? If so, given what happened this time, would it not be best to eliminate as many of them as possible along the way?"
At Elena's words, Marina smiled wryly.
"Even if you ask me... I believe I've mentioned it several times, but I left the forest a very long time ago. I doubt the bandits who were there then are still around now."
"I see. ...Then what about you two, Odoban and Jusura?"
"I wonder. When the barrier was functioning, bandits and the like couldn't get in unless it was some kind of accident, and when I left the forest, I wasn't particularly attacked."
At Odoban's uncertain murmur, Elena looked toward Rei with a slightly troubled expression.
Rei, receiving that gaze, nodded back as if to say there was no particular problem.
"Well, if bandits attack us, we can just eliminate them one by one, can't we?"
At Rei's words, everyone nodded in agreement, and the fate of the bandits in this region was sealed.