This is the story from fifty years ago, told from the perspective of the Great Sage in his youth.
My name is Otfried.
I am an eighteen-year-old mage with a secret dream: to be known as the Great Sage fifty years from now, living a quiet, leisurely life of travel with my grandchildren.
Recently, some people have even started calling me a Sage.
I suppose I’m just a bit more knowledgeable than most and reasonably skilled in magic.
Currently, I am a member of the party tasked with defeating the Demon King.
Since I had already earned the title of Sage, it was only natural that I was eventually recruited as a Hero's Ally.
We are currently in the middle of our journey to slay the Demon King, taking an extended stay in a certain ancient forest.
While we are officially lingering here to heal the wounds from our daily battles, I am the only one who knows the real reason for our delay.
I turned my eyes toward a large man who was my comrade and best friend.
Clad in a gold helmet, the man began to pace slowly away from our campsite.
"Alright everyone, I'm going to head out on patrol for a bit."
Leaving his party members behind, the man in the helmet proceeded alone into the depths of the forest.
This man was none other than the leader of our Demon King Subjugation Party—Hero Rudolf himself.
Ever since we arrived in this forest, Rudolf had frequently gone off on these solo excursions.
As I stood with several other comrades watching the Hero depart, one of the women in our group hugged me from behind.
She began to whisper softly into my ear.
"Hey, Otfried. Do you know the origin of this forest's name?"
"Of course. In the ancient tongue, the Forest Spirit, the Dryades, is called a Dryas. It’s a word from long before any human kingdom was established here."
"Exactly. And the plural of Dryas is Dryades. This place is called the Dryades' Forest because the spirits here aren't just one person—they're sisters."
With a playful "nyahaha," she spun around and sat down right in front of me.
Despite my reputation as a Sage, the Female Swordsman Fidessa was somehow even better informed than I was.
Her white hair fluttered lightly before my eyes, and a sweet, pleasant scent tickled my nostrils.
Being the same age, Fidessa and I seemed to get along quite well; second only to the Hero, she was the comrade I was closest to.
"Otfried, you know the real reason the Hero keeps disappearing into the forest alone, don't you?"
"I'm not sure what you're..."
"Actually, I know too. I know all about the Hero’s secret tryst."
My heart gave a sudden thud.
I wasn't sure if it was because Fidessa had seen through Rudolf’s secret, or because she had reached out to touch my cheek.
"Hey, why don't the two of us slip away for a bit...?"
Fidessa muttered that there were too many eyes on us here, and I found myself unable to refuse her suggestion.
The two of us headed deeper into the woods.
Fidessa was a dual-wielding swordswoman with a prowess that belied her slender frame.
She carried two mythic-class treasure swords, one capable of commanding lightning and the other wind.
Even within the Hero’s party, she was easily one of the top three strongest members.
She couldn't use magic at all, but she possessed an incredibly sharp intuition to compensate.
Perhaps that was how she had so easily located the secret meeting place of the Hero and his lover.
Fidessa and I hid in the bushes, peering out at the couple sharing a private moment.
The Hero in the gold helmet was locked in a passionate embrace with a beautiful woman with Blue Vine Hair.
"Aha, so that's his lover. I knew she wasn't human."
"It can't be helped now that you've seen... she is a Dryades, a Forest Spirit."
Forgive me, Rudolf.
Even though we are best friends, your secret has been discovered by Fidessa.
"Did he hide it from the rest of us because a Hero shouldn't be falling in love with a non-human?"
"That's about the gist of it."
"I wonder how they even became lovers?"
"If I recall, Rudolf was being attacked by the Demon King's Army when that Dryades saved him. It was love at first sight. Ever since, he went to her almost every day to propose with a Blue Flower. Just the other day, she finally accepted, and the two were united."
Because I was his best friend, Rudolf had only consulted me about his love life.
It had been quite the ordeal trying to help him move things forward while keeping the rest of the party in the dark.
"So, which Dryades is she? The older sister or the younger?"
"...The older one."
If I remembered correctly, her name was Eschen Frau.
Just as the name came back to me, someone spoke to us from behind.
"Um, excuse me, humans..."
I turned around to find a beautiful woman with green vine hair standing there.
She was stunning, but clearly not human; my gaze was immediately drawn to the branches growing from her head.
"A Dryades...?"
"Yes. I am Särige Frau, the younger sister of the Dryades over there."
The rumored Dryades sisters were now both present.
I had heard that Forest Spirits rarely showed themselves to humans, so I wondered what had brought her out.
"You are the Hero's comrades, are you not? I have a humble request."
"What is it?"
"Please, take care of my Big Sister. It seems she intends to leave this forest to spend the rest of her life with the Hero."
After our conversation with the younger sister, we returned to the campsite.
According to Särige, Big Sister Dryades intended to abandon the forest and elope with Rudolf.
I had assumed their romance would only last as long as we stayed here, but I never imagined she planned to actually join the Hero’s party.
I was curious how a Dryades, who is supposed to dwell within a Great Tree, intended to travel, but it seemed the older sister had a plan.
I was extremely interested in that method from a magical perspective.
"Nyahaha. I can't believe a Forest Spirit is going to join us as the Hero's girlfriend."
"Even I was surprised. But with her help, we might actually be able to defeat the Demon King."
With the spirit magic of a Dryades on our side, defeating the remaining executives of the Demon King's Army would be simple, especially after we had already taken down two of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Making the Demon King a thing of the past might not be just a dream anymore.
However, I was so swept up in the excitement of gaining a powerful new ally that I failed to notice the moment Fidessa's expression clouded over.
When Hero Rudolf returned from his tryst, he pulled me aside to tell me that the Dryades would be joining us.
He intended to introduce her to the rest of the party tomorrow.
He had finally gathered the courage to reveal his secret to everyone.
It would be fine; every member of this party was an ally to the Hero.
Even if it was a romance between different species, they would surely support their leader's happiness.
Even Fidessa hadn't shown any signs of rejection.
So, everything was going to be alright.
After finishing my talk with Rudolf, I quietly returned to my bed.
"Hey, Otfried. Having a lover is nice, isn't it?"
Immediately after I lay down, Fidessa slipped into my tent.
"...I thought you were a woman who only loved her swords?"
"Sometimes, I find myself craving the warmth of another person more than the touch of a cold, unfeeling blade."
My mind was soon dominated by the sensation of Fidessa's sweet lips.
And so, I fell into a deep sleep, as if losing consciousness.
I drifted off feeling Fidessa's warmth beside me.
In my dreams, we had already defeated the Demon King.
I was finally able to return to my home village.
There, I would marry a lover just like the Hero and live happily.
At that moment, I thought it would be perfectly fine if that partner were Fidessa.
However, the very next day—contrary to all my expectations—everything fell apart.
I was jolted awake the next morning by a man's scream.
Recognizing the voice as the Hero's, I rushed immediately to Rudolf’s tent.
There, I saw a Dryades with green vine hair in the middle of kissing the Hero.
Green hair—that was the younger sister, Särige.
The Hero's lover was the older sister with the blue vines, so why was he with the younger one?
As that question flashed through my mind, I noticed a third person.
Standing behind them, leaning against a tree that had sprouted from the ground, was the Dryades with Blue Vine Hair. She was glaring at the two of them with a gaze full of pure, unadulterated resentment.
It was Big Sister Dryades—Rudolf’s lover.
"Just what... is the meaning of this?" she asked.
As the Hero panicked, Särige covered his mouth and answered slowly in his stead.
"The Hero chose me, not you, Big Sister. You were merely a plaything to him."
With those words, Särige brought her lips close to Rudolf’s again.
Seeing this, Big Sister Dryades let out a harrowing scream as wooden blades grew from her arms.
"YOU BETRAYED ME, HEROOOOOH!"
In the next heartbeat, Big Sister Dryades swung her blade, severing the Hero’s left arm.
Held fast by the younger sister, Rudolf hadn't been able to move in time to avoid the blow.
"N-No... I didn't actually mean to cut it..."
It was strange; Big Sister Dryades, the perpetrator, seemed even more shaken than the Hero who had just lost an arm.
But there was no time for that. I had to treat his wound.
"Rudolf!"
As I prepared my magic to save my friend, the older sister vanished.
In her place, only a single tree remained.
She must have used her spirit powers to teleport.
Before I knew it, the younger sister had disappeared as well.
In her case, there wasn't even a trace that she had been standing there at all.
What on earth had just happened?
I couldn't believe for a second that the Särige who had begged me to "take care of my Big Sister" yesterday was the same person I had just seen.
The rest of the party began to swarm Rudolf’s tent.
Then, I heard Fidessa shout, "The spirit fled that way!"
Outside the tent, I saw Fidessa sprinting toward the heart of the forest.
I had to follow.
"Otfried, wait. I'm coming too."
Rudolf, who was already receiving Light Recovery Magic from our Saint, followed after me.
I was worried about his condition, but for Rudolf, the injury was likely the last thing on his mind.
When we reached the center of the woods, we encountered a Dryades with the countenance of a demon.
With her blue vines, there was no doubt—it was the older sister.
I realized then that we had reached the entrance to the Forest Sanctuary.
Rudolf had described the location to me before, so I recognized it instantly.
However, I didn't suspect in the slightest that this place would mark the final destination of the Hero party's journey.
And so, this was the tale from fifty years ago, as told to Lady Dryades’s younger sister by one of the Hero’s comrades. That comrade was the man who would later become Great Sage Otfried, the grandfather of the nectar-obsessed boy.
Next time: Novice Sage's Continental Travelogue – Latter Part.