“Tek here, you can tell who is enjoying a ride at an amusement park, and those who don’t, from their screams. Perhaps some people enjoy it because they trust the machines--I don’t really enjoy them, or trust the machines too much after hearing many horror stories.”
After we’ve crossed the mountain range, the airship descends on the narrow grassland between the forest and the foot of the mountain.
“Ah, it’s finally the ground.”
“Oh Arisa, wasn’t it just half a day long?”
“But, I hadn’t thought it would shake that much.”
What Arisa is saying, is true.
There were more strange air currents than I thought, so the shaking was worse than I expected. Thanks to Air Curtain, we didn’t experience the effects of the outside temperature decrease and changes in atmospheric pressure.
“E-Earth.”
“Yes, it’s the mother earth.”
As a result of this, Pochi and Liza look a bit pitiful. They fall to the ground with a plop--their eyes are slightly unfocused.
It would’ve probably been better if I had used Magic Hand to support the airship more, to prevent shaking. Maybe I should have given them some of the Potion of Sleep, like I did for the poor horses.
Arisa and Mia seem like they had motion sickness, they were a little unsteady. I gave them some Anti-Motion-Sickness Medicine, but it wasn’t a Potion, so it didn’t really work.
Nana is acting the same as usual, right now she is squatting on the ground and poking a small flower that’s swaying in the slight wind.
Tama seemed like she was really enjoying the unexpected shaking, she was frolicking around from the beginning to the end, behaving like a child at a theme park--which seems to have drained her energy, she currently sleeping on the sun-warmed grass with a smile on her face.
Lulu was afraid, but she screamed almost excitedly as I held her, she was smiling until the end--and rubbing her head on my chest, so maybe she was enjoying the embrace more than the ride. I didn’t have any objections.
There’s still a long time until nightfall, but since everyone is totally exhausted, I decided to set up the camp here. There are no Monsters in Bornean Forest, but there are a few along the boundary. However, none are particularly strong, so I leave Nana to guard everyone.
I’ve found the Mithril vein that Mara has always wanted, and I wanted as well, in the mountain range--so I’m going there to mine it. I only take several tons of the ore, before hiding the vein--if I need more, I will come back.
***
There’s an unexpected guest when I return to the camp as the sun begins to set. Even if I said guest, it’s not a person, it’s a Unicorn that lives in Bornean Forest. Unlike the Unicorns in Muno forest, it looks more like a zebra--it has black and white stripes, and a single horn, though the face is of a horse.
The Unicorn and the hornless Unicorn of Mia’s are getting along well as they eat some of the fodder.
“This is?” I ask Mia, who’s near me.
“Mutual love.”
“Two hours ago, it came wondering about, and they began flirting.” Arisa says, glancing over, before going back to her game with Tama and Pochi.
“I don’t want to subjugate or capture it, since it isn’t hostile, but what should we do with it?” Liza is warily watching it, asking me for orders.
After explaining to Liza that she doesn’t have to do either, that she should just let it go about its business, I get her to begin preparing dinner with Lulu.
Dinner has little flags with pictures on them this time.
“Cute.” Mia looks at her flag with a smile, before pulling it out of a carved piece of fruit that looks like a flower. She carefully places it next to her.
“Peerless and wonderful.” Tama looks at the food with glittering eyes.
“Yes! If Wyvern meat is the strongest, it’ll be peerless with this many additions!” Pochi exclaims in delight, not only her tail is waving, but she waves her arms as well.
Lulu actually succeeded in making Wyvern meat taste good, after she had time to experiment. Heiron also gave some good suggestions, and Arisa and I told her about meat patties and hamburgers--she skillfully combined the techniques to make meat that taste quite good.
Of course, Heiron’s suggestions included alcohol.
“Master.”
“What is it?”
I made sure that Lulu added all three kinds of flags to Nana’s plate.
Nana is looking between her food and me, her eyes glint, “Keen insight. Praising master for having made something truly wondrous.”
She was correct with that statement. While Lulu made pictures on the food itself for lunch a few days ago--this time I specially constructed these flags myself. I was pretty sure that at least Nana would probably want to keep them, so I used wood and cloth, making small flags that were the length of a finger.
After eating around them so much, I can easily tell their eating habits: Tama starts with her favourite foods--while Pochi and Mia start from their least favourites. Arisa, and Lulu eat in what seems like a random pattern. Liza eats a mixture of meat, with whatever else, ending with a lot of meat left over--which she happily gnaws on. Nana eats by order of how ‘cute’ she thinks it is, from least to most.
“Tek, delicious.”
“Nn.”
I reply to Mia, who’s unusually speaking using two words, by mimicking her.
By the time that the big pot of Wyvern rice is empty, everyone is full and sprawled out on the sheet, patting their stomachs. I leave the cleaning up for Nana and Liza, and start working on a simple fan. Even though we’re beyond the mountain range, we shouldn’t be that far south, so it’s still quite warm.
By the time that I realized that I could just use Air Control to create a breeze, I had already completed the fan.
***
The next day, after breakfast, I asked Mia the way to enter the Bornean Forest. But since she had never actually left the forest, she didn’t know.
Then, I guess I should ask someone who knows.
I search for Mia’s parents, Lamisauya, and Lilinotoa using the Menu, and mark them. Now then, I guess that the one I should contact is her mother.
Setting Lilinotoa as the target I invoke Telephone. This Magic won’t be properly cast if the other party doesn’t want to talk. It’s good that it can’t be used to attack someone with prank calls.
“Who?” The voice that replies sounds exactly like Mia’s.
“I’m Tek, a Human. Sorry for calling you with Magic--”
Right then, Lilinotoa’s voice cuts back in, “My! Tek you said?! Are you the one that Dohar mentioned? That’s right, isn’t it! Then, perhaps you’ve brought Mia along? You’ve brought her, right? --”
She’s talking like a machine gun, just like Mia when she is drunk.
I’m made to listen to her for five minutes straight, without any chance to slip a word in edgewise. It looks like they know my name from Dohar’s message. In contrast, the letter from Seryuu City’s Worker’s Guild Manager hasn’t arrived yet.
They’re going to pick us up, but they don’t know our position, so I shoot a Fireball into the sky as a signal.
A little while after the Fireball has disappeared, the forest divides and two Elves appear in front of us.
They are wearing green clothing, like the Elves in the picture books.
““Mia””
“Laya, Lia.”
Parents and child call each other by name while hugging each other.
Really, it’s quite a moving scene.
Arisa is pulling at my sleeves, “Hey, they’re Mia’s parents right?”
“That’s right.”
“But, you know--”
I understand what Arisa is trying to say.
Mia’s parents look like they’re around Mia’s age. They seem either like a race who grows slowly, or eternal Lolis/Shotas--Hayato would be delighted.
Mia’s father’s face looks almost exactly like Elf in Seryuu City--they might be blood-related, since their population is few after all.
“Tek.” Mia introduces me to her parents.
“Thank you.”
“My, Tek, right? You’re Tek, aren’t you? You’re younger than I thought. You’re young, aren’t you--”
Her father seems like a taciturn person, like Mia.
Her mother talks…a lot.
There’s no middle way between this couple, it’s strange to talk to them.
Mia parents invite us into Bornean Forest, so we’re going to go to the Elven hometown.
