I had to find Lily. Quickly.
The mercenaries were all in a hurry, pushing the wagons to the side of the road, so they'd act as a barricade. The large, moving fairy trees were steadily coming closer and closer. They were slow, but that probably only barely gave everyone enough time to prepare. Hopefully.

Let's see, our wagon was... somewhere over there. Please be still there.

That the wagons were moved around to act as a barricade made it a little hard to navigate through the convoy. Not to mention that I had no idea where exactly our wagon was now, either. They probably moved it somewhere to the side as well.

"Move, move, move! If you don't wanna die, move those wagons!"
"Get the waroxen out of the way! Who's the fucker who left them standing here?!"
"Get your weapons over here! Hurry, hurry! On the double!"
Uhh, it's hard to get an overview with everyone running left and right. I think... around there? Please, be there.

It took me a little time—and a few times nearly getting run over—before I reached the place I was aiming for.

Let's see... This does look like the place... But they aren't here. Guess I have to ask someone.

But who could I ask? I had my doubts whether most of the mercenaries here even cared right now where Lily and the girls were. They were busier with the approaching fairy trees. I looked around and... found a mercenary clad entirely in black. Not someone I knew, but it was obvious he belonged to the Black Guards. My best bet at asking someone, probably.

"Excuse me. Have you seen Lily?"
"What?! I'm busy, ki— Oh? You're Little Lily's friend, aren't you? Sorry about that, I think I saw her at Konno's. That direction."
"Don't mind it. Over there, right? Thank you."

I left the man alone again and walked in the direction he had pointed at. It was only a little further back. A short moment later, I spotted a familiar black wagon at the side of the road and around two dozen mercenaries crowding right in front of it.

"No pushing, no pushing, you idiots!"
"Konno, what about this crate?"
"That's the wrong one, Lily! The other one, with the copper mark."
"Ah, this one..."

Yeah, this was the correct place. I couldn't see her, but that was Lily's voice that was coming from inside the wagon. Even among the noise from the crowd and Konno's shouting, I could make it out. Just barely.

"You guys, take them and leave, for the love of—

Some of the mercenaries left the crowd, hoisting coils of rope over their shoulders. The other mercenaries grabbed their own coils and left as well, leaving Konno's wagon deserted after around a minute. Konno heaved a sigh of relief before he spotted me approaching.

"Finally they're gone. Haa... Mh?"
"Hello, Mr Konno."
"Miss Yumi, don't tell me you are here for rope too?"
"No, I was told to fetch Lily. She's here, right?"
"Ahh, I see. Hey, Little Lily, someone's here to fetch you!"

He turned around to his wagon and shouted inside.

"Eh? Who?"

Lily poked her head out, looking around.

"Yumi! Did someone need me?"
"The Captain told me to fetch you as fast as possible."
"The Captain? Mm... I see. Give me one moment."

One moment wasn't as fast as possible...
She disappeared back into the wagon and a few moments later, she returned with a bag.

"Let's go."
"Nn. By the way, where are Emily and the others?"
"I left them in Wanda's care. They should be safe with her."
"I see..."

Hopefully, nothing would happen to them with Wanda around.
With a small smile, Lily rubbed my head.

"Don't make a face as if the world is ending, Yumi. This is just everyday business."
"Everyday... business?"

I glanced at the every so steadily approaching fairy trees. I couldn't even guess how large they were. In fact, I wasn't even sure how far they were really away from us, right now. It was just barely possible to make out their silhouettes in the dim light of the moon and the stars. But one thing I knew for sure: They'd be here soon. Very soon.

"Everyday business. Those trees are by far not weak, but we know how to deal with them."
"... How... to deal with them?"
"Interested?"

Lily peeked back, with a savage grin.

"Didn't you see what the others were carrying?"
"Well, ropes."
"Right. Ropes. What can you do with ropes?"
"Uhm... Restraining? And tripping?"

There was that image of using ropes to capture people in my head. Or using it as a trap to make people trip. But other than that, I only knew it as a construction tool or similar.

"Those are things you can do with it, yes. Tripping those trees is probably impossible, though. You'd need something that would be strong enough to hold up against their pure strength. You'd need huge boulders or something, but those aren't here, obviously."
"Then, you're going to restrain them?"
"Now, I wonder about that?"

A small grin appeared on Lily's face.

"You'll have to see for yourself."
"Haa..."

She only left those dubious words for me, ending the topic. I was a little confused, not quite understanding the meaning. Though, apparently I was going to see it later...

---

"Don't let them get past! Hide behind the wagons! Don't let them see you. Push! Hide and push!"

A mercenary was shouting at his fellow men while they were pushing against the wagon. One of the trees was right on the other side, striking the wagon with its thick branches. Dull striking sounds echoed through the forest.

"Don't let it spot you! Stay behind the wagons!"

The tree striked the wagon again, causing it to slightly lift up from the ground.

"WOOOOOHHHH!"

The mercenaries behind the wagon, pushed with all their might, keeping the wagon somehow from being flung away. Their feet burrowed deep into the ground. But despite their efforts, they were pushed back. Not a few centimetres, but a whole meter. Two mercenaries were unable to keep stable and fell over, screaming in pain, their legs bent in an impossible angle.

"Get the supporting logs here! Hurry! Hurry! We got no time! And carry the injured away! Now!"

The man-in-charge shouted orders left and right. For every injured man, two mercenaries ran over and pulled him away. The luckier ones fainted, but the less lucky ones kept conscious, screaming from the unbearable pain. The cries made me feel sick, and the view of their injuries even more so. Most of them had broken arms or legs, unable to bear the burden of the tree strikes. But some of those fractures were beyond bad, with the broken bones piercing their flesh and being out in the open, for everyone to see.

"Yumi, get a hold of yourself. For the love of everything, don't vomit now!"
"I... I'm try... ing..."

Lily gently pat my back in an attempt to alleviate my nausea.

"Brace yourselves!"

The man-in-charge shouted and a second later, the tree hit the wagon again, repeating the whole spectacle once more. Even though the wagons probably weighed a ton or more, the trees easily managed to push them back, even lifting the wagon into the air for but a moment.

"Get the injured out! Where are the logs?! Get those logs over here!"

A group of mercenaries ran past us, carrying multiple logs. With trained movements, they rammed the logs into the ground, to support the wagon. And they were just in time. The moment they finished, the tree stroke another time. The logs buried deep, deep into the ground and into the wagon itself, deforming the roof and splintering parts of the wooden frame.

"You girls, now's your chance, get going. Don't let the tree spot you!"
"Thanks! Come, Yumi."
"Nn..."

Lily pulled my hand and we ran past the group of mercenaries holding up the tree. Hidden behind the line of wagons, we ran as fast as we could. I glanced behind me, just in time to see tree hitting the wagon again. The logs—buried deep into the ground and the wagon itself—stood firm against the assault.

"Are... Are you sure... they're going to be fine?"
"They are. They're trained for this, after all."

Could... Could someone even train for this? Especially, seeing those injuries... How could they keep this up? Their unwavering will... was beyond my comprehension. It impressed me, but I couldn't understand it.

"Yumi, rather than being worried, cheer for them."
"Cheer?"
"Yeah, cheer for them to do their best. Isn't that what you were supposed to do?"
"..."

Cheering for them? In this kind of situation? But... How...

"... Anyway, let's get back to the Captain first. We're nearly there."
"Nn..."

I faced forward. In the distance was another tree visible, similarly striking the wagon in front of it. But, one thing was different to the one we left behind.

"Those are... the ropes?"

Dozens of ropes hung over the tree, giving it a very... surreal appearance.

"Yeah, they're nearly ready I guess."
"... Ready?"
"Just watch."

Some mercenaries threw more ropes onto the tree right after it struck the wagon. There were already logs supporting the wagon, so not many mercenaries stood behind it to push.

"Captain! We got all the ropes on it now!"
"Good. Ria, get to it!"
"Mm..."

We arrived just in time when Ria approached the loose ends of the ropes that were still on this side. She held up her hand over them and then... A short fluctuation of mana and... A blinding flash.

"Woa—

When I opened my eyes again... The forest was alight. Or rather, the tree was. Flames covered the tree.

"This is how you fight a tree, Yumi. You just burn it down."
"..."

Ria had ignited the ropes. If I had to hazard a guess, they were probably covered in oil or something similar. The now burning ropes covered the tree, setting it on fire.
The tree in question haphazardly thrashed around in an attempt to extinguish the flames. But it only set the surrounding trees on fire as well. Within a minute, the entire area behind the wagons was burning.

"Lily... Isn't this bad? The forest is burning."
"Better the forest than us."

That was... true.

"Lily, Yumi. You're late!"
"Ah, Captain."
"Captain, we got held up by the other tree over there."

Korwen had spotted us watching the spectacle.

"Whatever. Lily, go and help Wendl out, he's on the other side with Fenna and Merim."
"Will do!"

Lily saluted.

"Until later, Yumi."
"Ah. Nn..."

She left, jogging to the group of mercenaries dealing with the tree that had come from the other side.

"Mh. That leaves us three. Ria, Yumi, you come with me."
"Nn... Ah, I mean. Understood, Captain."
"Mm..."

Korwen, not wasting a moment, turned around and walked to the group that just finished their fight with the tree. The tree was still nearby, thrashing around. Alas, judging from their faces, they weren't worried about it anymore.

"Men! Before you rest, this girl got something to say to you!"
"... Huh?"

Without warning, he pushed me in front of him. All the exhausted, tired eyes fell onto me.

"Just say they've done a good job or so," Korwen whispered to me.
"..."

A good job. A good job, huh... They did. When I saw those trees... When I saw the surprised faces of everyone... I was worried. Scared. But they still took down a tree. Just like that.
I took a deep breath and faced the mercenaries in front of me.

"Everyone! Good job out there! Thank you! Now, get a good rest!"
"..."

A moment of silence. They all stared at me. Then, one of them cheered, and the others slowly joined.

"Wahahaha! Ya heard that, guys. We did a good job, the girly said!"
"Yeah!"
"That's not even half of what we can do!"

They all shouted full of joy, started bragging or broke out in laughter.

"Hey, you idiots. Don't get ahead of yourself. After this we still have to get out. Once you got a short rest, help the other groups and prepare to leave. Move everything from the damaged wagons out into another one, got that?!"
"Oooohhhh!"

Korwen nodded, satisfied with their reaction.

"Good. Well done, Yumi."
"Ah... Haa..."

I was... a little overwhelmed, to be honest. Unsure, of how I should even react to this. But... they were in a good mood again. That made me a little... happy.

"Now come, we got more work to do."
"... Nn."

Korwen and Ria started to walk in the direction Lily and I had originally come from. For a short while, I watched how the mercenaries got back to work, once more full of energy.

"Yumi. Come."
"Ah, yes."

I turned around and quickly followed the two.
We walked for a few minutes, without anyone saying a word. Until Korwen broke the silence.

"Ria. Your verdict?"
"Mm... Yes... It happened... again..."
"As I thought."
"Nn?"

Korwen stroke his chin a few times, looking forward with a stern expression. The sound of battle in front of us became slowly louder.

"Yumi. You used magic again, didn't you?"
"Eh? Uhm... Did I?"
"You did..."

Ria confirmed Korwen's words.

"It's subtle magic... but definitely there..."
"Mm. But she doesn't even notice it herself. Is that how it works for magicians, Ria?"
"Not for... normal magicians... but... we don't really... know how she uses... magic."
"I see... Would be good to figure it out for the future. It's useful, but not knowing if and how it works is bothersome and unreliable."

Ria nodded slowly.

"We'll have to talk about this afterwards. For now..."

Korwen looked up. We had considerably closed in on the site of the battle now. The tree was looming over the three or four dozen mercenaries hiding behind the wagons. The tree was covered in a few ropes, but not nearly as many as the other had before they set it alight.

"Hey, why is the tree not covered yet?!"
"Captain! We lost some of the ropes, the wagon fell on them!"

A nearby mercenary reported in a panic. A quick glance over the place revealed one of the wagons had fallen over. Pieces of splintered wood covered the area.

"Tsk. Guess that'll have to do then. Ria, do you think those are enough?"
"Mh... It might be doable... Mm... But it would be... better with more..."
"I see. Do we have anything else flammable here?"

Korwen opened a nearby wagon and peeked inside. He apparently found something since he entered it.

"Ria, can you do something with fire stones?"
"Outside of... throwing them... not..."
"Throwing them, huh."
"Nn? Throwing?

I tilted my head in confusion. Korwen left the wagon, a wooden box filled with reddish stones in his hand.

"Fire stones... don't use up... all mana immediately... So you can... throw them..."
"They're better than nothing I guess. Let's use them."

With the box of fire stones in hand, he walked to the bundle of ropes that had gathered to the side.

"Men! Everyone with some confidence in their mana, get some fire stones! We're going to throw them!"
"""Ohh! Understood, Captain!"""

The men answer all in unison and rushed to Korwen, each taking one or two fire stones from the box.

"Yumi, you take some too."
"... Ehh?"
"Do it."
"..."

Apparently I couldn't escape them, so, reluctant as I was, I took two stones from the box as well.

"Ria, get ready to—
Wham!

Before Korwen could finish his sentence, the tree hit the wagon once more. Just, this time, the wagon couldn't withstand the force. The spots where the logs supported it splintered and broke, the logs fell down to the ground, throwing up earth and dirt, and the wagon tilted over. In our direction.

"Run!"

Everyone scattered, running away from the falling wagon. With an enormous crash, the wagon fell to the side, even more splinters flying through the air.

"Ria! Ignite the ropes! Hurry!"
"Mm."

With the barricade was gone, the tree could walk onto the road unhindered.
Then, a bright flash.
The ignited rope set the tree aflame. Similar to the other one, it started thrashing around. Just, this time, there were fewer ropes, and some of them got flung away.

"Throw the stones! Bring down the tree!"
"""Woooh!"""

The first stones flew through the air, emitting flames making them seem like small fireballs. Although most of them hit the tree, they didn't do much, at most setting the leaves on fire.

"We need something else... Ria. Sorry to ask you this, but bring that thing down."
"... I understand... Captain."
"Nn?"

Ria took a step forward, clutching her hands in front of her chest.

"Get away from the tree! Ria will deal with it!" Korwen shouted.
"Wha— Shit! Guys, run!"

Within seconds, the area around the thrashing tree was deserted. The men left in a panic as if Ria was scarier than the thrashing tree.

"Yumi, let's get in cover."
"Eh? What?"

Korwen pulled me away, leaving Ria near the tree. The mana around her was in turmoil. She was using magic. I had no idea what it was, but she was casting something. Something big. Korwen pulled me behind a wagon.

"Captain? What about Ria?"
"She'll be fine. It's better not to stay there—for us."
"Eh?"

I glanced around the corner of the cover to—

Boom!
"Woa—

The sound of an incredibly loud explosion reverberated through the air. A strong gust of wind pushed me back behind the wagon. Wood and earth rained down on us.

"And that's another one down."

A loud creaking sound could be heard from the other side of the wagon. It gradually grew louder and louder.

Creak!

The sound of something snapping followed and with a loud crash, something hit the ground. Anxious, I peeked behind the wagon and...

"It's down..."

The tree was... dead? Broken? The middle of the trunk had splintered, the top half of the tree had fallen to the ground, where it was now lying motionlessly. Still on fire, though.

"Let's collect Ria quickly and check on the others."
"Eh? Ah... Nn."

Korwen left the cover and walked to the direction of the tree. Or rather in Ria's direction, who had slumped down on the ground, breathing heavily. I quickly followed Korwen, worried about Ria.

"Is... Is she okay?"
"She should be just exhausted. She'll be back up in a few days."

He instructed a few nearby men to bring Ria to a place where she could rest.

"That's two gone, let's see... Oh, that one is bright like a lantern."

In the far distance to the other end, where the wagons of the Black Guards were for the most part, a bright, large flame illuminated the area.

"And the last one... seems to be fine as well."
"... Incredible."

The large, splintered tree right in front of me, and three distant burning trees. They were all dealt with.

"Don't feel the relief too quickly. We still need to get out of here. We also lost some wagons and got a whole bunch of injured. We have to leave as soon as possible."
"... Nn."

Right, this wasn't the end. It was just an interruption, in fact. We still had to leave the forest. And quickly at that, too.

"Men! Get the wagons back on the road. The wagons that can't be moved are to be left behind! Hurry!"

After he shouted his orders, he grabbed a young man and told him to relay the same to the Black Guards.

"Let's get out of here before we get caught by the rampaging trees."
"Nn..."

---

A large, black piece of charcoal was lying close to the road. The first rampaging tree that Ria had burnt down, had stopped thrashing around and fell down to the ground at the side of the road. In its rampage, it had cut a literal swathe of devastation in its path, destroying trees and bushes with its long branches or the fire, as well as burning the ground itself.
Mysteriously, the fire hadn't spread much. Once the tree died, the surrounding fires slowly died down as well.

"Yumi, come."
"Nn, wait a moment, Sis."

When I returned with Korwen, we found Karen and Rina helping to carry the injured into the wagons. Everyone was still on alert and in a hurry, the first wagons were already back on the road. The damaged ones had been pushed over onto their side—if that was still possible—and left next to the road.
Korwen had gone to instruct the mercenaries. He told us to take one of the first wagons leaving the forest, so we were right now helping the last injured to lie down. We were supposed to take care of the injured until we arrived in the Capital.

"... It's a wonder nobody died."

The injuries varied from mild to considerably heavy. Several dozen were injured, but the vast majority only got some minor cuts or a sprain at most. The ones who took it the worst were the ones pushing the wagons, holding up against the brute strength of the monster trees. Quite a few had a fracture and three had their bones piercing the flesh and sticking out. It was a horrific sight. Wenners and Krutz were caring for these men, making sure they wouldn't lose too much blood.

"We're not quite in the clear yet, Yumi."
"Nn..."

Karen patted my head gently.

"Ah, we're moving."

A gentle sway began as the wagon was pulled along by the waroxen. The beast had kept astonishingly calm as if the entire uproar hadn't bothered them the least. None of the waroxen were injured either. Even though some of them got struck by debris... They were... sturdy. And calm.

"Haa..."
"Don't make such a long face, Yumi. Smile, smile."
"But... I feel tired, Sis. So, tired."

The whole thing, the whole last day had been. Beyond exhausting. We had met elves who were after my guts, I got scolded and lectured by Korwen and now we had the whole possessed tree incident in this forest. I... just wanted to sleep. Preferably in Karen's arms.

"Only a little more, okay? You can take a nap later."
"Nn."
"Now, smile. Don't forget what the Captain said. It's your job to encourage them."
"Nn... But how do I even do that?"

I couldn't just go and shout something happy, could I? Not with everyone in here so injured.

"Mh... How about you just... Bring them something to drink and smile?"
"... Is that enough?"
"Well, I'd be happy if a cute girl like Yumi did that for me."

Was that how it worked? It probably was... When I imagined Karen doing that for me. Yeah, that'd make me happy.

"Nn. I'll try."
"Good luck."
"Nn."

I walked over to the barrel with... water? Alcohol? Judging from the smell, it was alcohol... Was it really fine to give this to the injured? Well, I had seen Wenners and Krutz handing out something to drink, so it should be fine. There were mugs here too. After I filled a mug, I walked over to the nearest man.

"Uhm... Do you want something to drink?" I asked while trying to smile.
"Oh? Ahaha, something to drink, eh? With pleasure, girl."

I handed the mug to the man and he took a hearty sip.

"Ahh! That hits the spot! Thank ya!"
"Nn."

He showed me a toothy smile as he thanked me.

Even though... They are injured... They still smile and are happy...

They didn't even mind being injured. There was some groaning here and there when Wenners or Krutz took a look at their injuries. But despite that... they were surprisingly upbeat.
I filled another mug and brought it to another injured man.

"Ohh! Thanks! Man, this is really great! A cute girl bringing me alcohol, guess I have to get injured more often. Gahahaha!"
"... Please try not to get injured that often."
"That might be impossible!"

He laughed, full of vigour. You wouldn't think this man's arm had been bent into the opposite direction barely half an hour ago.

"Hey, girly! I wanna drink something too!"
"Yeah, me too!"

The surrounding men called out to me, demanding their own bit of alcohol.

"Nn, don't hurry, I'll come over."

I filled one mug after another, bringing each to a mercenary who in turn thanked me. Some were full of vigour and laughing, some thanked me more silently, one even gave some dirty comments. The latter quickly shut up when Karen nearly added another injury to the poor sod.

"Girly, one more!"
"Ah, wait, just a moment!"

I filled another mug and brought it to the man, handing it over to him with a smile. At one point, I somehow felt glad, being able to help them. Even if it was just by smiling a little.

---

"Hey, you all. We just left the forest!"

The driver shouted through the small window at the front.

"Really?"

The wagon we were in had even small windows at the side, which Karen promptly opened. Fresh, cold air entered the wagon, together with the light of the moon.

"We really left."
"Nn."

Behind us was the forest. More wagons from the wagons appeared in regular intervals from the road.

"Hey, Yumi."
"Nn?"
"Look, there. Aren't people standing over there?"
"Huh?"

I took a glance in the direction Karen was pointing at, but it was too dark for me to really see anything. Since nobody was looking right now, I changed my eyes so I could see in the dark and...

"No way."

A large group was camping out in the middle of the road. A group we were familiar with.

"Halt! Halt, human!"
"Woa—

The driver—having been unable to see them in the darkness—yelped out in surprise, when someone appeared in front of the wagon. The wagon came rapidly to a stop.

"What the heck? Are you suicidal? Do you want me to run you over?!" the driver shouted at the person in front of him.

"Human! We request a talk with your leader!"
"Eh, wait, aren't you..."
"Your leader! Where are they, human?"

A familiar group of small girls was camping there. Outside of their supposed home, the forest.

"What the hell are the elves doing here?"