Vivian (7)

Days after taking a rest.

Excellia came to find me.

She was dressed in a rather vibrant traditional Elven attire.

「An audience has been decided.」

「That was quite fast.」

「It’s an important matter. I pushed for it strongly.」

「You did?」

「Yes. Is there a problem?」

It was unexpected.

As the Daughter of the World Tree, Excellia, I thought she would dislike me meeting the World Tree.

Perhaps she wanted something from me.

「Please follow me.」

「Alright.」

「Ah, before that, you should take a bath.」

「Is there a rule that you can’t go before the World Tree in a dirty state?」

「No, but Mother told me to bring you as a guest.」

「That’s surprising.」

「Because I don’t understand all of Mother’s intentions.」

Excellia unlocked the handcuffs that bound me to the bed.

Even if I couldn’t use Magic, escaping with just my body was now possible.

「Follow me.」

「Okay.」

And so, I followed Excellia for a long time, moving towards a small lake.

「It’s a sacred lake. Please use it as cleanly as possible.」

「It’s such an important place, can I really use it?」

「Even if it’s sacred, water ultimately exists for drinking and washing.」

It was unexpected once again.

I thought she would be rigid because she was an Elf…

But that wasn’t the case.

She was more flexible than I thought, and her own philosophy was firm.

「It’s been a while since I’ve washed.」

No matter that I was a Dragon, I didn’t have the same recovery speed as a slime.

My condition had improved somewhat, but the injury to my ribs hadn’t fully healed yet.

Naturally, I couldn’t even imagine plunging into the water.

All I could do was carefully splash water on areas where the wound wouldn’t be touched.

Splash!!

I scooped a full bucket of water with a wooden ladle nearby.

I tried to wash by gently pouring water over myself, but it wasn’t easy.

Every time I raised my arm high, a throbbing pain shot through my ribs.

「Tsk… this isn’t easy.」

At that moment, I felt Excellia’s gaze fixed on me from behind.

Why wasn’t she leaving and staying here?

「Aren’t you going? I need to wash.」

「If you were to escape, it would be difficult to catch you.」

「I can’t even escape in this body.」

「You never know. You are a Dragon, after all.」

Ugh, I needed to take off the rest of my clothes to wash.

At this rate, I couldn’t do anything.

「Then let me return to my Dragon form. It won’t matter if I use Polymorph into a baby dragon.」

「I am not a fool. The moment I release the restraints, there will be no way for me to stop you.」

「…」

I had a feeling, but it didn’t work.

Actually, I had no intention of escaping…

Because I was also curious why the World Tree was looking for me.

「Should I cast a Geas? To promise not to run away.」

「A Geas…? You would carelessly do something so dangerous?」

「Wouldn’t that put you at ease?」

Excellia was silent for a moment, then approached me…

Click!!

She unlocked the handcuffs on my hands.

「You’re releasing me even though I haven’t cast a Geas yet?」

「Elves… can discern lies to some extent.」

「…」

Excellia looked at me with a strange gaze.

At that look, as if she wanted something, I spoke first.

「What’s wrong?」

「Is it true that you can return to a baby dragon state?」

「Of course, it’s possible. I have Polymorph Magic.」

「Then try it.」

「Why?」

「In your current state, you can’t properly wash, can you?」

That was true.

Every time I lifted my arm, it felt like my wound was tearing open.

「If you’re in your baby dragon state, I think I can help.」

「No, what is this now?」

「Do you dislike it?」

「It’s not a matter of liking or disliking… but why would you?」

Excellia tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

Yet, I was the one who truly didn’t understand.

「I’m the one who burned down your forest. And I’m a prisoner of war.」

「And so?」

「What do you mean, ‘and so’? You have no obligation to do all this.」

Honestly, I should be grateful to Excellia for even this much.

Because I had seen how cruel the treatment of prisoners of war could be.

「Mother World Tree commanded me to treat you as a guest, not a prisoner.」

「…」

「If I cannot even obey that much, I do not deserve to call myself her child.」

Was it just out of loyalty to the World Tree?

But to say she was doing it unwillingly…

「Please hurry and return to your baby dragon form. I am the Daughter of the World Tree, and I have many duties to attend to, so I cannot allocate time just for you.」

「…」

「Hurry.」

「Alright…」

Excellia urged me to quickly assume my Dragon form.

Having no choice, I activated Polymorph and returned to my baby dragon form.

Excellia stared intently at my appearance.

Her light green eyes seemed to sparkle intensely.

「Magic is truly amazing… For such a large Dragon to become so small…」

「Kiiik.」

「You’re really small… truly…」

Excellia reached out to place her hand on my head, then paused.

It seemed she had forgotten her duty and just remembered it again.

「First, we should wash.」

「Kiiik…」

Excellia scooped water from the lake with the ladle and placed it next to me.

Then, she gently picked up my body, squatted in front of the ladle, and poured water over my head little by little with her hand.

「Your skin is cold. Is it because of your scales?」

「Kiiik…」

「But your tail is soft… I thought it would be hard because of the scales.」

Hey, woman. Why do you keep touching my body?

If you’re going to wash me, do it properly!

With the sudden strange atmosphere, Vivian, whom I had momentarily forgotten, flashed into my mind.

If she saw this, her eyes would surely roll back.

Vivian’s jealousy didn’t discriminate, whether I was in my baby dragon form or a girl’s form.

「Kiiik!」

「Alright. I’ll do it properly.」

Only then did Excellia focus on washing me properly.

She covered the wound with one hand to prevent water from touching it, poured water, and meticulously cleaned between my scales with her fingers.

To think I would receive help bathing from the woman who shot arrows at me…

It was truly an incomprehensible situation.

「It’s done, please return now.」

Whoosh!!

Immediately, I returned from my baby dragon form to my human appearance.

「Can you also manifest clothes?」

「Yes, actually, it’s not clothes, but a manifestation of a part of my body.」

The inconvenient thing about Polymorph was that I would be naked when I returned to human form.

So, the method I came up with was to fiberize a part of my body.

Of course, it wasn’t an easy technique as it sounded, so I struggled a lot to achieve it.

「To be precise, these aren’t clothes, but a part of my scales. That’s why I can only make them in black.」

「Is that so…? How fascinating. To make clothes out of scales.」

After that, I continued to converse lightly with Excellia as we headed towards the World Tree.

She showed surprisingly no hostility towards me.

However, it wasn’t something to be entirely at ease about.

She must have wanted something from me, and was merely adopting an attitude appropriate to that.

「This is it. Where Mother World Tree resides.」

「An immense amount of Magic is felt.」

「That’s right, Mother World Tree supplies an enormous amount of Magic to this land. Mother’s blessing extends beyond this Daesurim to the lands of the entire continent.」

As if proud, Excellia puffed out her chest.

Her expression and voice were filled with reverence for the World Tree.

So, at her core, she was still an Elf.

To make such an expression from that usually stoic face.

「Mother, I have brought the Dragon.」

Branches stretched endlessly as if reaching the sky.

Their strong trunks were so thick and robust that hundreds of people holding hands couldn’t encircle them.

Was it said to have existed since the first Dragons appeared?

Indeed, a profound atmosphere befitting its age flowed from it.

「Mother is calling us. This way.」

Excellia and I entered a massive cave located beneath the trunk.

It was a grand path woven from the roots of the tree.

「This place is originally only accessible by the Daughters of the World Tree. But you are a guest summoned by Mother, so you are an exception.」

「Are you performing some kind of ritual here?」

「It’s not a ritual, but if Mother has something to tell us, we hear it in this place. Soon, Mother will appear.」

Excellia and I waited for the World Tree in silence.

Soon, something sticky began to drip from the ceiling.

「Is it sap?」

It didn’t stop there.

The tree sap clinging to the ceiling began to glow brightly,

And within the bright light, a human figure began to shimmer.

「Mother…」

Excellia knelt respectfully on the spot.

Of course, I didn’t care, so I remained standing.

「Excellia, you have brought the Dragon.」

「Yes, Mother.」

The World Tree’s form looked like an Elf, and also like a Fairy.

But this was merely a form she arbitrarily took to converse with me.

Ultimately, it was nothing more than an illusion Magic using spirit arts and Magic.

「You said you had something to tell me, World Tree.」

「Yes, it will be a long story. It’s quite a serious matter…」

「Is it because of the war?」

The World Tree silently shook her head.

If she didn’t call me because of the war, then what could it be?

「While human wars certainly inflict great damage upon us, they are not enough to determine the fate of this forest.」

「You’re quite confident, aren’t you? If that splendid barrier were to be broken, the Imperial army would surely overrun this forest.」

「The reason the children of the forest do not fight with all their might is because our target is not the Imperial army.」

「…」

Even while under attack, they weren’t considering the Imperial army as their main enemy.

「Then what is it? What is your main enemy?」

「Termites.」

「Termites? What are those?」

「They are predators that gnaw at this forest. They are the enemies we fear most.」

「I don’t know them, I’ve never heard of them.」

While researching Magic, I had studied various ancient races,

But I had never heard the name Termites before.

「What kind of creatures are they?」

In response, Excellia answered on behalf of the World Tree.

「They are monsters in the form of bugs. Even the small ones are as big as wild beasts, and the large species grow endlessly, comparable to Mother World Tree herself.」

「Are they just simply big?」

「That’s not the only terrifying thing about Termites.」

Disgust and fear flashed in Excellia’s eyes.

She was a formidable practitioner, capable of shooting arrows at me…

For even her to be so afraid.

They might not be ordinary creatures.

「They attack in massive swarms. They fear no death, and they rush at all living things with hatred.」

「…」

「Above all, there are species among them that can mimic human form. They infiltrate human society and create an environment favorable to themselves.」

Honestly, just hearing about it didn’t give me a clear picture.

However, it didn’t seem like a trivial matter, so I asked a few more questions.

「Do they have any weaknesses?」

「They are weak against all byproducts from Mother’s body. Especially against armaments forged from Mother’s sap.」

「Is that all?」

At that moment, the World Tree, who had been silently observing, spoke.

「There is one more. It is you.」

「Me?」

「They are especially vulnerable to armaments made from a Dragon’s body, even more so than mine. The reason the Termites are currently restraining their activities is also related to that.」

「Surely, it’s because of the weapons the Imperial army uses?」

「That’s right, swords crafted from your fangs and claws, and Magic weapons imbued with Dragon knowledge… Ironically, the Imperial army is both our enemy and a deterrent against the Termites.」

So, things were more complicated than I thought.

There was a reason they didn’t actively stop the Imperial army.

「Well, then, should I donate some of my fangs?」

「We desire something greater than just a single fang.」

At that moment, the World Tree’s eyes sparkled.

「O Dragon, please form an alliance with us and confront the Termites.」

「You need my power that much?」

「Yes, without your power, this Daesurim will eventually fall to them. If that happens… what you seek to protect will also be swept away.」

So, if those Termites became active, Vivian would also be threatened.

Whether their target was only the World Tree or all living beings, I couldn’t be sure…

But it was not a matter to be taken lightly.

「First, I want to face those bugs directly once. I’ll give you my answer after that.」

「Very well, then we shall wait until your wounds heal.」

The World Tree turned her gaze to Excellia.

「Excellia.」

「Yes, Mother.」

「From now on, treat the Dragon with utmost care and nurse them so their wounds may heal quickly.」

「I shall obey your command, Mother.」

「Good. Treat them as you would a consort, ensuring they experience no discomfort.」

「I will keep that in mind, Mother.」

No, what was this about a consort?

Don’t make people, no, Dragons misunderstand.

Truly, that tree had a strange way of speaking.