Vivian (8)

After meeting the World Tree, many things changed.

“Ah, open your mouth.”

“No, I can eat…”

“Ah.”

“…”

Excellia held out the spoon with an unexpressive face.

The World Tree was one thing, but this woman was certainly no pushover either.

Even if she received orders from her mother, wasn’t this a bit too much?

“Even if you didn’t go this far, I’d still fight those Termites or whatever they’re called.”

“My mother told me to take the utmost care of you. I am merely following her orders.”

“No, even so…”

“Of course, I fully understand if you feel sorry for taking up my precious time.”

“…”

“However, this is also by my own will, so please do not worry too much.”

Conversation was simply impossible.

She was beating her own drum and blowing her own trumpet, making a huge fuss all by herself.

“I don’t know, do whatever you want.”

“”

Excellia followed the World Tree’s words to the letter.

She was truly taking care of me with the utmost devotion, as if she were my wife.

Not only did she disinfect my wounds and change my bandages every time, but she also personally managed my meals.

Even though she must have a mountain of tasks as the Daughter of the World Tree, she didn’t treat anything concerning me lightly.

“Now, restraints are practically useless, I guess.”

At some point, Excellia had even loosened the restraints.

It was a situation where I could escape anytime if I wanted to.

But instead, she had put on shackles even stronger than magic tools.

Namely, shackles called a sense of indebtedness.

“If Vivian saw this, she’d definitely flip out.”

Of course, the probability of Vivian seeing this was extremely low, but you never know.

Couldn’t the Empire’s intelligence organization have planted informants among the Elves to send information about me to Vivian?

Knowing the thoroughness of the Empire’s intelligence agency, I couldn’t feel at ease even in this distant Daesurim.

“Tsk, I’d rather not cause any unnecessary misunderstandings…”

I had only one concern.

That Vivian might think I was cheating, lose her reason, and mercilessly attack this forest.

Having no other choice, I decided to take drastic measures.

“Polymorph.”

My limbs shortened like a child’s, and my face filled with baby fat.

My black hair grew long and flowing, extending past my hips and almost reaching my knees.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

I had transformed into the appearance of a small girl.

Although Dragons have no gender, I was married to Vivian, so I identified myself as male.

However, there was a reason why I specifically took on this form.

This was my own standard, and a message to my wife, Vivian.

‘Even if you’re not here, I won’t create any pretext for trouble with other women.’

I had done this a few times before.

I could only hope Vivian would understand this time too.

“Oh my.”

“You’re here?”

Excellia’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw me.

After all, she had only seen me in my Dragon form and adult male form; she had never seen me as a girl.

“What is that form?”

“Why, is it strange?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Excellia calmly stated her impression.

“It’s cute. If I ever get married and have a daughter, would she be exactly like that?”

“What? You’re the Daughter of the World Tree, can you even get married?”

“Of course. There’s no law saying the Daughter of the World Tree can’t get married. I’m not some priestess of the Holy Dominion.”

Indeed, laws that forcibly forbid something are actually the exclusive domain of humans.

Forest races generally have strong self-control, so laws aren’t particularly necessary for them.

“But why that form instead of your usual adult male form?”

“Just in case my wife misunderstands.”

“Wife? Are you referring to the Empress of the Empire?”

“That’s right.”

I guess you could say it’s just a guilty conscience.

By now, the Imperial Army must be searching for me outside this forest…

How long do I have to be trapped here, I wonder.

“Vivian is very jealous. If she finds out what’s happening between you and me, she won’t forgive it.”

“But I merely nursed you?”

“Yes, she won’t forgive even that. That’s the kind of woman Vivian is.”

At that, Excellia was silent for a moment…

Then she asked in a voice full of doubt.

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s understandable. It’s not the first or second time I haven’t understood her either.”

“What kind of person is the Empress, exactly?”

“What kind? She’s exactly as you all know her to be.”

A ruthless warmonger who started the worst war.

Sadly, their perception wasn’t much different from reality.

“I’m asking about the Empress as a human.”

“As a human…?”

About Vivian as a human, huh.

Vivian always had a strong sense of being consumed by something akin to malice or resentment.

And when she fixated on something, her obsession was strong.

Whether it was a person or a goal.

“She’s a tiring woman.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course not.”

Vivian’s passionate love was certainly exhausting…

Yet, on the other hand, it instilled a belief that she would never turn her eyes to anyone other than me.

Perhaps that was human Vivian’s greatest strength.

“Will you listen? Why I ended up marrying Vivian.”

“Yes, by all means.”

As if possessed, I poured out my heart to Excellia.

Starting from the moment Vivian first awakened me…

To why she became so obsessed with war.

Excellia listened to my story in silence.

“It’s ironic, isn’t it? She started it to gain your recognition, but in the end, it only distanced her from you.”

“That’s right. And yet, Vivian doesn’t stop.”

“She must have thought she could turn things back later.”

The reason Vivian continued this meaningless war couldn’t be explained by just one factor.

However, one thing was certain.

“We can’t go back to how things were. We’ve already come too far.”

“You know that well.”

Honestly, staying here makes my heart waver.

I used to think the world would collapse without Vivian. But that wasn’t the case.

On the contrary, I even felt relieved without her.

‘Do I really want to go back to Vivian?’

To be honest, I didn’t really feel the reality of those monsters, Termites or whatever they were.

Naturally, I had no sense of duty to absolutely defeat them.

However, I didn’t want this place to be ruined by them.

Even though it was a place I had tried to destroy with my Breath just a while ago.

“Helix, that was your name, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“Helix, why don’t you just live here?”

“That’s impossible.”

I flatly refused Excellia’s suggestion.

Even if my feelings for Vivian weren’t what they used to be, this wasn’t it.

“Is it still difficult?”

“Even if you don’t specifically keep me here, I’ll deal with those Termites or whatever they are.”

I was already thinking of having a go at those monsters soon anyway.

Because my body had recovered to some extent now.

“The day after tomorrow, guide me to where those monsters are.”

“Is your body alright…?”

“Not perfectly, but I can move well enough.”

Termites, huh.

Shall I see just how strong they are, strong enough that even the Daesurim can’t handle them?

*****

Two days later, as promised, I followed Excellia to the Termites’ lair.

Excellia and I walked and walked along the forest path for a long time.

If it was going to be like this, I should have just transformed into my Dragon form and flown from the start.

“So, where’s their lair? Do we have to go further?”

“We’re almost there.”

“We just need to destroy the nests of those Termites, right?”

“Helix, it seems you’re misunderstanding one thing, so I’ll tell you now.”

Excellia continued calmly with a grave expression.

“Their nests aren’t just one or two. The place we’re going is merely one of countless nests.”

“How many are there? More than a hundred?”

“A hundred would be fortunate. There might be at least over a thousand.”

“That’s a damn lot.”

Indeed, that’s probably why the World Tree couldn’t handle it herself and begged me for help.

Perhaps I was underestimating them too much.

“What’s their goal?”

“To devour my mother, the World Tree.”

“What do they plan to do by eating her? Is she particularly nutritious?”

“No, they strengthen their own power through predation. They covet my mother’s power.”

A monster that greedily tries to devour everything gaining the power of a god.

Just thinking about it painted a terrifying future.

“If that’s true, we absolutely have to stop them.”

“That’s right. Still, I’m relieved that you understand.”

“I haven’t said I’ll fully cooperate with you yet. I just want to know the seriousness of the situation. And I’m curious about those monsters too.”

“For now, that’s enough.”

After walking for a long time, a small ruin appeared on the outskirts of the forest.

The ruin was connected to a deep cave, and it seemed the creatures were using this place as their base of operations.

“Here it is. This is their closest forward base to the forest right now.”

“I can’t tell just by looking. But I can feel the presence of living beings inside there.”

“The structure of their nests is very similar to insects in the natural world. There’s a queen, and worker bugs that care for the larvae and gather food.”

“And that food?”

“They don’t discriminate by species. From wild animals to Elves, humans, Fairies… they devour them all.”

They eat humans.

Indeed, that alone was reason enough to exterminate them.

“Excellia.”

“Yes.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re the Daughter of the World Tree, aren’t you? Don’t you possess a certain amount of the World Tree’s power?”

“That’s right. I can wield a little of my mother’s authority.”

“Then those Termites must be targeting you too, right?”

Excellia nodded at that.

“That’s right. Their second target is me.”

“Well, then, I’ll protect you too, while I’m at it.”

“Me…?”

Suddenly, silence fell.

Did I say something wrong?

I turned my head to look beside me…

“It’s the first time.”

“What is…?”

“The words ‘I’ll protect you,’ I’m hearing them for the first time.”

Excellia was staring intently at me with a strange expression.

Well, is it really that strange a thing to say?

Indeed, Excellia was one of the strongest, as the Daughter of the World Tree.

Even if I had been careless, she was an amazing archer, capable of bringing me down in a single blow.

“I almost killed Helix, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

“But it’s surprising that you say something like that so naturally.”

“As you said, Dragons are fundamentally petty. But you did something for me, didn’t you?”

“…”

Wooong!!

Finishing my words, I released Polymorph and returned to my Dragon form.

Ribs like pine trees.

Scales like steel armor.

Wings that seemed to cover the sky.

Although I had lost face last time due to carelessness….

Nevertheless, I am a Dragon.

The strongest creature on earth.

“Kwarararara!!”

“This is a Dragon…!”

I have no particular interest in the ecological structure of those bugs.

However, if there are over a thousand, it would be meaningless to go inside and take them down one by one.

Huuuup.

Kwaaaaaang!!!

The fiery Breath that had engulfed the forest last time now enveloped their lair.

A storm of flames, precisely targeting the entrance and being sucked inside.

“Kieeeee!!”

“Kieek!! Kieeek!!”

And along with their screams, the smell of burning bugs began to waft through the air.

“Good heavens… in a single blow…?”

Seeing their lair instantly incinerated, Excellia clicked her tongue in amazement.

She must not have expected one of their lairs to be destroyed so quickly.

Wooong!!

“Next.”

“Huh…?”

“Let’s go to the next lair.”

When catching bugs, if you try to take them down one by one, there’s no end to it.

It’s easier and more efficient to sweep them all away with fire at once.