Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter SS5

The Love of Trees 

“A request? For me...?” 

I, Rentt Faina, Bronze-class adventurer, had been casually looking at the request board at the Adventurer’s Guild when an old lady suddenly spoke to me. From what I understood, she’d been waiting at the guild’s cafeteria corner, inspecting adventurers as they went by. 

While most clients chose not to interact too much with their clients, instead posting their requests up on the boards, there were occasionally those who preferred to do the opposite. To be precise, these clients preferred to choose adventurers, communicate, and trade in person. 

In the end, however, it’d still be considered a guild contract. 

“Yes... I would like you to find out more about how my son is doing.” 

A request much like the ones an information broker or detective agency would receive... It was a request somewhat different than what most adventurers were used to. That was why I kindly explained to the old lady... 

“If your request is of that nature, would it not be best to head to an information broker instead?” 

“I would have done so if he were still within these walls... But my son had gone outside of Maalt... He isn’t all that strong, so I think it may have been difficult for him...” 

“...I see.” 

While information brokers had many combat-capable agents at their disposal, someone unfamiliar with the trade wouldn’t know that... In which case, coming to an adventurer would be the next more sensible thing to do. If anything, it’d perhaps be the most sensible thing to do. 

“You would like me to find out more about how he is doing? Has he perhaps commited a crime, or...?” 

For instance, he could’ve been involved in smuggling illegal goods, and traces of that had been found... If that were the case, even the most concerned parent would probably be interested to know what was going on. 

I explained my views to the old lady. 

“Ah, no, it’s nothing quite like that...” she said before launching into an explanation. 

To summarize, the old lady was apparently the current owner of a relatively large shop. Her son was the heir to the establishment. As a result, the old lady wanted her son to get married sometime soon, but there were no candidates available. So she’d brought up the subject of an arranged marriage, but her son didn’t seem too eager at the notion. Although a date had already been arranged, and he was to attend, her son wasn’t interested at all, even refusing to show up for basic negotiations. 

But the old lady was flexible. She was willing to meet any other woman her son had been seeing if he did indeed have someone in mind. She just couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t say anything on the matter, or why he refused to engage with the process at all. Her husband told her to leave the son alone, but the old lady was worried. 

That was all I understood about their mother-and-son relationship. From that, I gathered that her son would leave Maalt at the exact same hour every week. Due to the fact that he was leaving Maalt, it wasn’t possible to follow him. The old lady, however, suspected that he may be seeing a woman outside Maalt’s walls. If that were the case, she very much wanted to know what type of person this mystery woman was, hence the request... 

At least, that was what I made of it. It wasn’t all that problematic. All I had to do was report what I saw to the old lady. 

“I understand. I shall accept your request. However, I will not be giving your son any opinions about his activities. Is this all right?” 

“Yes, of course. I leave it in your capable hands.” 

With that, I signed the appropriate contract documents with the old lady. 

“...Oh, there he goes.” 

I’d been waiting in front of the old lady’s abode. A youth soon exited the premises exactly at the time I’d been informed of. It must be the old lady’s son, Evie. 

Evie looked like quite the tough guy. He had this rough feel about him, which were charming in its own way, I supposed. Quite different from how I was, but that was another issue... 

Upon confirming that Evie was indeed on the move, I slowly followed behind him. Unlike his appearance, Evie’s mannerisms were careful, calculated. He kept a constant vigil of his surroundings as he advanced. 

But he was an amateur. There was no way he’d be aware of me, given that I could even tail wild animals and escape detection. 

I tailed him, as planned. It continued on without incident for a while. 

“So he really made it outside Maalt. On top of that, this direction is...” 

The direction Evie was headed in was a particularly populated part of the forest. Monsters roamed these grounds. Judging by how he had a weapon on his person, I supposed Evie himself understood this well enough. 

His skill, however, was somewhat below that of an adventurer’s, and this was all very dangerous for him. But for him to come all this way...was it really a woman he was seeing? 

I continued tailing him, only to discover that Evie had stopped at a clearing. It was an open space, surrounded by tall camphor trees. Whatever was he doing here...? 

Then, it happened. 

“Sana. Come out. It’s me, Evie...” he spoke, facing a certain tree on the side of the clearing. 

At his words, something fell from the tree’s branches, resembling a single drop of water. The droplet soon enlarged, taking on a humanoid shape. 

“Evie...you’ve come.” 

“Yes...I have.” 

The existence known as Sana was, from what I could see, a most beautiful woman. But she was visibly different than the average human being. She was something between a monster and spirit: a Dryad. 

So this was why Evie had refused to entertain any talks of marriage—he’d been charmed by this Dryad. 

What could I do about all this? Even considering the circumstances, Dryads weren’t entities that could co-exist with humans. They did whisper of things like love to humans, but that was all so they could drain their life force. 

Of course, I couldn’t possibly deny that there were instances of true love in certain cases, but from what I could see, the strength was obviously fading from Evie’s body as he remained in Sana’s embrace. It was obvious that his life energy was being siphoned away. 

After a while... 

“Well then, Sana. I’ll come again.” 

“Yes, I’ll be waiting, Evie...” 

And so the two parted, with Evie returning to Maalt. The Dryad hadn’t taken all of his energy, probably so she could keep him alive for as long as possible. 

It seems...I have no choice but to slay her. 

I waited for Evie’s presence to fade before approaching the camphor tree myself. 

“Dryad. Show yourself. Do not concern yourself with that man any further.” 

The tree’s surface twisted and turned, and Sana soon showed herself. Quite different than how it was with Evie, perhaps because the Dryad knew there was no need to put on a show for someone like me. 

“You are an adventurer...?” 

“Yes. But that’s none of your concern. If this goes on, Evie will surely lose his life sometime soon. We can’t have that happen, you see? I’m here at the request of Evie’s mother.” 

Unexpectedly, Sana’s eyes widened at my words. 

“Evie’s mother?! I... I see. But yes... Yes, I apologize. I will not meet with him anymore... However, I cannot move on my own, as you can see. Touching him is enough to steal his life away; I have no control over it. I don’t think I am in a position to ask anything of you, but...could you cut down this camphor tree? If you do so, I will disappear.” 

“...You really love Evie, huh...?” 

“Is that strange?” 

“No, but...now that I know, this becomes difficult to do. Is there any other way?” 

“No. Ah, but I do have a wish...” 

Sana reached out with her branches, dropping something onto my hands. 

“A sapling of mine. Could you please hand that to Evie? It will grow if planted. It would take a few centuries, perhaps, before it becomes a Dryad like me... But with this, we will be together forever.” 

“You... All right. I understand. I shall respect your resolve, and I shall deliver this sapling. I’ll be cutting you down now...” 

“Please do.” 

And so I cut down the camphor tree. With enough mana, even a sword could have the cutting power of an axe. It was still difficult work, given my abilities. 

Sana then disappeared, as expected. I supposed that was simply how Dryads were in the natural order of things. 

“I see... Oh, I’ve done something terrible...” the old lady said, tears streaming down her face as I informed her of what had transpired. 

Even if it were a monster, it had a heart, and now, the Dryad was dead. The Dryad was a being that loved her son, and her son, in turn, felt the same way. It made sense she would feel a deep sense of guilt at this entire series of events. 

“I was the one who did it after all... Oh, and one more thing. This is the sapling I spoke of. She requested that it be handed to Evie.” 

“Yes, I understand. Thank you very much.” 

With that, the old lady paid the appropriate reward and left the guild. Not exactly a request that left a good taste in my mouth, but had I not intervened, Evie would have lost his life. There was nothing I could do other than tell myself that there was no other way... 

Some time after the event, I heard that Evie had attended a few marriage proposal meetings, and eventually did get married. I also heard that Evie had planted a camphor sapling in his backyard. For some reason, I was sure of the fact that this tree would watch over Evie and his family forever, right until the end of his bloodline...