The Forest Lord Joins, and a Village Falls

‘I am the Hero.’ After a moment of reflection, I invited the Forest Lord to join our party.

No, she shouldn’t be called Forest Lord anymore. From now on, she is Naya.

She wept in my embrace for a while, explaining why she had previously stood against us. And to think, the Boarmen were an army she had created merely out of boredom! How incredibly powerful!

[New companion – Twilight Naya, the Forest Lord, has joined the party!]

After securing the Holy Sword to my waist, I turned to Naya. “You said you’d lose your demigod status if you left this place. Won’t the forest be in trouble without its master?”

“It’s fine. If the forest loses its master, the Chief God will send a new demigod to watch over it.”

“No, what I meant was, do you truly not wish to remain a demigod?”

“No, I don’t. Being with such a kind Hero is enough for me.” Naya smiled through her tears, a sight that tugged at the heart.

‘Kind? What a jest! You must not have seen another soul for half your life, have you? Is it not simply natural for an elder to care for a child?’

“Oh, and there’s something else, my esteemed Hero. Please listen.”

“Go on.”

Naya leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “I—I like you!”

‘To think she would confess to me so earnestly…’

“Pfft!” I nearly spurted blood.

“Naya, are you truly… a yuri?”

“What is yuri?”

“Ah…” I glanced at Helter’s idiotic expression.

“What did she say? What’s ‘yuri’?” Helter asked me as well.

‘I had a feeling it would take ages to explain it clearly to them…’

“Just forget I said anything… Let’s go. We still need to rendezvous with our companions.”

I reluctantly changed the subject.

“Let’s gooo~”

Naya cheered happily, dashing ahead of us. Look how delighted this girl was; finally having companions must feel wonderful.

“Hey, Hero, seriously… pulling the Forest Lord into our party, aren’t you worried it’ll cause trouble for the village?” Helter grumbled about my decision all the way.

“I couldn’t help it. She seemed so lonely and pitiful, just like when I first saw you all alone back then. I simply couldn’t bear it…”

“Heh, me back then?” Helter pointed to his own nose. “Was I really like her?”

“Yes… when you first arrived in the village… don’t you remember?”

“Don’t remember…” Helter scratched his head awkwardly. “Who could recall something from so long ago?”

“If you don’t remember, then never mind.”

Helter and I ran to catch up with Naya.

Now, the scene resembled a family of three running through the forest… ‘Pah, what family of three! Team! Team! We are a team running through the forest.’

Suddenly, something occurred to me.

“Oh, right, what kind of beasts are these ‘out-of-control’ ones usually?” I paused to ask Naya.

Naya stopped at the sound of my voice. “Oh? Out-of-control beasts, hmm… Giant Tigers, Humpback Wolves, Great Pythons, Alien Scorpions. Any large animal will run rampant out of the forest, you see.”

‘That sounds incredibly bad! How can you be so calm about abandoning them to join our party?’

“Then…” Helter wiped the sweat from his brow. “How do we solve this…?”

“I don’t know… Naya, is there any way to stop them from coming out?”

“I am still the Forest Lord right now. I just need to command them to fight each other until they go extinct in the forest,” Naya said, the upper half of her face shadowed.

‘My goodness! Does this young girl have yandere tendencies too? What even is a yandere?’

‘But on second thought, it makes sense. As the saying goes—[To solve the problem, you must address the root cause; to clear the weeds, you must pull them out from the roots.]’

“Let’s do it then.” My own face darkened as I said it with a grin.

“How ruthless…” Helter quickly stepped aside, not daring to look directly at our darkened expressions.

Suddenly, a series of roars echoed through the forest, then silence descended.

The three of us knew that several species of animals in the forest had vanished forever.

An hour later.

“Are you truly ready?” I asked Naya.

“I am!” Naya took a deep breath and burst out of the forest.

In that moment, a green light emanated from her body, verdant and beautiful.

The light then dissipated, transforming into countless shimmering motes that drifted into the forest.

She was no longer the Forest Lord.

She had truly joined us.

Let us offer blessings for her freedom.

At the entrance, the three of us reunited with Key and Aironi.

Before our reunion, I had seen Key pacing in distress from afar, while Aironi, leaning on his spear, relentlessly spouted taunts.

“Who’s that little runt, about a meter tall? Is that the child of the beast-skinned barbarian and the Hero?” At the forest entrance, Aironi’s thoughtless remark mocked all three of us.

“Little runt?!” Naya’s long hair bristled unnaturally.

“Beast-skinned barbarian?!” Helter’s eyes narrowed.

“Child of…” I stood speechless.

After a one-second delay, Helter immediately raised his greatsword, and Naya, in turn, began chanting a spell.

Seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating, I quickly intervened!

“Wait, wait, wait! Fighting amongst ourselves right after reuniting isn’t the way! We are a team!”

After a lengthy explanation…

“The Forest Lord?” Key and Aironi exclaimed in unison.

“Indeed. I am Twilight Naya, a demigod who has guarded this forest for over two hundred years. For now, I shall reluctantly join you as a mage. You should consider yourselves honored.”

‘Two hundred years old? A mage? Aha?’ Helter and I were utterly dumbfounded, as she had never mentioned this before.

“So not only is she a midget, but an old hag too.” ‘Aironi, that’s enough…’

Wham! Naya’s fist shot out.

“Esteemed Hero, please permit me to give him a punch.”

‘You already did!’

“Waaah, how violent…” Aironi’s nose bled profusely. “You’re just an unmarriageable spinster!” ‘Just shut up… If you don’t speak, we can still be teammates.’

Boom! A beam of green magical energy slammed into Aironi’s face.

“Esteemed Hero, please permit me to deliver a magical impact upon him.”

‘You’ve already unleashed the impact!’

“Ah… I…”

Before Aironi could utter another word, I quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Alright, that’s enough. It’s over. We need to get ready; we’ll be hitting the road soon.”

“Mmmph mmmph mmmph! [Let me speak! I *******]” Aironi struggled to break free from my grasp.

“Alright! Quiet down. Helter’s raising his sword again…”

“Mmmph mmmph mmmph! [It’s important! Let me speak!]”

Key watched Aironi, then stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Oh, right, Hero. Aironi mentioned while you were searching for the Holy Sword that he had something to do before officially joining the party…”

“Huh? [Confused]” I stared into Aironi’s eyes.

“Hah? [Displeased]” Helter lowered his greatsword.

“Hmph. [Dismissive]” Naya placed her hands on her hips.

At that moment, Aironi finally pulled my hand away. “Mmph! Finally, you let me speak! Miss Hero, I still need to go to the temporary command post in Newbie Village to resign! I can’t just leave with you like this.”

‘Oh… that. Right, of course. How could a guard with such professional integrity simply leave without a word and join us on an adventure?’

“So, please, let’s head back to Newbie Village first, handle my resignation, and then depart. I don’t know if you’ll agree.”

“Agree? Of course I agree!” I readily assented.

“Excellent! That’s the Hero’s word I needed.” With that, Aironi stretched out his legs and collapsed onto the ground.

We exchanged glances, not understanding what Aironi intended.

“What are you standing around for? Come and carry me! I’m practically half-dead right now! I can barely even speak, let alone walk!”

‘How can you claim you can barely speak when you’re shouting like that… And seriously, could you be any more arrogant?! I’m not going to lie, this attitude is starting to test my patience.’

“Fine, I’ll do it…”

‘Though I found him quite annoying, he was still a teammate willing to follow me. I couldn’t just abandon him…’

“Esteemed Hero, your temper is truly excellent. If it were I, I would have abandoned him!” Naya fumed behind me.

“Sigh…” Helter sighed as he hoisted his luggage onto his back.

“In the end, we’re still in Newbie Village… I should rest. See you later…” Key listlessly phased into my body.

‘Yes, it feels like so much has happened these past few days, yet we’re still in Newbie Village…’

However, I had no idea that a major disaster was about to strike Newbie Village that very day.

A “pong” of an explosion echoed from the distant Newbie Village…

Fierce flames engulfed the village, and a massive, dragon-shaped plume of smoke gradually rose into the sky.

“Hero! Look!” Helter slapped my shoulder, pointing towards Newbie Village.

“I know! I see it!”

I couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

“A Fire Dragon Cannon.” Aironi, still on my back, recognized it instantly. “I’ve led troops in battle; I know what that cannon shot means…” Aironi broke out in a cold sweat.

“What does it mean?” Naya asked, utterly bewildered.

“It could be an attack from another country… They intend to start with the weaker villages and advance towards the Royal Capital!”

“I’ve been here for ten years! I never knew a country would target a Newbie Village!”

“This is the kingdom’s border! It’s not impossible for it to be a target! Damn it, now I really have to leave without notice!” Aironi gritted his teeth. “Let’s go! Either head back to the Royal Capital first, or embark on our adventure directly. This village is doomed!”

‘What…’

In that moment, people recalled the terror of being dominated by war.