LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 31
Chapter 31
—–CROW—–
-El. Are you going again today?
“[I’ll be back soon.],” El replied.
*Rustle*
Silphy puffed out her cheeks as she watched the black Imugi disappear into the distance. It was happening again. Just like yesterday, he had left. It would probably be the same tomorrow.
-Something bad will happen if you keep doing things you don’t normally do.
The reason El was acting like this was probably because of that strange tree he had seen before. Silphy recalled the day El had half-forced her to go with him. A giant tree that had cheerfully rustled its leaves upon seeing her. The life force contained within it had been so strong that even Silphy, who hated leaving the cave, had been happily moving around there for a whole 30 minutes.
-It’s understandable. Since he became an Imugi, and the tree grew by absorbing his energy, it’s natural he’d be interested.
But there was a limit. Visiting the tree every single day? He wasn’t a parent caring for a child. The thought of their playtime decreasing because of a single tree inevitably led to dissatisfaction.
-And he’s even increased his training time lately.
“Meow!” Cheong exclaimed.
-Right? You think so too, Cheong.
Their time with El had decreased. Cheong, who was even more dissatisfied than Silphy about this, pounded the ground with her front paw.
*Thump. Thump.*
Despite the seemingly light action, the impact was far from insignificant. Cheong’s eyes gleamed as she spoke to Silphy.
“Mrow. Meow.”
-Hmm. I suppose so. The time he spends there keeps getting longer.
Cheong’s worried question implied that if this continued, El might end up living with the tree and only visiting them occasionally.
Silphy gave a serious response that, from Cheong’s perspective, was like a bolt from the blue: if this continued, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
“Mrow! Meow!”
-You’re going now?
“Meow!”
-I, I’ll stay here.
Suddenly going to see El? Silphy, who hated leaving the cave, refused. But Cheong wasn’t one to be deterred.
*Grip*
-Just let me stay home!
“Meooow~”
If it’s not okay? Make it okay. Cheong grabbed Silphy’s leg with her tail, pulled her along, and headed towards where El would be.
***
The number of creatures coming here seemed to be increasing day by day. At first, they came every two or three days, but now they came more than once a day.
“[Sigh…]”
The ones he had previously encountered rarely returned, but the number of newcomers didn’t decrease. There were so many animals in this place.
*Thump.*
“[I hope this is the last one for today.],” El thought.
With a decisive tail swipe, he took out half of the face of the wolf pack leader, killing it instantly. The other wolves, seeing their leader fall, immediately turned tail and fled.
El glanced at the dead wolf leader and turned away. The hyenas and other carnivores roaming around would take care of the body, so he didn’t need to bother cleaning up.
*Rustle*
As he arrived at his destination, he blinked in disbelief.
“[Hmm?]”
What? Why were Cheong and Silphy there? He tilted his head, seeing Cheong seemingly angry and Silphy trying to calm her down.
‘I haven’t returned to the cave.’
So why were they here?
“Meow! Mrow! Hiss!”
-Whoa! Cheong, wait! El might get mad if you hit him!
*Huff. Huff.*
Cheong vigorously swung her paws towards the tree, but her attacks only sliced through the air as Silphy held her aloft. It might have looked like she was simply struggling, but the sound of wind being cut was quite fierce.
“[Cheong and Silphy? Why are you here?]”
-El! Calm Cheong down!
“[You’d better explain what’s going on.]”
He joined Silphy in calming Cheong down.
*Hmm*
After finally soothing Cheong, they gathered under the shade of the giant tree and started talking. He spoke first.
“[So, why did you come here?]”
Cheong nudged Silphy. It was her way of saying, “You answer.” Indeed, Silphy was better at explaining things, so it was appropriate for her to do so. His gaze shifted completely to Silphy, who cleared her throat and explained why they had come.
“[What the…]”
The reason was simple. Because he was coming here too often and staying too long. Not only did he come every day, but the time he spent here was increasing, so they were worried that if this continued, the current situation, where he visited them briefly from here, might be reversed.
“[That’s not going to happen.]”
-B-But it’s true that the time you spend here has increased.
“[That’s because I have to chase away the ones that come here.]”
What was he supposed to do when they came more and more frequently? Just before coming here, he had dealt with a strange wolf. It would be easier if they realized the difference in their strength and retreated like the rhinoceros herd before, but he had to kill the ones that attacked, which took time.
“[…So don’t misunderstand.]”
He hadn’t explained this to Cheong and Silphy before. As he explained why he stayed here so long and why that time was increasing, Silphy and Cheong looked at each other and then, seemingly embarrassed by their actions, scratched their heads or turned their faces away to avoid his gaze.
-W-What? So that’s what it was?
“…Meow.”
“[It’s my fault for not explaining beforehand, so I apologize.]”
Still, thanks to this, the misunderstanding had been cleared up, and Cheong and Silphy were here now, so it wasn’t a bad outcome.
*Hmm*
The giant tree, which had been listening to their conversation, rustled its leaves and sent a faint will through its mana.
“[Happy…],” it seemed to say. It seemed happy just to be together and have a conversation.
This pure creature! He gently wagged his tail and carefully stroked the tree’s surface.
-Um… but you know…
“[Yes?]”
-What’s this child’s name?
Their misunderstanding had been resolved. So now, the topic of conversation shifted to the reason they were here: the giant tree.
“[A name…]”
Honestly, he hadn’t thought of a name. He just simply called it “tree” or “giant tree.”
-You didn’t…?!
As if she had read his mind, Silphy whispered to Cheong in a voice he couldn’t hear.
-…
“Meow? Meooow?!”
-…
“Hiss!”
-So that’s what we’re doing?
“Meow!”
He had no idea what they had discussed. But seeing the two of them positioned as if to surround him, he felt that it wasn’t something positive or favorable to him.
-Alright! Operation commence!
“Meow!”
“[Operation? What…”
*Whoosh*
Before he could ask anything, Silphy, as if holding a megaphone, manipulated her voice to resonate throughout the space.
-The defendant is accused of neglecting a young tree and failing to give it a name! Agent Cheong, apprehend the heinous Imugi immediately!
“Meow! Mrow, mrow!”
Who was neglecting and heinous?
-Careful! The target uses wind and earth for powerful ranged attacks! Agent Cheong, close the distance as much as possible!
“Hiss!”
He finally realized what they were up to. Right, it was his turn to play with Cheong today.
‘So this is the setting for today’s play.’
Silphy, tired of repeating the same sparring routine, had started adding strange embellishments, creating new rules.
-I repeat! The target uses wind and earth for ranged attacks!
‘I know, I know.’
Why was Silphy looking at him and repeating that? The reason was simple. He had to fight according to her description.
If one asked why he would restrict himself like this while fighting Cheong, it was because even with these restrictions, the fight was still challenging. He might have been different before, but now he was an Imugi. Having begun to wield various attributes, he had gained a complete advantage in his spars with Cheong, and he always won. Even with Cheong’s remarkable growth rate, this was unavoidable.
To narrow the gap, Silphy had come up with a clever idea: adding a setting to limit his power. He would practice various combat methods with new restrictions every day, and Cheong would balance the fight by facing a weakened version of him. It was a win-win situation, so he had accepted her proposal.
‘Wind and earth ranged attacks, huh?’
With this setting, he had to use only wind and earth attributes and fight from a distance, not in close combat.
-Now, our little tree, who has suffered at the hands of the evil Imugi, will cheer on Agent Cheong, who has come to its aid!
*Hmm?!*
By the way, just before he and Cheong started fighting, Silphy had approached the tree and suggested it join in on this scenario.
“[You don’t have to play along.]”
-Hey! If Agent Cheong wins, El will be punished by having to name you! Don’t you want a name from your dad?!
“[Wait a minute. Who’s the dad…]”
*Flash*
Just before the fight began, a mysterious light enveloped Cheong, imbuing her with immense life force.
—–CROW—–