TNZKMA 120

１２０

 

I woke up in the morning mist. I felt like I had slept deeply.

I was in the Forest of Monsters, a place with maximum danger, far beyond that dark, narrow passage. Yet, at least in this place, I thought it might be safe.

So, what’s going on? It felt like the tension in my body was melting away, and I had slept peacefully.

I stretched out with a groan. My back cracked loudly. I must have been really tense. Well, it’s understandable. Despite everything, I didn’t feel accustomed to the darkness. I was just fooling myself and walking on.

Now, what should I do? This is definitely the Forest of Monsters. That means I have to cut through the monsters to get back home.

Uh, um… I can’t possibly make it out alone. I should probably let Kyui rest a bit more. Maybe I should stay here until Kyui regains its strength.

Gurururururu…

My stomach began to make a huge noise. It seemed like the tension had eased and I remembered I was hungry.

I pressed my noisy, rumbling stomach and wondered if I might starve to death before Kyui’s strength returned.

I touched the moss at my feet. I wondered if it was edible. I looked up at the tree I had leaned against. Could those leaves be eaten?

Everything in front of me seemed like it could be eaten. If a house made of candy appeared, I would devour it without hesitation. That’s how incredibly hungry I was.

For now, I extended my tongue towards the moss. I wanted to drink some water. I licked the soft moss, absorbing the moisture, and then lay on my back with my mouth wide open.

The fine rain continued to fall, dripping into my mouth. I closed my eyes, thinking that rain is sweet.

How many days had passed since then? At least one night had come, so at least one day had passed. Saine should be around home by now, shouldn’t he? I wonder if he’s still in the forest. Maybe he’ll pass by this area.

I thought about such convenient possibilities and laughed it off, knowing it probably wouldn’t happen.

Hmm, what should I do? I need to give myself a pep talk again. I have to muster the courage to leave this safe place.

My stomach kept rumbling. I was a bit impressed that Kyui could sleep so well. I tore off a piece of moss. I wasn’t sure if it was edible, but I decided to try it. I’d never heard of poisonous moss.

But just as I was about to toss the moss into my mouth, I was struck on the right side of my head and fell over.

My face buried in the moss. I didn’t know what had happened, but the right side of my head was throbbing painfully. Rubbing my aching head, I looked around.

[………]

There was that moving tree by the entrance where I had come in. It was standing there in a way that clearly said, “I just threw something.”

I rubbed my head and looked behind me. Right behind me, sitting on the moss, was a huge fruit, about the size of my head.

[Did you throw this?]

The tree nodded vigorously. Then it puffed out its chest a bit.

Why is it looking so proud after hitting me on the head? I almost said that, but I then realized something while holding the fruit that had struck me.

This is the fruit that Dole brought, the one that’s dangerous if eaten too much!

[Is it okay to eat this!? Wow!! Thank you!!]

Alright! It’s the fruit that makes you energetic when eaten. I quickly tried to crack open the hard shell, but it wouldn’t budge. I lifted it with both hands and slammed it against the ground. But the soft, deep moss cushioned the fruit, making it sway without breaking.

I had food in front of me but couldn’t eat it. In my ultimate hunger, I panicked and shook the fruit violently while shouting.

The eating knife that Saine had bought for me was nowhere to be found; I must have lost it somewhere. I took a coin from my wallet and tried to stab the fruit, but the coin bent instead.

In my desperation, I started banging my head against the big fruit. I headbutted it repeatedly, but I couldn’t even make a crack.1 

The fruit inside should be edible, so the shell should be too. Having food right in front of me made my hunger even more intense. I was so hungry that it felt like my stomach was about to stick to my back. I would eat anything that could go into my stomach, even if it were a stone. I bit down on the hard shell.

My teeth couldn’t make a dent. I clasped my hands together and raised my arms high, preparing to smash the fruit with my fists.

Smack!

Before I could bring my fists down, something struck the fruit. The hard shell cracked open instantly. Huh? I looked up to see the thick tree branch swaying.

[…Did you crack it for me?]

The thick tree stood quietly.

From the cracked shell, I took out a bunch of the white fruit and ate it. I savored the sweet fruit slowly.

I ate while crying. Could there be anything else in this world that tastes so good? It felt like there couldn’t be.

For my size, I could only eat one bunch. Dol’s voice echoed in my mind, and I stopped eating, calming my rumbling stomach.

I took Kyui, who was still sleeping, out of the pouch and brought the white fruit to its mouth. Kyui, now a brown bear cub, ate while still asleep.

The white fruit was probably being digested in my stomach. My hunger slowly subsided. Fatigue melted away. When I looked at my hands, the many injuries were gone. The nails that had been peeling were starting to return to normal.

The fruit, which was dangerous if overconsumed, seemed to have effects like dour grass. Bruises and cuts all over were disappearing. If told to run full speed, I felt like I could start running immediately. Strength was bubbling up from within me.

Holding the fruit, I stood up. Alright, I’m going to cut through the forest and go home! It should be easy if I can run through before monsters appear. I felt so powerful that it seemed like it would be that simple.

As I prepared to sprint in the “ready, set, go” stance, something wrapped around my legs. Huh? Looking down, I saw that roots growing from the ground had entangled me.

I lifted my foot and tried pulling at the roots. I pulled hard, but they wouldn’t come loose. I crouched down to try to untangle them, but it didn’t work, and I ended up sitting down.

Sitting there, I gazed up at the thick tree. These roots probably belonged to that tree. It had helped me by cracking the shell earlier, but now it was hindering me. I wondered what it was trying to do.

But for some reason, I didn’t get a bad feeling from this tree. I definitely didn’t think it was a monster.

[Hey, why are you holding me?]

I asked the tree, but the thick tree said nothing and didn’t move.

I thought it was the same type of tree as the moving one, even though it was a completely different size. Maybe this tree is what the moving tree would become if it grew up.

I tried to lift my legs, which were trapped by the roots. The roots were entangled around my legs, but not tightly. It felt like they were loosely snagged, moving up and down with my movements.

I tried pulling my legs to escape from the roots. The entanglement tightened slightly, making it impossible for my legs to free themselves.

What’s going on? It didn’t seem like the tree intended to hurt me, but it also didn’t seem to want to let me go. Maybe it was telling me to stay here. But that would be a problem.

[Look, I need to go home. Saine is waiting, and I want to go home.]

I pleaded with the tree.

[Saine is my husband. He’s the most important person to me. Saine will be worried if I’m gone. So please, let me go.]

The roots didn’t release, but a voice came down to me.

[Stay here.]

I looked around at the sudden voice. But there was no one. The moving tree that had been there earlier had also disappeared. I looked to the right, then to the left, and then up.

The thick tree that was holding me spoke by rustling its leaves.

[A man is coming this way. You should wait here.]

[Man? Saine? Is Saine coming!?]

I stood up and clung to the tree, asking. The roots had somehow loosened.

[Yay! Yay! Yay!! I’ll get to see Saine. Saine is coming to rescue me!!]

I was so happy that I cried out loud.

Just as the tree said, I decided to wait in this safe place for Saine. My hero was coming. I was excited and continued talking to the tree.

[You can talk, tree. Can the moving tree also talk?]

[No.]

[I see. The moving tree can’t talk. Maybe it can’t talk while it’s moving, and can talk once it stops moving.]

When I said what I thought, the tree swayed, rubbing its leaves together.

[…Did you laugh? Or, rather, is it not that?]

Maybe only this tree can talk. It’s standing in a different place from other trees, and it might be special. After all, it was standing where a fountain would be in the town square.

[Tree, are you a special tree? You kind of seem like the queen of trees.]

When I said that, the leaves swayed again. This time, with a gentle movement. It might really be true.

The tree’s voice was a woman’s voice. A familiar voice. In fact, a voice I could never forget.

I leaned against the tree and looked up. The outstretched branches formed a roof, keeping the rain off. It had been drizzling in the forest all the time, and I would get wet no matter where I was. Other trees were either too thin or too tall to keep the rain off.

But this tree had many long, thick branches, and the branches were covered in leaves. So while I was under this tree, the fine rain wouldn’t fall on me. This tree might be the only place in the forest where I could take shelter from the rain.

I looked up at the kind tree and whispered in a fading voice.

[…Mom?]

The branches quivered slightly.

 

TN: Lol Saine hurry come find your wife before he turns completely stupid from hunger.

 

I was gonna stop after translating for the day but then MC said “Mom?” and my brain’s like, “Aight, let’s do a few more chapters.”