Chapter 60

On the way back, I aimed to minimize rest and cross the mountain before the day was over.

The only difference from before was that I knew the distance since I had already passed this way once, but even without resting, it didn’t feel particularly tiring.

Could it be that I’ve somehow gained a stamina stat like in a game? You know, the kind that increases when you level up. If only my intelligence could also increase a bit... then I might understand what the professor says during lectures.

Once I entered the mountain, I deliberately headed towards the path I had taken before. Among the two paths, I chose the one with a steep slope but no obstacles and an open view. Although I had already extinguished all the fires on the way up, I planned to completely clear everything on the way down.

Now, just like the area that has come to be known as the frog swamp, I need to clear all the paths leading to the 28th Terrarium to increase the influx of settlers!

"Somewhere around here, we had the carriage fire and the boss battle..."

"It's over there."

While on the way, I also visited places that came to mind, like landmarks. In the direction Mesquite pointed, a clearing that had been turned into a mess by the carriage fire was visible.

A circular wall of fire had risen, and due to the extensive damage from the battle, the surrounding trees and rocks were toppled and shattered. However, fresh green grass was sprouting from the ground, creating a subtle contradiction.

Thanks to the Elder's graft, which poured a rain of diamonds, the scorched earth had regained its vitality. Even though it had been quite some time since the rain, a refreshing aura still lingered.

The number of fire entities that appeared like mobs had decreased, and the carriage fire that roamed this area had been eliminated. If this place were under my jurisdiction, it would be nice to create a park. But on the map, it seemed closer to the 27th Terrarium, so I decided to give up on it.

A little further along, the real overturned carriage appeared. Should I show it to Bago? I hesitated a bit. After all, the incident that led to the child being separated began with the carriage overturning. It was also the place where the helmet flowers, like myself, were all burned.

"Should we clear away the carriage? It's probably better if only we know the hidden aspects of what happened in the 28th Terrarium."

"My master, Jay. I agree with the Elder. It's for Jay's safety. Although it was badly burned, Jay found many clues there, and others might do the same. This includes the box that contained the Bago sapling."

"Hmm, yeah. It's a bit off-putting to have such an eyesore on the way to the 28th."

The deliberation was brief. There's no point in hiding it if it's already been discovered. The child was already drawn to the direction where we were talking.

I took Bago's hand and headed towards the overturned carriage. After we left, no one had discovered it, or perhaps no one had passed through here at all. The scene was identical to my last memory.

The skull-patterned box was still open, spilling black soil, and among it were things that looked like plants burned and dried by fire.

I asked Bago if he remembered this. After all, it was where he had been delivered like a package. The child looked frightened at the sight of the badly damaged carriage, but there was no sign that he recognized anything. He was just purely scared.

Does he not have all the memories from when he was in the womb? But he seemed to remember being carried somewhere.

As the Elder prepared to use a flower branch to bury the carriage, I paused for a moment. Back then, we had to leave in a hurry and didn’t have time to thoroughly inspect it, but now we did. Perhaps we could find more clues related to the incident in the 28th Terrarium.

"What are you looking for?"

"Remember the items we found on the way to the 29th Terrarium? Upon closer inspection, there were signs of a battle between people or dryads, not just fire. Daisy found a symbol of the 28th Terrarium on an item she flipped over."

My dryads quickly understood my intention. Although the carriage was severely damaged, I thought we might find something if we inspected it carefully, as we did before. I dragged Bago, who couldn’t take his eyes off the skull-patterned box.

"Come on, let's move together. You're shorter than me, so you might spot things lower down better, right? Look closely. I see things at this height first."

I bent my knees to match Bago's eye level.

"Can you see things at this height first? Besides me, Mesquite and Elder are much taller, so they won't see things as well. Can you do it?"

Bago hesitated, looking at me. I'm not going to scold you if you can't.

"Wow, this is something only you can do! Elder only bends his knees when picking up diamonds."

"When do I?"

Elder snapped irritably. I wondered if he was pretending not to remember or genuinely didn't remember. If it was the former, I could remind him. I felt the diamonds in my pocket rolling around.

"You'll do great. I need your small but valuable help."

The child Nijyu. Bago nodded hesitantly at my push. With a determined glint in his large eyes, he pushed up his round glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and bent over. The long hood fell over his head, completely covering it.

It looked like a giant hood had opened its mouth and swallowed the child. I bit my lower lip to stifle a laugh and opened my eyes.

At that moment, Mesquite approached with a smile and whispered in my ear.

"You're creating a reason to praise, aren't you?"

Exactly. Following Mesquite's advice, I planned to praise Bago to increase his affection.

But it's not appropriate to praise him at any time. I can't just say, "Your hair is really blue! Completely blue!" or "Your glasses are really big and round! Amazing!"

I glanced at Elder, who was sulking after being teased. Of course, I can praise him anytime. His face is always well done. Elder's eyes are really good! His nose is really good!

Anyway, I planned to give Bago an easy task and praise him when he accomplished it. I needed to give him a reason to understand why I assigned this task to him.

My dryads are all outstanding, so there's no particular reason to mention Bago, except for his small size.

Daisy stood beside me, looking at me with a "What about me?" expression. Bago is now the smallest dryad in the team. He always appeared as a child, and Mesquite and I often called him a child out of habit.

I wondered if Daisy felt jealous about losing her position as the youngest... but her expression didn't show it. What use is there in being the smallest in the team?

"Daisy has grown. She's now about my height, so let's have Bago check the lower areas."

I said this loudly enough for Bago to hear. I saw him bend over even more. How can he see anything with the hood covering his view? I bit my lower lip again.

"Last time, Daisy found the symbol of the 28th Terrarium by flipping an item, so it would be great if you could use your intuition to check this time. Since the carriage is already damaged, you can handle it roughly."

"Yes! I'll do my best!"

That's what he said.

Crunch!

I didn't expect him to lift the entire carriage and flip it over.

Bago let out a shrill scream and fell backward. I quickly took cover behind Mesquite.

"What are you doing, lifting it like that?"

"But Druid asked us to check it thoroughly!"

Elder, who was speechless, shouted, and Daisy cheerfully retorted. A massive carriage, large enough to seat six people, was lifted and flipped over by the small child's hands, like flipping a piece of meat on a grill. Daisy smiled calmly amidst the rising dust and ashes.

Can I do that too if it's that easy? I tried to muster some strength but gave up. Is it because the child is an attack type and strong, or do all dryads have such strength?

"Hey, Jay!"

A high-pitched voice called me. I can't laugh... I can't laugh... My lower lip will suffer many times today.

Bago, in the midst of all this, had discovered something and ran to me. The sleeve that had been covering his hand like a candy wrapper slipped down, revealing a small, white fist. I brushed off the dust on his clothes and prepared to praise whatever he found.

"I found this..."

What the child found was a bird's feather. It was a bit faded but a beautiful feather, yellow with a dark brown tip. But a feather? It managed to retain its shape amidst the fire that burned the carriage.

I twirled the feather, curious, and the child's expression visibly darkened. He had found it but didn't think it would be helpful, which lowered his confidence. Oops!

"You found something interesting? Where did you find it?"

"It flew up when the carriage was flipped."

"Great job! It's such a small and beautiful feather. You wouldn't have found it if it weren't for you!"

I patted Bago's head. His face brightened again. Elder snorted at the sight.

"It's just a feather. There are wild animals here. There might be birds with such feathers. How could it be helpful?"

Hearing this, I realized he had a point. Just then, I saw Daisy throw a boomerang and hit a bird-shaped fire in the sky, extinguishing it.

With her newfound ability to attack from a distance, Daisy no longer struggled with flying fires as she did before. She now caught them with her daggers, like hitting targets in a shooting game.

Mesquite's hand landed on Elder's shoulder.

"You're wrong, Elder. That's not an ordinary bird's feather."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's very small and beautiful, as Jay said."

Why? What's different? But Mesquite's words made Elder realize something.

"I think the color of the bird's feather is very unusual for this area, Jay. There are few birds in our habitat, so my knowledge about them is limited."

Mesquite continued, looking around.

"The environment here is generally dark, with many dark rocks and black trees. It's a tough environment for a bird with such a bright color to survive. It would quickly become a target for predators."

"That means... this feather came from outside, perhaps with the carriage..."

"It could be a clue about who attacked the carriage."

Mesquite pointed to the door of the overturned carriage with her sword. The opposite side was relatively less burned by the fire, and there were rough marks, as if made by a saw, on the door.

"These could be marks from a battle with dryads, but we can't be sure."

Given the past, someone might have attacked this carriage, just as someone attacked the herald of the 28th Terrarium.