Chapter 180

Finally, we arrived at the entrance of the forest where the Spirit King of Wood resides. At the entrance of the hiking trail, I could smell a strong, peculiar scent of wood, as if it had been condensed. With a bit of fear in our hearts, we stepped inside, and the moment I stepped on the solid tree roots, Ares’ warning came to mind.

[The Spirit King of Wood is not only strong but also extremely dislikes intruders. If a group of intruders enters, it seems like he forcibly tears them apart. After tearing the group apart, he deals with the intruders by defeating them one by one. So, if you don’t stay sharp, you might die at the hands of the Spirit King of Wood before even meeting the Black Round Table.]

Ah… Just as I recalled that fact and was about to warn everyone, I noticed that everyone had disappeared. That damn Spirit King of Wood had already torn us apart. I even started to doubt if I should bother saving this jerk.

In my head, I asked Armadura, the Spirit King I had a contract with.

[Do you know the Spirit King of Wood?]

[…Are you talking about that lunatic?]

[Is he that unpopular?]

[Well, there are many names for that guy. When I call him, it’s “drunkard.” When the Primordial Mother calls him, it’s “hopeless idiot.” When Valena calls him, it’s “maniac.” When the Spirit King of Fire calls him, it’s “damn elf bastard.” When the Spirit King of Light calls him, it’s “a friend who might be nice despite having bad habits.” When the Spirit King of Darkness calls him, it’s “moron.” When the Spirit King of Ice calls him, it’s “trash I wish would just die.” When the Spirit King of Lightning calls him, it’s “someone I’ll stab in the gut someday…”]

Hmm, his evaluation is harsher than Damian’s. But “elf bastard”?

[“Elf bastard”? Aren’t all Spirit Kings supposed to take animal forms?]

[Well, most of them do take animal forms. But some, like the Spirit King of Light or the Spirit King of Darkness, sometimes take human forms out of boredom. They do take animal forms during important moments, though… But that guy, the Spirit King of Wood, is beyond comprehension. Maybe because he’s an idiot, he permanently stuck himself in the form of an elf.]

In the original story, he sent his subordinate, a squirrel, to complete the contract, so I never even got to see his form. So, he’s an elf bastard, huh? Well, if he’s an elf bastard, then his nonsensical behavior makes perfect sense.

Elf bastards are like cats, I think. You might wonder why a pet would break something, but if it’s a cat, the question is immediately answered. Similarly, any kind of nonsense can be explained by saying, “Oh, it’s an elf bastard.” Plus, if they were ugly, they’d have gone extinct by now, just like cats. I even thought about submitting a paper someday claiming that cats and elves share a common ancestor.

[Still, he’s undeniably strong. He could wipe out an entire human army… but he’s also the type to find fighting bothersome… That’s why he holes up in this forest and deals with intruders by scattering them.]

[So, he’s an elf bastard, cowardly, loves alcohol, uses his power recklessly, is a maniac, a recluse, and does whatever he wants… Isn’t that just the worst combination of traits a living being could have?]

[That’s exactly what I’m saying. Honestly, I’m not even sure if we should help him.]

[Well, you never know… Anyway, being separated from everyone is a critical issue…]

As I was pondering this, I heard groans. Wondering who was being attacked, I rushed over. And what I saw was…

“Ugh…”

The minions of the Black Round Table were lying on the ground, injured, and my future daughter Rachel was vomiting.

“Are you okay?”

I thought she might have been poisoned, but there were no wounds on her body, and she didn’t seem to be suffering from poison.

“I’m fine. I just felt a bit nauseous…”

But the strange thing was that the minions Rachel had defeated weren’t dead; they were just immobilized, with wounds that weren’t immediately fatal.

“Why didn’t you finish them off? You don’t have to be as brutal as your brother, but… they’re the kind of guys who should be killed.”

“Well…”

From Rachel’s reaction and her panicked eyes, I could roughly guess the situation.

“Sigh… Rachel, you’ve never killed anyone before, have you?”

“That’s… well…”

I quietly examined the wounds of one of the groaning Black Round Table minions. As expected.

“The cuts are oddly shallow, and you avoided vital spots like the liver. If you had cut the liver, the skin would have turned yellow. And from the wounds, it seems you hesitated. It’s not just that you’ve never killed anyone before… It’s that you’ve never even stabbed a real person, right?”

“Well…”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

I turned my gaze back to the fallen minions of the Black Round Table. Judging by these bugs, they must have underestimated Rachel because she was alone and attacked her, only to be defeated.

But since there were only about a dozen of them, it seemed they too had been scattered upon entering the forest. Did these idiots make a promise to meet up later on Shabondy Island or something?

Anyway, since we’re also scattered, I couldn’t be too optimistic. I just hoped that the younger kids or the other women wouldn’t run into the higher-ups of the Black Round Table…

Regardless, I needed to finish off these guys first. Leaving them like this would only mean they’d suffer before dying.

“Arrow of Lightning, strike.”

A bolt of lightning pierced through their bodies, ending their lives. Judging by the amount of blood, it seemed quite some time had passed since they were injured, but Rachel hadn’t finished any of them off.

“People who can kill without hesitation are abnormal, but… I guess this is what you’d expect from a noble lady who’s trained in swordsmanship. Your skills aren’t bad, but… freaking out at the sight of blood and never having stabbed anyone before is a bit… Didn’t you say there was a lot going on in the future?”

According to Damian’s explanation, the future was an apocalypse, so it was a bit surprising that Rachel, a valuable asset as the daughter of me and Glacia, had never killed anyone before.

“Well, my siblings and I never left the capital because of my brother…”

Rachel’s hands were still trembling, unable to believe that she had stabbed and cut people. Well, most people react like that the first time they stab someone.

“If I or others had died, assassins would have come looking for you, right…?”

“I’ve never seen that… I’ve heard stories about my brother torturing captured guys in the basement, though…”

It seems my torture techniques were passed down to my son.

“By the way, who taught you swordsmanship? Your style looks exactly like Glacia’s.”

“My brother taught me… He said he knew the forms my mother used…”

“Sigh… Damn it.”

I could vaguely see the outline of the future. I could somewhat understand the meaning behind some of the things that guy had said. When I meet him, I’ll give him a good knuckle sandwich to the head and teach him to speak properly.

If my understanding is correct, that guy has zero talent for communication.

“Anyway, I’m worried about the others, so let’s find them first. Especially your siblings, who seem to have no combat ability and could fall asleep anywhere.”

“Well, Violet knows basic self-defense, but like me, she has little real combat experience and suffers from narcolepsy… And Aila doesn’t know how to fight at all.”

“You know a lot about your siblings.”

“My brother left all the responsibility of taking care of them to me while he was gone.”

I patted Rachel’s head. She must have had a hard time too.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“…It’s not a bad feeling.”

“Is that so?”

“…Could you do it a bit more?”

Well, it wasn’t a difficult request.

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The Spirit King of Wood was observing the events in the forest through the dew on the leaves.

Taking the form of a young elf, the Spirit King of Wood mockingly laughed at the intruders.

“These guests are quite colorful. An old friend who abandoned his title as a Spirit King and fell from grace, the son of the Primordial Mother, girls from another timeline, a sorcerer who made a contract with my friend, an ancient monster, a fallen saint… or rather, a being pretending to be a saint, bugs cursing their own fate… and finally, a foolish asura who has thrown away everything.”

The Spirit King of Wood clapped his hands, and a clear, beautiful sound echoed.

“Then, I’ll let them fight each other to the death. Honestly, fighting is such a bother.”

With that, the structure of the forest changed, and the paths shifted as well.

Having finished his task, the Spirit King of Wood downed a barrel of alcohol, let out a lazy yawn, and peacefully drifted off to sleep.