「So, where can I place it?」
「As long as you don’t trouble the neighbors and they are okay with it, anywhere is fine.」
「Okay.」
Since the conversation was now finished, I thanked Mumuroot-san again and got up to leave, but he stopped me.
「Wait, my wife is preparing tea. I would also like to hear about what Sanya has done at the capital. It won’t take long, so please stay for a while longer.」
「Are you sure? Don’t you have to talk about some important things?」
「It’s okay. I don’t think you’ll understand those even if you listen in.」
I wasn’t sure if he was saying I was too stupid to understand, or if it was something only elves could understand.
Well, he said it was okay for me to stay, so I would take up on his offer; I was quite interested in the barrier anyway.
Sanya’s (not so old-looking) grandma soon brought us some tea and fruits, so I helped myself to them while also listening in on their conversation.
「So, how much have you heard so far, Sanya?」
「Just a few things Ruimin and Mother told me.」
Huh? It suddenly got really hard to comprehend what the two were saying.
I had properly cleaned out my ears, so that couldn’t be why.
I tried shaking my head to focus, even though that most likely wouldn’t really help.
「I see. Only a few people know about this, but there’s been quite a lot of monsters breaking through the barrier recently.」
「Quite a lot you say?!」
I could understand them just fine now.
Maybe I should clean my ears once I got home.
Anyway, it appeared that monsters were indeed getting through the barrier.
「Yeah, and that’s why Labilata and the others are on high alert. They were guarding the area until you came back.」
Oh, so it wasn’t because I looked suspicious.
I kind of felt bad for saying that their shadowing had been disturbing.
Wait, Sanya-san had said that, not me.
「Is the situation really that bad?」
「The only monsters that are getting through are low level ones for now. Still, even though we haven’t had any stronger monsters come in yet, with the barrier getting weaker, I believe it’s only a matter of time.」
What sort of monsters did they mean by stronger than low level ones?
Were they talking about orc-level or higher?
「By the way, what exactly is causing the barrier to weaken? I thought it was going to be fine for another hundred years.」
Mumuroot-san shook his head.
「I don’t know. It’s possible that something happened to the Sacred Tree.」
A Sacred Tree? What was that, something like Yggdrasil? The conversation suddenly started to sound like that of a fantasy world.
I wanted to see it, but I would most likely not be allowed to.
(TL note: Norse Mythology, anybody?)
「Has anyone checked on the Sacred Tree?」
「Sadly, as you know, only those related to us by blood can enter it. There are only me, Aruturu, Ruimin, Luca, and you. Luca is still a child and I also can’t leave it to Ruimin yet. That’s why I called for you.」
Did this have something to do with the thing that needed three people?
Now that I thought about it, this barrier was rather inconvenient.
Well, at least they had long lives and no one passed away yet. Still, what would happen if they all passed away?
「The three of us will go check on it tomorrow, so you should prepare yourself.」
「Okay.」
Sanya-san said and nodded.
「By the way, why did you bring the Young Bear Lady all the way to the village?」
「She said she wanted to see what kind of place the elves lived in.」
「Such a reason doesn’t sound too suspicious, but you’re sure she’s safe, right?」
Was he still doubting my intentions?
Well, I did look kind of suspicious with my Bear Suit and all.
Still, people normally wouldn’t talk about somebody like that when they were right in front of them…
「Yuna-chan may look weird, but she’s a really good child. She’s helped me out lots, and even took care of Ruimin, too. She came here because she was genuinely interested in this place.」
「I see. If you’re going that far to defend her, I guess you must be right.」