New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out! (1/10 chapters)

 

 

Little Sister

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

Dia who nestled in the arms was overjoyed at Stella’s words.

“Piyo, so cool, piyo!” (Dia)

“Please watch me. I’ll strike it!” (Stella)

“My master, I too shall fight!” (Marcosias)

Marcosias grew fired up, but Stella responded immediately.

“Um, I appreciate the spirit, but Maru-chan, please stay in the back…” (Stella)

“Gahn!” (Marcosias)

“…Could I ask you to guard our backs instead?” (Stella)

“Hah… Understood! Leave the rear to me!” (Marcosias)

It felt like that was handled smoothly.

Marcosias really isn’t fit for combat. It’s more reassuring to have her stay behind.

Next… the adventurer in his thirties called out to the others.

“You hear that, guys? Don’t fall behind the Flower Archer!” (Adventurer)

“Oooooh!” (Adventurers)

Hmm. They seem pretty motivated. They may just be itching for action after all that foraging, though.

“Ugo-ugo, what should I do?” (Wood)

“Go support Stella. Flower Archer shots shouldn’t do any damage to you.” (Elt)

“Ugo-ugo, got it!” (Wood)

A Treeman’s outer bark toughens as it matures. Specifically, it nullifies physical attacks below a certain threshold. It actually shares the same trait as dragon scales. That’s why a fully grown one becomes extremely strong. With his current growth, Wood can easily defend against the Flower Archer’s attacks.

Now then… that just leaves Tetetoka and Brown. These two honestly don’t have combat abilities.

“Ahh, things are getting serious, huh?” (Tetetoka)

“We’ll try not to get in the way, nya.” (Brown)

“Yes, let’s eat some grass dumplings.” (Tetetoka)

Brown had brought Tetetoka along. I appreciated that.

“Maru-chan, Tetetoka, Brown, stay close to me. It’ll be safer that way.” (Elt)

“Understood~ nom nom.” (Tetetoka)

“Eating so calmly, nya…” (Brown)

“Want one?” (Tetetoka)

“Nya, I’ll eat one, nya…” (Brown)

Tetetoka took out grass dumplings wrapped in green leaves.

How many does she have…? No, that’s a pointless question. She surely brought as many as she could carry.

“Piyo…? Piyoyo.” (Cockatrice)

“She says it looks tasty, piyo.” (Dia)

“Oh? Right, I remember now. Cockatrices love grass dumplings…” (Elt)

I recalled something Stella once said. Even in the Zanzas Dungeon, cockatrices were fond of grass dumplings.

From behind the door of the underground passage, the cockatrice poked its head out. Most likely, it had been taking a long way around to avoid the Flower Archer. This cockatrice was a good one. It had warned us about the Flower Archer.

“Piyoo…” (Cockatrice)

“Looks like it wants to eat… Tetetoka, could I have one?” (Elt)

“Sure thing!” (Tetetoka)

I received a grass dumpling from Tetetoka. It wasn’t fleeing yet, but once the battle started, the cockatrice might take off. If possible, I wanted to build a friendly relationship with this cockatrice. It might also know something about this forest.

“How about it, want to eat?” (Elt)

I held the grass dumpling and slowly approached the cockatrice. Slowly, gently. I had to make sure not to scare it.

 

—

 

A huge swarm of Flower Archers approached. From between the trees, masses of walking flowers filled the space. Stella recalled her previous experience hunting them.

“One second from readying to firing, about five seconds before the next seed shot…” (Stella)

“Ugo-ugo, I’ll support you!” (Wood)

“Thank you…! Could you take care of the ones trying to flank us from the side? Aim for the flower part. That’s the weak spot. You can throw stones or wood fragments too.” (Stella)

“Ugo-ugo, understood!” (Wood)

More adventurers followed.

At the front was the adventurer in his thirties.

“Stella, we’ll back you up too.” (Adventurer)

“Thank you… You know how to deal with them, right?” (Stella)

Stella kept her words to fellow professionals brief. That was her way. She already knew everyone’s physical abilities from baseball training. There was no room for doubt.

“Yeah, each of us has taken down at least a hundred Flower Archers. We won’t get careless.” (Adventurer)

“That’s very reassuring…” (Stella)

The Flower Archer’s firing range was about 20 meters. Roughly the distance from a pitcher’s mound to home plate. The seeds were about as hard as softballs. They flew at around 100 kilometers per hour. For Stella, they posed no threat. For ordinary humans, however, approaching them was difficult. The front line of Flower Archers began preparing their seed shots.

Stella focused on that one pitch. The flower parts swelled, and seeds were launched. They aimed for the torso. High and inside. That was what made them different from lightning-fast opponents. But Stella had inhuman physical ability and a genius-level batting sense. In a split-second, she adjusted her stance and swung with full force.

A one-legged batting stance.

*Kaaan*

A fierce hit flew toward the Flower Archers. The low-angled ball pierced the one next to the one that had just launched its seed. It struck the weak flower part cleanly, a critical hit. The adventurer in his thirties let out a cheer at the sight.

“Nice hit!” (Adventurer)

I had once taught her that phrase for when you really nailed a shot. It felt made for this exact moment. The struck Flower Archer swayed and collapsed.

One down.

“…Thank you.” (Stella)

Flower Archers were emotionless monsters. Even if one fell, they didn’t react. They only expanded their territory and kept firing at anything that moved. Several more prepared to fire. Their flower parts began to swell. Stella swiftly stepped sideways, changing her hitting position. She always made herself the target of the first shot.

“Ugo-ugo, aim for the flower part!” (Wood)

Wood’s thrown rock struck a Flower Archer. Launched from his two-meter-tall frame, the projectile had overwhelming force. Another Flower Archer fell. Thus, the battle began.

 

—

 

“Piyoo…?” (Cockatrice)

The cockatrice tilted its head as it looked at me.

Adorable. No, that’s not the point. I have to establish contact properly.

“Dia, I want to show that we mean no harm to that cockatrice…” (Elt)

“Piyo… We don’t mean harm, piyo.” (Dia)

“Yeah, that’s right.” (Elt)

“You want to say we mean no harm, piyo? How do we do that, piyo?” (Dia)

I see. That was my fault for being vague in how I asked. I’m still learning too…

“Sorry, Dia. You’re right… I want to become friends.” (Elt)

“Piyo! We’ll become friends, piyo!” (Dia)

“What do you think we should do?” (Elt)

“Piyoyoo…” (Dia)

Dia fell silent.

That’s unusual for her, who usually responds immediately. No, she was thinking hard to find an answer.

“…Piyo, place the grass dumpling down, piyo.” (Dia)

“Got it.” (Elt)

So, hand-feeding was still too soon. Following Dia’s advice, I placed the grass dumpling on the leaf wrapping like a plate.

“Piyo, let’s move back a little, piyo.” (Dia)

We stepped back a few meters. Then, Dia called out to the cockatrice.

“It’s a gift, piyo!” (Dia)

“…Piyo. Piyopiyo.” (Cockatrice)

“The flowers won’t come here, piyo. Right?” (Dia)

“Yes, the Flower Archers are…” (Elt)

*Kaaan, kaaan*

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Stella batting while moving at high speed.

…What was that? Is that how a one-legged stance is supposed to work? She moves deftly through the trees, swinging at lightning speed. And each hit actually struck the Flower Archers. Unbelievable.

“Flower Archers remaining: thirty-five.” [Forest Appraiser]

Hmm. Their numbers are dropping steadily. It looks like this will end without problems.

“…That’s how she’s taking them down.” (Elt)

“Piyo! Piyooo!” (Cocktatrice)

“That’s right, Kaa-sama is strong, piyo!” (Dia)

Wood was also throwing stones to take down Flower Archers. His aim sometimes missed, but even so, he was overwhelming.

“Piyo! Piyoyo!” (Cocktatrice)

“That’s Onii-chan, piyo! Onii-chan is strong and big too!” (Dia)

“…Piyoyo?” (Cockatrice)

The cockatrice tilted its head deeply. Even I understood that.

Family? That was likely the question.

“…I want to talk about so many things, piyo.” (Dia)

At Dia’s words, the cockatrice nodded.

“Piyo… piyo, piyo.” (Cockatrice)

“She’s asking if we have more grass dumplings, piyo.” (Dia)

“You have more, right?” (Elt)

I turned to Tetetoka, who was currently eating grass dumplings.

“Munch munch… We have lots. Want a bunch?” (Tetetoka)

They were slowly decreasing, but… Well, if Tetetoka says there’s some, there is.

“There is, piyo.” (Dia)

“Piyoyo, piyo!” (Cockatrice)

“She wants to bring some back for her little sister… that’s what she said, piyo.” (Dia)

“Of course, that’s fine.” (Elt)

“Great, piyo!” (Dia)

She must mean another cockatrice. I had no issue with that at all.

“Piyooo!” (Cockatrice)

Hearing that, the cockatrice stepped out further from the underground passage. It walked over with a tokotoko pace toward the grass dumpling.

Hmm… she really is a good cockatrice.

 

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