New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out! (5/10)

 

 

 

Underground Dryad

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

Chapter 6: “Surpassing Older Brother” begins!

“Hmm, this is an unexpected development. I thought there might be some relics or something, but I did not think people would be living here.” (Elt)

Stella, who walked beside me, whispered near my ear.

“Elt-sama… um, for now, they do not seem hostile, right? They are cockatrices and Dryads after all.” (Stella)

“That is right. Since they are cockatrices and Dryads, let us listen to what they have to say.” (Elt)

Both cockatrices and Dryads work well in the village. They are pure and simple good species. They are trustworthy. They are not the kind to deceive or harm people.

“…I will talk with them for a moment. Please wait. Marcosias, Dia, come forward with me.” (Elt)

“Understood!” (Marcosias)

When I said that, the adventurers nodded their heads. It seemed they agreed with me.

Marcosias and Dia stepped forward, along with Stella, myself, and Wood. For now, the first contact would be made by these five. Leia was very eager but did not say she would go. This contact might possibly become an issue concerning my territory. After all, it appeared that there were indigenous people underground. For that reason, Leia seemed to leave it to me. In the worst case, contact with indigenous people in this form could lead to war. This does not change on Earth or in this world.

However, hmm… since they are cockatrices and Dryads, I do not think that will happen…

“Piyo… comrades, piyo, right?” (Dia)

“Yes, comrades, right?” (Marcosias)

“…Your eyes are glowing, piyo, but you are comrades, right?” (Dia)

“Ugo ugo, is the one next to you a Dryad?” (Wood)

“If it is not a disguise, yes. It looks like Tetetoka…” (Stella)

Tetetoka’s head flower was a white rose, but the Dryad in front of me had a black rose. Also, she was slightly shorter.

The two came walking steadily closer. As they came into clearer view… the Dryad somewhat resembled Tetetoka. Her eyes were slightly upturned and her hair was short.

The Dryad with the black rose bowed vigorously and said…

“Hello, hello! My name is Lalatoma! This is Koka-chan. Nice to meet you!” (Lalatoma)

“Piyo ppi!” (Koka)

The cockatrice with glowing eyes also raised its wings sharply.

Good. To begin with, they were friendly. I also bowed and answered.

“Thank you for your courtesy. We are–…” (Elt)

First, we introduced ourselves and explained why we came here. We had to prove that we did not have hostile intent.

 

—

 

“Haha… so you came underground. That is difficult!” (Lalatoma)

“Well, yes. More importantly, sorry for troubling you by asking to be shown your home.” (Elt)

“No, no! The time has come. I have finished the task entrusted by the queen. Visitors are welcome!” (Lalatoma)

After finishing introductions and explaining why we came, Lalatoma invited us to her home. Things proceeded smoothly, but this felt like how Tetetoka was too.

Dryads are an intuitive race. They do not think deeply, but that does not mean they are unintelligent. They simply do not worry about things that ordinary humans would.

More concerning was a phrase that appeared.

“May I ask about the task entrusted by the queen? You said it is finished…” (Elt)

“Please do. It was nothing important! Well, I had Koka-chan gnaw on a large root to return it to the soil. It finished quite a while ago!” (Lalatoma)

“A large root…?” (Elt)

“Something about it becoming a bad flower, or something… It is the root from which a walking flower originates.” (Lalatoma)

“Ah, Elt-sama… could that be…” (Stella)

“…The Flower General.” (Elt)

The Flower General that Stella defeated. With some exceptions, monsters do not appear from nothing. They must come from somewhere to settle. However, flower species like the Flower General have seeds or roots that can germinate over time. Once a flower species appears, it can appear again several years or even hundreds of years later.

The adventurers of Zanzas are experienced partly because flower species appear so often. They are monsters that must be fought periodically.

“A large root… gnawing on it means to wither it, right?” (Elt)

“Probably, yes? It is like a bad flower.” (Lalatoma)

“I see…” (Elt)

The situation was becoming clearer.

The large root probably meant the root of the Flower Castle. The Flower Castle is a huge flower species boss, as large as a castle. Its roots alone are larger than my current village. It is an extraordinary monster. Including the flower part that acts as the command tower, it is truly a fortress. This monster is among the strongest even in games, and only top-level players can challenge it solo.

“The monster matching this story is the Flower Castle, I assume. Elt-sama, do you know about it?” (Stella)

“Yes, it is a national-scale monster. I have not seen the real one, though.” (Elt)

This monster is an S-rank in this world, a monster that must be dealt with on a national level. It also has the characteristic of increasing flower species endlessly. Probably, the Flower Castle once appeared in my territory. Or at least there were signs of its emergence.

Flower species span across eras. There are many historical cases of unexpected flower species appearing and causing damage. The Dryad queen, who was concerned about this, lent various kinds of help.

I do not know the detailed circumstances… but there was no such story or record even in Zanzas. It is probably a story from even further before Stella was born. At that time, it was a different royal family, and there were also wars and large outbreaks of monsters. Records that would support my thoughts are probably not found…

“Tetetoka and others seem to have done various things for the queen. If possible, I want to thank them…” (Elt)

“Tetetoka-neechan is alive!? Have you met her!?” (Lalatoma)

“Are you Tetetoka’s younger sister? Ah, yes, I have.” (Elt)

She was kneading a grass dumpling.

“Ah, yes! That brings back memories. Is she well?” (Lalatoma)

“She lives in a village on the surface and is living well.” (Elt)

“I see…! Since that stubborn Tetetoka-neechan lives there, it must be a very livable place.” (Lalatoma)

“Piyo piyo.” (Koka)

“That sounds nice…” (Lalatoma)

Lalatoma muttered with a dreamy voice.

So… Tetetoka is like that from the perspective of other Dryads. It is refreshing to hear about Tetetoka from other Dryads.

“This place is dark, cold… and no one comes to pick us up.” (Lalatoma)

“Piyo piyo, pippi.” (Koka)

“She says it would be better if Tetetoka were here, piyo!” (Dia)

“Hmm, but Tetetoka-neechan has it harder. It really is a barren wasteland…” (Lalatoma)

Lalatoma and the others are not satisfied with underground life. If so… encouraging migration might be an option. It is better for families to stay together.

 

—

 

We walked straight for about 15 minutes. Lalatoma’s pace was slow, so the distance was not that far. As we walked, it felt like the space ahead of the passage was expanding. Moon-viewing Moss only grew on the ground or walls, but from the way it grew, one could tell the terrain ahead.

This meant that the narrow passage was transitioning into a dome-like space.

“Alright, here is my home!” (Lalatoma)

Where Lalatoma pointed, there was an underground plaza.

“Oh…” (Elt)

“Wow, it’s beautiful…” (Stella)

“Kira-kira piyo!” (Koka)

Besides my glowing moss, there was natural glowing moss densely growing in the dome.
It illuminated the underground space like stars.

“Ugo ugo, lots of moss!” (Wood)

“There are also clustered places. Even with my eyesight, I can see quite well!” (Marcosias)

As Marcosias said, the glowing moss did not grow evenly. In some places, it grew densely and produced a strong light, like a moon illuminating the dark night. There were several of these in the underground plaza. It was fantastic and quite bright. The floor was not stone pavement but ordinary soil. The size was about that of a baseball dome. The ceiling was high, and there was light and soil. Surely, Dryads might be able to live here.

“Everyone is over here!” (Lalatoma)

“Alright, coming soon.” (Elt)

Looking around the underground plaza, various things caught my eyes. A small river floated faintly, and there was a vegetable storage area with piled root vegetables. One could see the signs of daily life. By the way, several cockatrices were also gathered and sleeping.

“Recently, there is nothing to do, so everyone is sleeping. Please do not mind it!” (Lalatoma)

“It is fine not to wake them up…” (Elt)

“No, they are actually oversleeping! This is a good opportunity to wake them up!” (Lalatoma)

At that, Lalatoma stopped.

“…Whoa.” (Elt)

“Piyo…!?” (Koka-chan)

Looking at the ground, dozens of Dryads were lined up buried in the soil.

Whoa, even I, who am used to this, was surprised!

“Wake up!” (Lalatoma)

“Piyo pippi!” (Koka)

When Lalatoma and the cockatrice called loudly, the Dryads started to move. Then, they slowly came out of the soil and stood up rubbing their sleepy eyes.

Hmm, this scene is quite shocking…

“…I thought it was a horde of zombies.” (Stella)

Stella whispered quietly. I thought the same inside.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)