Volume 2 - CH 112

Preparations were made and we went into the forest.

However, there was no need for us to prepare anything, so we just had to give Uchikage a quick talk before we left.

I’m not sure if I can call it preparation or not, but it’s not something that would be particularly troublesome, so I guess it’s not a big deal.

According to the information, we decided to proceed to the west from the Kosh village on foot.

The locals strongly discouraged us from doing so, but Reizen was determined not to let that stop us, and they eventually agreed to our proposal.

I think this is the only thing he can rely on.

It may be just a spirit of conscience and justice, but it seems that Reizen’s appeal was enough to influence the hearts of the villagers.

As soon as we leave the village, the area turns into a forest.

It’s a very pristine village, I thought to myself. The forests around the village seemed to be well cared for, with some trees thinned out and a few stumps found.

I could tell that they were cutting down the unnecessary trees so that light could reach the ground.

It seems that no trees have died and there are not many weeds growing in the area.

As for the grass, it was not well-maintained, but in some places the distinctive smell of freshly cut grass wafted through the air. I wonder if they cut them and bring them back?

Whatever the case, it is a good thing that the forest is clean.

If there is no unnecessary stuff, the trees will be well nourished.

This will allow the forest to bloom and bear fruit. Whoever maintains this forest seems to have good knowledge.

“It’s easy to walk even though it’s a forest.”

“Ah. It looks like it’s well maintained. But it’s only the area around the village, isn’t it?”

“Do they really need to take care of the forest?　If the forests are rich in nature, I think they could produce a lot of mountain products if they were left as they are. …… And there seems to be no end to the amount of work that needs to be done.”

“No, it’s not true. It may be true that there is nowhere to end, but trees are alive, too. It’s hard to find the end of the line when raising children, isn’t it? It’s the same thing. And a forest may be rich, but if you leave it as it is, it will become a wilderness, you know? If the trees cover the mountain, all the sunlight will be blocked by the leaves. If that happens, there will be no grass on the ground. And the wild vegetables, too, right? Well, natural forests don’t need much care, but that’s not the case with man-made forests. From what I’ve seen so far, there are quite a few man-made forests out there.”

“Oh … I see …”

“There are many other reasons, but I don’t want to go further than that.”

Coexistence.

This is not a word that applies only to animals and humans.

Both the produce of the sea and the mountains are a blessing only when people take care of them.

Although it may not seem like it, the technology to clean up sewage and not to throw garbage into the sea are all related to taking care of the sea.

But in this world, that may not be so relevant.

I was certain when I entered the country and the village that I saw no machinery at all.

So we don’t have to worry too deeply about ecological issues.

But the fact that monsters are there is a problem.

It would be dangerous to maintain the mountain.

I was told that there are no dangerous creatures around here, but it seems that such anomalies exist everywhere.

It would be good if there was one skilled adventurer for each village, but …….

I guess it doesn’t happen that way.

I don’t understand the criteria for a good adventurer in a small village.

Well, I don’t know the standard for that.

“Aniki. What do people do to take care of the mountains, for example?”

“I often hear about thinning. It is the process of cutting down unnecessary branches and trees that are in the way. It is also sometimes called tree trimming.”

“What are the implications of this?”

“First, of course, there is more light on the ground. And the trees get bigger.”

“It makes the trees bigger? How so?”

“If there is not enough light, the tree will try to grow upward in search of light. So the tree only grows taller and not wider. If there is enough light, the tree does not need to grow taller, so it becomes thicker. But softwood trees will be taller than that. It’s just that they won’t grow as tall as they need to. Look at the unkempt areas in artificial forests of cypress trees. They are all very thin. The other reason is that light reaches the ground. I have also heard that it is important to open the space between trees. Something about the annual cycles. ……”

“Wow! So what’s Cypress?”

“……the name of the tree.”

Please get the general gist of what I’m talking about now, Reizen.

No matter how you hear it, you can tell from the gist of it that it’s the name of a tree.

“Grhrhrhrhrh …”

“Oh”

It seems that they finally came.

I can’t see them, but I can hear them growling.

Reizen seems to have understood this, and he is standing in front of me, in a slightly low posture, his arms outstretched in front of him, preparing himself for a fight.

Hmm? I’ve seen this stance …… of Reizen somewhere before …….

Is it some kind of martial art?

But in Japan, there is no martial art with this kind of stance. …… something like this. …… Chinese kung-fu?

I’ll deal with that later.

First, let’s defeat the enemy in front of us.

“Reizen. There are twelve of them.”

“Oh, well, I guess I don’t have to do anything then, do I?”

“Well, yeah, but ……”

As we were talking, there was movement from the enemy.

A group of monsters that appeared to be Acid Dogs jumped out of the trees at once.

They took a big inhale, closed their mouths, and with a “baw” sound, spit out a globule of clear water at me.

Reizen immediately responded to it.

He immediately activated a Pneumatic Barrier to block the spit.

However, white smoke gradually rose from the Pneumatic Barrier, and a hole began to open up in the Pneumatic Barrier.

“Whoa!　What is this?”

“I think they’re melting it. ……. Is that their drool?”

“Ah Geez! Man!”

I have never met an Acid Dog that drooled like this before.

Are these guys some kind of higher species?

In any case, touching them would likely result in more than just an injury.

Reizen reapplied the Pneumatic Barrier once more.

However, in the meantime, the Acid Dogs had begun to surround us.

We were a little late to start moving.

“Reizen! Focus on defense!”

“Our usual lineup, right? Aye, sir! 【Pneumatic Barrier – Sturdy】 !”

Reizen has created a square-shaped barrier around us.

This would withstand an attack from any direction.

But we are being crowded into a corner.

This is not good for us.

As for me, I deploy twelve 【Water Spear Volley】outside the barrier, and maneuver them so that I dispatch one to each of them.

This time I have enough MP, so I’m also deploying 【Haze Manipulation】.

This way, I can see at a glance where the enemy was and where the 【Water Spear Volley】 were ……, I know where they are, so I continuously pierce the Acid Dogs.

They run around and sometimes hit the barriers with their spray, so I just have to get through most of them.

One of them was trying to howl to call for reinforcements, so I stabbed it to death right away.

I let him howl a little bit, but I hope it’s okay.

In the meantime, Acid Dog was hitting Reizen’s barrier with a barrage of attacks, but the barrier was so strong that it repeatedly melted down and was redone again. After Reizen had rebuilt his barrier three times, he was able to eliminate all of the first round attackers. What a leisurely first round.

“It’s done.”

“Alright, I’ll de-activate my skill.”

When the barrier disappeared, I felt the air become refreshingly cool.

I had thought that if we hadn’t changed the air, it could be dangerous inside these barrier.

I’ ll let him know this before proceeding.

When I told him, he said, ” Ah, yes, that’s right,” and said he would make a vent somewhere from now on.

It would be a disaster if we were to self-destruct due to lack of oxygen.

“By the way, Reizen.”

“Yes?”

“About your stance earlier … what was that?”

I still can’t help but be curious.

I’ve seen it before somewhere, …….

But Reizen didn’t seem to know what I was talking about and tilted his head.

“Huh?”

“Look, when you heard my voice, you came out in front of me, right?　That’s the stance you took when you heard my voice.”

“Ah! Do you mean the Chishouken?” (Ditangquan)

Chishouken he says.

I believe it was one of the Chinese martial arts.

But I forgot what kind of martial arts it was.

But I had never thought that Chishouken would come out of Reizen’s mouth.

As I recall, he was an intelligence officer in his previous life. ……

I don’t get the impression of it at all.

“Does it work?”

“Yes. This is really helping me when I’m at work ~ hahaha”

Would that be dangerous?

It’s absolutely dangerous.

But if he can compete in that world, he might have some skills.

I’ll have him show me next time. No, is it okay even now?

“So you can fight in close combat?”

“Yes!　I cannot say for sure, because what I am good at and the direction in which I want to develop my skills do not match up.”

I think about it a little when he said that.

Indeed, as far as the status of Reizen is considered, he specializes in defense in terms of skills.

And his own defensive ability is also good.

He is a frontline defender, but his forte is close combat, taking advantage of his previous life.

This is a slightly different kind of problem from mine.

But what is there to worry about? Doesn’t Reisen have a splendid role to play, one in which he can either go forward and play defense or turn on the offensive himself?

Fortunately, both of his skills are useful in close combat.

Being able to fill all the front-line roles by yourself is amazing.

“Reizen. About this assignment, try to handle it on your own.”

“Eh !? But me, I’m in the defense sector. …”

Oh. This guy, maybe he’s thinking about something I said a long time ago?

I do remember saying something about how great it was to be a defensive guy when we were fish.

Maybe he’s still thinking about that.

I guess that’s why he was trying to force himself to keep using his defensive skills.

Even at the time when we were at Lequam, Reizen was still on the defensive.

It would be fair to say that I was helped by that, but if he only cared about defensive roles, he would have destroyed his valuable characteristics.

He had to fix this.

“Reizen. You are better suited to stand on the front line and protect your allies in the back than to be a defender. It’s true that your defensive skills are top-notch, but you shouldn’t extinguish your strengths just for the sake of it. You’re actually pretty strong, aren’t you? “

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do it. …”

“Well, just try to do this request alone, no worries about it, no matter the case. Because if I do it, it’ll be over in no time.”

“I- I understand.”

It sounded like he wanted to say something, but it wasn’t good to keep going like this.

Perhaps I was a little too pushy, but this is good for Reizen.

Besides,……, I want to see Reizen’s Chishouken too.