A year had passed since the stampede that was said to be the crisis of the western continent ended. A lot of changes took place in that one year as we accepted nearly 3000 refugees into our place.
The name of the «Empty Wilderness» changed to the «Forest of the Creation Witch», signifying the rebirth of the once barren and infertile land which at present could easily accommodate the lifestyle of the people.
As for me——
"How's the situation of the barrier, Majou-sama?"
"It has weakened quite a lot. In around 30 years, it will completely disappear."
Teto and I had come here in the vicinity of the great barrier erected by the goddesses.
Forests produced mana which helped in the growth of people and animals living on this land, and in return, they produced even more mana.
The whole region of the «Forest of the Creation Witch» has more abundant mana than the outside world on average, so it no longer required a barrier to prevent the flow of mana.
The barrier was now barely functioning as a blockade to prevent the intrusion of uninvited people, but even that would no longer be necessary with the gradual installation of the illusion magic that the people of the Great Forest of Elf used.
"Well, this ends the survey. Let's go back."
“Yes-nanodesu!"
Once Teto also got on the wand I was straddling, we soared through the sky of the «Forest of the Creation Witch».
From the vantage point above in the sky, I gazed at the forest below, occasionally spotting wild animals running through the gaps of the trees. Some of them came from outside the barrier while others were creatures we brought from other places and bred here.
And in the gaps of the forest spreading below, there were rivers, springs, and plains dotted all around. Within the cleared lands, you could also catch sight of the immigrants' villages.
In contrast to that, the forest here was far denser, and several towering giant trees stood out among the other trees.
"Truly, they have grown quite large."
"It's also because a lot of trees have also fused together!"
During the two years that Teto and I were away from this place, which was spent staying in the Eldar Forest Kingdom due to Teto's evolution and to protect refugees, significant changes occurred.
In the past, we had planted the seeds of the World Tree as mana regeneration spots and created a forest around them. Now, the world tree’s seeds from that time have grown even bigger than regular trees, stopping at nothing as they assimilate even the surrounding trees into themselves, mutating them into world trees and growing taller than ever.
Furthermore, there were also the seeds of world trees that the Ratatosk, mythical beasts from the floating island, had hidden in the hollow cavity of the world trees or in the ground which sprouted later down the line. Then those world trees merged and transformed into giant trees over 100 meters tall.
"It surely is a mystical growth process......"
"They are smaller than the world tree in elf country but still impressive!"
The World Tree of the Eldar Forest Kingdom, ruled by the High Elf Queen Erneah-san, stands tall and imposing like a high-rise building, evoking a sense of its age and growth.
In contrast, the World Tree of the «Forest of the Creation Witch» is a giant tree born from a collection of many trees centered around the World Tree.
Both of them were undoubtedly world trees, but their growth process was just as fantastical as it could get.
"Let's get down here."
"Teto will follow Majou-sama!"
We landed on the branch of the world tree in the center of the «Forest of the Creation Witch». It was the first world tree we had planted and it was even more colossal than the other giant world trees.
As one could expect, the branches were equally thick and firm, so they didn't budge even with our landing. We sat down on a branch and gazed at the view of the forest.
It was a simple act of looking at the scenery, without any reason whatsoever from a place that barely anyone could reach. The only thing at the top was the rustling sound of leaves in the wind.
We stayed there for a short while without doing anything, just enjoying the scenery and breathing in the forest air.
——*Grumble* The grumbling of Teto's stomach breaks the silence of the forest. I couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
"Teto's a bit hungry."
"Fufu, well it seems to be the time. Let's return to the mansion, shall we?"
We stood up on the branch, and I once again mounted the wand with Teto and flew back to our residence.
« « «——Welcome back, Master.» » »
We were greeted by Baretta's subordinate mechanoids when we entered the residence.
"We're back-nanodesu! What do we have for today's snacks?"
«Today's snack is pudding, made with Gauren's milk, eggs, and honey."
«Also, Master. We're done sorting out the requests from the other settlements and they're in the office.»
"Alright. I'll check them out later."
After receiving the update along with the greetings from the maids, we carried plenty of pudding from the kitchen and made our way to the office.
There, Baretta and several members of the maid group, along with some demonkin who excelled in intellectual work and volunteered themselves to be our help were working.
«Welcome back, Master. But why are you here? Isn't today a day off?»
"I'm back, Baretta. It's snack time, so we brought them for everyone."
"We are back-nanodesu! Take a break, everyone!"
After my words, the demonkin staff who were busy working on the desk lined up in the office all looked at Baretta with hopeful gazes.
«Understood. I can't disregard Master's generosity either. Everyone, we're going to have a snack break.»
« « «——Understood! Head Maid!» » »
Halting their work, the young demonkin staff began preparing the snacks and tea. I watched them with a heartwarming smile.
With the increase in the population of the «Forest of the Creation WItch» came the increase in the multitude of complex work to sort through.
Naturally, there was nothing that Baretta and the other Mechanoid couldn't do if I had let them take care of it. But I stopped them since they already had loads of work to do.
They might be super competent but I didn't want them to push themselves to their limits. Since they evolved into Demonkin - Mechanoids, I rather hoped they would pursue personal hobbies or interests and spend time leisurely like humans.
In consideration of all this, I hired the demonkin children as staff for the office. Not only did it lessen the burden on Baretta and the others, but it also fulfilled the wishes of the immigrant volunteers who wanted to be of assistance to me.
«Master, Teto-sama. Tea is ready.»
"Thank you. Then, let's dig in."
"Let's dig in-nanodesu!"
As Teto and I took a bite of our pudding, we both narrowed our eyes in delight at the smooth yet rich flavor of the desert. The bittersweet caramel and vanilla aromas were a delight.
Once it started to feel too sweet, we cleansed the taste from our tongues with black tea and then continued enjoying the pudding.
"Thanks for the food, that was great. Now then, Baretta. I heard there are requests from the other settlements, can I have a look?"
«Here they are.»
At my request, Baretta handed me several bundles of paper. I started reviewing them one by one.
Currently, with the increase in population in the «Forest of the Creation Witch», each tribe has put forth their representative to participate in the consensus-based system to decide on the lifestyle of the forest.
The result of this came to me, who was more or less the leader here, though my plan was to refrain from excessive interference and let things happen on their own as it was happening until now.
"To reign but to not govern...... I guess something like that."
Thanks to the efforts of Baretta and the maid group, the groundwork for the consensus-based system among the various races had been established, making things much easier for us.
"Today's reports are about expanding the range of the trade goods, huh?"
«Yes. There is a petition to add honey which they harvested from the Queen Bees and high-quality fiber from the Arachne.»
Both the Queen Bees of bee-based demonkin and the Arachne, spider-based demonkin, were female-only demonic races.
From the lifestyle perspective of the Queen Bees, who collected flower nectar and pollen to create honey, and the Arachne, who built their home in trees, they couldn't have asked for a better place than the «Forest of the Creation Witch» which was flourishing with nature. It was just the best place for them to live.
The Queen Bees of the bee-kin utilized the honeybees, the bee monsters, to make high-quality honey and beeswax from the flower fields.
The Arachne from the spider-kin produced the fabric they made from the threads produced by themselves or the Albino Eye Spiders — originally Red Eye Spiders but mutated under the influence of the mana of the sakura trees I created with «Creation Magic».
The glossy and lustrous fabric, after dyeing in the naturally-derived dye, was an object of longing for the women of the «Forest of the Creation Witch».
"The honey of Queen Bees is so sweet! The horned folks were talking about making honey liquor, but it would be sad if we ran out of honey!"
The horned folks Teto was referring to were the Oni-kin.
Their men have beefy bodies while the women looked like normal women, but both of them had horns on their heads. The males often engaged in mercenary work due to their physical prowess, while the females protected their homes and villages and brewed alcohol.
After hearing about the honey liquor they brewed, Teto seemed to now be looking forward to tasting it.
"Their honey is indeed delicious. And the smoothness and coolness of the Arachne's fabric make you want to caress them forever."
The silky fabric they gifted to us has already been made into Teto and mine pajamas and bedding by Baretta and the other maids.
Teto seemed to have taken a liking to that velvety sensation so much that whenever I was in those pajamas, she never stopped rubbing her face against them.
«They are classified as high-class items, so only a small quantity of them are added in trade, and there is also no issue with their circulation in the forest. Furthermore, they are being put up as a gift for the Master as the first priority.»
'Also, even in today's pudding, honey from Queen Bees has been used', Baretta added further.
Hearing that, Teto and I savored the sweetness of our pudding bit by bit.
«On this note, the other races are also eagerly working to bring out their own specialty to present them to Master.»
"......Please give them a warning to not overexert themselves."
The products of the Queen Bees and the Arachne were something like their innate specialty so other races didn't need to imitate them. I just hoped that they would take care of themselves, at least.
