The majority of the people who came to live in the «Forest of the Creation Witch» formed typical settlements. A huge majority of these immigrants, around 90%, were demi-human, demonkin, and beastfolk demonkin.
The remaining ones, four races to be more precise — the insect-kin Queen Bees and Arachnes, and the plant demonkin Dryads and Alarunes — had formed one settlement and were harmoniously living in a group there. Something like a cohabitation life to make it easier to imagine.
Well all of them being a female-only race might have contributed to this as well.
Today, I came to visit them.
"Hmm, the sun is so pleasant today~"
«Hey, what should we play today?»
«Are the plants in the forest in good health?»
«How far are we going to walk today?»
A young Alarune girl was sitting on a stump at the entrance of their settlement, basking in the sun. A group of spirits, new residents that the forest had welcomed, were frolicking around her. Well, I guess they seemed to treat each other as kin, huh?
"Ohh~ If it isn't Majou-sama and the others~ Welcome~"
«It's Majou-sama~» «Please give me yummy mana~» «Yes, pretty please!»
The Alarunes noticed our arrival as they greeted us with laidback voices. The spirits that were hovering in the surrounding area also gathered around us.
I greeted the Alarunes while calming down the excited spirits.
"Hello, how are you doing?"
"We have come to hang out!"
"We're doing well, the sun here is pleasant~ The water and mana also taste delish~"
They only said that much before resuming their sunbathing session once again. Quite a 'my pace' type of girl, aren't they?
Perhaps influenced by their mana, various flowers were blooming profusely around the sunny spots. The insect-kin Honey Bees could be seen busily collecting the nectar or pollen from those flowers as they traveled back and forth.
"This village feels even more fantasy-like."
"Teto likes the air here!"
This joint village of the four races was located in one of the sunniest spots with the least densely packed trees in the «Forest of the Creation Witch». They built their houses in the trees. More precisely, the plant-type demonkin Dryads and Alarunes used their power to accelerate the growth of big trees, making them grow hollow interiors, and strengthened them, which then served as their new homes resembling the houses we had seen in the Great Forest of the Elves' village.
The branches of these huge trees were entwined with each other, creating some sort of suspension bridge with ivy coiled around them to give them stability. It was effectively a three-dimensional architecture.
As I was captivated by the sight of their village from the grassy area where the Alarunes were, one Alarune girl called out to me as if she just suddenly recalled something.
"Majou-sama~ If you don't mind, how about you take this child with you~?"
Stopping there, she grabbed a stem of a plant growing from the ground and pulled it out using all her effort, revealing a root somewhat resembling a charming figure of a person.
This root gazed at us with hollow eyes and a mouth-like depression, lifting its root-like limbs as if to wave.
It wasn't until that mysterious plant, looking half-curious and half-adorable, jolted my shoulder that I finally realized what it was.
"Is it a Mandragora......?"
"It's the one Majou-sama planted last time!"
It was quite a while back when I was looking at the forest and realized, 'Isn't it a waste when the forest is so flourishing and yet it only just has ordinary plants and medicinal herbs for vegetation?' Acting on my thought, I sowed a few rare seeds of medicinal herbs I created using «Creation Magic». One of them was the Mandragora.
"It came wandering into our place~ Though this kid is quite chubby now~"
The Mandragora, whom the Alarune girl was introducing in a nonchalant tone, pressed its hand-shaped root on its chest in a proud pose as I held it by its leafy top.
It was only then my focus shifted to stare at the ground and saw Mandragoras crawling out from their spots, moving on their own, and sneaking in closer to the Alarunes and the Dryads.
Maybe the company of plant-type demonkin was like timely water to crops for them as the Mandragoras I had sowed in the «Forest of the Creation Witch» had voluntarily approached them.
"You're right, I never heard or read about Mandragora being this bloated and even moving on their own. Shouldn't they be screaming when you pull them out of the ground as well?"
"It's because it's one greedy little fellow~ The others are more healthy and slick."
"Teto also thinks so, they all look so fresh and delicious!"
Teto nodded in response to the Alarune girl's words. But if you ask me, they didn't just look to be in good shape, they were just so healthy that they were now even capable of self-movement.
Furthermore, its hollowed whimsical face, like a haniwa, looked so strangely adorable that I was hesitating to think about scraping it to extract its essence.
"This child has accumulated a lot of mana, so you can get quality essence after boiling it~ Once Majou-sama is done doing that, you can replant it in the ground, and it will be back to its cheery state."
"Oh, I guess it would be fine then? I'll be taking Mandragora with me."
Upon receiving the mandragora from the alraune girl, it skillfully climbed up my arm and settled on my shoulder.
Her words inadvertently made me imagine the scene of a Mandragora soaking in the pan water to extract its essence akin to just taking its bath...... Maybe that's how the fantasy world works, huh?
I mused internally and stepped into the tree-built village alongside Teto.
"Goodness, if it isn't Majou-sama. Welcome to our humble place."
We had just entered when an Arachne woman greeted us from above the suspension bridge.
"Thank you for the silky soft clothes. We are using it for our nightwear now!"
"It's so smooth and comfortable!"
"It's our honor. We would make sure that all the clothes of Majou-sama are made from our fabric."
After saying that and flashing a pleasant smile, the Arachne woman entered her house built on the branch of a huge tree while patting the spider monster Albino-Eye on her arm.
Elsewhere in the trees, a bee-like demonkin, Queen Bee, could be seen flying, and the honeybee monsters she commanded were making nests in the tree hollows.
These honeybees that flew out of the tree's cavity gathered flower nectar and pollen from the flower fields managed by the Alarunes on the nearby flatland to make honey and beeswax.
Contrary to how they were deformed to make their houses, the trees still look sturdy and full of life.
The entire village itself was wrapped in an atmosphere of serenity, filled with only the sound of rustling branches in the wind, the buzzing of honeybees flying among the trees, and the sound of Arachnes weaving in the tree-dwelling homes.
As I was shuttling through their settlement while looking around, I heard an extremely cheerful voice.
"Good day to you~ I have brought some food items with me~"
«We've got meat and fish, vegetables and fruits too! They are pretty great!»
«Go—!»
A group with a different vibe from the Alarune and the spirits we just met were gathered in front of the representative Dryad's house in this village.
They were Teto's dependents: an Earthnoid, an Earth spirit, and a clay golem. These girls were originally clay golems created by Teto but had evolved later.
They were seemingly handing over an ivy basket filled with food items to the village representative Dryad.
"Thank you for always delivering it. Well then, this is our thanks to you."
The Dryad said that and passed to the Earthnoid the Arachne-made clothes and jars filled with honey from the honeybees.
Receiving the items, they hopped around in delight, reminding me of a yellow teddy bear.
"Then we are off, bye-bye-nanodesu~" «Bye-Bye-nanodesu~» «GO—!»
They then said their goodbye after receiving the clothing and the honey jars and left with a brisk walk.
"......Now that I think about it, I'm seeing these girls pretty much everywhere."
"Yes-nanodesu!"
Nowadays Teto's dependents could be seen anywhere in this «Forest of the Creation Witch».
Like helping out with chores in our mansion, doing farm work, pruning and planting trees in the forest, hunting to keep the forest in equilibrium, looking after Mythical Beasts, helping out the other settlements and transporting goods between them, playing with the children in school and giving the elderly some company in the villages, and exterminating monsters outside the barrier.
The Earthnoids, who could now be seen anywhere, had become some sort of a helping fairy of the «Forest of the Creation Witch». Furthermore, with the adorable appearance of the Earth spirits and charming clay golems, not a single soul uttered their dissatisfaction with their company.
If there was something to take note though, then it was——
"Those girls, how many of them are here?"
"Teto didn't count!"
The Earthnoids and the Earth spirits that evolved from clay golems that Teto created numbered around 100 each, but the exact number of clay golems didn’t seem to match what they actually used to be.
They no longer seemed to fit the definition of clay golem, but something else entirely.
"I assume you don't know where they live either, huh......?"
The whereabouts of the other demonic races were already known to me.
Earth spirits resided by the elements they governed, so it wasn't unusual to find them just about anywhere in nature. Clay golems lived hidden in the soil.
However, it was only the Earthnoids' place that I haven't actually seen so far.
"Teto knows that!"
"Oh? Then, can you lead the way?"
"Alright-nanodesu!"
With that, I left the Dryad village and marched towards Earthnoids' place under Teto's lead.
Our destination was apparently the place where I had sowed the seed of a world tree to turn it into a mana generation spot in the past.
This forest area was particularly large and dense, I assumed the growth of the world tree had influenced its surroundings.
"This is the place, Majou-sama!"
"Teto, this, you mean the tree roots?"
"That's right-nanodesu!"
There was a diagonally slanted hole at the base of the tree, its surroundings paved with magic.
"Hmm, so they have formed their settlement underground, huh? No wonder I couldn't find it anywhere."
"Majou-sama, let's hold hands since it's dark!"
Just as I was peering inside the hole with a dry smile, Teto held out her hand. I took her hand as she led the way.
A marvelous scene greeted us as we passed through the hole.
"Luminescent plants...... The place is bright thanks to them. It's forming quite a captivating scene, eh?......"
The ground, the ceiling, and even the walls were overgrown with luminescent moss that emitted light and mushrooms radiating fluorescent colors with faintly glowing small flowers adorning them.
And beyond the large hole was——
"So we have mushroom houses after tree houses, huh?...... Another fantastical scene......"
An expansive cavern was stretching out beyond the hole, and in the heart of it, large mushroom-shaped houses were standing side by side.
Each mushroom had a unique shape. Some were broad and flat, others tall and slender, and some mushrooms had grown side by side as if cuddling together.
I followed behind Teto and looked at those mushroom houses from close proximity. The houses had retained their firmness that was like gypsum and formed a proper structure required to work as a house.
"These mushrooms are amazing, aren't they, Majou-sama!? When they grow large, they become super hard!"
"I wonder if they, too, are another magical plant variety?"
According to the explanation from Teto, it seemed like these mushrooms which served as houses became rock-hard when they completely grew up. Earthnoids scooped out their insides with magic to make a hollow space, cut out some door and window-shaped designs, and brought them to use for their houses.
Moreover, clean water springs were gushing forth deep underground, and the excess water was drawn up by the roots of the world tree before it could flood this vast cavern.
Also, due to the grace of the luminescent plants that constantly kept the cavern illuminated, moderate warmth and moisture were maintained, fostering the growth of various plants.
When I was curiously looking around——
«Oh, Majou-sama is here!» «Teto-sama is also here!» «Go-Go, Go—!»
Earthnoids took notice of us and gathered around us. With their faces adorned with delighted smiles, they welcomed us.
I thought that the atmosphere and my mood at that moment were akin to the 'rolling rice ball' old man from Japanese folklore, or maybe like Alice in Wonderland.
Being able to visit the marvellous tree houses of the Dryads and the fantastical place of the Earthnoids was nothing short of a dream trip for me. It was easily one of the best days for me.
On this note, after I was done with extracting the essence of the Mandragora, having it soaked in pot water, it returned to the forest with its own feet. I guess it was going to suck up nutrition and mana from the forest to make up for the lost essence and grow glossy and fresh once again.
