However, others were silently watching that group from a distance as they navigated through the forest.
«Grrrrrr——»
"Alright, I understand how you feel but calm down for now. Shael and others are going to arrive soon, so have patience until then, and let's keep an eye on them."
The one watching the group was the Elven Adventurer Refrya.
She pacified the mythical beast Fenrir next to her— who was furious at the invaders as they ran their mouths as they pleased— and continued her surveillance.
Believing that no one was watching them, they were all recounting their scheme of leeching off Chise or the land she had developed quite boldly.
Refrya, who heard it all, let out a dejected sigh as she continued trailing them.
A moment later, Refrya felt the arrival of her reinforcements, the wind spirits, and sprang into action.
"You lot! What are you doing here!"
"Ahh, it's the angel! Please, please take pity on us and provide salvation to us!"
Following the appearance of Sheal and the others of the angelic race, the group of men immediately knelt on the spot and presented themselves as a pitiable bunch genuinely seeking salvation.
"We lost our homeland in the stampede, and even as we tried to take them back, the monsters' strength proved to be beyond us, ultimately leaving us homeless! We beseech you, is it not possible for the angels, the envoys of the gods, and the Saintess who reside in this land to grant us the salvation we seek?"
With voices deep and brimming with emotion, they portrayed themselves as valiant warriors who had spared no effort to protect their nation, yet all their endeavors had failed. However, they hadn't lost hope and still yearned to reclaim their homeland.
They played the role of pitiable refugees so convincingly that if Refrya hadn't known he was a priest accustomed to delivering sermons, she might have believed he was a member of a drama troupe. While impressed by the Priest's acting, Refrya appeared behind them, accompanied by the Fenrirs.
"Shael, don't be deceived by their honeyed words. They may sing the tune of reclaiming their devastated homeland, but in truth, they are here to exploit Chise's forest."
"Hmph. I more or less figured that must have been the case. Unfortunately, both Majou and I are currently busy, and none of us have the time to poke our noses into others' affairs....... So go back the same way you came from."
Shael waved the back of her hand toward the group as if to chase them away.
Regarding their current situation, Chise and the others were currently visiting each settlement to ensure that the refugees they had accepted were living well and to give them some advice. So, trying to revive a devastated nation was the last thing on their list.
"We have come here to build an Adventurer Guild in this uncivilized land! Also, guild cards will serve as proof of identity for the uncivilized people! A guild will absolutely be beneficial for this place!"
Next, it was the man from the Adventurer Guild who raised his voice, extolling the convenience of the Adventurer Guild to try to enter this land, but—
"This is not a matter that can be entrusted to someone like you, a former guildmaster. Moreover, we are aware of your nefarious plan to build the guild here and monopolize the position of guildmaster. Otherwise, the one to offer this wouldn't have been you, but someone of higher rank like a Grandmaster or the central headquarters of the Adventurer Guild."
"Y, You insolent fool! You're just a countryside Elf, what do you know about the world and me!"
When Refrya brushed his words off with a disdainful snort, the face of the man who was the former guild master instantly turned red like a ripe tomato in anger, and following that, the adventurers who had come with him unsheathed their weapons.
Seeing their action, Refrya also drew her bow and created a wind arrow with wind spirits that blew away their weapons.
"What do I know? Mind you, I am an A-rank adventurer. I am not someone a powerless ex-guildmaster like you can trifle with."
"A rank adventurer, Archer Elf...... «Sword of the Dawn»......"
As soon as she revealed her status, the man claiming to be a former guild master plopped down on the ground.
Apparently, he wasn't a high-ranking member, maybe someone like a retired C-rank adventurer or a guild staff who later became a guild master, so as soon as he learned of her rank, he immediately lost all his momentum.
"Then how about the church! What do you think about expelling the invading evil races, and spreading the teachings of the Five Goddess Church?”
After seeing that they were not moved by their sorry state, the prospect of reviving a ruined nation, and even the benefits of the Adventurer Guild, Priest used his last resort, proclaiming to spread the teachings of the Five Goddess Church and pushing for the purging of the demonic races.
However——
"So you're saying we kill our brethren to spread the glory of the goddesses!? It seems like you're just here to fight with me, the administrator of this land's church!"
Following Sheal's shout, the halo above her head the white wings radiated with an intense light. The radiating light was more than just beautiful and sublime, it had become an oppressive force that instilled fear in the group.
"This land already has Majou and Dragon Grandpa who have been spreading the glory of the goddesses all over the place far more beautifully than you bunch!"
Smoldering in rage, Sheal raised her spear overhead and swung it down. Following her movement, a condensed beam of light left the speartip and burned the ground beneath the feet of the men.
Chise had said she was the apostle of Goddess Liliel and had already established a magnificent church in this area. However, due to the diverse races in the forest, a diverse culture that believes in the goddesses, spirits, and dragons had spread throughout the land.
Chise herself was treated as an object of faith by the people she had saved, resulting in the birth of witch believers.
Needless to say, she was embarrassed to no end, but even so, she didn't stop them from idolizing her and just accepted it with a defeated expression. Hence, this land was now wrapped in a sense of freedom where anything was acceptable.
Teto, for example, would cling to Chise, saying, "Teto also worships Majou-sama!".
And yet, there were these bunch, trying to bring in the ideology of demon race discrimination into the land which, despite its chaotic diversity, already had a certain order.
It was obvious for Sheal to be furious while Refrya was beyond exasperated.
"Enough, will you prefer to live and swear to never set foot in this forest or to become the forest's nourishment? Choose."
"Kuh, refusing to accept the church and Adventurer Guild is the same as rejecting the value of society! You will absolutely regret it!"
Facing Sheal's wrath and Refrya's plain threat, the group instantly turned around and fled toward the outskirts of the forest.
'Well, this should prevent any more trespassing attempts by them.' Refrya muttered before joining Sheal who had already descended.
"Damn them! They were so infuriating! How dare they call us uncivilized barbarians, and even incite us to attack our own brethren! I really wanted to tear them apart and feed them to the forest's monsters!"
"Yes, yes, you endured it well. Let's go back and have some snacks, shall we?"
"......I want apple pie."
Sheal, annoyed with the encounter, began to pet the Fenrir beside her to let off some steam, and, under Refrya's consolation, she eventually muttered her craving for apple pie.
This made a wry smile appear on the face of the Elf. Refrya had learned to make apple pie from Rena, the magician of the «Sword of the Dawn», whom she had befriended in her long life and occasionally shared her cooking with Shael and the others.
And then, on another day—
«This is the commemorative medal crafted by Master. I am distributing them in recognition of your contributions to this land.»
Shael and Refrya received a medal from Baretta, Chise's maid.
The mithril medal with the image of the world tree engraved on it was a tad smaller than the mithril coin in circulation, nevertheless, it should be worth several large gold coins.
After receiving the medal, while Refrya was uncertain about what to do, Sheal, who didn't know much about the value of items, flaunted her mithril medal to those around her.
'Truly a place full of extraordinariness,' was what Refrya muttered when she learned there were also Orichalcum and Adamantite medals, further reminding her of the unusualness of this land.
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