Chapter 106
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 106 – I’ve Grown Up (Apparently)
It was the day after Ain had received the sword from Mouton and had spoken to Sylvird about the matter regarding Heim.
It was before the sun had even risen. It happened when the entire royal capital was dimly lit, and the air was a bit chilly.
——Knock, knock, knock!
There was a hasty knock at the door of Olivia’s room. Having gone to bed late last night, Olivia noticed the loud noise a little too late.
“Who is that…?”
Her loud voice was too unprincess-like. And since it was difficult for her to sleep with such a noise, Olivia picked up the bell on her bedside table and rang it.
“E-excuse me… I’m sorry to bother you at this hour!”
Martha came into Olivia’s room. The woman with the sweat on her brow and gasping for breath was not the calm and collected person she usually was at work. The headdress she was wearing was also in disarray, so she probably hadn’t had time to get ready.
“Martha? What are you doing here at this hour?”
Let’s ask first.
Why did she come at this hour, and why was she in such a hurry?
“His Majesty says he needs Olivia-sama!”
“I understand. …So why did this father of mine ask for me?”
The usual Martha would have talked about the requirements here first. What’s more, her tone of voice hasn’t calmed down yet. There must have been some kind of emergency, so Olivia got up from her bed and picked up the dress that was hanging on the chair.
“There’s a knight there. So please change your clothes and… go to Ain-sama’s room!”
I see that something has happened to Ain. If this was about her beloved Ain, she must hurry. Olivia took off her thin lace negligee and hurried to find new clothes. There was a one-piece dress nearby that she could just slip her head into, so she grabbed it and quickly finished dressing.
“Did something happen to Ain?”
The only thing she could find out was that something had happened to Ain and that Sylvird had called her. She was about to run away and leave Martha behind if she didn’t tell her what was going on soon.
“I’m sorry about this! Actually, Ain-sama’s room is…”
Hearing Martha’s words, Olivia understood why Sylvird said he needed her.
The distance from Olivia’s room to Ain’s room is only a few tens of seconds on foot. And since they were on the same floor, Olivia, accompanied by Martha, could get to Ain’s room immediately.
As Olivia rushed to get ready and walked quickly to Ain’s room, she saw the room and understood the whole situation.
“…Father!”
“O-oh, Olivia… I’m sorry. Because of the situation, I really needed you…”
“You’re finally here-nya! How long are you going to sleep-nya? …Well, I’ve only been up all night-nya.”
“Sorry, I’m late. So… this is it? The reason Father called me…”
Then she looked at Ain’s room again.
The anomaly was immediately noticeable. The door of Ain’s room and its surroundings were covered with many thick roots, and one could only marvel at how strange it looked.
“Oh yes. What in the world is this…? What exactly is going on with Ain inside?”
“I’ve never seen anything like this before-nya! Olivia… do you have any idea what’s going on-nya?”
“…..”
Staring at the room, Olivia put her index finger to her mouth and began to think. Not only Sylvird and Katima but also the knights and Martha, who were watching the situation, looked at her with the same att.i.tude, saying, “If you have any idea what’s going on, please tell us first.”
“Come to think of it, there wasn’t much information about dryads…”
When she finally seemed to open her mouth, those were not the words Sylvird and the others wanted to hear. However, as Olivia said, there was certainly not a lot of biological information about the dryads.
The main reason for this was the population of the race and the fact that there were so few dryads that it was difficult to find them even if you searched all over the continent of Ishtar. Due to their habit of taking root, the dryads only reduce their population. The fact that they were not often seen in public, perhaps due to the cruelty of their past, also had something to do with it.
“The males are more affected than the females… I expected that. But it’s nice to see such thick roots… It’s wonderful, Ain.”
“O-Olivia? I’m sorry, but you have to tell me if you know anything about… this…”
“Nya, nya… my sister has gone to another world-nya…”
Something no one had thought of. Olivia approached Ain’s room and lovingly and gently stroked the roots leaking from the room. The hand that stroked them looked so impressive that it felt gla.s.sy.
But at least it was a little rea.s.suring. Olivia, who was also a dryad, only calmed down when she saw this.
“Onee-sama?”
“…Y-yes-nya!”
“I’ll tell you what it is. Can I leave it with you for the record?”
“I-I understand-nya…!”
Gently, Olivia turned around and held her hand on the root of the tree. Then, smiling softly, she began to speak to Katima.
“This is it.”
Everyone looked at Olivia with bated breath. Olivia’s calm tone was frustrating for once.
“It is a sign of our coming of age. Now, I’ll take my leave; please don’t bother me, okay?”
After Olivia said that, she opened the door to her room with a pleasant expression on her face and went inside in a good manner.
“…W-what should we do?”
“Nya, nya… Father, let’s wait here for now-nya…”
＊＊＊
“…..”
There was a commotion outside the room. Ain, who seemed completely oblivious to such things, was enveloped in a strange sensation.
It was a strange feeling as if something that had been building up had exploded all at once. It was as if a plant had used all the energy it had acc.u.mulated and blossomed into a flower in full bloom.
The feeling was similar to that of a special kind of omnipotence, as if one could expand anywhere by using one’s strength.
“…..!”
It was a dream world anyway, so let’s act as freely as we want… and follow this feeling without resistance. Then he felt himself really begin to expand, and a lot of information began to flow into his head. The air, the touch, the smells, and the presence of a place that seemed to be ‘nourishing.’ He became more and more excited, and his senses overflowed with his desire for more and more.
“Ain. You can’t go any further, okay? My father and the others will be angry with me. So… be a good boy, okay?”
With a twitch, the roots stop moving. What’s going on now… He felt these unfulfilled feelings, but not when it was with the other party of this voice. He didn’t want the owner of the voice to hate him, so he put back the roots that were about to spread out and approached the source of the voice.
“Yes, of course. You can extend it to me… Come on, come here.”
Like an insect aiming for a moth lamp, the root advanced toward the voice like a sweet narcotic… To some, it must be an eerie sight, but to this woman, it was nothing more than a beautiful sight. Even the sound of the roots being dragged along felt like a performance by a reputable musical troupe.
Ain, on the other hand, thought, “I have to get closer,” and continued to grow more roots, gradually gaining momentum as he moved toward the voice that awaited him. To his delight, the owner of the voice seemed to be getting closer to him, and he felt the presence of the voice getting stronger and stronger. This was more important than the ‘food’ that was out there.
——Oh, what ecstasy! Everything was so precious that it seemed to exist for him. Or was it for the other person? …Or were they for each other? He was not sure which of these was the right answer, but this palpable connection was endearing.
“Oh… don’t be so hasty. I’m here, so please be a little gentler… okay?”
He made a mistake; he was in such a hurry that he gave too much momentum. What if the person hated him? …He would worry about that, but he was relieved that it turned out to be a groundless fear.
As he gently stroked the root, he finally came very close to “himself”.
The roots were wrapped in warmth, and the feeling of supreme happiness was delightful. …This time, he wrapped the roots one by one, being very careful not to make any mistakes.
One by one, he carefully and meticulously wrapped each strand, little by little, taking care of the others.
“I-is it that much already…?”
With a flushed face and moistened eyes, Olivia lovingly touched the roots that curled around her. …Her breath also seemed to be a little raspy.
She touched her shins, her neck, and her armpits at the nape of her waist.
“It was so thick and strong…”
She bent her body to avoid hitting the roots and held Ain’s body with her own strength. Ain was not technically in a state of sleep, but looking at his happy sleeping face, Olivia quietly began to stroke Ain’s head.
Then, as if his veins were pulsing, Ain’s entire root trembled softly. Olivia saw this and put the hand that had been stroking the head on top of the root and slid her fingers over it…
“Fufu. That’s manly and admirable… Ain.”
——Saint.
…The people of Ishtalika adored Olivia, as they called her.
＊＊＊
“Nn… H-huh…?”
When Ain woke up the next morning, he immediately noticed something unusual. A feeling of uneasiness, as if something bound him all over his body, a warmth that enveloped his face, and a sweet, longing scent that tickled his nostrils… But Ain soon realized that the scent was unique to him, one he would never forget.
“M-Mother! Eh, hey… W-why…!”
Looking up, he saw Olivia in front of him. She was holding Ain in her arms in a very agitated manner, her shirt undone and her underwear exposed. She was breathing regularly and was in a deep sleep but woke up when she heard Ain’s surprised voice.
“Hmm… Ain? You were awake?”
“I-I was awake, or rather I just woke up… but more importantly, what the h.e.l.l is this situation…?”
He tried to use his legs to get out, but he couldn’t get his feet free. He was wrapped in a futon, so he could not see what was going on. The only thing he could see was Olivia sleeping and waking up in front of him.
“It’s alright…? Ain’s just an adult.”
…..!
Adult? And Olivia’s outfit and the situation. Does that mean…? Ain wonders if he did something with her, and his sleepy brain starts to work. Last night, he went to bed as usual, and after that, he fell asleep without any problems, and he should greet the morning as usual. That’s… how it should be.
“W-what do you mean by adult? Um, what happened…?”
Olivia smiled softly and began to stroke Ain as she held him close.
The happy feeling and the air enveloped Ain, but only now he wanted her to tell him what it was all about. He hated that he couldn’t really absorb this atmosphere.
“…Fufu. It was big and great, Ain.”
…This guy is crazy, isn’t it?
He thought as if Mouton was making a comment in his head. He had never felt more reliable than right now, but Ain was convinced that the situation was so “bad” that even if he was convinced, he decided to drink water and take a breather for now.
“What do you mean? I can’t stand up?”
“Don’t worry. As soon as you get used to it, you’ll be back to normal. …Relax and stand up slowly and watch as you slowly move your right leg and left leg?”
Although he had no idea what was going on, he tried to do as Olivia said for now. As he calmly did so, his previously stiff body began to move, and he managed to stand up next to the bed.
“I’ll tell Martha about the roots later. Everything will be fine.”
He could only make a dumb sound when she said, ‘the root.’ But when he looked carefully around the room, he saw that the whole room was covered with tree roots, and even Olivia was wrapped around a tree root.
“Why are there so many tree roots?”
“These are all Ain’s roots, you know?”
“Are they mine…? No, but I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Half dryad, half human. That would be Ain’s race, and if he had never taken roots from his own body before, it was only natural that there was not even a sign of it. But he wondered why he suddenly found himself in such an emergency situation today.
Not only was the whole room covered with roots, but some of them have penetrated the walls and wrapped around the furniture. And when he saw them wrapped around Olivia, he had no idea what was going on.
“Okay… wait a minute. Can I have the root that is wrapped around me, Ain?”
“There are plenty of those…”
Unable to understand Olivia’s mysterious request, Ain responded with a blank stare. And when he turned his vision back to the bed, he could see the traces of the roots spreading around the place where Ain had slept.
“…I really put the roots there.”
He’s not sure why Olivia was in his room or why she was so calm. He looked at Olivia as she deftly slips out of the roots and quickly turned away, remembering that she had exposed her underwear.
“Ain is a grown man. So this is how you got a lot of roots out all of a sudden.”
“I’m a grown man, huh?”
Olivia sar down next to the bed, her clothes apparently arranged quickly.
“The adult dryads put out roots in search of food… that is adulthood for dryads. In my case, I had less influence than Ain, so I didn’t look like this…”
It was like a labyrinth under a big tree.
Ain’s room, covered with tree roots, looked like a unique and fantastic scene.
“In Ain’s case, the nourishment you were looking for was a “maybe,” so I watched you from the side.”
“Maybe?”
“Remember when you absorbed Chris’ magic stone?”
“O-of course…”
Ain, who was hungry, unconsciously absorbed the magic stone again and again. Chris had suffered the same damage, causing symptoms such as body sluggishness.
“I was also worried that you would absorb the people outside the room.”
Especially my big sister, Olivia added. Normally, he would not absorb Katima, but if he had done so unknowingly, it was certainly a possibility, as Olivia said.
——I’m not going to be a bad eater, Ain said in his mind.
“So, could it be that I’ve become an adult?”
“Yes, that’s right. Ain became an adult when you came of age as a dryad.”
Olivia clapped her hands together and narrowed her eyes. The gesture was cute, but Ain’s inner feelings were that he would have liked to be told so. After all, he thought he had crossed some kind of line with Olivia.
“But it really is a beautiful root…”
Seeing Olivia stroking the root with an enchanted face, Ain looked at her face to see what was going on. It was his own root that had already been separated, but when she stroked it somewhat s.e.xily, even Ain himself was embarra.s.sed.
“Oh, by the way, Ain. I think dryads probably have… some kind of feeling for the roots of the opposite s.e.x.”
“The roots of the opposite s.e.x…?”
“Yes, that’s right. I never knew it before because I never talked to my own kind, but I ‘felt’ it yesterday.”
“For example. What do you mean?”
To be honest, Ain was not impressed by the idea of feeling the roots of the opposite s.e.x. It seems that Ain, who was not a pure dryad, was never endowed with this sensitivity.
“It’s nice that it’s thick and long and… seems to spread everywhere. It’s strong, something that gives me a sense of masculine strength.”
What she said felt somewhat obscene, but it confirmed in his mind that what it was was a root. It’s certainly one of those sensitivities that Ain didn’t understand, but there was also something about it that convinced him.
Perhaps it would be better to call it instinctive, but when one followed the instinct to leave strong genes, it would not be surprising to have such a feeling.
“So I’ll take this root.”
“Oh… yes. Please take it…”
He was not sure if he could find any value in such a thing, but if it made his precious Olivia happy, then Ain would be happy, too.
After that, they called Martha and asked her to do a lot of things for them, which she seemed to be in a hurry to do. Olivia told Ain that she would talk to Sylvird and the others about the riot, and Ain started to get ready to go to school.
Olivia insisted that she would talk to Chris and Krone as well. Seeing Olivia insisting so strongly, Ain nodded his head.
Ain didn’t know how the dryad’s coming of age would affect him. Olivia urged him to tell her immediately if anything should happen.
“Speaking of which, Mother. Why didn’t I come to you for nourishment?”
“Well… I don’t know, maybe because we are the same family?”
Let’s talk to Katima before things get too crazy. It was only natural to make Ain think that way.