The Spectating Sapling (5)

Every day began with a dew face wash.

The dewdrop rolled across the surface of a leaf. Dust washed away, and the damp green gleamed in the morning sun.

Water Drop Girl sprawled out on the neighboring leaf to watch, her tiny legs swinging idly.

―Did you have fun wandering around with Thermia?

The water droplet nodded.

She'd looked genuinely delighted, teasing a friend who had to dig holes with her own two hands. Sometimes I wondered if she'd made that friend just for the pranking material.

Seeing her enjoy herself this much got me thinking. Maybe it really was time to make her a little sibling.

She spent most of her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time out and about. She'd never shown it, but perhaps she'd been lonely. She liked talking with me, sure, but that didn't mean she didn't crave a companion she could actually roughhouse with. She loved pranks, after all — and she never once tried one on me.

As for the mana needed to make her a sibling, I'd long since exceeded that threshold.

Yu-hu, I'd stockpiled far more than a single lightning strike's worth.

These days I was collecting two hundred a day, so the mana piled up just from breathing. The first ten thousand was the Water Droplet Spirit herself, so realistically I had about fifteen thousand to spare — more than enough to make her a little sibling.

―What do you think it'll be like, having a sibling?

Water Drop Girl tilted her head. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought for a while, then tilted it again.

Did she not quite understand what a sibling was?

―A sibling means a being smaller than you. One you have to look after and take care of.

The droplet only blinked, then began moving her tiny hands. Moisture gathered and condensed into a single water drop. She placed it on both palms and lifted it up, as if to show me.

―That's not a sibling, that's... how do I put this.

Explaining what a sibling was was surprisingly difficult. Fine then — I'd just show her.

I gathered ten thousand mana into a branch. It sloshed, compressed, hardened, and before long had become a hefty cube. I'd done liquid mana before; time to try solid.

―This cube is your sibling.

Water Drop Girl stared long and hard at the cube. Then she stared long and hard at me.

Yes, yes, I know it's absurd. But honestly, I don't know exactly how it's supposed to be done, so.

After some deliberation, the droplet moved her small hands again. She tipped the water drop from her palm onto the cube, letting it flow down its sides. The cube grew damp.

Then she spread both arms wide and hugged the cube tight, the way one embraces a tree. Her gaze swung back to me, and she let out a bubbly kkae-rreuk giggle.

Wha — you're accepting it as your sibling?

It was a gracious-spirited reaction, but I intended to reward it with results all the same.

I buried the cube in the spot where Thermia had dug her practice pit and covered it back up, then stretched my roots out and gave the cube a firm embrace.

―Now, if you pour love on it and wait, it'll become your sibling. Just like you became a spirit.

Water Drop Girl giggled her kkae-rreuk giggle, but offered no confirmation.

How cold-hearted of you.

In the graveyard, its leaves tinged with autumn color, a fresh headstone was taking shape. Elves in quarantine gear dug a pit and laid the body inside.

Was Thermia managing well? The plan had seemed sound, at least. Several days had passed, so it was about time for her to come around.

One male elf finished the headstone and brushed the dirt from his hands. He'd aged somewhat — for an elf, remarkably, he looked to be in his thirties. Or maybe my eyes were just going.

The elf organized the others, delegated the cleanup, and then strode into the forest saying he had business to attend to. Precisely speaking, business in my direction.

I wondered if it was a coincidence at first, but he pushed straight through the underbrush toward me. When he reached the open clearing, his steps quickened, and his gaze lifted toward my branches.

The elf's brow furrowed slightly.

"Might you be Lord Tree?"

Whoa?

The water droplet, which had been floating along idly, spotted him and dove in fright behind a leaf. And just like that, I had one new dewdrop masquerading as actual dew.

Having spotted the horned-helmeted droplet, the elf slowly surveyed his surroundings. He took in the vista of fruit-laden branches, then fixed his eyes on me once more.

"Might you be Lord Tree?"

Thermia must have told him.

―Tree, no, but a sapling. So yes.

The language-borne weight of my intent pressed down over the clearing. The elf retreated a step and dragged a hand down his face.

"I can't say I've ever heard of a tree that speaks. And yet here you are, speaking."

There was a faint note of self-reproach in his voice.

―The world is a wide place. Trees that talk exist in it too.

The elf nodded readily, then jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

"I am Eldrin, chief of that village."

Whoa — so this was the man who'd turn "that mysterious water droplet has been secretly helping us" into "the village chief has been secretly helping us."

Eldrin bowed deeply at the waist. His shadow fell across my roots.

"Thank you for looking after Thermia. With everyone suffering the same fate, I agonized over how I could justify showing favoritism to one person as village chief."

So that was it.

―It's all right. That's what a chief does.

"Thanks to your care, Lord Tree, Thermia has grown so much brighter. She's eating well, too."

―Good to hear she's still eating well back home.

She was clever and resilient enough that I'd trusted she'd manage even out of my sight, but still.

I watched his bowed head for a moment.

―Chief, raise your head. You have nothing to blame yourself for. I did as a tree does and offered my shade; you did as a chief does and offered your village. No more, no less.

Eldrin straightened slowly. A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"The world truly is wide. Far wider than I knew."

―And that's precisely what makes it beautiful. A wonderful world, don't you think?

"That part I can't quite agree with."

Eldrin rummaged in his pocket and drew out a neatly folded piece of paper.

"This is the proposal Thermia submitted to the village assembly. I don't know how credible it is, but I intend to trial a change of diet on the few who are in critical condition."

Whoa, I hope it goes well.

"Do you have any advice on the matter?"

Advice, hm.

―Going with the critical cases makes them easy to select, but they're dying anyway, so some will decide they'd rather eat meat while they still can. And they'll give up partway and sneak off to eat it behind the village's back, mind you. For a proper trial, it'd be better to pick elves who actually enjoy the raw diet.

Eldrin fell into thought.

"I'll keep that in mind."

The paper vanished into his pocket.

"Setting that aside — I'd like to repay you personally for caring for Thermia. Is there anything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you need?"

I'd never actually thought about it.

―If I must take something... a vocabulary dictionary, perhaps?

Reading the paper in his pocket, I'd found quite a few words I couldn't make out. Official documents, probably.

"A vocabulary dictionary?"

―I'm studying letters, you see. The beginner's dictionary Thermia carries around? I've outgrown it.

Yu-hu, I am a very smart sapling.

Eldrin stared up at me.

A... tree? That's the look, isn't it.

"Understood. Anything else?"

Anything else?

Here, in this sun-warmed place, there was nothing lacking at all.

Then it occurred to me — the droplet hiding behind my leaf. The dew-disguised droplet was eyeing the chief warily from her hiding spot.

Oh. I see.

―I'm shy around strangers, you see. I'd rather this place not get too crowded with people. Just keep things as they are?

"I'll inform everyone."

―Thank you. That's all.

The chief bowed and departed.

Barely past mid-morning, I had received several vocabulary dictionaries. Their weighty heft settled my heart like a good meal.

Yu-hu, soon I'll be an even smarter sapling.

Oh, so this is the word for someone who died eating a poisonous mushroom. An idiom meaning "fool" — and yet acceptable in official documents. Fascinating.

The dictionaries varied in vocabulary and difficulty by type. There was even a practical language dictionary that seemed hand-made by the chief himself. So mercenaries used this kind of loaded, figurative vocabulary, did they?

There was nothing of the courtly register that nobles might use, but with these I could probably speak to most of the world.

I was deep in my dictionary browsing when a familiar voice came drifting up.

"They agreed!"

A blonde girl came running, breathing hard. The autumn leaf haphazardly stuck in her hair bobbed wildly, and her flushed cheeks caught the sunlight.

"The village chief declared he'd run the trial himself! And on more people than I proposed — a dozen or more! The village is only about two hundred strong, so ten is a huge number, isn't it? They're going to check everyone evenly, from the sickest to the healthiest!"

One of her arms flailed about without any dignity whatsoever.

―Whoa, really? You did it. That's amazing.

"It's all thanks to you, Lord Tree!"

―What did I even do? You're the one who did it.

What followed was a flood of words too rapid to respond to — which only meant she was that happy, so I listened in silence and waited for the excitement to settle.

"That's how the proposal passed! Nobody even objected! Well, there was one person who 'happened to mention' that he needs roasted meat to feel full."

―Food habits are hard to change.

"Exactly! So I'm going to bring them delicious fruit, and—huh?"

Thermia patted at her empty hands. Realizing she was carrying nothing, she panicked.

"Oh no? I forgot my basket. I'll run back and get it!"

The girl spun on her heel and dashed off, blonde hair fluttering as she dwindled into the distance.

She arrives in an instant, she departs in an instant.

Before long, Thermia returned cradling a wooden basket, considerably calmer now. The girl gave an embarrassed laugh.

"I forgot the basket. I should have brought it if I meant to carry fruit back."

Water Drop Girl giggled her kkae-rreuk giggle.

"Agh, stop laughing already!"

―It just means she wanted to bring me the good news that much faster.

"...That's true."

Thermia began picking fruit into the basket. The droplet watched for a moment, then started picking fruit alongside her.

"Thank you. That was my first village assembly, and there was a lot of discussion beyond my proposal. All sorts of things."

―Is that so?

Losing one's mother was surely an enormous tragedy for the girl — but to the village, it would have been a small incident and nothing more.

"There was one unsettling matter, too. I haven't seen him myself, but apparently a suspicious human has been prowling around nearby. Not on this side — the far side of the forest."

Whoa?

"His loitering was suspicious enough that the assembly went so far as to discuss shoring up the fence and stockpiling arrows."

A human loitering around the Elf Village. Suspicious indeed. I'd never seen the wide world myself, but a few motives came readily to mind.

"Someone who ran into him pressed him about it, and he claimed to be some kind of investigator. Said he'd heard there was a mana stone mine around here and was looking into it, that sort of thing. Then told them not to interfere needlessly."

Whoa?

"It's an absurd excuse, isn't it? A mana stone mine, here of all places."

Thermia scoffed.

"His purpose is obvious."

True enough.

Absolutely, undeniably true.

So... that person really is suspicious, isn't he?

The basket was half full. Thermia turned it in her arms.

"There were funny stories too, though."

She looked up at me.

"Lord Tree, have you ever seen a rabbit?"

A rabbit?

―I have.

I even once fought one for my life.

"Well, apparently some people in our village tried to catch a rabbit and were defeated. Two of them, no less! They're recovering from their injuries now, I hear."

Whoa?

I think I know that rabbit.

Would its white fur happen to be very, very fluffy?

Thermia giggled. The droplet giggled along.

"There's no way it was actually a rabbit — sounds like an excuse to me. It was my first assembly, so I don't know the hidden context, but perhaps there's a custom where if you're hurt for an embarrassing reason, you claim a rabbit did it?"

A clever and rational interpretation.

―Could be. That sounds about right to me.

Before long the fruit basket was full.

"Then I'll be off."

Thermia balanced the basket on her head and left, with Water Drop Girl flapping along behind her. They'd probably chat on the way. It was nice to see them growing close.

I leisurely returned to my dictionary browsing. The paper quality wasn't great, was it? Once the droplet came back, I'd waterproof-wrap every single one of these.

Or no — maybe the right thing was to copy them and return the originals. Vocabulary dictionaries must be terribly precious.

Suddenly, the droplet, on her way back, spotted something and dove into hiding among the blades of grass. What's wrong?

Someone was entering the clearing.

A sturdy man in a light robe. Round ears caught the eye.

Whoa — a human.

Was this the suspicious man they'd been talking about?

A dagger hidden in his robe, thin leather armor concealed under ordinary clothes — yes, genuinely suspicious.

The human walked up and gaped upward, dumbfounded.

"What is this giant tree?"

His gaze kept jumping down and up, down and up.

"What even is this species?"

Search me.

Just your average, mysterious neighborhood back-mountain sapling?

The human touched the trunk.

"If a tree this convenient existed, someone should have mentioned it when I took the job. Honestly, coming all this way to a nowhere village — what a waste of effort."

He tested his footing, then started climbing my trunk.

Wh-whoa.

He settled onto a thick branch and got his bearings. His gaze swept the view beyond.

"Hm? The other trees are in the way — the height's more awkward than I expected. If the leaves had all fallen, I could've seen straight down into the village."

Is that what you were hoping for?

I examined the inside of his robe in close detail.

Papers in the inner lining pocket caught my attention.

I studied the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scrawled contents. There were words I didn't know, but the dictionaries let me find them in an instant.

Let's see, now.

Village population. Level of armament. Guard personnel.

Yu-hu. A bad person after all.