The Guardian of the Great Forest

My body hurt...

Since the showdown between Behemoth and Jinjo, signs of change had begun to stir in the Gehenna Great Forest.

The first faction to truly feel that change was the elves.

"Has the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Rough Wood Forest always had this many animals?"

The elves were gathering materials to repair the outskirts of the village, which had been devastated by the ghouls.

They loved nature and survived on the forest's vital essence, but at their core, they were still people. In other words, elves also preferred to sleep in warm houses and in proper beds.

So, just as they were now, they sometimes had to wound nature out of necessity.

They simply did not ravage it indiscriminately for expansion and breeding, the way other races did.

For the elves, nature was the same thing as drinking water and food itself.

As they worked through tears and cut down trees to restore the village, Nillia's voice finally made them notice the changes in the Rough Wood Forest.

"No, it wasn't this crowded before."

"Look at this—there are animals and plants here I've never seen before."

The Rough Wood Forest was overflowing with life.

Colorful, beautiful plants bloomed in wild profusion, and little, adorable animals that had never been seen in the Rough Wood Forest nibbled at the stems and leaves before their eyes.

Until recently, the Demon Tree had stood within the forest.

Because of that malicious tree, the forest had grown steadily drier and more barren.

Although Behemoth had uprooted and annihilated the Demon Tree, it should have taken decades before new life could bloom again.

Looking at the forest restored to the shape it had once held, the elves felt a deep, overwhelming emotion rise in their chests.

"Wait, everyone, breathe in the essence!"

The elves temporarily set down their axes and drew in the forest's essence.

Their eyes went wide.

"The essence is stronger..."

"This is the finest essence we've ever tasted!"

The elves were not puzzled.

By now, they understood why the change had happened.

They smiled happily as they thought of their guardian.

They thought of that overwhelming black dragon beast, its body sheathed in black scales.

Once again, Behemoth had worked a miracle.

The elves set their axes aside for a moment and decided to take a short break.

The reason was simple.

"That was truly an incredible sight."

"I never imagined he'd grow that huge. He's usually on the smaller side for a monster, more like two or three bears put together."

"If that's the case, how tall would that be?"

"Off the top of my head, I'd say a few hundred meters?"

"He was practically touching the clouds, so we should be thinking even bigger. At least two thousand meters..."

They wanted to talk about Behemoth.

After all, the miracle he had shown the demi-humans was something rare even in the legends that had been passed down until now.

It had been only half a month since Behemoth had spat stars across the earth.

Even now, the elves could still see the legendary image of him lingering in their minds.

"The lizardmen were saying they wanted to hold a meeting about Lord Behemoth, too."

"Really?"

"Lady Lizardrin visited the village this morning. I heard her talking with Lord Nillius."

"The orcs and goblins even sent gold as a gift yesterday. These days, there’s been a lot more contact between the demi-humans."

And it wasn't just the forest.

The demi-humans of the Great Forest were changing, too.

It was not a welcome change.

Change always bred fear.

When something in an ordinary routine changed, a future that had once seemed predictable suddenly became an unknown region.

And in that changed future, there would not be only good things.

There would be troublesome things, too, and certainly moments that would wound the heart.

Even so, the reason the elves could smile so brightly was simple.

Because they held an unwavering faith that their guardian deity, with a little snap of his thumbs-up, was always cheering them on.

"What on earth do you think you're doing, standing around instead of working!!"

From the direction of the village, Nillia, the younger sister of the elf representative, came running over in a panic.

"We just couldn't help it... thinking about Lord Behemoth's grace all of a sudden..."

"We couldn't bear it... We'll start working hard again from now on."

"But why are you in such a hurry?"

Nillia caught her breath.

Then she took out a note and called out the names written on it.

"Pastel, Iris, Dagen, Pellaia..."

Half of the elves laboring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the forest reacted with confusion.

Why was she calling their names?

"I think you need to come back to the village right away."

"Is something wrong?"

Nillia nodded.

"Your wives are all pregnant..."

"Pardon?"

"Your wives are all pregnant."

"Whose wives?"

When the elves still failed to understand, Nillia let out an exasperated scream.

"Everyone whose names I just called! Your wives are pregnant! Stop working! Come back to the village! Right now!"

At first, they thought it was a joke.

But when they saw Nillia puffing furiously with genuine urgency, the elves flung down their axes and started sprinting toward the village in a panic.

"What in the world is going on!"

"Since when do people all get pregnant at once like this?!"

Elves lived for hundreds of years, but an elf couple usually produced only one or two children in an entire lifetime.

Because they had such long lives, their bodies were, by nature, poor at conceiving.

And yet, sudden fertility? The elves had no choice but to be utterly shocked.

Nillia let out a sigh.

Then she opened her mouth toward the elves left behind in the forest.

"My brother says that, in the long run, we'll probably need to expand the village much more than it is now. Come on, everyone, grab your axes and follow me."

"Nillia-sama."

To the elves who were still dazed, Nillia spoke again.

"I know. You've all got a lot of questions. But honestly, I don't know the details either. All I can say is that our bodies seem to have changed all of a sudden..."

Birth was a blessing to everyone.

And for elves, who rarely saw offspring so easily, it would have carried even greater meaning.

"Still, you all know the reason, don't you?"

The elves clasped their hands together.

And, praying for the gracious Behemoth, they began to sing.

Na-na-na-na...

It seemed that in the future, there would be far more elves singing Behemoth's song.

♪ Behemoth Hymn ♪

Na-na-na-na...

The elves sang the opening refrain in soft, reverent voices.

Na-na-na-na...

And with every line, the blessing in the forest seemed to deepen a little more.

Lizardrin gazed at the vast barren land that had been wasteland until only half a month ago.

It was ground that had been returned to nothing by Behemoth's blue breath, yet even so, to them, this place was special.

This was the land where the one who had saved them first revealed his power.

For the demi-humans now living in the Gehenna Great Forest, it was a symbolic place.

Lizardrin thought about what to name it.

"A starting land, a land of salvation... no, I want something more intuitive than that, you know..."

Drower, the mayor of Deep Dark Forge, approached the thoughtful Lizardrin.

"It's cold enough for a lizardman to be wandering around in this weather. Are you all right standing out here without any warm gear?"

"Mayor Drower."

Unlike warm-blooded races, lizardmen could not regulate their own body temperature.

Even so, Lizardrin simply stood there in a suit.

"I was thinking about a name for this land, you know. Something that would suit Lord Behemoth's feat, you know."

"Oh? That's an interesting thought. So you've stopped thinking of him as the Calamity Beast?"

Lizardrin snorted softly.

"Yes. And the reason is that change has come to us, you know."

"Change?"

Lizardrin looked down at her right hand.

Perhaps hot blood like a warm-blooded race's was flowing through that hand now.

The lizardmen had overcome their nature.

They had gained the blessing of being able to regulate their own body temperature, just like warm-blooded races.

And this, too, had been a miracle brought about by Behemoth.

"Just as the dwarves, who create, opened the hatch to protect the orcs and goblins, who destroy, the lizardmen also decided not to judge the affairs of the world solely through the prophecy slab. We decided to look with our own eyes, feel with our own skin, and think ahead. We are a wise race, after all, just as you said."

Drower broke into a hearty laugh.

It had been a very long time since he had heard words that truly struck home.

"Your muscles have gotten incredibly well developed, you know."

"Because we changed, too, just like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you all."

The dwarves' symbolic small stature had not changed, but the hardness of their muscles was on a completely different level from before.

"The other demi-humans have probably changed, too, right?"

"Most likely."

It was Behemoth's blessing.

Drower and Lizardrin both understood that.

In this world, there was only one being capable of bestowing such a gracious blessing upon the demi-humans.

"As for the name, I just decided."

"Hmm?"

"One for All. What do you think?"

"'One for all,' huh? That suits him rather well."

Lizardrin smiled.

Perhaps, one day, the day would come when all the demi-humans on this land lived together like a single community.

"I want to make a request of the dwarves."

"Hmm?"

"I'm thinking of building a structure on this land. A place where all the demi-humans can..."

"A hall for meetings?"

Drower grinned.

"No payment needed."

"Is that really all right?"

Drower shrugged.

"I'll collect it in the far future. In the form of something expensive—peace and prosperity."

At those words, Lizardrin could only laugh softly.