Chapter 87: Moving Closer to the Demon Realm

(This gift… it’s far beyond what I could have imagined… To think it can produce an endless supply of crops, minerals, and even medicinal herbs… If the world were to learn of this, it could very well trigger a war…)

The lord’s face darkened, her expression tightening into a rare look of serious contemplation. She fell silent, lost in thought.

“Um… My lord?” I ventured cautiously.

“Ah, forgive me, forgive me. I was lost in thought for a moment,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Yes… this place is far too close to the town. This garden… it can be moved, correct?”

“Ah, yes… that is possible…” I replied.

“I hate to trouble you, but could you relocate it to a place I will designate? There, no one should be able to stumble upon it.”

She had a point. Here, someone—like the lord herself—might happen upon the garden unexpectedly.

“Understood. I’ll do as you say.”

“If the garden can teleport between locations instantaneously, then distance from the town shouldn’t pose a problem, correct?”

“That’s right. So far, even if it’s three or four days’ travel by carriage away, it has been fine.”

“…It works even over such a distance?”

I couldn’t help but wonder just how far this ability could extend. No limits? That seemed improbable… but perhaps not impossible.

“If you’re ready, could you try moving it now?” the lord asked.

“Eh? Right now?”

“Wheeeeeeeeee!”

The voice rang out, small but filled with glee. And atop the garden’s wall, a tiny figure—well, the lord herself, looking every bit the size of a child—leapt with excitement.

“This is marvelous! The garden… it’s actually running! Faster than a carriage, even! I must ride it when we next go to the capital!”

“Eh!?”

“Heh heh heh, I’m joking! Just joking!”

It seemed the lord had simply wanted to try riding atop the running wall. The delight on her face was pure, childlike joy. Of course, she looked like a child too, which only added to the absurdity.

“You look like you’re having far too much fun,” I remarked, trying not to smile.

Below the wall, Lilcarlia-san chuckled softly, shaking her head at the spectacle.

“Would you like to try?” I offered.

“Oh no, thank you. I’m not a fan of thrill rides,” she replied, her voice laced with amusement.

“Thrill rides?” I thought, blinking.

“Oh! Goblin ahead. Right, let’s crush it!”

“Gyaa!?”

“Hahaha! Invincible, indeed!”

A goblin flew high into the air as it was struck by the wall’s momentum, shrieking all the way. The lord laughed with glee at the display, absolutely delighted.

“Can we speed up even more?” she asked eagerly.

“Y-Yes, we can… but please… be careful not to fall,” I warned.

“Do not worry! I will not make such a foolish mistake!”

I pushed the garden into an even higher speed, feeling the air hum with the rush of motion.

“Ah… I see it now.”

“Um… that’s… a forest?”

Stretching ahead, a vast, dense woodland emerged on the horizon.

“This is no ordinary forest,” the lord said gravely. “It is considered a demonic region, known to some as the ‘Sea of Death Trees.’ A perilous place indeed.”

“Sea of Death Trees…” Even the name alone sent a shiver down my spine.

“It is also the forest from which that stampede originated,” she added.

“Then… the monsters we faced came from here?” I asked, uneasy.

“Yes. This should be a suitable spot. You may stop here,” she commanded.

Following her order, I brought the garden to a halt.

“Are we really going to be here from now on?” I asked, anxiety creeping into my voice.

“Yes. While adventurers occasionally challenge the demonic regions, their base camps are far to the south. No one will venture this far. With the garden’s concealment ability, it should remain completely hidden.”

“But… isn’t it dangerous…?”

“After all, we already defeated Atlas. There are few monsters here that would compare to that,” the lord replied with calm confidence.

True enough… perhaps, in a place teeming with monsters, I could even use the incense for summoning monsters to continuously level up automatically—just as I had done before.

“Besides, here you can expand the land as you wish. Make the garden as large as you like,” she added.

“Yes, understood.”

I felt that the current space was already more than sufficient, but I nodded obediently.

“However, keep the details of this gift a secret. Even those who already know must not speak of it to others. And continue selling the harvest exclusively through Lilcarlia,” she instructed.

“Understood.”

“Lilcarlia, you too. No matter who asks, remain silent about the source of the produce.”

“Of course,” she affirmed.

I had feared she might demand we endlessly produce crops for the lordship, but that worry proved unfounded—a small relief washed over me.

It had taken about an hour to bring the garden this far from Arcel, yet with instantaneous garden teleportation, I could return home in a single instant.

“It really is instantaneous…” I muttered.

“Incredibly convenient, isn’t it?” Lilcarlia-san and the lord murmured, slightly exasperated at the spectacle.

“Fuaaaa… hey, when’s food? I’m starving,” came an untimely interruption: Miranda-san, who I had meant to put in Sena’s bedroom, appeared instead. Scratching her stomach, her shirt riding up, she yawned as she wandered over.

Noticing the lord, she squinted.

“Hm? Who’s this little one?”

“Wait, Miranda-san! This is… the lord! The lord!” I exclaimed, alarmed at her casual rudeness.

“…Miranda?” the lord asked.

“I’m sorry. She’s… our lodger, or perhaps my sister’s mentor…” I stammered.

“No matter. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” she said, eyeing her dusk-colored hair with mild curiosity. Perhaps a thought flickered in her mind, but he did not show anger.

“Then, we have overstayed. Remember what I said earlier—do not forget,” she instructed.

“Y-Yes!” I responded, finally feeling the tension lift as the lord departed.

For the first time in over an hour, I could breathe again, the garden safely settled near the edge of the Sea of Death Trees.