Chapter 84: The False Tree and the Behemoth

Mushroom hunting.

In other words, gathering wild mushrooms. At this time of year, many varieties grew in the forest near Papel Village.

“Mushroom hunting? That’s rather sudden.”

“Adventurers returning from the forest have been making a commotion about seeing a legendary mushroom.”

“A legendary mushroom?”

“The Golden Dragon Mash—a mythical mushroom that shines like gold. According to rumor, it tastes so good that the cheeks of whoever eats it physically melt.”

I decided not to point out that it sounded like an ordinary poisonous mushroom.

“So you want to try this Golden Dragon Mash?”

“That too, but the Village Chief also gave me a task.”

“What kind of task?”

“The orphanage in the royal capital will soon be relocated to Papel Village, and many children are coming.”

“The orphanage…”

I remembered Mea and the other children I had met there.

So the preparations were finally complete.

“The Village Chief wishes to hold a welcome party for them, so he ordered me to prepare something delicious—anything at all.”

“That’s quite the unreasonable request. Then you heard about the Golden Dragon Mash and thought we could use it in the food?”

“Indeed.”

Now I understood Hinoka’s situation.

I wanted Mea and the others to enjoy something delicious at their welcome party as well. There was no reason to refuse.

While I prepared baskets and the rest of our mushroom-hunting equipment, Hinoka murmured in a fading voice.

“Besides… Amate alone went on a journey with you. Surely I’m allowed a little enjoyment too.”

“Hinoka…”

She looked lonely.

Perhaps being the only one left behind in the village had hurt more than she let on.

…All right.

“Then after we finish tomorrow morning’s service at Dining House Tsurugi Hachi, let’s go into the forest.”

“Yes!”

“But Hinoka, didn’t you say your power weakens when you leave the village? It could be dangerous if we go too deep into the forest, so perhaps we should invite Raphiel—”

“I’ve already prepared a countermeasure. There’s no cause for concern.”

The object Hinoka hoisted onto her shoulder was the household shrine that should have been displayed in our living room.

“Wait, the shrine!?”

“I realized something. Amate’s shrine is too large to transport, so leaving the house inevitably weakens her. Mine, however, is a small household shrine and easily carried.”

“I… suppose that makes sense?”

She looked strangely familiar, like someone carrying an enormous boombox on one shoulder.

No, not merely similar. The resemblance was perfect.

“Well, if you’ve made preparations, the two of us should be fine.”

And so, the following day—

After the restaurant’s morning service ended, I gathered my equipment and entered the forest.

It had changed completely since our departure for the Luresian Empire. The leaves were now dyed a deep red.

Was it autumn?

The Kingdom of Elde had four seasons, but they were less stable than Japan’s. It wasn’t unusual for winter to follow summer without any autumn between them.

“Eight, don’t approach that tree.”

“What?”

Hinoka suddenly pointed at a tree some distance away and grew visibly wary.

“Is something there?”

“That’s a False Tree, a monster that disguises itself as an ordinary tree.”

“A False Tree? I’ve never heard of one.”

“Naturally. It’s a new species discovered while you were away at the sea.”

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a tree.

I tilted my head, wondering whether it was truly a monster. Reading my doubt, Hinoka threw a stone toward it.

Everything happened in an instant.

Countless branches swarmed around the stone where it landed, tangled together, and swallowed it completely.

“Its roots sense living creatures passing overhead. Then its branches seize them and slowly crush them to death.”

“That’s terrifying.”

From that description, though, perhaps it was similar to a Venus flytrap.

At least it sounded better than a False Potato.

This season, a related species called the False Wild Yam was reproducing throughout the forest. If I saw one, I would annihilate it.

I had brought the riot shield I used to smash those things, so there was nothing to worry about.

“Let us continue.”

We walked deeper into the forest.

The Golden Dragon Mash was nowhere to be found, and before long we stopped to rest.

“Haa… haa…”

“…Tired already?”

“S-Sorry. This is harder than it looks…”

Then—

“Eight, be silent.”

“What? Why—”

Thud. Thud.

The footsteps of some enormous creature echoed through the forest, drawing slowly closer.

It felt like a string of earthquakes.

“We have finally found it.”

At Hinoka’s words, a reptilian head peered down at us from above the tallest trees.

It was a turtle.

The creature was dozens of meters long, and its sheer presence was overwhelming.

What? What was this thing!?

“That’s the juvenile form of a monster called a Behemoth. I’m told the Golden Dragon Mash grows on its back.”

“Oh, I see. …Wait! Juvenile!? At that size!?”

“Indeed. Adventurers say that once fully grown, it becomes large enough to be mistaken for a continent.”

I thought of Levia, the Leviathan I had met in Luresia.

She was hundreds of kilometers long, so perhaps the scale was similar.

Leviathans even lived in pods. At this point, no astonishing ecology would surprise me.

“Why do monsters like this live so close to human settlements?”

“It would be more accurate to say your village lies beside a demon realm.”

Now I understood why the adventurers who spotted the mythical Golden Dragon Mash hadn’t brought any home.

They had no way to climb onto the back of a juvenile Behemoth.

Hinoka wrapped an arm around my waist.

“Don’t move, Eight.”

“What? WAAAAAH!”

Hinoka leapt high into the air and landed on the Behemoth’s back.

Countless golden mushrooms grew across its shell, creating a landscape that resembled a field of solid gold.

…It was bright enough to hurt my eyes.

We gathered the Golden Dragon Mash and returned safely to the village.

Afterword: Monster Notes

False Tree

It blends into the surrounding woodland and gradually moves closer to paths used by people before devouring its prey. A captured victim remains unharmed at first, but the creature slowly dissolves them and absorbs the nutrients. It possesses intelligence comparable to a human’s and attacks only when few potential witnesses are nearby. Though it can survive on photosynthesis alone, it’s a picky eater and prefers meat.

False Wild Yam

The main body poses little danger. Its reproductive organs, equivalent to aerial tubers, lay eggs inside other creatures. When they hatch, the young eat through the host’s organs and brain on their way out—essentially this world’s version of an alien parasite.