The Neighborhood High School Girl, Miss Isezaki, Is the Great Saintess Returned from Another World~ And I, Suddenly Awakened as Her Exclusive Mana Supply Uncle, Travel Between Earth and Another World with Time-Space Magic~ - 197. The Wooden Monster, Treant 2

197. 197. 197. 197. The Wooden Monster, Treant 2

“[Eject!]”

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

The upper half of the Treant was blown away, leaving its stump-like lower half rolling on the ground. That was the last one. As I watched the stump roll away, I collapsed on the spot.

“Phew… That was… exhausting…”

I still had plenty of magic power left and I didn’t get hit. But it drained me mentally. It felt like finishing a bullet-hell shooting game without taking a single hit… Just thinking about it makes me tired.

As I sat there, Isezaki-san ran up to me with a smile on her face.

“Great job, husband!”

“Heh… I’m really tired. If it weren’t for your warning, I don’t know what would have happened.”

“I’m glad I could help. And… it was amazing.”

Isezaki-san blushed slightly. It was definitely tough, but I also felt a sense of accomplishment. I’m glad I could show Isezaki-san my good side.

As we exchanged a few words, Maristel jumped down from a tree and started walking towards us—but her expression was oddly stiff.

“Hey, Matsunaga… The magic you used to blow up the Treant, that [Eject] thing… Is that the same one you hit me with when we first met?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s right. You came out of nowhere, so I just… Sorry about that.”

Come to think of it, I never properly apologized. It was definitely excessive, so I should have said sorry earlier. I bowed my head, but—

“No, it’s fine! I mean, it’s actually a relief that it was just that… I-I’m alive, right? Oh… I’m so glad to be alive…”

Maristel started patting her stomach and then sat down, looking dazed. The power of [Eject] can even blow a hole through a Treant. Considering that, it’s no wonder her legs gave out. Seeing this, Isezaki-san puffed out her chest proudly.

“Hehe, now you understand how amazing my husband is? Now stop sitting around and be useful.”

“Huh? Be useful? What do you want me to do?”

Maristel replied, still in a daze.

“We’re going to collect some medicinal herbs around here, so you’ll help too. Husband, you can rest for now.”

Isezaki-san started to walk away, but Maristel quickly stopped her.

“Wait a minute. I don’t think there are any herbs around here. We’d need to go deeper into the forest.”

Isezaki-san stopped in her tracks and turned around.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Treants eat meat, but they love medicinal herbs even more. Since there were so many of them here, it means they’ve already eaten all the herbs in this area. You didn’t know that? Even with all that power, humans are still pretty ignorant, aren’t they? Hehe.”

Maristel seemed pleased to have a bit of knowledge that Isezaki-san didn’t, and laughed smugly.

“Ugh… Then where can we find herbs? Tell me!”

“Don’t be in such a rush. I’ll educate you, Isezaki. Treant remains, if chopped up and mixed into the soil, make for good fertilizer and sell for a high price. So instead of leaving them, we should gather them up. This is basic knowledge for someone like me.”

“Argh…!”

Isezaki-san gritted her teeth in frustration, but knowing that Treants could fetch a high price was indeed valuable information.

“Alright, let’s all calm down. Why don’t we take it easy and collect the Treants while we rest?”

“Y-Yes! Husband, you handle the large pieces with your [Storage Space], and I’ll pick up the smaller bits!”

Cheering up, Isezaki-san ran off and started gathering the smaller branches scattered around. I turned to Maristel, who was still sitting on the ground.

“…Maristel, could you ease up on teasing my wife?”

“Oh? You’re not saying I should stop entirely?”

Maristel gave a faint smile. But somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to go that far.

Despite her mature demeanor for her age, Isezaki-san only expresses such strong emotions when it comes to Maristel. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. In fact, seeing Isezaki-san act a bit differently is quite endearing in its own way.

“…Hmm, well, whatever. Still, you two seem less like a married couple and more like—”

Maristel stared at me intently but then shrugged her shoulders lightly.

“…I think I’ll stop prying further. They say ‘The reckless sage meets an early grave.’… Hey, Isezaki! There’s a piece of Treant right by your feet! Are you blind or what?”

“Ugh, shut up! I was just about to pick it up!”

Maristel stood up and walked over to Isezaki-san. “The reckless sage…”—I guess that’s similar to the saying “Curiosity killed the cat.”

Well, in any case, if she’s not going to dig deeper, I won’t dwell on it either. For now, I’ll focus on collecting the Treant remains. I placed the lower half of the Treant lying at my feet into my [Storage Space].

◇◇◇

After gathering most of the Treant remnants, we ventured deeper into the forest. I asked Maristel how much the Treant materials would sell for, but she just said, “I’ve only heard that they’re expensive. How would I know what price you humans would pay?”

Immediately, Isezaki-san teased her, “Oh, so you didn’t know as much as you claimed, huh?” And the two of them started bickering again. They really do get along well, even when they’re arguing.

As I watched the two of them and continued deeper into the forest, a small stream came into view. We began climbing a steep mountain path along the stream. Isezaki-san llacks stamina and isn’t very athletic. Just as she was starting to sweat, Maristel glanced upstream with a knowing expression and muttered,

“…I see. So this is how it connects.”

“Have you been here before?”

“Ten years ago? Or maybe longer? I came to this area during a skirmish at a magic stone mine to pick up a fresh doll. I climbed the mountain to get a better view… Oh, that reminds me—”

“What is it?”

“Actually, I’ll tell you later. Anyway, we should be arriving at a place full of medicinal herbs soon.”

“Looks like we’re almost there, Isezaki-san. Hang in there.”

*Huff, huff, wheeze… wheeze…*

After encouraging the sweaty and out-of-breath Isezaki-san, we continued climbing for a while. Suddenly, the forest opened up, and sunlight streamed down from above. It revealed a vast plain before us.

At the end of the plain, a magnificent waterfall cascaded down. Upon closer inspection, the waterfall basin was surrounded by mossy rocks and lush greenery, highlighting the natural beauty of the area.

“Wow… What a view.”

*Pant, pant… Yeah, husband. It was worth coming all the way here, even though—cough, cough!*

“Isezaki-san, maybe you should rest a little longer!”

Seeing Isezaki-san coughing and drenched in sweat, I half-expected Maristel to start teasing her again. But instead, Maristel scanned the area and remained quiet.

She then spoke with her eyes fixed on the plain.

“We should keep an eye out here. Something is bound to be around. Especially near the waterfall basin. That’s where *it* sleeps.”

“It? Is there some kind of monster living around here?”

I sighed and asked, anticipating yet another battle.

“Yes, an Earth Dragon lives here. And it’s an enormous one at that. Even with your powerful attacks, I’m not sure they would work against it. So if we spot it, we’ll escape immediately using [Leap Warp]. Got it?”

“An Earth Dragon, huh…”

I thought to myself that it was strange to have encountered an Earth Dragon without ever seeing any other types of dragons. Maristel then continued.

“Yeah. Some beast tamer tried to form a master-servant contract with it, but the contract was idiotic—with the Earth Dragon as the ‘master’ and the tamer as the ‘servant.’ That barely worked. If the dragon isn’t here, it might be because it’s been summoned elsewhere.”

At her words, Isezaki-san and I exchanged concerned glances.