Presence

“Ran-san and her group have returned!”

Dan, who had been coordinating the soldiers, rushed in with sand spraying everywhere as he reported. As someone with the aptitude of ‘Swordsman,’ he apparently had skill second only to Nadja, though his appearance was that of an ordinary, honest villager.

“All right, thanks for the report.”

Aira and I went to greet Ran-san and her companions.

Since the distance between the manor and the entrance was almost nothing, we only had to walk a short while before their figures came into view.

But… huh?

“Doesn’t it look like the number of people increased…?”

I rubbed my eyes, but nothing changed.

It didn’t seem to be an illusion.

Behind Ran-san and her party, there were clearly more people.

One, two… definitely more than ten.

“What happened, Ran-san?”

“As we traveled from village to village, quite a number of people said they wanted to leave their current homes. We’ve brought enough that it’ll just about push our food supplies to the limit. But since Lord Woody previously said that immigrants were most welcome, I brought them along… Was that a problem?”

“No, no, of course not!”

More villagers meant more smile points, and since we had surplus food, it was nothing but welcome.

I shook my head vigorously, and Ran-san’s face visibly relaxed in relief.

It seemed she herself had been a little worried.

Gathered together under the protection of Ran-san and White Silver Wings was a group wrapped in cloaks.

Counting them carefully, there were thirteen in total.

From the elderly to children, their ages and genders varied.

So these… were the very first immigrants.

Something welled up in my chest with a presence—a rush of emotion.

It felt like I had been acknowledged, like I was being told everything I had done wasn’t wrong… and before I knew it, my eyes grew wet.

“How can there be such a forest in the middle of the desert…?”

“Look, there are fruits everywhere! Can we eat them!?”

“Ohhh, could this be paradise on earth…?”

I saw them all gazing around the village in wonder.

Please don’t worry.

From this day forward, this place would be your home.

I clapped my hands, keeping a gentle smile so as not to intimidate them.

And, taking on all the gazes directed at me…

“Nice to meet you. My name is Woody, lord of this Tree Village. Everyone, welcome to Tree Village. From here on, let’s live together for a long, long time.”