It Works

“Sniff… Forgive me, Woody-dono. I showed you something embarrassing again…”

Miria-san repeated the very same line, almost as if rewinding what had happened earlier.

But she looked far more at ease now—much brighter than before entering Tree Village.
Maybe I actually helped her, even just a little.

“No, no. I’m just glad it made you happy.”

With Miria-san and Lulu-san calm again, I decided to walk them around the village.

As the lord, I had officially granted the Dark Elves permission to live here.

But that didn’t mean I could suddenly bring in a whole settlement of them overnight.

Even humans constantly clash due to differences in region or culture— so humans and Dark Elves would need even more caution and gradual integration.

They lived long lives, and their worldview, values, culture, and customs must differ in countless ways.

So I decided to take things step by step.

First, Miria-san and Lulu-san would try living in the village.

If that went well, they would bring younger and more adaptable Dark Elves.

Eventually, the entire Dark Elf settlement could relocate.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind going to their settlement and planting a World Tree there…
but that wouldn’t create a new Sanctuary.

And they said Dark Elves deeply cherished not only the World Tree, but also Sanctuaries protected by World Trees and Divine Beasts.

No doubt every one of them would want to move here.

But that was for the distant future.

For now, Miria-san and Lulu-san just needed time to adjust.

“So, first let’s go greet Village Chief Shecly-san. After that, we’ll visit Simurgh-san.”

Our greeting to Shecly-san finished smoothly, and we headed toward Simurgh-san’s Element Muscat orchard.

Along the way, I decided to offer them some fruit from my harvest pouch.

“If you’d like, please try some.”

“V-very well! When in Rome, do as the Romans do!”

On the Sanctuary Road from Guinea to Tree Village, Miria-san and Lulu-san never touched a single fruit we ate.

They only ate dried monster meat they had brought.

It was packed with so much salt that a single bite made my brow twitch.

“From now on, you’ll be eating these regularly, so please—don’t hesitate.”

Apparently, one of the Dark Elf customs was: never accept food or drink from anyone except a person you truly trust.

A thousand years ago, when they were still Progenitor Elves, several elders were poisoned in succession—hence the tradition.

“O-of course, it’s not that I don’t trust you, Woody-dono! It’s just that… truly… in all my life, I’ve almost never received food from anyone.”

Dark Elves also had a strong hunting tradition: what you kill was yours.

Those customs combined meant they lived only on monsters they hunted themselves.

But obviously, eating only that incredibly salty meat would shorten their lives fast.

No matter how long-lived Dark Elves were, if they lived here, they’d eat fruit properly.

“Well then… I will partake.”

Miria-san cautiously lifted the peach I offered and took a bite.

Crunch.

It was slightly firm—still not fully ripe.

Yet—

“Th… This is delicious!!”

Her eyes flew wide open, and she devoured it in seconds.

“S-Seriously? It’s that good?”

“Lulu-san, here you go.”

Lulu-san took one bite—

“So… SOOOO GOOOOD!!”

The two began devouring fruit with unbelievable enthusiasm.

Watching them enjoy it so much made me breathe a sigh of relief.

Looks like my fruit trees work perfectly well… even for Dark Elves.