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The extraction of the healing-medicine organ was finished, and Ekaterina’s party returned to the main road.
Before that, however, they had been pressed by the old man and the village chief to accept a large chunk of meat, received thanks from the old man’s grandchildren, and—watching the older brother devotedly take care of his younger sister, which reminded her of Alexei—Ekaterina had felt a lump in her throat. Regina and the other hunting dogs had become immensely popular with the village children, who surrounded them chanting “Let me ride! Let me ride!” and so on. All of this took quite some time.

“Princess, please come again!”

Sent off with such a sweet chorus, along with the old man and the village chief bowing deeply again and again, the group set off on their journey.

Incidentally, when she looked back at the sugar beet field, the leaves were busily swaying as if waving goodbye. Perhaps they were expressing their gratitude for being saved from the one-eyed bear.
…In the end, you’re going to be harvested, boiled down, and turned into sugar either way. Sorry. Really, I’m sorry.
Aaaah, sugar beets are root vegetables if you classify them properly, so why do I feel like I’m getting a glimpse into the feelings of livestock farmers who raise cows and pigs and ship them off?!

“Milady, are you not tired?”

Forli’s voice brought Ekaterina back to herself.

“No, something like that would hardly tire me. However, we did take more time than expected. I wonder if we must hastily look for lodging somewhere for tonight.”
“That is precisely the matter.”

Nodding, Forli said something unexpected.

“Milady, would you care to be our guest for the night at the forest folk’s tents?”

.

“Oh my…”

How wonderful. But would it really be all right to intrude so suddenly?
To begin with, the forest folk were supposed to be a small ethnic group who did not settle permanently, but moved about within the forest. Where would they even be now?
As she turned to ask Forli about that, Ekaterina froze with a twitch.

This isn’t some classic gag from a legendary high-rating TV show or anything, but—
Forli, behind you, behind you!

Stuck to the outside of the carriage window behind him was a gigantic bee.
It dwarfed even a giant hornet. In her previous life, giant hornets were about the size of an adult’s thumb—but this was not thumb-sized, it was the size of an adult’s palm. Larger than a sparrow.

Forli smiled calmly.

“Milady, there is no need for concern. That outside is a messenger Great King Bee, an ally of the forest folk.”

.

The Great King Bee was a type of magical beast—or rather, a magical insect. It was something like an ally to the forest folk, and the two lived in a symbiotic relationship.
Symbiosis, in my previous life, would be things like clownfish and sea anemones, or ants and aphids.
Even in the forests of Jurnova, which were home to many powerful magical beasts, the Great King Bee ranked among the strongest. It possessed a venomous stinger powerful enough to fell a bear in a single strike, and its hive was governed by a highly intelligent queen. If their nest or companions were threatened, the entire swarm would fight an enemy in perfect coordination.
At some point, the forest folk had begun tending to injured adult bees and providing them with food, in exchange for the bees’ protection. They also helped care for the hives and eggs, and in return received honey. The reason the forest folk had been able to live in such dangerous woods, filled with magical beasts, was because they lived together with the Great King Bees.

I see.
Now that I thought about it, it was strange that the forest folk could survive in the mountains of Jurnova, where even a brown-bear-sized one-eyed bear was considered a beginner-level threat. This was why.

“The Great King Bees build several hives within our territory, and the queen moves between them to lay eggs and raise her young. It is wisdom to prevent total annihilation. The forest folk likewise establish settlements near each hive and relocate in response to the bees’ needs.”
“I had heard that the forest folk do not settle permanently. So that is the reason.”
“Indeed. One such settlement is not far from here. The fact that a messenger bee has come means the forest folk are there and are inviting us.”

I see—it’s like nomads in my previous life. They didn’t settle either, moving in search of pasture for their livestock, but their seasonal bases were more or less fixed.

“I understand.”

Ekaterina nodded.

“I am grateful for the forest folk’s kindness. I would be delighted to visit. I have wished to speak at leisure with Lady Aurora, your wife. At the recent banquet, we had little chance to talk. I am very pleased to be invited.”

A chance to visit a forest-folk settlement is probably once in a lifetime! Super lucky!
It’s like those TV programs about discovering mysteries and hunting for the unknown. I had liked those nonfiction shows too in my previous life—those were favorites too.

At her words, Forli beamed.

“It is an honor to host you, milady. My wife will surely be delighted.”

Then he waved to the messenger bee outside the carriage, and it immediately flew away.

.

The main road left the farming villages behind and entered the forest.
The summer sky was still bright, but the sun was tilting low, and the shadows beneath the roadside trees were growing deeper. Soon, travel would become impossible.
…If the forest folk had not made their offer, we might have ended up camping in the woods.
In this time, this world, this place, changing plans carried real risk. I should reflect on that. Still, I did not regret protecting the old man’s field.

“Milady, please do not worry. The forest folk’s settlement is not far.”
“Oh, that is a relief. They live closer to human settlements than I expected.”
“In the past, even the farmland we passed earlier was forest. The territory of the Great King Bees has not changed since ancient times. That this area remained forest and was not cleared is due to the will left behind by Duke Vasily the Fifth. He had dealings with the forest folk and likely avoided conflict with the Great King Bees. And the reason Duke Sergei appointed me as Chief of Forest Agriculture was to protect forests such as these.”
“So that is how it was…”

He had said that deforestation had been accelerating in recent years for fuel and building materials. Protecting forests near settlements must not have been easy. Even in my previous life, economic logic had outweighed environmental protection.
But I know, thanks to her prior knowledge: if this forest endured into the future, biodiversity, water retention, windbreaks, landslide prevention—so many wonderful things would be preserved.

“The forest folk’s hopes for reforestation are growing. They feared the Great King Bee’s forest would be cut down. Seeing reforestation advancing as policy has greatly reassured them. It is truly thanks to your excellent proposal, milady.”

Ah—no, it’s just knowledge from my previous life. Sorry. Sorry I’m a fraud.

“It is because you, Sir Forli, gave it such a wonderful concrete form. Your idea of mixing in trees that bear edible fruit and timber suitable for furniture along with black dragon cedar will one day save the people of this land, I believe. I pray that famine never comes, but the weather cannot always be favorable.”
“Indeed. For one so young, you understand matters remarkably well, milady.”

…Sorry I’m a fraud.

.

At a certain point, Forli called to the driver to stop the carriage. Ekaterina could not tell what served as a landmark, but there was apparently a small path leading to the forest folk’s settlement.
After dismounting alone, Forli guided the carriage into a clearing off the road. Just a short distance away, the trees concealed the road from view; likewise, from the road, the carriage would not be visible.
As they were unhooking the two horses from the carriage, the loud beating of insect wings approached. The same messenger Great King Bee appeared, weaving through the trees.

Well, I can’t exactly identify individual bees, so it might have been a different one.

“The Great King Bees will guard the carriage. Let us all go to the forest folk.”

After confirming the bee had perched atop the carriage roof, Forli mounted one of the unhitched horses and led the way along the hard-to-see path. Ekaterina once again rode together with Oleg, while the driver and Mina mounted the other horse that had been pulling the carriage.
Inside the forest, it was already quite dim. In both her previous life and this one, she had never set foot in a forest at dusk. The chill down her spine must have been a fear rooted in humanity itself.

Then—po—a white sphere of light appeared.
Near the horses’ hooves, more white lights appeared.

“They are white-pearl insects. They are small, about the size of wheat grains, but they glow like this, so the forest folk use them as lamps on summer nights.”
“How beautiful…”

How fantastical. Like a dream on a summer night.
Guided by the white-pearl insects, the group proceeded along the forest path until they finally emerged into an open space. Here and there stood large, vividly colored tents.
A woman standing before them bowed.

“Milady, welcome.”

Aurora, chief of the forest folk and Forli’s wife, smiled.