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A few hours of flying later, Mira landed deep inside the northeastern forests of Grimdart. There was also a small lake nearby, which looked minuscule compared to the forest spreading endlessly in every direction.

「Well, I’m here, but I don’t know what to do now.」

The lake was around a hundred meters wide, and even as she looked around, she could not see anything that stood out. There was also no one waiting for her. All she knew was that she had been called to that location.

With nothing to go off on, she decided to just wait until she received new information, and started taking a stroll around the area to kill time.

There were large trees, all upwards of ten meters tall, surrounding the lake in every direction and growing densely packed. Mira had flown there so she did not notice just how deep into the forest she was.

The long branches covered with leaves also blocked most of the sun, so the forest looked dark even though it was midday. For some reason, the northeastern area looked especially dark.

「Oh, you got here fast. I guess that’s the power of summoners! Sorry for keeping you waiting!」

After some waiting, the person who called her finally showed up, greeting her with a cheerful voice. He was Lastrada the Mysterious, one of the Nine Wisemen. This time, his face was the one Mira knew in the past, so there was no mistaking him. With the exception of his attire, which made him look more like a prince.

「Why are you wearing that…」

Mira frowned seeing that, fully aware that such clothes did not align with his usual preference, and Lastrada lamented, 「I was told my usual getup wasn’t a good influence on young children…」

Once their greetings were over, Lastrada said they could talk more once they arrived, and guided Mira into the dark forest.

「So the orphanage I’ve been hearing about was run by Artesia after all.」

As they both sat on the wagon’s driver seat, with Guardian Ash drawing it forward, the two continued talking and Mira felt certain that her hunch had been confirmed.

As she had thought, the orphanage she was looking for had been founded by another Wiseman, Artesia the Rivalrous. And now, she was heading to that place.

It had also been Artesia who had warned Lastrada about his getup.

In the past, he had attempted to call himself the ranger of the forest, wearing rough armor and looking more like a raider, which caused the young orphans to start imitating him.

He was basically still afflicted by the urges that had made him run into trouble with the police in real life. That was not really the best example to set, so in the end, he used his current attire.

Mira felt like Lastrada just looked funny wearing a prince’s clothes, but at least it was better than his first idea.

Regardless, she was still delighted to know that she had not only found Lastrada, but would see Artesia soon as well, making this a very fruitful trip. Eventually, they reached a spot where next to no light made it through, and Lastrada stopped.

Concept Magic lit up the area around them, and then a singular ray of light shone down.

It was a rather surreal sight, like a hole was being opened straight through the tree canopies overhead. On top of that, when Mira perked her ears, she began to hear a faint mechanic rumbling.

「What is happening here?」

A platform, which looked incredibly sturdy even if it was made of wood, was lowered like an elevator through the hole.

「Alright, just get on now.」

Lastrada invited Mira to move onto the platform. She was still processing everything she saw, the light suddenly shining into the dark forest and a platform being lowered, but she did as told and moved the whole wagon forward.

Then, the platform was hoisted up, moving toward the shining hole above. Mira was soon filled with anticipation, wondering what awaited her up there, and soon she began fidgeting as she could not wait to get there faster.

But the platform continued rising, and the shining hole turned out to be even further up than it seemed. They had already gone more than ten meters up, and that was not even half of the distance needed to get there.

「This goes quite high up.」

Mira could not stop herself from mentioning her thoughts, and Lastrada replied, 「We prioritized safety above all else.」

Then, he added that sometimes monsters would randomly wander near that area, and that their current construction was the result of wanting to avoid dangerous encounters as much as possible.

That only made Mira wonder even more what he meant with the current construction. As Mira just looked at him with curiosity, the platform finally reached the top.

Their eyes were momentarily blinded by direct sunlight, and once Mira’s squinting eyes got used to the light, she gasped at the sight.

「Incredible… This is just incredible.」

A well lived area spread all around her, like an actual village constructed on top of the forest.

「Follow me, she’s over here.」

While Mira admired the scenery, Lastrada pointed out that they were still at the entrance, and he would take her to the church where Artesia was.

The ground above the forest looked like a vast grassland, and it remained firm as Mira’s wagon moved forward, easily supporting its weight. It was strange to think of it as ground above a forest, but it was perfectly stable.

Seeing that, Mira was impressed by the sturdiness of everything, Lastrada reiterated that they had prioritized safety above all else, and explained a bit more about the place.

What looked like grassland was actually a surface made of multiple layers of special resistant spiderwebs, supported on the branches of trees below, with vines and plants interwoven. Water was also plentiful, and it was possible to farm on top as well.

Then were the buildings, which all looked like tree houses. Wherever Mira looked, she could see some large trees jutting out through the ground, which in total would measure more than twenty meters tall. The tree houses were attached to such trees.

What was more shocking was that Artesia had designed all of that, and Lastrada had built it as she indicated. But that just gave a more handmade flair to everything.

「What a magnificent structure.」

Mira was actually impressed by it all, as she did not know Lastrada had such talents.

All of the tree houses had been built at the same height, and while it still looked like they were in the middle of nature, it also felt very lived in.

That somehow merged both appearances in a strange and inviting way. Something about the branches overhead, with rays of light passing through in a whimsical dance, felt like the sun was smiling at everyone there.

Looking up, Mira also noticed a thin veil covering the sky. She instantly knew what that was. The whole village was enveloped by another type of spiderweb that was imbued with an illusory spell.

That way, the whole village would remain hidden whether someone looked from above or from below, completely concealing it.

(This is certainly a safe village.)

Mira glanced back at the tree houses as she thought that.

Some time later, the wagon arrived at the largest tree of the village.

That was near the center of the village, and the church was built there too. It was made of roughly cut wood like the other tree houses, but it was much bigger. Lastrada explained that the church also served as a school, which necessitated that size.

Lastrada also mentioned that at around that time of the day, the orphans also attended classes there, with Artesia and a few people who shared her ideals volunteering as teachers.

The orphans were taught general knowledge, botany, biology, proper manners, how to fight and butcher monsters, arts and crafts, and more subjects depending on what the teachers knew.