The Great Forest of Sunflowers stretched from the eastern to the southern reaches of the continent, a vast woodland where countless creatures intertwined to form their own unique ecosystem.
From mysterious leaves that, when ground and inhaled, temporarily numbed all pain. To the unicorn whose mere sight could supposedly discern a virgin. And even the ore that tore into thread-like strands to become cloth impervious to fire.
Whenever one traced the origin of rare materials, the Great Forest was almost always the endpoint.
Thus, to physicians, it was a treasure trove of medicines worth more than gold. To mages, a captivating research ground they'd gladly hole up in for life if they could. To adventurers, a land of opportunity where good fortune could earn enough to live leisurely forever.
Yet exploring the Great Forest was no easy feat.
With mana concentrations thicker than in other regions, it was a breeding ground for peculiar variant species. Towering magical beasts, bathed in mana from birth and grown immensely strong, roamed freely.
Various insects drained blood annoyingly, venomous snakes hidden in the underbrush struck at ankles, and zones of toxic plants disrupted the mind with their scents. Goblin and orc tribes, among many monstrous hordes, had carved out their own territories within the forest.
A perilous zone beyond human power to conquer. The Great Forest was one of the five great forbidden zones officially designated by the empire.
Second in size only to the northern Ice Plains among those zones. Factoring in how the Ice Plains were mostly barren ice and snow where no life could thrive, it wasn't an exaggeration to call the Great Forest the forbidden zone with the highest monster density.
Without adequate preparation, even the most seasoned adventurer would soon be swallowed by the laws of nature.
And even if one was adept at camping and skilled enough to fend off monsters and beasts, the threats facing intruders in the forest went beyond mere monsters and magical beasts.
"Intruders?"
"Someone breached the concealment spells in the eastern flower garden. Traces were found."
"Some spells were damaged, and the wild animals that got in caused major losses to the crops awaiting harvest—"
"Handle the crops later. Prioritize capturing the intruders."
A half-destroyed carriage and beast droppings. Human corpses too mangled to recognize.
The woman gazed indifferently at the site, left abandoned for two days, before turning her head toward the forest.
Long ears and striking beauty. The forest kin who had claimed the Great Forest thousands of years before humans.
"Search thoroughly."
"Yes."
Elves, self-appointed guardians of the forest, strictly controlled human access to the Great Forest.
Forest-born elves excelled in hunting and tree-climbing. Living amid the dense mana of the Great Forest, most wielded exceptional mana manipulation.
In contrast, puny humans—superior only in breeding—stood no chance against them.
Thus, humans rarely dared invade the Great Forest.
"...Cunning bastards."
Just as thieves slipped past gatekeepers, humans did infiltrate elven domains.
No matter how intimately forest rangers knew the terrain and ecology, guarding the entire vast Great Forest against humans was impossible.
Unlike a century ago, when intruders were shot on sight, today's elven tribes had peace accords with human kingdoms.
Killing humans merely for entering the forest could spark diplomatic headaches. In the worst case, it might ignite another long war with those barbaric humans.
So elven rangers, spotting humans meddling in the Great Forest, could only resort to warning shots to keep them from their territory.
"The delegation that returned to their village has lodged a strong protest again via messenger—"
"Tell them they crossed the line first."
"...Understood."
But if humans targeted the "elves' Sanctuary," that changed everything.
In the Great Forest's deepest heart, where the world tree upheld the woods, no flimsy claims of extraterritoriality or international law held sway.
In the elves' Sanctuary, elven law reigned supreme.
By that law, two nights prior, ranger captain Saria had patrolled the cliffs leading to the Sanctuary and ordered the immediate execution of a group daring to invade it.
Saria's judgment was sound. Before elven law, the identities of those defiling the Sanctuary meant nothing.
Even fellow elves, without official elder council permission, were mere intruders.
Thus, the incident should have ended as a tale of rangers valiantly repelling invaders.
'All rangers except Captain Saria! Return to the village immediately!'
'But one intruder's escaping—'
'That's trivial compared to this urgent matter!'
Just as Saria and her rangers were about to eliminate the intruders, the elder council ordered all rangers back to the Elf Village at once.
Initially bewildering.
'Maybe... a diversion?'
'Their state did seem off now that you mention it.'
'Cunning humans... plausible.'
Perhaps a ploy to pin rangers near the Sanctuary while raiding the Elf Village. Concluding thus, Saria and her team obediently followed the messenger back.
...Crunch.
The Elf Village they arrived at was utterly peaceful. Learning this, Saria tried to leave immediately to track the escaped intruder, but...
Boom—!
'Why are you blocking us?'
'Your group violated the treaty, and protests have arrived.'
'...Pardon?'
For some reason, the elders refused to let Saria and the rangers leave the village.
Only after two days of confinement could they return to the site.
By then, naturally, the intruder had long fled.
"Why did they target the Sanctuary?"
"Who knows. Ask them yourself."
A carriage disguised as a lost merchant caravan. Switching from plate to leather armor discreetly. Sheathing swords the moment attacked, feigning a one-sided elven assault with brazen audacity.
'They were heading straight for the Sanctuary!'
'Don't make me laugh! You lot targeted our kingdom's goods and dragged the bodies there!'
'...Captain Saria and her rangers are ordered to stand by until facts are clear.'
Though clearly the humans' fault, they claimed Saria and her rangers—greedy for valuables—ambushed a lost caravan.
A day wasted bickering with gullible elders swayed by human lies.
Meanwhile, news broke of the human princess's disappearance, and Saria intuited the escaped intruder was likely that "human princess."
"No concrete proof ties the royals, regrettably."
"...Vile scum."
The elders seemed dimly aware too, preferring to let the fugitive go rather than escalate.
Even if it sparked war with humans, Saria had no intention of letting Sanctuary invaders escape scot-free.
"I'll drag every last one involved into the light and make them pay."
So what if she could use magic? She was just a child, not even fully grown. A day's head start changed nothing.
No mere human could outrun elves in the Great Forest. Especially with traces left in their tended flower garden—the capture was only a matter of time.
Gazing briefly eastward where the intruder fled, Saria gripped her bowstring until it threatened to snap.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇Rodents' favorite treat: pitch-black sunflower seeds.
Thus, there was ample reason for small animals to swarm here en masse.
"Hmm..."
One thing puzzled me, though. A sunflower field this size should have been overrun with critter nests and parties long ago. Why had they only started stirring yesterday?
Hm.
Eh, must be their ecology.
I wasn't a zoologist. No point pondering; I couldn't fathom rodent psychology anyway.
No need to.
So I chalked it up to migratory bird habits.
Of course, I had no intention of rashly entering the sunflower field.
If the animals' behavior showed no anomalies, suspicion next fell on the impossibly vast field itself, stretching beyond sight.
For all I knew, these blooming sunflowers might be a massive carnivorous mutant luring small fry to devour.
First, I halted at a distance, quietly observing the field's movements.
.
Mice, drawn by the bait, plunged unsuspectingly into the sunflowers.
"Squeak squeak." Nibble nibble.
Soon, they climbed stems, one by one pecking at ripe seeds. Small birds like sparrows alighted atop flowers too.
"Tweet tweet." Peck. Peck. Peck.
They landed openly, shelling and devouring mature seeds with gusto.
Root-grab style? Seeds laced with poison? Or maybe sunflowers sprout through their guts...?
I watched intently, anticipating the critters' gruesome end.
🦔 Jungle Hamster lv.3 🦔Status: Satiated, Joyful
"Squeak, squeak!"
🐦 Varied Tit lv.2 🐦Status: Full, Happy
"Cheep, tweet!"
Disappointingly, the small animals faced no peril, time simply passing peacefully.
Is it really safe...?
Birds flew off contentedly with full bellies. Mice began digging burrows, apparently settling in.
I glanced skyward. Plenty of daylight left before sunset.
Hm.
"...What's the worst that could happen?"
No incidents after all this watching? Probably just a normal sunflower field.
Decision made, I reached out, snagging a sunflower seed hidden in brown petals. Shelled it and took a big bite.
Aaah—nom. Crunch. Crunch.
A tad hard for my taste, but edible. Chewing with eyes closed, a nutty savoriness flooded my mouth.
Pleased by the unexpectedly fine flavor, I ascended above the Sunflower Field.
...Staying here awhile might not be bad.
Food at arm's reach. Small animal "friends" essential for my growth flocked in just by waiting. Towering sunflowers hid me easily from predators.
Of course, once flowers wilted, these perks would fade.
Still beats stumps.
Cross that bridge later. No reason to leave while blooms lasted.
Resolved to stay, I descended, scouting a living spot.
Too near the forest? Predators might sniff me out via critter scents.
But planning forest scouts by day meant avoiding the field's deep center.
A broad rock ringed by sunflowers. Fallen flowers snapped under their own weight. Narrow furrows snaking between stems.
Memorizing viable nest sites mid-flight.
Cheep, chirp— "...!"
Luxuriant golden mane. Faint, barely audible breaths.
Among unnaturally snapped sunflowers. Spotting the sleeping creature, I held my breath still.
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