Chapter 364 : Just Another Regular Day But With A Tree Spirit
Early the following day, I woke up as the sun rose and approached the window. I looked down at the backyard and saw an unfamiliar tree between my herb field and the bathhouse I built at the back of the inn. It was so large that some of its thick branches reached the window of my room on the second floor.
This tree must be Diadora’s doing.
I opened the window and called her.
「Diadora, are you there?」(Mark)
Responding to my voice, one of the thick branches glowed faintly and started moving by itself, forming the shape of a girl.
She then separated from the tree and sat down on another branch while looking at me.
「Good morning, Mark… You wake up early…」(Diadora)
「Good morning. It’s not early at all. I usually wake up before sunrise, you know? But, well, a lot happened last night. Anyway, do you mind explaining this… tree…?」(Mark)
「This tree… It’s my new home…」(Diadora)
「Home…? So, you grew this big tree overnight?」(Mark)
She silently nodded.
「I see. That’s impressive. As expected from a dryad.」(Mark)
「It consumed a lot of mana… But it wasn’t a big deal… After all, from now on, I will be getting mana from you every day…」(Diadora)
Saying that, she raised the tip of her lips a little.
I thought she was the type of person who didn’t show her expression much, but after I saw the grin on her face, I thought I might be wrong.
For her, it seems that my mana is like delightfully delicious food or something. I can tell that she’s looking forward to it.
「Speaking of mana, I can give you some now as breakfast if you want.」(Mark)
「Breakfast! Mana! Yes, give me some, please!」(Diadora)
「Alright.」(Mark)
She looks excited.
I just started my day, but giving her a little bit of my mana won’t take much energy. I think I can still work as usual.
I opened my Item Box and took out the bracelet she gave me last night, but when I was about to put it on my wrist, she approached the window and stretched her hand toward me.
「It much tastier if you give it directly to me…」(Diadora)
「Ah, I see. Okay.」(Mark)
Looks like we don’t need this bracelet now, so I put it back into my Item box.
I then grabbed her thin, pale hand and started injecting earth-attributed mana directly into her body.
「Mmmhhhh~… Aaaahhhh~…」(Diadora)
I’m doing it more slowly and gently than last night. I’m imagining tea being poured into a cup from the teapot while injecting mana. However, she’s still moaning just like last night.
「Aaahhh~… I think it’s enough…」(Diadora)
After about a minute, she looked at me and smiled in satisfaction.
I then stopped the flow of my mana and let go of her hand.
「It was delicious… Thank you, Mark…」(Diadora)
「No problem.」(Mark)
「I’m going back into my tree now…」(Diadora)
「Alright. I’ll see you later then.」(Mark)
She replied with a nod and walked on the thick branch toward the trunk. She then put her hand on the trunk and disappeared as if she was sucked into the tree.
So this tree is really like her house, huh? How fascinating…
「Brrrrrrrrr…! It’z zo cold…」(Nicola)
Right after I saw Diadora off, Nicola woke up and looked at me with half-open eyes while still covering her body with her blanket in her bed.
「Good morning, Nicola. Did I wake you up?」(Mark)
「Morning, Onii-chan… Yeah, you did. What are you doing leaving the window open like that? You let the cold wind in. And… What is that tree?」(Nicola)
「Ah, sorry about that. I just fed Diadora some mana, and this tree is her home, by the way.」(Mark)
「Hold on, you did what!? Why didn’t you wake me up!?」(Nicola)
「Huh?」(Mark)
「Aaahh! I wanted to hear her moan!」(Nicola)
「Ah… Right…」(Mark)
This girl…
ーWait… I have a good idea!
「You know what? I think I’m going to feed her mana before sunrise every morning. So, if you want to see it, you have to wake up early.」(Mark)
「Whaaat!? Onii-chan, you evil! How could you come up with such a wicked idea!? How could you do that to your sister!?」(Nicola)
「It’s for your own good. Anyway, since you’re awake, we should change and go downstairs. I have to explain Diadora to Mom and Dad. 」(Mark)
「Haahh… Alright…」(Nicola)
After replying to me with a sigh, Nicola unwillingly got off her bed and changed clothes.
ーーーーー
「ーーso that’s what happened last night.」(Mark)
「A dryad… Hee~ I see, I see~」(Mom)
Mom, Dad, and I are currently in the kitchen.
While preparing breakfast for the inn guests, the two were listening to me when I explained what happened last night.
They looked surprised when I told them that the vegetable thief was a dryad. I also told them that I made a contract with her and told them that the huge tree in the backyard was her home.
By the way, Nicola is helping Nei clean the tables in the dining hall.
「Mark, can you introduce your new friend to us?」(Mom)
「Of course. That’s my plan.」(Mark)
I took the bracelet from my Item Box and put it on.
Last night, on our way back home, Diadora explained to me about this bracelet. Not only can it transfer my mana into Diadora herself, but it also works as a communication device.
I poured a little bit of mana into the bracelet and talked to it.
「Diadora, can you hear me? I want to introduce you to my parents. Can you show up?」(Mark)
Soon after, the bracelet glowed faintly, and then Diadora appeared in her spirit form, floating in the air above us.
She told me that she had two forms; physical form and spirit form. This is the first time I’ve seen her spirit form. Her physical form is probably sleeping in that big tree.
Diadora politely bowed her head and greeted my parents.
「Mark’s parents… Nice to meet you… I’m Diadora… Mark’s friend…」(Diadora)
「Ara~ I’ve never seen a dryad before, so I don’t know what they look like, but I never expected them to be a cute girl~ It’s nice to meet you too, Diadora-chan~」(Mom)
Looking up at Diadora in the air, Mom clasped her hands together and smiled at her, while Dad just silently greeted her with a nod.
Normally, people will get scared when they see a spirit, but… My parents are just extraordinary, I guess…
「By the way, Mark said that the huge tree in the backyard was your home.」(Mom)
「Yes… Tree… My home…」(Diadora)
「Umm, I don’t mind if you ‘grow’ your home in our backyard, but I’m afraid it will block the sun when I dry the laundry, so can you make it smaller? And can you move it to the corner?」(Mom)
「Understood…」(Diadora)
「Un. You’re a good girl~」(Mom)
Seems like Mom and Dad have no problem with Diadora being in this house. I’m really glad that they accepted her.
After I was done introducing her, Diadora disappeared, and then we started working as usual.
ーーーーー
After the breakfast hour was over, we finally had some free time. I brought Delica, who came later on to work, to the backyard. I explained everything to her and told her that I wanted to introduce her to Diadora.
By the way, Celine, Nicola, and Nei came with us. For some reason, Nei was hiding behind Celine. It seems that she’s still a bit afraid of Diadora.
「Hoo~ Is this the tree you talked about?」(Delica)
「Yup.」(Mark)
As we stepped into the backyard, Delica looked at the tree that wasn’t there yesterday.
This morning, the tree was in the middle, but now it’s on the edge of the backyard. It’s also smaller than before. Looks like Diadora did what Mom told her.
「Does she really live inside this tree?」(Delica)
「Yeah. Try knocking on it.」(Mark)
「Uhh… Alright.」(Delica)
Delica approached the tree and knocked on it as if knocking on the door.
Bluntly put, she looked a bit silly doing that.
Right after, a small part of the trunk right in front of Delica started moving and taking the shape of a girl’s face.
「Waaa!?」(Delica)
It startled her and forced her to take a step backward.
Diadora, who only showed her face on the trunk, moved her gaze to Delica. She looked kinda creepy in that state.
「Mark… Who is this tomato girl…?」(Diadora)
「Tomaー What?」(Delica)
「Pfffftt! Tomato girl, she says!」(Celine)
「Phu phu phu!」(Nicola)
「Bwahaha!」(Nei)
「Hey! Don’t laugh!」(Delica)
She called Delica ‘tomato girl’, probably because her hair was as red as a tomato.
Celine, Nicola, and Nei couldn’t help but laugh. I was able to hold my laughter, so I didn’t get scolded.
「Diadora, first, can you come out? Look. I brought some snacks for you.」(Mark)
「Snacks…!」(Diadora)
When I showed her the cabbage and some cucumbers I brought from the kitchen, the trunk took the shape of the rest of Diadora’s body. She then separated herself from the tree and approached me.
She immediately ate the vegetables when I handed them to her.
「Thank you, Mark… *munch munch*」(Diadora)
「Whoaa… So this is a dryad, huh? It’s my first time seeing a spirit!」(Delica)
「Fufu. Delica-chan, you’re lucky. Not many people have a chance to meet a spirit, let alone talk with them. Even an adventurer like me who has been in so many places has never seen a spirit other than her.」(Celine)
「You’re right. Umm… Hello there.」(Delica)
After replying to Celine, Delica stepped forward and greeted Diadora.
「Tomato girl…」(Diadora)
「Uhh, I’m not ‘tomato girl’… Umm… ーHey, Mark, I think you should introduce me.」(Delica)
Delica looked nervous. Having trouble introducing herself, she glanced at me and asked for help.
「Diadora, this is Delica, my boss.」(Mark)
「…Boss…?」(Diadora)
「Hey, I told you to stop calling me boss! Besides, I’m no longer Moonlight Wolf Gang’s leader!」(Delica)
She put her hands on her waist and shouted at me.
Speaking of Moonlight Wolf Gang, Delica retired as the leader after she graduated from the Sunday School.
Lang, who’s a year younger than her, has taken over her position as the leader.
The reason why she retired was because she was busy after she graduated and had no time to play with the gang. She had to work part-time at my parents’ and train in the sword-fighting dojo on the east side of the town after that.
*/TL : Many of you might have forgotten about Lang. He was a minor character but made an appearance in the story several times. He’s an orphan who lives in the church, and he’s a good guy. He was the one who invited Mark to attend Sunday School. (chap 15)
「Ahaha, sorry, just kidding. Diadora, her name’s Delica. She’s my friend.」(Mark)
「Delica… Mark’s friend…」(Diadora)
「That’s right! Nice to meet you, Diadora.」(Delica)
「Nice to meet you… Tomato spirit, Delica…」(Diadora)
「Say what!?」(Delica)
「Pfffftt! Tomato spirit, she says!」(Celine)
「Phu phu phu!」(Nicola)
「Bwahaha!」(Nei)
「Stop laughing!」(Delica)
「Uhh…」(Mark)
Tomato spirit, huh? Well, that’s funny.
Delica said she was my friend, and Diadora thought that being friends was equal to making a contract.
That’s probably why she thought Delica was a spirit…
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Well In a way she ain’t wrong