The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 440

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 440   Lilia’s return home (forced)

Two days after consulting various people about gifts, today I look a bit different than usual. Not that I’m dressed in formal attire, but I’ve made a bit more effort to look clean and tidy than usual.

Why am I doing this? Well, today I’m heading to see someone who, in a sense, holds an equal position to me.

As I make my way to the pond created as a recreational area for the elves in the sacred tree’s garden, a few elves are waiting by my side. Considering the location, it’s somewhat natural for them to be here.

However, it’s not a common occurrence for elves to surround me like this. But given the place I’m about to visit and what’s about to happen, it’s not particularly strange.

“Lilia, I’m about to go out. Do you want to come with me?”

“Huh? Yeah! I’m coming, coming~!”

Lilia didn’t seem to have any doubts about the elves around her, and she nodded without any hesitation. Perhaps she thought I was going somewhere nice because I had made an effort to look presentable.

Satisfied with her response, I nodded with a smirk on my face.

“I see. Well, brace yourself.”

“Huh? Brace myself? What for?”

Confused by my sudden words, Lilia tilted her head in confusion. Ignoring her confusion, the elves around me moved.

“Ah—! W-wait a minute!? What’s going on? Why is this happening!?”

Startled by the sudden turn of events, Lilia shouted in confusion, but that was only natural.

After all, at the moment, Lilia, who should be a comrade, is being restrained and carried by the elves.

“You guys, put her in the carriage.”

“Yes!”

The elves carrying Lilia responded promptly to my instructions, though they remained silent in response to Lilia’s words.

“I apologize, Princess. This is an order we cannot disobey.”

“We feel sorry for doing this, but…”

Even though they express some guilt in their actions, they continue their movements, and I can see a faint relaxation in their expressions.

However, if someone else were to witness this scene, they might question why the elves are treating the Sacred Tree’s Child so roughly. I could explain it by saying I am also the ‘ Sacred Tree’s Child,’ but even so, I am a human, and Lilia is of the same race as them. If one has to choose, it would be more common to side with the fellow kin.

Well, that’s only if we stick to what is ‘common.’

“If you can catch Lilia, I’ll grant you a one-day stay and irrigation rights by the Sacred Tree. Do your best!”

“Yes!”

With my words, the elves responded more energetically than before.

“Ah! You guys were enticed, weren’t you?! Traitors!”

Yes, just as Lilia shouted, these elves have been swayed by my offer.

Although the skill “Irrigation” is just about producing water, you can easily understand why such a thing would be a valuable consideration.

The right to stay by the Sacred Tree is something meaningful only to the elves. The garden around the Sacred Tree is enclosed by a fence, separating it from the rest of the city. Initially, there was no need for such a thing, but due to the increasing number of elves, a fence was erected.

While I believe that elves would not harm the Sacred Tree, it’s still inconvenient to have them approach without reason. Even Flora would lose a place to relax, and I wouldn’t want to act while being conscious of other elves. However, the undulating aura overflowing from the Sacred Tree seems to have a positive effect on the elves’ well-being, so I decided to grant a one-day limited stay as a reward when they make a request. Well, think of it as a one-day hot spring trip.

Although I didn’t offer money, it seems that for the elves, the value is more significant than gold, so practically, it makes no difference.

“Why am I caught like this!? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Princess, this is unavoidable. The village chief said it’s about time to bring the princess back.”

Lilia, who was caught by the elves, struggles, but she abruptly stops moving when she hears the words of the elf holding her.

“Eh… M-mom? Could it be that the place we’re going is…”

With a mechanical motion, Lilia turns her face towards me.

Smiling, I respond to Lilia.

“Your hometown.”

“No way! I don’t want to go back!”

Hometown… meaning the elf village, her birthplace.

I don’t really want to take her back because it’s troublesome, but if her mother asked me to bring her, I can’t help it. Oh well, it can’t be helped.

“You haven’t been back since the regular reports, right? It’s been about a year?”

Last time, when I went on a journey to find my mother, Lilia, who came back with me, was scolded by Leireine and forcibly taken back. Since then, it’s been about a year since she went back.

Even though the distance is easily walkable, if she hasn’t gone back for a year, it might be a good idea to let her go back a bit.

“It’s not even a full year yet! I’ll be fine not going back for another ten years!”

“In that case, it’s my duty.”

In terms of elf lifespan, ten years should be no problem, but considering how worried Leireine was, I thought it might be a good idea to pay attention.

Not that she’s worried about Lilia’s well-being, but more about her causing trouble or something.

“In the first place, if she wants to see me, Mom should come over here! Don’t you think so!?”

Well, I wouldn’t mind if she could, but that’s impossible. I don’t think that reclusive nature will allow her to come over without a significant reason. The exception was when she came to the garden to catch Lilia last time.

“I don’t think so. So let’s end this conversation here.”

“Nooo!”

Lilia’s scream echoed, but she was already tied up inside the carriage, so there’s nothing to be done about it now. And so, we continued on our way to the elven village to let Lilia return home.

“Welcome, Vesnar-san.”

After a few hours of rocking in the carriage, we arrived at our destination, and there, Lilia’s mother, and the village chief… the queen, Leireine, welcomed us.

However, even though we had exchanged information in advance and received a heads-up, it still felt strange and uncomfortable that the queen herself would wait for us like this. The leader of a place like that shouldn’t participate in welcoming without a significant reason. I can’t say much since I, who voluntarily goes to the front lines, is saying this, but still.

“No, I apologize for not being able to come out often.”

“Don’t worry about it. You visit every few months, that’s frequent enough, isn’t it?”

I’ve only been here two or three times a year, but it seems frequent enough for the elves, and Leireine seems genuinely happy about it.

“By the way, the letter mentioned bringing Lilia, but where is she…?”

“Oh, her? Well…”

When I directed my gaze towards the carriage, Lilia, who was still tied up, was just being brought out.

However, Lilia’s appearance was a bit different from when she was caught in the garden. It wasn’t her attire that changed, but the severity of the restraints.

Initially, she was just tied up with a rope, but now multiple layers of chains were wound around the cloth that wrapped her up. Additionally, her mouth was covered with a piece of cloth.

“Um? Uh, why?”

While I had mentioned bringing Lilia, she probably didn’t expect her to be brought here in this manner. Leireine was wide-eyed in astonishment, which was a natural reaction.

Well, I’m pretty sure I’d be surprised if my own child came home like this, too. It’s a reasonable response.

“It was originally just a rope, but Lilia started using magic and caused a ruckus on the way here. To ensure she couldn’t escape, we had to make her behave a bit more, resulting in it looking like this.”

The reason for her current appearance was just that. When she used magic to dazzle and slip out of the ropes, I was surprised at how she managed such a trick. But considering she lived in Karakas and heard stories from the people there, it wasn’t that surprising that she could do something like that.

After that, Lilia tried to escape by standing up, but her momentum was too strong, and she bumped her head, leaving her dazed. She was caught again when she tried to resist a bit, but handling her at this level wasn’t a problem.

“Y-You didn’t want to see me that much…?”

However, upon hearing that explanation, Leireine seemed to think her daughter didn’t want to meet her to the point of causing a ruckus. She wiped away her tears, shifting from her queenly demeanor to a teary-eyed gaze directed at Lilia.

“Hey. Your mother looks like she’s about to cry.”

“I-It’s okay. …I think? Ah, look, she’s composed herself.”

As Lilia said, Leireine, who seemed on the verge of tears, managed to prevent herself from crying at that moment. She lowered her face once, wiped her eyes, and then raised her head again.

But…

“Y-You all must be tired, so feel free to rest. You can use the place over there as usual… I might be getting in the way, so I’ll go home…”

Saying this with a trembling voice, she left toward the village—probably heading back to her own home—in a manner that could be described as dejected.

“Hey, are you really okay? Your behavior is strange, and you clearly looked downcast as you went back. Are you sure it’s fine?”

“Ugh… W-Wait! It’s not like I hate my mom or anything like that…!”

Chasing after her mother, who had left the scene, Lilia ran off, and we, having seen her off, headed toward the usual place we borrowed.