The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 525

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

Chapter 525   To the sacred tree

At the end of today’s meeting, it was already night. I, accompanied by Kyle and the other guards, about twenty elves, and Lilia and Flora, had arrived in front of the barrier of the Sacred Tree.

Perhaps because we were moving in a group, we were spotted by the here and others, and they followed us at a distance.

I wish they would stop stalking us, but well, there’s no helping it. Even if I tell them not to follow, they will definitely do so, and as long as they don’t make a move, I can just ignore them.

Various things about our plans might be exposed, but I’ll just have to accept it. I don’t want to waste unnecessary time dealing with those guys in a place like this.

So, well, yesterday I came here alone, but why did we gather so many people today? That’s already decided.

“Lilia, in light or healing magic, is there a spell that can dispel curses?”

“Hmm? Well, there is, but what’s the matter?”

Maybe because it’s already night, Lilia occasionally rubs her eyes and is being attentively taken care of by the accompanying elves.

To be honest, judging from her appearance, she seems unreliable, but this time, I intend to rely on Lilia.

“Use that.”

“…Eh. Wait, you mean using that for that?”

Lilia tilted her head at my words, but soon seemed to understand the meaning, pointing at the barrier in surprise.

“That’s right. Aren’t you bothered by the fact that the Sacred Tree is still cursed?”

“Well… um, it’s certainly not a pleasant feeling, but…”

“What’s the problem?”

I thought that if she had a means to help, and I asked her to do it, she wouldn’t refuse. Is there something wrong?

“Well, that spell is quite exhausting, you know. And even if I use it, I can only cover a small area, so trying to undo the curse in the entire barrier is frankly impossible. Impossible, impossible, impossible.”

Hmm… limited range. If it was just a matter of exhaustion, I would have let her do it even if it meant pushing her a bit, but if it’s really impossible, I need to think about it.

“What about our ‘Purification’? Wouldn’t it be helpful?”

Sofia suggested, and indeed, the ‘attendants’ also have the ‘Purification’ skill.

However, its effect is weaker than when used by a professional. ‘Healers’ or ‘Light Mages’ can not only remove curses but also clean objects as a side effect, while in the case of ‘attendants,’ it degrades to the point of just slightly cleaning the curse along with the object.

Well, it’s not entirely useless, but in this situation, it’s like a drop in the bucket.

“Hmm. Well, it might be possible? I’m not sure. But even if you guys cooperate, it’s still impossible. I mean, just the Sacred Tree alone, how big do you think that stump is? Impossible, impossible.”

That’s true. I don’t know how large this barrier is, but if we consider it to be about the same size as Lilia’s hometown, it seems to have a diameter of about three kilometers. Trying to purify such an extensive area in one go might be too much.

“Even so, is there no way to do something about it?”

“Well… What’s up with you? Are you that eager to fix it?”

“Well, yeah. So, is there any way to do it? How can it be cured?”

Honestly, it wouldn’t be a problem for me if it didn’t get cured. But… I didn’t like it.

It’s not that the existence of the curse bothered me. It’s just that the wishes of those who sacrificed themselves for their beliefs, broken because of my involvement, didn’t sit well with me.

The dead elves, the elves turned into trees, even Roroel, they surely didn’t wish for such a situation.

I don’t intend to vocalize those feelings, but even so, Lilia seemed to sense something and, with a complicated expression, stared at the barrier for a while before speaking.

“…If there’s something that absorbs curses, it might be possible.”

“Something that absorbs curses, like a tool?”

“Whether it’s a tool or not, as long as it can absorb curses. It could be something like a person using magic to gather curses onto themselves. If I gather up the absorbed curses in one place and use purification, and finally burn the remains, the curses should disappear. …Probably. The Sacred Tree and everyone here seem to be handling curses in a similar way.”

In other words, our task is similar to that of the elves. Create a vessel to seal the curse and channel the curse into it.

“Oh, my, my. What on earth is this about? What mischief are you planning?”

“Oh, Roroel. You came at just the right time.”

Perhaps because we were talking in front of the barrier, just like yesterday, Roroel, holding an axe, appeared from the forest.

There was a hint of caution in his words, but well, with this many people gathered, it’s natural.

However, we are actually prepared to carry out our plans, so Roroel’s wariness is justified.

“Hey, Roroel. Can you take us to the Sacred Tree?”

“The Sacred Tree? …That’s about yesterday’s discussion, right? I don’t mind, but is it related to that thing you’ve got there?”

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s nothing. I just want to see how the Sacred Tree is doing.”

“That’s fine. I don’t plan on bringing that thing over there. …Well, unless you insist. Like in the old days.”

With those words, Roroel diverted his gaze from us and walked toward the heroes group, who were waiting a little distance away.

Wondering what he intended to do, I observed as…

“Just—this time, I won’t run away. I’ll put all my strength into stopping you.”

The moment Roroel declared that to the heroes, an ‘aura’ filled the surroundings.

It wasn’t the hostility a father would direct towards an enemy, nor was it the murderous intent I would harbor out of resentment or hatred.

It was the pure form of determination.

Under the weight of Roroel’s ‘aura,’ the heroes group took a step back, exchanging glances with each other.

Judging from their reactions, it seemed the heroes group had decided not to step into the barrier, and Roroel dispersed the ‘aura’ before returning to us.

“Well then, shall we go inside?”

Upon Roroel’s words, we made some preparations and entered the barrier.

However, the curse had caused mutations in the vegetation of this forest. The appearance of the forest could be likened to ‘plants from the demonic realm.’

Navigating through such a forest in the darkness of night, relying only on the small lights from magic and tools, was quite eerie.

“This is… impressively severed.”

Even after a while—well, about twenty minutes or so—of advancing through the forest, we spotted a large… very large stump.

From there, I could sense something akin to holiness, perhaps emanating from Flora. However, more prominent was the nauseating agony of the curse.

For the time being, we had set up a barrier around us and periodically applied purification. Additionally, I had been sprinkling water, so we managed to reach this point. Without those measures, we wouldn’t have been able to come this far.

…Well, whether my water is actually useful is debatable. After all, I don’t understand the extent of its effectiveness. I do it because the elves and Flora suggested it, but I don’t really know how effective it is.

But well, it’s a fact that we managed to come this far.

“…That’s right. You guys shouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“I know. I have my fair share of enemies, whether they’re against me or the Sacred Tree. I’ll deal with enemies without mercy, but I’ll probably be more desperate in defending against attacks on the Sacred Tree. After all, Flora is my daughter.”

“I see. In that case, yeah. I’ll protect her.”

With a genuine smile, Roroel nodded.

“Leaving that aside, may I look around a bit?”

“Yeah, sure. Just try not to harm it too much. It’s already in a state where you could say it’s almost dead, but still, this is the Sacred Tree. It hasn’t completely died yet.”

“Got it.”

With that, we divided into several groups to quickly investigate the Sacred Tree, gathering information to formulate a plan.

Although, the general outline was already decided. This investigation and discussion were mainly about confirming the viability of the chosen approach and figuring out the most effective course of action.

With the conclusion of the discussion, we temporarily stepped outside the barrier saturated with curses. While we could technically proceed from here, preparations weren’t complete, and there were still things to be done.

“Haaa~… The air is so refreshing!”

Despite it being night, Lilia was shouting something absurd, but well, I could understand the sentiment. Even though we had set up a barrier and applied purification, there was still a sense of discomfort.

Here, the power of the curse was still palpable, but it was probably better than inside the barrier.

With that in mind, I turned to Roroel to address the tasks at hand, looking straight into his eyes as I opened my mouth.