The Eternal Journey With My Elf Wife: The Legendary Hero and His Beloved Wife Journey Across the World They Saved 100 Years Ago 9

Chapter 9: The Tree Giant

After the battle with the goblins ended, Fina summoned a wind spirit, a Sylph, to heal the carpenters’ wounds.

“Is this woman a goddess…?” the rough-and-tumble carpenters all said in unison. To put it mildly, they were correct.

As I silently agreed, the carpenter whose arm had been severed regained consciousness.

Realizing that something that should be there was gone, the carpenter cried out.

“U-Ugyaaah! My arm—!?”

“…And he just got married.”

“…He won’t be able to work as a carpenter anymore with that arm.”

A sense of tragedy enveloped his companions, but amidst it all, Fina looked at me.

She wanted me to reattach the man’s arm.

Fina is a spirit user, and she’s not skilled with recovery magic. She can’t use healing spells that can reattach a limb.

However, as a Magic Knight-type hero, I was also proficient in recovery magic.

After the priest Yux and the sage Murdock, I was the next most skilled user of healing magic on our journey.

It seemed she remembered that even after 100 years, as she looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Good grief,” I sighed, picking up the carpenter’s arm.

First, I thoroughly disinfected the severed limb. Then, I had the other carpenters hold the injured man down, placed the arm against the stump, and cast a recovery spell.

This spell consumes a great deal of magic, but more than that, it’s incredibly painful for the patient. It’s a spell that regenerates lost nerves, so it’s accompanied by excruciating pain.

The carpenter whose arm had been severed writhed in agony, trying to shake off the others. But, as expected of the brawny carpenters, they held him fast, allowing me to finish the treatment without interruption.

Though in the end, the carpenter fainted.

He was foaming at the mouth and had wet himself.

And so, we helped and even showed mercy to the carpenters who had been trying to attack us.

Being human, the carpenters did not forget to show their gratitude.

They all got on their knees, bowing their heads to the ground and apologizing for their intended misdeeds.

What a fickle bunch, I couldn’t help but think, but I knew my wife would forgive them instantly, so I didn’t press the matter.

However, I wasn’t such a nice guy that I’d just let them go.

I made them a proposal.

“We declared that we would fix the bridge in three days.”

“Yes. Because you said that, we thought we’d lose our jobs, and this is what happened…”

“Well, I’m sorry for taking your work, but we’re in need of money, and everyone will be in trouble if the bridge stays down.”

“That’s true. But is it really possible to fix it in such a short time?”

“It is. We’re going to cut down the great tree in the center of this forest and take it there.”

“Just felling that giant tree will take three days. Even with 30 laborers, it would take a week just to get it to the site.”

“I’m sure it would. But, for us, three days is all we need.”

“O-Okay…”

The carpenters still seemed to find it hard to believe.

It seemed they hadn’t fully grasped our true strength.

Oh well, seeing is believing. If I actually did it, it would surely open their eyes. With that thought, I led the carpenters deeper into the forest.

It wasn’t a whim that made me decide to show them.

Of course, it wasn’t to show off or to assert dominance either.

I had simply thought of a way for everyone to be happy.

To execute that plan, I stood before the giant tree and focused my mind.

I concentrated on the sword at my waist, imbuing it with magical power.

“What is Mr. Renas…”

“That stance looks like a quick-draw technique…”

“Don’t be stupid, that tree trunk is five meters wide. Do you really think a human can cut that with a sword?”

To the carpenters’ exchange, I replied in my mind.

(True, a human couldn’t do it. But I’m not exactly human anymore. You have to be something more to fight the Demon King Meizars.)

Remembering the hellish training and the turbulent journey sent a chill down my spine, but when I thought about how I was able to save so many people because of it, it strangely became a precious and nostalgic memory.

I channeled the results of my training and journey into my sword.

“One-Eyed Dragon Style Secret Art: Serene Mind!!”

The One-Eyed Dragon Style was a school founded by my Master. Its swordsmanship was a flawless heavy sword, a gentle sword that could shatter the earth.

It was considered one of the world’s strongest schools, and it was said that only one person in each generation could inherit it.

It was the most secret of secret techniques, and I was among the strongest practitioners in its history.

In other words, a “mere tree trunk” was no different from cheese.

As the blade passed smoothly through it, I cut the thick trunk in two with a single stroke.

Seeing this, the carpenters let out a cry of astonishment.

“Whoa!”

Even Fina said proudly,

“It seems your skills haven’t dulled in the slightest.”

“Well, for someone who was frozen for a hundred years, I’d say that was a decent cut.”

CRASH! I looked at the cross-section of the fallen giant.

“Ah, but maybe my muscles have atrophied after all. The cut surface is a little messy.”

“W-What are you talking about!? The cut is as smooth as if you’d planed it!” one of the carpenters interjected.

“There’s a level of sensibility that only a master can understand.”

With that, I swished my sword through the air a few times and sheathed it.

The carpenters buzzed.

“T-That’s too amazing. These people could probably chop this tree up and carry it to the river.”

“Yeah. They might actually build the bridge in three days.”

“Should we go gather some laborers?”

They discussed this, but it was unnecessary.

“Why not? Surely you don’t mean to carry it as is…”

“That’s right. We’re carrying it as is.”

“Eeeh!?”

“It’s faster to carry it as is, and if we just lay this across the river, it’ll save us the trouble of construction.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Structurally, using a single giant log should be sturdier than piecing together timber.”

It was an outrageous theory, but it wasn’t wrong. It was just a little too far from reality.

“Alright, since the carpenters still seem to be in doubt, Fina, will you show them?”

“Certainly.”

With that, she began to converse with the spirits of the trees.

Her body began to glow with a golden light. She became translucent, her form becoming almost like a fairy’s.

As a fairy, she could now converse with the spirits who dwell in the spirit world.

“O, wise old one, who harbors life in this great tree,
I ask of thee. Let us contemplate the meaning of this world,
of that which the earth has passed down through the ages!”

As Fina chanted in Ancient Elvish, limbs sprouted from the severed great tree.
A nose grew long, and eyes hollowed out.

It took on a humanoid form.

“I-Is that a Treant!?”

Fina answered the carpenter’s question.

“Yes, it is. I have housed a tree-person, possessing wisdom and limbs, within this giant log.”

“A-Amazing. I’ve never heard of a spirit user like this.”

“Who are these people?”

Everyone was exclaiming in surprise, but at this rate, they would figure out that Fina and I were the real Seven Heroes. So, I had the newborn Treant start walking.

“A simple task.”

The giant log walked with heavy, thudding steps. Its form was like a small giant, and the carpenters were left dumbfounded.

It seemed they had even lost the will to investigate our true identities.

“Good, good. Well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they found out, but I’d like to keep our honeymoon incognito.”

“Just the two of us, as a couple,” Fina said, grabbing my right arm and linking hers with it.

And with that, we leisurely made our way to the river.