The roots of the forest were as strong as rock.
And they would grow stronger still.
A quiet woodland path, the boundary between the Silva Empire and the Aqua Empire, where trees breathed and the sea breeze stirred the air.
There were those who moved carefully along it.
Empress Nereia of the Aqua Empire, and her retainers Levian, Naus, and Sian.
The hems of their garments swayed softly like waves, and their footprints remained upon the earth in a damp silence.
The forest said nothing.
Yet the tremor of the leaves, the vitality flowing along their veins—all of it was sensing them.
Even the moss beneath their feet seemed to recognize them, yielding softly to make way.
When they arrived at Driandel, the heart of Silva, Empress Drian quietly welcomed them.
“Have you been well?”
Drian’s voice was gentle as the wind, yet at the same time it resonated deep through the forest.
Nereia silently nodded.
“We have carried painful memories with us, but we are preparing to rise again from those wounds. We will never forget your deeds and your sacrifice.”
Drian’s face was expressionless, but that in itself was meaningful.
It seemed she had not yet completely shaken off her feelings toward Aqua.
“It seems we need a more detailed conversation.”
At Drian’s words, Nereia nodded once more.
“That is what we have come here seeking as well.”
A single current of wind still entered the forest from the sea.
That wind lightly stirred the leaves of the forest.
“Then let us move.”
Drian personally walked ahead, and Nereia and her retainers followed behind her.
The condensed droplets of water falling from their bodies dampened the vines and roots.
On the path toward the Garden of Council, Levian spoke quietly.
“This place… seems deeper than before.”
Drian replied.
“We grow in our own way. And in order to embrace more life and allow it to grow, we have driven our roots deeper. Though your direction may be different, I believe you are growing all the same.”
“Yes… that is true.”
Nereia and the other retainers continued looking around, as if the surrounding scenery was still unfamiliar to them.
Indeed, it seemed as though the roots stretching out from the fortress had reached the entire forest.
“Are there no problems on your side?”
Nereia asked Drian.
“As you can see. We are fine.”
They gradually headed deeper into the forest.
After a long while, the energy of water came flowing into the forest once again.
At the center of the Silva Empire, the Garden of Council, where colossal trees grew thickly.
Drian sat at the center, with Tarban and Bramir seated on either side of her.
Before her eyes, the party from Aqua took their seats one after another.
Nereia began to speak.
“Once again, I will not forget your cooperation in bringing down Montanus.”
Drian’s expression softened somewhat.
“We merely chose the best course of action we had to take. Montanus’s appearance only intensified the chaos for us, after all.”
Tarban also nodded and added a word.
“Indeed. I cannot understand why those who claim to pursue balance and harmony would release such a thing outside.”
Nereia continued.
“That monster destroyed half the coastline between us and you. Not only were the defensive walls severely damaged, but hundreds of soldiers were sacrificed to Montanus and Terra’s forces. We are currently restoring the coastline, but it appears it will still take a long time.”
Levian also spoke from beside her.
“It will likely remain quiet for the time being, but there is no telling when it may appear again…”
Drian quietly gazed toward the northwest, toward the border with Aqua.
“We too are growing ceaselessly. Through the efforts of our guardian tree spirits, we have already succeeded in bringing down Montanus, and by the time Montanus appears again, we will also be able to summon a dragon.”
This time, Sian stepped forward and spoke.
“In that case, would it be better for each of us to focus on the deepening of our fortresses rather than on the slime cores? We too are reinforcing our troops, but it seems it will take a long time before we can prepare for the deepening of the fortress.”
Bramir shook his head.
“Was it perhaps our mistake not to actively keep Terra in check? While we were studying the slime cores and struggling amid Metallum’s sudden invasion, Terra quietly expanded its empire and grew with only its single-attribute core.”
Tarban looked at Bramir and said,
“Could we not think of it somewhat differently? It is true that Terra’s fortress has grown to its final stage, but to put that another way, it also means there is no more room for it to grow. Terra’s current stage of growth is its limit. If we also grow to the final stage, that alone may allow us to gain the upper hand over Terra, and if we further make use of the slime cores, we should be able to suppress them sufficiently.”
Naus said,
“That is correct. Terra has never once personally led the development of dual-attribute cores. Instead, however, we have heard that they are collecting cores made by various empires, including ours, through whatever routes they can. It seems they avoid the trouble of conducting core research themselves and merely seize the results that others have managed to fuse.”
Levian continued.
“It is humiliating, but our wave core has passed through Terra and into other empires twice. To Metallum and Ignis, no less. In effect, our core has flowed into the hands of every empire. It is utterly unforgivable.”
Drian answered them.
Her gaze was directed far beyond the forest.
“I understand how you feel. Now that dual-attribute cores of every combination have appeared, some among the cores we possess are still missing. We still have no core fused with Metallum’s core, but Metallum likely possesses one instead.”
Nereia also spoke.
“We have only two types of dual-attribute cores. The slime core and the mud core. We do not have the cores of Ignis or Metallum. Do you possess Ignis’s core?”
Drian met Nereia’s gaze and paused for a moment before answering.
“…We do. However, it was not something we fused ourselves. Ignis personally delivered it to us.”
As Ignis was mentioned in the conversation, tension began to circulate around them.
Their discussion naturally flowed toward matters concerning Ignis.
Nereia asked first.
“What is your current relationship with Ignis?”
Drian answered honestly.
“There has been no particular exchange recently. However, there was a time when we needed their help, and it is true that they were of assistance. They drove Metallum away from us.”
“Are you saying Ignis fought Metallum directly on your land?”
“No. From what we later discovered, while Metallum was invading us, Ignis attacked Metallum. In the end, Metallum hurriedly retreated from us.”
Nereia thought for a moment, then said,
“I understand. I respect your choice. If there is any good news, it is that Metallum has once again become distant from you. Metallum’s army is no longer stationed in Terra. For a while, you will have no reason to be threatened by them.”
Drian nodded and replied.
“I too will change my thinking now. Since the threat has grown distant, from this point onward, we will focus on our true enemy. Terra appears not to move, but that silence is its most terrifying trait. They move while lurking underground. Before we know it, they have already enveloped everything.”
She took a breath once before continuing.
“Therefore, it seems we will not need Ignis’s help for the time being. We have decided to strengthen our roots once more in order to pierce through Terra.”
A drop of water fell from Nereia’s hair onto the table.
That water flowed across the map engraved upon the tabletop.
From Aqua toward Silva.
Drian continued.
“We now stand upon a single current. Preparing to summon dragons of our own is good, but what do you think of making use of the slime cores in case of unexpected circumstances? We are capable of producing not only slime infantry, but also flexible warriors.”
While the relationship between the two empires had grown distant, the production of slime cores had also been halted for some time.
Nereia replied.
“That is not a bad method. It would be good to produce slime troops again after so long. However, the drawback is that it consumes a large number of cores. If we focus too excessively on the slime cores, the deepening of our fortresses may be delayed by that much.”
“I know. It will be enough to produce them as we gain leeway. In the end, we must remember that our foremost goal is the summoning of dragons.”
Nereia and her retainers rose from their seats.
She spoke one final time.
“There is only one direction in which we must flow. Soil and stone will collapse before us in the end.”
Drian silently nodded.
She quietly watched the backs of Nereia and her party.
After Nereia and her party left the forest, Tarban spoke.
“In my opinion, it seems we will summon a dragon before Aqua does. Is it not our strength that our vitality has improved along with the growth of the fortress?”
Drian replied.
“That is so. Though a considerable expanse of our forest was destroyed by Metallum, new life cores are being produced in quantities sufficient to make up for that damage.”
Bramir stroked his chin and also spoke.
“Come to think of it, there seems to be a reason Montanus invaded only Aqua’s sea while leaving the forest beside it alone. Even Montanus must not have dared to touch our forest. If we too come to possess a dragon, then Terra will be the one who must fear us.”
Drian left the entrance of the Garden of Council.
She paused for a moment, then turned her gaze toward the distant coastline.
She said to her retainers,
“Do you no longer have any dissatisfaction toward Aqua?”
Tarban and Bramir answered.
“Ah, yes. It is fine.”
“I do not have any particular feelings either.”
“Good.”
Drian slowly began walking again.
“Aqua likely did not truly know. They did not know that Terra is more threatening and insidious than it appears. Terra acts calm and quiet on the surface, but they are the sort who may suddenly take unexpected action at any time, putting forward a plausible pretext. At least Metallum is relatively easy to predict because their movements are so loud.”
The retainers glanced at one another and smiled faintly.
She continued.
“No matter how much we may hold an elemental advantage over Terra, we must never let down our guard. We must watch them and prepare.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“We will keep that in mind as well.”
Thus, while the Silva Empire and the Aqua Empire together established plans for the growth of their fortresses, in the west, a tremendous roar was resounding.
Clank, clank, clank, wheeeee…
In the fortress of the Metallum Empire, steel assemblers were repeatedly refining, as Emperor Oruma had ordered.
“I do not think this is it.”
“This is not very satisfactory either.”
Kraso, the representative of the assemblers, was quietly watching them.
He muttered to himself.
“Our great first objective is not far off.”