Midori and I took a two-hour train ride to the next prefecture and arrived at the town by the sea. The destination, Gokuri-no-Mori, is a few minutes' walk from the station.
"In any case, there is no vast forest area in the residential area." I can't even see the mountains. "
Midori looks around.
"According to the map, it's at the end of the road."
Tiredness refers to the side road, but there are usually houses built on both sides of the road. The forest is nowhere to be seen.
There was a further split road before entering the side road, and it was written on a small sign that "the forest of Okuri ahead", so if you go ahead, the descent stairs will appear.
As I went down the stairs, the landscape changed. The sea of trees stretches out underneath us.
"Hmph, there's a valley between these residential areas." I was wondering if there were mountains. "
“There are several small mountains in the basin, which are forested and wetland areas.”
Midori said overlooking the lush trees, and explained his tiredness.
Down the stairs, something like a bridge stretches. Both sides of the bridge are trees, but there is some space from the bridge, and there are grassy flowers. And since the bridge itself is in a slippery position on the ground, if you reach out, you can easily reach the grasshopper.
"You walk on a bridge over the sea of trees." I've walked through the woods many times, but it's a strange feeling to walk on a bridge over the woods. Is this bridge made of wood? Plastic? It doesn't look like concrete. "
For the first time, Midori sees something like this, but speaks of his feelings and questions. The bridge is red and looks like it's been laid with flat wooden planks, but I don't really know the material.
"It's a boardwalk, isn't it? It is also called a wooden path. These natural parks are a classic walk through forests, sandy beaches, and wetlands. It looks like there's a thin non-slip rubber on the wooden board, but I'm not sure.”
Tiredness explained, and he walked down the wooden path first.
The wooden path was not in a straight line, but frequently turned into a zikzag. The stairs up and down are also intense. If you think you may be on the ground, you may move to a higher position. Sometimes people come from across the street, but the wooden paths are narrow, so it was necessary to lean on the edge of the body when interacting with people.
"Because it's an untouched nature, it's beautiful." It's awesome ~
Midori smiles comfortably as she looks at the landscape in the forest. If there is dust, the bathtub is in the woods, but for some reason it feels much better than there.
The deeper you go, the stronger the spiritual magnetic field becomes.
“In the old days, there was a big incident in the forest, and it became a topic of conversation among the paranormal people.”
“What happened?”
Do you know the Prison Rei Family's [Please]?
"I think I've only heard the name..."
Midori is not very oblivious to the information between the supernormal parties.
"I am the landlord of the sorcerer of national service, which remained until the first half of the twenty-first century. It was a major witchcraft school that did not draw attention to the white fox family, the decaying rope family, and the star coal flow, but there was a mysterious clan Lang party monstrous death case, which was a topic of discussion among witchcraftsmen. They are all dead in the forest of Gokuryo, and the case remains in the labyrinth. Even the psychometry didn't solve the truth. Suddenly, I only knew where the body of the Prison Rei family's magician appeared in the forest."
"It's very, very difficult, it's the same way of reading." What does it have to do with anything? "
"Originally, this forest was the private property of the Prison Rei family." Now it looks like it's managed by the NPO of the environmental protection organization. "
Huh? Did you call?
As they walked talking, they suddenly heard a voice coming from the side. Outside the wooden path, an elderly man pruning a small tree in his working clothes is smiling and looking at the greenery.
Looking at the chest of the man, it was marked with a plate that reads "Okurei Forest Protection Committee". When I was making a rumor, I happened to meet the NPO who manages the forest, and I heard it.
"What? Uncle, are you felling?"
It's a logging area, isn't it?
When Midori asked, he said that he was tired before the man from the NPO answered.
Kambatsu?
Midori raises even more questions.
"I know that blonde girl over there." If the trees are dense in one place, the sun's rays will not reach the ground. That's why we call cutting down trees as much as making a gap between them. If the light from below is delivered, the light will also reach the plants around the ground and grow, which will be the blessing of many creatures, and the remaining trees will grow thick and straight. "
"Fuwaa ~...... I thought it was something different from a normal forest. If you think it's so bright even though it's in the woods, it was designed to let in light and people's hands."
Midori feels complicated after hearing an explanation from an NPO man. Because if I thought it was untouched nature, it wasn't.
"Putting light in the woods is very important." For example, there are many rivers and ponds in this forest, right? The more light hits the water, the more algae and maggots there are, and the more cawanina they feed on -- oh, freshwater shellfish -- and the more cawanina, the more they purify the water, and the more crabs and fireflies they feed on. Well, there's a lot of good stuff going on when you put in the light. Before we had people here, we had rustles all over the place, no light in the wetlands, no light in the trees, no plants growing. ”
Yeah, I see. Who's mowing the grass over there?
Midori refers to another employee in the same outfit. He is mowing plants that are taller than people.
That's the extermination of an alien plant. He's been designated an invasive alien species and a nation. You're doing some exterminating work over there. It is a very troublesome foreign organism that scatters pollen all over Japan. "
"When I heard that dandelions and onions are actually alien species, I was quite surprised ~"
"Not all of them are alien species." However, the native dandelion species were declining. There are also more hybrids that contain both alien and native species. "
"It's coming ~"
After listening to the story of the forest and the place, the two broke up with the man from the NPO and walked out again.
"Hmph, I can't say it in front of my uncle at the NPO, but if I'm impressed that it's so beautiful in an untouched natural forest, I feel a bit sorry to hear that the reason it's actually beautiful is because it's a substitute made by calculating it so that people can get their hands on it and look beautiful. The green dialogues just now--it sounds silly to say that it's beautiful because it's untouched nature ~"
Midori talks with a bitter smile.
"Isn't it too much to say that it was made?" It's certainly managed by humans, but it doesn't mean that you can do anything as long as it stays natural. If it's getting better as a result of getting people, it can't be better than that. In the first place, humans are part of the natural world. "
"Fuwaaahhhh. If you ask me, I will."
Midori was a little convinced by the thought of tiredness.
When I walk, I meet people many times along the way.
Today...
Chiwa-chiwa
"I-It's today..."
Many of the misguided people were elderly. And every time I shy away, most people come and say hello. Midori greeted her cheerfully, but she turned away in a hurry and greeted her with a fading voice.
The two arrived at the terrace. There is a mouth-shaped bench in the open space, and two old women are talking. A slightly elevated position with a good view.
"Oh, you're such a cute couple."
"True. Today."
"Chiwa" But I'm not a couple. "
The old woman teased me, and Midori looked away shyly, and Midori responded energetically.
"Would you like us to take a break?"
"Yes, it's a very wide forest." If you look at the map, you haven't walked halfway yet. "
The two of them sit down on the steps of the terrace. It's a step set up to fulfill the role of a chair.
"It's been a wetland since the second half of the year." It's a wetland in the woods. "
Tired of looking at the surrounding landscape.
What did Tiger do?
"That's whimsical..."
When I was tired and smiled, I felt the signs of strong spiritual power and demonic power, and my face became real.
A man approached Midori tired. The age of appearance is thought to be in the late twenties. A man wearing a jacket, a T-shirt and jeans. Midori's sense of hiding one eye with her long frontal hair gave her a sense of inner pull.
"Oh dear, you're a famous great sorcerer who is a trickster who plays the piano, Sasano." Candori and Tasmania Devils are lost, so I can't find out about the piano. ”
"I can't find out - isn't that right?"
When the man looked down at his exhaustion and spoke a strange behavior, the exhaustion corrected the man's words.
I noticed that you're quite a good magician, too.
"My name is Yume-no-Hisanobu." Here we go. Yes, I certainly have a good entropy. ”
Once again, I'm tired of Shino-ryu's founding father, Shino-ryu.
I'm Midori Shino.
"They're both Shino-ryu and Double. Shifu-san's combo?"
No.
The man who called himself Yumeno was laughing and talking. Neither tiredness nor greenery made a very good impression from being too familiar with the first meeting, the strange wording, and the laughter.
But on the other hand, there are some things that cannot be overlooked. Not only was this man a powerful magician, but he was also feeling tired and green.
"Do you often visit here? It's our first time."
"For me, Yokreich."
Huh?
"It's a place I visit a lot, Yoklich. You don't know, do you?"
Yumeno laughs with his nose at the surrounding greenery.
"Hmph, I don't know..." This person, is that a rhetorical disorder ~? "
"It's weird how you talk. And this guy seems to be on the lookout for us.”
Midori and I were tired, secretly whispering to each other in front of Yumeno.
Is there anything suspicious happening here lately?
"Immeasurable Q&Q"
When the tired asks, he returns with a strange word.
Hey, you're often asked to talk normally, right?
Midori feels frustrated and makes a dangerous voice.
"Every time. No... what should I do?" It takes thought to ask the question now. Can I think about it a little bit before I answer it? "
Here you go.
“To conclude, yes. However, on the other side of the forest."
On the other side?
The domain of the magicians. Spiritual area. This is the other side of the forest. I can't tell you how easy it is to understand... "Plus, whether you are enemies or allies is incalculable Q&Q"
Speaking so much, the man suddenly gave a distorted smile.
Even if it's an enemy, deal with it.
"The enemy and allies have just arrived, and I don't know anything about them, but it's impossible."
If that's the case, I'd like you to tell me why you're here.
In response to Midori's words, Yumeno shrugged his mold and gave a distorted smile.
"I'd like to experience your crooks, but the Q&Q here is incalculable. There is a side street on the second terrace up ahead. That's the other side of the forest. I want you to know that if you want to do it, you can do it. It's a sight to see if I and you guys can revitalize each other."
Yumeno walks when he talks with a gesture that seems to have eaten people. He stopped immediately and looked back, gesturing toward the two of them.
"Hey, what? How do we fight?"
"Looks like it." Well, you want to try the magic "
Midori and I got tired, and I followed Yumeno.