Chapter 17

Chapter 17. The Dryad and Healthy Juice

Another two weeks passed.

I dug up some of the places where I had planted seeds to check their condition.

"There is still no sign of roots growing."

They were in the same state as when I planted them.

I checked the other seeds too, but they were all the same.

In two weeks, there should at least be signs of roots sprouting, but they remained exactly as planted.

Was the soil no good?

'If the seeds do not work, I will just look for a tree.'

So I went out exploring the surroundings with Ria, but we did not see any Applecherry trees.

There were other fruits, but they were so astringent that they could not be used for food at all.

When I showed signs of disappointment, Ria went out alone every night looking for Applecherry trees while I returned to the countryside house.

Just like when she used to go looking for Drakes.

I tried to stop Ria from doing this.

"You do not need to go that far, so rest at night."

"It is okay. I am really healthy. I am fine even if I do not sleep for a few days."

"It makes me feel uncomfortable. It is okay if we do not have them."

"Okay, I understand."

Even though she answered like that.

While I was out, she went out again in the middle of the night and came back in the morning.

But this time, she brought something back.

"What is that?"

"A baby Dryad."

"A Dryad? Is it a Monster?"

"It is a Monster, but a forest spirit, I suppose?"

"Why did you......?"

Not a stray cat, but a stray Monster.

"Seon-u, you had such a sad face because the seeds were not growing. Two days ago, after training ended, you went to where you planted the seeds and muttered that strange spell, 'Grow, little sprout!'"

She saw that. My face feels hot.

Soon my eyes met the small being on Ria's palm staring at me intently.

The creature was about a span in size, like a fairy from a storybook.

Its appearance resembled a human, but it was covered with vines and leaves like clothing.

It had small horns like twigs on its head, long green hair, and leaves decorating both sides of its head like ornaments.

It was probably a girl.

"But how did you end up bringing it?"

"Well, I rescued this child who was struggling under a tree branch. And nearby I found what I assume was this child's mother, an adult Dryad, dead. With its Magic Stone stolen from its heart. So I could not leave this child alone and brought it back."

"I see, you did well......"

Even if it is a Monster, I feel a bit sorry for it.

It became an orphan after losing its mother.

"Wait, you said the adult Dryad had its Magic Stone stolen? Are there other Hunters or otherworlders here besides us?"

Ria shook her head.

"Probably not. There are Monsters that hunt other Monsters and eat their Magic Stones. For example, Fenrir, or Doppelgangers that eat Magic Stones and mimic the appearance of that Monster. Dryads are known to be strong Monsters, but to such divine beast-level Monsters, they are just prey."

"Monsters that strong also live here......"

According to Ria, they seem to be stronger Monsters than Drakes.

This place has a small Monster population, but as expected, it was still a very dangerous place.

And Ria wanders around such a place at night without fear.

"I can handle them well enough even if I encounter them, so do not worry. At the very least, I will not lose."

She gets ahead of me before I can nag.

"How did you know I was going to nag?"

"Your brow wrinkled slightly, Seon-u."

"Ah."

She knows me quite well now.

Ria continued.

"Anyway, this Dryad probably would not have survived alone if I had left it as it was."

"Probably not."

When Ria tried to touch its head with her other hand, the Dryad flailed its hands trying to grab Ria's hand.

"It is cute."

"Right? Cute."

But what does this small being have to do with the seeds I planted?

When I asked that, Ria answered.

"Although Dryads are Monsters, they are non-aggressive, so they absolutely never attack first unless you attack first or damage the forest. That is why they are also called guardians of the forest, spirits of the forest. They are grateful beings that tend to the forest and make it lush."

It was the first time I learned there were non-aggressive Monsters.

If that is true, then it really is a beneficial Monster that makes the forest lush.

"Look, look."

Ria put the Dryad down in front of a small sprout that had grown nearby.

Then the young Dryad looked up at Ria and tilted its head.

"Make this grow."

Ria pointed with her finger.

But it still just tilted its head looking puzzled.

'There is something Ria cannot do too.'

Then I should step in.

I picked up a twig and drew a picture on the ground.

A picture of a small seed gradually growing into a sprout.

The baby Dryad who saw it looked at me and nodded.

"It seems to understand."

"Seon-u, you are pretty good? You can even draw well. You are good at everything you do with your hands."

"I am that type."

I briefly dreamed of being a painter when I was young.

I just liked cooking more.

It is probably not for nothing that my Dexterity stat is high.

But the Dryad who nodded does not do anything.

Soon it touches its belly.

"What is wrong? Does your belly hurt?"

Ria, I do not think that is it.

That is definitely a hungry expression.

I drew a picture with the twig on the ground of food going into a mouth.

Then it nodded at me.

That was the answer.

I opened Acresia and looked for something ready to eat.

Should I give it a snack?

'Chocolate pie.'

There is no better snack than this for building affection.

When I took it out, opened the package, and held it close to its mouth, the Dryad stepped back.

Is it avoiding it because it is unfamiliar food?

"Seon-u, according to an ancient text I read, Dryads are vegetarians like Elves."

"Ah, really?"

So it is a vegetarian.

When I was abroad, I learned and tried a lot of vegan food.

In Europe, restaurants even have separate vegan menus.

However, this Dryad was very small.

It would be hard for it to eat food in large chunks.

'Should I make it a healthy juice that is easy to consume?'

Commercial juice products are full of additives.

So it would be better to make it a Homemade healthy juice.

Soon I took out ingredients from Acresia.

'Apple, carrot, kale, lemon juice, coconut water, honey.'

A combination slightly different from the commonly known healthy juices like ABC juice and CCA juice.

I improvised a recipe with the ingredients I currently had.

It is hard to extract juice from carrots and kale with a manual blender or manual juicer.

So I briefly went to the countryside house to grind the ingredients and strain out the pulp through a sieve.

I poured it into a small glass cup about the size of a soju glass and tilted the cup for the young Dryad that Ria had placed on the table.

"Here, drink it."

Then the young Dryad showed interest.

It even flared its nose to smell it.

'I feel like I am being judged.'

Soon the young Dryad put both hands on the tilted cup and started drinking little by little.

It must be delicious because it kept drinking without stopping.

It drank until its belly bulged, then took its mouth away and made a satisfied expression.

"It seems to like it."

"Ria, do you want to try it too?"

"Yes, I will try it."

I poured Ria a cup too.

Ria drank it and nodded.

"I thought it would only taste like grass because it is green, but it is better than I thought. It tastes like it will make me healthy."

"It is good for health in many ways."

Especially for constipation.

I did not bother telling Ria that.

Soon the Dryad showed behavior as if it wanted to get down.

Since Ria was still drinking juice, I put it down myself.

Then the Dryad went toward the sprout from earlier and wrapped both hands around it.

At that moment.

Woong!

Emerald Mana rippled and the sprout began growing rapidly.

In no time, the sprout grew more than a finger joint.

"It really is a forest spirit."

Ria was also pleased seeing it.

"Right, this is my first time seeing it directly too. It is recorded that when it grows up and becomes an adult, it can instantly grow vines from the ground to attack, or even raise trees as wooden golems."

Soon the small Dryad stopped making the sprout grow.

Then it looked up at us.

"Well done!"

Ria and I applauded.

Then the small Dryad became shy.

"Seon-u, ask it to help germinate the Applecherry seeds too. While giving it more healthy juice. Its belly has already gone down a bit."

Looking at it, the belly that had bulged out from drinking lots of juice had gone down a bit.

"Alright."

When I gave it more juice, it drank it deliciously.

Soon it patted its own belly as if to say it was enough.

I placed the Dryad on my palm, took it to where the seeds were planted, and put it down.

Then I pointed at the ground and said.

"Can you do it one more time?"

This time, without me drawing a picture, it nodded just from me pointing at the ground.

Would roots really sprout and a shoot grow from the seed?

I had not seen any signs of roots forming, wondering if the soil was the problem or if the seed was dead.

But.

Woong!

When the Dryad brought its hands together toward the ground, a change occurred shortly after.

Applecherry tree sprouts began emerging from the ground.

"The seeds were not dead."

They must have lacked nutrients, or perhaps they just needed more time.

Thanks to the Dryad, my frustration was relieved.

If those sprouts grow into trees and bear fruit, I will be able to get Applecherry again.

"Thank you, little friend."

I could not call it Dryad.

I temporarily called it "little friend."

Soon when I petted the Dryad's head, it did not avoid it but allowed it.

***

I brought a low, wide flower pot from the countryside house and filled it with soil.

I placed it inside the tent where Ria stays.

Then Ria put down the Dryad, which was dozing off on her palm, onto the pot.

Soon the small Dryad opened its eyes, looked at us once and nodded, then closed its eyes, curled up, and went to sleep.

I said quietly to Ria.

"It seems satisfied with the flower pot bed."

"Right. It looks comfortable."

"I do not know how long we will keep it, but until it returns to nature, we need a nickname or name to call it while we have it. What should we call it?"

"Hmm, how about Rin? In the world where I lived, the name of the ancient forest's Spirit King is Erindros, so we could take the Spirit King's name and make it Rin."

"Rin? It is easy to say and good."

"Then let us call it Rin."

We decided to name the small Dryad "Rin" and watched it sleep for a while.

Then seeing Rin's sleep talking, my heart felt complicated.

While sleeping, it waved its hand in the air with a pained expression.

"####."

It muttered something.

It was the first time I heard a Dryad's voice.

But I could not understand it.

On the other hand, Ria understood.

"That language is the ancient language used by Elves or some Monsters. I am not very fluent in ancient language either, but I am sure it said 'mama'......"

"......"

Soon Ria brought a large leaf from outside and covered Rin with it.

Then the pained expression calmed down and became peaceful again.

***

The next day.

"Rin?"

When I came back in the morning, Rin was making the Applecherry tree that had sprouted yesterday grow.

It had already grown larger than Rin, about two spans tall.

"Rin, are you not overexerting yourself?"

When I approached and asked while lowering my posture, Rin stopped growing the plant and grabbed my pant leg.

Then with the other hand, it mimicked drinking something.

"You want healthy juice?"

I also mimicked drinking and asked, and Rin nodded.

"Alright. I researched various healthy juice recipes last night and made a lot, so taste them and rate them."

Soon I poured three types of healthy juice into small glass cups.

The healthy juice I made yesterday, pineapple-based healthy juice, and blueberry-based healthy juice.

The young vegetarian gourmet tasted all three and made satisfied expressions for all of them.

Among them, it seemed to like the blueberry healthy juice, drinking the most of that one.

Rin filled its belly and rested for a bit, then started making the Applecherry tree grow again.

"Look how diligent it is, like an S-rank farmer."

Thanks to this, I might be able to harvest Applecherry sooner than expected.

Making healthy juice with Applecherry might not be bad either.