#222. The Last Forest (4)
—
*Murcred’s executive.*
Beings unable to control their emotions because of the restraints branded into their bodies by the Doctor.
The emotions of excessive obsession, swollen to the brink of bursting within their vessels, made it impossible for them to consider the existence of anything else.
Maintaining a careful distance, Ray responded to the woman’s greeting.
“Hello. What are you doing here?”
“I’m watering the flowers. There are many little ones here who need my care.”
She meant it literally.
The woman was creating droplets of water by drawing on the abundant water-elemental energy in the air and sprinkling them over the flowerbeds.
Ray threw out a probing question.
“The flowerbed seems pretty large for one person. Why not get help from the other elves in the village? Since it’s about nurturing the forest, I doubt they’d refuse.”
At that moment, the smile vanished from the woman’s face.
“These are *my* children. I can’t entrust them to anyone else’s hands.”
Her cold voice and fierce expression sent a shiver through the air.
The emotion of obsession contained within her vessel was pounding violently.
*Obsess.*
Ray instantly became certain of the woman’s identity.
He recalled his conversation with Curiosa.
*”Honestly, I don’t remember much. We only spent a few years together in the orphanage before we were taken to our separate laboratories. But one thing I do remember about Obsess is that she was incredibly greedy.”*
*”Greedy?”*
*”More precisely, she was obsessively attached to anything she considered her. She never lent even the smallest of her belongings and would hide them away jealously.”*
Curiosa had added, her voice boiling with fury:
*”Looking back, I think the Doctor must have caught on to each of our emotional flaws and amplified them. All the experiments he did on me were related to provoking curiosity, after all. Kheheh! Hahaha!”*
Curiosa had suddenly burst into laughter.
Ray, who wasn’t good at reading the fine nuances of human behavior, couldn’t tell what kind of laughter it was.
He could only sense that Curiosa cursed by curiosity carried a deep sorrow within her vessel.
“…….”
Ray pulled himself out of his thoughts.
Anyway, based on the information he had, it was clear that the woman before him was Obsess—who, as a child, had shown a strong attachment to her possessions.
And now, thanks to the Doctor’s restraints, that emotional characteristic had been amplified hundreds of times over.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the village. Do you live separately?”
“That’s right. Not all elves live in the village, you know.”
Seeing Obsess switch back to a bright smile in an instant, Ray thought to himself:
‘…It’s most reasonable to assume she entered the forest ahead of time to target me.’
Though it had been some time since the Homunculi’s attacks stopped, Ray didn’t believe the Doctor had completely retreated.
It was only natural that he would send powerful figures like the executives to cause interference.
However—
‘Obsess’s vessel isn’t showing any particular hostility or wariness.’
If anything, she seemed to harbor strong curiosity, interest, and even goodwill toward him.
Although it was said that the executives’ unstable emotions made them unpredictable, right now… he truly couldn’t tell what her intentions were.
At that moment, Obsess asked,
“Hey, have you ever grown a plant before?”
“I have.”
“Then could you take a look at this sprout for me? I’ve been watering it for days, but it looks like it’s wilting.”
“…….”
Since he hadn’t yet fully gauged her capabilities, it was dangerous to act rashly.
Ray closed a few steps between them but spoke firmly:
“I was told never to get too close to strangers.”
“Oh my, who told you that?”
“A friend.”
Ray thought of the boy with curly brown hair likely buried under piles of documents back at the Sector.
“Hmm, usually that’s something you’d hear from your parents, not a friend. Could it be that you don’t have a mother?”
“……?”
The sudden, straightforward question caught Ray off guard.
Should he be angry?
At first, he thought she was mocking his lack of parents, but seeing no malice in her emotions, he realized it was a purely innocent question.
Even if it had been meant as an insult, it wouldn’t have really hurt him.
“No, I’ve been alone since I was very young.”
“I see. You look like you’re not even an adult yet… How pitiful.”
Strangely, it didn’t feel like he was talking to an enemy.
It felt more like he was speaking to an ordinary woman—a woman who smiled happily at the sight of children playing around her.
…A woman you might find anywhere.
Thinking carefully, Ray found a three-letter word that fit the feeling she gave off:
“I’m Saya. Now that you know my name, we’re not strangers anymore, are we?”
“…….”
*What game is she playing?*
The moment he thought that, mana flickered in the woman’s eyes.
A rich flesh-colored—beige—mana.
Her primary elements were enchantment and domination.
That was why Ray hadn’t lowered his guard for even a moment.
Regardless of her magic skill level, enchantment-type spells directly affected the mind.
‘…If I get enchanted, I’ll end up moving like a puppet according to her will.’
What mattered most was mental strength.
Those with healthy minds were less susceptible, while those with greater inner anxiety were much more vulnerable.
Wuuuuung──
Ray’s eyes, staring into hers, began to lose focus and grow hazy.
Soon, they went completely blank.
“Come here, dear.”
Ray shuffled forward and collapsed into her arms.
The woman lovingly stroked his head and asked:
“What’s your name?”
“Ray.”
“Ray, yes… What a wonderful name. Truly wonderful…”
“…….”
Listening to her dreamy voice, Ray subtly observed her.
He had easily resisted the enchantment.
He was only pretending to be under its effect.
He was ready to respond immediately if she sensed anything strange, but she showed no signs of suspicion.
‘The missing village children… it’s highly likely that Obsess is the culprit.’
Fragments of mana that Ray had placed on the children were found nearby.
If Obsess had used enchantment magic to turn someone in the village into a puppet—
Then it would be possible to smuggle the children out without the elves noticing.
The only problem was, where had the children been taken?
“…My own. My very own child.”
Saya murmured as she released Ray from her embrace and shifted her gaze to a small sprout growing from the ground.
“You said you’ve grown plants before. Could you take a look at this little one?”
The sprout was drenched, its head drooping miserably.
What is this?
Even a cactus would die from overwatering like this.
“It seems like you’ve given it too much water.”
“Too much?”
“If you water it this much, the roots can easily rot. To be sure, we’d need to take it to someone more knowledgeable.”
Ray reached his hand toward the sprout.
Immediately, Obsess hurriedly pulled Ray back into her arms to stop him.
“…No. No one can take my child away.”
“…….”
Gently slipping free, Ray examined her vessel.
The obsessiveness was pulsing dangerously.
‘Next, looking at the mana circles…’
Her 1st and 2nd mana circles were normal.
Though the flesh-colored mana was dominant, other colors were still somewhat present.
However, her 3rd and 4th mana circles contained only flesh-colored mana.
In other words—
When she built her 3rd circle—likely when she was much younger—something must have happened to severely deepen her obsession.
“I won’t take the sprout away. So you don’t need to worry.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But have you ever grown a plant before?”
“I have.”
“What kind of plant?”
“I’ve raised… raised… huh? Was it not a plant?”
Obsess furrowed her brows.
Repeating herself in great confusion, she finally gave up and said:
“I feel like I cherished something dearly… but I can’t remember what it was.”
“In any case, whatever you’re growing, giving too much water isn’t good.”
“I didn’t give it water.”
“Then what?”
“I gave it love.”
“Love can be harmful too if it’s excessive.”
He didn’t know much about love himself, but he said it anyway.
Because anything excessive usually led to ruin—that was a rule of the world.
—
*
*
*
Over the course of three days, Ray visited the flower field to find Obsess.
“Come here, my good child.”
Each time, the woman embraced the boy and gently stroked his head.
As if performing some sacred ritual.
As if he were truly her own child.
“……”
Within that warm touch, Ray never let down his guard.
It wouldn’t have been strange if the extremely unstable emotions of the woman exploded at any moment, creating a dangerous situation.
Ray carefully asked questions, seeking to find out the whereabouts of the missing children.
“Children have been disappearing from the village. One by one, every two days.”
“That’s because the children left the village on their own, dear. Imagine—every elf in the village is both a mother and a father. The children must have been unhappy. It’s a time when their desire to have something all to themselves is at its strongest. They must have wanted a mother who belonged only to them. That’s why they left the village, to find someone new who could become their mother. Hehe.”
It was a statement completely ignorant of the emotions of elves, who were free of possessiveness.
Ray did not refute her words, careful not to provoke Obsess.
However, from her tone—speaking as if she knew everything—he could once again be certain that there was an informant inside the village.
‘…Obsess.’
What on earth was she plotting?
What did she intend to do with the children?
Ray tried several probing questions, but he didn’t gain any meaningful information.
What was certain was that the first priority was to secure the safety of the missing children; only then could he move on to the next step.
‘It doesn’t seem like Obsess moved personally. It’s highly likely the informant acted alone under her orders. The best outcome would be to follow the informant and find where the children are being hidden.’
But finding the informant was no easy task.
Every elf in the village was a potential suspect.
Furthermore, the charm magic worked on the mind, leaving no trace of mana behind, making it impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.
…Was it one person, two people?
Maybe even more?
Ray wandered through the village, casting persistent, subtle glances at every elf.
And at some point—
He reached a conclusion.
*
Inside a small room within an ancient tree.
Gwendel and Ray sat across from each other at a table.
“You said you had something to tell me?”
“It’s about the children’s disappearances. The elves of the village seem quite worried.”
Gwendel, who had been wearing a gentle smile, now looked somber.
“Of course they are. Children, young lives, are like the sprouts and treasures of the forest. There’s a lot of concern. But… the ones most worried must be the birth parents. Though we treat all children as our own, the ones we gave birth to ourselves hold a special place in our hearts.”
Gwendel gave an example.
“No matter how old they get, they still seem like children to us, and we worry. Especially when Grine took on a mission and left for the outside world—that feeling was even stronger. Every day, I would go to the edge of the forest and gaze out toward the wilderness, waiting. Wondering when she would return.”
“Every day, you went outside the forest?”
“Not a day was missed. It’s a great relief that she returned safely.”
Ray nodded as if he understood.
“I have someone in mind as the culprit.”
“Who?”
“The World Tree.”
Gwendel fell silent for a moment.
Then spoke in a troubled voice.
“I don’t know what made you think that way, Ray, but the World Tree is not the kind of being that would do such a thing. Of course, it’s true that the village’s sentiment toward the World Tree has been deteriorating… but all the creatures of the forest can be said to be the children of the World Tree. In other words, the World Tree is like a parent to every life in the forest. And what parent would ever do something like that to their own children?”
“…You think it’s impossible for the World Tree to be the culprit. Naturally.”
Ray met Gwendel’s gaze directly.
“Because you are the one who kidnapped the children.”
—
