"Quick!"
"Move everything over!"
"The house must be built today!!"
The next day, early in the morning, the Ogres, led by Benimaru and Souei, began construction on Rin and Ogerpon's new home.
The process of building the wooden house was fast. The Ogres, with their natural monstrous strength, were basically walking construction machines.
With dozens of them working together, it only took a single morning to finish building the house for the two of them.
It was a two-story, Japanese Edo-style house, with a small garden out front where some children had already planted wildflowers picked from the forest.
"What do you think?"
Shuna was assigned as the liaison for Rin.
Whatever Rin needed, he could just tell Shuna, and they would do their best to accommodate him.
"Very good. I'm very satisfied."
Rin and Ogerpon both expressed their thanks to Shuna, while also experiencing firsthand the simplicity and sincerity of the Ogre race.
If they received kindness, they repaid it.
They acted without hesitation and were generous, straightforward, ideal friends, really.
"Hm?"
"Poniii!"
And that very night, just as the new house was finished, an unexpected guest arrived at Rin and Ogerpon's door.
The visitor wore a long green dress. Tender sprouts and branches swirled around her body. Her face was so stunning that even Rin, who had grown up amidst an internet-saturated world full of celebrity images, couldn't help but be impressed.
Fortunately, Rin already knew who this person was. That alone kept him from getting caught up in her presence and beauty.
Instead, Rin became wary, standing with Ogerpon, both of them watching her with serious expressions.
"It seems you already know of my existence."
The girl was none other than the guardian of the Great Jura Forest, Dryad Treyni. She bowed elegantly toward Rin and introduced herself. "My name is Treyni, and I am the caretaker of this forest."
"A Dryad?"
Rin didn't pretend otherwise and directly acknowledged her identity. "May I ask, mysterious Dryad Miss, what brings you to visit so late at night?"
It wasn't that Rin was nervous. It was just that Treyni's strength was hard to pin down.
First off, Treyni's true form was actually a "Great Spirit Tree" deep within the forest.
Her current Dryad appearance was more like a projection.
In terms of monster rank, Treyni was near Special A-Rank.
In a direct confrontation, she wasn't far off from Ogerpon's current level.
And if you factored in things like "Destroyer" and "Explosion Magic," Ogerpon had a solid chance at beating her in a one-on-one.
But Treyni's situation was unique.
A large portion of her strength came from her contracted spirit—the Greater elementals of Wind Sylphide.
Sylphide had over 1,000,000 in magicules and possessed combat power on par with an Awakened Demon Lord.
In the original plot, it even cut off one of Laplace's arms from the Moderate Harlequin Alliance.
There was no doubt that once Treyni summoned Sylphide, Rin and Ogerpon's only viable option would be to activate Traveler and escape to another world.
"Please do not be nervous. I bear no ill will toward the two of you."
Fortunately, Treyni had a gentle temperament.
As long as the ecosystem of the Great Jura Forest remained intact, she wouldn't interfere.
"No need to worry."
Treyni smiled and said, "Rather, I came to thank you both, for resolving a major crisis in the forest."
"You mean those Insect Monsters?"
"Yes."
Treyni then explained the origins of the Insect Monsters.
A few months ago, the Insect Monsters came from another world and built a nest somewhere in the forest.
After that, they started multiplying at an astonishing rate, one even Treyni hadn't predicted.
Unknowingly, the Insect Monsters had become a serious threat to the forest.
If Rin hadn't acted this time, Treyni would've had to request aid from other monster tribes in the forest, like she had during the Orc Lord crisis.
"Do you know where those Insect Monsters came from?"
"That…"
Treyni shook her head with a hint of regret. "I only know that they do not belong to this world. Beyond that, I'm afraid I cannot say."
"I see."
As for the origin of the Insect Monsters, Rin speculated that they were likely connected to the Heavenly Demon, beings known for invading other worlds. It was possible these monsters were some kind of biologically engineered weapon.
The so-called Heavenly Demon were originally Angels from the Cardinal World who had fallen and become corrupted.
Of course, all of that was still far from Rin's current situation and not something he should worry about yet.
"There's no need for thanks."
Rin said, "I plan to live in the Ogre village moving forward, so that makes me part of the forest too."
"I don't mind eliminating threats to this place."
He wasn't trying to earn points with Treyni. That was just how he genuinely felt.
"That's wonderful."
Treyni smiled brightly. "From now on, Rin-san and Miss Ogerpon will be our neighbors. I hope we can all live in peace."
Even if Rin didn't ask for anything in return, Treyni wasn't going to let it go unacknowledged.
She was already thinking about what kind of thank-you gift she could offer Rin for protecting the forest.
"Mm. We'll be counting on you."
Once Rin confirmed that Treyni had no hostile intent, he let out a sigh of relief and finally got the chance to ask her about the current timeline.
For instance, how long until the main plot started.
From Treyni, he learned that the Storm Dragon was still sealed. That meant Rimuru hadn't reincarnated into this world yet.
As for further details, Rin couldn't determine much more.
"If you need anything in the future, Rin-san, you can just call my name."
Treyni said, "As long as you're within this forest, no matter where you are, I'll be able to hear your voice."
"Got it."
Having successfully connected with someone as powerful as Rin, Treyni had accomplished what she came here for.
The Great Jura Forest was like a residential community, and Rin and Ogerpon were the newest residents.
Now that she knew Rin was a polite and well-mannered neighbor, Treyni felt at ease.
"Well then, I won't disturb your rest any longer."
Treyni bowed toward Rin, then her body dissolved into green light and disappeared.
"Whew~"
It wasn't until Treyni's presence had completely vanished that Ogerpon finally lowered the Ivy Cudgel she'd been gripping tightly the whole time.
"Alright, you can let your guard down now. Looks like she really didn't mean any harm."
Even though they knew that already, Rin wasn't going to drop his vigilance.
And Ogerpon being in a defensive stance had simply been a safety measure.
(To be continued.)
Junkdog's Note: Drop power stones pleeeaaase, every 100 PS = bonus chapters. Also, if we manage to hit 1000 PS this week, I'll drop 10 extra chapters at the end of the week.
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