Large trees stood as if to prevent one's path.
Their moss-covered trunks were solid like boulders and their tops were hidden by the leaves so they couldn't be seen no matter how much one looked up.
......Plop.
A droplet fell off the edge of the bluish leaves. The drop of water that fell from far overhead──
"Cold!"
It fell on the brow of the woman walking directly below with a splash.
"Are you okay, ane-ue?"
"Yes......I was just a little surprised."
The woman of small build took out a handkerchief and wiped her wet brow. She was wearing a cloak-like vestment but that was also hit by droplets and becoming moist.
"......Haa. It's such a problem walking through the forest after it rains. My shoes are also mud-stained."
"That's because it was a squall. It was fortuitous that we could avoid the rain in the shadow of a large tree."
The Guard that called the petite woman "ane-ue" accompanied her to the side. She was a woman but was tall enough for a man with a massive rifle shining dark grey on her back.
And most eye-catching ── she wore a blinder over both eyes.
"Shall we rest?"
"We mustn't, Horn. Patrolling the floating continent <Orbie Clar> is also a Priestess' job......well, even with that said,"
The petite woman in a cloak slackened her expression with a giggle.
"It can't be helped even if I put up a front. The truth is I'm a little tired. Let's patrol for another thirty minutes and then head back to the campgrounds."
"──Roger."
There was no appearance of weariness on the Guard named Horn. She was shouldering the rifle which should have been considerably heavy and she also had heavy pistols at each shoulder.
And the blinder covering both eyes.
Her vision should have been perfectly reduced to zero but that Guard was walking on the rain-dampened ground carelessly. She avoided the roots sticking out of the ground and the branches sticking out above.
──A bizarre scene.
For a person who knew where this sea of trees was, it would be clearer than seeing a fire just how reckless it was to walk through it with a blinder covering one's eyes.
The Biotope.
It was an savage land that made up the edges of the floating continent, Orbie Clar. Undiscovered lifeforms and ecosystems were a given and there were large carnivores starting with dragons.
......A mysterious lifeform's call came from somewhere.
It was unknown whether it was a bug, a bird or some beast. A multitude of calls from lifeforms were coming from within the great sea of trees and from outside it.
"Ane-ue, we've walked a considerable distance so shouldn't you rehydrate?"
"It's just a little more so I'll bear it. Rather than drinking our canister's water here, it'd taste better to have tea at the campgrounds."
"Understood."
──However, fear of the Biotope could not be seen from the two.
It was like they were walking through their own garden.
Excessive fear would cramp the body while excessive caution would invite doubt. That excessive fear and caution was the cause of fatal danger in the Biotope. It was precisely because they knew that.
"......"
"Ane-ue?"
The petite Priestess twitched for a moment and stopped moving. The Guard who noticed that instantly also came to a stop.
"Clairvoyance? Did you see something?"
"......No, it was telepathy. It was from the second Priestess, Meimel-san. She asked, 'Can you come back?'"
The Priestess smiled and shook her head.
"It's a matter of 'We'd like you to help out with the business in the tower for the Priestess that we're sending as a special envoy to the Governmental Sector.'"
"......If it's from the patrolling groups, I think it would be better to speak with the first Priestess."
"That's true. But it's Meimel-san we're talking about here so there's probably some deep thought behind it. At any rate, it's an important matter so we can't refuse."
Right? ── the Priestess winked, to which the Guard made no response.
"............"
"What is it?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking about which Priestess was going to the Governmental Sector."
The tall woman responded after a short while.
"It seems to be Ymy-san. Meimel-san is in charge of managing the tower in place of the Queen-sama and Syun-rei-san is......bashful so it would be difficult to negotiate with the Governmental Sector. It's Ymy-san by process of elimination."
"............That sounds right."
The Guard mixed a deep, deep sigh with her muddled words.
"Then let's hurry back to the campgrounds. We're going, Horn."
"......Roger."
The Priestess she was guarding turned around.
While staring at her back──
"Ymy......Ymy Ele Soufflenictole is going to the Governmental Sector?"
The blinder-wearing gun user.
The third Sennenshi faced the empty sky and whispered in an extremely tiny voice.
"You......a Priestess who can't even save a single child is representing Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>?"
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