"..." × 2
For a moment, the scene was extremely awkward.
Yesterday, Nausicaä had been so busy with disaster relief that she had no time to notice the changes in her body.
Now Nausicaä finally understood what Mu En had meant when he said, "You are no longer mortal."
"Mr. T-tree?"
"It's me. If I frightened you, I apologize."
Mu En was a little puzzled. Was he really that frightening?
Both Nausicaä and that great-grandmother had looked startled when they first became aware of his presence.
"No, I'm fine... You can speak directly to me like this?"
Forgetting her earlier embarrassment, Nausicaä immediately pressed him with curiosity.
Communicating across half the Valley of the Wind was a technology only industrial nations like Tolmekia and Pejite possessed.
"Yes. I can establish a mental link with every one of my subjects."
"Amazing! Wouldn't that be even more convenient than a telegraph? Um, a telegraph uses an electric current..."
"I know what a telegraph is, but right now, there's important business I need you to attend to." Mu En decisively brought the conversation back on track.
"Bring me some seeds from crops commonly grown in the Valley of the Wind, along with a few experienced farmers. I may have a way to solve your food shortage."
After clearly conveying that long message to Nausicaä, he promptly cut the link.
Mu En decided not to try the skill of long-distance communication again for the time being, lest his image develop in some strange direction...
"Wait, did you say food-?!"
Only then did Nausicaä realize what she had heard, but Mu En had already "hung up."
When her calls went unanswered, she knew he had probably already left.
Feeling guilty, she wiped nonexistent beads of sweat from her smooth forehead.
He didn't notice what I was thinking just now... did he? Or...
Or had the Erdtree already noticed her wavering and therefore made her another offer she couldn't refuse?
Nausicaä slapped her wet cheeks hard, forcing her surging thoughts back down, and quickly regained her composure.
No matter what, the survival of the Valley of the Wind had to come first.
She swiftly changed into the blue coat she wore outside and threw open her door.
"Grandpa Mito! Please call the stonemason over for me!"
"Princess, are you really all right? Shouldn't you let Granny examine you?"
"Grandpa Mito, I've told you three times already. I just lost control of my strength for a moment. Also, haven't you forgotten what we're supposed to be doing?"
"Uh, all right. Where was I... Oh, right. The last item in the report concerns the forest. We still haven't identified the source of the spores. The mycelium had already spread by the time it was discovered, so two-thirds of the forest had to be burned."
"The only good news is that the sun has already begun to cool as the windless season approaches. The fungus didn't have time to release miasma, so the forest soil hasn't been contaminated."
As they walked through the remains of the burned forest, Mito carefully held the "weekly report" recording the various affairs of the Valley of the Wind and read it aloud, word by word.
Originally, only major matters affecting the Valley of the Wind's development and survival needed to be reported to the chief. Everyday matters were handled by the elders and foremen of the respective fields.
But now, Nausicaä had to personally oversee and make adjustments to nearly every matter in the valley.
Ever since Chief Jihl left, problems had cropped up one after another.
Explosive raw materials had gone missing from the weapons factory, uneven food distribution had caused conflicts, and miners had mined veins in violation of the rules...
If Nausicaä hadn't made timely adjustments and dealt with these matters, order in the valley would probably have collapsed long ago.
Yet, although her approach was highly effective, not everyone approved of it.
"...There's one more thing. Those baseless rumors are getting worse and worse." Mito closed the notebook and carefully tucked it inside his clothes.
Recently, a rumor unfavorable to Nausicaä had been circulating in the Valley of the Wind.
All these misfortunes had been caused by Nausicaä becoming chief, because there had never been a female chief in the Valley of the Wind's history.
It was utter nonsense!
Anyone with eyes should have known that without Nausicaä's leadership, things would have been even worse.
Mito believed that Nausicaä's involvement in every matter, big or small, had encroached on the so-called "interests" of those who cut corners and shirked work. Those people were the real threat to the Valley of the Wind.
A century of peace had not made them honest and kind, but had turned them into lazy parasites who cared only for food and idleness.
It wasn't as though he hadn't sent people to investigate, but they had failed to find whoever was spreading the rumors and had only stirred up fear instead.
It was as if the villagers were spreading the rumors of their own accord.
"It's all right. Once we get through this period, the rumors will fall apart on their own."
But Nausicaä was unwilling to assume the worst. Even though she had already noticed some clues, she had only told the elders to keep their subordinates in line.
That attitude had the impatient Mito worried sick.
Someone was already openly opposing the princess, so how could she remain so calm?
He swept his one remaining eye over the group behind them.
Naturally, the two of them weren't the only ones who had come.
A dozen or so farmer foremen, just called in from the fields, followed behind, pulling five two-wheeled wooden carts loaded with seeds.
The group included both men and women. Their skin had all been roughened by wind and sun, and their finger joints had grown thick and misshapen from years of swinging hoes. These were all proof that they were seasoned farmers.
Mito's gaze finally settled on a middle-aged man at the rear of the group, whose face was dark and whose brow bore a fierce-looking scar.
In the Valley of the Wind, experienced people served as foremen in each trade. They were responsible for guiding newcomers, teaching skills, and assisting the elders with management.
The elders, meanwhile, were selected from among the foremen to assist the chief in overseeing and coordinating affairs in their respective fields.
The scar-faced man was the elder in charge of agricultural affairs, named Beruto.
At the moment, however, the farmer with the most farming experience in the entire Valley of the Wind was clearly in a bad mood.
"Princess, where exactly is this divine tree you mentioned? I don't have time to play games with you. Clearing away contaminated soil is no easy task."
Beruto surveyed the forest somewhat impatiently, seemingly looking for something.
"Boy, even I'm not impatient yet, so what are you in such a hurry for? We'll be there soon!"
Before Nausicaä could speak, Mito shot back at the question.
"Hmph. I hope this won't be another waste of time like that 'investigation' you had me conduct last time."
Beruto wasn't intimidated by Mito, who was also an elder. He snorted and quickened his pace a little.
At first, he hadn't believed those groundless rumors.
He didn't think the reasonable and fairly knowledgeable princess would act recklessly after taking the chief's seat.
That was until Nausicaä told him to keep an eye on the farmers under him, saying something about someone deliberately stirring up conflict in the Valley of the Wind... What nonsense.
Almost all the farmers were his students. If there really were anyone like that, he, Beruto, would be the first to swing a hoe and tear the fellow apart!
In his view, Nausicaä's actions showed that she didn't trust him.
As Beruto hurried along, full of resentment and staring down at the fallen leaves underfoot, he suddenly heard exclamations of amazement from the front of the group.
He looked up instinctively, and a glimmer of gold entered his sight.
"What... is that?"