A small golden tree stood in the woodland, bearing an air of permanence, as though it had waited for thousands upon thousands of years.
The lush green forest illuminated by its light stood in stark contrast to the charred ruins they had seen along the way.
The unfamiliar sight drew heartfelt exclamations from everyone seeing the Erdtree for the first time, Beruto included.
But his face soon darkened again. How could a tree possibly solve the food shortage? No matter how unusual it looked, could it really bear enough fruit to feed everyone in the valley?
Nausicaä stood beneath the Erdtree once again.
Strangely, she felt an inexplicable comfort and relaxation, as though she had returned to the castle room where she had lived since childhood.
"You're here."
"Yes. As you requested, I brought seeds, as well as strong, experienced farmers."
After struggling with herself for a moment, she continued, "Are you... really going to help us end the famine? Even though the Valley of the Wind has nothing to offer in return?"
Hearing Nausicaä's words, Mu En suddenly felt as though he were in a myth or fable.
Something like one of those commonplace little stories: "A king with nowhere else to turn begs an unknown ancient god to save his country, only to be swindled out of everything by the evil god and left in bitter regret." Tales that warned people not to expect something for nothing.
Er, fundamentally speaking, that did seem to be what was happening.
Except Nausicaä was a princess, and he wasn't some evil god who took payment without doing the job.
"Nausicaä, I told you, mortal transactions mean nothing to me. That includes the 'price.'"
"Yes, you did, but..."
"What I need is faith.
"You accept my help, and I receive your heartfelt faith. That is all you need to give."
Nausicaä looked up at the Erdtree, scarcely able to believe it.
Whatever faith meant to the Erdtree, for the Valley of the Wind, this was practically no price at all.
What surprised her even more was that he had stated his purpose so plainly, and through her mental perception, she detected not the slightest hint of a lie.
"You know I'm not lying, don't you?" Mu En asked with a smile.
He could see Nausicaä's confusion. At a time like this, telling her the truth was the best comfort.
"...On behalf of the people of the Valley of the Wind, I thank you again for your help." The girl's gaze became resolute once more. This time, she would not doubt him again.
"Very well. There's a lot of work to be done, but we have to start with the first step. Scatter the seeds."
Mu En expected this experiment to go very smoothly, unless...
"What? I won't agree to it!"
After hearing Nausicaä's request, Beruto swept an arm out, pointing at the massive trees with their tangled roots and the thick fallen leaves covering the woodland floor.
"What on earth are you dreaming up? Scattering seeds somewhere you can't see the sky for the trees, with roots all through the ground, is a complete waste of food!"
He stepped forward, placing his less-than-towering frame between Nausicaä and the wheelbarrow loaded with seeds.
"I don't interfere with your usual antics, but now every seed is more precious than a double-snake gold coin! I absolutely won't agree to wasting these lifesaving seed grains on some 'experiment.' Even if... even if you remove me from my post as elder, I won't agree!"
He had expected the young princess to have some naive ideas, but he had never imagined she would be this naive.
Scatter crop seeds in the forest and then expect a tree to farm for them? What would they need farmers for, then?
Even the laziest layabout in the village wouldn't expect that to happen!
Just a few days ago, he had nearly come to blows with a group of miners driven frantic by hunger, all to protect these stores.
And now the princess wanted him to waste those seeds with his own hands.
He couldn't do it.
Looking at the agriculture elder, who seemed ready to dash his head against the Erdtree if she refused to give in, Nausicaä sighed softly, a helpless expression on her face.
Beruto was known throughout the Valley of the Wind for being stubborn and headstrong, and he also made extremely high demands of those under him.
Otherwise, he could never have trained so many excellent farmers.
But now, that stubborn streak was no good thing.
Just as Beruto thought his vehement opposition had worked, she turned toward the little golden tree and began "talking to herself."
"Sorry, Mr. Tree, he... then what should I... all right, I understand."
Mu En had given her only one answer: seeing is believing.
Nausicaä then turned back and looked calmly at Beruto, making his heart sink.
"Uncle Beruto, there are some things you should see for yourself. This concerns the future of the entire Valley of the Wind."
With that, she started toward the wheelbarrow of crop seeds behind Beruto.
"No, I-"
"Beruto!"
Mito's burly figure suddenly stepped between them, blocking Beruto's path as his one eye glared fiercely at him.
"Don't you have even that much trust in Her Highness anymore? Or are you trying to defy the authority of the clan leader?"
"Nonsense! I'm afraid someone is deceiving the princess. I don't mean anything else by it!" Beruto glared pointedly at Mito, but no matter how he pushed, he couldn't budge the tall veteran.
"Just watch. Nausicaä knows what she's doing."
Under Mito's persuasion (physical), he had no choice but to stand there and watch the girl take four kinds of crop seeds from the leather bags.
Fortunately, Nausicaä took only a small amount, apparently just enough for a demonstration, so he gave up trying to stop her for the moment.
"Let's see what this 'miracle' the princess is talking about really is."
Beruto didn't believe there were any "gods" in this world.
He firmly believed that time and the facts would prove him right.
"Are these the crops you usually eat?"
Seeing the seeds Nausicaä had brought, Mu En couldn't help sounding a little strange.
Nausicaä didn't notice and introduced them one by one:
"Yes. We mainly use wheat to make porridge, or grind it into flour for flatbread."
The grains she called "wheat" were shriveled and wrinkled, their husks dull and lusterless. They looked just like weed seeds grown in an untended, barren field.
"Then there are potatoes. We usually mash them with spices, or stew them with meat."
The potatoes were only the size of eggs, with thick, rough skins covered in lumps. Tossed into a pile of stones, they would have been indistinguishable.
"Soybeans were originally feed for the horned cattle. Now that all the cattle have been requisitioned, these beans can help fill the food shortage a little."
The soybeans were much the same. If Nausicaä hadn't identified them, he would have thought they were yellow mung beans.
"Lastly, these are grape seeds. The fruit wine made in the Valley of the Wind is a well-known specialty among the nations of the Sea of Corruption."
Only the grape seeds looked reasonably normal from the outside.
"Mm, bury them under the tree. These samples should be enough."
Mu En was surprised because most of the crops looked completely different from how he remembered them.
They looked as though they had undergone severe degeneration, or were simply malnourished.
But on closer thought, it made sense.
After all, you couldn't expect living things growing in a world full of toxins, radiation, and poisonous fungi to look the same as they had thousands of years ago...
Nausicaä then picked up a hoe herself and began turning the soil.
With her physical abilities, her movements were deft and swift, and she soon cleared a small patch of soft earth beneath the Erdtree.
Then, following Mu En's instructions, she casually scattered the completely untreated seeds into it.
"All right, you can begin the experiment."