The contaminated area was temporarily closed.
Control lines were set up to prohibit entry to the area, and guards stood watch around the perimeter.
'Considering what happened in the contaminated area, this is a natural reaction.'
Though they had defeated the ethereal plant, follow-up measures were important.
If something like this happened once, there was a high chance it could happen again.
From Tirna City's perspective, they had to avoid the emergence of another high-risk ethereal entity at all costs.
'Although there must have been talks about ethereals before this.'
It seemed that everywhere, fixing the stable after the horse had bolted was the same.
Until now, ethereals hadn't been much of a threat, so they probably just let it slide.
But this time, an exceptionally strong one appeared, so they moved quickly as if their feet were on fire.Of course, the influence of the elf council member Coruntio in getting to this point couldn't be denied.
"Osian."
Speak of the devil. Coruntio approached Osian with a solemn face. Next to him was Eldin, who had regained consciousness by now.
"Thank you so much for your help with this incident."
Coruntio formally expressed his gratitude to Osian.
"I heard your original job was to escort and check the contaminated area's counters. This incident was clearly beyond the scope of expectations. You could have ignored it, but you didn't."
"It wasn't entirely unrelated to me."
He fought the ethereal plant because it possessed the power of the Sun Ring.
Osian didn't think fighting to reclaim his own power was something worthy of gratitude.
But it seemed different to Coruntio.
"Of course, that might be one reason. But you fought at the forefront more than anyone else. I heard the story. You saved my sister when she was in danger."
"Hey. Why are you bringing that up?"
"Well, even though she's quite rough around the edges, she's a very important person among us elves."
Eldin sighed irritably at Coruntio's words.
She glared at Coruntio once before approaching Osian.
"Thank you. I owe you my life."
"If you're that grateful, I hope you'll give me a good discount when I buy weapons later."
"That's a given. Just say the word. When good materials come in, I'll make you some excellent items."
Eldin boasted, patting her chest with her fist.
"Besides, I can't call you rookie anymore. Not only do I owe you my life, but you even took down that monster in my place. Maybe I've gotten rusty from resting too long."
"It was just a matter of compatibility, you're not weak."
It wasn't just empty words, but sincere.
The Sun Ring power that the ethereal plant obtained had powerful flame resistance and protective effects.
Considering the power of Eldin's spirit harmonization, if that ethereal plant had ten lives, she would have erased them all at once.
It just happened to be an opponent with the Sun Ring’s power, so from Eldin's perspective, no one could blame her if she felt unfair.
But Eldin wasn't the type to turn a blind eye to her defeat like that.
"A loss is a loss, what's all this about compatibility? A truly strong person overcomes compatibility issues."
Since that statement wasn't exactly wrong either, Osian nodded with a faint smile.
Seeing Osian like this, Eldin scratched her cheek with her index finger.
"And um, well..."
"Is there something else you want to say?"
"Just, well..."
Eldin recalled the scene where Osian saved her in the moment of death.
She had just thought that if she couldn't avoid it, she should accept it gracefully.
In that moment when Osian saved her, Eldin had no choice but to realize that no one in the world wants to die and that although she appeared to accept defeat on the outside, she was actually more frustrated than anything else.
As she realized this obvious fact anew, she found herself developing a forgotten desire to try living life to the fullest.
It might seem like nothing special to others, but for Eldin, who had lived for quite a long time, it was quite a rare experience.
And towards Osian, who had allowed her to feel these emotions while alive, she felt emotions beyond simple gratitude.
"...Just thank you."
But since Eldin wasn't very good with words in this area, she turned her head away after saying that.
Her pointed ears were flushed red, unlike usual.
"Sister? Could it be...?"
"What! Could it be what! Say it!"
Eldin snapped at Coruntio unnecessarily.
"Well, you know, that..."
"Hey. Let's talk separately. Hey rookie. I'm going to take this guy with me now. I think my body hasn't fully recovered yet!"
Eldin immediately grabbed Coruntio by the collar and disappeared to a place with no people.
Osian smiled watching their retreating figures.
"She said she wouldn't call me rookie anymore."
Old habits really do die hard.
As Osian watched them, he slowly leaned against the wall of a building.
He spoke in a low voice as if talking to himself, though anyone watching would think he was muttering.
"So, are you alright?"
Though he spoke where no one was around, surprisingly, there was an answer.
"You knew?"
The voice came from a mouth that protruded from one wall. An eyeball popped out too. It looked as if the wall and a person had merged together.
It was Krua, the elder sister of the Slithering Sisters.
"From what I saw, you seemed to have had a rough time with the ethereal plant as well."
"Ah yes. It's embarrassing, but I got caught off guard."
The tentacle-like root movements shown by the ethereal plant.
It seemed that was where it came from, as expected.
"We were also nearby with our own business to handle. And unfortunately got ambushed. If my sister hadn't come to save me in the middle, it could have been serious."
"How's your condition?"
"Well, I casually gave up one arm."
To be able to say giving up an arm was casual.
Considering Krua's ability to handle outer god's power, it might not be entirely impossible, but.
'Still, it sounds quite strange to the listener.'
Either way, it was fortunate that Krua was safe.
"I ended up owing you another debt. You took care of that plant in my place."
"You're saying the same thing as everyone else."
"Well, it's true that I received help. Besides, that plant must have been tougher to deal with since it got stronger after eating my arm."
If we're talking about whether it was tough or not, it certainly was tough.
"If you feel that sorry, just help me out when I need it later."
"...Right. Action speaks louder than mere words of gratitude. Anyway, that's what I came to say. My sister also asked me to relay her thanks."
"I understand."
"The eyes spread throughout the city might start looking for us soon, so I'll be going now."
The eye and mouth on the wall disappeared.
Making human body parts protrude from inorganic matter. Was this also the power of an outer god?
This city really had many peculiar things.
*
Several days had passed since then. The flood recovery work proceeded steadily, and Osian's trips outside decreased.
Of course, Tirna never ceased to have incidents and accidents.
Just looking at the front page of the daily newspaper, it was full of articles about various criminal organizations thriving in the gaps of weakened city security.
'Regular gangs or criminals who committed illegal acts would be better.'
The bigger problem was terrorist organizations and rebels.
The newspaper contained articles about the Blood Brotherhood attacking some facility.
There were also articles about rebel organizations that had flowed in from outside operating somewhere in Tirna City.
'Rebels, huh.'
Though this world had developed much compared to before, looking outside Tirna, you could still see remnants of old ways.
The exploitation by still-existing monarchies and nobles.
Common people struggled to find ways to survive while suffering from poverty and hunger.
This might actually be normal.
It might just be that Tirna had advanced too far ahead, making surrounding countries look relatively lacking in comparison.
'In the old days, they would have suppressed it with power before an uprising could occur, but times are different now.'
Even before Tirna city came to be, people's civic consciousness had made tremendous progress through the ages.
Abolition of the class system, equality for all, treatment of non-human rights, and so on.
The foundational thoughts for these current ideas existed 100 years ago, 200 years ago.
This was the result of their steady accumulation.
'Now people don't bow down and take it as easily as before.'
If nobles exploit, citizens rise up against them.
Revolutions occur, and monarchies are sometimes replaced. Seeing this, neighboring countries feared the same happening to them and persecuted revolution supporters even more.
But the more you try to suppress something, the more it rises up - that's human nature.
The revolutionaries mentioned in the newspapers were born from this.
Unable to continue revolutionary activities in their own countries, they fled persecution and pressure and flowed into Tirna.
For neighboring countries, it was quite an uncomfortable situation.
'They're worried about what the rebels might plot while hiding in Tirna, but they can't just demand Tirna hand over the rebels.'
Even if they did make such demands, there was nothing Tirna could do.
If they could track down and drive out rebels, terrorists wouldn't be running rampant in the city either.
Tirna's security management and administrative capabilities weren't that excellent.
If anything, such capabilities were concentrated in specific areas where wealthy people lived.
In areas where poor people lived, where public eyes didn't reach, gangs still fought battles and citizens lived in fear.
How could they find rebels hiding among them?
'No. They probably could find them. But considering the manpower and money needed, the calculation doesn't add up.'
Rather, having such rebels might be good for Tirna City, as it gave them some freedom from pressure from neighboring countries.
Just as neighboring countries disliked Tirna for symbolizing freedom, Tirna equally disliked neighboring countries that consistently criticized their actions.
Rather, Tirna secretly supported the rebels, welcoming the possibility of revolution in neighboring countries.
'Perhaps hiding these rebels is actually Tirna City's doing.'
But Tirna isn't a single entity.
This city has countless people, factions, and differing opinions.
Among them, there must surely be those who don't welcome the presence of rebels.
'Whatever it is, it's none of my business.'
But the newspaper company seemed to think otherwise.
Day after day, articles poured out about which facilities were dangerous and which companies were connected to rebels.
They were quiet during the rainy season, but now that things were settling down, they were spewing out all sorts of gossip.
'Come to think of it, didn't the Goldiron family recently acquire some medium-sized newspaper company?'
He had heard that the acquired media company president's family was caught on grounds of negligent management and were driven out after being extorted for all sorts of money - it was quite a satisfying story.
While scanning the newspaper, Osian found an article.
"Saint Tree Corporation collaborates with elves to develop new biotechnology?"
The gist was this:
Plant colonies can share information with each other even when far apart if their roots are connected.
Based on this concept, they created technology that could exchange messages over long distances by planting vegetation throughout the city.
'Even though we already have telephones and communication devices.'
Telephones required separate phone lines to be installed, and long-distance communicators were so expensive that only certain people could use them.
For ordinary citizens, even installing a phone line was burdensome.
'But according to this article, they could exchange long-distance communications at quite a cheap price.'
Wide-area communication network using biotechnology.
While the idea seemed quite plausible and good at first glance, Osian had doubts.
'Is it possible to plant vegetation directly in the city? Besides, even if they're elven plants, considering Tirna's environment, they probably won't grow well.'
Osian dismissed it to the back of his mind, thinking it wasn't very important information.
After folding the newspaper, Osian stood up from his seat.
'Perhaps it's time to move out of this apartment and purchase a private mansion.'
While the room was quite spacious for living alone, the problem was the neighbors.
Though not frequent, there were definitely cases of people getting drunk and shouting, or arguing loudly with each other.
Considering most residents were below middle class, it was natural.
'I should ask Ronan when I get to the office.'
With that thought, when Osian arrived at the office, the first person he saw was Loraine.
"...What's the matter?"
Loraine was desperately trying to hold back laughter.
In her gaze secretly directed at Osian, there was clear hesitation about whether to answer his question.
Osian instinctively sensed the irreverent emotion hidden in that gaze and he was already starting to feel irritated.