“Kin? As in relatives?” Paina covered her mouth with her hands.
“Lord Viers is a dryad?”
“Impossible. All dryads are female!” The lamia strongly denied.
While the girls inside his head were in the middle of confusion, Viers was no different.
Kin? Did she really mean me? I’m pretty sure I’m 100% human. I don't have mysterious ancestry like those MCs with unknown parents, Viers’ parents were normal humans… could it be ‘that’?
Seeing the naked girl with greenish skin and leaves for hair was looking and waiting for him expectantly, Viers decided that hiding was useless. Since he didn't feel hostility and the dryad wasn't overly powerful in his eyes, he slowly came out to greet the dryad.
As the declared kin approached, the dryad was fidgeting.
“Umm, I’m sorry... I’ve been a bad girl,” she said while looking downwards, like a child caught wetting her bed.
“Are you a dryad?” Viers asked while keeping his guard up.
“...Grandpa said that word too, maybe I am? I don't know.” The green-skinned little girl answered.
“Don't know?” Viers didn't believe her. “What is your purpose coming here?”
“Hiii!” She flinched because of Viers’ tone. “T-to, to meet you...”
“Why? Are there others besides you?”
“...Cause, I’m bored… and lonely.” The dryad looked like she was about to cry.
“Viers, please don't bully her,” Paina said.
“I’m not. Just asking questions. Don't let appearances deceive you. She might be faking it.” Viers’ firm voice reached all of his tenants.
Viers eyed the Rift, the swirling white portal in the trunk of the tree.
“You come from there?”
“I’ve been trying, but it won’t close,” The dryad said.
“Viers, if the Rift stays open then the whole area will be drowned in mana, mutating this place,” Clarissa warned.
“I can see that. But this dryad said she couldn't do it. What are our options?”
“If there is a Biome Master inside, he or she should be able to close it,” the lamia clarified. Among all of them, Clarissa had the most knowledge about Biomes since she was in one for 9000 years.
“Girl, tell the Biome Master to close it,” Viers informed the dryad.
“Biome… Master? I don't know who that is.”
“What!?” Viers raised his tone.
“Lord Viers, she said she was alone earlier,” Farley reminded him. “If that is true then...”
Viers and the others caught on.
“She's the Biome Master? But she couldn't close it though?”
“She seems… cut off. To close the Rift voluntarily, an enormous amount of energy is needed. She must return to the Biome and close it from the inside.” Clarissa explained.
“...Apologies, I didn't mean to shout. Girl, if you go back inside then you can close it.”
Her unwillingness was showing on her face.
“I don't want to go back… I’m all alone there.”
“Didn't you say you have a grandpa there?” Viers pressed.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Grandpa… never talks to me,” some of her leaf hair visibly wilted. Did that happen because she was sad?
“So that’s how it is. She’s lonely so she came out to meet you. Mostly by carving a path from the Biome by force. That’s why the mana was leaking to this degree. I found this odd since the leaked mana was too much and should be regarded as a loss to the Biome itself.” Clarissa deduced.
“Lord Viers, I don't think she’s lying. I don't feel any hostility.”
Viers trusted Farley’s ability to read people. Her upbringing and education as a cultist required her to discern people.
Neither do I actually.
Viers kneeled on one knee to meet the naked dryad’s eyes.
“Girl, look at my eyes. The portal you created is a bit dangerous to the outside world. It must be closed.”
Viers gently grabbed her wrist. The touch made the dryad flinch again but it soon passed as Viers did not harm her.
The dryad felt something strange as if she was touching the surface of water. But it didn't hurt or feel malevolent so she didn't mind it much.
“You said you’re lonely and you wanted to meet me. Do you want to hurt me?”
“No! I-I only want to talk and play.”
“Is there anything inside that will hurt me? Will your grandpa?”
“No. Everyone just stays still every day.”
The soul touch told Viers this dryad really didn't mean him harm and was not lying.
“Clarissa, if I go inside, can I get out?”
“Viers! You want to go in? We don't know what’s inside!” Clarissa protested.
“One thing I know when dealing with children, give them the benefit of doubt. I touched her soul and she really didn't mean any harm.”
“How come you know she’s a child?” Paina asked. It was Viers himself who said appearances could be deceiving just earlier.
“Her soul is young, just like her appearance. She is about… ten years old? Same as Luca. Rissa, my question?”
“...If the Biome Master allowed you to go out then sure. But I must protest. This is like walking into the maw of a monster.”
“...We can't allow the Rift to stay open or it will endanger everyone. I still hope to stay in this village for a couple more weeks if possible. And then there’s the issue of opportunity. You see, in the Fables, hidden realms such as this are no different than treasure troves. Power and wealth to those worthy to take it.”
And if I treated mysterious beings such as this dryad coldly instead of cordially, it might bite me in the ass later.
“Girl, how about this? I go in with you then, we close the portal. Then you can give me a tour about your Biome. After that, we play.”
“Un, un, un!” She nodded happily.
“But there are two conditions. Firstly, you don't like pain, right?”
“Nnn, no?” she cocked her head while answering.
“I don't like it either. So if there’s anything dangerous inside that might want to hurt me, I might run away.”
“I-I’ll protect you!” the naked little dryad bravely offered her protection.
“Thanks, but that’s just in case. Secondly, let me leave this evening.”
“Ehhh? You won't stay with me forever?” She looked like Viers just condemned her to hell.
“Now, now, don't panic. If there’s nothing dangerous inside then I’ll be back tomorrow and we’ll play again. Agreed?”
“...Okay!” She said after some thinking.
Pheew. She agreed! Secret realm tour, here I come!
“Alright then, let’s go inside and close the portal. My name is Avel.”
“Avel… Avel… Un, I remember it.”
The dryad showed a troubled face.
“I… don’t have one,” she dejectedly admitted.
“...I see… Let's go inside first. Shall we?”
Viers was holding the hand of the child dryad as they went through the Rift, to the other side.
Viers expected a grand sensation, like experiencing the molecules in his body torn piece by piece and reconstructed without a slightest error. Instead, he felt something similar to entering a comfortable building filled with air conditioners from a hot outdoor.
The Rift brought him to a small clearing. What he saw in front of him, took his breath away.
It was so full of life, a plant paradise. The green of leaves and grass were joined by vibrant colors from other flowers and vegetation. The trees grew strong and healthy, bearing fruits he never saw before. The trees didn’t look cluttered at all, neither were they artificially arranged, as if magically creating optimum spaces between them.
The dryad peeked at Viers’s amazed face and giggled. She was glad Viers liked it.
Viers took a step forward and the formerly green grass changed color to blue.
“Ahaha,” Viers took a few more steps. A few centimeters from where his foot landed, the grass changed color like drops of vigorous blue atop a green canvas. The grass eventually returned to its natural green color after a while.
A moderately strong wind blew across. Viers witnessed hundreds of small white seeds carried by the air currents. They looked like jellyfish, flipping their thin membrane in the air.
Viers approached a nearby group of flowers. These blossoms looked similar to bellflowers. Viers was curious because they made ringing sounds. He lightly blew on them and the sounds of metallic wind chimes came from them, melodious.
Not far from there, he saw a yellow tree with a honeycomb-shaped trunk. No leaves on any part of its body. Sweet and mellow smell of honey brushed his nose. Below the tree, was a small puddle of golden syrup.
A little bit in the distance, atop a small lake filled with crystal lotus flowers, were many trees with leaves similar to banana trees. These trees were discharging water from their leaves as if they were showerheads. The water was glistening as if mixed with diamond dust.
It was bright in the Biome, Viers searched for the source of light by looking above. He saw a giant sunflower, hundreds of meters tall, radiantly glowing with light. Viers saw that there were others in the distance. There was no sun but there were clouds.
“Is this your home?” Viers asked the small girl he was still holding hands with.