Chapter 503:
"Are they going to start mining…?"
The commotion from the excavators was impossible to miss. Between the Wilderness Area and the human settlements lay a village. To call it a "village" wasn't quite right—it was far from small. Over a decade ago, it had been a barren place called Hundred Woods Village.
But now, Hundred Woods Village had grown to rival a small town, with hundreds of households calling it home. Roads connecting it to nearby major cities had been built, funded, it was said, by an evolutionary stone mining company a few years back.
They poured vast sums of money into the place, bringing it growing prosperity.
However, with development came an influx of outsiders who put down roots in the village. Their thinking was active, unconstrained.
Meanwhile, the elders were gradually passing away.
This rapid turnover, combined with the flood of new information, caused the old legends once passed down to scatter and fade on the path of progress.
Few in the village now remembered the old legend of the earth veins.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. Some still knew.
A few children, about seven or eight years old, saw what was happening and discussed while darting into the forest.
There was a boy and a girl among them.
The older boy looked about ten, the girl seven or eight.
Following a small path through the woods, the older boy muttered as he walked, "Come on, come on! We can't let them damage the earth veins again. We have to tell him!"
The forest's edge was lined with felled trees and mounds of earth, forming a rough passage for the excavators to enter.
The passage wasn't fully cleared yet, but the excavators already seemed eager to push their way into the heart of the woods.
The girl followed the boy, one hand clutching the hem of his shirt. The fringes of the fallen forest were littered with broken branches and churned earth. It seemed it had drizzled yesterday, leaving the ground muddy and slick with yellow soil.
The children's shoes were soon caked in mud.
From within the forest came the occasional startled cries of frightened Pokémon, mingling with the restless growl of machinery.
The girl was clearly scared, whispering timidly, "Takeru, maybe we should go back? We can tell the Village Head and let him stop those people."
The boy called Takeru seemed the lively, energetic type, with a head of unruly, spiky hair.
He glanced back at the girl. "What are you talking about? Why would the Village Head believe a few kids? Besides, it was the Village Head who agreed to let them dig up the earth veins! The Village Head's no good either! All he sees is money!"
"We have to stop them from damaging the earth veins, or the earth will get angry again. Then everyone's done for."
"Right now, he's the only one who can stop it."
The boy's tone was resolute.
He was talking about the person they'd met last year when they got lost in these woods. He lived alone in the forest, had rescued them, and told them stories about the earth veins.
He'd said he was a guardian of the earth veins, that he'd once had a great partner… The boy had forgotten some of the later details; they'd been so young back then.
"O… okay."
The girl had no more arguments and quietly followed the boy toward the place from their hazy memories.
An hour passed, then two… Crossing the wooded hills, scrambling over fallen, dead trees, they finally reached a clearing in the forest. It opened up to reveal a small, faintly glowing lake. Beside it stood a simple log cabin, raised on stilts above the ground.
In the lake, several Lotad were playing, and a Goldeen occasionally surfaced to blow bubbles.
A vegetable garden lay nearby, and the surrounding trees had clearly been trimmed, allowing the comfortable sunlight to pour in.
It was a scene of tranquil beauty.
A man with long hair and a beard, dressed in a simple white T-shirt, was watering the garden. A Ludicolo followed at his side.
"We're here!"
Seeing him, little Takeru's face lit up with excitement. He hurried over with the girl in tow.
The man noticed the two approaching children. His somewhat unkempt face broke into a smile. "It's you two… What is it this time? Got lost adventuring again and can't find your way home?"
Mention of their last adventure, when they'd gotten lost, made the boy blush. But he quickly launched into an urgent explanation. "No, no, it's the earth veins, Uncle! Th-they're going to disturb the earth veins again! Where they're going is exactly the spot you said the earth veins are! If they mess with it, the earth will get angry again!"
The man paused for a moment, but his smile didn't fade. "The earth veins? That story I told you about the earth veins? That was just a story… No need to be so worried."
"??? A story?" little Takeru's urgent expression froze. He shook his head vigorously. "How can that be? How could it just be a story? Don't lie to me! After you told us that story, I looked it up! They really do exist!"
"I know it's because of the earth veins that this land is nourished and stable!"
little Takeru argued as if stating an irrefutable fact.
All he got in return was a pat on the head and the man's calm voice. "Those are just stories adults make up to teach children…"
But before he could finish, Takeru loudly retorted, "That's not true! It's real!"
"Then why doesn't anyone believe it anymore?"
The man's next question struck little Takeru speechless.
He looked at the man before him, then thought about the village—how life had seemingly gotten better and better since he was born.
His young mind, hit by some sudden impact, couldn't form a rebuttal.
"But… but…"
The word 'but' caught in his throat several times, but anything that followed remained stuck there.
"Go home. The sun will be setting soon. If you don't go back, your parents will worry again."
The man ruffled little Takeru's hair and led them to the path they'd come in on. He walked with the two children for a while. Gradually, the chaotic sounds of machinery grew louder around them. Watching the excavators rumbling into the forest, a strange sense of nostalgia welled up in his heart, followed closely by a wave of sorrow.
As that sorrowful emotion settled, he continued leading the children forward.
They reached the path leading to the human town. He let them head home on their own. As he turned to leave…
A shout, a single sentence, made his footsteps halt.
"But… but you said you once protected the earth veins… You're a guardian…"