"So they're planning to excavate it...."
The commotion caused by the excavators was enormous.
Naturally, there was no way to keep it from attracting everyone's attention.
Between the forested wilderness and the nearest human settlement stood a village.
Calling it a "village" was actually somewhat misleading.
It was not small at all.
More than ten years ago, however, this place had been nothing more than a barren patch of land.
It was called Bairin Village.
But now, Bairin Village had already grown to the size of a small town.
Hundreds of families lived there.
The town had even been connected by roads to several nearby major cities.
It was said that the roads had been funded by an Evolution Stone mining company a few years ago.
They had poured a tremendous amount of money into the area.
As a result, the once impoverished village had gradually flourished.
But development brought changes of its own.
More outsiders began arriving in the village.
Some of them settled down permanently.
Their ideas were more active and open-minded, and their way of thinking gradually became different from that of the older generation.
Meanwhile, the elderly residents slowly passed away.
With generations changing and countless new pieces of information constantly entering people's lives, the legends that had once been passed down through the village were gradually washed away by the tide of development.
By now, hardly anyone in the village still remembered the old legend about the earth veins.
Well....
That wasn't entirely true.
There were still people who remembered.
Two children had seen the excavators and quickly decided to head into the mountains.
One was a boy.
The other was a girl.
The boy looked about ten years old.
The girl was around seven or eight.
Following a narrow trail through the forest, the older boy kept muttering anxiously.
"Come on, come on! We can't let them destroy the earth veins again!"
"We have to go tell him!"
Around the forest were countless freshly cut trees.
The ground had been dug up and piled into a rough path designed to allow the excavators to enter the mountains.
The path wasn't completely open yet.
But the excavators already looked eager to push their way deeper into the forest.
The girl followed behind the boy, gripping the back of his shirt with one hand.
The edge of the damaged forest was covered with dead branches and disturbed soil.
It seemed that there had been a light rain the previous day.
As a result, the ground had become thick with muddy yellow earth.
Before long, both children's shoes were covered in mud.
Every now and then, frightened cries from Pokémon echoed out of the forest.
The roar of machinery followed soon after.
The girl was clearly frightened.
She timidly spoke up.
"Takeo, maybe we should go back?"
"We can tell the village chief and ask him to stop those people."
The boy called Takeo was clearly the more energetic of the two.
His hair stuck straight up in an exaggerated, unruly style.
He turned around and looked at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"How could the village chief possibly believe something a couple of children told him?"
"Besides, he's the one who approved their excavation in the first place!"
"The village chief isn't a good person either!"
"All he cares about is money!"
[We have to stop them from destroying the earth veins. Otherwise, the land will become angry again.]
[When that happens, everyone will be doomed.]
"There is only one person who can stop them now."
The boy spoke with absolute certainty.
They had met that person last year.
The two children had gotten lost in the forest while exploring.
That man had been living alone deep in the mountains.
He had rescued them.
He had also told them the story of the earth veins.
He had even claimed that he was a guardian of the earth veins.
He had once had a very good partner as well....
Takeo couldn't remember what happened afterward.
The two children had been too young at the time.
"Okay...."
"Okay, fine."
The girl had no argument left.
She quietly followed the boy toward the place buried within their vague memories.
One hour passed.
Then two.
They crossed the mountains.
They climbed over fallen trees.
They pushed through the dense forest.
Finally, they reached a flat clearing.
The forest suddenly opened up before them.
A small lake shimmered faintly beneath the sunlight.
Beside the lake stood a small wooden cabin made from logs.
The cabin had been built slightly above the ground.
Several Lotad were playing happily in the water.
Every now and then, a Goldeen would poke its head above the surface and blow a few bubbles.
Nearby was a small vegetable garden.
The surrounding trees had clearly been carefully trimmed.
Warm sunlight streamed naturally into the clearing.
It was an incredibly peaceful scene.
A long-haired, bearded man wearing a simple white short-sleeved shirt was watering the vegetables.
A Ludicolo stood beside him.
"We're here!"
The moment he saw the man, Takeo's face lit up with excitement.
He grabbed the girl's hand and hurried over.
The man had obviously noticed the two children approaching.
A smile appeared on his slightly unkempt face.
"Oh, it's you two...."
"What is it this time?"
"Went exploring again and lost your way home?"
Mentioning their previous adventure made Takeo's face turn red.
But the embarrassment quickly disappeared.
He hurriedly began explaining.
"No, no!"
"It's the earth veins!"
"Uncle, they.... they are going to dig into the earth veins again!"
"They're going to the exact place you told us about!"
"If they disturb the earth veins, the land will become angry again!"
The man's expression paused for a moment.
But his smile remained.
"The earth veins?"
"You mean the story I told you?"
"That was just a story...."
"There's no need to get so worked up."
[??? Just a story?]
Takeo's urgent expression froze.
He immediately shook his head.
"How could that possibly be a story?"
"Don't lie to me!"
"After you told me about it, I went home and searched for information about it."
"It really exists!"
[I know!]
[It is precisely because the earth veins exist that this land is nourished and remains stable!]
Takeo argued his point with all the conviction a child could muster.
But the only response he received was the man's gentle hand patting his head.
His voice remained calm.
"Those are just stories adults make up to teach children."
Before he could finish, Takeo loudly interrupted him.
"It's not!"
"It's real!"
"Then why doesn't anyone believe in it anymore?"
The man's next question left Takeo completely frozen.
The boy stared at him.
Then he remembered the village.
Ever since he had been born, hadn't the village been getting better and better?
The little boy's heart suddenly took a tremendous blow.
For the first time, he couldn't find a way to argue back.
"But...."
"But...."
He repeated those words several times.
Yet he couldn't force out anything else.
The man gently patted his head.
"Go home."
"The sun is almost down."
"If you don't go back soon, your parents will start worrying again."
He took Takeo by the hand and led the two children back along the path they had come from.
The three of them continued walking.
Gradually, the sounds of machinery became louder.
The man looked toward the excavators moving deeper into the forest.
A strange sense of nostalgia suddenly welled up inside him.
But following that nostalgia was something much heavier.
Grief.
Deep, silent grief.
The emotion settled over him as he continued walking with the two children.
Eventually, they reached the small road leading toward the human settlement.
He let the children continue toward home on their own.
Then he turned around.
But just as he was about to leave....
A voice suddenly rang out behind him.
Or rather, a desperate shout.
His footsteps stopped.
"But...."
"But you said you once protected the earth veins!"
"You said you were their guardian...."
------------------------------
Love the story? Show your support and unlock early access to new chapters by joining me on Patreon! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.