Nature, Bugs, and Everything You Hate

All right everybody, let's begin class.

We have a very special guest teacher with us today, Veina the elf!

Okay Veina, you can take over from here!

Whoa, I've never seen a real live elf before!

Wow, look at how long her ears are!

Hehe, nice to meet you all.

My name is Veina, and indeed I am an elf on a journey. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I will be acting as your teacher today.

Nice to meet you, too!

Wow, Veina's a total natural at this. I'm sure this class will go just fine...

But I might have to step in if she starts one of her long stories.

Ooh, ooh, Ms. Veina! What're we going to do for class today?

I want to talk to you all about the wonders of mother nature.

Oh man... Does that mean we're just gonna sit here and listen? That'll be a snoozer...

Hey! Don't you even think, ?!

Heh, it is all right. I did not want to bore anybody, so I have plenty of interesting tales prepared.

That's reassuring...

Now, let us get started.

I would like to begin by talking about wildlife and its relationship to the elves.

Us elves live as one with the natural world...

Huh?! Oh no, this isn't looking good!

Veina! Hold on a moment!

Aldo? What's wrong?

I'm just curious how long this story will be...

How long it is? Not overly so.

I should be able to conclude it in about three days.

Umm...

I knew it...

Are you done? May I continue?

Just one moment, I have an idea. How about we hold class outside?

You want to hold class outside?

What better way is there to teach about the wonders of nature than by immersing yourself in it?

That...

......

Yippee! This sounds great!

Phew...

I think that should make this a little less painful...

Let's get going, everyone. We're heading to the Corinda Plains.

I love field trips! I wonder what we'll do?

This is gonna be fun, right?

Y-Yeah, of course...

I can't see Veina anywhere. Where did she go?

She was with us when we left the palace, wasn't she?

Sorry everyone! I forgot something very important and had to return to the palace!

Veina, your outfit!

Wow! You look like a beautiful princess!

She's so cute!

Hehe, thank you.

Veina, what is that outfit?

These are the special clothes we wear for the Ceremony of the Winds in my hometown.

What's the Ceremony of the Winds?

It is a ritual unique to my hometown, in which we pray to and show our appreciation to nature. I realized that if I wanted to teach you all about nature, then it would be best if I wore this outfit.

I'd no idea that your hometown had that kind of ceremony, Veina.

It is these two feathers that adorn the outfit that make it so special. They were given to us by the spirits that protect our village.

Oh yeah, they sort of look like butterfly wings.

So you noticed? This is actually different than the outfits that men wear.

Ms. Veinaaaa! This isn't a fashion class! Let's start already!

Hehe, I had nearly forgotten.

Now that we are ready, let us begin.

Teacher, teacher, what're we gonna do?

Much like Aldo said... In order to understand the majesty of nature, one must experience it firsthand.

Which is why I shall summon nature to us!

You'll summon it?

Far-reaching zephyrs, to you I offer this simple dispatch. Ferry it every which way you go, that it may find its true heir.

Isn't that the same chant you said last time to summon your friend?

And just how many days is it gonna take them to arrive this time?!

Worry not, Aldo. They will arrive much sooner.

What's that sound?

Ahhh!

Wha, ? Monsters?!

Veina, this is bad! We need to take them out fast!

Stop! I summoned them here!

You what?! Don't tell me you brought them here?

I reached out to the wind, drawing the natural inhabitants here to me. They will assist me in today's lesson.

You want them to assist you?

Today, we will play with these bugs. There is no need to be afraid. They are your friendly neighborhood bugs.

Really... Are you sure?

Of course. Now do not be shy.

Oh! A flower! Is this for me?

Thank you, Mr. Bug!

Tee-hee... It looks like someone made a friend.

Now everyone... Let us have fun!

Thank you so much for today. I will make this up to you.

Bye bye, Mr. Bug!

I was a little nervous at first, but they were actually really nice.

So, did you all enjoy yourselves?

Sure, I suppose that they may be monsters, and monsters may occasionally seem scary. But it cannot be said that all creatures that live in nature are evil. That is what I really want everyone to take away from today's class.

That monster bee was super cool!

And I'll make sure to take care of the flower I got!

Haha... I think they learned a lot today, Veina!

I think they did. I am so happy everything went well.

All right, let us get back to the palace. But remember, class is in session until you reach your houses.

Huh? What are all of these people doing outside of the palace?

Did something happen?

Aldo! You can't go inside the palace right now!

Did something happen?

Indeed... A large monster has broken into the palace.

Are you serious?!

The sentinels tried to fend it off... But once it made it inside, they lost sight of it.

What sort of monster would wish to break into the palace?

According to the sentinels, the monster appeared to be some kind of insect.

An insect you say... In that case, just leave the problem to me.

Veina, just what do you think you're gonna do?

I would like to try talking to it. I am confident that I will be able to calm it down.

You... You want to talk to a monster? What if it attacks you?

Veina will be okay. She was able to calm several bugs before. Just one shouldn't be a problem.

You sound pretty confident. I guess I'll leave this to the both of you.

Let us head inside, Aldo. We will need to find where it is hiding.

They said that it hid somewhere in the palace, right? The palace is huge! It'll take us ages to find the monster.

......

That will not be necessary... I can sense the monster nearby. It is in the throne room!

That was so cool, Veina! Let's go check out the throne room!

Where's the monster?

Aldo! Look up!

Huh?!

So this is the monster that got into the palace? Veina!

......

Veina? What's wrong?

Ngh...

Ahhh!

What?!

I-I-Is that a sp-spider?!

Veina! Calm down! What's the matter?!

Ahhh! No way no how! I cannot stand spiders!

She's not even close... Hey, don't just attack randomly!

Gyaaah!

Ewwwww! I-I-It just tried to shoot us, Aldo!

You're fine, it didn't hit either of us! Maybe we should try leaving and...

Rgh... No, we cannot do that! Far-reaching zephyrs...

Huh? What is this...

Guh...

It's just playing with her...

Gyaaah!

......

Ah...

......

Veina? A-Are you okay?

Yes, I'm fine, Aldo. That helped me clear my head.

R-Really?

Yes...

We need to defeat this monster!

Just what do you think you're doing?!

I shall use an ancient rite.

An ancient rite?! Do you mean what I think you mean?

What was that about ancient elven rites? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, right?

Hmm. I suppose we did possess quite a number of rites with the power to single-handedly demolish the world several times over...

Wait a minute! Is it really okay to use that?!

It is fine. This is the most powerful attack I possess. It will not be able to get away from this!

That's not what I mean! Won't you annihilate the entire palace if you use that?!

If that is the price that must be paid to rid the world of such an abomination, then so be it!

(I have to stop her!)

Grr... Graaah...

I hope you're ready. This is the price for your sins.

Come ye wisdom passed down from the ancient elves... And reveal the forbidden secrets hidden within the gates of the great void.

Embrace the power of the wind, trees, flowers, and all that lives... By the name of Veina, I command you to banish this evil spirit!

Stop! Veina!

What are you all doing here?! You need to get out of here now! It isn't safe! Please, go now!

We aren't leaving you!

We heard that you were in trouble! We're here to help!

......

I...

I am so sorry, Aldo. I almost did something truly terrible...

You can apologize later! Right now, we've got this spider to worry about!

O-Okay!

Graaah!

I-It ran away!

Wait!

I can feel it moving further and further from the palace. I believe it will not be returning.

Should we follow it?

No, it is okay. It is too afraid to come back anytime soon. There is no need to pursue it.

All right, if you say so.

About that just now... I am very sorry. I should not have panicked like that, even if I do hate spiders.

You did get a bit worked up, but all's well that ends well. Everybody has things they're afraid of.

Honestly, I'm mostly shocked that you're afraid of spiders. You love bugs so much, and yet...

Spiders are not insects!

Huh?! I-I'm sorry...

The only things I really cannot stand are spiders.

What happened that made you hate them so much?

When I was just a little girl, I saw a spider, and... It was devouring the bugs that lived near my home.

I see. That explains a lot...

Honestly though, I mostly just think they are creepy looking. All of those eyes and those disgusting, furry legs...

I think I'm starting to understand how much you really hate spiders.

Typically, I can keep it in control, but this time I was caught off guard... If you had not brought the students here, I may very well have... I do not even want to imagine what might have happened.

To tell the truth, that was pretty reckless of me, putting them in the line of fire like that.

I'm really sorry for putting you all in danger.

It's okay! It was fun watching Ms. Veina use her magic!

I'll have to try that out during class sometime.

Hehe. I think I could learn a lot from you all.

Heh, me too.

All right, we took care of the spider. I guess that means we're done here.

Excuse me, but... Could I actually get just a little more of your time?

I don't see why not. What's the matter?

I would like to continue class just a little longer...

Shall we head to the classroom?

All right, it looks like we are all here.

What else do you want to do today, Ms. Veina?

Do you wanna go on another field trip?!

I actually brought you all here so I could apologize.

You want to apologize?

I wanted to show you all that not all things in nature are bad.

But I almost went and used an ancient elven rite, just because I do not like spiders. That was a grave mistake as both your teacher and mentor.

Can we really blame you, though?

No, I must take responsibility. Spiders are a part of nature as well. Just because I am afraid of them, does not make what I did okay.

Veina...

Please accept my sincerest apology, everyone.

......

That just means that we're all the same!

Huh?

My mom's always telling me to eat vegetables, but I hate them! There are simply some things we can't help but dislike.

I actually don't like magic class very much...

I hate spiders too, Ms. Veina!

Everyone... It looks you all taught me something in today's class.

Doesn't this kind of thing happen all the time? There's so much that children can teach us adults.

We must strive to be lifelong learners. It matters not whether you are a child or an adult, there is always something new to learn.

That most certainly applies to us humans as well.

Today's class was an opportunity to remind myself that I am still a student of life. If it is all right with you all, I would like to do this again sometime.

Sure! Your class was so much fun!

I can't wait until you come back again! I wanna know more about nature!

Heh, sounds like a resounding yes. Don't you think so, Ms. Veina?

I...I just cannot let class end yet...

Oh, I just had a good idea! I know that class is already over... But as a sign of my gratitude to everyone, I would like to tell you all one of my favorite fairy tales.

Oh no... A fairy tale?

An elf fairy tale?! I wanna hear! I wanna hear!

Here we go then...

This is the tragic tale of a love between a king and a witch. I shall begin with part one of one hundred.

Oh great...

In a country far far away lived a king who fell deeply in love with a witch...