Episode 41
A huge tree pierced the sky and towered high.
center of the world.
The first known tree, the World Tree, firmly supports the sky.
An elf was standing there.
“…Is there no way?”
Dressed in pure white elven traditional robes, he gazed at the world tree with mixed eyes.
The world tree was collapsing.
little by little, little by little.
Now, the ruined appearance was clearly visible.
It seemed that it would be filled with endless vitality forever, but does the world tree even have an end?
The cause was unknown.
It was really frustrating for the elves who had been relying on and getting everything from the World Tree until now.
Then a voice was heard from behind.
“father.”
“Have you come? son.”
He was looking at the world tree with his hands behind his back and turned his head.
A young elf stood behind him with a hard face.
“As expected, the World Tree…”
“Maybe I need to prepare a little bit now.”
It’s a problem that even the great ancestors couldn’t do anything about.
Elves have been studying and researching to solve this problem for a long time.
There was no one answer.
The knowledge and experience of the elves were certainly abundant, so they were able to solve most of the problems, but the world tree was an exception.
“You don’t have a face to see Seonjo. After all, I have to watch the world tree collapse in my generation.”
“It is not yet time to give up, Father. Any chance… …“How many generations did you have with that thought?
”
The Fairy King bowed his head.
“If I had any hope, I would not have said this. It’s not easy either. I can’t see the way.”
“….”
“Jihad.”
The Fairy King looked at his son with tired eyes and said.
“I’m sorry for putting this burden on you. Although the succession is short-lived, I would have thought that this heavy task would be handed over intact.”
“I will do it.”
“…haha.”
The Fairy King smiled bitterly.
“Yes, you can do that. He will surely become a better king than me.”
But will my son really know?
That those words were the same as the reaction he had shown to his father, the former Fairy King.
In the end, he himself could do nothing but blame his helplessness in a place like this… …
‘If the world tree collapses, even the power that sealed the old evil will collapse… …’
The most worrying situation.
The balance may collapse and evils banished from the world long ago may rise again.
If that happens, it’s their fault for having the duty to manage the World Tree.
‘How to do this… …’
Under the soaring darkness, the fairy king lowered his head with his eyes tightly closed.
I couldn’t see any hope.
* * *
The next day.
“Listen, son.”
Before leaving the capital, my father said bluntly with his hands behind his back.
“I’ve taken care of the troublesome things.”
“What if you say it’s troublesome?”
“Emperor.”
“Ah, did you have an interview with His Majesty the Emperor again in the meantime?”
My father clicked his tongue at my words.
“Hasn’t the great devil appeared in the capital city? How could it not have reached the ears of the emperor? Of course I was interested.”
“What is it?”
“What do you say? They told me to put a colonel in front of me right now. However, they covered it up by saying that it would not be easy because the problems of the church are intertwined.”
Father waved his hand.
“As a bonus, I also said that you are an idiot and an overrated son. congratulations son A man worth as little as an emperor believed the rumor. Give thanks to your past self.”
“Thank you very much for that.”
If rumors about being an idiot can get you out of trouble, that’s what I hope for.
Now is not the time to face the Emperor.
“and.”
My father glanced at the butler behind me.
“The butler will be quite helpful.”
“I know.”
“No, he is more helpful than you know.”
“I know that too.”
“….”
My father glared at me with a bewildered expression.
“You don’t lose a word. Not a single word.”
“What are you so excited about? It used to be like this.”
At my words, my father clicked his tongue.
“Are you planning to go to the church right away?”
“Well, I’d like to see the world tree for a while.”
“…those nerds? It’s a place where only guys with missing screws are there, so why are you suddenly there?”
“I need a dedicated staff.”
“hmm.”
My father looked at the orb hanging around my neck for a moment, then nodded.
“Do whatever you like. The rumors there recently are very disturbing, but you must have thought of something.”
After saying that, my father scratched his head.
“Yeah, the way you’ve been running around like this and that lately is crazy, but…”
“Tell me.”
“…It’s better than before.”
Father continued, scratching his cheek, as if he was not used to saying things like this.
“Yeah, it’s like ‘Walpurgis’.”
“What are you talking about?”
I can only tell you now
“It was always Walpurgis.”
I said that, looking straight at my father.
* * *
Go to the fairy forest.”
As soon as we left the capital, I told the party about our destination.
“A fairy forest? if…”
Cassandra asked, tilting her head.
“Are you going for the World Tree? That’s the only reason I can think of right now.”
“I know. Did you see it as a prophecy?”
“It’s similar.”
Cassandra continued with a wry smile.
“Because bad omens are more visible than you think.”
“Hmm.”
Well, what a prophet sees is more complex than you think.
‘Before the return, I had never borrowed the power of that prophecy.’
So I don’t even know exactly how she will advise me about the future.
Whatever.
But at that time, the paladin who was quietly listening next to him stepped out.
“If it’s a fairy forest, does that mean we’re going to the elves’ realm now?”
“Yeah. Is there any problem?”
“problem? no that’s not it I was just worried.”
she answered sternly.
“Elves are closed and stubborn. Even most of them are obsessed with the consciousness that they are special. Those who haven’t encountered them may find them mysterious, but in fact they are quite the opposite.”
I quietly watched the paladin.
“I know you well.”
“I had a chance to hang out with them in the past. It wasn’t a very good experience.”
From the point of view of knowing the elves, this paladin was by no means an ordinary person.
‘His skills are never weak.’
The fact that you can’t see the bottom at this point means that you have that much skill.
It’s hard to know exactly right now, but it’s true that he’s definitely not an ordinary person.
“Hmm yes you…No, what should I call you?”
“It would be Helen.”
“Yes Sir Helen. I know you don’t have very good feelings about the exotic elves.”
“It is an obvious fact.”
At that time, the butler smiled and nodded, accepting the words.
“It is not wrong. Since ancient times, I have said that people with big ears do not believe, young man.”
“What else is the butler complaining about?”
“I’m not complaining, I’m just telling the raw truth. All of this comes from age rings.”
“He’s an old man who can communicate.”
After listening, Helen nodded her head in satisfaction and asked the butler.
“Are you a goblin?”
“I can’t trust him.”
At those words, a strange atmosphere flowed between the two.
It was odd that the atmosphere was driven by hatred of elves.
“They do very well. There are racists.”
“Boss, this advice comes from my own experience! They just see us as ephemera?”
“As a bonus, it seems to be a bit like a type of monster.”
Why the hell are these two arguing for nothing?
Anyway, I’m not really interested in whether the two of them hate elves or not.
“Ah done. The important thing now is the world tree. Is there anything else.”
“Wait, the tree in the legend of the world? Is that right?”
Ryan asked.
“Oh right. That world tree is right.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“What do you do?”
I said, pointing to the orb around my neck.
“I’m going to break off a branch.”
“…?!”
At my words, all four of the people present looked at me with expressions as if they were looking at someone who was lacking something.
what.
why.
* * *
There are many things to be gained from the World Tree.
Essence that will make me a 6th circle.
In addition, the branch of the world tree that will become the staff’s ‘body’.
Even with that much, it is possible to use magic much more efficiently than now.
If you reach 9th circle, you won’t need that kind of thing, but it’s not at that level yet.
Ryan asked.
“By the way, how do you get into the fairy forest? I don’t know much about elves, but you know that it’s not a place you can enter on your own, right?”
“It’s not that difficult.”
I stopped when I saw completely dry land.
A barren land with no life force in sight.
And the roots of the trees that were completely dried up on the ground were exposed.
“Here you are.”
“…what are you going to do?”
Instead of answering Lian’s words, I carefully placed my hand on the withered tree root.
“The roots of the World Tree wrap around the entire world. Everywhere is bound to be connected to the ‘center’.”
“Is this the root of the World Tree?”
Ryan looked in disbelief at the roots I was touching.
It’s not unusual for him to react like that.
Actually, this was too weak to be the root of the world tree.
“It’s also not in good shape.”
Cassandra slowly approached the root of the world tree with a bitter face.
“The extent to which the roots are exposed means that the condition of the source of the World Tree has deteriorated to the point where it is difficult to encompass the world.”
“that’s right. That’s not a good sign.”
That’s why I had to contact the World Tree as soon as possible.
“But anyway, it’s a root, so it’s connected to the World Tree itself.”
“Are you saying you’re going to use this to go to the World Tree?”
Helen said to me in an absurd voice.
“I hate to say this, but the World Tree is a very advanced being. An existence that is green enough to allow you as an ‘outsider’… ….”
“Because it’s okay.”
I do this because I have thoughts.
Roughly checking the condition of the roots of the world tree, I got up.
Then.
“< Be locked up. >”
He said the ‘eulogy’.
* * *
-Is it a limit?
In the pitch-black darkness, a woman sighed softly.
– I’ve endured this long, but I can’t believe that no children noticed.
the reason she was drawn.
It was a small seed that had squeezed through its roots a long time ago.
It gradually increased in size as time passed, and soon began to eat away at the inside.
One woman could not communicate her crisis to the outside world.
This is because the seed that suddenly increased in size did not allow it.
-Well, even I realized it belatedly, so I guess I was expecting too much.
I managed to hold on somehow, but now I had to realize that it was too much for me.
The roots that covered the earth dried up, and there was no power left to even bloom the leaves and flowers that were full of vitality.
Well, too much time has already passed, and the hymn to put the evil to rest must have been long forgotten.
She closed her eyes.
And slowly… …
But that was then.
< Lock it. >
-…hmm?
A voice was heard.
An old hymn, long forgotten, reached out to her.
Great mage who transcends by regression
