The Tree That Gives Without Stint
“Your ultimate goal is to manifest Cliad in the flesh. Of course, that would require some absurdly finicky conditions, wouldn’t it? That’s how these things usually go. You gather three hundred seom of rice as an offering, or perform a human sacrifice. In any case, you’d be presenting some kind of tribute.”
Lucy, glaring at Ho-yeong with bloodshot eyes, gave no answer. Ho-yeong hadn’t been expecting one, so he wasn’t disappointed. If anything, her silence satisfied him.
Judging by her reaction, this doesn’t look like an act... So I hit the mark for sure.
Elves were a race that could not lie. The fact that Lucy had not denied his words meant they were likely true.
Looks like that last remaining ten percent of progress only fills once I figure out the condition. If I’d known, I should’ve buttered her up even more and gotten it out of her then.
Ho-yeong was deeply regretful. Lucy had been so rattled that she’d fallen out of her self-absorbed state.
“It would be lovely if you’d just tell me what that condition is. Is there really no way, pretty elf noona?”
“Hmph. And why would I tell you?”
Lucy had recovered some of her composure and gave a derisive snort.
“Still, I’ve got the gist of it. You don’t need to tell me in full.”
“W-what?! N-no way... There’s no way that could be! A fool like you figuring that out is impossible!”
At Ho-yeong’s casual remark, her face paled again.
“Fool is harsh. Didn’t you just compliment me for having a bit of a brain a moment ago? Well, I won’t claim I worked this out entirely on my own. This is all thanks to you. You kept handing me useful information, so the hints basically fell into my lap.”
“Thanks to me? That ridiculous... Then, at what point did you realize it?”
“Well. I’m a little shy with strangers, so I don’t spill my whole scheme on first meeting someone like certain people do-”
“I’ll kill you!”
Lucy shrieked like she was having a fit.
“You’ll wear out your face turning white and red like that. Calm down first.”
“You crafty human... You’re not just spouting nonsense off the cuff, are you? Fine. The ring! Show me the Ring of Truth!”
Lucy widened her eyes and stared at the ring on Ho-yeong’s right ring finger, but...
“Nope.”
Ho-yeong casually covered the ring with his palm.
“You... filthy bug! You’re less than a bug, a disease!”
“Your insult repertoire is pretty thin. If you’re that curious about the ring’s color, why don’t you come down here? I’ll show you once you’re this close. No lie, I mean it.”
The veins on Lucy’s forehead bulged so fiercely it looked like they might crack the silver circlet on her head.
“But I think you’re reacting more strongly to the fact that I found out thanks to your own blunder than to the fact that I found out at all.”
Lucy froze.
“Seems like if the cult leader, or was it the archangel? If that archangel hears about it, you’re in for a serious scolding.”
Ho-yeong let out a small laugh.
“Well, of course. If I were the boss, I’d react the same way. I send someone out on an important mission, and instead of doing the mission, they spend their time yapping and leaking information? How am I supposed to let that slide?”
Lucy only bit her lip and said nothing.
“You asked to see the ring. You must be horribly curious whether I really do know the conditions for that glorious Cliad’s manifestation. Fine, it’s not like there’s anything to hide. Tell me where the children and the search party are, and I’ll show you.”
“...Hmph. Do you think that’s a fair trade?”
Ho-yeong, proposing a deal as though he intended to take the easy route, went a little sullen.
“I won’t be played for a fool by that sly tongue of yours anymore. If you want something from me, then get on the ground and beg like the bug you are!”
“Hah. You’re getting pretty cautious. Beg, huh... Fine, I’ll even apologize if you show me the ring. Apologize to the people who died because of your little fanatic stunt.”
“Apologize? How amusing. Do you apologize when you swat a housefly? I am a noble elf. Even if I wanted to make a flowery apology, I simply could not. What am I supposed to do?”
Lucy’s smirk returned.
“I thought you’d say that. Well, I don’t like hearing empty apologies either. But, Guide of the Twilight Lucy Perhela, shouldn’t you at least show the dead you led into twilight a minimum of respect? I’ve heard enough about how you regard humans like insects. But if you truly think of them as mere bug lives, isn’t that an insult to the Cliad you believe in so much?!”
“An insult to Cliad? What are you talking about?!”
“Would your god be pleased if the sacrifice you offered was nothing more than bug lives? You’d stand at the altar babbling about sacrificing precious souls and all that. But in your heart, if you really think of them as bug lives, then doesn’t that contradict everything?”
Her shoulders twitched at Ho-yeong’s rebuke.
The cooldown for the main skill Edification remains at 5 seconds. The ability can be used again shortly.
“You were the one who called them houseflies just now. Then how is this any different from piling up dead flies and performing a rite over them, huh? Sacred power is born from faith, and do you really think God will appear on the back of that kind of vermin faith?”
Even the holy knights were nodding, impressed.
“Uuugh...”
Watching that, Lucy looked terribly unsteady. Once she thought about it, his argument was sound.
In that opening, Ho-yeong whispered, “Edification.”
“I won’t go so far as to tell you to kneel and beg. But if you truly think of yourself as an angel, then bow your head for just a few seconds and pay your respects to the souls buried in this earth! If you can at least show the bare minimum of decency as a chosen race, I’ll show you that ring as many times as you want!”
“Ghk. Fine. I’ll keep my promise.”
Swallowing her pride as a self-proclaimed angel, Lucy lowered her head in silent prayer.
“Thanks for the courtesy.”
“...?”
To that, Ho-yeong gave a hearty laugh.
“What are you talking about?! Now keep your promise and-”
“You should keep yours first. Don’t you remember? You said if you bowed your head, you’d give me a good item.”
“W-what?!”
Only then did Lucy remember the conversation they’d had earlier, and her mouth fell open.
He’s more amusing than he looks. I, an elf, bow my head to creatures like you... That would never happen, even if Haryad himself came back to life.
I don’t believe there’s any such thing as impossible in this world. What will you do if it does happen?
I’ll give you my most precious artifact. I swear it on the fate of an elf who cannot speak falsehood. Though I do wonder whether that day will ever come, and even if it does, whether you’ll still be alive to see it. Ho ho.
“What a shame. The day you bowed your head came far too soon. And thanks to that, I’m alive and well. Ho ho.”
Ho-yeong smiled faintly and held out both hands.
“Come on, hand it over. You said you’d give it to me, didn’t you? I hear if a cleric breaks an oath, bad things happen. Right, Vice-Captain?”
“Indeed. Even an unconscious violation of a sacred oath brings heavy punishment. And if one deliberately betrays the vow, fully aware of the violation, then there is no need to say more.”
At Demis’s words, Lucy’s jaw began to tremble.
“You heard him? Hurry up and give it to me. I don’t know what it is, but if it’s your most precious item, it’s probably pretty good. Guide of the Twilight, my foot. You should be called Item Guide instead.”
“Y-you... Gghh...!”
“What’s the matter? You’ve posed so grandly as a purifier, an angel, and all that. Are you really going to break your oath?”
What she seized with hands trembling like a glass on a table in an earthquake was her necklace. A gold frame shaped like the sun, set with a red jewel, and at the very center of that crimson stone sat a black dot.
“...I will keep my oath because I have a mission to complete... but I swear it, I swear I will kill you and take back my treasure!”
“How terrifying. Your voice used to sound like a nightingale’s; now it’s all iron.”
Lucy unclasped the necklace and flung it toward Ho-yeong.
◈ Property 1 Reads the anxiety and fear of others.
◈ Property 2 Can amplify those emotions when fully focused.
At the sight of the item description, a scene flashed through his mind.
『Don’t worry. I’ll explain it in a way even your bug-brain can understand.』
Lucy’s words, as if she’d read Ho-yeong’s mind when he worried an overly difficult explanation was coming.
I thought it was basically mind reading... so this was the item’s effect. But is this really that great an artifact?
It was certainly useful, but calling it her “most precious artifact” felt a little off.
“Well, for now I suppose I’ll gratefully put it on.”
“I will cut your throat off, necklace and all, without fail... without fail.”
Lucy was showing a level of murderous intent that felt excessive even by his standards.
The moment Ho-yeong looked at her, the jewel in the necklace blazed violently, as though it were living up to its name, the Anxious Evil Eye.
Lucy Perhela fears that losing the Anxious Evil Eye will cause her to lose the cult leader’s trust. She is also anxious about the possibility that her plans will be thrown into disarray.
Ho-yeong felt a faint, inexplicable discomfort. Just a little, but it seemed as though his own heartbeat was leaking outward.
“And Joren Tamer, keep your promise! Show me the ring already!”
“Goodness, how frightening. All right, all right, I’ll show you, so look carefully.”
Ho-yeong lifted the ring into the air. It revealed a hazy gray light.
“Kh... Kha-ha! Kaha-ha-ha! So it was a lie after all. Yes, a maggot like you could never possibly uncover the plan for receiving a god.”
Lucy Perhela’s anxiety has noticeably subsided. She seems to be thinking that fortune has not completely abandoned her.
With that, the uneasy feeling Ho-yeong had sensed vanished before he knew it.
But another kind of discomfort took its place. He had to make Lucy look stupid again.
“You know, sorry to dump cold water on you while you seem so pleased, but I should probably say it. This ring? Its cooldown hasn’t come back yet.”
“Kha-ha... huh? What are you talking about?”
Lucy’s laughter cut off in an instant. Ho-yeong’s apology had been sincere.
“Remember when I lied earlier? When I said I didn’t have any kind of Edification ability? Right after that, this ring turned black... and it still hasn’t changed back.”
“What?! You’ve deceived me again!”
“No, no, what deception? I just, by your own phrase, ‘spoke less than the full truth.’ I only said I’d show you the ring. I never said a word about the cooldown.”
Lucy started to raise her staff, then stopped and barely held herself back.
“I really just don’t like deceiving people. Even if you are my enemy, I figured I should at least be honest about that.”
“Then what was all that talk about you guessing the conditions for manifestation? Was that bluffing? Or the truth?!”
Ho-yeong scratched the back of his head and spoke carefully.
“Well. Honestly, I’m not totally sure either. Haha. I think I’ve got a sense of it, but maybe I don’t... Want to grab some tea while we wait for the ring’s color to go clear again? Mandrake hornleaf tea might calm you down a bit.”
“You... you human bastard! Less than a bug, you-”
“You must hate watching me keep getting the better of him. Especially if that archangel cult leader is watching.”
“...Huh!”
At that, Lucy visibly panicked.
Watching the necklace flash red again, Ho-yeong muttered to himself.
“Mm. From that reaction, it sounds like someone really is secretly watching like a pervert. Maybe through a crystal ball or something. Thanks. You keep giving me such useful information.”
“...Grrrgh. Aaaagh!”
With one hand, Lucy began tearing at her own hair. Her platinum-blond locks, once drifting like pale gold dust, were now a tangled mess like reeds buried under dirt.
“Ah, right. We don’t have time to wait for the ring’s cooldown. Look over there!”
The hourglass was already running low.
Time remaining until the bold event ends: 6 minutes
Remaining duration of the Dice of Adversity effect: 7 minutes
“If those bugs want to be stomped to death that badly, I’ll grant their wish!”
Lucy, finally stopping her hair-rending, raised a hand.
“What are you plotting!”
“Wait! Leave her be for a moment.”
The holy knights immediately leveled their spears, but Ho-yeong raised a hand to stop them.
Purification!
The silver light pouring from Lucy’s hand enveloped the beacon tower.
“May pure power cover the impure!”
The pure silver holy power soon scattered like silver dust and rained down upon the ground.
“The, the magic circle...!”
The mages cried out in shock. The mana clay magic circle they had painstakingly drawn was completely gone.
“I see... So that was your plan.”
Ho-yeong, unfazed, watched the area around the beacon tower.
Over the fine dust of mana clay, now turned to powder and scattered aimlessly, a chill, ominous current drifted.
“One Giant Troll will be summoned in about forty minutes.”