From Head to Toe
By the time Darian emerged carrying the last survivor on his back, the flames that had seemed destined to burn forever were finally beginning to die down.
Led by Felix, the elves skilled in magic had pooled their power and done everything they could to suppress the blaze, managing at least to avert the absolute worst.
"How is the World Tree?"
"Fortunately, Her roots extend throughout the entire land of the Great Forest, so She remains unharmed."
Once the situation had settled somewhat, Estel returned to her office and received a report from the Council of Elders on the World Tree's condition.
Because this was no ordinary tree but the World Tree, the roots of that colossal being spread wide and deep. Unless the entire root system was burned away or torn out, it could always grow back into its former glory.
"However... it will take some time for the World Tree to regain Her former appearance."
"How long, roughly?"
"Even at a conservative estimate, it will take no less than two hundred years."
"Two hundred years... two hundred years..."
But all that left Estel's lips was a heavy sigh.
From an elf's perspective, two hundred years was little more than the blink of an eye—but for the Evergarden barony, which had been preparing to begin full-scale potion deliveries, it was as good as watching their entire business go up in smoke.
And the problems didn't end there.
"Your Highness, the elves' sentiment toward the Empire has completely turned against them."
"I suppose that's only natural."
The elves now felt an extreme aversion to selling potions made from World Tree leaves to the human realm.
As Estel had said, it was only natural—the princess who had burned the World Tree had been in collusion with the Empire's heir.
Though it was the princess who had set the fire, the narrative that humans had burned the World Tree had taken hold, and to the elves, the Empire had become a presence more hated than even the murderer of one's own parents.
"We are doing everything we can to calm them for now... but if things continue this way, war may break out. We've already had to restrain several elves who tried to rush off, declaring they would punish the Empire."
"Ugh..."
Among them were elves so far gone with rage that they'd charged out with nothing but a single bow, intent on assassinating the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Even for the Evergarden family, the atmosphere made it clear that selling potions made from the leaves of a World Tree the Empire had burned would not be tolerated.
"You may go for now. Come find me if there's any important news."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Nursing the headache that had come with the report, Estel clutched her head and dismissed the Council of Elders.
And so the office was left with only the Evergarden family—minus Darian, who was in the treatment room recovering from the aftermath of the rescue efforts—along with Estel.
Even after the elders had left the room, the gloomy atmosphere was so thick that no one could bring themselves to speak, and a heavy silence hung in the air.
"...What's done is done. Right now, we need to come up with a plan—and fast."
Even so, Estel—who looked the youngest of anyone present, yet carried herself as the eldest—was the first to break the silence.
"Grandson. How many potions can we currently produce?"
"With the World Tree leaves we have left and the potions already finished, we can cover the pre-ordered quantities."
"But looking beyond that, the entire stock will be gone in half a year at most."
Fortunately, they had started potion production the moment Ashir's control ended, so the reserved pre-sale quantities were manageable—but what came after was the problem.
"It's not enough. The stored amount is absurdly insufficient."
Once sales began in earnest, the entire Empire would want Evergarden potions—and with only the World Tree leaves currently in storage, they'd run dry in a matter of months.
Moreover, producing a single box of potions required not even a full leaf but a mere quarter of one. With the troublemaker Ashir subdued, they hadn't prioritized stockpiling raw materials. As long as the World Tree stood, they could produce dozens, hundreds, even thousands of bottles at will—so there had been no need to harvest large quantities in advance and let them lose their freshness in storage.
But now that the World Tree was gone, that choice had become a disastrous blunder, cutting sharply into the Evergarden barony.
"...Even setting that aside, the real problem is how we convince the elves."
"If the damage to the World Tree had been lighter, we might have made enemies of only the Second Princess and the Crown Prince and still conducted business smoothly—but in the current situation, that may be impossible."
"For now, we'll somehow fulfill the reserved orders, then use whatever time we have left to try and turn the elves' hearts around."
"We should have prepared for something like this... Maybe we've gotten too complacent."
"Kid... it's fine! When this old man was about sixteen, the boat I boarded trying to sneak into Japan capsized—and I still survived! Even if the sky falls, there's always a way out. Don't worry too much."
"It was New Year's in January. I remember sneaking into a supply warehouse with no heating and surviving by crunching on raw potatoes. The fellow who helped me sneak in was a Korean-Japanese named Yamaguchi—"
"I've heard that story twenty-five times now, including this one, Grandpa."
And so the Evergarden family wracked their brains once more, trying to solve yet another crisis that had befallen them.
"I'm pretty sure... it was something like that..."
But Felix, who had been lost in thought without joining the conversation ever since the Council of Elders arrived, began muttering to himself.
Even after suppressing the flames, Felix couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. It was the first time he'd seen the World Tree ablaze—but he was certain he'd witnessed a similar scene somewhere before.
And then—
He shot to his feet—
"...That's it! That's it!"
"Wah!? You scared me!"
Without any warning, Felix suddenly leapt up from his seat and shouted, startling Rosaria, who had been zoning out in the chair next to him.
"Starlight of Dawn, Chapter Seven, Episode Twenty-Seven! In the intensifying war against the demonkin, after a demonkin raid left the Great Forest in ruins—the episode where they revived the World Tree!"
The memory of that scene from the original novel came flooding back, and Felix clapped his hands and grinned as if shouting Eureka!
"There was a scene in the original where they injected pure, powerful mana and instantly revived the recovering World Tree!"
"Is that true?"
"If that's true, we might be able to solve the material supply issue—and somehow calm the elves' resentment as well!"
"There was a method like that? Why didn't you say so sooner!"
The moment a way to revive the burned World Tree appeared, color flooded back into their faces as they shoved closer to Felix and shouted.
"So, what's the method?"
"In the original, they gathered every mana stone the Empire possessed, refined them, and injected the mana that way."
"Mana stones? How many do we need?"
"Um... I'm pretty sure it was described as dozens of tons."
"...Tons?"
But at the unit that came from Felix's mouth as he explained the method, the family froze solid.
"We couldn't get that even if we sold the entire territory! How are we supposed to get tons of mana stones?!"
In the original, failing to regenerate the World Tree would have left them with no breakwater against the war with the demonkin—so it was a decision they could make. If they lost the war, humans, elves, and everyone else would be wiped out; hoarding wealth was pointless if you were dead. So not only the Empire but the dwarves as well had desperately gathered every remaining mana stone to make it happen.
But there was no way the Evergarden barony could handle mana stones on a national scale—so having a method was no different from not having one at all.
"Wait, hear me out to the end."
But Felix pressed on undeterred.
"The key here isn't 'mana stones.' It's 'powerful and pure mana.' That's what we need to focus on."
"Of course, it's mana that even thousands of humans gathered together couldn't handle, which is why the original used massive quantities of magic stones... but we have something, don't we?"
"What do you mean—ah."
"'Powerful and pure mana.'"
"Ah, I see."
They didn't need mana stones.
They needed powerful and pure mana.
The Evergarden family had no means of obtaining mana stones capable of producing that much mana. But even without mana stones of that caliber, they already had the conditions to unleash that much mana.
An existence treated as everything from an airplane to a lab specimen—and whose scales were all-purpose to boot. A girl useful from head to toe, with not a single part to waste.
The one everyone present was thinking of—and the one who wasn't here right now.
"Where is Tene right now?"
The deus ex machina of this fantasy world was right here in the Great Forest.