The Principal's Visit and the World's Sap Elixir
It was a day when the academy held its routine medical check-up.
As had always been the case, Seong Yu-ra, the academy nurse who had come to examine Cheon Seong’s condition, could not hide her astonishment at how dramatically his body had changed from yesterday.
“This is truly astonishing… All the injuries in his body have fully recovered?”
Yesterday, his mana circuits had been in such a mess that it had seemed impossible for him to recover. Now, however, they were healthier than before—stronger, tougher, without a single crack. The bones that had fractured were perfectly mended.
The only thing that remained unchanged from yesterday was his severed left arm, and even that was no longer a serious issue. His body was finally ready for full rehabilitation.
“Then may I be discharged?”
Cheon Seong, who understood his own condition well, asked Seong Yu-ra if it was all right for him to go. Unfortunately, she shook her head.
“That won’t do. Although it has recovered, there may still be something I missed. We’ll do a follow-up precise examination in a bit and watch your progress for another day or so.”
“I see… Understood.”
Cheon Seong accepted the news with some regret but readily agreed. After all, Seong Yu-ra’s medical knowledge far surpassed his own partial understanding of the field.
Seong Yu-ra was eccentric, professional, and even perverted in her own way. Yet when one overlooked her peculiar tastes, she was the kind of healer one could trust completely, no matter when or where.
The day passed quickly. Cheon Seong had been thinking about seeing Hana and the others when Seong Yu-ra delivered one more piece of news.
“Oh, by the way, the principal will be visiting later.”
“Huh? No, the principal? Why? Why?”
It was Eira, the principal of the academy and the Snow Witch.
Cheon Seong’s eyes widened at the thought of the academy’s principal coming to see him.
As someone who had suffered from the dungeon infestation that had occurred on academy grounds, he had no obvious injuries. But what concerned him was something else entirely.
*Could she already know about yesterday’s events…?*
The words hit him like a dagger to the heart.
Yesterday’s events.
The reunion and love with Beatrice.
Of course, he had taken precautions to prevent anyone from noticing, but the possibility that Eira might have seen through it all sent cold sweat pouring down his back.
He had assumed Beatrice was the one who had done it, so the chance of Eira discovering it should have been nearly nonexistent. Still, Eira was no ordinary mage, and the thought that she might have maintained her magic unbroken during that time left him uneasy.
Fortunately, however, the reason Eira was coming was not that.
“Cheon Seong, the young student who got caught in the accident on campus is being compensated. You can relax.”
Seong Yu-ra, who usually came across as blunt and straightforward, was surprised that the principal herself had come. Seeing Cheon Seong tense up, she smiled and reassured him.
“Oh, I see. That’s a relief.”
Cheon Seong had been worried about something else entirely, but at least the surface-level reason was compensation for the harm done to him. He let out a sigh of relief.
“Eh? What’s there to be relieved about?”
“Nothing.”
Seong Yu-ra gave Cheon Seong’s body one last thorough check, then left the infirmary. The moment she stepped out, Cheon Seong was alone again—not really alone, but pretending to be.
He lifted the blanket.
“There’s no one here now. You can come out, Nuna.”
*Hehe… I’m sorry, my dear. It seems I have troubled you.*
Beneath the blanket was Beatrice, her form greatly reduced in size.
She had not returned by morning for a reason.
“I really didn’t think Nuna would oversleep and end up missing the morning.”
*Hah… I only wanted to stay with you a little longer.*
Cheon Seong’s words made Beatrice’s cheeks flush red.
The adorable sight made him smile. Beatrice averted her gaze for a moment, then stole a glance at him, stood up, and approached.
Even in her shrunken state, she always made her way to his shoulder as she had done before. But today she was climbing up his body like someone scaling a mountain, not simply flying to him.
Cheon Seong reached out a hand to help.
*Haha… Thank you.*
With his assistance, Beatrice easily reached his shoulder and smiled.
“Why go to so much trouble when you can just fly?”
“Why do you insist on climbing when you could just fly up?”
Beatrice’s response was to climb onto his shoulder, lean in close, and press her tiny lips to his cheek.
*I wanted to savor even a little more of your touch before I leave.*
“Well, we’re about to go home soon anyway. You said it was the last time, but you’re acting like it is.”
Cheon Seong could not hide his smile at how lovely Beatrice looked.
*Then I shall truly be going now.*
“Got it. I’ll be back soon too, so tell Hana I said hello—”
Screeeech
The door to the room, which had been closed, opened. Eira entered, her long white hair flowing, her face gentle and her white eyes clear.
“Good morning, Cheon Seong. A fine morning~ Eh? What is that?”
“Ah, good morning! Principal. Good morning. Th-that, um, this is…”
Cheon Seong and Beatrice froze at the sudden intrusion. Eira tilted her head and asked what it was.
*Oh no… Big trouble. How am I supposed to explain this?*
To Eira, Beatrice was one of his lovers. She was currently hiding inside the academy, shrunken down. He could not tell her that.
If he did, he would be accused of having two lovers—an adulterer—and Eira would have no choice but to suspect the intruder who had broken through the academy’s defensive magic.
Just then, a lightbulb appeared above Eira’s head and flashed.
“Ah! Could it be…? That realistic figurine that’s all the rage with the guys lately, right?”
To Cheon Seong’s relief, Eira had mistaken Beatrice for a detailed figurine. He nodded frantically.
If it looked like a student was playing with a figurine on his shoulder, Eira would simply think he was a guy who liked figurines. That was far better than revealing the truth about Beatrice.
“Yes, yes! Th-that’s right. A figurine. I’m sorry. I brought a figurine to the academy.”
*Hehe, no need to apologize. It happens. By the way, do you know why I came?*
The subject changed the moment Eira asked why she had come. Cheon Seong breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“Yes. Seong Yu-ra taught me.”
*Hmm~ Then you’re quick on the uptake.*
Eira reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wooden box.
Swish.
Even though the box was closed, a powerful aura emanated from it.
Cheon Seong, who had forgotten his panic in the face of that overwhelming pressure, stared with wide eyes. Beatrice, who had been pretending to be a figurine on his shoulder, trembled slightly.
“I’m glad it suits you.”
“What is it?”
Eira asked what it was as her eyes widened with delight. She explained in detail.
*Hmm~ Before I give this to you, there’s something you should know.*
Cheon Seong listened intently, sensing something important.
Eira suddenly laughed softly at his serious expression.
*Hehe, it’s not that important. I’m not the one who asked me to give it to you.*
“Eh? If it’s not the principal, then who—”
Click.
Before Cheon Seong could finish, the wooden box opened. An aura far stronger than anything that had leaked from the cracks poured into the infirmary.
The entire room seemed to feel as if it had become a vast blue field.
Eira took a golden sphere from the box and handed it to Cheon Seong.
“This is the solidified World Tree sap elixir that the academy’s dean entrusted to me to give you.”
The moment Cheon Seong heard the name “World Tree,” a shock stronger than anything he had ever felt sent his mind reeling.
The World Tree sap elixir.
The tree that supported the world, its pillar.
The enormous tree that the elves worshipped as a god and nurtured across generations.
The mother of life and mana, spoken of without fail whenever life or mana was mentioned.
The tree whose leaves brewed into medicine that healed all ills and whose fruits brought one closer to immortality.
The High Elves, a race of elves who could rival even the Dragon King—rulers of the elves and masters of mana.
One of the few beings who could stand against them.
A mere portion of the World Tree, the elves’ country.
One of its rarest parts.
Of all the leaves, roots, and fruits that the elves harvested, only those who had offered their entire lives to protect the World Tree were awarded a leaf as a medal. And the single one given to the royal High Elves upon adulthood was precisely this solidified World Tree sap elixir that Eira was now handing to him.
No matter how hard he thought, Cheon Seong could not imagine why the dean had chosen to give the most long-lived High Elf among the elves’ royal line this rare, once-in-a-lifetime elixir.
*Hehe, no regrets at all. On the contrary, I’m glad the boy accepted it.*
Eira smiled at the clear delight on her face.
Behind her, sunlight pierced through the leaves and cast a warm glow. It covered Eira’s eyes, leaving only the dean’s smiling mouth visible.
The sunlight bathed Eira’s face, but Cheon Seong could only see her smiling lips.
---
*Swish, swish*
Birds chirped, flowers bloomed… On days like this.
“Oh, that wasn’t it.”
Bright sunlight streamed in. Colorful birds sang with beautiful voices and perched on the delicate white shoulders.
The delicate hands gently stroked the birds’ chins.
The birds answered with even more beautiful songs, and the owner of the hand that had stroked them smiled faintly.
“Waaah! Ah~ This place is always so calming. Dean~”
Eira, who had been stretching her arms and yawning while floating over a vast blue field, looked at the birds perched on the shoulders. The birds flew away. Flowing green hair, like freshly grown young leaves, swayed as the girl turned around.
A strange dignity that made one instinctively bow filled the air—gold eyes like those of a fox and eyes that bore the cross of scripture.
The woman’s eyes curved like a crescent moon. Her voice was so beautiful that calling it heavenly was not an exaggeration.
“Welcome, dear. What I asked you to deliver has been taken care of, yes?”
Even though she had grown children, she still called herself “dear” with a gentle, heavenly voice.
But among all the beings in the academy, she was the only one who could treat the principal as a child.
High Elves—the royal bloodline of elves who supported the world, the closest to the World Tree, and the mana coordinators who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Dragon King who ruled mana.
Her name was Elesian.
She sat gracefully on a chair made of tree roots and looked at Eira with an air of dignity.
“Principal, you really~ I’m almost fifty, you know. Calling me ‘dear.’ You even have a cute daughter.”
*Hehe, sorry. But you know High Elves can’t help it.*
“It’s true. To you, I’m still a young child, after all~”
Elesian smiled lightly at Eira’s playful remark.
Eira puffed out her chest at the beauty that radiated even just from smiling.
“According to the dean, the World Tree elixir has been delivered to Cheon Seong.”
“I see… Thank you for taking care of it for me, dear.”
“What are you thanking me for? Besides, are you really all right? Giving the World Tree elixir to Cheon Seong.”
Although Cheon Seong had suffered serious harm inside the academy, it was not enough to repay it with the World Tree sap elixir.
A single root carried the life force of a child, and the land beneath the World Tree was richer than any other soil. Everything about the World Tree was close to life—its leaves brewed into medicine, its fruits close to immortality.
Could the blood of the mother of life—closer to blood than human blood—truly be worth the life of a single person?
No, not in the slightest.
The World Tree’s fruit alone could sustain an entire country, and even a leaf could feed a small nation.
The World Tree’s value came from its rarity as much as its power.
It existed only in the elves’ country.
People had coveted the World Tree since ancient times, but the elves were far stronger than humans.
A single High Elf would suffice to prove it. All elves, long-lived and royal, possessed the power of the Highest rank.
If the elves worshipped the World Tree as a god and considered it their primordial mother, how much of its leaves, roots, and fruits would they harvest?
If outsiders did so, they would be exterminated along with their entire bloodline. If even an elf did it, they would not be killed, but their ears—the elves’ greatest pride—would be cut off and they would be banished.
Only a handful of elf heroes who had offered their entire lives to protect the World Tree received its leaves as medals. The single one given to the royal High Elves upon adulthood was the elixir Elesian had given to Cheon Seong.
Even after thinking carefully, Cheon Seong still could not fathom why the dean had chosen to give the most long-lived High Elf the World Tree sap elixir.
*Hehe, no regrets whatsoever. In fact, I’m happy the boy accepted it.*
Elesian smiled at the delight visible on Eira’s face.
Sunlight, filtering through the leaves behind her, cast a warm light that covered Eira’s eyes. She could only see the dean’s smiling mouth.