The World Tree's Sanctuary
Whoa! A regular customer!
Ding—
"·····?"
I blinked at the sudden chime of a phone notification.
Curious, I checked — and found a message from Hunter Han Yuseol.
Along with those words, money hit my account.
I checked the deposit—
"Hoeh?"
One zero, two, three, four.
Ten million won!?
I'd just received a full ten million won.
Ten million······
I was pretty sure this was the first time I'd ever been paid a sum that large.
How on earth was this supposed to be "modest"?
And that wasn't all.
Wow······ they were even offering free gate access.
I'd heard that was a privilege reserved exclusively for guild members.
Anyway — the apples had all sold out, netting me five hundred thousand, and now I'd made this much on top of it.
I felt like······ I really ought to do something······
Going out to eat was off the table; Ayla had already prepared dinner. And when I tried to think of anything I urgently needed, nothing came to mind.
Hmm······
I kind of wanted to flex a little······
I snuck a glance at Ayla.
I'd made this much money — wouldn't she be happy if I bought her a gift?
But what did Ayla even like?
She wouldn't take cash······
So of course it had to be a gift with heart in it — except I had no idea what that would be.
"My Queen. Dinner is ready."
Oh!
I'd eat first and think it over slowly.
Meanwhile, at that same hour.
The office of the President of the Korean Hunter Association.
"You've arrived. Please, have a seat."
Seo Eun-ha, Guildmaster of Origin Guild, had come to the Association at the President's summons.
Once they were seated across from each other on the sofas, President Go Kang-wook set a photograph down on the table as if ready to cut straight to the point.
Seo Eun-ha recognized the photo at once.
Of course she did — she was the one who had handed it to President Go Kang-wook in the first place.
A few days earlier: a still of a fairy captured on CCTV.
The very image Seo Eun-ha had delivered to the President.
Go Kang-wook spoke with a wry smile.
"The situation has grown rather complicated."
"Hah······ it has, hasn't it. Let me ask you something first — had the Fairy King already made contact with the Association?"
It was a fair assumption. She had warned them how dangerous the situation was, and yet the Association had issued no contact, no operational guidelines of any kind.
Go Kang-wook shook his head, still wearing that wry smile.
"Please don't misunderstand. A point of contact only formed after I spoke with you, Guildmaster Seo. Of course, I have never met or spoken with her directly."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Someone I trust is currently at the Fairy King's side."
"Hunter Min Surim······"
"You already knew. That will make this conversation much shorter. You need not worry overmuch. The scenario Guildmaster Seo fears does not appear likely to come to pass."
"Hah······ this is someone who has saved my guild members twice. Why would I be suspicious of her? Did you call me here just to say that?"
"Hmm······"
That was when it happened.
Go Kang-wook hummed under his breath and sank into deep thought, as if wrestling with something.
The moment Seo Eun-ha saw his expression, she realized the real topic was only now about to begin.
She asked,
"What is it you wish to say?"
"I do not know what sort of person this Fairy King is. I imagine you are in the same position, Guildmaster Seo. Even so — should you ever come into contact with her, I ask that you treat her with the utmost courtesy."
"Uh, well. That seems so obvious that it's almost strange to hear. What exactly do you mean?"
"You are aware of the non-human race inhabiting the San Francisco Gate in the United States."
Of course she was.
How could she not be?
The dwarf nation currently cooperating with America — Deubron.
In that instant, Seo Eun-ha's eyes flew wide.
A single conjecture had just struck her.
"······You don't mean—?"
"There is a strong possibility that the Fairy King is likewise a non-human. She may even command a power comparable to Deubron's."
"Hah······ so you're saying the title 'Fairy King' in the rankings is no empty moniker."
"The System's epithets tend to be rather direct."
In other words: if she ever made contact with the Fairy King, she was to treat her as a state guest of the highest order.
Because she might well be the sovereign of a vast power.
"····Yes. I'll be careful."
She had only intended to convey a simple word of thanks, and somehow the whole affair had ballooned.
No — if anything, she was starting to think she shouldn't approach carelessly at all.
But looked at another way, this might also be an opportunity.
If the conversation goes well······—
It could mean that South Korea, too, might become a partner nation to a non-human power on par with the United States.
That night.
Koo-koo-koong—
Sacred Sapling Growth: 22%
The Dungeon Core obtained from the A-rank gate, combined with the magic stones the fairies were gathering in real time, had begun to drive a profound change in the World Tree.
"Pii?"
"Pyu?"
"Pya?"
The fairies sensed the World Tree's transformation as well.
"Pii-pii!?"
"Pyu! Pyu!"
"Pya-pya! Pya!?"
This was bad!
The fairies panicked at what was unfolding.
If it kept growing like this, the World Tree's roots would punch straight through the garden plot and bring the Queen's palace crashing down — that much was certain.
What were they supposed to do?
As the fairies stared at the World Tree with worried faces—
"The World Tree has begun to grow."
Ayla, who had just finished putting Ellie to bed, approached the World Tree.
"But if it continues like this, the rooftop may collapse, so—"
With those words, Ayla stretched a hand toward the World Tree.
In that instant, the World Tree's roots unfurled in answer to her will.
Through the rooftop railing, the roots descended all the way to the ground of the floor below.
Thick roots began to dig into the first-floor earth, bracing the World Tree's weight. The reinforcement took the form of four branching roots that held the World Tree aloft like four pillars, so that Ellie's house would not collapse under its mass.
"Pii!"
"Pyu!"
"Pya!"
The fairies cheered.
Thankfully, the World Tree had not brought down the Queen's palace.
In gratitude, they spun circles around Ayla and offered her an apple plucked from the World Tree.
Ayla simply smiled and inclined her head.
"Thank you."
"Pii-pii!"
At any rate — with the World Tree grown this much, the Queen was sure to be overjoyed, wasn't she?
The next morning.
"······Eh?"
My mouth fell open of its own accord.
It was definitely daytime······ morning, even — and yet something outside looked dark. When I stepped out to check, the World Tree had grown enormous.
It was as tall as my entire house······
And on top of that—
The World Tree Sacred Sapling has grown.
Through the growth of the World Tree Sacred Sapling, the EX-rank skill Sanctuary has blossomed.
By the effect of Sanctuary, no one may approach the World Tree without the user's permission.
I'd even gained an extra skill.
An EX-rank skill called Sanctuary, and from the description it basically meant: no approaching the World Tree without my say-so.
"Okay, but······"
If I just left it like this, wouldn't my rooftop collapse?
"Did you rest well, my Queen?"
Just then Ayla came up onto the rooftop.
I stared at her blankly, then turned my gaze back to the World Tree.
I said to Ayla,
"The World Tree has grown."
"Watching it flourish so vigorously puts me in a fine mood as well."
"That's not what I mean — won't the house collapse?"
"It should be fine. The roots have grown down to the first-floor ground and are supporting the weight."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. That is correct."
Uh, well······
If Ayla said so, it was probably fine.
It wasn't a rental, after all — it was my house. As long as I didn't damage anyone else's property, it should be okay, right?
Brrring— brrring—
A phone started ringing.
Who would be calling at this hour?
I patted my pockets with a puzzled look — no phone.
Ah, right.
My phone was on the bedside table.
So this ringtone was······—
Sure enough, Ayla pulled a phone from her pocket and answered.
"Yes. Yes. Understood. Yes. Please do so. Hmm······ I'll need to discuss that matter first. Yes. Understood."
After hanging up, Ayla approached me and said,
"My Queen. Please wait just a moment. I shall prepare your meal shortly."
—Nod, nod.
I'd been thinking this for a while, but Ayla was almost too formal.
A slightly late breakfast was nothing I minded, honestly.
While I waited for Ayla, I opened the World Hunter Community.
No particular reason — just to list today's apples grown on the World Tree.
Five again today, and the apples are······—
Uh, well······
The World Tree had grown so tall my hands couldn't reach, so I asked the fairies for help.
"Pii!"
"Pyu!"
"Pya!"
"Thank you, little ones."
Our fairies could fly, so they brought them down in no time.
Anyway — same as yesterday: five for sale, one hundred thousand won each.
List.
Thinking about it, yesterday had probably been a lucky fluke.
I mean, one hundred thousand won for a single apple — the fact that anyone bought them at all was the surprising part.
Of course, Akari herself had probably bought them as a joke.
The kind of joke you can only pull when you're making absurd amounts of money, right?
Still, being rich enough to casually drop five hundred thousand won was something to envy.
I wished I could earn money without ever worrying about it for the rest of my life.
Ding—
That was when it happened.
"······Huh?"
The apples sold out in an instant.
No — they sold the moment they were listed!
W-who is it?
Who on earth was the sucker buying every last one of these hundred-thousand-won apples?
I checked the buyer list right away, same as yesterday.
"Ah······"
Of course. The username was Thunderbolt — Shinonome Akari.