I Didn't Do Anything, But the Gates Got Cleared

"Pfft."

The second I got home, I sat down at my computer desk and dropped today's story.

How was I supposed to sit on this without bragging?

I'd just filmed a mad-movie moment so insane it belonged at my own funeral as the deceased's greatest hit reel.

"Ah."

Right. That was why I'd wanted into a gate in the first place—for an entry pass.

Except nobody had given me anything like that.

Ding—

A private message popped up from HighSchoolSlasher.

I opened it right away—

Guild interviews were held in gates the guild had purchased, after all.

"Ah!"

Of course I knew that. Magic crystals porters collected during a guild interview belonged to the guild.

But I had genuinely been given these.

Finally, he seemed willing to believe me.

I nodded in satisfaction.

HighSchoolSlasher kept going.

"……?"

I blinked.

I needed a grade appraisal to sell magic crystals?

Couldn't I just walk into the Management Bureau and sell them straight up?

My head spun without my permission.

"Th-then……"

No matter how many gates I cleared, I couldn't sell the byproducts?

To get an Awakened license you needed a rank evaluation, and for a rank evaluation you needed a national ID.

And right now, I couldn't use a national ID.

"……"

I quietly tapped at the keyboard.

Rejected.

Honestly, even I thought it was a long shot.

I'd done a lot of chaotic nonsense as JohnDiligentS, after all.

Besides, meeting someone offline in the first place was something my skill, Dreamy King's Dignity, would never allow.

So what now?

I'll have to pull the acquaintance card.

Conveniently enough, hadn't I just become acquaintances with the famous hunter Han Yuseol?

If I asked her to help sell the magic crystals, she might say yes, right?

Beep—

"……Huh?"

As if on cue, a text from Han Yuseol arrived.

I checked the message—

"Ah."

This was it!

Right—I'd clear a gate with Yuseol unnie, then casually ask her to help sell the magic crystals afterward.

That wouldn't be strange at all.

Maybe once the run was over, she'd even come sell them with me?

Perfect. Decision made.

I sent a reply at once.

"Hmm……"

Even my chats came out this refined because of the skill.

I'd meant to just type "yep" or "ok."

But when I tried, something like revulsion kicked in—was that it?

Okay. Plans locked in.

I reached to check the magic crystals on the table—and the count was wrong.

There should have been five. Why were there only three?

Where did the other two go?

"Pi."

I turned toward the sound. Piron was clutching two magic crystals and making a break for it through the open window.

The sight short-circuited my brain.

"……Piron?"

Piron had absconded with my magic crystals.

A genuinely shocking situation.

Had she decided her master was so pathetic there was no hope left, and made a run for it?

"Pi!"

The second that thought crossed my mind, Piron came back.

Thankfully, she hadn't abandoned me.

I let out an inward sigh of relief and asked her,

"Piron, where are the magic crystals?"

"Pi! Pipi!"

"Hm? Follow you?"

"Pi!"

Piron slipped back out through the open window.

I followed her out of the rooftop house.

She was in the little garden plot with the World Tree sapling, clearly in the middle of some task.

"Pi!"

When I approached, Piron launched into a full-body explanation.

"Pi!"

"So you're saying I need to plant magic crystals in this garden?"

"Pipi!"

"If I plant magic crystals in the garden, the World Tree will grow big?"

"Pi!"

"I see."

This was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary tree—it had been born from a skill.

Apparently it didn't grow on water alone.

Following Piron's instructions, I planted magic crystals in the garden plot.

That was when it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠happened.

Ding—

Ah. Just like Piron said—growth had started.

From the look of it, something would change once it hit 100%.

But hadn't the World Tree's description clearly called it the first pillar connecting heaven and earth?

Which meant that fully grown, it would be tall enough to touch the sky……

……That could be a problem.

"Pi!"

"Hm? What was that?"

"Pipi!"

"The World Tree has to grow for me to get stronger?"

Piron nodded as if my interpretation was spot on.

"Ah."

In that case, Piron was right—when I got magic crystals, I'd need to plant some of them in the World Tree.

After all, the World Tree's growth was directly tied to my own.

Well, if it got too big, I could always transplant it somewhere else later.

"Got it. When we get magic crystals, we'll plant a few here. Sell the rest."

"Pi!"

Late at night, when everyone was asleep.

The Elder Fairy Piron—no, Seraphin—quietly watched over her queen.

Today, Her Majesty's life had been threatened.

"Pi……"

That fact stirred many feelings in Seraphin.

Guilt at having failed to protect her. Unease that this world, too, was crawling with things that would endanger the queen's life.

This couldn't continue.

To protect Her Majesty, she needed to grow far stronger than she was now.

Rattle—

With a face set in firm resolve, Seraphin opened the window.

She whirled up through it and slipped out of the rooftop house.

She meant to handle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠business while the queen slept.

The next morning.

"Nnnngh~"

Had I worn myself out moving around so much yesterday?

It felt like the first time in ages I'd slept deep enough to wake up truly refreshed.

I stretched long and hard, then opened my eyes—

"……Huh?"

……What the hell is this?