The World Tree’s Flower
I watched with a giggle as the lower-rank spirits fluttered about, and the elves among them laughed in pure happiness. The elves looked visibly overjoyed to be reunited with their contracted spirits.
‘But wait...’
That means they were originally upper or middle-rank, right? ‘Is there no way for them to return to their original ranks?’
Are they just going to stay lower-rank forever? That would be a bit of a shame. Besides, if the spirits regained their original power, it would be even more helpful for the village and the elves.
As I muttered this to myself, the Elf Elder blinked as if he had heard me.
“To think you would worry about our spirits...”
‘...Huh?’
No... that’s not it... I was just thinking about the village’s development. But before I could say anything, the Elder’s eyes welled up with tears.
“You are truly benevolent! I, Hylen, am moved to tears...!”
The Elf Elder. Hylen was his name. I almost went on without even knowing that.
“Kkung...”
Tori, who was next to me, handed him a leaf, and he used it to wipe away his tears. I responded awkwardly while watching Hylen.
‘Uh... well. Sure. Let’s go with that.’
At this point, it seemed best to just let it be. Just as I thought that, Hylen continued.
“For now, I can answer the questions you have.”
He smiled and added, “Now that we have reunited with our spirits, we should be able to gradually restore their power with our own.”
Oh. That was a relief to hear. That meant if I just waited, their power would return.
“Ah, and my spirit, Elizabeth I, was originally an upper-rank wind spirit.”
At Hylen’s words, the wind spirit beside him bowed with a soft smile. But I couldn't take my eyes off the spirit.
‘The name... was what?’
Then Hylen said proudly, “It’s Elizabeth I! You can just call her Eli for short!”
Elizabeth I... did he say? That’s quite a name. And if there’s a "First," does that mean there’s a "Second" too?
Then Khan, who was standing nearby, muttered, “Upper-rank... quite strong.”
At Khan’s words, I muttered to myself, ‘Ah. So Eli was an upper-rank wind spirit.’
I was so distracted by the name that I only just processed the rank. As is the case in most worlds, spirits here were divided into lower, middle, upper, top-rank, and Spirit Kings. So, Hylen’s spirit was two ranks below a Spirit King. Even middle-rank spirits were incredibly strong. I wondered how powerful an upper-rank one would be. If such a being were in the village, it would be a huge help.
I asked cautiously, ‘Then, will it take a while for them to return to normal?’
Hylen answered immediately, “Not at all! Thanks to you, World Tree, I think they will return soon!”
Oh. That’s good. If it’s "soon," does that mean about a month? Or maybe two or three months?
Hylen then added with a bright smile, “About... 100 years should do it.”
‘...Huh?’
I was slightly taken aback. 100 years?
‘I didn’t mishear that, did I? 100 years?’
To my question, Hylen replied just as cheerfully, “100 years is correct!”
Uh... they say mountains and rivers change in 10 years. 100 years would mean they change 10 times over. Is that supposed to be "soon"?
Surprisingly, the elves’ reactions were very positive.
“If it’s 100 years for the Elder, then my spirit is middle-rank, so it should be about 80 years.”
“What a relief...! I was worried it might take a thousand years...”
“To think it’s only 100 years when I would have been grateful even for a thousand!”
“This is all thanks to the World Tree!”
The elves bowed their heads in gratitude. Seeing them like that, I smiled awkwardly.
‘Uh... yeah.’
If you guys are happy, then whatever. It doesn’t matter to me...
Days of peace continued as I grew from a sapling into a tree. The first to wake up were the Totori. The Totori, who opened their eyes at the crack of dawn, diligently tended to the crops starting this morning.
They checked the state of the crops and the soil.
Plump, plump. Thump, thump, thump.
They danced, shaking their bodies here and there. Then, the crops began to grow slowly. They grew in the direction the Totori reached out; when they turned their heads, the crops grew larger, and the moment they shook their bodies, the flowers fell and fruits ripened.
Once the harvest for the day was hanging in abundance, they stopped dancing.
As they did, the spirits woke up to enjoy the new day.
-It’s morning!
-The weather is nice!
-It’s warm!
While the spirits were flying around,
“Kkung! Kku-ung!”
“Kku-u-ung!”
The Totori made a request to the water spirits.
-Got it!
-Coming right away!
Then the spirits flew over immediately to water the crops.
-Here! You didn’t water here!
Jini was among them too.
“Kieee.”
“Kieeee.”
As they watered the crops, the goblins appeared and began to harvest alongside the Totori. And Khan called the elite goblins to order a patrol.
“Go around this area today. If you find any elves, make sure to bring them back.”
“Kieee!”
“Kiet!”
This time, Hylen’s spirit, Eli, accompanied them.
-Ugh... this is such a hassle...
She seemed quite annoyed. While the goblins and Totori were working diligently, the elves woke up. After maintaining this and that again today, they walked slowly toward me and bowed their heads.
“Please look after us today as well.”
‘Yeah, yeah. I’ll look after you too.’
Then I shook my branches vigorously.
*Swish-!* *Swish-!*
As the leaves collided, *thud, thud-thud.* Several branches fell. The elves picked up the fallen branches one by one.
“This is... a wind branch.”
“There’s a stone branch too!”
“I found two fire branches!”
The branches they picked up were taken away and reborn as new items. They became baskets, tableware, or landscaping to decorate every corner of the village.
Of course, not everything was useful.
“Look at this! A glowing mask!”
“Ack! It’s too dazzling!”
Sometimes, things that were too useless came out too. Especially lately, they were focusing on mixing two types of branches. For example, making something by mixing a fire branch and a steel branch.
What came out of that was— *Whoosh!*—an axe wreathed in flames.
The axe that resulted went to Khan as a gift.
“A pretty good axe. I’ll use it well.”
Khan’s expression was bright, as if he liked it. Watching the village, I fluttered my leaves with satisfaction.
‘The village is running better than I thought.’
I hope this situation continues for a long time. Of course, my condition was also quite good.
[Status Window]
Name: None | Gender: N/A
Race: Primordial Tree (Level 2) / Evolution Fruit / Elemental Branches
Magic Power: 87 | Spirit Power: 45 | Divine Power: 410
Skills: Infinite Growth (EX), Predation (Lv. 6), Photosynthesis (Lv. 7), Spirit Affinity (Lv. 6), Sanctuary (Lv. 6), Land of Abundance (Lv. 7), Spirit Enchantment (Lv. 4), Pheromones of the Fallen Queen (Lv. 5), Poison (Lv. 3), Storage (Lv. 2), Spirit Gate (Lv. 1)
Status: Proud. Fulfilled.
My race level had gone up, and my divine power had increased as well. Especially with my spirit power, if I had just a little more, I would be able to turn another lower-rank spirit into a middle-rank one.
‘Good. Everything is cruising along perfectly.’
I was thinking happily when Jini, who had been lying on my branch, suddenly shouted in surprise.
-Uh, uh! This!
‘Why, why?’
-The flower...!
I released my magic to examine the flower bud. The bud had begun to unfold its petals very slowly.
‘Is it about to bloom?’
Surprised, I kept my eyes on the flower. And then—
*Whoosh-!*
The flower bloomed gorgeously and brightly. A sweet, deep fragrance spread all at once. I froze right there. To think such a beautiful flower would bloom on my branch.
At that fragrance and light, the spirits, Totori, goblins, and elves nearby all stopped. Every hand that was working stopped to gaze at the flower.
-It’s pretty...
Jini muttered softly.
“Kku-ung...”
Tori also looked up at the flower with sparkling eyes. Khan walked over slowly, looked up at the flower, and said,
“...It is beautiful.”
A low, quiet voice. Hylen muttered softly,
“The World Tree’s flower... it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen one.”
I stared at the flower blooming at the tip of my branch for a long time, then thought,
‘Now that the flower has bloomed.’
It must mean that fruit will bear before long. The Evolution Fruit, that is.
But there was a problem.
‘This... how do I pollinate it?’
There was only one flower. I examined the center, but it didn’t look like it had both a pistil and a stamen. To be precise, it just had petals, and only a golden light was gathered in the center.
‘Come to think of it, Lin said the elves might be able to help.’
As if my thought was correct, Hylen approached cautiously.
“World Tree. You want to bear fruit, right?”
‘That’s right.’
“We have a way. However...”
He stopped talking for a moment, looking troubled.
“It requires the help of one race.”
‘Which race is it?’
“It is... the Honey-Ring tribe.”
The Honey-Ring tribe.
‘The Honey-Ring tribe...’
It feels like they appeared in the original novel... Wait.
‘I remember!’
They were a race that was famous in the original novel. Fierce, skilled with poison, and known for unconditionally seizing anything beautiful. The ones who were said to be heinous.
‘Don’t tell me... that Honey-Ring tribe...?’