Am I Really the World Tree?

Karen returned to his room with a stiff expression. His attendant asked cautiously, "Your Highness. About your meal..."

At the same time, Karen hurled the vase sitting next to him. The vase flew narrowly past the attendant's head and—crash!—shattered into pieces on the floor.

"Do you think I have an appetite right now?!"

His sharp voice erupted, but the attendant merely bowed his head as if nothing had happened. He seemed accustomed to such treatment.

"You have no tact. Get out, all of you!"

As soon as the order was given, the attendants quickly cleared the shards of the vase and scurried out of the room.

Karen muttered quietly to himself, "This can't be happening..."

The position of Crown Prince, which was already precarious, was slipping away in an instant. Honestly, when he first heard that she had found the protagonist of the oracle, he had been skeptical. He hadn't believed that woman could have actually found it in the first place. He had intended to belittle her, claiming it made no sense for her to assert that some mediocre thing was the protagonist of the oracle.

'A dragon... a dragon of all things!'

If it were a dragon, it was almost certain to be the being capable of fulfilling the oracle. But the one saving grace was this:

'She hasn't brought the egg back yet.'

In other words, until she actually brought the egg, it was difficult to consider the protagonist of the oracle secured. That meant Aselia would somehow have to go and find the egg herself.

'I have to make that egg mine...'

What should he do? Wasn't there some way? Karen sat on a large sofa, crossing his legs. He tapped his fingers against the armrest.

'Aselia will select only the empire's elite knights to go and retrieve the egg.'

Currently, all the elite knights were at the outskirts of the empire, blocking monsters contaminated by demonic energy. Even if he submitted an official document to select the knights and summon them to the imperial palace, the fastest it would take for them to arrive was about two weeks. After that, by the time they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prepared, planned the operation, and set off, a month would have easily passed.

'In that time, I could potentially win over a few of the knights.'

He could order them to interfere, but—'Then it would be difficult to obtain the egg...'

First, he would do his best to obtain the dragon egg. And once he found it... 'I'll have to order them to swap the dragon egg with another monster's egg.'

If Aselia brought back a monster's egg and caused an uproar, he would step in, claiming he had found the real dragon egg. However, if he just brought it, it would surely be exposed.

'I need to attach Anke to the mission.'

Anke, the strongest archmage in the empire. Fortunately, he was under Karen's command. Of course, Aselia would be suspicious, but she wouldn't be able to refuse an archmage of Anke's caliber.

'And once Anke overlays the power of a dragon egg onto a monster egg, we can swap them.'

He would have to discuss the details with his subordinates again, but it was a plan he quite liked.

'Then, where would it be best to say I discovered the dragon egg...'

Karen, who had been pondering, blurted out, "Yes. The Great Canyon of the Tiero Ocean would be good."

He had claimed from the beginning that the protagonist of the oracle was there.

Karen's lips curled upward. 'Good.'

Planning it out made him feel at ease. It felt as if the dragon egg was already in his grasp.

"Hehe... Aselia." He could already picture Aselia's face as she despaired after bringing back a monster's egg. "That arrogant look of yours won't last long."

A satisfied smile hung on Karen's lips.

I marveled at the status window I had opened. 'Wow... I'm growing really well, aren't I?'

Especially the 205 Demonic Energy. I had grown significantly while consuming the demonic energy of the Honey-Ring tribe's queen. My spirit power had increased as well. As I swayed my branches in joy,

"Mama!"

Riri flew over. The child was energetic from the morning, as always. 'Mm~ Did you sleep well, Riri?'

At my words, Riri giggled. "Yup! Riri slept well!"

Riri could now speak words with some accuracy. Though, her appearance was still that of a five-year-old child.

Lin, who had flown over, shouted, -The Honey-Ringers have almost finished the house!

'Oh, my.'

I shifted my gaze upward and saw the Honey-Ringers moving about, refining their home. The house the Honey-Ringers built looked similar to a beehive, but it was much larger. The hive, slightly bigger than an adult man, was a clean, beige tone. It seemed they were building it by creating frames with wax they produced after eating honey, and filling the gaps with honey, sap, or nectar.

'But the house seems to be glowing faintly?'

Was it originally like that? Khan answered that question. "I believe it is because the main material was created by consuming the flowers in this sanctuary."

Ah. In short, they ate the nectar of flowers infused with divine power, so that's why. 'Then, will it be sturdier?'

Jini answered that instead. -Uung! That's obvious. It's infused with divine power, after all...

Oh. That's good then. I wondered if the nectar of the flowers I bloomed would be even more helpful, but the Honey-Ringers didn't approach those flowers.

'Now that I think about it, it really is strange.'

My flowers, which would become the Evolution Fruit, should be better than ordinary flowers. Why didn't they even come near them? 'Or can only the queen touch them...?'

It was a possibility. Riri often approached my flowers and stared at them.

Just as my thoughts deepened, "Is the house finished?"

Riri, curious about the new house, poked her head around. Then, with a determined expression, she shouted, "Riri wants to help too!"

But that was only for a moment. "Kkuring!" "Kkuro-rong!"

The Honey-Ringers threw their bodies in front of Riri to stop her. Then, they quietly brought Riri over and sat her on my branch. "Kkuri-ring!" It meant to rest here.

"Riri wants to be helpful..."

When the child asked with her eyes wide open, the Honey-Ringers looked at each other, looking troubled. I chuckled at the sight of them. Well, it was ambiguous for a baby who had just been born to help with anything.

I stroked Riri's hair with a branch and said, 'Shall Riri play with me here?'

"Riri play with Mama?"

Interest flared in Riri's eyes. 'Yes~ Hmm. What shall we play?'

"Riri... um..." She rolled her small head hard and said, "Hunting!"

'...Huh? Hunting?'

Suddenly... hunting? I stopped in my tracks, bewildered, and Riri said with a grin, "Riri is a queen! They say I'm good at hunting!"

Riri shouted very confidently, "Riri will catch a super big monster! Mama, just trust Riri!"

Hmm. So. A newborn baby is saying she's going to hunt right now, right? A short silence flowed.

'Who told you that?'

At my words, the child answered very brightly, "Khan!"

Khan, who was nearby, turned his gaze away. "Th-that... Master. I just meant that she would become strong in the future..."

'She's a baby who was just born?'

"Of course, since she will hunt later..."

'She's a baby who was born just now?'

"Early ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠education..."

'To hell with early education.'

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was wrong."

Khan eventually bowed his head. I chuckled and stroked Riri's hair. 'Riri, is there anything else you want to do?'

Then, Riri, who had been agonizing over it, raised one hand high and shouted, "Riri has one!"

'Yes! What is it?'

The child shouted with a wide smile, "Whipping!"

'...Huh?'

The child continued, waving her hand, "Swish! Swish! Grandpa Hylen said he'd make me one when I grow up! A whip!"

Riri said with a giggle. I felt a headache coming on at that sight. I glared at Hylen, who was quietly trying to run away. 'Hoo... Hylen...'

"Yes."

'You already told her you'd make her a whip?'

"Th-that... weapons are important!"

Hylen said very confidently. I said bluntly, 'She hasn't even been born for a month.'

"I was wrong."

Hylen immediately conceded. Then I said to Riri, 'Riri. You don't have to hunt, and you don't have to swing a whip.'

"I don't have to?"

'Yes. Riri, you're eating honey deliciously right now, aren't you?'

Riri was still a baby, so she couldn't eat meat or crops. Instead, she was filling her meals with various types of honey. She would have a proper meal someday when she grew older, but until then, I wanted her to enjoy the present.

'You can think about it and decide when the time comes. So for now, think about what Riri wants to do.'

At my words, Riri nodded her head vigorously. "Riri understands!"

Then, she flew around me and sat next to a blooming flower. "Umm... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then Riri has something she wants to do!"

Oh-oh. Finally. Was she going to say something proper? 'What is it? What is it?'

At my words, Riri gently caressed the flower and said, "This... I want to try eating the honey!"

The honey from my flower? What Riri was touching was a pink flower that had bloomed on my branch. It was still vivid, emitting a soft fragrance. It was the flower that had bloomed before the Evolution Fruit appeared.

'Could it be... as I expected, does she feel something instinctively as the queen of the Honey-Ringers?'

If it were Hylen, he might have known something. I looked for Hylen, but he was already running far away, so he couldn't see the situation here. It was too far to call him. In the meantime, Riri asked one more time.

"Mama... can I eat this?"

Riri looked at me. Her chubby cheeks were tinged with a light pink, and her eyes were sparkling desperately.

'Uh? Uh-huh...'

I answered before I knew it. How could I refuse when she looked at me so cutely? Then, Riri slowly approached the flower and inserted both hands into it, then slowly lifted them up.

Inside the two hands that came out of the flower, something was full. A liquid shining brilliantly with a golden light. It was honey. But it was different from ordinary honey. It was thicker, and a more deep, sweet fragrance erupted from it. It felt like I would be captivated just by smelling the scent. Following that, the child slowly brought her mouth to it and took a bite of the honey.

Slurp.

At the same time, the child's face brightened.

"It's delicious!"

'Is it delicious?'

"Yup! Very!"

The child giggled and shouted, "It's even more delicious because Mama gave it to me!"

How could she say such cute things? Just as I was stroking the child's head because she was so adorable, a window popped up.

'...Huh? An item?'

Did she mean this honey? The moment I thought that and looked at the honey in Riri's hands, another window popped up above the honey.

'...Uh?'

It was real? But wait a minute. 'World Tree's... honey...'

I was startled and shouted inwardly, 'Am I really the World Tree?'