Chapter 579: The Tree That Bears Meat
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 579: The Tree That Bears Meat
The rest was short, but my mind was clear. Ever since Tyr's Divine power had taken root in my body, I could no longer be called ordinary, not even as a joke. My fatigue, my mind, my body—everything was different. Even the slightest rest would return me to peak condition.
It was the same this time. This was the first proper rest I’d had on the way to the Tree of Genesis, yet I woke up with a perfectly clear head after a mere thirty minutes.
“Ah. I guess I can't even sleep in properly anymore.”
Mourning my lost lie-ins, I sat up and found the Regressor covered in moss. I gave a firm tug on the moss peeking out from the collar of her shirt, and she flinched violently. The moss, which had spent the better part of an hour moving over her skin and cleaning away the grime, was now lukewarm from her body heat.
“Puah! Hah... Hahh. You...”
“What? I did exactly as you ordered. I didn't lay a hand on you, and you got a bath without lifting a finger, Shei-ssi. How about it? Refreshing, isn't it?”
My body feels refreshed... which makes me hate it even more!
What does she want from me? Sigh, I'll just stop trying to figure it out.
“What should I do with this moss? Want to use it again later?”
“No, thanks... Just burn it. It's creepy.”
“That's a bit harsh, saying that about the little guys who sacrificed themselves to wash you. You should be thanking them.”
Still, I couldn't think of any other use for it, so I just tossed it out the window. Nothing feels as liberating as irresponsibly littering.
Seeing it thrown away like that... I feel kind of bad for it...
Seriously, what am I supposed to do? I want to ignore her, but I can't. I scratched my stomach and wandered around the room.
“I'm a little hungry now that I'm up. Should I get some food out?”
“...We have the Bountiful Table. You can take it out of the Pocket.”
“Let's save that. No need to use emergency rations when there's food right here, is there? I think there was a food pantry around here.”
Ah, found it. Near the furnace filled with seed oil, I saw a tree branch bent like a fishing rod. It looked as if it were bearing heavy, luscious fruit, far too large for such a slender branch.
The gourd bowls, the bamboo faucet, the moss towel, the seed-oil furnace. Just like them, the food pantry was clearly made from plants. Besides, food usually meant crops. Expecting some fresh fruit, I pushed the branch aside.
“This is the Tree of Genesis, so there should be more fruit and grain than we know what to do with...”
As I said that, I saw the fruit hanging from the branch and flinched at the completely unexpected sight.
Hanging from the branch wasn't fruit, but... beasts, covered in a thin, soft membrane.
Pigs, rabbits, chickens. The kind of animals good for eating were curled up, asleep. Like unborn children, they floated in an amniotic fluid of juice, attached to the branch by umbilical cords.
Fruit with animals hanging from them. I'd thought before that it would be nice if meat grew on trees, but I never imagined it actually existed.
I picked one of the large pig-fruits. It took both arms to hold, and the pig twitched inside. You couldn't say it was alive, but it couldn't have grown into a pig while being dead, either. I frowned, looking at the pig-fruit.
“This is...”
[A Genesis Beast!]
A parrot's voice came from outside. Puzzled, I opened the kitchen window, and a green-feathered parrot flew in as if it had been waiting, landing on my shoulder.
“A Genesis Beast?”
[A beast crafted from wood, a Genesis Beast. It's the masterpiece of Nevida and Agartha.]
The parrot puffed out its chest and squawked proudly, then nipped my ear and shouted.
[More importantly, leave the window open! If you close it, I can't get in whenever I feel like it!]
“Isn't that the whole point of a window? To keep things out?”
[You'll be better off if I can come in! That way, when you're scared of something like the Genesis Beast, I can clear the fog with my knowledge!]
“I wasn't particularly scared... Huh? Wait a minute. I'm sure I closed the window just a moment ago. How did you know I was looking at a Genesis Beast?”
[Ack!]
The parrot, struck by the direct hit, flapped its wings. It had probably been spying using a rat or a bug as a familiar, but unable to confess, it rolled its eyes and made an excuse.
[Squawk! I saw through a crack in the window!]
“I'm pretty sure I closed it tight...”
[There was a crack!]
“But when it's closed, not a single ray of sunlight gets in.”
[If I say there was, there was!]
“How arbitrary. Well, if you say so.”
Interrogating it further wouldn't stop the voyeurism anyway. It would just think it was unlucky to get caught and hide its familiars more carefully next time. I decided to play dumb.
“So, is this edible?”
[Squawk! Of course! That's what it was made for!]
“It was? So, the Genesis Beasts were meant to be food from the start?”
[That's right! It's inefficient to kill precious livestock just for meat!]
That made sense, but I never knew that Genesis Beasts, Nevida's power, were edible. They could move and even fight. I naturally assumed they were a power meant for combat.
The parrot, which had been chattering on, covered its beak with a wing.
[Oops. Did I say too much? Oh, well. We have a lot to talk about! Let's save the rest for the gathering!]
“The gathering?”
[You're the one who suggested it, remember? I'll wait for you to finish your meal, so eat up and come outside!]
Ah, right. I did suggest a gathering, didn't I? It's hard to immediately understand what people are saying when I can't read their minds.
I tore open the pig-fruit and took out the pig. The pig inside didn't open its eyes and start moving... or anything like that. I took out a card and sliced through the pig-fruit's skin. Though it grew on a branch, its anatomy was identical to a real pig's.
Even as I grilled the meat on a pan, I couldn't shake my doubts.
“An animal that grew on a tree. Is this really okay to eat?”
My worries were unfounded. Meat was meat. Feelings aside, it was delicious. For some reason, the meat tasted a bit like beans, but for someone from the Military State like me, that was hardly an issue.
[Hurry up and eat! How long are you going to keep me waiting?]
“What happened to the parrot who said it would wait for me to finish my meal?”
The parrot bustled about, rushing me. Just because it was possessing a parrot, its patience was just as small. Grumbling, I prepared to leave and asked.
“I'm coming now, so please lead the way.”
[I sent Walpurgis! She'll be waiting at the door!]
“What? You made her wait this whole time? You should have sent her after I finished eating. I feel bad.”
[What does it matter! It's fine!]
“I was talking about feeling bad for Miss Walpurgis, not you.”
[If I'm fine with it, she's fine with it!]
“This person is so arbitrary.”
At least she asks for my opinion, which I guess makes her better than Nevida. In any case, she was definitely a troublesome person. I asked the parrot.
“Ah. Is it okay to bring Shei-ssi to the gathering?”
[Squawk? Shei? Who's that?]
“The person whose arm fell off.”
[Oh, her?]
The parrot glanced toward the Regressor and stroked below its beak with a wing, contemplating.
[Is it okay? Is it not? Squawk. The Saintess probably knows everything anyway, so it shouldn't matter, right?]
“If it's something you can tell me, it shouldn't matter if she hears it too, right?”
[Squawk. But I might accidentally spill a secret!]
Her attitude toward dealing with mistakes is admirable. But is not spilling secrets in the first place not an option?
[I might be able to shut your mouth, but it's hard to shut hers. That's what a Saintess is. The light looks down upon all creation, so there are no secrets under the sun. The only way to hide something from a Saintess is to not say it out loud.]
It's already too late. The Regressor knows all your plans. She saw them from the future.
“In that case, why don't you listen to some of Shei-ssi's information in return?”
[I don't really have anything to ask her...]
“I think you do. That mask.”
[Ah!]
Agartha's Mask. Even I couldn't read how she got it or what its origins were. This was a chance to hear the story from the Regressor's own mouth.
[Squawk! Fine! I'll be generous and allow it.]
“Then I'll have to bring her. As you can see, Shei-ssi is so weak she can't even wash herself with her own hands.”
[Ah, I saw! That's right! You're pretty amazing, you know? Using plants like animals to tease someone! That's an idea even I never had!]
“What? Tease? What are you talking about?”
That wasn't teasing, it was attending to her. I just modified the moss towel here a bit, what's so teasing about that? The Regressor was satisfied with the service!
No, more importantly, when did you see that? Have you been spying on us every single second? Does the Great Witch have that much free time?
The parrot flapped its wings, as if suddenly realizing its slip of the tongue.
[…Squawk! Just let it go!]
“Let what go? Get over here.”
[I'll tell Walpurgis to get a cart! Walpurgiiiiis!]
The parrot dodged my hand and fled out the window. A wingless human had no way of following. I clicked my tongue and approached the Regressor.
“You heard that, Shei-ssi? Your every move is probably being watched. Be careful what you say and do from now on.”
“...Ugh. I don't like being watched.”
“Are you one to talk? Who was it that was constantly tailing and watching me in Tantalus?”
“Th-that's because you were so suspicious! And if you want to get technical, my intuition was right! You lying King of Humans!”
What? A liar? Me? I may have concealed, downplayed, or exaggerated the truth, but I've rarely told an outright lie! And if we're talking about liars, you're much worse than I am!
“Is that something a person who insisted on dressing as a man, even while being mistaken for being into men, should be saying?”
“You think I wanted to dress as a man?! I had no choice! If I'd appeared as a woman from the start, you and Tyrkanzyaka would have definitely been on your guard! We wouldn't have been able to travel this comfortably...!”
“Is that so? Then you're not hiding anything now, are you?”
You're still hiding the fact that you're a Regressor. Aren't you?
Dealt a heavy blow, the Regressor pressed her lips together and turned her head away, stubbornly silent as if that was the one thing she couldn't bring herself to say. Good grief. This is why I don't feel like taking her side. The Regressor always has the upper hand.
“Forget it. Let's just go to that gathering.”
“...Fine.”
“She said she's sending a cart. We can just load you onto it like a piece of luggage.”
“Don't treat me like luggage!”
“Excuse me. Has the luggage cart arrived by any chance?”
I finished getting ready and opened the door. The witch, who seemed to have run somewhere and back, was standing in front of the door, panting heavily. The witch Walpurgis held out the cart she'd brought.
“I've brought the cart. Let's go.”
“...Huh. This is.”
I tilted my head, looking at the strangely familiar handcart. The cart, which looked like a wheelchair, was made entirely—from its wheels to its frame—of gears.