The Priceless Keepsake
A week had passed since then. On a languid afternoon, Gambian Turea, the representative of Cappelino di Driade, visited the Dimensional Credit Vault Kikiwai Multidimensional Branch in person with his secretary.
"You've done us an immense favor."
The moment he stepped through the Dimensional Gate into the branch, he spotted me and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
"Representative...!"
I greeted Turea warmly and immediately escorted him up to the second floor. Slick Ellama arrived shortly after, having heard the news.
A beaming salesman's smile lit up his face. There was no way he wouldn't be thrilled to see the client who'd generated massive performance right from the branch's opening.
"How's the sapling growing?"
"Very well. Thanks to planting it along a ley line, it's growing dozens of times faster."
"That's a relief."
Turea responded to my question with a bright smile. His expression was far brighter than before, as if the worries that had plagued him had finally lifted now that his long-cherished wish had come true.
"We've begun crafting the first piece of the World Tree collection. We'll start from the branch tips, selecting only the finest wood to shape into furniture, bit by bit."
Still, it seemed he couldn't entirely shake the sense of responsibility for ordering the World Tree to be cut under his direction. I could sense a lingering shadow in a corner of his heart.
"You made the right decision, Representative."
Turea readily accepted Ellama's encouragement. Just then, one of Pluto's clones brought refreshments, and conversation flowed freely over the table.
They talked about how Bishop Zailini Bambino, who'd fled from the World Tree, had vanished completely, making it impossible to file charges against him. Or how the spirits had quietly accepted the pruning of the World Tree's branches. As Turea recounted the minor incidents from planting the new sapling and executing the repayment plan, his eyes gradually grew misty.
"This was something we couldn't have done on our own."
Finishing his story, he extended his hand for a handshake.
"Thank you. I could say it a thousand times and it wouldn't be enough, but thank you again. You two and the Dimensional Credit Vault have saved our kind."
His craftsman's hand was firm and warm. The sensation reminded me once more of the work I was doing.
A bank should extend a hand to those in need. And I realized I loved this job more than anything.
"I have gifts for the two of you."
"Nonsense. We should be the ones giving you something."
Ellama joked, as regulations forbade accepting monetary compensation from key clients, but Turea shook his head.
"They're humble mementos I made myself. I chose practical items, but I hope they please you."
Turea's secretary produced two boxes slightly larger than a palm and handed them to us.
"This is..."
Inside was a smartphone case made of solid wood. No decorations or carvings—just smoothly polished wood. I didn't know when he'd checked the model, but it fit my phone perfectly.
"I noticed your phone slip during our last call, Branch Manager, so I prepared this."
"You didn't have to go that far..."
"Nonsense. It would be rude to give to one without the other, so I brought a pair. It's plain, but it's my own handiwork."
The phone case from a furniture company CEO was sturdy and beautifully curved. It was unmistakably wood, yet the texture was unique. Silky smooth on the surface, with a solid core inside. Just holding it calmed the mind.
I'd touched solid wood furniture before, so I could tell instinctively. This wasn't something craftable by human hands.
It had to be made from special wood. No way—
"This... it's made from that wood, isn't it?"
I asked, but Turea just smiled.
"As you see, it's made of wood. Everything we make is solid wood."
His tone implied it was an obvious question.
But was this something I could just accept so casually?
"...We've received a precious gift. Honestly, I never expected this."
"I apologize for its simple shape; I focused on practicality and rushed the crafting."
"Not at all!"
Even as I spoke, my eyes were fixed on the smartphone case I'd just received. My hands trembled.
Could I really keep this? Holy crap.
"We'll pay the monthly interest diligently without fail. Please continue to look after Cappelino di Driade."
"Thank you for choosing us as your primary bank. We look forward to a continued strong relationship."
"Good. Please tell the president we'll donate a splendid table for the HQ conference room."
Empty pleasantries passed between Turea and Ellama, but their eyes seemed to convey complex information.
"Well then, until next month."
Mindful of the onlookers, Turea hurriedly left the bank.
"Hm..."
"What? Something fishy?"
Ellama asked with an amused grin.
"Just wondering why he was in such a rush."
"You know what you got as a gift and still ask that?"
"The gift... made from the World Tree, right? This."
"Not bad eyesight for an ex-con artist."
Ellama flashed his signature feral smile as he carefully placed the smartphone case back in its box.
"I'll keep the value of this a secret so your heart stays healthy."
"Come on, saying it like that makes me even more curious!!"
"Fine, special exception this once. Even a master craftsman like Representative Turea can't process this wood—it's a piece shaped directly by the spirits."
"Ah..."
Right, World Tree furniture is processed by spirits themselves, without human hands. That explained the organic curves on the smartphone case.
"Lowball estimate: sixteen Kim Jians."
"Ten billion...? Wait, that's not the point—why do you keep using other people's annual salaries as units?!"
"Don't lose it, take good care of it. And don't blab about who gave it to you. Oh, right—one more thing."
"Yes."
"Tell the security guard to turn the CCTV back on."
"...Pardon?"
Ellama whispered so the nearby section chiefs wouldn't hear, then returned to his office.
"What was that about."
Something he wasn't telling me. Turea seemed to know about it too.
Was revealing he'd given away a World Tree item that scary?
"Hmm..."
No matter how I looked, it was just an ordinary smartphone case. To non-ancient elves, World Tree wood was just big tree wood—the only difference was the texture.
"What's the big deal."
For now, I went to relay Ellama's message to the security guard as instructed.
The mild-mannered bank guard was a slender old man with a gentle face, wearing an eyepatch over one eye.
"I knew the situation, so I turned it back on just before."
His response felt oddly routine, like he'd handled this many times.
"Thank you. I'll get back to work then."
Did this happen often? Well, the Dimensional Credit Vault had offered private banking services for ages, so they'd surely tried everything to protect client info.
On Earth, treaties like the Washington Convention banned exporting endangered woods like Brazilian rosewood. But this world was home to elves exporting World Tree furniture.
No one would complain if they whittled leftover scraps into phone cases as giveaways.
So why the CCTV shutdown and all the fuss?
"Good work."
Quitting time had snuck up, so I said goodbye only to Pluto and the two section chiefs before heading to my lodging.
The gifted smartphone case seemed far too valuable to attach to my phone, so I brought it home still in its box.
My colleague Isaac was off for a checkup, so no dinner buddy. I ordered delivery, changed clothes.
"World Tree furniture. Always wanted to see some."
Folks like me never got the chance. Rich folks would bid them up at auctions and hoard them in private studies for daily admiration.
Furniture shaped by spirits from supreme wood nurtured by Dimension 33's nature. Treasures, really.
Thinking most would end up in some anonymous private library instead of museums made me inexplicably depressed.
"I played a big part too, you know."
Imagining a fancy solid wood table in the boardroom from this deal left a bitter taste.
"That one's World Tree too, right? Nah."
They didn't roll up their sleeves—I did. Still, no hard feelings toward President Turea.
"Getting this as a gift is miracle enough."
I took the smartphone case from its box and held it under the stand light. Too stunned earlier to inspect closely, but now the grain was exquisitely fine and beautiful.
Irrelevant, but my limited vocab—choosing painting over writing was a blessing.
No standout features beyond the texture. Was Turea's claim that World Tree furniture would redefine furniture just hype? Or was I just clueless?
Riiing ring ring.
Right on cue, the phone rang. My smartphone vibrated noisily on the bedside charger. Caller: Mira.
"Yeah. What's up."
"Oppa! That souvenir!"
"...Ah."
"......"
"...I'll pick one up next month when they visit."
"Augh, this oppa for real...!"
Right. I'd promised to buy her a souvenir in exchange for elf info and totally forgot.
Late into the night, as Kim Jian chatted with Mira over the phone about his Dimension 33 adventures, a strange sight unfolded on his desk.
Shiiiine...
A faint glow seeped from the surface of the solid wood smartphone case he'd left out.
Pop!
What emerged were fingernail-sized spirits.
"Kyuuu."
"Qwit."
"Miii..."
Watching Kim Jian's back as he paced toward the kitchen with the phone to his ear, the spirits chirped in their own ways.
Whether child or creation, leaving traces of one's form in the world was the earnest wish of all life.
Elves, spirits, the World Tree—all the same.
The man who'd given them a chance to multiply their fading numbers again.
To offer him a small token of thanks, the spirits bustled into action.