Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: The World Tree Speaks
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"...So, you're saying the World Tree started withering again right after we began trading with Banten?"
Millia nodded silently in response to my question.
I couldn't believe it. This wasn't some crow dropping a gift from the sky—it was pure bad luck, like stepping in dog shit.
"The elders believe the items brought by humans through trade are corrupting Elunheim's vital energy. They say a foul miasma that's even resistant to the highest-grade spirits is polluting the World Tree."
It was getting more absurd by the minute. Most of what we sold to the elves from Banten were essentials like clothing and food. Elves loved nature, sure, but the forest's yield wasn't enough to sustain them nutritionally on fruit alone.
Now it seemed the World Tree's weakness was the real issue, but anyway.
We strictly limited metals beyond basic clothing for weather and food needs. We double- and triple-checked anything that might involve meat. And they call that a miasma?
They're just digging in their heels.
But before that.
"You mentioned earlier that the highest-grade spirits from the elders were holding back the withering. So how are they managing the World Tree now?"
If the elders here were pushing to cut off trade, it meant they'd completely abandoned the World Tree.
"...Even if they pour energy into it while trade continues, the World Tree keeps withering anyway. So instead, they're saying they'll make us stop all trade with humans as soon as possible and then return. They seem to think rooting out the cause is more important, even if it withers a bit more."
Damn it. This was driving me insane.
"Long time no see, Jerome. Sorry about this mess right when I told you to visit."
Ash, who had come out to meet me beyond Alpheheim—apparently informed of my arrival—spoke up.
"I heard from Millia about the elders going wild. I saw it firsthand too. But how do these reclusive elders have the authority to act like that?"
From Millia's stories and the elves' reactions before, the elders had been in seclusion in Elunheim for years, not just days.
In any organization, those absent for long lose influence. They couldn't throw their weight around so freely.
Ash's face crumpled at my question.
"...Where there are no tigers, foxes become kings."
Ah.
I got the answer from Ash's reaction. Paulo, who had dominated elven society for ages, had fallen from power—that's why they could rampage.
Even after long seclusion, as Elunheim's 'elders,' Millia couldn't ignore them outright.
Of course, if Paulo still ruled Elunheim, the elders wouldn't dare speak up—but then trade wouldn't have happened in the first place.
"Anyway, things have been chaotic since the elders ended their seclusion. It's true our lives improved thanks to Banten's goods, but with them so firmly claiming these items are causing the World Tree to wither, some elves are starting to waver."
"Ash, do you think that too? That these items are making the World Tree wither?"
I grabbed the sleeve of Ash's outfit—made in Banten for mobility and comfort—and shook it lightly in disbelief.
"...Of course not. Blaming the World Tree's withering on a few items like this would be an insult to it."
Good. The guard elf earlier, and now Ash.
Most elves still weren't buying the elders' ridiculous claims.
It's not too late. We can fix this.
"Ash, could I take a look at the World Tree?"
"Huh? You?"
Ash's eyes widened in surprise at my suggestion.
"Elves have puzzled over it for ages without success. An outsider's perspective might spot something new."
I couldn't just watch our hard-won trade route crumble because of some meddling elders.
"Hmm..."
Ash stroked his chin thoughtfully, then nodded.
"Normally, no way. But since it's you, Jerome, it might be okay. By the way, who's that with you? If their identity isn't verified, even your acquaintance can't come to the World Tree."
"Oh, this person?"
Swoosh!
Lampang, who had been silent, stepped forward as her name came up.
"Hello. I'm Lampang, the White Wing."
"White Wing? You mean...?!"
Ash's eyes widened. Even reclusive elves knew the lofty fame of the one who ascended the Jade Throne.
She was on par with their queen, Forest Queen Paulo.
"The World Tree in question—Yggdrasil, right? I might be able to help."
"...What do you mean?"
Lampang's cryptic words puzzled me and Ash, but she said no more.
"...It's small."
After following Ash for a while and facing the World Tree, that's all I could say.
It was small. Really small.
Small enough that it could pass for a sapling from an ordinary tree.
Don't World Trees usually get described as mountain-sized behemoths?
Well, if it were that big, I'd have seen it from afar entering Elunheim.
I'd assumed no massive tree meant illusion magic or spirits hid it. Who knew it was actually this tiny?
Perhaps anticipating my shock, Ash chuckled.
"Seeing you flustered like that makes you seem almost human. The real World Tree is as huge as you imagine. But for smoother treatment, its entity was reverse-summoned to the Spirit Realm. Under the spirits' care, the withering slows at least."
Only then did it click. It had been withering for years, not days.
If it had been in the Spirit Realm long, no wonder I hadn't seen it.
On the flip side, it meant the World Tree was too weak to manifest in the mortal realm.
"Take a look. Though small, it's identical to Yggdrasil in the Spirit Realm—just scaled down. See anything?"
"Hmm..."
...No clue.
I wouldn't have even noticed it was withering without prior warning.
Who'd think a tree pulsing with such vibrant life force was dying?
Exaggerating a bit, this tiny sapling's vitality felt stronger than the Dragon Mountains'. No— it probably was. This was the tree called the continent's nature itself.
Sensing its state seemed unrelated to cultivation realms; no matter how long I stared, I saw no issue.
No choice. Time to talk to Millia again...
As I admitted I'd underestimated it and turned to Ash, Lampang finally spoke.
"It's withering. Over there, at the roots."
"...?!"
Our heads snapped toward it at her words.
"Lampang, what did you say?"
"Something's eating away at Yggdrasil's roots."
"...?!"
I hadn't expected this twist at all.
How did Lampang know Yggdrasil's problem?
"...Lady White Wing, may I ask how you noticed? Even the elders took a long time to detect the issue."
Ash, sensing the oddity, began eyeing Lampang warily.
I couldn't blame him. I didn't get how she spotted it instantly either.
"Disciple, even after receiving power from Master, you don't know what his Heterogenous Power is?"
Lampang looked at me in disbelief, sensing my suspicion.
"...Lord Karma's ability?"
Come to think of it, yes. Azure Wing frolicking on the Jade Throne, wisest of the Black Lions' Great Three Sages.
I knew his titles well, but not his power.
"...Master's power is nature itself. He commands all plants and animals in the world and hears their voices."
Nature? I'd never heard of such a Heterogenous Power.
"He's reached the demigod realm. No mage or warrior can defeat him."
Arrogant words, but if true, hardly an overstatement.
No force could beat the continent's nature itself, Jade Throne or not.
That's why causality restrained him.
Communing with and borrowing nature's power made him godlike, nearly a true deity.
No mere human could wield such might without limits unchecked.
"But how does the White Wing's master using that power relate to you grasping this crisis?"
Ash, still not connecting the dots, asked Lampang.
"I told you Master communes with nature. Serving him long, I learned to observe plants by osmosis. Plus, he once bonded with Yggdrasil."
Swoosh!
Calmly answering Ash, Lampang drew something from her bosom.
It was plant bark—from after germination.
Ash and I recognized it instantly, no explanation needed.
Just leftover husk, yet its vitality was extraordinary.
"Yggdrasil gave this seed to Master as a token of friendship long ago. I used the seed elsewhere, but... this husk should suffice as a catalyst to speak with Yggdrasil."
As Lampang gripped the husk to channel power—
"Ash! What is this?!"
A group of middle-aged elves stormed in, fuming.
"We told you the miasma from humans is withering the World Tree! When we should be driving them out and cutting ties, how dare you bring them here?! Are you mad?!"
It was Tristan the elder and his cohort.
"Elders, please come to your senses! Does it make sense that a few items would wither the World Tree?!"
Ash didn't back down easily, pent-up frustration boiling over.
"What?! You dare doubt our eyes, who've tended it all these years?!"
"Since trade with Banten began, Elunheim's young no longer shiver in cold or go hungry! Should we abandon all these changes for your unproven claims?!"
"How dare you!"
Tristan, enraged at Ash's defiance, summoned the high wind spirit Shriel.
Tension peaked.
Then Lampang spoke.
"Everyone, calm down. Asking the source is surest, right?"
"Silence! What does a human know of the World Tree...!"
As one elder erupted at her, Lampang crushed the husk in her hand.
Crack!
Half-broken, the life force in the husk flowed toward the sapling.
Shaaaa!
Dense, visible vitality infused it, manifesting a girl's spirit from Yggdrasil's sapling.
The World Tree's spirit opened its eyes in midair and looked down.
-This energy... my seed's husk. Who calls me? Karma?
My god.
I knew legends abounded, so not ordinary—but personalizing consciousness like this?
Even Ash and the shouting elders gaped, eyes bulging at the sight.
"L-Lady Yggdrasil?!"
Tristan recovered first, astonishment plain.
The girl's gaze shifted to him and the elders.
-This presence... so, you're the elders who've tended me.
Elders' faces lit with ecstasy. After decades of seclusion and care, it recognized them.
"Yes, we..."
-Stop it. Lately, I can't live because of you lot.
"...brought Lady Yggdrasil...?"
The elders froze like broken dolls in unison.