The Withered World Tree
The rest area inside the arena was completely deserted. The matches of the other groups were still in full swing, but here in this quiet corner, only the four of us—Riel, Phyllis, Emilia, and me—had gathered together. Even the two unfamiliar faces, Aria and Phelis, had joined the group.
Riel was explaining the reason for her lateness.
It wasn’t just any excuse. The real culprit had been Alan.
I had known it was risky to walk around separately, but I never imagined he would actually come looking for us.
“I heard he dropped out of the academy. He was supposed to leave today…”
When Riel finished speaking, the story I had heard spreading since yesterday flashed through my mind.
The match-fixing allegations, the humiliating defeat at the hands of Iris-senpai, and even worse—Alan had pissed himself. That was how far he had fallen.
I really hated the guy, but I couldn’t help feeling a flicker of pity for what had happened to him.
“But he tried to drag me along by force, saying I had to go with him…”
“Like hell I’m going with that bastard.”
I canceled the plan right there.
If I ever ran into him again, I’d beat him to a pulp this time.
Thankfully, Phyllis had stepped in and prevented anything worse from happening…
Now that he had dropped out of the academy, his status would be hit hard. But he had gone completely insane.
I had always thought Alan Ludwig was a loose cannon whose mind could snap in any direction.
“But when we tried to ignore him and leave, he tried to attack us from behind with a live blade.”
“…”
…Not just a crazy person. He was a *great* crazy person.
So…
Alan’s ambush had been stopped in the middle by the two people who jumped in—Aria and Phelis.
When I glanced at Phyllis, she gave me a small nod.
It seemed Phyllis had already noticed what Alan was trying to do.
The two of them had tried to stop his attack, and when he was blocked, he had turned on them instead.
During the scuffle, a patrol unit from the local garrison arrived after the townspeople’s report and arrested Alan. The two of them had accompanied him as witnesses.
“So, what happened to that idiot Alan?”
“He’s probably being taken to the royal palace by now. It wasn’t a simple assault charge, so…”
That made sense.
If it had been a regular attempted murder case, the garrison might have handled it quietly, but this was different.
First, he had tried to ambush three women. Minus one.
The two who tried to stop him were also women, and he had attacked them. Another minus.
Two of the three victims were nobles. Another minus.
One was the daughter of a duke—yet another heavy minus.
It was far too serious for the garrison to deal with.
In the end, the entire matter had been handed over to the royal palace. Normally, the duke’s family would have been notified so they could discuss his punishment, but right now the Ignis Duchy was without a head.
The king himself was already searching for the duke, so there was no one in the palace to consult.
The duchess and the next heir were also missing, and Riel herself was still a minor.
The only remaining adult was Andrew, but he was currently in the middle of the duke’s search operation in the duchy.
Even if we summoned him immediately, it would take days. Therefore, the final decision would have to be made at the royal palace.
“That idiot did something that should have gotten him his head cut off.”
A small sound of surprise escaped from someone nearby.
It was Phelis Valtreia.
…Well, of course. The idea that Alan might be dead had shaken her.
I had no idea what would happen to him.
Everything would depend on the king’s decision.
A few days later, I learned that Alan had been permanently exiled from the Kingdom of Pallazinia.
“The Hero has been secured, but our Church’s position in the Kingdom has become even more precarious.”
The central headquarters of the World Tree Church—the Continental Central Church.
Inside a room of that grand building, a man with a long black beard read a report aloud.
The room was overflowing with expensive furniture and decorations that screamed high status. It was far more lavish than the Pope’s own modest quarters. This was none other than Cardinal Gerald, the de facto ruler of the World Tree Church.
“…Yes. I never imagined the ‘Hero’ would commit such a crime.”
“Even the target he attacked was the Priestess… I can’t believe it. Him.”
“He claims he was only trying to protect her, but honestly, no one would believe that excuse.”
Archbishop Marconi bowed his head deeply before the Cardinal.
“Honestly, his obsession with the Priestess is beyond strange.”
“In the end, we had to sacrifice most of the Church’s privileges in the Kingdom just to extract him… Well, if the Hero is worth that much, then it’s acceptable…”
Gerald took his eyes off the report and looked at Marconi.
“What has become of him?”
“He is undergoing Holy Knight training. Fortunately, the World Tree has recognized him as the Hero and he possesses the proper affinity for Holy Power.”
The moment he arrived at the Central Church, he had been assigned to the Church’s own Holy Knight order.
He had trained without complaint, training as hard as he could in pursuit of his wish to become stronger.
“Losing the Priestess is painful, but if one failure is all it takes to raise suspicion, then we must be more careful.”
“Yes. The king of Gralarus already suspects us.”
“Given the circumstances, that is only natural.”
Gerald’s eyes sharpened.
“And the Demon?”
“Frankly, it’s difficult. Since he is the son of Count Ventus, any heavy-handed action could backfire on us.”
“Count Ventus…”
Count Ventus.
In the World Tree Church, the entire county territory—including the count’s family—was practically untouchable.
These heretics who had abandoned the true faith to worship the World Tree.
We had sent missionaries to enlighten them several times, but every attempt had failed.
That the World Tree itself should have named a person born into such a family the Demon…
“…That makes sense. It’s only natural.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s nothing. Is there any other important information?”
“Yes, I believe this one is quite significant…”
Marconi presented a report he had investigated.
“Based on the investigation, it appears the Priestess is involved with the Demon in a romantic capacity.”
“…What?”
“It is not confirmed, but from the rumors I gathered among the academy students, that is the general impression.”
When Marconi had heard this, his heart had dropped.
The oracle the Cardinal had received clearly stated that the Demon was interfering with the love between the Hero and the Priestess.
“That is troubling… According to the oracle, the Hero and Priestess must love each other…”
“Yes. In fact, since she is romantically involved with the Demon, she seems to despise the Hero quite strongly.”
Gerald fell into thought.
Honestly, it didn’t matter what the Priestess thought.
What mattered was that the Hero and Priestess loved each other.
If that was the case, we could force them together.
The problem was that the Church could not directly act against either the Priestess or the Demon right now.
And because of what the Hero had done, we could not act in the Kingdom either.
“We’ll have to think about how to proceed. For now, focus on training the Hero.”
“Yes. Then, now—”
At that moment, someone burst into the Cardinal’s room.
It was a priest belonging to the Cardinal faction.
“Cardinal Gerald! I have urgent news!”
“What is it?”
“It is… ah, Archbishop Marconi is here as well…”
“I don’t care. Tell me.”
The priest cleared his throat.
“It is that the Melote girl has gone missing.”
“The one called Alicia?”
Alicia Melote.
A first-class priestess of the Pope faction who even Cardinal Gerald’s group had acknowledged as useful.
Because of that, her position in the Church was weak, but her strength was real—so the Cardinal faction had always kept a close eye on her movements.
Yet she had suddenly vanished?
“Yes. We searched everywhere, but we could not find her anywhere in the Church.”
Gerald felt a wave of irritation wash over him.
It had been several days since she left the Church.
Alicia Melote had followed the directions of the sacred heirloom—the Orb of the World Tree—toward her family home.
The journey had been difficult, but she had endured it.
Finally, she reached a dense forest.
“As Mother said…”
She had memorized every detail of the prophecy that came with the Orb.
She had practiced the incantation countless times so she could pass it on to her descendants one day.
“So… in this forest… that way…”
Fifteen steps west from the large rock, thirty-two steps north.
When she had reached the base of the tree and struck it five times in a regular rhythm…
“This is real!”
“Eek?!”
Alicia, startled by the sudden voice, let out a short scream.
“I never imagined Mother’s words were true… the Orb…”
“Ah…”
A silver-haired girl with long ears and blue eyes stood there, her long platinum hair loosely tied back.
Once Alicia had steadied herself, she immediately dropped to her knees and bowed.
“I-it is an honor to meet the noble Elf who guards the World Tree.”
“Ah~ You really don’t have to be so formal…”
Her blue eyes clearly conveyed her irritation.
The fairy who served the World Tree and the Elf who guarded the path to the World Tree.
Seeing the real Elf in front of her, Alicia could not help but be impressed.
“Um… what was it again… guardian of the World Tree… um…”
The Elf tilted her head, as if searching for the right word.
“Ah, I forgot. I am Rillu. I received the role from Mother and have been guarding this place.”
“Y-yes! I am Alicia!”
“Since you brought the Orb, you are here to find the World Tree, right? Follow me.”
Rillu took the lead, and Alicia followed.
The silver-haired Elf moved swiftly through the forest, and after about an hour of following, Alicia’s legs were burning.
Rillu stopped in front of a cave.
“We’re here. Go in.”
“Ye-yes! Then let’s go!”
“Eh? No, I’m stopping here.”
Rillu’s firm refusal left Alicia bewildered.
According to the prophecy, she was supposed to advance all the way to the World Tree with an Elf guide.
“W-why…?”
“Ah… I wanted to guide you all the way…”
Rillu scratched her head and looked down.
“U-um… our Elves can no longer reach the World Tree. It was about ten years ago…”
“Did something like that happen?”
“Yes. According to the fairies, it was the World Tree’s command… but the path was blocked when I tried to go…”
Rillu pointed at the Orb with her finger.
“If you have the Orb, you can enter. But under no circumstances may you let go of the Orb.”
“Yes, I will remember.”
“Fine. When you meet the World Tree, please pass on our greetings to the other Elves.”
Alicia entered the cave with Rillu’s farewell.
As she continued deeper into the cave, the Orb she carried began to glow brightly.
“Waaah?!”
Alicia was suddenly engulfed in brilliant light.
Before she knew it, she was no longer inside the cave but standing on a vast grassland.
“Th-this is exactly as the prophecy said…”
According to the prophecy, the colossal tree visible in the distance was only its shadow.
To reach the true World Tree, the Orb was essential.
So this was where the real World Tree…
“…?!”
Alicia’s eyes widened as she frantically looked around.
An enormous tree—larger than any tower, castle, or mountain—stood before her.
The colossal World Tree Yggdrasil, exactly as described in the prophecy.
But it was withered and dead.