Home Sweet Home

I traded farewells with the elves who had come to see me off on the outskirts of Nuardel.

Elioren, indebted to me in more ways than one, indicated Iseria, Seiran, and Veila where they stood behind him and spoke.

"Well then... I'll be going."

"You were brought here under unfortunate circumstances, but next time I will do my best to face you with a clearer conscience. I will see to it that these children are properly corrected as well."

"Haha... if that's how it is, I'll take your word for it."

Even if they only went as far as I'd asked, that would be plenty. I just hoped everyone got along reasonably well.

I had arrived with nothing but the clothes on my back. Leaving, both arms were full—the World Tree's leaves and sap, as much as they had pressed on me earlier, and five bottles of Eilenna's special white wine. Maybe it pleased me more because I hadn't expected a gift at all. Or maybe the wine was simply that good.

"Jinwoo, come here a moment?"

"Yes?"

I had been saying goodbye to the Els Kitchen graduates I'd grown familiar with, and to the other elves, when Eilenna's call stopped me.

"Here. Keep your eyes shut tight."

"W-what?"

What was she planning, telling me to close my eyes out of nowhere? Suspicious as I was, I did as I was told.

A soft press. Smooth skin settled suddenly over my hand. Eilenna caught it and held fast, murmuring some incantation, and in time with the words I felt something being poured into my body.

Oh. Ohh.

I was badly flustered, but I didn't open my eyes, just as she had asked. She was raising mana and doing something with it. What if I interfered and ruined it? When you don't know what you're looking at, staying still is the wisest course.

At last the strange sensation ended, and I cracked my eyes open. Eilenna's face was, for some reason, flushed.

"A blessing... I placed a blessing on you."

"A blessing?"

What she had given me was nothing other than that.

"It's the blessing of our Liliendra family. It should help with vitality, and with recovering from fatigue."

"Oh. Bacchus."

An effect worthy of a house skilled at handling the World Tree's life force. I had no idea how long it would last, so I decided to live as if it were permanent. That way, even if I was a little worn out, I could tell myself I've got the Liliendra family's blessing, so I'm fine! and keep slamming energy drinks to my heart's content.

"The wine, too. Thank you, truly, Lady Eilenna."

"N-no! I should be thanking you, Jinwoo. I learned so much because of you."

"If you ever get bored, come by the restaurant. I'll have plenty of good dishes ready to go with the wine."

"Hehe... okay!"

Eilenna grew shy, and yet she looked purely happy. Right. She might seem prickly on the outside, but inside she was a tender older girl.

Sir Jinwoo. Beware of one elf.

What? One elf?

Yes. The elf from the winery is dangerous.

Look at her. Even now her ears were twitching like a puppy delighted to be praised. They'd gone on about how obsessive she was, how I might end up locked away—but maybe Arthur had simply misread elves.

"Ah, a blessing. Allow me to bestow one as well, Sir Jinwoo."

"Oh, you can do it too, Lord Elioren? I'll receive it gladly."

I obediently closed my eyes and waited for his touch. Ten seconds and more passed, and I felt nothing. Just as puzzlement began to rise, Elioren spoke.

"Ah, Sir Jinwoo. There is no need for that."

"Pardon? Don't I have to hold your hand?"

"You simply... do this. A light pass."

A soft glide. Elioren extended a hand toward me and recited an incantation, and exactly as with Eilenna, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blessing seeped into my body.

So there had been no need to hold hands? I turned toward Eilenna on reflex.

"Ahem. A-ahem!"

As if something had gone down the wrong way, she coughed and jerked her head aside. Hmm. Well. Maybe it differed from elf to elf. For the Liliendra family, holding hands must simply be the iron rule.

"What does the Sildiel family's blessing do?"

"Ours raises affinity with spirits, and mana efficiency. The increase is not large, but for you, Sir Jinwoo, it should be help enough."

"It certainly will."

For some reason, my total mana had felt stuck in place the whole time. I hadn't made any particular effort to raise it, nor checked it piece by piece. Still, I had a feel for it from using Mana Market every day, and I knew that by this world's standards I was a weakling of hopeless degree. So the blessing was quite useful to me. Even if my total mana didn't grow, better efficiency would let me trade for that many more ingredients.

"Jinwoo, we ought to get moving. The sun's high."

"Ah, sorry. Just one more person."

No room for a leisurely goodbye, then. Even so, I had to speak with her before I left. I walked up to the elf who looked as if she had a great deal to say, and yet only clutched the hem of her clothes and hesitated.

"Iseria."

"Y-yeah?"

"I'm leaving now."

The day I first met Iseria was still vivid. The first impression had been a complete disaster, but because she was there I had taken down the monstrous boar that raided the house, and when the Monster Wave cut us off I had been able to tear into that corrupt quartermaster. Other memories had piled up besides, this and that. A bond of about a month—short, if you called it short, and long if you called it long.

I said my farewell and waited a moment in front of her. She opened her mouth and closed it, hesitating, over and over. Then, at last, she spoke.

"I know I've said it already, but... I'm sorry. And... thank you."

The fierce, snappish, pointlessly tsundere attitude from our first meeting was gone. Iseria seemed to be choking on the words. She caught a breath, steadied it, and went on.

"Honestly, until now I lived however I pleased, doing only what I wanted. But after I met you... I had a lot of fun. So."

A thin inhale. A long exhale.

"So. Once I've mastered cooking—all of it—may I come find you again? At your restaurant."

Her true feelings, thrown out with every scrap of courage she could squeeze together. The decent thing was to receive them properly. I gave her my answer briefly, and clearly.

"When that time comes, you'll have to work as staff. You'll pull your own weight just fine."

"...!! Yeah!"

"I really do have to go now. Take care. And don't forget the cooking I taught you."

"I won't!"

If my last memory of her was a wilted one, it would nag at me in all sorts of ways. Her face, as if a knot had come undone, was bright and good to see.

"Everyone, take care of yourselves! I'll be going!"

"May the World Tree watch over the road ahead of you."

"Jinwoo! Enjoy the wine!"

"Come visit again sometime, Chef!"

Hard to say. Whether there would ever be another visit.

I turned and walked on, no glance back and no lingering. With Arthur and Kailan as escorts, there was nothing to fear. We reached the border of Nuardel and crossed the Vert Veil in a single stretch.

Beyond the veil, pale fog packed the world solid. I had no memory of the way in, so I couldn't tell whether this was normal.

"Wait... is it always like this?"

"Yes. It was the same when we came looking for you."

"Just go straight. Nothing to worry about."

They say a dull head makes the body suffer. These two were built so well their heads never had to suffer at all. Trusting Duke Kailan's bold assurance, an advance with no end in sight began.

I was listening to the steady, pleasant rhythm of footsteps when a thought of the World Tree surfaced.

Still an item that can't be registered...

Turn that around, and it meant it might be registrable later. I kept my pace and opened my status window.

Maybe because I had lived shoulder to shoulder with spirits in Nuardel, Beginner Spirit Arts had hit max level. That wasn't what mattered now. I read the description of Mana Market carefully.

The category of ingredients widens. Perhaps it was only because Mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Market had leveled that the World Tree could be recognized as an ingredient at all. The me of before might never have seen a window like that in the first place.

The World Tree leaves and sap I had received from Trea were registered without a hitch. I hadn't tried cooking with them yet, but they seemed as if they'd make fine spices for killing gaminess. And that thing in the middle... pull out the realm, and I couldn't read a word of what was left.

Sitting as it did beneath the World Tree's sap, it was likely an item of the same category. Which meant the World Tree itself—the registration that had failed. A sharp jolt had surged up and rejected me, but perhaps the scar of that rejection still remained in the system.

Since coming to this world, I had never felt the presence of anything I could call a god. By that measure, of everything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had encountered, the World Tree stood at the highest rank: a colossal divine tree the elves worshipped as a deity. And the system was telling me even a tree like that could be registered as an item. Once I understood that incomprehensible power, the terror that had washed over me when I touched the World Tree was beyond any words I had.

Who, exactly, had granted me this ability? To what end had they given me such power, and how high must they stand, to be able to swallow even the World Tree?

Something about this sits heavy.

I had only ever thought of it as a convenient way to cook. The moment I became aware of what lay beyond the system, my mind would not settle.

"Sir Jinwoo. Are you all right? You look pale..."

"Ah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something else."

"You were taken along against your will, so it's only natural you'd be tired. Still, we're nearly there."

"Oh. We really are."

I had walked on and on, sunk in worry, and somewhere along the way a forest of familiar make had come out to greet us. Right. In the end, I hadn't managed to register the World Tree. Know the enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear a hundred battles—I had taken the measure of how far the system's power could reach. All I had to do was study it carefully from here, and use it with the proper care.

I lifted my head and looked around. Kalian Forest: plainly not Nuardel, and yet far more familiar. We walked a little farther, and at last—

At last, it came into view.

"Home. It's home. My home! The restaurant!"

"Haha. You've had a hard time of it."

"I'll say. Kidnapped by elves—that's a tale that would raise eyebrows even in the capital."

After a little more than ten long days, I had come back. To my snug, comfortable home.

"Arthur and I will head straight back. By rights you ought to come with us and give a statement about the incident, but... well. We kept the report from reaching the imperial court and blowing the matter up, so it should be fine."

"Ah, that's right! My lord! That letter! We have to get there quickly and seize the letter!"

"Ah, blast it!!"

Kailan, who had been laying out the follow-up for me in the restaurant's front yard, went white at Arthur's reminder. The two of them resettled their gear and made ready to run.

"Anyway, Jinwoo—statement or no statement, once you've shaken off the travel fatigue, come see us!"

"We'll be strengthening the patrols around the restaurant, so don't worry overmuch. We start today. Then we'll be off first!"

"Yes, yes. Thank you..."

A rapid patter of feet, and Arthur and Kailan kicked off the ground and were gone. So the walking on the way here had been for my sake. The moment they decided to run, they were as fast as horses tearing across open grass.

The door creaked. I saw them off and went inside.

The first-floor hall sat exactly as we had left it, back when we had grilled scallion pancakes. I gathered every one of those plates. I did not wash them. I went straight up to my room on the second floor and threw myself onto the bed.

Even when you come home from a pleasant trip abroad, the tiredness doesn't vanish, and neither does the longing for your own house. Right now I didn't want to think about anything. I only wanted to rest. I closed my eyes and sank into the softness of the bed.

The night Kang Jinwoo departed, in the Sildiel estate of Nuardel.

Late as the hour was, the lights of the council chamber showed no sign of going out. Great Elder Trea leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.

"Haaa... This is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first time the World Tree has been so agitated."

"Lady Trea. When you went to the World Tree with Sir Jinwoo, what happened?"

Elioren asked it with a grave face. The Sildiel family was responsible for Nuardel's defense, and Elioren was its head. This was information he had to have.

"The moment Sir Jinwoo touched the World Tree, a great shock ran through it. It reached me as well."

"By shock, you mean...?"

"The World Tree showed fear."

The divine tree that had always watched over the elves, lofty and unshaken. Even hundreds of years ago, when war seethed across the continent, the World Tree had not so much as felt fear; it had only guarded Nuardel more firmly still. And that World Tree had known terror. Elioren's mouth fell open before he realized it, and the words would not follow.

"It is not that Sir Jinwoo is wicked, nor that he is strong enough to do the World Tree harm."

"Yes. That much I felt beyond any doubt."

"Through Sir Jinwoo, as a medium, the World Tree saw something. And it feared that."

"What in the world was it?"

Elioren, seized by the fear in turn, asked in a trembling voice. Trea slowly shook her head.

"I cannot... know. The World Tree itself could not look deeply."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

Elioren had lived long enough to bear the headship of his house. Even he had never faced a thing like this. Like a lamb that had lost the path, he reached for an answer.

"Fortunately... it seems we need not trouble ourselves greatly over that for the time being. The World Tree said as much. More urgent than that is the strengthening of our defense."

"Pardon? Our defense?"

This incident had already stirred doubts about the Sildiel family's strength in battle. They were said to stand among superhumans, and yet two humans had broken through them with ease. But the defense Trea meant did not seem to be a matter of any one person's martial power.

"In the same moment the World Tree beheld that, it felt an aura of chaos. An ill omen, the same as in the Great War. We must prepare for it."

"...... Understood."

It was a past now remote beyond measure, but Elioren belonged to the generation that had, in childhood, witnessed the end of the Great War. People who, rather than rejoicing that the war was over, had wailed for the far too many things lost along the way. No one on the continent wanted a war like that to come again.

A soft shift of cloth. They had not arranged it, and yet Elioren and Trea looked out the window at the same time.

A moon hung there, brilliantly bright. That moon, which on any other night was only beautiful—that it should feel, today of all days, like the overture to something. Could they simply call it a trick of mood and let it pass?

Worry deepened across the faces of the two elves.