Chapter 36
The white light pouring out from the smartphone vanished before long.
When it was gone, Saessak’s condition was different from a moment ago.
The sprout’s stem had grown about twice as long, and where there had been two leaves, there were now three.
That’s right. Saessak had
Saessak had become a slightly more grown-up sprout.
Just a little while ago, it had been dancing around, but now it stood there with its stem held straight and proper.
It was adorable, like a child trying hard to act like an adult.
It was so lovely that when I tapped it a few times, it trembled thinly as it absorbed my mana, just like always.
This is why I grow the World Tree. Damn right.
The reward for that achievement is the S-rank skill Manager's Primer, Volume 1.
Manager's Primer, Volume 1 will be sent directly to the mailbox.
In addition, as it grows, all skills, including Warm Touch, will be strengthened from the sprout state to the slightly more grown sprout state.
Furthermore, because more leaves have grown, the manager’s maximum mana will increase to a total of 150,260.
"...Huh."
The effect of the A+ grade fertilizer was astonishing.
I hadn’t expected a single application of fertilizer to make it grow this far.
Of course, all the constant tapping on the screen probably helped too.
Still, seeing this kind of result made me think I’d better keep getting fertilizer whenever I could.
It might be worth stopping by the Muju Ant Nest every time Saessak sent over soil and making fertilizer there. With a warp gate, it wouldn’t even take long to get back and forth.
But what exactly was this Manager's Primer, Volume 1 skill?
Would it contain instructions on how to care for the World Tree, true to the name Manager’s Primer?
Like how to spread fertilizer, or how to prune it.
It wouldn’t be an S-rank skill if that was all it did, though.
And since it was called Volume 1, maybe there was even a Volume 2—
"Hm."
"...Ah."
I had completely forgotten that Yu Jae-i was sitting right next to me.
Startled, I looked at her.
She was sitting there with her chin propped on one hand, watching me.
There was a smile on her face that made it impossible to tell what she was thinking. It looked pleased, and annoyed, all at once.
Damn it. How was I supposed to talk my way out of this?
"Uh, well, see, what happened was-"
"It’s fine."
"Huh?"
"You don’t need to explain."
"Really?"
"You weren’t planning to tell me the truth anyway, were you?"
"......"
She had me dead to rights.
Just as she said, I’d been sitting there wondering how to talk my way out of it.
As if she’d expected that, she shook her head and waved a hand at me.
"I get it, so go on and get out of here."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"You want me to leave?"
"Then you’re not going?"
Yu Jae-i looked at me like I was the one being ridiculous.
No, why are you looking at me like that?
I’m the one who should be confused here, not you.
"You’re here all alone, so-"
"Didn’t you know you were locked up by those Crowd bastards just two hours ago?"
"Huh? Ah...."
"Oh? Ah?"
What was that face? Had she not thought about it at all?
Did she not realize how dangerous it had actually been because the Crowd bastards had been acting so low-key?
They were a terror organization rated A-class, and they had sold their souls to demonic beings.
If they wanted something, they wouldn’t have hesitated to beat or torture her to get it.
If I’d been even a little later finding her, that was exactly what would have happened.
I’d thought she’d left that job for me because she understood how serious it was, but maybe that wasn’t it after all.
"I can’t believe you didn’t realize how close you came to disaster."
"No, I did know."
"You did not. Would someone who knew really insist on staying here alone in the middle of the night?"
"Th-that’s not, I mean, it’s just... "
Yu Jae-i’s face reddened as she fumbled for words.
She must have realized how thoughtless she’d been and gotten embarrassed.
Fair enough.
I’d chew her out just this once.
"Come with me to Baekuncheon tomorrow morning."
"Baekuncheon...?"
"Yeah. I’ll explain the situation and have them protect you. You’ll have to pay the fee, but if I go with you, it’ll be cheaper to arrange."
"Mm, all right. Then I-"
Just as she was about to say she would, the door suddenly rattled open.
I immediately used Warm Touch and stepped in front of Yu Jae-i.
It wasn’t likely that Crowd would just open the door and walk in, but I couldn’t help being cautious.
Yu Jae-i had already picked up a World Tree leaf too, holding it as though she was ready to swing it like a club.
But the person who came in through the door was someone I never would have expected.
"...You weren’t planning to attack me with that, were you?"
It was Kim Ji-yeon from Ildae Group.
The mage who had fought alongside us at Hongyureung Gate was with her too.
They stared at my right hand and at the leaves in Yu Jae-i’s hands with expressions of utter disbelief.
"Ah, sorry."
"I thought you were an enemy."
I withdrew my mana and lowered my head in apology.
Yu Jae-i set the leaf back on the counter.
Kim Ji-yeon and the mage slowly walked inside.
Then they explained why they had come to Jae-i's Blacksmith.
"We came because Chae-yeon asked us to. We heard a terror organization called Crowd is targeting Yu Jae-i. Is that true?"
Chae-yeon, not Yeon-hoo?
Did Yeon-hoo tell his younger sister about it?
Even if they were close siblings, was it really okay to talk carelessly about a terror organization?
"Yes, that's right."
While I was still turning that over in my head, Yu Jae-i answered in the affirmative.
The two of them walked past me and up to her.
"I’m Kim Ji-yeon of Ildae Guild."
"I’m Shim Yoon-jin, also of the same guild."
"We’ve come to escort you, Yu Jae-i. Will you accept our protection?"
Kim Ji-yeon and Shim Yoon-jin asked her in serious voices.
Yu Jae-i looked at them a little flustered, then turned her gaze toward me.
"Uh, protection? I mean...."
She looked like she had no idea what to do.
Probably because of what I’d just said about going to Baekuncheon.
For my part, it would have been easier if she were protected by Baekuncheon, but I couldn’t simply ignore the sincerity of the people who had come all this way to help her.
I smiled at her and nodded to show that it was fine to accept.
"...Okay. I’ll accept."
Yu Jae-i let out a breath and looked back at Kim Ji-yeon and Shim Yoon-jin.
Then she reached out her hand and offered a handshake.
"I’m Yu Jae-i from Jae-i's Blacksmith.... Please take care of me."
"We will."
"We’ll do our best."
Hmm. Since it had turned out like this, it seemed I could leave the rest to them and head out.
"Ah, so that’s what this is."
Then Kim Ji-yeon, who had been watching me, slapped her hands together as if she had just realized something.
"......?"
The three of us, me included, looked at Kim Ji-yeon, but she said nothing.
She just stood there, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between me and Yu Jae-i.
...As expected of one of Woo Yeon-hoo’s people, Kim Ji-yeon had definitely come to some strange conclusion.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Before going home, I checked the new skill in the car.
When I activated it, a bluish book floated up in the air.
Manager's Primer, Volume 1
When I reached out with my left hand toward the title, I could feel the texture of the book.
Apparently I had to open it and read it by turning the pages myself.
I never expected I’d be made to read a book I wouldn’t even have touched when I was a student because of a skill.
I tapped the smartphone screen and opened the first page of the book.
Welcome, new manager of the World Tree.
I am Dishing Na Tor, the former manager of the World Tree, and you could call me your senior.
If I’m honest, I’d prefer to meet you in person and have an open, frank conversation, but under the circumstances that’s impossible, so please understand.
Former manager?
The person who wrote this primer?
First, as your predecessor, I have some advice I would like to give you.
You may feel resistant to taking advice from someone whose face you don’t even know, but this is a mindset every World Tree manager must have, so I hope you will read it carefully.
That mindset is this: do not regard the World Tree as a tool.
The World Tree is a being with emotions....
I skimmed ahead to the next page.
I’d thought about skipping it entirely, but since he had pleaded so earnestly for me to read it, I did.
To sum it up, it was a warning that if I treated the World Tree like a tool, then the World Tree would treat me like one too.
I looked down at Saessak, whose stem now stood tall and proud on the screen.
A tool? How could I possibly look at something this cute as a tool?
Was he insane?
Thank you for reading all that unnecessary short advice.
From here on, I will explain how to protect your own body as a World Tree manager.
"......?"
Protect my own body as a World Tree manager?
I tilted my head, unable to make sense of the phrase.
If he had said he was going to explain how to grow stronger, I’d have taken it at face value.
But the former manager had said protect, not become stronger.
As if he were saying that World Tree managers were dangerous enough that they needed help protecting their own bodies.
As if there were enemies who targeted World Tree managers.
"This is starting to give me a bad feeling...."
But there was no explanation to ease that bad feeling.
From the next section on, as Dishing had said, the primer described ways to protect my own body.
You should have already felt that your mana had greatly increased after becoming a World Tree manager.
With recovery ability this excellent, you likely have never experienced running out of mana.
What should one do with mana that is so close to infinite?
You must have wondered about that at some point, and from here on I will teach you.
Oh, so we were thinking along the same lines because he was a manager too?
I had wondered what to do with mana the moment I got it too.
One way to make use of the World Tree’s mana is
to directly take it into your body.
Directly take mana into my body!
"...W-what is he even talking about?"
At present, you possess the World Tree’s mana.
You possess pure mana that can handle every element in this world.
It would be a waste to let mana go unused, so what a shame that would be.
Therefore, use this method to strengthen your body.
If you succeed in taking it in, your physical abilities will be greatly different from before.
"Hmm, maybe it’s something similar?"
During rehabilitation training after my injury, there had been exercises that stimulated the muscles with mana.
They used a tiny amount of mana to wake up damaged muscles and get them working again.
Before mana had been incorporated into treatment, they said electricity had been used instead.
Was it microcurrent therapy?
At the same time, you will gain a secondary effect, and if you happen to be female, then my sincere congratulations.
Among those secondary effects is the benefit of attaining skin so flawless that everyone in the world would envy it.
Yes, if you are quick on the uptake, you will already have noticed the important fact that taking in the World Tree’s mana improves your skin.
That assumption is correct.
The sap and leaves containing the World Tree’s energy are excellent materials for cosmetics.
So I strongly recommend that, when the opportunity arises, you make beauty products out of those materials and sell them.
You’ll be able to make a fortune with ease.
All right, enough digression. In the next page, I will explain how to dissolve the World Tree’s mana into your body.
"...Cosmetics? A fortune?"
This guy seriously telling me not to treat the World Tree like a tool is just talking about himself, isn’t he?