Revenge Match: Returning to the Peak
The next day of fate dawned.
Winz and I finished breakfast at a restaurant near the inn and stepped outside.
The menu was mediocre, the atmosphere nothing special.
Even so, Winz wore a sunny smile, looking perfectly content.
“It’s been ages since I had bread and soup!”
“Yeah… but nothing beats the food you make, Winz. I miss it.”
“Huh? Really…?”
“Yeah. I want to eat it every single day.”
Winz covered her mouth with her hand, cheeks flushing red. She looked like a genuinely surprised girl.
“Me…?”
“How did the conversation turn into that?! Seriously, I can never let my guard down around you.”
“Uhehehehe!”
Winz burst into that wicked laugh of hers.
But I meant it.
Every day—I really did want to eat the meals Winz cooked for me.
Without realizing it, those thoughts had been growing more frequent.
Why was that?
Because this world had no mother for me?
After spending some time with Winz, we headed for Renoir’s place.
It was nearly noon.
“Think she’ll open the door this time?”
“I have a feeling it might already be open!”
“Why do you think that?”
“We’ve got a hostage, don’t we? Money is a very persuasive hostage.”
Her tone was light, but the words carried weight.
She had a point.
If Renoir wanted the money, she’d have to open the door.
After all, she’d agreed to leave the Ether Web project in my hands.
At this rate, commercializing the Ether Web wouldn’t take much longer.
Running internet-style community nonsense in a world like this? Feels like a dream.
Of course, I wasn’t particularly fond of that kind of thing.
If anything, I pitied the people who did it.
“Huh?”
“See? Hehe.”
The door opened on its own the moment we arrived. We stepped inside cautiously.
Winz and I exchanged glances.
Renoir greeted us with her usual prickly attitude.
“Why are you so late?”
“What? We’re right on time.”
“You’re a whole minute late! In that time I could’ve memorized an entire mechanical engineering formula.”
“Impressive, Lady Dwalve.”
Shaking my head, I headed upstairs.
Renoir, who had been clearing away machine parts, pulled out a metal plate.
“Queen, remember that letter seal you showed me?”
Strangely enough, the seal had been engraved onto a palm-sized iron plate.
How had she managed that?
Even Winz looked surprised.
“Wow, it’s perfect!”
“I can do at least this much printing… Anyway, I passed it to a craftsman I know. We’ll find out who it belongs to soon enough.”
I felt relieved.
If it was someone in Renoir’s network, the information would be reliable.
Eccentrics tended not to form shallow connections with other eccentrics.
Unless… it’s an even bigger eccentric?
A sudden chill ran down my spine.
Let’s not go there. Please.
At least, given time, we’d learn everything about the seal.
Alonzo… no matter who you serve, I’ll make sure it all comes to nothing.
Then Renoir asked,
“What about the thing I gave you?”
“Huh? The thing you gave me?”
“Ha. Don’t play dumb. What happened to the portable terminal I lent you?”
“Ah…!”
“If all you can say is ‘Ah…!’ then I’ve got nothing left to say.”
Right. There had been one.
Except… it had been missing for a while now.
Specifically, ever since the fight with Vile.
“That… you know how it is. Hmm.”
“What?”
“I think it got smashed during the fight with Vile. When I woke up, I had no idea where it was. Sorry.”
Renoir stared at me in earnest.
Scary. Terrifying.
Seeing that cute cat-like girl glare at me was downright horrifying.
In the end, Renoir just scratched her head.
“You know that thing was expensive, right? Even if you’re a noble lady, seriously…”
“Heh heh, how much should I pay?”
“Forget it. I’ve got a portable terminal with the latest pre-release version of the Ether Web. Take it.”
Renoir handed one to each of us.
I examined mine and was genuinely impressed.
How should I put it?
It felt like holding the very first touchscreen smartphone.
The texture was similar too.
Of course, simply touching it didn’t do anything.
Buttons, huh? A little disappointing.
Looked like a smartphone, functioned like a flip phone.
Still, even this much was an incredible technological feat.
In a medieval fantasy world, someone had created a mobile phone—and one that could soon connect to the internet, no less.
“Use that whenever you need to contact me. Press this button here to call. Ah, I’m planning to make them even smaller so they’re not inconvenient.”
“Hmm… but buttons can be tricky for older folks, you know? How about touch instead?”
“Touch?”
“This… the screen. You touch the screen to bring up functions, and it responds to finger taps.”
“…Are you a genius? You’re right. That method works too!”
It wasn’t genius so much as just pointing out the obvious.
But the fact that Renoir immediately understood the concept was impressive in its own right.
Winz chimed in.
“If you’re miniaturizing it, could you make it ring-sized?”
“…You think that’s possible?”
“Hee, so you can’t do it after all. I thought Renoir could do anything!”
“Ugh…!”
Winz’s ears perked up.
Renoir suddenly shot her a glare full of irritation.
“W-who said I couldn’t? Just watch—I’ll shrink it down to the smallest size possible within a week!”
“Hey, Renoir. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Push myself, my ass…! There’s nothing I can’t improve once I get my hands on it!”
“Oh dear. There she goes again.”
I looked at Winz.
Up close, she really was fox-like.
She’d deliberately poked at Renoir’s pride.
And delivered the line so naturally.
Or was it just instinct?
Scratching my cheek, I handed over the funds to Renoir.
She swallowed hard as she accepted the money.
Meanwhile, I examined the portable terminal.
It was a square metal plate the size of a palm, covered in buttons.
Pressing different combinations brought up various functions on the screen.
What kind of system was this?
“Which button do I press to access Ether Web information?”
“That feature’s still in beta. Thanks to the funds you gave me, it should be finished soon. I’m also planning to start selling the terminals. What do you think?”
“Sounds good.”
Renoir was handling everything on her own—I had to give her credit.
Winz tilted her head, hands clasped together.
“So the only thing left is Vile, right?”
“Still no word from the guild?”
“Nothing.”
Renoir fiddled with the machine parts as she answered.
“Do you think Vile might be near the Life Tree?”
“Huh? Where’d that come from?”
I listened carefully.
Had she figured something out?
“Think about it. He hesitated but never followed through, right? So maybe we should change our approach.”
“That’s… actually convincing. If he’s aiming straight for the Life Tree…”
I rested my chin on my hand.
But would that really be easy?
Even for Vile—alone?
Winz pointed out the obvious flaw.
“But the Life Tree is constantly guarded by elite soldiers sent by Baron Womchester, isn’t it?”
I thought for a moment, then turned to Winz.
Looked like we had no choice but to go there ourselves.
“Then let’s head to the Life Tree. We can call it sightseeing.”
“Yes, sounds wonderful! Hohohong.”
Winz beamed, clearly delighted for some reason.
Seeing her smile lifted my own mood.
Why? Just because she was pretty?
We got ready to leave.
“I’ll drop by again later, Renoir!”
“Bring more money next time!”
“Geez, you’ve already turned into a total money-grubber.”
Winz and I stepped outside.
Our next destination: the Life Tree.
“Where exactly is the Life Tree located?”
“Baron Womchester had a place called Everyone’s Garden built near his mansion. It should be right in the center.”
“By the way, I’m curious. How does he plan to destroy the Life Tree?”
“There are plenty of ways! Compared to its symbolic importance, the Life Tree itself is actually quite fragile.”
Of course, that fragility was relative to its symbolic weight.
The Life Tree was still a tree—it could burn or be crushed by blunt force.
Though its durability does increase with age. The Womchester Life Tree is still practically a baby.
Vile was probably targeting it precisely because he understood that.
Why target the Life Tree?
Simple.
It was his way of challenging the nobles who had shown him no compensation and only contempt after he lost his daughter.
As I’d said before, possessing a Life Tree granted political influence in this era.
But if that Life Tree were lost?
One would fall into ruin overnight.
Even castration would feel more humane by comparison.
Which meant right now was the most dangerous moment.
Of course, Vile taking on the baron’s elite soldiers alone?
That seemed impossible.
Most imperial knights are at the Expert level. Even if Vile transforms, he’d be lucky to hold off two of them.
If Vile had allies, he might be able to create an opening.
But would anyone willingly side with a man who had lost everything and was now wandering aimlessly?
Especially against a noble who possessed a Life Tree.
We wandered through the eastern district like tourists until we finally arrived at Everyone’s Garden.
The surroundings were beautifully arranged, filled with colorful flowers.
Even the open-air birdcages—clearly built to invite birds—were full of chirping creatures.
Though it was a bit noisy.
Those former dinosaurs sure know how to be obnoxious.
“Haaah! Oh, they’re all so pretty!”
“R-really…? I guess living near here would feel like spring all year round.”
“Yes! And they’re all so well cared for… Oh, there’s the Life Tree!”
“That’s it?”
At last, a massive ancient tree came into view.
I looked up at it with quiet reverence.
It was my first time seeing a Life Tree up close.
Its sheer size took my breath away.
It was large enough to be called a World Tree.
Roughly six meters tall.
Only a giant could reach its branches.
Its trunk was thicker than the pillars of the city walls, hinting at the passage of countless years.
“Winz, how old is this one?”
“Hmm… probably less than a hundred years old.”
“Still a baby…”
“That’s such a cute way to put it! Haaah♥”
If even the youngest World Tree was under a hundred years old, then the truly ancient ones must possess absurd specs and depth.
“Miss, this place is famous as a tourist spot. That’s exactly why—”
“Wait, Winz. Do you smell blood?”
“Huh? In the garden?”
Winz gave me a puzzled look.
Something suddenly flew between us and hit the ground.
Whoosh—thud!
A soldier’s corpse had been hurled our way, embedding itself in the dirt.
Its armor was shattered in multiple places, soaked in blood, its form barely recognizable.
“Khehehehe!”
At the same time, goblins appeared from all directions.
They let out piercing shrieks as they revealed themselves.
“Aaaah, monsters!”
Screams erupted from the crowd.
The once-quiet, peaceful garden had turned into utter chaos in an instant.
“M-Miss…!”
“Winz, take care of the goblins first.”
Step. Step.
Footsteps approached, drawing my attention.
I turned around instinctively.
“So you didn’t die after all, Saintess.”
“Vile…!”
Vile walked toward us with a calm expression, half his body drenched in blood—clearly fresh from slaughtering someone.
Seeing him again like this made me tremble without realizing it.
Winz took my hand and squeezed it tightly.
“Miss, you’re confident this time, right?”
“Ha. Place your bets. I’ll show you—I’ll prove it.”
“Heh. I’m always on your side, Miss. I’ll handle the monsters, okay? Mwah♥”
After planting a light kiss on my cheek, Winz dashed off, skirt fluttering behind her.
And I turned to face Vile.
Shaking off whatever little hesitation still remained in my heart.