Listening to Their Request
Two weeks after helping the World Tree, we set out today to check on its condition in the Sea of Trees.
I thought there wouldn’t be any capturing of Cocottes today, but apparently, it was still happening.
The supply wasn’t keeping up, and skipping the captures would be too harsh.
So, our movements included personnel returning from the clearing to the fortress.
When we reached the clearing and took a break, I started moving again, only to notice Bianca’s family—four of them—at the edge of the clearing, along with what appeared to be Ripka’s parents, the Fiamma, hovering in the sky.
I hadn’t noticed them at all.
If they were enemies, their ability would be truly terrifying.
I approached Bianca’s family and expressed my gratitude for last time, as well as letting them know we’d be staying overnight again today and would like to hunt along the way.
Through Atre’s translation, they agreed to escort us and help with hunting magic beasts, just like before.
I relayed this to the accompanying members, and we proceeded toward the World Tree.
We arrived at the World Tree’s location faster than last time.
Compared to two weeks ago, it had grown more green leaves.
However, the left side still had more withered areas than the right.
As I approached the World Tree and called for Alraune, she floated down from the tree’s branches.
"Thank you for coming. The World Tree is still in the process of recovering, but it has grown more green leaves!" She said happily, fluttering around me.
As before, I explained that today we would pour recovery potions (a sort of plant revitalizing liquid) at the base of the World Tree, and tomorrow, Captain Kyle would pour water infused with his mana before we left.
Upon hearing this, the Alraune requested more of the mana-infused water, asking if there was a way for the World Tree to absorb it whenever it needed it after we left.
"That’s impossible..."
"Just until the World Tree recovers, please?"
"Are you sure it’s not just because you want to drink it whenever you like?"
"That’s part of it… Ahem, I mean, if the World Tree had been able to absorb MANA water whenever it needed, it would have recovered even more. So please?"
Yep, she wants it for herself too.
She really liked it, after all—Captain Kyle’s mana-infused water.
Well, it does seem to be for the World Tree’s benefit as well...
"Hartd, the Alraune is desperately asking for this much—do you have any ideas?" Brother Gerald asked.
There’s no way something that convenient exists, right?
I folded my hands together and thought hard.
What if there was a magic tool that could store magic power and release it gradually?
I asked Meyer, one of our guards, if such a thing existed.
He said there wasn’t exactly a magic tool like that, but there was a magic stone from Skeleton Flowers that might serve the same purpose.
It was a transparent magic stone that changed color based on the mana of the person who infused it.
I explained to the Alraune that if we could get our hands on Skeleton Flower magic stones, her wish might come true.
She immediately said they were nearby and urged us to go.
After consulting with Captain Kyle, we decided to go as a group.
Skeleton Flowers grow to about 1.5 meters tall and have flowers that resemble hydrangeas from my previous life, with transparent petals.
Each flower is about 10 cm in diameter, and the magic stone appears only once in every 20 to 30 plants.
Their transparent petals reflect sunlight and light sources, making them highly valued as decorative items.
Because they are rare, they are always hunted when found.
What makes hunting them troublesome are their large, sticky leaves—each plant has six to seven leaves, each about 50 cm long.
The entire leaf is covered in a sticky substance that permanently adheres to metal.
Additionally, when attacked, they release a foul odor.
They also live in swarms of 200 to 300, so if not taken down quickly, the stench makes it difficult to retrieve magic stones or petals.
Following the Alraune’s lead, we waded through waist-high grass with our team clearing the way ahead.
Eventually, we reached a dense patch of Skeleton Flowers, their petals glistening in the sunlight.
The odor gets stronger the closer you are to the flowers, with the root area having the weakest scent.
Everyone who could use wind magic attacked at once, cutting them down at the roots like a mass weeding operation.
There were nearly 300 of them, and the foul smell started spreading.
Other team members hurriedly stuffed the defeated flowers into magic bags.
Ugh! It smells like rotten eggs.
Even a little of this stench is too much...
I took out a towel, covered my mouth and nose, and tied it behind my head.
It still stank, but at least it wasn’t as bad as breathing it in directly.
After finishing off the plants and collecting everything, we quickly left the area.
Our wind magic users blew the odor in a different direction, making things somewhat better, but my nose was messed up for a while.
When we returned to the World Tree, we checked our loot—seventeen magic stones.
Captain Kyle and the other water magic users each infused a stone with mana as a test. The transparent stones turned a faint green and light blue.
We placed a light blue magic stone into an empty bucket, but no water came out.
However, when we poured water over the stone, it started releasing water until the bucket was full, then stopped.
The blue area of the stone became partially transparent.
Next, we put a pale green stone in a bucket.
The water itself didn’t change, but part of the green stone turned transparent.
I asked Captain Kyle how many more stones he could infuse.
He said he could do two more, so I asked him to prepare two additional water magic stones.
When I asked the Alraune where to place the water pool, she said it should be five meters away from the World Tree.
The team members who could use earth magic created a pool ten meters in diameter and three meters deep.
With that, today’s work was complete.
What do you think about this chapter?
