World Tree*2
I had already heard about Mishisia’s goal in her travels.
She was apparently journeying in search of “a place to plant the World Tree.”
… That said, she’s been staying in Panis Village for close to a year now. Well, she’s got kind of a fuzzy sense of time, after all. Yeah…
… And she had also told me that she still hadn’t found a place where she could plant the seed of the World Tree.
Even if there were lands rich in mana, she couldn’t get permission to plant the seed there.
… She had mentioned that part of the reason might be because she wasn’t a pure elf, but a half-elf.
Mishisia’s a good person, and honestly, seeing someone like her looking all downcast—it really sits heavy with me. I just wanted her to find a place to plant that World Tree seed. …A land that would give her permission. That’s what I’d been wishing for.
But… maybe that was just me relying on others.
When I thought it over carefully, I realized—I’m the master of this dungeon. Which apparently makes me, well, something like the god of this land… or so I’ve been told. I sure don’t really know myself, though…
… Anyway, a dungeon is apparently a place that gathers mana. The water that gets reconstructed here becomes mana-rich water, and that sparkling light at the very bottom seems to be mana raining down… So in short, this place is overflowing with mana.
If that’s the case—
… Then maybe all it takes is me giving permission.
Maybe the reason Mishisia looked so sad could be blown away right here.
“Of course you can! I give you permission! Go ahead!”
If that’s all it takes, then I’ve got no reason not to say yes. Sure. If this means Mishisia’s efforts finally pay off, I’ll give her as much permission as she wants.
… Even if a tiny voice in my head was asking, “But why now? Why, in this situation, the World Tree…?”
If she’s saying, “I’ll make it work somehow”… then it probably will work out somehow! I’m counting on it! Please, let it work out!
The moment I gave permission, Mishisia moved fast.
She reached into her collar and pulled out that thing.
The pendant. The one said to hold the seed of the World Tree.
It looked like a red stone, and she gripped it tightly in her hand…
“World Tree… please, answer me!”
Her hand holding it struck down against the ground… and the seed was slammed into the earth.
And then—
“Wha—what the!?”
… Flash! A sudden burst of light ran through the space.
It only lasted a moment. I tried to wriggle free from the thug holding me in that dazzling glare, but couldn’t… And the strange phenomena didn’t end there.
“It… it sprouted!”
Right before my eyes, before the dumbfounded thugs and my own excited self… and most of all, under Mishisia’s watchful gaze… a little green shoot poked out of the ground.
And then—
Goooohhh!! A tremendous roar of sound and a rush of wind struck us.
… The tree was growing. At an incredible speed.
And with its furious growth—the cave collapsed!
When I came to, I was surrounded by green.
Looking around in confusion, I realized I was caught among the branches of a massive tree. … I must’ve been snagged in its leafy canopy.
“… Huh!?”
But wait—this was the World Tree, just planted a moment ago, and now… where the heck was I!? Panicked, I looked around more carefully.
… And then I saw it.
“Ah… there’s the glittering crack up there… so this must be the deepest part…”
Up above, glittering light poured down through a rift. Apparently this World Tree had burst straight through the collapsing cave, all the way down to the bottom floor, and taken root right there. Talk about vitality. I ought to learn a thing or two.
“What about Mishisia… ah, Mishisia-saaan!”
Looking around, I spotted her standing on a branch a little ways off, staring fixedly at the trunk of the World Tree.
“… It’s grown.”
Her face softened. Like someone who had finally reunited with someone they’d longed to meet.
And then—
“It’s grown, Asuma-sama!”
“Uh, y-yeah! I don’t really get it, but… congrats!”
“Thank you!”
She and I had a kind of nonsensical exchange—me not really grasping what was going on, her overflowing with joy—but at least I understood this much: things had turned out just the way she’d hoped. Good enough.
Now then.
Mishisia and I were perched on the branches of the tree. But what about the thugs?
“O-oi… isn’t this the real World Tree!?”
“If we bring back these branches or leaves, they’ll be worth way more than a brat or two!”
They were down at the roots, looking up at us with greedy grins plastered across their faces. Their vitality was just as stubborn as the tree’s. Maybe I oughta learn from that too.
Still, some weren’t moving.
… The one-armed, one-eyed guy had knocked out two with his thrown bag, and cut down two more with his sword. He himself collapsed as well.
Whether they were unconscious… or dead… they weren’t moving.
“Let’s start taking what we can!”
…But the rest of the thugs didn’t even care about their downed comrades. They swarmed toward the World Tree, raising swords and axes to hack at it. Persistent bastards!
… But this would be the end of their rampage.
“I won’t forgive you anymore!”
With Mishisia’s sharp voice, thunk! arrows slammed into the ground at the thugs’ feet.
… Arrows. Made of light.
“I am the guardian of the World Tree. My power only manifests when I stand together with it.”
She said this firmly, and then snapped off a few slender twigs from the World Tree with her hand.
She nocked one to her bow. No arrowhead, no fletching—just a plain branch.
“So! Prepare yourselves!”
Before the thugs—or even I—could react, the branch was loosed.
It shone as it flew straight… then split into several shafts of light midair, each streaking toward a different thug.
… And with that, Mishisia, borrowing the power of the World Tree, showed us an astounding display of battle.
The thugs struck by her glowing arrows were soon disabled—some fled quickly after being shot in the arms or legs, others tried to fight back but got struck again.
A few even tried hurling axes or swords at the World Tree itself, but those weapons were shot down by her light arrows before they could ever reach it.
“I won’t let you harm either the World Tree or Asuma-sama!”
… From her vantage point in the tree, loosing arrows of light, Mishisia was truly gallant.
The thugs scrambled and faltered, steadily rendered unable to move. With arrows in their hands, they couldn’t grip weapons; with arrows in their legs, escape was impossible…
… And besides, this was the dungeon’s deepest floor.
There was no escape. Reaching the surface meant navigating a maze beyond imagining…
For now, I decided to climb down from the tree.
… Luckily, the staircase I’d once built to check the glittering crack above was nearby! I leapt over to it and used it to descend to the ground.
“Asuma-sama!”
The moment I landed, Mishisia jumped down as well. Wow. She just straight-up leapt down.
“Mishisia—whoa!”
And then she wrapped me in a tight hug. Yep, I’m a grade-schooler’s body, after all!
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Asuma-sama, you must’ve been so scared…”
… But I couldn’t bring myself to complain. Hugging me tight, Mishisia sank down to the ground, her slim shoulders trembling.
She was the one who had been afraid. And yet she’d fought so hard to protect me.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Thank you, Mishisia-san.”
So I hugged her back, gently patting her on the back to help calm her down.
… Maybe it’s not so bad being stuck in this grade-schooler body. I can at least fill this role.
After a while, she managed to settle down, and finally released me.
… And then.
“… What should we even do with these people?”
It was, honestly, a massive “what now” situation.
“… Maybe… we should, umm… finish them off…?”
Both of us turned pale at the thought.
I mean, killing people? I really don’t wanna.
… And besides.
“Um, Mishisia-san… this guy tried to help me escape…”
The one-armed, one-eyed man lying near me. There was no way I could strike him down.
“I want to save this man.”
I looked up at her, pleading, and Mishisia’s expression lit up at once.
“Yeah. You’re right! I think so too! I’m so glad…!”
So she’d been thinking the same thing. Relief washed over me. Thank goodness—she’s softhearted too!
… But then.
“I do want to save him, but… uh, maybe it’s time we use ‘that’…?”
“Yeah. This is exactly the time for it, Asuma-sama. Oh, and you should use it on yourself too! You got kicked, didn’t you!? You’re hurt, aren’t you!?”
“R-right. Okay, I’ll go grab a few then…”
Thankfully, this was the dungeon’s deepest floor. My house was right nearby.
So I popped back to my place… and returned with that.
“Mishisia-san! I brought the potions!”
Inside the crystal-reconstructed bottles was a clear liquid, faintly glowing as though it held its own light. Yes… this was that. The potion.
… And to explain how these potions came to be, we need to rewind the story a little.
What do you think about this chapter?
