Chapter 115

From the moment the World Tree sensed the overflowing nutrients and mystery dormant in this land, it waited for Wendigo to let his guard down, and finally feeling the moment had come, greedily absorbed…

‘Why on earth is there such an enormous amount of mystery???’

… was not what it intended. The World Tree was just as bewildered.

The World Tree did absorb mystery, but it wasn’t a monster that indiscriminately sucked up everything its roots touched.

If it had done such a thing, wouldn’t the elves have considered it a calamity to be subjugated rather than worshipping it like a god?

“Urgh…”

The World Tree dry-heaved while absorbing the mystery erupting like a volcano from underground.

She wanted to stop absorbing immediately, but once the mystery started surging, she couldn’t go against it.

An overwhelming density of mystery was rushing in to fill the new empty space.

Despite living for thousands of years, this was the first time encountering such pure yet violent amounts of mystery.

The World Tree glared at Wendigo while holding her aching head.

Though unintentional, she was now in a state sufficient to exert her powers due to the explosive growth.

The World Tree exerted her power to examine Wendigo… and was astonished to the point of doubting her own eyes.

It wasn’t because of the mystery dormant in Wendigo’s body. Certainly, his body was an astonishingly concentrated collection of mystery, but the World Tree’s gaze was directed towards his feet.

‘Just how far does this connection extend?’

Under Wendigo’s feet… to be precise, all the mystery existing in the area was as still as a massive ice block.

Although she had expected from the start that Wendigo was a being similar to herself, this was clearly strange.

Mystery is usually free like the wind, constantly circulating through the world, but this phenomenon was impossible without Wendigo’s perfect control.

The World Tree stared at Wendigo and came up with one conjecture:

‘… Could it be that he’s a being that has lived even longer than me?’

It was impossible to explain otherwise. Perhaps not just the mystery in the area, but the entire forest…

“Ugh!”

The World Tree groaned, barely enduring another surge of mystery. The growing pains from her body forcibly expanding were more intense than expected…

Wendigo tapped the World Tree’s back with his claw and chided her:

“That’s what you get for being too greedy. I was worried when I heard you even devoured spirits… You’re more avaricious than I thought.”

“……”

The World Tree glared at Wendigo. She was so dumbfounded that even she, who didn’t know how to make expressions, frowned slightly.

To think this was happening because of him!

The World Tree felt the emotion of anger for the first time in a long while.

---

The World Tree continued to grow and increase in size but didn’t commit the atrocity(?) of devouring the forest.

After absorbing a sufficient amount of mystery, the World Tree succeeded in achieving a proper balance with the mystery dormant in this land at some point.

Only then did the World Tree compose herself and confront Wendigo about this…

Wendigo spoke to the World Tree with a disgruntled expression:

“So… you’re saying the mystery dormant in this land is connected to me?”

“Yes. It’s truly an enormous amount of mystery. I’ve never encountered such an absurdly large amount of mystery before.”

The World Tree’s expression was still blank, but she folded her arms and glared to substitute for an expression.

Wendigo was flustered.

The World Tree’s words were true, so did it really mean he was connected to the mystery in this land…

‘… No. Come to think of it, it’s not strange.’

Wendigo quickly regained his composure. At first, he was bewildered, but once he accepted the World Tree’s words as truth, many things were explained.

It was natural that he couldn’t leave the forest if he had such a close relationship with it.

If the mystery of this vast forest was subordinate to him, it somewhat explained the limitless mystery he possessed.

However…

“Can a spirit occupy such a vast territory?”

Wendigo asked the World Tree dubiously. From what he heard, no matter how he thought about it, this wasn’t something a spirit could do.

At Wendigo’s question, the World Tree shook her head.

“Spirits are beings born from nature, but they aren’t beings that can handle such vast nature like your forest. Surely… you don’t think you’re a spirit, do you?”

“……”

Wendigo realized that the World Tree’s expressions were more diverse than he thought.

The look in the World Tree’s eyes as she stared at Wendigo conveyed a sense of looking down on a foolish younger sibling.

“Spirits are not living creatures, but a kind of phenomenon caused by mystery. As proof, they have no physical bodies, and their very existence consumes mystery.”

Spirits can create bodies and reveal themselves as needed, but strictly speaking, those couldn’t be considered proper bodies.

Their bodies lacked most of the elements necessary for living creatures to survive.

As evidence, most of the desires that exist in spirits corresponded to emotional aspects, far from the primal desires of living beings.

“Unlike spirits, we have physical bodies. But don’t think we’re a type of magical beast. We are beings that live eternally like spirits, unlike them.”

“Do magical beasts have lifespans too?”

“Most magical beasts are killed before reaching the end of their lifespan, so it’s not well known, but magical beasts definitely have lifespans. From a mortal’s perspective, it might all seem the same though.”

The World Tree answered, recalling a turtle that died after living for 2000 years.

It was a case of an originally long-lived animal becoming a magical beast, but even that one couldn’t live forever.

Even if a magical beast’s lifespan was abnormally long, it was destined to eventually breathe its last and return to nature.

“We are beings that are neither spirits nor magical beasts. If you had to say… we could be called avatars of nature.”

“Avatars?”

“Yes. As proof, we have a very close relationship with nature, don’t we?”

The World Tree basically lived in symbiosis with nature. This wasn’t for reasons of efficiency or ethics, but a kind of instinct.

An irresistible, powerful instinct that made her act in ways that made nature more abundant and healthy.

“Even if I don’t want to, I make the land where I take root healthier, and sometimes I pursue symbiosis to the point where I feel stifled myself.”

“Are you saying all that is because of a close relationship with nature? But I don’t have any such peculiarities.”

Wendigo expressed doubt about the World Tree’s assertion.

Although he couldn’t leave the forest and felt slight aversion when visiting villages within the forest, Wendigo wasn’t a being that enriched nature like the World Tree.

The most he had done to help the forest was to cut down every enemy he met and turn them into fertilizer…

To Wendigo’s question, the World Tree pointed to herself and answered:

“One piece of evidence would be me. Why did you accept me?”

“That’s…?”

As Wendigo tried to recall the reason, he realized something was strange.

Come to think of it, there was no clear, definitive reason why he should have allowed the World Tree to take root in this land.

While there were many advantages in that the World Tree’s existence was special and there was much to gain, it was certainly strange that he accepted it without criticism.

“… You’re saying the reason I took on unknown risks was due to an unconscious belief that it would enrich the forest.”

“There are probably quite a few pieces of evidence you haven’t told me about if you look for them.”

“Right. I at least acknowledge that this land and I have a close relationship.”

Wendigo didn’t particularly care that he had taken one step closer to uncovering his own existence.

He didn’t strongly believe he was a spirit to begin with, and honestly, not knowing hadn’t been a big problem in living.

Above all, it was easy to predict that his relationship with the forest wasn’t ordinary, given that he was tied to this forest.

On the other hand…

“Then, returning to the main point, you said the mystery dormant in this land is enormous, but how much exactly? I’ve been quite wasteful with mystery so far.”

The mystery dormant in this land was quite concerning.

It was essentially an announcement that the mystery which had felt infinite until now was actually finite, so how could he not be concerned?

The World Tree seemed to take this part quite seriously too, as a grave look appeared on her already gloomy face due to her subtle expressions…

“Did you just say you wasted mystery?”

“It’s embarrassing, but I can’t deny the truth.”

“That can’t be…”

“?”

Wendigo was taken aback by this unexpected statement. The World Tree placed her hand on her roots with puzzlement and concentrated to grasp the mystery dormant in this land.

After checking the area through roots that extended deep into the ground, the World Tree stood up and approached Wendigo.

“… What are you doing?”

Without a word, the World Tree started feeling Wendigo’s body. Naturally, Wendigo couldn’t help but be flustered at suddenly being molested(?).

To Wendigo’s question, the World Tree answered indifferently:

“I’m checking if there might be something wrong with your body that’s making you unaware of how absurdly much mystery has accumulated in this land.”

“… I am very healthy.”

Wendigo, who had instantly become an ignorant fellow, grumbled and pushed the World Tree away.

Having confirmed that there was indeed nothing wrong with his body, the World Tree searched her memories to deduce the most likely reason.

After reviewing thousands of years of memories, the World Tree raised her gaze to look at Wendigo’s head.

She pointed at Wendigo’s head and said:

“It seems your head is the strange part.”

“… Have you gone mad from eating too much mystery? If that’s the case, I can split your head open for you.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. What I meant was that your skull is strange.”

“Most people think so.”

Wendigo’s head, which resembled a deer’s skull, was the only part of his entire body that had a form detached from life.

Wendigo reacted as if it were no big deal, but the World Tree didn’t.

“I can’t even begin to fathom how much mystery exists in this land. Enough for spirits to be born hundreds of times over, and for magical beasts to swarm to the point where humans wouldn’t dare set foot here.”

“Are you saying it’s a land where mystery has forcibly accumulated?”

“There have been similar cases. Of course, not on such a vast scale of land.”

A very long time ago, in an age forgotten by the world, a sorcerer from the west once came to Elvenhome.

The sorcerer, who had crossed two continents from the far west, asked the World Tree and planted a sapling in exchange for sap, branches, leaves, and such.

Though the sorcerer wandered without a proper dwelling, unable to overcome loneliness, he often talked about sorcery…

“He wasn’t an evil person, but he couldn’t be considered a good person either. He tried to create a spirit that surpassed spirits by forcibly causing survival competition among spirits trapped in jars.”

“Trapping spirits in jars, could the jars withstand the spirits’ power?”

“They weren’t ordinary jars. Thanks to his outstanding skills, he received much attention from the gods and sealed the jars with special objects.”

The sorcerer’s experiment ultimately failed. The last spirit gained strong power by absorbing the mystery of other spirits but couldn’t transcend its existence.

Wendigo, who had been listening to the story, scratched his head with a disgruntled expression.

“From the context, it sounds like my head played the role of some kind of capstone. Is that right?”

“The possibility is slim, but that’s what I think. Though I doubt whether a being that powerful could exist in the world.”

‘It feels like I’m evolving the closer I get to uncovering my identity, like some Pelketmon.’

Starting as an ordinary spirit, then becoming a mutant spirit, and now an avatar of the forest.

Moreover, the owner of the skull might not be an ordinary monster or magical beast, but an even more powerful being…

“So that’s why I’m saying this.”

“?”

When the World Tree spoke as if she had more to say, Wendigo looked at her quizzically.

They had talked about his identity and how much mystery there was, so what more was there to discuss?

Given the serious conversation they had just had, Wendigo prepared to listen attentively with a sense of tension.

Just what could the conclusion of that story be…

“I’d like you to admit that it wasn’t me absorbing mystery, but you forcibly injecting it into me.”

“… What?”

Wendigo’s mind went blank at this utterly unexpected point. Regardless, the World Tree continued her words:

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve been in this much pain. Even in my childhood, I don’t think I ever hurt this much.”

“……”

“Of course, I don’t intend to hold it against you. But this might cause problems in our relationship, so we need to clarify the issue…”

Wendigo sighed, feeling pathetic for having been the only one taking things seriously.

Who could have guessed she would make such a serious expression just to say something like that?

… And who would have known that words spoken with such an expression would have more impact than expected?

“Your Highness!”

“?”

Wendigo turned around at the voice. There stood Dario and Elhemina, glaring at him with contempt and anger.

“Oh my my my! And you scolded me for going after women!”

… And as a bonus, Freyja was smiling brightly with a mischievous expression.

Wendigo didn’t understand their reactions, but he could quickly figure out the reason.

Dario reproached Wendigo with eyes tinged with betrayal:

“I really, really didn’t expect Your Highness to do this! I believed at least Your Highness was a good person!”

“I can’t deny that the World Tree is the most beautiful, pure, and sensual being in this world, but how could you do such a thing!!!”

“Huh?!”

Wendigo was shocked as he realized why they were angry amidst the dizzyingly incomprehensible context of the conversation.

How on earth could they think he had violated the World Tree from what they heard!

Wendigo glared at Freyja in bewilderment. Freyja giggled and flew over, chattering beside the World Tree:

“Wendigo was really bad, wasn’t he? No matter how pretty you are, how could he force himself on you like that? Right?”

“I’m not sure what my appearance has to do with it. But it does seem like he did it forcibly…”

‘I’m sure we were talking properly just a moment ago.’

Wendigo looked at the World Tree, who was innocently(?) answering Freyja’s question, as if he couldn’t believe it.

She seemed to have been trying to explain in an easy-to-understand way until just now, so why was she suddenly cutting out chunks of explanation?

Wendigo pondered how to explain to them to quickly end this confusion.

“… It would be faster to just knock them both out and explain later.”

“What do you mea… Gack!?”

“Kuhek?!”

Wendigo’s decision, having reached the peak of fatigue, was sharper and more accurate than ever.

With one gesture from Wendigo, roots sprang from the ground and flew like snakes, wrapping around their necks. They fainted from suffocation before even realizing what was happening.

Freyja watched this scene and tried to find a way out, sweating profusely and rolling her eyes, but…

Whoosh!

“Kyaa! D-darling, I don’t really like this kind of plaaaaay!?”

Tree roots that had suddenly appeared grabbed both of Freyja’s legs and pulled her towards Wendigo.

Freyja waved her hand at Wendigo with an awkward smile while hanging upside down.

When Wendigo glared without any reaction, Freyja moved her hands this way and that, spewing excuses:

“W-well, you two looked so serious, so I was just playing a prank~ I was just trying to lighten the mood with a cute little joke!”

“So you left me as a trash who rapes women.”

“Ah, hahaha… I guess that doesn’t work, huh?”

“Obviously not.”

Thwack!!!

Wendigo’s intense forehead flick struck Freyja’s head. The sound was so loud that even the forest birds were startled and flew into the sky.

Naturally, Freyja’s body wasn’t sturdy enough to maintain consciousness after taking such a flick. After all, how sturdy could a body made for wandering around, not for combat, be?

Freyja went limp, drooling from her mouth. Watching this scene, Wendigo clicked his tongue.

“How could I embrace a woman with this body.”

“Since it’s a living body, it should be possible? When I felt your body, though the rod was a bit large, it’s not like there’s no way…”

Thwack!!!

Wendigo’s forehead flick struck the World Tree’s forehead. Unfortunately, the World Tree’s body was sturdier than Freyja’s, so she didn’t faint.

The World Tree fell from the impact but, having a body that didn’t feel pain, she just blinked and got up.

“Why suddenly…?”

“Learn to speak properly next time. Or I’ll uproot you.”

“!?”

The World Tree looked at Wendigo with resentful eyes, as if shocked.

Wendigo felt a slight sense of guilt at that look but quickly overcame it.

Honestly, he had wanted to hit the World Tree at least once.