The World Tree has Bloomed

The World Tree has Bloomed

 

My mind goes blank at the question asking about the future vision of mana circulation.

After all, I wasn’t the one who developed the mana circulation method, and I didn’t even know exactly what had been researched.

 

So, feeling my mind turning completely white, I opened and closed my mouth before blurting out whatever came to mind.

“M-mana circulation… can play a big role in reducing the overload that occurs when using mana, so it can be applied not only to hunters but also to magical tools.”

 

The person who asked me the question seemed taken aback that I answered better than expected.

Seeing this reaction, I gained a little courage and continued speaking.

 

“I think it could be used in batteries that are prone to overload, or in protective devices… so I think the energy-related field might grow significantly.”

Forcibly relating the concepts of overload and sustainability, which I came up with based on the World Tree withering due to loneliness,

 

everyone seemed very surprised and stared at me blankly before standing up, applauding, and saying,

“A genius has been born!”

 

“As expected of my granddaughter. Not only is she cute and pretty, but she also has exceptional magical talent, intelligence, and kindness… Isn’t she perfect?”

“Why is Ha-eun your granddaughter? She’s my granddaughter.”

Seeing the praise pouring in, I blushed bright red and buried my face in the desk.

It’s not that I was being praised for giving a good presentation.

I realized that they had me present just so they could praise me.

As I was feeling both pleased and extremely embarrassed by the blind affection coming my way,

Han A-rin, who was next to me, gently stroked my head and whispered something.

“Ha-eun, I’m sorry, but if it’s okay, could you do a flower pose for us?”

At the mention of a flower pose, I felt incredibly shy and wanted to refuse.

But realizing that the people in front had gathered for me, I swallowed my embarrassment and did the flower pose.

“Oh my…!”

As I did this, all sorts of doting exclamations and cheers could be heard from everywhere.

By this point, it felt less like a research presentation and more like a first birthday party.

But I didn’t entirely dislike it, so I wagged my tail slightly and gave a small smile.

*

“Oh, my dear child. Why are you so skinny? Are they not feeding you at the association? This won’t do, I should officially complain right away…”

“N-no, I eat well. I even had two ice creams yesterday.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s a relief, but…”

Every time I heard the elder dragons in front of me asking about my well-being with worried expressions,

I felt overwhelmed with gratitude and embarrassment, awkwardly smiling and fidgeting.

Han A-rin slowly stroked my head and calmly explained to the elder dragons what I had been doing at the association.

“Ha-eun practiced hard for the interview to show the elders.”

In reality, she hadn’t practiced to show the elders.

Grateful for the fact that they had gathered to see me, I nodded, burying the truth for a moment.

The elders were overjoyed by my behavior and started competing to give me pocket money, but…

‘It would be too embarrassing to receive any more.’

Declaring that I wouldn’t accept pocket money, I headed to the waiting room as if escaping.

As I entered the waiting room, I saw Chae-a and Yuna sleeping on the sofa.

It seemed they had fallen asleep while waiting, so I approached Chae-a and Yuna with a giggle.

‘How cute.’

Thinking I understood why adults kept poking cheeks, I was watching them when.

Suddenly, an interesting idea came to mind, and I took out a snack I had received from the elders.

Then, holding it in my hand, I waved it gently in front of Chae-a’s nose.

Chae-a starts to reach up, wiggling and slowly opening her mouth.

Finding it both cute and amusing, I continued to wave the snack gently.

While the sleeping Chae-a made an “uuu” sound and then, still asleep, suddenly bit the snack I was holding.

It was faster than I expected, and as I was thinking how impressive it was, Chae-a started sleep-talking while making munching sounds.

“Chae-a can eat more…”

It seemed to mean she wanted more.

But since eating too much while sleeping isn’t good for the body, I decided to stop giving snacks at this point.

I gently patted Chae-a’s head to let her sleep more, then turned to look at Yuna next to her.

“……”

Ha-eun was sleeping quite peacefully, unlike Chae-a.

One clear indication of this was that Chae-a’s hair was sticking up wildly like a lion’s mane.

In contrast, Ha-eun’s hair was lying flat and calm.

As I was admiring how impressively calm Ha-eun looked while sleeping,

I decided to take turns photographing Ha-eun and Chae-a with the phone Han A-rin had given me, thinking I shouldn’t be the only one to see this.

Just then, Han A-rin entered the room, looking somewhat tired.

“Ha-euuun.”

From her voice, it seemed she had been quite worn out by the Elder Dragons in my absence.

Of course, I couldn’t imagine exactly how she had been troubled, but judging from her disheveled hair and skin, I could tell it had been quite difficult for her.

I allowed Han A-rin to pick me up and cuddle me like a comfort doll, stroking me vigorously.

As I felt my head being shaken about, I remained in a daze.

Han A-rin then praised me for what had happened earlier.

“You spoke so well earlier. You know, your big sister was really surprised by that?”

“Hehe.”

Since it was sincere praise, I allowed myself to be genuinely happy.

As I thought about how I couldn’t stop smiling and wagged my tail,

Han A-rin looked at me and made a suggestion.

“Do you think you could talk with the Elders a bit more? They were saying they felt disappointed that you left so quickly.”

It seems they thought even an hour of conversation wasn’t enough.

After a moment of hesitation, I nodded and said I would go talk with them.

“Yes.”

I didn’t dislike talking with the elders.

However, when talking with adults, there were many things to be mindful of, so it was inevitably burdensome.

Still, seeing Han A-rin speak like that, I thought it would be good to talk, so I returned to the presentation hall where we were before.

“Ha-eun is here!”

Once again, I saw the elders welcoming me.

I awkwardly smiled and bowed in greeting, and I saw them approaching me with allowance money and snacks in their hands.

I could realize that the elders were just as awkward, but they were doing their best to become friendly with me.

‘I guess I have to try my best too…!’

I decided to engage in conversation enthusiastically, and try to be as cute as possible… though that might be difficult.

Anyway, I resolved to do my best within my capabilities as I approached the elders.

*

Like seaweed floating in the ocean, I was lying on the sofa, having lost all my strength

There were various reasons, but the biggest one was probably the considerable fatigue that came from having conversations.

So I was groaning with all the strength drained from my body, but the corners of my mouth were raised high.

‘But it was fun.’

The elder dragons placed me on their laps and told me various stories.

Among them, the most memorable was the story of Perseus’s childhood.

While giggling as I recalled them saying he was such a crybaby that they were very worried,

Han A-rin, who was next to me, gently stroked my head with a kind smile.

“Shall we head back now?”

“Yes!”

“I should wake up Chae-a and Yuna too.”

Looking at the sleeping Chae-a and Yuna, an ominous thought arose that if they sleep like this now, they might wake up in the early morning.

Trying to deny it by shaking my head quickly, I started preparing to leave.

As I stepped out of the performance hall, a somewhat chilly wind brushed against my face.

It’s amazing to realize that autumn is already approaching, and as I stare blankly ahead.

Chae-a, still not fully awake, tightly holds my hand and starts to say something.

“If you sleep like this because it’s delicious… Ant oppa and Earthworm unnie like it. But Chae-a doesn’t like it at home… But Chae-a likes it.”

It was usually difficult to understand, but today it’s especially hard to comprehend.

Thinking that it might be because she’s talking while dozing off, I’m feeling confused when.

Yuna, with half-closed eyes, holding my hand tightly, wagged her tail gently and said to me.

“Ha-eun is delicious. I saw you doing ma… na? like this in the waiting room.”

Even though she can barely open her eyes, she praises me and seems very proud.

I find Yuna so cute that I smile brightly at her.

Han A-rin strokes our heads one by one, signaling the end of the performance.

“Then let’s go home.”

At the mention of home, my tail automatically wags.

Thinking that I want to go back quickly, I follow Han A-rin closely, but a tickling sensation rises in my mind.

A strange feeling that I need to get home quickly.

As I’m confused by this unfamiliar sensation, I blink my eyes.

Han A-rin noticed my unusual symptoms and asked me with a worried expression.

“Ha-eun, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“… I just feel like I need to go somewhere quickly.”

“Is that so?”

If it were an ordinary adult, they would have simply taken my words to mean that I wanted to go home quickly.

But Han A-rin seemed to really think I needed to go quickly, and nodded while saying.

“Then shall we teleport?”

I was going to say it’s okay because I felt too sorry to accept that.

But before that, Han A-rin used teleportation to move us directly to the association.

It seemed she knew I would refuse due to my personality, so she used it right away.

I bowed deeply with gratitude and apology, then grabbed Chae-a and Yuna’s hands and went into the house.

What I saw upon entering the house was the World Tree just before blooming.