episode_0034

“Kyle, a deal is, you know. It’s an act possible when both parties are on equal footing.”

The World Tree spoke in a tone that taught so that the young mortal could understand well.

“But Kyle is a mortal, and I am a god. Isn’t the difference too great?”

“So. You’re saying you won’t accept? Even with Lana in that state?”

As a god who governs life, the World Tree likes mortals more than other gods. She wasn’t a boomer god like red or orange, and she wasn’t blue or yellow, who had no interest at all.

Moreover, with Lana’s ability, the World Tree was more interested in Lana than any other god. So much so that she even gifted her divine beast, Ren, to Lana as a sign of affection.

“Don’t rush me and keep listening.”

The World Tree continued.

“I’m also sad that Lana is like that. She’s my favorite human. But there are rules in the world of gods, so I can’t just grant that wish. If I exert influence on the world as I please, something bad will happen later.”

What she said was undoubtedly true. There’s the issue of causality, and other gods keep her in check, so she can’t use her power recklessly.

“So, isn’t that why you proposed a deal?”

Nevertheless, there is a way to legally avoid it. That’s the deal.

“That’s right. A deal would be possible. So, what can Kyle give me? The wish you want is certainly light, but it’s not possible with ordinary offerings. Perhaps….”

The World Tree shone her eyes and looked with a subtle gaze. The World Tree didn’t even think of hiding that desire. She scanned his entire body very thoroughly.

“Are you thinking of offering that body? I’m all for it. Haa, having a young man by my side and eating… Oh my, what am I saying. Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“For a god, you have lewd thoughts.”

“What are you talking about? I’m a woman before I’m a god? Besides, our children are too boring. It would be nice if they had the taste of playing hard to get like humans….”

Well, elves have a lot of purity and rigidity. That personality is probably why they are by the World Tree’s side.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I have no intention of giving you my body.”

“That’s too bad….”

The World Tree clicked her tongue. I have no intention of becoming a slave to that pervert.

I proposed something else. A proposal she could never refuse.

“Instead, one thing. I’ll grant you one favor when you want it.”

“Kyle….”

The World Tree drooped as if disappointed. Her gaze was full of pity.

“Didn’t you understand what I said?”

“No, I understood. But I don’t think it’s the time to argue about this and that with the Holy Kingdom. Isn’t it a mess because of ‘Black’ right now? It wouldn’t be strange if a war broke out….”

“…Where did you hear that?”

The World Tree’s voice sinks heavily. This story is not known even in the Holy Kingdom, and it’s a story that only circulates among the gods. And it’s a very recent one.

I went out even more shamelessly.

“If you want to know, give me something in return.”

“…Never mind. I’m not very curious.”

The World Tree seemed a little sulky, but there was no need to match her mood. I ignored her and said.

“Then will you accept it?”

“It won’t work. And even if you know that fact, how are you going to help?”

The World Tree asked, retaliating for what happened a little while ago, and said painful things.

“The power of your family? You’re not the successor, and you’re a good-for-nothing, so you don’t have any real power. Then, Decal Arden? Of course, that won’t happen. The successive heads of the Arden family have never been interested in the Holy Kingdom.”

Every single word is correct.

In the Empire, you can believe in religion if you want, and you can stop if you want. From the first emperor, who did not revere the gods, that personality has been passed down.

The first head of the Arden family, who was a friend of the first emperor, was the same. Just as the emperor did, the Arden family did not pay much attention to or interfere with the Holy Kingdom or the gods.

“So, even if you put Kyle’s request as a deal item, there’s no room for it to be established. You seem to have used your head, but what can’t be done can’t be done. I’m also tempted by the power of the Arden family, but at least make that proposal after you become the head of the family.”

Become the head of the family and have real power, or have power equivalent to it, and then talk. That’s what that greedy talk was about. I scoffed at the World Tree’s words and said.

“When did I say I’d help with the power of my family? I’m going to grant the favor with my own power.”

And from deep within my soul, I draw up power and embody it with mana.

“Kyle… Huh?”

The World Tree, who was looking at me with a pitiful gaze, suddenly made a foolish sound. She couldn’t take her eyes off my hand.

“That’s, that power is….”

“Isn’t this power enough? No, it’s more than enough.”

The corners of the World Tree’s mouth gradually rise in slow motion. She smiled so much that her face was ruined, as if reaching the sky.

And, she laughed like crazy.

“Ahahahahaha! Kkyahahaha!!! Heukyahaha!!”

Honestly, I thought I was looking at a crazy woman. The World Tree’s unique laughter makes even the elves who serve her suffer. How would I feel, hearing it right in front of me?

“No way, no waaay! That small and cute child has reached completion! And at this young age! Good, Kyle! Right now, let’s proceed with the deal right now!!”

The World Tree was excited and went wild. As much as the World Tree is friendly to all living things, including humans, the opposite is also true, but if you see this, it’s clear you’ll run away.

The World Tree held out her hand. I also reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Kyle Arden. Do you swear that by granting you a favor, you will also grant me my favor?”

“I swear. World Tree, do you also swear to help me until the matter with Lana is over in return for that?”

“Of course, I swear. It’s none other than you.”

Not a simple promise, but a soul oath that puts the soul on the line. If this covenant is broken, the existence that broke it will be erased from the world. This is an absolute power that even gods cannot erase once they have sworn.

A ray of light escaped from my chest. It was connected to the streak that came out of the World Tree. The feeling of souls being shared. But there is no power to read minds. It’s just about confirming each other’s existence and being able to convey words.

Finally, a pattern appeared on the back of my hand. I am the World Tree’s pattern. The World Tree is my pattern. The pattern engraved on my hand was in the form of a tree.

“Oh my, Kyle’s is unique?”

The World Tree, after checking her hand, showed me the back of her hand. On her hand, two strands of lines were drawing a spiral.

“What does this mean?”

“I don’t know either. More than that, hurry up and proceed.”

“I understand. We’re soulmates now, so why are you rushing me so much?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

The World Tree reached out her hand. Lana, who had not been allowed to enter, appeared in the mental world.

Lana still sleeping peacefully. I lay down next to Lana.

“Kyle, shall we start?”

I nodded and closed my eyes.

“Then please take care of Lana….”

Before the World Tree could finish speaking, consciousness sank to the very bottom.

***

A space where nothing but darkness can be seen. What should I call this?

Hell? The abyss? Or simply darkness?

Whatever the name of this space, Lana didn’t care much.

“More than that, I’m bored….”

Lana hugged her knees. This place was too boring. Because there was nothing around.

There was no response from small creatures, I didn’t know how long I’d been here, and I didn’t know the time. For that reason, Lana was frustrated.

“Heeing….”

Lana sweeps the floor with her fingers for no reason. But it’s still the same. There is no change in space, and no sense of the passage of time.

As a summoner who has to summon summons from other places, she is sensitive to space-time, but there is nothing felt here. It’s just empty.

“I miss the kids….”

My heart gets depressed. Nene, Ren, Urr, Nok, Silfi, Sally. I missed the other kids so much too.

I wanted to sing with a smile. I wanted to eat together. I wanted to stare blankly at the sky with the kids. I missed those usual actions so much.

A drop of water floated slightly on Lana’s eyes. It couldn’t be helped that I felt depressed being alone.

“No, I can’t cry.”

But she patted her cheeks and swallowed her depression. It doesn’t matter if there’s no one to watch her ugly appearance, but it wasn’t just her in this place.

-Accept the emotions….

-It’s okay, Lana…. We’ll help you….

The voices that were constantly heard in the air. Those voices kept tormenting her.

They sink her heart below the surface, tempt her, and make her have negative thoughts and feelings. Lana instinctively felt that she should not follow those words.

But that wasn’t as easy as it sounds. Even if I closed my ears, those sounds echoed. At the same time, every time I heard that, I could smell the stench, so Lana was dying.

“Leave me alone!”

I shouted to try to chase them away, but it didn’t work as I thought and they clung to me even more.

“I miss Kyle….”

Suddenly, I missed him so much. I wanted to smell the scent he exuded, not this stench. If not, I couldn’t soothe this gloomy heart.

But in a situation where there are no clues or information, meeting Kyle was close to zero. Besides, since I can’t even remember the last memory… I’m starting to feel anxious that I might be dead right now.

-We’ll help you….

“No, good thoughts. Let’s only have bright and happy thoughts.”

Again, as that voice tried to devour her, Lana kept her mind straight. And Lana recalled the memories she had recently.

The first memory that made me happiest this year was none other than meeting Kyle. It was something that started from simple curiosity, but it’s the most intense memory in my entire life. In terms of happiness, it even far exceeds when I contracted with my first summon, Nene.

In fact, at that time, I only felt curiosity about Kyle. To put it a little badly, it was a selfish heart that was drawn to the scent.

But when did it start? When did that heart gradually change direction and start feeling different emotions?

His training? The scene during the entrance exam? Or the way he cared about me while being annoyed?

“There are too many, so I don’t know….”

There were too many expected things.

Still, I remember the occasion when I realized this feeling. When Kyle suggested going out. After that, I realized that that feeling was not curiosity.

Of course, it was faint at the time. But as time passed and I talked with my friends, I realized that my heart was full of thoughts about Kyle, and it was showing on the outside.

To what extent? To the extent that Kyle’s junior, Evan, who was the first to meet him, felt it right away. That small feeling grew so much before I knew it.

From that day on, Lana admitted it. That she likes Kyle.

Perhaps because of that, I was the happiest in the world when Kyle gave me shoes as a gift. They were ordinary shoes, but Lana took more care of the shoes than before.

Oh, come to think of it, I can’t help but talk about the internship. The way he stood in front of me as if protecting me. My heart still fluttered when I thought of that wide back.

“It makes me miss him even more….”

A sigh comes out involuntarily with a lonely heart. The more I think about Kyle, the more I yearn for him.

-You want to see Kyle? Then I’ll let you meet him….

And whether it’s a side effect, backlash, or compensation for that, the voice came right in front of me. As I loosened up a little, my feet were already submerged in the darkness.

“Really… Are you going to take me to Kyle?”

Lana, who had been silent even when I talked to her, answered this time.

To tell the truth, being here and trying not to fall into negative emotions is now difficult and tiring. I slowly wanted to let go of everything and become comfortable.

-Just trust us. Entrust your body to us….

Darkness rushes in from below. Lana didn’t resist much.

-Yeees… If you do that, we’ll… let you see him….

Her lower body is submerged, and the darkness climbs over her stomach and chest up to her neck. The encroachment of darkness did not stop there, covering her entire head over her chin. In it, Lana whispered softly.

“Hehe, I want to see Kyle soon….”

Just as the darkness completely swallowed Lana.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

A rough hand that I had seen somewhere suddenly popped out. The voice was also very familiar. Lana woke up.

“Kyle? Is it Kyle?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

The darkness that had been surrounding me was lifted, and I saw Kyle’s face that I had been longing for. He said quietly with a scarred face.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“It’s been a while for me too.”

How long has it been? Even if I don’t know the passage of time, it must have been quite a while.

A smile bloomed on Lana’s face in an instant.

“How did you get here?”

“How else would I find you, I came to find you.”

“Really? Wasn’t it hard?”

“Well, it was so-so. More than that, Lana.”

At the same time as Kyle’s words, the background that was only darkness began to change. Light bloomed, and a bright and vibrant atmosphere filled the background.

“It’s time to wake up now.”

Kyle, who said that, brought his hand, which was dripping with blood, to his forehead.

“And this is a punishment for trying to give up.”

Thwack!

The flick hit my forehead at the moment.

“Ouch… Huh?”

Lana woke up from a deep sleep and opened her eyes.