episode_0038

“Hey, did you sleep well?”

Please don’t misunderstand.

It was still the middle of the night, with the sun sleeping deeply, using the World Tree as a blanket. As Ellicia succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep, I called out to Brownie, who had been awake for some time, slightly shaking off her touch.

[What did you tell that elf I was, master, for such an irritating magical power to be stuck in my fur?] “Oh, I just said you were one of the World Tree’s children in the garden.” Though I’d thrown it out as a joke, Brownie muttered at my answer with a very serious expression.

[If that elf wakes up now, I’ll have to keep receiving that magic. How will you compensate me, master?] “When we go back to the academy, I’ll buy you a dog treat or something.” [Now, to the King of the Night….] “I’ve seen a dog treat worth 5 gold coins. Aren’t you curious? Why dogs like those things.” I pointed at his sharp canine teeth. “It’s the only drug the country allows for dogs. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to try it once, do you? And think about it, what if you weren’t an animal of this garden? You’d get annoyed, wouldn’t you? And so would I.”

[Hmm….] Only then did Brownie accept my offer, curling up on the spot with his tail as a pillow, without saying anything. But even in the dead of night, would he want to sleep after seeing and experiencing that sight? His eyes were still wide open and alert.

[Hey, master,] “Hmm?” [You roughly know what’s there, don’t you?] “….Didn’t you roughly figure it out too, since you saw it with your own eyes?” [No, I’m not talking about that being, I’m talking about that place.] “…..”

[Documents that shouldn’t exist in this world, things and medicines I’ve never seen even under the Queen, were all over the place, but your face was too calm.] “……” [Besides, you directly faced that being, and it just ended with dust on your clothes. And you killed the Queen single-handedly. No matter how much I follow the strong…] Brownie looked straight at me and asked,

[Master, are you also a type of ancient species?] “No way. I learned all about those documents at the academy, that’s all.” [Ah, is that so?] Brownie, who had been setting a serious mood, seemed to lose interest when he received a more bland answer than expected, and curled up again, using his tail as a pillow.

It was the night before the full moon. The night Ellicia and Brownie slept. Longinus Rapier Strength: 10 Magic Power: 100 Agility: 10 #$%@: 2 [Title] [Player] [Main Quest] [Garden Erosion] [Warning! The quest has not yet formed normally! If you proceed with this quest too quickly, difficulty adjustments may occur!]

I simply ignored the red text appearing in the Main Quest and clicked the Title tab. [Player] [You are the freest person in this world. But someone’s freedom can be taken away. What will you show with the freedom you’ve taken from others?]

Skills were like this, and titles were like this too. A tone as if someone was speaking to me. At least [Mind Sword] gave me a phrase like “Don’t believe only what you see,” offering room for advice, but this title was directly questioning me. “Ancient species… Ancient species, huh…” Even when playing the game, I didn’t know the exact definition of an ancient species. We players called them field bosses or hidden bosses instead of ancient species.

My thoughts were tangled. Normally, there would be a being that would fuss and spill information about this world even at such muttering, but the blue text I longed for didn’t even cast a shadow. Only the red text glowed in the Main Quest. “….Is there a problem with the first hand of the clock…?” According to what I knew about [Garden Erosion], my current plan was progressing very smoothly.

Even if I went directly towards the World Tree, I could be caught and killed by the elves, so I befriended an elf to secretly approach the World Tree. Then, even if I get caught, that one elf would defend me. After that, the Demonic Cult would cause a disturbance on their own, making it easy for me to act. If I reached the World Tree and activated what was currently sleeping in my inventory, My plan would be perfectly complete, and I could take revenge on the Queen who tried to drag me to the East.

Of course, it was an undeniable fact that the clock, and I, had moved faster than the system’s prediction. But was there any reason for a difficulty adjustment to occur in this process? I muttered to myself that this was the perfect time for the system to appear and read the flow of magic, But all that came back was the tranquil movement of fireflies.

***

“Haa… haa… Can’t we go a little slower…? My stamina is low…” “We’ve only walked for seven hours. Consider it punishment for not listening to me yesterday.” Brownie, seeming annoyed by the natural elf magic he felt on every single strand of his fur, made all sorts of disgusted faces and stiffened his fur, but Ellicia, not caring, held him in one arm and stroked him.

“Haa… haa… But why are we walking so aimlessly…?” “All elves have a role to play. It’s to guide the World Tree’s children back to their original place if they stray from where they were.” “So, you’re saying you’re going to put the animal you’re holding back in its place…?” “Hmm… but something’s strange… It doesn’t seem like this small animal would have traveled a long distance… Usually, they’d run back if they found their original spot….”

At that moment, she felt a tremor, as if the small creature in her hand and the one following behind her had been struck to the core, but she dismissed it as nothing. Weren’t all animals in the garden children of the World Tree? ‘Should I go further towards the World Tree…?’ As she thought this and looked towards her mother, she felt something chilling. This feeling of entangled magic. She intensely felt the magic splitting into multiple streams instead of one, binding, striking, and agonizing each other.

Not far away, in that place, this magic was screaming for her help. Ellicia, who deeply cared for the garden animals, that is, the World Tree’s children, ran towards the source of that sound. Muttering to herself that she would go, that she would definitely help.

As she ran closer to the source of the sound, the screams grew louder and louder, and then, “……..!” A giant paw suddenly appeared before her. A giant paw with flesh and blood stuck between its claws, as if it had just torn something alive.

Was it because she had run too fast towards that place, or was it because of her belief that the World Tree’s children would never attack an elf? At the utterly unexpected attack, she clenched her eyes shut. Clang, The sound of something being blocked. Opening her eyes at the unexpected sound, a man stood before her.

“Oh….” “I wondered where the chimera came from; it seems the Demonic Cult conducted experiments here.” Did this person possess such magic power? Could he wield magic in such a way? In front of him, the paw was completely immobile, as if held by three swords.

As the wind blew, revealing the entire body of the creature that had attacked her, Ellicia couldn’t help but be horrified. No, she wanted to shed tears of rage right then and there. Who had done such a thing? Who dared to commit such a horrible act within the garden and still breathe? It had the face of a tiger, the body of a cheetah, and its tail was not covered in fur but only in snake scales.

At the sight that made one frown just by looking, he looked at the fallen Ellicia and asked, “Ellicia, are you alright?” “Oh…. oh…? ..Yes…” “That’s a relief, then.”

As soon as he heard her reply, his hand went up, and the strange monster charging at her lunged forward with claws extended, as if ready to kill instantly. But did that frantically charging animal know it was heading down the path of its own demise? “Ray!” Just before the animal’s claws could scratch his face, Ellicia cried out his name.

Had affection built up in that short time? He looked slightly puzzled at her voice, which seemed to express concern for him, and clenched his fist. A dying gasp, a choke. Anyone who didn’t know the situation and heard that dying gasp would have assumed it was Ray’s. Of course, Ellicia was no exception.

The strangely shaped animal was dying in mid-air, blood dripping. However, she could tell that the animal wasn’t simply dripping blood and dying. Their magic, their entangled magic, was slowly unraveling. The sounds of magic, which had been painfully screaming towards her, gradually diminished.

At this sight, Ellicia looked back at him, and he awkwardly replied to her gaze. “Still, on its way, shouldn’t I at least separate its soul so it can return comfortably to Mother’s side…?” Gently placing the completely limp chimera’s body on the ground, he turned to Ellicia and said, “Let’s look for other animals that might have suffered this. Shouldn’t we free them from this pain as much as possible?”

Ellicia saw him differently. At this moment, he wasn’t like the countless humans outside who only sought profit with no interest in the garden. Instead, she saw an elf superimposed on him, truly interested in the garden and genuinely caring for its children. ‘If it’s this person, it would truly be alright to guide him to Mother.’ This thought surfaced in her subconscious.