episode_0216

LLVIII.

Since ancient times, the power of nature has been difficult to control, and even those who have been aware of its existence have been rare. As a result, even those who use nature have not been able to demonstrate powerful abilities like Mana or the Force.

However, there were beings who were skilled at handling this natural force, and those who were loved by nature often displayed absurd abilities that were on a par with natural disasters.

Representative examples include the spirit beasts that strive to become divine beasts, and the dimensional tree, the last bastion preventing the extinction of dimensions.

― Among the item origins of some pervert creator

◈

Less than five minutes after Gray and his party entered Moderato, Moderato’s divine power changed.

– How does divine power change?

It’s a description that someone might use as a pointless joke, but it definitely felt like the divine power had changed, something that had changed in an instant.

The continent often experiences unique flows of divine power in different regions.

The north is cold and the south is hot, and the divine power of the Killite Mountains is a bit violent.

Moderato was the same.

It felt as if I had entered the middle of a forest for forest bathing, and the refreshing energy made my shoulders relax.

Swaaa …

The divine power that had been there changed in an instant.

It was an indescribable feeling. Gray shivered without realizing it as he felt a slightly different energy passing by, similar to divine power.

It’s not a shiver from fear or cold.

It’s like when you suddenly smell your favorite scent from your lover at the end of a really hard day.

Gray jumped up from his spot. He was in such a hurry that the roof of the cart he was riding in would have been ripped open if the space in the cart hadn’t been so large that it had been left unusably empty by the Dean.

“This is… … !”

“The World Tree. Master.”

While Gray and even Arcana were bewildered by the sudden change in divine power, the answer came from Punisher.

“The World Tree? That tree?”

“Yes. And this force is called the force of nature.”

The energy that can be felt because it is a spirit, the energy that controls the power of nature itself, the moment when the power of nature is first revealed through the mouth of the punishment.

“It’s a power that’s hard to define. It’s similar to the power our spirits use, but it’s different in that it’s not forced. But it’s strong because it’s not forced. If you can handle it properly.”

It is strong because it is not forced.

The other superhumans didn’t understand these words, but Gray vaguely understood what they meant.

Inaction is the best action.

When you reach inaction, there is nothing you cannot do.

This is a concept that is in line with what I said, and it is a concept that is related to the realization that Gray had when he almost died a spectacular death.

“The spirits are dancing, Master.”

Gray’s eyes didn’t show anything. However, he believed the punishment’s words because he saw Catherine’s visibly pleased and a rare smile from the punishment.

In reality, it was not visible to Gray’s eyes, but the spirits that were staying in the elf village inside Moderato, around the World Tree, were dancing in joy at the genuine power of nature that they had not felt in a long time, as the word punishment suggests.

“Then this energy is the energy flowing from the World Tree?”

“Yes, Master.”

With a rare smile on his face, the punishment answered Gray’s question.

In fact, the punishment felt as if it had been a long time since the punishment had been in the familiar environment of the spirit world. And the spirits around him who had been rejoicing at seeing the punishment trembled.

In the spirit world, the punisher was always a smiling spirit knight.

always.

In times of joy, in times of hardship, in times of torture, in times of beating, in times of training, and even in times of annihilation of the enemy.

It was a punishment where the expressions in the spirit world were relaxed at the moment when natural power similar to that of the spirit world bloomed abundantly, but the spirits watching it were terrified for a different reason.

-Ah, the devil is back!

―So (laughing) Salma again!!

…

Of course, the punishment’s smile deepened when he heard that voice, and Gray liked that kind of punishment’s smile.

Not long after Gray and his party were talking about the World Tree and the forces of nature in the magic car, Gray and the superhumans began to feel that something was strange.

“This… … .”

“It’s too quiet?”

From some point on, no noise had been heard from outside the car. It was a silence without even a murmur. But that didn’t mean there was no one there. Elves and other races could be felt on both sides and quite far away.

Also, it’s not like when I stopped by Craft, the land of craftsmen, or the city of Jerez, the city of the gnomes, that the silence descended because of the novelty of the horse-drawn carriage.

A silence that seemed to have reduced the sound and minimized movement. When the superhumans felt puzzled by that silence,

“There is someone.”

The moment the punishment tells the cause,

『Stop for safe driving. Pedestrian detected.』

The cart stops, confirming the punishment’s words.

But while Gray nodded, the superhumans were shocked.

“There’s someone in front of this?!”

“… That’s ridiculous!”

“Get out of the way!”

And the hasty Kanviel opened the door and went out.

It was Canviel who started it, and the superhumans opened the doors of the magic car and got out. Only then did Gray and Arcana come out.

Only then could I see. No, I could understand. Why it was quiet outside.

“Hmm… … .”

All the elves, half-elves, and half-races bowed their heads and placed their right hands on their hearts, showing extreme respect to one elf.

Towards an elf woman with hair that sparkled like pure silver, as if finely ground mithril powder had been sprinkled without any gaps.

but,

“What is it?”

There was discomfort in the air and eyes of the superhumans looking at the female elf. It was definitely a discomfort similar to disgust.

“Are you with Gray and his party?”

It wasn’t just because the woman was unusually beautiful. Of course, there was that reason too. It’s true that I felt a sense of rejection at the sight of a woman who seemed to have a beauty that was out of this world.

but,

“What are you?”

“Why in the mood… …?”

“Why is it right in front of me?”

What the superhumans found uncomfortable was the strangely vague presence.

If I had felt like a normal person, not a nobody, like when I saw Gray right before the trip was decided, I would have just let it go.

But the elf in front of me now seemed like an illusion, its very existence was not felt. Just like the grass, flowers, and trees blooming in the field.

“Are you the gardener of the world tree?”

The scapegoat asked the elf, his characteristically expressionless poker face breaking in surprise.

“Hello. I am Sylvia, the gardener of the World Tree, greeting you, the evil queen of Pasa, whom I have only heard of in stories.”

The elf’s appearance, bowing respectfully toward the punishment, was worthy of the expression ‘neat’. Like a fresh breeze blowing in from a quiet forest.

“I am also glad to see the rare gardener clan.”

“What is it?”

“What is going on?”

“What else is a gardener?”

It seemed that the superhumans had more than one or two questions, but neither the special elves who were respected by the elves nor the scourge seemed to have any intention of answering them.

“If time permits, I would like to invite Gray to the shade of the World Tree.”

“Ouch!”

“What?!”

“ in?”

.

.

At the gardener elf’s words, screams erupted among the elves who had been silently watching the gardener’s every move with respect and anticipation.

It was like a writer’s younger sibling who was just dazed out on the weekend without washing up and screaming ‘Ouch!’ involuntarily when his mother, who played volleyball in middle school, hits him on the back.

Shadow of the World Tree.

It is a place that most of the elves, who are a long-lived species, have never been to before they die.

The real world tree.

It wasn’t simply a place where the remnants of the World Tree’s energy flowed out and touched, but it meant entering a space of dimensional water that was no different from another space.

The reason the elves show such reverence is because Sylvia, an elf with impressive silver hair that looks like it’s sprinkled with mithril, is a gardener who can enter and exit the dimension of the World Tree as she pleases.

And although it is not Sylvia who decides whether or not to bring in elves or other races, it is a widely held belief in the Sumerian kingdom that when she voices her opinion, it has considerable influence.

In fact, the elf who had most recently entered the shadow of the World Tree was the elf who had been like Sylvia’s sister since childhood. That elf had not achieved any outstanding achievements, and was not a high-level superhuman, but was just an ordinary spirit master, which made the rumor even more believable.

Anyway, Sylvia is now a candidate, but she wants humans to go to the shadow of the world tree.

He also said it was an ‘invitation’. It’s not like humans said they would go to the shadow of the World Tree and were ‘allowed’ to do so.

The elves’ surprise is only natural. But then something happens that makes them even more surprised.

“Hmm… …. What would you like to do? Master.”

Even if he said he would go straight, it would not be enough, so the punishment asked Gray what he would do.

“Wouldn’t it be better to eat something first?”

A human named Gray is hungry in this situation.

“Yeah! Oppa!”

And the young human woman next to him, one of the few women in the history of elves who are loved by both light and darkness, also agrees with it.

These crazy people!

The elves who were about to rebel,

“Then there’s a restaurant I know well. Shall we go together?”

At Sylvia’s continued words, his face changed as if he had been hit by Circle 9’s mental magic.

Isn’t Sylvia, the gardener of the World Tree, acting like a tour guide?

“Then please.”

And that human man accepts it again without any problem. The elves and half-elves who were left behind after Sylvia disappeared with Gray and his party,

“A dream…?”

“That’s right. It must be a dream, right?”

“Sylvia, who destroyed the entire Elder family because they were obsessed with her… … ?”

I started to deny reality.

Sylvia, who was leading Gray’s group to the restaurant, actually found this situation amusing.

Isn’t that so?

All the elves look at themselves and have a hard time.

Some might argue that Sylvia’s actions were inevitable.

But the elf elder who ruined Sylvia was a piece of trash who seemed more like a human noble than an elf.

Rather, I cannot understand why such a person maintains his position as an elder.

To Sylvia, who was like that, Gray’s actions were refreshing, as he treated her normally, without showing any expectations of her or showing any difficulty. It was also fun.

also,

“So you’re managing the World Tree?”

“A mortal like me is not a being who can discuss management. The World Tree. All I do is make the World Tree a little more comfortable and convenient.”

Even to his claim that he manages the World Tree, his response is limited to simply obtaining new information.

They do not try to gain anything, nor do they desire things like the elves.

Are you saying that because you don’t know?

“The dimension where the World Tree resides is a bit special. Master. Rather than managing it, the gardener’s job is to prevent it from being invaded by outsiders, so that the World Tree’s wrath does not turn against the continent.”

Even though there is a princess of the Pasa clan who kindly explains things to you?

Ah, in fact, that spirit knight of the thunderbolt was also strange from Sylvia’s perspective. Who would have known? In the spirit world, the tyrant princess, feared by all spirits regardless of their attributes except for the spirit king, would become the woman of one man.

Anyone can see that the princess is yearning for love even more from a human man.

Moreover, the way the tyrant princess answered the two cute ladies’ really useless questions with a smile without showing any sign of displeasure!

Sylvia found this combination so amusing.

After such a stormy meal, Gray was having dessert and tea.

“So. What does that great person want from me?”

When she said that, a smile that was 100% sincere appeared on Sylvia’s lips.

‘This guy. He’s really fun!’