Chapter 81

We headed to collect our items from the Scorpionian girl we had left them with when we had first arrived at Deep Green. These included my long sword and Selina’s staff. After that, we headed back to Cywest via the Fairy Path.

I already knew that there had been no deaths in the attack of those demons. However, I felt genuine relief only after I saw those we had met when we had arrived at Deep Green with my own eyes. Of course, these people included the Scorpionian girl and the Wood Elves captain.

After I thanked Aziram and the rest countless times for providing us with shelter, I made sure to buy plenty of souvenirs for everyone in the village. Once I had kept everything in the storage space of the shadows, we set foot on the Fairy Path. To our surprise, we were sent off by an unexpected few people.

The Fairy Path was still filled with inhabitants of Ente Forest visiting since the festival was ongoing. As for the people who had come to see us off, they included Olivier, the Magic Academy Headmaster, and Ente, the World Tree.

「Dran, please come again whenever you feel like it. We welcome you here any time.」

Ente came all the way to see us off as we were leaving Deep Green, as though the conversation she had struck up with us during the festival had not been enough. As a result, Fio and the others were astounded into a daze for quite some time.

Selina and Diadora seemed to have grown accustomed to seeing Ente, the embodiment of the entire Ente Forest before them. Even her appearance right now did not astonish them in the slightest.

Fumu… They’re pretty gutsy, aren’t they? I guess Selina would insist that having some gall is necessary when dating me.

There were many others passing through the Fairy Path, though Olivier had probably used her illusions and human dispersal magic to project herself and Ente as different people.

When I saw Ente smiling at me, I came to a realization that she was fairly unbothered about her own influence on those around her. On the other hand, there was a chance that Ente was behaving less solemnly since she had met me, who was like her in a certain sense. After all, we were both existences who seemed more fictional than real.

In any case, Ente treated me with the utmost kindness and goodwill. There was no way I could reject such friendliness.

If Ente were to do something really unacceptable, then Olivier would no doubt intervene. Olivier, who used to be a priestess princess, was sure to have a good grasp of Ente’s temperament.

「It’s an honor to have you say that. I’m really thankful since I’ve always wanted to forge good relationships with the inhabitants of Ente Forest. Anyway, is it really fine for you to be seeing us off? After all, you’re still in the process of fusing with Ryuryushii, and the festival isn’t over yet. We’re not disrupting anything, are we?」

「Please rest assured. Seeing you off is not a hindrance in any way. Besides, Ryuryushii is taking a break now and chatting happily with Latanta.」

Once Ente finished speaking, she let out a hearty laugh.

Fumu… I guess it’s best if the priestess princess, one of the symbolic figures of Ente Forest, is getting along well with her lover. 

Ente raised her bare hands, and particles of light similar to those from the World Tree gathered on her palms. A white sphere the size of a fist coagulated, and a seedling with long green leaves started sprouting.

「Please accept this. Thank you for fending off the evil spirits from the demon realm that attacked Cywest, and for saving us from the catastrophic invasion. I hope that we will continue to preserve this trust and friendship with you, as well as your hometown. This is a gift and a proof of this wish.」

I accepted the gift from Ente and was looking at it contemplatively when Diadora, Fio, and Marl gasped in astonishment. They seemed to have realized something about the item. As for Selina, she had started to probe into this thing using the magic of her snake eyes.

「Hm, what is this? It looks like a seedling shockingly abundant with mana. Though, is this native to Ente Forest? I know it’s not an ordinary magic flower, but I’ve never seen this before in my village or in the Magic Academy’s botanical garden.」

Selina was befuddled by this seedling that was not listed in all the plant-related illustrated reference books in Galois Magic Academy. It was clear to her that this was an item of pristine magic quality. However, she remained clueless about the details of it. The tip of her tail and her head had tilted along with her confusion.

Fumu… Such cute gestures, as usual. 

「This is the seedling of the World Tree. There are only five of these in the entire world. You can think of it as a part of Ente. In the whole terrestrial world, there are no other tree-related materials that are more developed than the World Tree seedling of Ente.」

「Huh?! This is Ente’s seedling?! I’ve never heard of World Tree seedlings!」

「Heh heh, Well, it’s a gift from me. Although it’s just a seedling, it’s still a World Tree. If you plant this seedling, the land around it will be cleansed and nourished by the mana from the seedling. The ground will be rejuvenated with life. It’s also useful for nurturing trees and crops. Once the seedling grows into a young tree, the branches can be cut off and used for magic staffs or magic tools. However, it’ll need quite some time to grow…」

I mused pensively at the World Tree seedling. This seedling would no doubt be thriving with much more vitality and spiritual force than an ordinary tree. In this case, it should be fine to use fertilizers too strong for ordinary trees on this seedling.

The more concerning problem would be where to plant it and how to handle it from here on out.

Currently, I was the one manipulating the ley lines in the vicinity of Bern village. The fertility of the lands had also been increasing recently. The vitality of the earth in the region would not decline even if I did nothing.

There were vast wastelands a distance from the village. However, as long as we put in the effort to plow those areas, plots of flourishing fields would be produced in no time.

There was a simple reason I had kept from developing these grounds. There was just insufficient manpower, and the present fields provided enough to feed everyone. If the World Tree seedling were to be planted, there was a high chance that we would end up with too much to handle.

「Thank you very much. Though, this is the first time I’m encountering World Tree seedlings as gifts.」

「Haha. As long as you’re pleased with the gift, that’s all that matters.」

Ente let out an innocent laugh after she finished speaking. There was no malice in her words, and it was clear that she genuinely bore good intentions.

Presently, Ente was standing right before me, and her head was in the perfect position for me to reach out and pet her. As my hand gently caressed her flowered head, I smiled back at her.

「I’m really happy.」

I stroked Ente’s head a couple of times, and the smile on Ente’s face seemed to grow wider each time I did so.

Ente’s behavior made me ponder about her sudden desire to be doted upon. Perhaps it was because I was a feared and ancient existence as an Ancient-Celestial Dragon. Hence, those like Dramina and Ryoukichi tended to flock to me and wait to be fawned over. After all, an older being like me was rare for them to encounter, and they had no other people who they could behave in such a manner to.

One other reason might even be that I was completely willing to spoil all those that looked to me for such treatment. There had been the Vampire Queen and the Water Dragon, and now there was also the World Tree.

This time, I was just stroking Ente’s head. However, my past experiences made it certain that my future meetings with Ente would no doubt entail more demands from her to be doted on.

「Hee hee, I’ve had my branches and trunk stroked before, but this is the first time someone is petting me on the head. I never knew that this would feel so good.」

「I hope that you’re fine with my doing this. I’m going to nurture this seedling carefully. This has really been a surprising parting gift!」

Diodora, who had been watching me stroke Ente on the head, popped a question to Selina beside her. I managed to overhear their conversation too.

「Selina, why aren’t you making that pissy face like yesterday?」

「A pissy face? What’s that? Well, I’ll be lying if I said I’m not annoyed, but they look more like a parent and a child or siblings.」

「Yeah. I didn’t think Yggdrasil was such an innocent person. I think she probably has a personality that Dran gets along well with.」

I retracted my hand from Ente’s head and put the seedling in a cloth pouch I pulled out from the shadows. Then, I held the pouch in my left hand instead of returning it to the shadows. It was probably more sincere to treat Ente’s gift in this manner, rather than packing it together with the rest of the souvenirs stored in the shadows.

However, Ente was gazing at me in disappointment. Her dismay was likely due to the fact that she had yet to have her fill of being petted since I had removed my hand from her head.

Olivier, who had been silently watching our exchange the entire time, finally stepped forward and bowed his head.

「Dran, you saved Yggdrasil and many other inhabitants in this forest. As an inhabitant of this forest, I am deeply grateful. Thank you. However, I did feel sorry for the students of other schools participating in the tournament when I heard that you’re a reincarnated dragon. Moreover, you’re the reincarnation of an Ancient-Celestial Dragon. That truly left me speechless. As the Magic Academy’s Headmaster, I have to say this. Dran, please try to restrain yourself whenever possible.」

「Of course. I will do my best to behave within the limits of a human.」

Needless to say, I would not hesitate to wield the power of the Ancient-Celestial Dragon in certain situations.

「I’m wondering how broad these limits are when it comes to behaving like humans. However, I will trust in your words. Your relationship with Lenia has also caught my attention since she knows your true identity…」

It was an expected question, but Olivier had uttered it rather teasingly. Even though such a tone was rare for her, it clearly meant that she had lowered her guard around me.

I was certain that Lenia was so fond of me because of the events of our past lives. However, I had not mentioned this during our previous meeting.

Lenia was unlike me, who had forged deep bonds with the good gods in my previous life and had my name passed down through a number of myths. Lenia had merely existed as a nameless scared beast created by the evil god Caravis.

If Lenia’s identity were to be exposed, devout worshippers of the good gods would no doubt start taking action. When that happened, Lenia would not let herself be attacked without protest either. Even Olivier would not be able to protect Lenia if she were revealed to be born from Caravis, the figurehead of the evil gods.

After Lenia had been reincarnated as a human, she had not committed any grave wrongs. Hence, I genuinely hoped that she would not be harmed because of the incidents of her past life.

「If necessary, Lenia will speak about this. It’s much better to leave some things unprobed, especially concerning matters you don’t need to know about.」

「I see. If that’s the case, I’ll refrain from asking unnecessary questions. I have to admit, I’m starting to pity the students from other schools even more for the tournament. Though, I’m glad that we have gathered talents to clinch victory. As the Magic Academy’s Headmaster, I’m overjoyed.」

「Please rest assured. I’ll restrain myself to the extent of my final match with Lenia.」

Upon hearing my confident proclamation, a faint trace of doubt revealed itself in Olivia’s expression. This change was so subtle that it was almost unnoticeable.

Oh? Did I say something upsetting… I wondered to myself before coming to a realization. My final match with Lenia had been quite a monstrous showdown. It had even been termed the most intense battle in the history of the Magic Academy.

Back then, I had defeated Lenia, who had been freed from the shackles imposed by Caravis. In Olivier’s eyes, it was a stretch to consider my combat abilities in that match within the limits of human capabilities.

It seemed like I had no other choice but to fine-tune my powers depending on my opponent. I made a mental note to pay attention to this aspect in the upcoming tournament.

As we waved our hands to Ente and Olivier, who were sending us off, we headed back to Bern village through Cywest.

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