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Chapter 151: Contents of the Ordeal

「Noth looks awful… 」
He didn’t get up from the floor, so I moved him to a chair, but Butler just kept his elbows on the table, and continued clutching his head, his eyes downcast.

「 That’s because he’s the closest thing we have to a royal family — or should I say he got one foot stuck deep in the kingdom’s mucky business. 」
Dinosso looked at Butler with sympathy.

「I have once sought after the King’s Bough in the past — no, please forget I said anything. 」
Butler was still hanging his head, when he suddenly muttered before shutting up again.

「As far as I know, the legend about the King’s Bough is about a hero, troubled by the kingdom that was on the verge of collapse and the suffering of the impoverished people, who had sought the Lake of Mists with the guidance of a spirit. He passed the ordeal, pledged an oath to the Tree of the Spirit and wished for the bough — or so they said. So, how on earth did you get to that sort of place? 」
Retze asked me with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Thank goodness the three guys here became used to drinking coffee. Ash also drinks if it’s a cafe au lait or a latte.

「I asked Khadar how hard this world’s hardest tree branch is, and that’s what he answered. 」
「You did experience the ‘guidance of the spirit’ part, but your goal is different, isn’t it? Isn’t it weird that you passed that test with that goal of yours? 」
「Can’t help it, I just moved forward like normal, and arrived there like normal. 」
I gave some potato chips to X-Stick, who was propped on the desk.

X-Stick is a spirit, yet he loves junk foods and munchies.

「…In my youth, I also sought the King’s Bough under the order of the previous king. 」
「Eh 」
Butler suddenly confessed.

「I escorted a young ambitious man who had the guidance of the spirits. 」
「Is he the king? 」
「No. He didn’t have the means to go on a journey, nor did he have any knowledge regarding governing a country. The only thing he had was his ideals. He chose the king that would rule the kingdom according to the ideals that he had. 」

「As long as the king obeyed the oath pledge to the Tree of Spirit by the person who handed the bough to him, everything will be fine. If he didn’t then the bough will simply vanish. 」
Retze explained.

Well, it’s true that people who can’t stand the cold won’t reach the Tree; besides, the king’s qualifications will also depend on physical strength.

「I see, so that’s why it was said that it’s for someone who has the potential to be the king, and the person who has the ability to discover a king. 」
The last words of Pokey Stick Tree flashed through my mind.

「Oy, seems like you did get the message properly, huh. 」
「Nah, she suddenly spouted something about kings and whatnot, so I was wondering what kind of king it is, like, maybe we hold a championship for the best guy who can poke a hole in the ground and then declare him the king? 」
「As if!! 」
Dinosso retorted.

「Well, I guess even if the king himself is mediocre, if he can use the people around him well, that’s good enough. So, did you get the bough or not? But then, I didn’t hear anything about it. 」
Retze urged Butler to continue his story.

「No, the kingdom did not obtain the bough. Moreover, we didn’t manage to go there a second time. First of all, the temperature is low all throughout the year. We have to consider the provisions such as food and firewood for warmth, and we deemed it would be necessary for us to travel with someone who possessed 【Storage】.
「Yeah, so that’s their goal for going after En since we came here, huh. Shrum’s summoning of heroes also put the other kingdoms at the edge of their seats, pushing them to be more active. Maybe they’re trying to get the King’s Bough to oppose Shrum. 」

Ugh, it’ll be a disaster if they were to know about my 【Teleport】 and 【Storage】.

「We did finally set foot in the White Forest, only for our path to be blocked once again, this time by a poisonous mist. We were forced to fight against powerful monsters in the midst of that fog. When we came to our senses, we were already in the ordinary, albeit frozen, forest. 」

「I can give you spoilers if you’re not gonna look for the Tree of Spirits, you know? 」
X-Stick said while munching on potato chips.

The trio answered that they wouldn’t, so X-Stick gave his spoilers.

「Basically, the White Forest will not appear if there’s someone who knows about what I’m gonna tell you, even if it’s just one person, so keep that in mind. Alright. First, you’re gonna be tested whether you can protect someone weaker, or something different from yourself. The more you cut the trees, the more extraordinary monsters will appear in the fog, you know. 」
X-Stick grinned while saying that.

「Next, your greed will be tested — whether you’re going to rob somebody else just to get something important, like medicine or food for example. The illusions in the misty landscape will reflect that. 」
「I see, so you have to be kind to others, is that it? 」

「Nah, I don’t think so? Even if you throw the weak ones, steal from them or annihilate them, that’s totally fine. Spirits don’t care about the life and death of humans, unless they took a liking to that human, you know! 」
Dinosso felt like he understood, but X-Stick immediately refuted him.

Still, this world felt a bit too harsh.

「The process of the ordeals depends on the state of the kingdom. The result will determine the attributes of the bough that will be bestowed, whether the bough will attract spirits, or will they be born just by being beside the bough, things like that. 」

「I understand now. We had destroyed too many of the white trees and had abandoned the spirits that lived there, and because of that, the number of monsters we had to defeat had also increased. Indeed, the more we curtail the administration of the kingdom, the more our enemies would increase. 」
Butler seemed a little bit enlightened.

「Well, I also think the difficulty level of avoiding the white trees is so high it’s impossible to move forward without destroying them. Most people will definitely touch them just by avoiding the attacks. 」
X-Stick threw me a glance while saying that.

「Oh, so that unicorn was there as a temptation to those who were exhausted from fighting against the monsters, since they’d need medicine too, and if they’re starving, it could be their food. So, they’d be tested if they’d be able to proceed should they choose properly — whether they’re going to rob others, or force their allies to endure. 」
I didn’t choose anything and just observed, though.

「Yup. And that’s where Jean shines — he didn’t hurt any weaklings, plus he annihilated all the monsters of the forest, and he was so prepared he didn’t even need any food or medicine! He’s strong and his preps are perfectly on point! And he looked quite comfortable too! Atta boy, my Master! 」

「Quite comfortable…. So? Jean, what did you answer when the Spirit of the Tree asked you about your ideals? 」
Dinosso asked me, but must I answer him? Based on the flow of the story so far, my answer really sounds sloppy, so I felt a pang of regret.
Everyone turned their gazes at me! Oh, the pressure to speak!!

「Diameter 4cm, length 3 meters, a stick so hard it won’t break. 」
I trained my gaze on X-Stick and avoided looking at the trio’s faces.

「… 」
「… 」
「… 」
The three guys remained silent.

「What are your plans regarding X-Stick-sama? 」
「I’m going to poke around rabbit holes once the weather becomes better. 」
「Stop, just give it up. 」
Dinosso stopped me in a flash when I answered Butler’s question.

「Eh!! Holes are epic!! 」
X-Stick, on the other hand, was raring to go.

「Oh man, it seems like my all-time hero king is about to go ‘poke’ ‘poke’ with a stick. 」
Retze muttered while clutching his forehead.