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Volume 9 Chapter 232

Date At The Top Of The World Tree

As it was noon, we left the library, and I had lunch with Riel.
Afterwards, she said she wanted to do some shopping, so we wandered around the shopping district of the Royal City, accompanying Riel on her shopping.
Evening approached.
The sun was setting.
Is it time?
I think it’s time to start the main event of today’s date.
「Riel, there’s a place I want to go to…… Is the time okay?」
「The time? Um, well…… a-actually, today, I can stay out late…… It’s okay」
Huh.
D-Does that mean—
「Is it okay if we stay somewhere together?」
With her face turning bright red, Riel silently nodded while tightly gripping the hem of my clothes.
Seriously……?
S-Seriously?
It seems Riel has a curfew at her house, and in all our previous dates, I had to say goodbye to her by eight o’clock in the evening without fail.
But today, it seems she can stay out late.
What perfect timing.
God is on my side.
Is it because of my good deeds?
No, don’t get ahead of yourself, Luke.
I should rejoice after hearing Riel’s response.
「Well then, come with me to the place I want to go」
I held Riel’s hand and started walking.
She was still looking down, but she followed me intently.
　──＊＊＊──
「Is this the place you wanted to come to, Luke-san?」
「Yeah」
The place I brought Riel to was the base of the World Tree, towering at the center of Alheim.
「I think it’s about time—」
As we waited there for a moment, a swirl of wind began to gather in front of us.
In the center of that wind—
「Hey there! Long time no see, Luke. I’ve been waiting for you」
The incarnation of the World Tree, the Wind Spirit King Sylph, appeared.
「S-Sylph-sama!」
「Ah, come on now. You’ll dirty your clothes if you kneel, won’t you? So it’s fine to stand」
Riel tried to kneel before Sylph, but he stopped her.
「……Is it really okay?」
「Yeah! Don’t worry about it」
For the elves like Riel, the World Tree, which protects and blesses Alheim, is an absolute existence.
The incarnation of the World Tree, Sylph-sama, is also to be treated with the utmost respect by elves.
「Um, why is Sylph-sama here?」
「Because Luke asked me to」
「Eh!?」
With an expression of disbelief, Riel turned to look at me.
「More precisely, it’s because Luke asked Haruto, my contractor, and Haruto asked me to come here. Riel knows about Haruto, right?」
「O-Of course! He’s a great benefactor of this country, so of course I know him」
My best friend Haruto is the contractor of the Wind Spirit King Sylph-sama. Moreover, he’s contracted with the remaining three elemental kings, so it’s beyond surprising, it’s downright laughable.
「Luke, you can make it to the top by yourself, right?」
「Yes, I can. No problem」
「Uh, um…… By top do you mean—」
「To the top of the World Tree」
Hearing my words, Riel froze.
For the elves, the World Tree is a sacred entity, and even touching it is taboo, let alone climbing it.
Normally, even if I invited her, Riel would refuse to even touch the World Tree.
But today, I really wanted to take Riel to the very top of the World Tree.
So, through Haruto, I manifested Sylph-sama like this.
「Riel, I permit it. So, you can climb the World Tree with Luke」
「I-I’m really allowed to?」
「Yeah. To prevent the interference of the World Tree’s mana, I’ll grant my protection to Riel too」
Sylph-sama floated over and touched Riel’s head.
The high concentration of mana that fills the interior of the World Tree is said to be too fond of the elf race and surrounds the elves when they enter the interior of the World Tree.
The concentration is so thick that the elves suffer from magic intoxication.
After Sylph-sama’s touch, Riel’s body glowed faintly.
It seems she received the protection of the Spirit King.
「I-I… I don’t know what to say say—」
Overwhelmed with emotion, Riel was on the verge of tears.
「If you want to express your gratitude, tell Luke. Well then, that’s it from me」
Saying so, Sylph-sama disappeared from the spot.
「Alright, let’s go then!」
「Eh, L-Luke-san-san? Kyaah!!」
I picked up Riel and flew up with magic.
Did I startle her a bit?
Come to think of it, I’ve never flown while carrying Riel before.
Whether she’s afraid of flying or not, Riel clung desperately to me.
「Did I scare you? Sorry. But I promise I won’t drop you, Riel」
「……I trust you, Luke-san-san」
She timidly lifted her face. But she still couldn’t look around, just staring at my face.
For now, that’s enough.
Oops, it looks like the sun is about to set.
I want to pick up the pace a bit.
「Riel, just keep looking at me. I’m going to increase our flying speed a bit」
「Y-Yes!」
To make it in time for sunset, I increased our flying speed.
We just made it in time.
「You can open your eyes now」
It seems Riel was scared after all, as she tightly closed her eyes halfway through.
Right now, Riel and I are standing on a branch at the top of the World Tree.
「Luke-san」
「Can you see around you? I’ve got you. Take your time and look around」
She must have trusted me.
Riel timidly shifted her gaze to the scenery behind her.
「……It’s beautiful」
Words naturally escaped her lips.
In Riel’s eyes, the unobstructed sunset dyed the distant sea, land, and Alheim itself red.
I wanted to show her this scenery.
A few minutes later—
The sun sets, and darkness descends.
Then, we could see lights starting to illuminate the city of Alheim through the gaps in the branches of the World Tree.
From below, the World Tree was faintly illuminated. It itself was also faintly glowing.
With the light from the city below and the luminescence of the World Tree, we were surrounded by a fantastical landscape.
「Luke-san, it’s amazing. It’s so, so beautiful. Did you want to show me this?」
「Yeah. It’s a bit late, but…… I thought of it as an apology for what happened at the school festival」