3 bar menu

Volume 9 Chapter 256

Mini (?) World Tree

「Hey, what’s going on?」
Walking down the hallway to the dining hall in the morning, the corridor seemed darker than usual.
I thought maybe the weather was bad today, but that wasn’t it.
In the courtyard, a gigantic tree had sprouted.
The sunlight was partially blocked by that tree.
There definitely wasn’t such a tree yesterday.
「……What’s going on?」
No one would answer, but the question popped out of my mouth anyway.
This is my mansion, right?
I opened the door to one of the nearby rooms.
It was a familiar reception room.
It was undoubtedly my mansion.
What’s strange is that giant tree over there.
It feels like it’s emitting an immense amount of energy.
It feels somewhat familiar.
It’s similar to the power I felt when I approached the World Tree in Alheim.
「……No, it couldn’t be」
Although I feel a power similar to that near the World Tree, there’s no way that giant tree in front of me is the World Tree.
A tree that has lived alongside the world since Genesis shouldn’t be growing here.
For now, I decided to investigate it further.
Approaching the giant tree.
There used to be a tree planted in the courtyard, but it seems to have been absorbed by this giant tree.
The trunk of the giant tree was about as thick as five adults holding hands, or maybe even thicker.
What surprised me more than the thickness of the trunk was the height of the tree and the spread of its branches.
The giant tree extended to a height surpassing a three-story mansion, and its branches spread out like an umbrella, completely covering my mansion.
While the sky was obscured by the branches and leaves of the giant tree, sunlight still managed to filter through.
There were enough gaps for gentle light to envelop my mansion.
Of course, it wasn’t as bright as when there was no giant tree, but there was still sufficient brightness beneath the tree.
It felt similar to what it’s like under the World Tree in Alheim.
I couldn’t help but think that this might be the World Tree.
I touched the giant tree.
「This is—」
The inside of the giant tree’s bark felt like it was opening up to a vast space, similar to the realms of spirits or the Interstice. The tree seemed to contain a much larger space than its appearance suggested.
Focusing on the interior space, I felt something extending magical power towards this tree.
This magical power…… Silph?
It was the magical power of Silph, the Spirit King who had suddenly stopped visiting recently.
What on earth was she doing? Did it have anything to do with this giant tree growing here?
I didn’t understand, but it seemed like Silph’s magical power was searching for this giant tree.
「……Let’s connect」
I poured my magical power into the giant tree.
Manipulating that magical power, I extended it towards Silph’s magical power.
—-Connected.
As soon as a thin magical pathway was formed, an immense amount of magical power flowed in from Silph.
Along with the magical power, something flew towards me.
「Whoa!」
「 —-!?」
From within the giant tree, Silph flew out.
She flew out with quite some force, so I ended up catching her while falling backwards to cushion the impact.
「T-that took me by surprise—- Wait, huh……? Haruto?」
As Silph sat up, it seemed she had noticed that I was underneath her.
「I was the one who was surprised—-」
「Haruto~」
Silph hugged me.
I was lying on the ground, so I couldn’t avoid it.
Since Silph seemed so happy, I let her do as she pleased for a while.
「It’s been a while, Silph. What have you been up to?」
「……The World Tree was in a bit of trouble, so I was dealing with that」
「Huh!? I-Is it…… Is it all right now? Is there anything I can do to help?」
The crisis of the World Tree is a crisis for Alheim.
That country thrives thanks to the blessings of the World Tree.
Since Alheim is the homeland of my wife Tina and Refa, I was prepared to do anything I could to help.
「It’s okay, the abnormality with the World Tree has been taken care of」
「I see…… That’s a relief」
At least Alheim is safe for now.
「Is there any connection between the abnormality of the World Tree and this giant tree?」
I pointed to the sky, and Silph followed my gaze.
「Huh…… What’s this?」
Silph paused as she looked at the branches of the giant tree covering the sky. It seemed she didn’t know anything about this giant tree either.
「I woke up this morning, and this was growing in the courtyard. And, it kind of feels like it might be related to the World Tree. Well, I don’t think that’s possible……」
「U-Um……」
「Oh, Haruto-sama, Silph-sama, good morning!」
Just as Silph was about to say something, Luna came over from the mansion.
And then, in a loud voice, she said—-
「Silph-sama! The World Tree grew even bigger when I gave it more water!!」