“Are you saying you’ve already found a treatment for the World Tree?”
I sat across from the Elf Elder Council. Aside from the Grand Elder who guided us, they didn’t seem particularly trustworthy.
“Indeed. Here is a damaged sample of the World Tree.”
As I pulled out the piece of bark, some elves looked utterly shocked.
“Did that short-lived being really tear this from the body of the World Tree?”
“Did you think I couldn’t figure that out? What were you doing without surveillance?”
Mostly the old elves were noisy, but the Grand Elder raised his hand to silence them.
“Do you not agree that restoring the World Tree is more urgent?”
“Even so, there’s a limit. A thousand years ago, this was…”
“Let’s save the old stories for later. Please explain, Teacher Gothberg.”
It seems like changing the common sense of old folks is quite a challenge. I was relieved the Grand Elder was communicative.
“The symptoms aren’t severe in themselves. It’s a bacterial infection, to put it simply, the nutrients are being stolen by an unseen existence.”
I pulled a vial from my robe. It was a solution made through alchemy.
[Ancient Sap Potion]
It’s a potion made by transforming vitamin-rich nutrients for plants and mixing them with tree sap.
As I dropped it on the bark, whoosh!
The rotten area bubbled, peeling away like old paint, revealing fresh growth underneath.
“Whoa…!”
“How did it heal so quickly…!”
The elders gasped in surprise as they saw the World Tree’s bark healed in an instant. They looked relieved that a problem they’d been suffering from had been resolved almost effortlessly.
I was amazed by the results myself. The Ancient Sap Potion is one of the highest rank potions I can currently create, but the effects of [Transmutation] truly defy expectations.
“This will restore it, but the symptoms will return shortly. As I mentioned, the existence stealing the World Tree’s nutrients remains.”
“Are you saying it’s possessed by an evil spirit?”
“It could be expressed that way, but it’s not a spirit; it’s a living organism. It can be removed. This creature has infested the World Tree by parasitizing another host, a larger creature.”
“What kind of creature is it?”
“It’s a kind of roundworm. And you’re the ones who brought it to the World Tree.”
As I pointed at them with my palm, the old elders leapt up in shock.
“That’s nonsense. This is filled with incomprehensible talk.”
“It’s impossible that we would inflict harm on the World Tree.”
“It’s a creature I found at the base of those rotting houses.”
Seeing is faster than a hundred words, right?
I signaled, and Tanya brought out a box.
Click, as she opened the lid, a long, disgusting white worm wriggled inside.
“Oh my gosh, it’s huge!”
“How are we supposed to have brought this? We’ve never even seen it!”
I shrugged.
“It’s none other than inside your bellies.”
“What?!”
“Hahaha.”
The elders seemed so flabbergasted that they couldn’t even comprehend it.
“Just looking at it, it seems over three meters long. There’s no way that worm could have entered our bodies. It would burst out!”
“This is why humans are….”
The Grand Elder raised his hand to mediate the tense atmosphere once more.
“Didn’t we suffer a humiliating defeat 500 years ago while underestimating humans? Their rate of advancement is far faster than we assume.”
He clasped his hands together and asked me gravely.
“Teacher Gothberg. While it’s true we do not fully understand what you’re saying…”
“Let’s see the video material.”
Tanya switched on the crystal ball she had prepared.
An image projected into the air.
It was several X-ray images I had taken so far.
“This is the inside of you. Here’s the mouth, right? You see that? The food you consume digests for a long time within this twisted organ, and that worm is living here, folded up so it can survive indefinitely.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“Ah, don’t worry; it’s not dangerous to your life. The best thing would be to develop the habit of not eating raw food, but if that’s too hard…”
Thud, I placed another vial down.
Inside was a liquid mixed with honey to make it more palatable for them.
“It’s a deworming medicine. All the elves in the city should take a spoonful every night before bed. It’ll get rid of the worms inside you.”
“…You must be joking, right?”
“Does it look like a joke?”
As Asela snapped at the elders, who were in denial about the reality, they slowly began to cover their mouths with their hands.
“I’m feeling a bit ill, if you excuse me.”
“Me too…”
“Ugh.”
Hmm, since they’re elves living in the forest, wouldn’t they normally eat worms?
Raising them in their stomach is a different story, though.
The Grand Elder stayed seated, but looking queasy, he spoke to me.
“…This deworming medicine will really make it okay, right?”
“Of course. I assure its effectiveness. Ah, it should normally dissolve the worms in your stomach, but sometimes those with strong resistance might survive. In that case, just don’t panic and pull them out from your backside…”
“I need to excuse myself as well.”
Eventually, the Grand Elder sprang up and bolted out of the building.
The meeting room fell silent.
Asela, a bit anxious, asked me.
“Lars, do you think I have one of those too?”
“Of course not.”
“Phew.”
“We distributed it at the palace long ago. Even if you did have one, it would have gone down the….”
“Enough.”
At Asela’s command, I shut my mouth.
*
As I finished the request for the World Tree’s treatment and stepped outside, an alert popped up on my Status Window.
―――――――――――
· You have acquired the achievement [Cultural Exchange with Other Races]. You have rich racial sensitivity.
· You have acquired the achievement [Night’s Leader]. The Night Elves are friendly towards you.
· Great achievement! You have acquired [Guardian of the World Tree].
· With this precious experience, your experience points have greatly increased.
· [Transmutation] has ranked up to B.
· [Alchemy] has ranked up to B.
· You can acquire one skill.
―――――――――――
Perhaps due to diligently using alchemy all this time, the ranking of alchemy increased thanks to the World Tree incident.
‘Perhaps enchanting would be a good next skill.’
I felt that I could use it effectively at the upcoming Martial Arts Conference.
“As promised, we will lend you our guards. I’ll dispatch three of them.”
It was the moment I had been waiting for. The Grand Elder introduced us to the elven archers.
Around twenty archers were waiting. One person I wanted to recruit, Valen, was among them.
His posture seemed a bit rough as he chewed on some hardened tree sap instead of gum.
If I openly pointed him out, he might be on guard, so it’s best to take him along naturally.
“I believe you’ve been informed by the Grand Elder, but we’ve come from the Empire. We need to travel quite a distance to the north here, so we request your assistance for our return.”
“Huh? What about those knife-wielders dangling down from you?”
As expected, Valen jumped in aggressively.
“Haha, as you’ve seen, we have no archers with us. We came this way, and after dealing with you in battle, we realized how critical it is to have protection on the way back.”
This should be a solid enough reason.
“We healed the World Tree, and if we are to be entrusted with your protection, it would be our honor. We hope you will consider it.”
The male archer we met at the forest entrance, Pamhelm, spoke up. I smiled at him.
“Excuse my rudeness, but I’d like someone with great skill. The archer who hit the target on our carriage, which one of you is it?”
“…That would be me.”
Valen stepped forward timidly.
“Oh, it was you, archer! If it’s not too much trouble, I would really like to ask for your protection.”
His previously assertive demeanor vanished, and now Valen shrank back in fear.
“Hey, are you asking me to come out of the forest? I know what you’re thinking. You’re trying to corrupt me like those turncoats!”
It seems he had a strong aversion to outside civilization. I planned to seduce him into participating in the Martial Arts Conference later, but perhaps that first button wasn’t fitting.
“Corrupt? I swear, that’s not my intention. The Empire is a land as orderly and dignified as this place. You’ll surely find it to your liking.”
“I can’t believe it. I’ve heard rumors of how badly those high elves engage in debauchery. And you, you two, huh?”
Valen waved his arms wildly as he struggled to point a finger at Asela and me.
“I’ve seen it all! You two were sneaking around and whispering sweet nothings to the World Tree…! I know what you’re trying to do to corrupt me too!”
Did he see us talking?
Goodness, what were we whispering about? We were merely joking around a bit.
He surely looked the most rugged of the archers here, yet his way of speaking was absolutely that of a virgin.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I was only admiring the archer’s skill; there was no other intention…”
“Exactly, worry not, elf.”
Suddenly, a bright voice rang out from behind, and Asela confidently stepped forward.
Suddenly, she pulled me by the waist like a tango dancer, throwing off my balance.
Her captivating movements caught everyone’s attention. It was such an unexpected assault that I lost myself in her balance.
She glanced at Valen, saying, “In this man’s case, your suspicions are unfounded. He is already deeply enchanted by me and doesn’t have the bandwidth for other impure thoughts.”
“Uh…”
Valen seemed spellbound by Asela’s audacity, lost for words as he turned away and kept glancing back.
After regaining my balance, I gave Asela a respectful nod.
“The Empire is quite enjoyable.”
Asela’s words seemed impressive enough that intrigue flickered in the faces of the other archers.
Could this be a truly good opportunity? I could tell from Valen’s embarrassed look that this was going to be an easy sell.
As expected of Asela. Not only is she playing with humans, but elves too.
“We shall set off.”
With Tanya’s signal, we embarked on our return journey to the Empire.
Three elven archers who hadn’t been there before now accompanied us.
There was no need to explain that Valen was among them.
And,
“Lars, looks like you’ve picked up one too.”
At Asela’s gesture, I smiled back lightly.
Inside my white robe pocket, a branch of the World Tree sat neatly tucked away.
―Thank you.
Was it an echo? I felt like I heard a youthful voice from afar.
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