“There! Brave adventurer! How about believing in the World Tree like us?”
“……”
The expression of the devout-looking adventurer began to decay, as if she had seen a cult.
…How irreverent.
That thought crossed my mind for just a moment, but it was, in fact, a good thing.
What I needed right now was a perfect method acting that would obliterate even a hint of doubt.
Pretending to ponder my words, I began to repeat to myself.
I am the pivotal point of the great plan left by the World Tree.
Eve, who has endured alone for a thousand years, will be saved by me, and the Elves will regain their past purity, living united in faith once more.
Indeed. Although I may not be an Elf, I carry forth the World Tree’s essence in its purest form.
Call me Elf Jesus.
Though I am merely hanging on in this still-standing sanctuary, my body is on the verge of exhaustion.
Maybe it’s because my strength is sapping away. I tried to smile as brightly and innocently as possible, but I could only manage a faint smile.
This is fine in its own way. The strange frailty feels like it reflects the situation the Elves are in right now.
The glories of yesteryear have crumbled, leaving only a distorted conviction behind.
And here I am, the destined foreign saint to normalize the twisted Elves of today.
Perfect. Just perfect.
“Brave adventurer! Why the grim expression?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a bit surprised.”
“Pfft. That’s not true. You were clearly disappointed upon hearing the World Tree’s name.”
“Really not! The faith in the World Tree isn’t forbidden, after all. They’re the one who saved us. I never meant to think anything impertinent.”
The woman, with her hair neatly cut to shoulder length, firmly denied it once again.
Not a crack to be found in her sensible demeanor.
Well, if she’s made it up to the fourth floor, she’s bound to have a bit of a rough edge, but I suppose a true adventurer would still follow rules or at least pretend to do so.
Those who don’t have either already died or strayed down another path; they wouldn’t still be able to carry on with adventuring.
Of course, my earlier display of idleness might have forcibly instilled some manners, but I decided to ignore that for now.
Instead, I continued, accompanying my words with a subtly adjusted seductive eye smile.
“Aha! I almost misunderstood.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes… You wish to learn a bit more before believing in the World Tree, right?”
“…Huh?”
While the flustered adventurer flinched, I took a step forward.
No, to be precise, I used another vine I had crafted from the huge thorns behind me as a stepping platform, moving closer.
It was obvious I’d stumble if I walked, so this would definitely seem more majestic.
As the distance closed, the adventurer reflexively took half a step back, nodding her head wildly.
“Um, umm… I understand. Surely, the World Tree has long since departed, and the Elves who received its grace have wandered for a long time. But do you know? The World Tree has a plan.”
“Y-Yeah? Oh, um… Is that so?”
“Aha! I knew you’d be curious!”
“N-No, I was just pretending to go along with it…”
“To understand the grand intentions of the World Tree, first, we must know how it ascended to the God’s seat. Those who know a bit will know already, but the symbol of the World Tree is growth. Confusing as it may seem due to its robust life force, it’s all centered around growth. Life force has also grown, but the extraordinary increase in life force belongs to the domain of the God of Life, who is splintered and now lives among us. Oh, and just to clarify, the God of Life pertains to the entire species, not to individuals. Put simply, this is the one who stretched their domain over all living things. Hence, it’s deeply linked to reproduction. Conversely, the World Tree’s growth is a concept limited to a single entity. The reason Elves have long lifespans yet low reproduction rates stems from this—an academic lunchtime discussion, indeed. Right, right. The Goddess of Love regarded intercourse as one of the pinnacles of love and sanctified it, but reproduction itself isn’t her domain. Remember this well; don’t get confused! Anyway, back to the point—do you know how the World Tree came to sit among the Gods? In truth, the World Tree wasn’t a God from the beginning; it merely survived for an exceedingly long time, growing into a gigantic tree by chance. However, as the Elves devoted their faith to it, its spirituality was born…”
The endless TMI began to spin in the adventurer’s eyes.
No! Just hang in there a bit longer! It’s been so long since we had this setting play; don’t get bored now; I need you to listen!
Internally cheering for the listener’s patience… or should I say the lacking patience of the audience?
Anyway, despite my encouragement, the outcome was dismal.
“Y-Okay… uh…”
Perhaps having given up on understanding, she repeated nodding, her eyes glazed over.
How weak. Can’t handle such a little info dump.
Disappointed, I licked my lips, moving on to the conclusion.
“Did you understand? Anyone can believe in the World Tree, not just Elves!”
“Y-Yeah…”
“Hmm. Good. Then if you could please sign this admission form here… ugh!”
I subtly slipped out a guarantee form, only to have Benny rush in from behind and cover my mouth.
“Jonah! Enough already!”
“Mmmph!”
Benny, blocking my mouth with the strength of a high-ranking adventurer, forced a rather awkward smile at the dumbfounded adventurers.
“Ahaha. So that’s what happened. This guy’s a bit strange, but don’t worry, he’s not the One Who Devours the Twilight.”
“Creepy vibes? Why is a high-ranking adventurer here…?”
“Duh! That boy just said he was Jonah!”
“Oh! The rookie who solved that incident with noble Lydia from the Cradle Association? Already made it to the fourth floor?”
“Was said to have received the powers of the World Tree… but what was that divine power just now?”
“It’s touching… that there’s still someone left who knows and thinks of the World Tree like that!”
“No, Plum. Didn’t you just say you prefer money over the World Tree?”
“Shut it! You irreverent fool!”
“I’m not even an Elf, though…?”
The crowd of adventurers buzzed. In the mix, even an Elf made a rather moved expression, and the commotion grew sizable. Amidst this, Benny, having naturally waved away the precious gems and byproducts that Shadow had collected, cheerfully began to leave.
“Well, if the misunderstanding’s cleared up, we’ll take our leave, so you all can safely explore the Labyrinth. If you crowd too much, sometimes powerful Undead sense your life force and come after you, so I recommend you scatter quickly!”
Adding that tiny bit of advice, Benny rode off on Shadow, disappearing in a flash.
What remained at the spot we stood was an immense but ordinary thorn tree, now severed from the connection of the divine power. And the adventurers were hurriedly scattering, looking back nervously for fear of encountering another creature like the Banshee Queen.
Once some distance had been put between us and no one else could be seen, Benny finally released my mouth. However.
“Ugh…”
Just as the Mini Sanctuary’s duration ended and I felt my body droop back down.
Having just consumed a Mana Potion and with the recovery power of the sanctuary, I wasn’t out of mana immediately, but…
The fatigue from experiencing a depletion of mana remained firmly embedded within me.
So, leaning against Benny, I started to slump when suddenly, Benny began to tug at my cheeks.
“Hey! You can’t just whip out weird papers when the mood’s turned! You’ll really get branded a con artist or a cultist!”
“But you were making such a dumb expression, I thought it would be fine right now.”
“There’s no way that’s okay?!”
I sighed dramatically in response to Benny, who was in shock.
“Alright, alright. From now on, I’ll only do that to people who are alone. As long as I mislead the person involved, there won’t be any problems, right?”
“That’s exactly telling me to stop pulling weird stunts to make people sign strange papers!”
I chuckled lightly at Benny’s ongoing overreaction before speaking again.
“So, how did I do today? With this much, it feels like I could head straight to the center tomorrow.”
“…I’d say that sounds good. That last spell you used—was it because you pushed it a bit using the concern of the people around to prevent them from getting killed by the Banshee Queen? When did you even learn that kind of magic?”
“Exactly! It’s called Radiance of Purification—though it feels more like a gift from the Goddess than something I learned myself. It’s a rather unique magic, as you can see.”
“True. Magic is originally the manifestation of phenomena, concepts, and the imagination of the caster. So, if it’s a magic that tries to embody that divine nature we subconsciously think of, then perhaps any benevolent deity could replicate it. Although as it stands, there’s only one God left in this world, so it remains a hypothesis… the point is, regardless of where you start, the destination is the same, so even if the methods differ slightly…”
“Uhm, umm…”
“Do you now understand what you’ve done, Jonah?”
“Yes. So let’s end the magic class here. My brain feels like it’s melting.”
I thought I shifted the topic, but I was immediately hit back with a mirror treatment.
As I simulated a crying fit for a moment, perhaps due to my limbs being so weak and drooping, the statue I had tucked away began to partially peek out.
Even if it were to get lost, it surely had an auto-return ability like a cursed doll… but still, as I tried to pull it out and put it neatly in my pocket to avoid dropping it.
“Huh?”
The pose of the Goddess statue had looked a bit odd.
Crossing its arms, turning its head sharply, and puffing up its cheeks was the Goddess of Love. But uniquely, it had a flushed face and was twisting its legs together.
“Oh.”
Now that I think about it, I had been fervently praising the World Tree while the sanctuary was active.
This is totally NTR…
I decided to put a stop to my irreverent imagination, all in the name of the Goddess of Love’s honor.
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