"Wow... the trees are incredibly big."
The World Tree, Yggdrasil.
Unlike the artificially built Silence Tower, the enormity of the World Tree, containing years of history, had a sacredness that no other tower could imitate.
The elves revered the World Tree, building their homes and living under it.
As they reached the entrance of the village, a green-haired woman greeted them with a solemn face, her entourage behind her.
Although it was their first meeting, Phoebe instinctively knew she was one of the elders of this place.
The green-haired woman wrapped her right fist with her left palm and extended it as a greeting.
"I am Yustina, daughter of Yggdrasil and the fifth elder."
Phoebe greeted her in the same way, following their customs.
"I am Phoebe Asteria Roton, the representative of the Silence Tower. It is a great honor to meet the great sister of Yggdrasil."
"There's no need to be so formal. Open your eyes and speak."
"Excuse me? Oh! I must have been rude."
To become friends with Rosaria, she had always kept her eyes half-closed.
Phoebe opened her eyes wide, revealing her golden irises.
"Before we begin, I apologize for not responding to the Silence Tower Master's letter. Lately, Yggdrasil's condition has not been good, and all the elders have been unable to focus on anything else as they tend to it."
"Oh no... Why all of a sudden...?"
"Recently, unclean mana has seeped into the ground, contaminating a part of the World Tree."
"If it's been contaminated by unclean mana... magical assistance must be needed."
Yustina nodded.
"If we could only locate the mana vein, we could undoubtedly find the contaminated area, but capturing the mana vein is not easy."
Unlike the towers that emit mana in a single thick pillar, the World Tree had a structure where dozens of thin pillars were tangled and intertwined as they rose.
To identify the source of the contamination, one had to properly examine each entwined mana pillar, a process that was more difficult than finding a pearl in a desert.
"I will help you if I can."
At Phoebe's words, Yustina shook her head.
"No. Your skills are undoubtedly outstanding, but this is something we could not accomplish even with the abilities of the elf elders."
"I see."
As an elf elder, Yustina was able to roughly assess Phoebe's abilities.
She had already estimated Phoebe's <Mana Sensitivity> level and judged that it was not superior to the current elders.
Phoebe relaxed her shoulders, looking disappointed.
"Anyway, the timing is not good. How about visiting again next time?"
"Um...."
Returning would be tantamount to mission failure, so Phoebe looked troubled by Yustina's suggestion.
At that moment, Phoebe felt a small hand tugging at her clothes.
Rosaria was looking up at the elf elder, Yustina, with her mouth slightly open.
"Pointy ears."
The long, slender ears that could not be hidden by the flowing green hair.
It was a characteristic that could be considered the identity of the elves.
Rosaria pointed at those ears with her finger and asked.
"Big ears. Is that an elf, Phoebe?"
"Miss, you shouldn't point at people like that."
"Is an elf a person?"
"…They're not human, but you shouldn't point at elves either. It's rude to point at an older person with your finger. Do you understand?"
"Yep."
Rosaria obediently lowered her finger.
Phoebe stood up after giving a warning and offered an apology to Yustina.
"I'm sorry. My young lady is still a child, so I hope you can be understanding."
"It doesn't matter... but who is this little one?"
"She is our tower master's daughter. We came together to broaden her horizons."
"Hmm, I see..."
Despite her indifferent response, Yustina couldn't take her eyes off Rosaria.
'Strange.'
An extraordinary aura was felt throughout Rosaria's body, which was different from her innocent face.
When she looked at Phoebe, she could definitely gauge how much mana she could handle, but no matter how much she looked at this girl, she couldn't tell.
'If my eyes are not mistaken... this child is an outstanding talent surpassing the current elf elders...'
That meant she was an incredible talent that even Yustina, who had lived for hundreds of years, had never seen before.
She suddenly became curious.
"This girl might be able to help us."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"If this girl helps us with our task, we will perform the song you desire."
At Yustina's suggestion, Phoebe spoke to the elder with an expression of difficulty.
"But our young lady came here only for a field trip..."
"If it's a field trip, wouldn't seeing our elders also be a part of it?"
"Well, that's true, but... it's a bit difficult for our young lady to be involved in this matter."
"Dealing with the World Tree's mana is not overdoing it. If it seems too much, I'll stop it. I say this in the name of Yggdrasil."
To invoke the name of Yggdrasil was to stake the honor of their tribe.
It was astonishing that the elves, who valued their bond, would say such a thing.
However, Phoebe couldn't easily say yes or no and hesitated.
During this moment of hesitation, Rosaria approached Yustina and asked.
"Elf unni, can Rosaria be helpful?"
"Yes, you can."
"Then I'll try!"
Rosaria was happy to hear that she could be helpful.
After saying that, she belatedly sought Phoebe's approval.
"Can I do it?"
"If you want to try, it's fine."
Phoebe stroked Rosaria's head and nodded.
If Rosaria wanted to do it, there was no reason for Phoebe to stop her, as it was also part of broadening her horizons.
"But what am I supposed to do?"
"Well, that is... Young lady, you know about pillar raising, right?"
"Pillar raising? The tower's pillar light! Are you talking about the one Rosaria folded into a ball?"
"Yes, the one you turned into a ball. You can do something similar to that."
Phoebe spoke lightly, and Yustina corrected her with a cough.
"Yggdrasil is more complex and delicate than the towers built by you humans. Treating what we do as simply pillar raising is no different from underestimating it."
"Ah, I'm sorry..."
Yustina's gaze sharpened, and Phoebe apologized, sweating coldly.
Yustina let her rudeness slide for now.
'Even if she's more talented than the current elders, it's impossible to grasp Yggdrasil's mana at once.'
Yustina made such a suggestion to Rosaria because she wanted to see just how great her potential was.
She thought that this alone would satisfy her curiosity, so she asked her.
That was it.
***
Meanwhile, at the Tower Lord conference.
The Tower Lords, who had been urgently convened by the alert issued by the Greenwood Tower Lord, listened to her words and asked with astonished faces.
"I heard that the World Tree barely grows 10 centimeters in a year, but you're saying it grew 2 meters in just a few minutes?"
