Vol 5: Chapter 68
I returned to His Majesty Sylvis. Yuri-san and His Majesty were sitting as before.
「That was quick.」
His Majesty was using a lap blanket that previously wasn’t present. It seems that the maids have been taking care of him in this short period.
I felt sorry for taking so much of His Majesty’s time, but it was necessary.
As the talks from here onwards would be about me and His Majesty, Asha and Matvey-san remained back at the room.
「Your Majesty, please tell me about the Chant.」I said.
「I thought that this would be the case since you had discovered Asha’s innate constitution.」
「So there is some sort of secret?」I asked.
His Majesty shook his head sideways in response.
「Yuri. Guide Reiji to the World Tree.」
「Is that a good idea? This is a closely guarded secret that only our family knows…」
「It is fine.」
「…………」
Yuri-san stood up with a stern look.
「I shall follow Your Majesty’s order.」she said.
「Excuse me. I would have gone with you, but my legs are already giving out.」
As Yuri-san started walking behind me, I bowed my head to His Majesty.
「Reiji.」
His Majesty called out in a gentle voice—the most gentle voice I heard today.
「It was fate that you met Asha. That thread of fate led you to the High Elves.」
I didn’t understand what meaning was hidden behind those words.
「…I don’t think this will diminish my sins and blame…」His Majesty said.
「Your Majesty?」I asked.
「What are you still doing there, Reiji?」Yuri-san called out to me.
「Ah… I shall be going now, Your Majesty.」
I turned around on my heels, and started chasing Yuri-san who was far ahead of me.
**
Yuri-san’s movement method was simple. It was all about jumping from tree to tree and accelerating with【Wind Magic】.
Until now, I would follow up with【Fire Magic】, but I would more than likely get scolded for using fire in the forest, so I tried to make up for it with【Wind Magic】,【Jumping Technique】, and other strength-enhancing skills.
(Something feels strange.)
Even while using【Wind Magic】, I did not sense mana decreasing from my body. It felt like a hot spring that kept springing up.
「Hmm, you sure use a lot of magic for a human.」
We went past the area where the elves live and entered into the dense forest. Yuri-san looked back and said to me as she weaved through the trees.
「Umm, Yuri-san… Do you have a【Mana Quantity Increase】skill?」
「Why would I tell you that?」
My question was answered with a question.
「No, I just had a feeling…」I said.
「Just follow me without the pointless chatter.」
…….You were the one who talked to me first.
Well, anyway… Judging by her current reaction, it would not be weird if she had such a skill. In addition, I presume it is an insanely rare skill with 3 or more stars.
It is not possible that I absorbed mana from the atmosphere in the forest—even【World Ruler】denied it, so it is highly likely that I acquired a new skill.
Among the high elves who possess a great amount of mana, I only saw two of them, Yuri-san and Matvey-san, use magic. In that case, I learned something from one of them and assumed that it was【Mana Quantity Increase】.
However, since I have learned【Mana Quantity Increase ★★】from the Mythril ranked adventurer Crysta-La-Crysta in the past, it means that I have learned a skill that is at least 3 stars or more this time.
Anyway, I was lucky to receive an unexpected piece of good luck in this place.
Although my mana has not grown to equal Yuri-san’s, I think it is closer to Asha’s mana now.
(His Majesty’s words from earlier are quite concerning.)
Yuri-san continued being silent, so I pondered on His Majesty’s words while on the move.
(Sin and blame. I feel like I have heard it somewhere before…)
Thanks to【World Ruler】, I can remember everything, but even so, it falls to me to find the correlation and connect two pieces of information.
My memory felt a bit too huge and the thing I was looking for felt like it was buried.
As I groaned “Hmmm” to myself while thinking about it, Yuri-san said “shut up”.
…I can’t even say “Hmmm” to myself!?
「We have arrived.」
「Ah, okay.」
When the trees became sparse, what appeared in front of me was a “wall” of a giant tree.
I knew full well that it was a “trunk” that is a part of a living tree, but I just could not see it as anything but a massive “wall”. My brain felt like it shrank at that moment.
「Whoaaa……」
The surroundings were extensive and spacious. The ground at my feet was covered with moss.
Looking up at the world tree, moss continued from the root to the top. At the top, the branches were spread out and flocks of birds made their nests there.
【World Ruler】informed me that it was not a single tree but multiple trees fused and growing together.
「The Tree of Life?」
The shape of the leaves was familiar. Like a maple leaf, the leaves were divided into five branches, and at each tip of the five, they were further divided into five. I arbitrarily named it “Double Maple” and learned that it was a leaf from the “Tree of Life” in the Achenbach Dukedom.
The freshness of the leaf was not lost even after it was stored for a long period of time, and it was used to cure Dante-san’s petrification.
「Humans seem to call it that. This leaf is incredibly precious to us, but it cannot be used by the human race.」Yuri-san said.
「I heard that it is a medicinal herb that can only be prepared by the High Elves.」
I know how to use those leaves, but I’m not stupid enough to say that in front of Yuri-san.
「Over here.」
Yuri-san took the lead and approached the World Tree. The ground was soft and fluffy. It was clear that almost no one has visited this place. Birds chirped from the skies, and the sunlight filtered through the canopy formed a mottled pattern on the moss.
You would not notice without looking closely, but there was a gap between the trees that grew closely together with each other. And it seems that you can enter inside through the gap. A fat person might find it difficult to enter the gap, but I was able to slip inside easily. The inside was slightly bright.
There was a hollow space within. Large enough to fit in a hut. Branches grew like ivy from top and bottom and merged in the center to form a single mass of lump.
There was a dark red light in the center.
「This is……」
Thump……………… Thump……………… A slow but strong heartbeat.
「This is the reason why we sing the Chant. It supplies mana to the Life Dragon, Kurtus Vita, who sleeps under the World Tree, and sustains its life.」
