“Woah.”
Sarah stood in front of a large tree and couldn’t keep her mouth shut.
She was currently standing in front of the room she was given, but she had a different expression from the first time she saw Hiyan.
The tree right in front of her was her room. There was a cute door with two windows that looked like eyes and tree branches growing on either side that looked like arms.
“Cute.”
It was kind of a treehouse, and it was something she had read about in fairy tales as a child.
[Come on in.]
It was when Sarah was looking around the treehouse in awe when she heard a loud voice from somewhere. Sarah quickly looked around with a shocked expression.
And in case it might be an enemy, she even touched the stick so she could change it into a sword at any time. [Not an enemy.]
She continued to hear the voice right next to her, and when she looked around with doubtful eyes, the big treehouse looked like it was shaking.
“… Uh?”
[Nice to meet you. I am called Udian, a Tree Spirit.]
“S-Spirit?”
[Right. So come on in. The inside has been warmed up so it should be enough to relieve the strain on your body from traveling.]
Sarah felt a little warm. The voice was like that of a grandfather caring for a granddaughter.
It was the effect of ‘acceptance’ a characteristic of the Tree Spirits, but Sarah didn’t know that.
But she heard that normal people couldn’t talk to spirits.
“How are you able to talk to me?”
[Huhu. It is because of the protection of the World Tree. In this place, even those who have a low affinity for nature can directly see the spirits and, if possible, have a conversation with us. Just like you right now.]
Sarah felt it was strange since she had never heard of such a thing before.
In addition, she felt like she was in a fairy tale world that she had dreamed of when she was younger, so she felt like an innocent child.
Sarah’s heart raced, and she took light steps to open the door.
“Then, thank you!”
[Have a comfortable rest.]
Udian gave her warmth and went back to sleep.
The rooms were assigned to one person per room, so everyone had a good rest.
But still, just in case, the Ran warriors stood guard in pairs outside the Valle sisters’ rooms.
Sarah also expressed her interest in guarding them, but Hasyath declined, saying it would be more helpful if she meditated for the time being.
Until just a moment ago, he was in charge of escorting the Valle sisters, but now they told her that there was no need for it. Still, it was fine for them to go out since Sarah was currently with the Valle sisters.
“It is really amazing here! Doesn’t it sound like a world you see in fairy tales?”
Sarah asked excitedly.
Starting with the Tree Spirit Udian, the Grass Spirits, the Flower Spirits, and everyone else greeted her.
The flowers, grass, and trees waved their hands. It seemed that her emotions, which had been nonexistent for the past three years, were revived.
“Phew. Calm down.”
Ash summoned a Wind Spirit to calm Sarah down and created a pleasant breeze.
Sarah seemed to calm down a little after getting some fresh air. Still, her excitement didn’t die down.
“A land where the spirits live and breathe. I think it is really amazing.”
“I know, right? I am quite surprised too. I have never seen a place where the spirits materialized like this.”
Rebecca replied in a calm tone.
The fact that not only could the spirits materialize, but they were also able to communicate with normal people, was shocking.
The land where the Valle family was located was also quite rich in natural power, but compared to this place, it was barren.
“If this is the case, maybe I can make a contract with a high-level spirit.”
Ash, who was already a high-ranking Elementalist, had a blush on both cheeks as she thought about going one step further.
She told Sarah to calm down, but she couldn’t even calm herself.
Rebecca laughed and told her sister,
“It is possible. The closer you get to the World Tree, the more you can feel your affinity with nature increasing. Ash, you have great qualities, so you can surely do it.”
“Huh! Certainly!”
Only a very small number of humans were able to make contracts with high-level spirits.
In other words, it meant they had to be at the Master class.
Ash was also a genius Elementalist with one of the most talented skills in the Valle family’s history, so it wasn’t so surprising.
It’s just that her sister was too amazing that she was buried in her shadow. Rather, in terms of making a contract with a Wind Spirit, Ash, could be said to be the blood of the Valle family.
“But….”
Sarah cautiously opened her mouth.
“You said you finished talking to that High Elf. What were you talking about?”
“Ah. I am curious about that.”
“I was going to ask too. I heard that you talked in the spirit’s way.”
“Huh.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Um. It is too complicated for us to talk about it here, so we’ll all get together and talk about it a little later.”
Sarah tilted her head hearing the word ‘complicated.’
“Isn’t it just calling the Spirit King and sprinkling water on the drying World Tree?”
“To do that, she doesn’t even need the power of the Spirit King.”
Ash pointed it out in a tone that said not to take the task lightly. If she used the power of the Spirit King to use water like that, it was like using a cow’s knife to kill a chicken.
“Huh. We didn’t even have to come all this way here just to give it water. If it was that easy, then even the High Elves could do it.”
Even if it wasn’t a spirit, it was enough to make it rain using magic, so there was no reason to call them.
“To put it simply, um… Just as people transfuse blood to another when they lack blood, the tree gets water when it needs it. It is like its blood. But the World Tree is so big that it is impossible for the spirits here to do it themselves. That’s why I am here.”
Rebecca Valle, the contractor of Elquines, the Water Spirit King.
Only she had the potential to bring the World Tree back to life. However, she didn’t look that confident.
“The problem is that I don’t think it will be easy.”
“Why? If it’s in this place, Elquines seems to be able to keep the tree in good condition.”
“Maybe the reason the World Tree is dying is because of some other reason.”
“What?”
“Uh?”
Sarah and Ash asked in shock, but Rebecca didn’t say anything.
“I will tell you a little while later. It will take me a long time to tell you everything.”
The two girls didn’t ask any more questions.
“What is it?”
Hasyath was called by Hiyan, and he entered her house.
“Sit down please.”
At her home, Hiyan dressed in comfortable clothes, but her beauty couldn’t be hidden.
If Hasyath hadn’t been fully awakened with his power, he would have felt possessed too. However, it had been a long time since someone’s appearance shook him, so he asked Hiyan in a firm voice,
“Why did you call?”
“You are a boring guy.”
Usually, Hiyan would relieve her stress by teasing the opponents this way, but nothing worked against Hasyath.
“Sit down for now. What are you going to do standing up?”
“If you don’t have much to say, I will stand and listen.”
“Sit down since it is about the child.”
By ‘child,’ she meant Sarah.
When Hiyan saw Sarah for the first time, she looked shocked.
He thought she was surprised that the sister of the Demon King was here, but seeing how she called him afterward, there seemed to be another reason.
Hasyath sat down.
“You were surprised to see Sarah here. Does it have something to do with what we are going to talk about?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you surprised?”
“That…because she isn’t fated to be here.”
“Fated?”
Hasyath frowned.
It was because he knew the weight of the words that she just said.
“Speak in detail.”
“Where do I start….”
Hiyan asked for some time to think, saying it was a difficult matter to talk about.
Unbeknownst to the world, the High Elves were a family of fortune tellers. It was similar to a prophecy but a little different. They didn’t look at the future, but they tended to grasp the path a person should take.
Fate.
Fate was thought to be something that individuals were born with and could never be changed.
It was also the reason why the High Elves were fated to protect the World Tree.
However, Hasyath didn’t believe that fate was fixed. But it also doesn’t mean that it was something that could be changed anytime.
Even more so, the person who said it was Hiyan, so he was concerned.
She had lived such a long life compared to the other High Elves, and her ability to predict fate wasn’t something the Gods could even do.
Hasyath stared at her.
With her eyes closed, she seemed to be working on how to solve Sarah’s fate, which had become twisted.
Fate was a complicated thing.
It was the path from the time a person was born to the time they died. It didn’t make sense if it wasn’t complicated.
“Phew.”
And Hiyan sighed.
“I have lived for 20,000 years, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a hard time.”
“…monster.”
20,000 years. It would be difficult for even the oldest dragon to live like that.
Hiyan looked at him and said,
“I don’t want to hear that from you.”
“So tell me.”
“Firstly…”
She couldn’t read Sarah’s fate, but she was roughly aware of it.
Hiyan talked about her original fate.
“That child wasn’t fated to wield a sword.”
“What?”
“Apart from talent, she shouldn’t have held the sword. Even if the misfortune happened, she was fated to have a quiet life caring for her sick mother.”
“You saw that?”
“Yes. Sarah was supposed to live a life that had nothing to do with fighting. So why…”
….Did she appear with the Rans, carrying a weapon on her?
“Whether she is the sister of Diablo Volfir or not doesn’t matter at all. In the first place, she shouldn’t have been connected to this path at all, but somewhere, her fate became twisted, and things have gotten this far.”
“You cannot see where it changed?”
“I have tried new ways to see it many times, but Sarah is still getting results that she shouldn’t have.”
“I have no idea what fate is like you. However, I believe that a part of it can be changed due to some chance or unavoidable circumstances.”
“Under this circumstance, it cannot be denied.”
Hiyan agreed with him. Fate was inevitable, and seeing Sarah made her feel as though it were.
She had never thought that something like this would happen in such a long time, and Hasyath said,
“Sarah carved her own fate.”
“Hmm.”
“…is not what I think.”
“Uh?”
Hiyan tilted her head at the unexpected words.
“What do you mean?”
“I was thinking to myself. Maybe Sarah’s fate was changed by someone else.”
“Changed?”
“I always thought it was strange.”
Hiyan thought it was strange that Hasyath suddenly started talking, but for now, she listened carefully.
“Do you know? Who played a huge role in recovering the lost power of the old God?”
“I don’t know. It was your mission.”
“Right. So I will tell you. It was none other than Sarah Welton who pierced her sword into the chest of the new God, and bought enough time for Isis to fully absorb the power of the God.”
“…?!”
“And Shiva gave her a weapon before dying.”
Why give a weapon to the weakest member?
Did he see her potential?
Hasyath didn’t think so.
It was true that she was talented, but she was far from fully blossoming.
And looking at the future, it would be difficult for her to rise to the next step in just one to two years.
Hasyath thought that Sarah wouldn’t play an active role in the oncoming war. So he couldn’t help but come to a conclusion.
“I saw something in Sarah.”
“You saw something?”
“Maybe. Just maybe.”
Hsyah smiled because the thought made no sense.
However, what he saw and heard now couldn’t be rationalized if not for that.
“Maybe there is a higher being looking after Sarah that has the power to change her fate.”
Hiyan’s face turned stiff at that.
