After exchanging brief greetings with Magrina, Alon asked her to postpone their long-awaited reunion and let him visit the roots of the World Tree first.

Magrina puffed out her cheeks in protest, but soon nodded.

Thanks to her consideration, Alon was able to descend underground.

There was nothing left beneath the roots. So no guards were necessary.

Alon, accompanied only by Evan, looked once more at the lush greenery forming beneath the roots.

"Marquis."

"What is it?"

"This feels... a bit odd."

"…All of a sudden?"

Evan shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I did hear last time that you visited the past or something.”

Alon had already told Evan what he experienced inside the strange portal that sucked him and the maw in, when he traveled to Ashtalon.

"You heard it, but?"

"It just feels a little like that. Like I’m left out or something… What exactly happened in there?"

"I thought I already explained that?"

"You didn’t say anything about the Elf Queen’s eyes dripping with honey."

"…Huh?"

"You looked all nostalgic, even though you didn’t seem all that different… and that Elf Queen—she was just overflowing with affection from her eyes.”

Muttering to himself about how it was totally different from last time, Evan trailed off.

Alon retraced his memories and asked.

"…Didn’t I explain it properly before?"

"You said you went to the past, stopped someone named Baarma, and that Rine sacrificed herself because of some mishap. That was about it."

"I suppose that was a bit lacking."

"Since it’ll take a while to reach the bottom, why don’t you tell me more now? We don’t have anything else to talk about anyway."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Alon began to speak.

By the time they fully reached the depths of the roots,  the long tale had finally reached its conclusion.

"So, to summarize, you helped people while dealing with Baarma, and one of those people you helped was the Elf Queen?"

"That's right."

Evan nodded as if he got the gist, but he still looked disappointed.

"I should’ve gone with you."

"…Suddenly?"

"If I’d stood there looking cool too, maybe they would’ve thought I was some kind of god or something."

[Pfft]

"Why are you laughing?"

[Well—]

Suddenly popping out from the ring, Basiliora stared blankly at Evan.

[Never mind. I suppose that’s one way to think.]

With an open sneer, "This damn snake—do I need to beat the crap out of you to set your head straight?"

[Hmph, as if you could even lay a hand on me.]

Soon enough, their usual bickering resumed.

At some point, Blackie was perched with its feet hooked on the pocket over Alon’s chest, watching the two with a look of pity.

A familiar sight.

Only now did Alon feel like he’d returned to reality.

Feeling the warmth blooming quietly in his heart, Alon continued walking in silence until he reached the end of the roots.

"Is this the place?"

"It is."

Alon looked around.

There was nothing particularly special in sight.

Right after Alon had dealt with the Mother of Greed who once dwelled here, he had used his divine power to fill the underground with greenery.

So now, only fresh sprouts remained where he stood.

Yet Alon didn’t stop and continued walking along the root’s end.

And then—

Rumble~!

The green foliage parted to reveal a spiral staircase.

The same stairs that led to the place where he had once received a seed from the tree beneath the World Tree, after looking into a mirror.

Without hesitation, he descended the stairs.

And finally, upon reaching what could truly be called the "end of the roots,” Alon was greeted by a vibrant inner garden.

A lush garden and, at its center, a massive old tree— and behind that tree, he found a tunnel leading further underground that he hadn’t noticed last time.

####

There was something that had been weighing on Alon ever since he came to Greynifra.

It was what Magrina had told him when they first met.

‘If I had to guess the number of years…It was probably around 600 to 700 years ago.’

‘600 to 700 years?’

‘Yes, that’s when I heard the story.’

That was in response to Alon’s question, when he first discovered the Mother of Greed—or rather, the Ash Seeder—underground.

At the time, Magrina hadn’t heard of the Sin of Greed appearing, but said the Ash Spreaders had started showing up around that time.

‘…That’s when the worst-case assumption started.’

It was this that made Alon uneasy.

He knew the Mother of Greed only manifested once the Sin of Greed had awakened.

‘If that estimate is correct, Then the sealed Rine… Could essentially be the Sin of Greed now.’

And if it wasn’t Rine sealed away, but the Sin of Greed itself—

"Sigh."

Alon stopped himself there and let out a deep breath.

It wasn’t a possibility he wanted to consider.

So instead, choosing to withhold judgment for now, Alon entered the underground tunnel.

"It’s strange. It should be dark in here, but everything is clearly visible."

[…This place is definitely… peculiar.]

Hearing both Evan and Basiliora, who were ready to kill each other just moments ago, now in unison expressing their wonder, Alon walked further inside.

And finally, when they were completely underground—

"There."

He saw it.

A massive sealing circle.

It was the same one Rine had used in her final moments to save Alon.

The magic circle was drawn across what looked like a doorway, split into two sides.

"…Hah."

Without realizing it, Alon’s entire body tensed.

The front sealing circle had clearly aged over the years.

Calmly stepping forward, Alon began to prepare his magic.

Breaking the seal wasn’t particularly difficult.

If he simply scratched the seal with a bit of magic,

it would shatter.

Knowing this, he prepared to use his magic without hesitation— Until suddenly.

"...?"

"…?"

Alon saw it.

The writing beneath the seal.

As if someone expected Alon to see it, the writing was exactly at his eye level.

He stopped casting and stepped closer.

And then—

Alon read it.

[Please. If you, Godfather, are reading this message, then exactly ten months from now… please wake me up.]

The message left by Rine.

####

"Did your visit go well?"

"Yes."

Magrina greeted Alon warmly.

In the end, he had left the underground of the World Tree without releasing Rine from her seal.

The reason was the message that seemed to be left by Rine.

‘…Ten months from now.’

He couldn’t fully understand why Rine would leave such a message, but the moment he read it, he realized there was a possibility that Rine might be conscious even now, and he had wanted to wake her immediately.

But would it be right to ignore her wishes, just to ease his own heart?

In the end, Alon had no choice but to suppress that impulse.

“I’m really happy to see you again, brother, but it doesn’t seem like you’re quite as happy as I am.”

While he was lost in thought, Magrina’s voice reached him.

Alon snapped back to his senses.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a moment."

"What were you thinking about?"

"It’s just a hunch, but… did you already know what was happening at the roots?"

"No, I honestly don’t know much about that part."

Hearing her answer, Alon briefly explained what had happened underground.

Upon hearing everything, Magrina’s eyes trembled.

"…So that means Lady Rine is currently in the underground of the World Tree?"

"Yes. But she doesn’t seem to want to be released just yet."

When Alon spoke, recalling the message he had seen earlier,

Magrina also seemed to be thinking about something and made a puzzled face.

"…That’s strange to me as well."

"Right?"

"Yes. But—if that’s what Lady Rine wanted, waiting ten months to release the seal won’t be too hard."

Alon nodded in agreement.

‘Of course, there are still many unanswered questions…’

Honestly, Alon’s mind was still in chaos.

‘If the sealed Rine is okay, then how is the Mother of Greed down there?’

But his doubts were short-lived.

Remembering it was rude to think only of Rine while Magrina was right in front of him, he cleared his throat.

"Have you been well?"

"Yes, brother. But… isn’t it a little too late to ask that now?"

"Sorry."

Magrina pouted slightly.

When Alon quickly apologized, she smiled brightly.

"No, you don’t need to think that way. I know you had a lot on your mind."

"Thank you for understanding. By the way, I’ve been curious—can I ask something?"

"What is it?"

"Did you know from the start?"

"Know what…?"

"That I had traveled to the past and returned."

Magrina shook her head.

"Of course not. I didn’t even know you were still alive."

"…Really?"

"Yes. So when I first heard your name, I wasn’t sure whether to believe it. I only believed it after I saw you with my own eyes."

"I see."

She sighed deeply, as if recalling how upsetting that time was.

"Do you know how disappointed I was? I was so happy to see you, but you kept saying you weren’t the Primordial Elf, that you didn’t know anything— I thought, ‘This isn’t the brother I know. What kind of act is this?’"

Magrina shook her head as if just thinking about it made her dizzy.

"Ah—"

Alon let out a soft sigh.

Thinking about it now, it was only natural that Magrina felt hurt.

"But you don’t have to worry too much. I figured it out halfway through."

"…You figured it out?"

"Yes, when you showed me the World Tree’s seed."

"Ah…"

"That’s when I realized it. That the brother standing in front of me wasn’t the same one I remembered."

It was only then that Alon truly grasped the flow of the situation.

The two continued talking about this and that afterward.

Then Magrina smiled playfully and said—

"By the way, brother, aren’t you going to praise me?"

"…Praise you?"

"You told me to lead the elves well, remember? So I worked really hard!"

She puffed out her chest proudly.

Alon, suddenly recalling what he’d said to her right before he disappeared, replied, "That’s right. Thank you for doing such a great job."

Praising her, he also felt proud of her from the bottom of his heart.

Flushed with happiness, Magrina stood up.

"Now that we’ve shared our reunion, it’s time to move on to what’s next."

"…What’s next?"

"Now that you’ve returned, you need to take your rightful place."

"My rightful place…?"

Seeing Alon’s puzzled expression, she nodded matter-of-factly.

"Yes, we’re going to officially declare you the god of the elves. Everywhere!"

She spread her arms wide as she made her declaration.

"???"

Naturally, Alon’s head was once again filled with question marks.