Swish!

A slender finger swept across the table.

A softly exhaled breath brushed past the fingertips, making them flutter.

It was an unremarkable scene from a languid daily life.

The reason one felt a sense of tension was due to the suspicion of a hidden intention.

“Hmm.”

The deliberately feigned solemn voice did not suit the face that still bore traces of youthfulness.

At a glance, one might think it was a child’s cute act of imitating an adult.

Even with a frown, the adorable appearance was enough to evoke a sense of warmth.

But not for Bell.

“Ugh.”

Bell’s suspicion grew at the actions of standing on tiptoes to inspect the corner of a bookshelf and deliberately dragging one’s feet while walking.

“Ah.”

When she poked her ring finger, which barely fit, into the window frame and pulled it out, he could finally be certain.

She’s checking the state of the cleaning.

He couldn’t possibly mistake it when she even held out her ring finger to him as if to say, ‘Look.’

“……”

Under the silent pressure, Bell scrubbed hard with a rag without a word of complaint.

Only then did Sage nod and move on, her hands still clasped behind her back.

“Phew.”

Bell let out a quiet sigh behind her back, unheard.

How did it come to this?

He reflected on the not-so-distant memory.

‘It was definitely going well.’

Getting caught bad-mouthing the Mage Tower’s school master was a disaster.

Fortunately, he didn’t get angry and just gave him a look before leaving.

Allen had even promised to stop any potential retaliation.

It was only natural that his whole body went limp with the certainty that he was saved.

It was good until he staggered back to his room, thinking, ‘I’ve been through a lot, now let’s rest.’

‘It was too early to let my guard down.’

Bell reflected as he swept the sand from under the sofa.

She was a cute-looking child.

The picture was so perfect that she even seemed to suit Allen, who could turn anyone standing next to him into a crumpled ball of trash.

With a little exaggeration, one could believe they were father and daughter.

Don’t they say that ugliness is diverse, but handsome and pretty are similar?

If one were to look for commonalities in their appearance, they could probably find quite a few.

Compared to the school master, who was more suited to be a gang boss, she had a gentle impression.

Considering how she had been quietly following him around, her personality was probably gentle too.

That belief was soon betrayed.

“Here.”

“Wait! Just wait a minute!”

The biggest trial left for Bell was her.

She wasn’t a factory manager inspecting a factory, but who would have thought she would inspect a simple house cleaning so meticulously?

It was hard to be defiant and tell her to take it easy.

Bell, who hadn’t heard a proper introduction, didn’t know if she was Allen’s relative or someone related to the Mage Tower.

Or… she could be both.

Whatever it was, her status was such that being defiant would lead to terrible consequences.

‘Just this once.’

She was someone who would be gone by tomorrow.

He could play along for a day.

The thought that if he just endured this once, there would be no more trials like this in the future even made him feel motivated.

“Hmm.”

Rather than being on edge and dealing with every little thing she found fault with, it would be better to just clean again.

When Bell, having thought so, finished a major cleaning, Sage let out a satisfied exclamation.

Is it over now?

It was when Bell, thinking he had passed the final hurdle, let out a sigh of relief.

“Keep it like this for when I come next time.”

“What…?”

Bell asked back without realizing it.

Sage’s eyes sharpened, as if her mood had soured.

Bell, who had been responding perfectly until now, had no mental leeway to care about that now.

“Hey, are you coming here again?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I don’t know.”

It was a frustrating thing to hear.

“Next time, I’m not just staying for a day like today, I’m going to live here.”

The words that followed were worth savoring, one by one.

“You mean you’re planning a long-term stay…? Are you going on a trip or something?”

“No, I said I’m going to live here.”

“……”

Your life is ruined.

In short, that’s what it amounted to.

“You’ll have to work hard.”

When he discovered Beta, who was cheering him on nonchalantly as if it were someone else’s business.

He resented himself for hesitating and missing the golden opportunity to escape.

***

The World Tree.

When one reopens one’s eyes, which have been clouded by the tales and legends surrounding it, one’s gaze falls on its essence.

To its biological classification as a living thing, a tree.

“There’s no rule that a reproducing organism must have only one seed.”

The assumption that the one rooted in my body was the only seed of the World Tree was wrong.

This unidentified seed brought from the druid’s ruin was the proof.

“Then are there other druids who harbor the seed of the World Tree besides me… no, there probably aren’t.”

If there were, rumors would have spread long ago.

Although I was just working as a contractor, this ability was outstanding enough to be useful even in a corporation.

“Even when I first changed my class to a druid, it said I was the last druid.”

In the current era, I am the only druid.

“Does that mean there were others besides me in the past?”

And it seems they were in a position of considerable respect.

Ruins are traces left by past civilizations.

The fact that a coffin was placed in the center meant that the person had played a major role in life.

Perhaps they were a leader of that city.

It was a surprising thing.

For an object, rarity increases its value, but for a person, it often becomes a reason for exclusion.

Even if the seed of the World Tree was not unique, it probably wasn’t common.

Then the mummy in the center must have been the owner of a great ability… there was some room for speculation.

“Is the hint the mural in the ruins, the painting that was also in the Tower Master’s history book?”

Judging from the current circumstances, it became certain that the tree depicted the World Tree.

Should I take the depiction of it surrounding the city like a wall as it is?

Usually, a wall has two roles.

To confine, and to block.

Since it has a dual nature, it is open to interpretation.

It could be a wall to prevent humans from leaving the city, or it could be a wall to block external threats.

It was a role befitting a leader of a city in a barbaric past era.

“Outside the city.”

It was a topic I hadn’t thought of.

It wasn’t talking about the demonic realms located on the borders of each city, like the Great Plains or the land of quicksand.

To be precise, the end of this world.

Since the Earth was round, there was no place that could be called the end of the world.

The world in the game was a different case.

Beyond each city, through the extreme environmental zones, at the end… a blank land not even marked on the map.

Even adventurers who crossed the borders did not dare to set foot there.

The path there was a series of hardships, so it was a place one could not step on alive.

If there was a place that the wall of the World Tree had to block, it would be that place.

‘It’s just a guess, though.’

Even for me, who had achieved 100% exploration, that place was an unknown land.

This was because access was systematically blocked.

How would that place, which was forbidden in the game, have become in this world that had become reality?

Unless I went there myself, there was no way for me to know.

“The Tower Master’s duty is also a mystery.”

That was top-secret information that even I, who had secured a certain position in the Mage Tower, did not know.

There was such a circumstance hidden behind the Tower Master’s occasional absences.

“The transcendence that Cliff Burton mentioned is also significant.”

Since it was a complete mystery what it meant, the weight of the discovered artifact was too heavy to dismiss it as nonsense.

What if he had used that expression after obtaining information about the seed of the World Tree?

His previous actions of forcibly proceeding with the ruin exploration should not be dismissed as recklessness.

“The tasks have piled up like a mountain.”

Each one had a different weight, too heavy to be dismissed lightly.

“I’ll have to investigate.”

It won’t be easy.

Either way, it wasn’t the kind of information that could be obtained just by paying an information broker.

“If I climb higher, clues will emerge.”

Fortunately, my progress was smooth.

I had connected with the legitimate heir of Sylvester and helped him gain an advantage in the succession competition, and my fame as a contractor had also grown.

I had gained the favor of not only the Mage Tower’s school master but also the elven city councilor, so I had a connection to meet the true upper class.

If an opportunity arose, wouldn’t a connection be made at any time?

‘To do that, I’ll have to become stronger.’

It was different from what I had expected, but the item I found in the ruins was extraordinary.

Its name was an unidentified seed, but I knew its identity.

The seed of the World Tree.

「Unidentified Seed

─A seed of an unknown plant.

─Traces of having once quickened remain.

─Having lost its vitality, it seems impossible for the seed to germinate again.」

The expression ‘lost its vitality’ was a bit bothersome.

Still, the actions I had to take would not change much.

In the first place, I had never planted and grown the seed of the World Tree in the normal way.

“Fortunately, this one is a bit smaller, probably because it’s dried up.”

It was a huge relief, as it seemed it would crumble if I tried to peel off the outer shell like before.

I did not want the seed of the World Tree, which I had found after much hardship, to be broken.

And just as much as that, I did not want my throat to be blocked.

Thump!

The heavy presence on my tongue felt a bit scary.

Still, I couldn’t not do it, so I had to think of it as swallowing several pills at once.

Gulp!

I swallowed the seed of the World Tree.

“Gak!”

Immediately, a fire ran through my body.

Was it thanks to absorbing the essence of the unwithering spring?

It was more bearable than before.

Before I lost consciousness, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

Something would have changed after I woke up from fainting.

The anticipation was a sufficient reward to endure this terrible pain.

***

[You finally picked up. It’s harder to get a call through to you than to those heavy-bottomed council members.]

“It’s thanks to a lottery ticket I bought in my old age hitting the jackpot. They say if you live a giving life, you’ll be blessed in your later years. It seems I haven’t lived a stingy life.”

[You’ve been doing well lately. To think that Cromwell, who used to be a bum and get scraps from me, is talking back.]

“……”

[Why are you clamming up again? In this business, old relationships are so important. It was a joke.]

“If it’s a joke, say it in a joking tone. As expected of a former soldier, you don’t even know how to joke.”

Cromwell stopped manipulating the network with his device and focused on the call.

She was worth it.

Even among brokers, there were levels.

Until Allen’s discovery, Cromwell’s performance hadn’t even reached the tip of her toes.

“So, what did you call for, Reina?”

The broker, Reina.

A peculiar figure who became a broker with the unusual past of being a former soldier.

She was also a heroine who had secured a deep connection within the closed military through her connections from her military days.

[I like you because you’re straightforward and don’t beat around the bush. You’re one of the few youngsters who makes sense.]

The sound of inhaling, as if smoking a cigarette, was heard several times.

Reina got to the point with a languid breath.

[It’s time to pay the price for all the help I’ve given you. Let’s use that treasure you’re hoarding.]

As expected of her background, there were no tricks like wrapping it up or beating around the bush.

Her demand was also direct and unambiguous.

Cromwell frowned.

Naturally, his tone in response was not pleasant.

“Did you change your profession to a gangster while I wasn’t looking? No matter how much help I’ve received, I can’t just hand over the treasure I’ve secured.”

[I don’t have the heart of a thief to that extent. Just this once is enough.]

“What’s going on?”

If he could settle the past favors with a single contractor introduction, it was a profitable business.

The timing was good, as the modification and update of Allen’s network profile was almost finished.

When Cromwell let down his guard and asked again, a voice full of annoyance came back from over the receiver.

[A troublesome job came in.]

“A troublesome job… is it related to the war between cities?”

Waging war is the military’s job.

Although the negotiations with Pulsar had been dramatically patched up, that was only on the surface.

Underneath, a tense atmosphere was maintained, and tension remained.

But the military couldn’t just make a move and break the negotiations.

The representative manpower to put forward in such cases were mercenaries and contractors.

[That’s not it. Surprisingly, it seems they’re in a mood to resolve the dispute peacefully this time.]

“Then?”

[It’s an internal city matter.]

“The Public Security Bureau.”

Cromwell was able to quickly grasp the core.

In the city, public security was a major issue.

It wasn’t talking about petty crimes, violent incidents, or gang wars.

The public security that the city looked after was a challenge to power.

Terrorism, coups, conspiracies against the upper class, and so on.

In that sense, the Public Security Bureau was classified as one of the connections belonging to the military.

“Come to think of it, I heard there have been frequent terrorist attacks in District 5 recently. Is it related to that?”

[You know well. The Public Security Bureau has requested support. The cards we have on this side are currently deployed on another request, so we’re short on people. Lend me a hand.]

“I will.”

[……? So readily?]

“An opportunity to repay a debt has come, so I must repay it.”

[For a while, you were coddling him like an old man with a late-born child.]

“Now that I’ve raised his value to the desired level, shouldn’t he start paying his dues?”

It was a request from the military’s Public Security Bureau, a part of the city’s power.

It was perfect as a signal announcing his return.

(End of Chapter)