"Cough, cough… ah, ah…"
The captive spiritfolk coughed and let out a hoarse groan.
A slender, delicate body. Long, pale green hair tied back behind her, with eyes of the same color. Her radiant white skin was the very image of what humans imagined spiritfolk to look like. Pointed ears poked out from between her hair strands, but her exceptionally refined features would have revealed her non-human heritage even without that telltale trait.
And, though I'd secretly been hoping otherwise, her face was completely different from the person I had passed the Wayfinder to. Different height, different voice. Who on earth was that, then…
Lucia's eyes widened slightly as if she'd noticed something. But before she could speak, Lapis said with admiration: "That powerful magic, circulating ceaselessly within her body. And the color of her eyes—the people of Yggdrasil, who live in harmony with nature and uphold the order of the world."
Huh? You can tell all that just by looking? Pale green hair and eyes—the hallmark of Yggdrasil's people?
I glanced around, but nobody voiced any disagreement. Tinno even let out a soft, awestruck sigh.
"I can feel a force within her body identical to what flows through the Ley Lines. And without the slightest stagnation. Our own power was already on another level compared to humans, but to think there's something even beyond that—"
"It is the ultimate expression of still magic. A state achieved only through harmonizing with nature and honing one's power—a force diametrically opposed to Lucia's. I've never seen magic this quiet before either, but once one reaches this realm, their existence would be closer to that of a spirit than a living creature."
As Lucia furrowed her brow, Lapis added, still visibly impressed. I wished I could get my hands on a Treasure Weapon that let me see magic, so I could say cool things like that too.
At that point, Elisa stepped forward toward the person of Yggdrasil.
She extended a hand toward the coughing woman—who seemed to have a spirit lodged in her throat—and spoke: "She is most likely… a guide. She was supposed to meet us on the surface… That spirit spoke of an impending doom approaching the world. What happened in Yggdrasil?"
Hm… impending doom for the world—that sounds rather serious—impending doom for the world?
I nearly grimaced and forced myself to maintain a poker face.
My desire to visit Yggdrasil had just plummeted. Luke didn't have to get petrified at a time like this, of all moments… I wouldn't mind doing a small favor, but this was clearly an Ark-level problem.
I wanted to retreat into Mimikun and stay behind to watch the fort, but there was a spirit inside Mimikun. Dead end.
"Cough, cough— *cough!*"
Struggling to keep my composure, I finally calmed down as the Yggdrasilian looked up at me.
Our eyes met. Her pale green irises, seen head-on, were so clear they seemed to pierce right through to the bottom of one's soul. Far more mysterious than that spherical spirit.
Her eyes scanned her surroundings in confusion, and her cherry-blossom lips parted slightly.
"You are… So, you're the ones from outside—! What about Mires!?"
"That spirit is safe. She regained consciousness and is waiting in a secure location. We got a rough explanation from the spirit, but I'd like to hear the details. …What exactly happened?"
I really didn't want to hear it. But I couldn't exactly refuse to listen.
Keeping my expression hard-boiled to prevent my emotions from showing, Elisa grabbed my arm and thrust me forward toward the Yggdrasilian as if pushing me into the spotlight.
"This is Klye Andrich, the one who found the Cursed Stone. He's known as one of the wisest minds in the Imperial Capital. If you explain the situation, he might be able to see a solution."
"!? Stop it, Elisa. I'm no wise man. I don't know anything."
I had no idea why Elisa thought so highly of me… Was she maybe just making things up like I usually did?
I shrugged and insisted on my own incompetence, and the Yggdrasilian stared at me as though trying to see through my true intentions—but then she nodded softly and rose to her feet.
"I understand. Finding the Cursed Stone of Shero was a great deed in itself, regardless of race. Besides, it seems you've saved me. Normally, this isn't something I'd share with humans, but I must repay my debts. My name is Seren… a guide of Yggdrasil. Allow me to explain everything along the way. The full scope of the situation we now face in Yggdrasil—a situation that could lead to the destruction of the world."
Ah, so she's going to talk… I only came here to get Luke's petrification cured, but it didn't seem like the right time to say that.
I wished I were the kind of person who could say no when I wanted to say no, like Liliz.
Liliz's eyes widened, and she wore an expression that practically said, "Now this is getting interesting."
"Huh!? The world's going to end? Tell me, tell me! I couldn't understand a thing that spirit said!"
It seemed even the kind of person who could say no when she wanted to said yes this time. She really loved diving headfirst into danger…
Seren pulled out a Wayfinder from her bag—the same kind we carried—and held it up by its cord. The Wayfinder spun around, then came to a stop, pointing firmly in one direction. It was hard to believe it had been spinning wildly just moments ago.
Elisa's eyes widened. She pulled out her own Wayfinder. Like Seren's, it naturally came to rest, pointing in the same direction.
"The Wayfinder… it's working properly now."
"If the Wayfinder had been malfunctioning, that would have been Mires's doing. She is one of the most powerful spirits even in Yggdrasil—"
"Wait… That spirit whose divinity was nearly on par with a god—is she being controlled by a Yggdrasilian mage!?"
I'd heard that the more powerful a spirit, the more difficult it was to forge a contract with it. I was terrible at fighting any monster, so I couldn't tell how strong that spirit really was, but the fact that it had withstood Lucia and the others' barrage practically unscathed spoke volumes.
At Lapis's question, Seren frowned for a moment in dissatisfaction, then shook her head.
"No… We're merely receiving her cooperation. In Yggdrasil, we've maintained intimate relationships with spirits since ancient times… Normally, she serves as the forest's guardian—but with recent events being so dangerous, she came along as our escort. To think that a guardian spirit who has protected the forest for so long would lose her mind… It's completely unprecedented. Utterly beyond our expectations."
"So, completely beyond expectations…"
The words slipped out before I could stop them. Seren looked at me.
"…Is something wrong?"
No, not really… I just couldn't help but chew on her words after hearing the truth of it—that this incident was severe enough to drive a spirit insane, a spirit that had continued guarding this legendary land. My "ah" and "hmm" were no different from saying nothing at all.
I glanced up at the sky. The place had a grandiose name—the Divine Tree Circuit—but the blueness of the sky was no different from the world above.
I spent a few minutes staring up at the sky, escaping reality, before finally steeling myself and returning my gaze to the group.
Then, after a long sigh, I looked at each of the people who had silently waited for me to finish my little escape, and spoke: "…No, it's nothing. Anyway, it seems like we don't have much time. I can't make a casual promise like 'I'll fix everything,' but I'd like to start by being shown around Yggdrasil."
§ After following Seren's lead for over ten minutes, we pushed through a sudden fog within the forest, and the view opened up before us in an instant.
It was a village far more modest than the Imperial Capital, yet so beautiful it might have wandered out of a fairy tale.
A gently flowing stream, houses built atop massive trees. I'd heard that spiritfolk born in the forest live in harmony with nature.
I'd assumed from their aversion to metal that their civilization was primitive, but I was completely wrong.
This was simply a different direction of development.
According to Seren, the number of spiritfolk living in Yggdrasil wasn't that large, but every single one was a master of sorcery, building their livelihood with the aid of spirits.
I couldn't help but sigh. To think a village like this existed in this world… I was starting to understand the joy hunters felt at setting foot in uncharted territory.
And most eye-catching of all was the tree. Look up toward the sky, and there it was—the colossal tree.
It had to be several kilometers away, yet it was so enormous it made me question my own eyes. Despite the distance, I couldn't see its crown.
Countless verdant leaves drifted down from its shadow, and the sight reminded me of the flower blizzard I'd once encountered in the newly formed Treasure Hall—the White Marble Garden.
So this was the homeland of all spiritfolk—Yggdrasil.
Even Liliz and the others, who were seasoned adventurers, couldn't hide a trace of excitement at the legendary land spreading before us (which, while impressive, was essentially village-sized).
Seren had given us some heavy exposition along the way, but the ability to enjoy everything wholeheartedly was one of their strengths.
Citry, who had been gazing down at her own palm, spoke with admiration: "Indeed… The Mana Material concentration is remarkably high. On par with a high-level Treasure Hall. If anything, it's strange that no Treasure Hall has formed here until now—"
"The theory that the World Tree is the central point of Mana Material circulation throughout the world isn't entirely wrong, Leader."
"Yeah, yeah, that's right."
Ley Lines running across the globe like blood vessels. I'd occasionally heard that the World Tree existed at the center of these Mana Material circulatory lines, but to learn it was actually true was a shock.
Like us, Lapis appeared to be visiting Yggdrasil for the first time. She furrowed her brow and nodded.
"Anyone with high Mana Material absorption capacity would get 'drunk.' The Mourning Specter might be accustomed to high-level Treasure Halls, but—"
"So… we really shouldn't stay long. I'll be fine, but—"
Mana Material sickness was a phenomenon that occurred when a Hunter with powerful Mana Material absorption capacity absorbed a flood of Mana Material beyond their tolerance range in places like high-level Treasure Halls.
Basically, the higher your Mana Material absorption capacity the better, but this phenomenon was the rare downside of that talent. For someone like me, who had virtually no Mana Material absorption capacity at all, I could only envy them.
Clyus furrowed her brow and said, almost as if offering a warning: "Don't push yourself too hard, Weakling, you know. We spiritfolk have low Mana Material absorption capacity, so it's not an issue for us—but they say Mana Material sickness is nearly impossible to deal with, you know."
My Mana Material absorption capacity was even lower than Clyus's. How low? So low that I didn't even get Mana Material sickness at the Wandering Inn.
Not getting sick didn't change the fact that I couldn't do anything, though…
"…It's fine. I don't plan to stay long."
Even if I was unaffected, Liliz and the others weren't. As Clyus said, Mana Material sickness wasn't the kind of thing you could prepare for.
Liliz and the others regularly adventured in high-level Treasure Halls, so they were probably accustomed to this sort of thing—but being accustomed to it and it not being unpleasant were two different things.
As I nodded, Clyus muttered under her breath: "…Why does the Weakling look so confident after hearing a story like that?"
"Confident…? Where do I have any confidence? I just want to finish our errand and get out of here…"
The trouble facing Yggdrasil that Seren had told us about along the way—just from the outline, it was clearly beyond our ability to handle. Sure, we'd help if we could, but even the spiritfolk themselves didn't seem to think they could resolve it on their own.
Our objective remained the cure for Luke's petrification. I couldn't forget that. Maybe if we went back to Zebuldia and told someone like Mr. Franz, he could handle the Yggdrasil situation…
"I have many questions—about how you found Shero, among other things—but first, let's dispel the petrification curse Shero placed on your companion. Follow me."
Seren, who had been gazing toward the World Tree with a furrowed brow, pulled herself together and began walking.
I'd been worried when I heard Yggdrasil was in crisis, but at the very least, it seemed our objective could be achieved without too much trouble.
§ After examining the stone statue of Luke that I'd retrieved from Mimikun, Seren spoke with a grave expression: "It's no good. This curse is far too powerful. Even considering it was cast by the Queen of the Spiritfolk, to receive a curse of this magnitude… You must have truly offended the caster."
"What? You can't break the curse?"
I couldn't help but widen my eyes at the conclusion she reached so quickly.
I hadn't even considered the possibility of failure. According to Elisa, a Yggdrasilian curse-breaker should have been able to handle it. Luke… to think you'd get cursed this badly, you really are something… Well, I always knew you'd face consequences someday.
Actually, this was genuinely bad. I'd wasted so much time coming to Yggdrasil. If the curse progressed and he couldn't return from stone, it would be no laughing matter.
At my question, Seren said, looking vexed: "To be precise, breaking the curse here is impossible. The ritual must be performed at an appropriate locus—"
"Where's the appropriate locus?"
"…Beneath the World Tree. We receive our great power from that tree—"
Beneath the World Tree? But didn't you just say we couldn't get close to it… It seemed like this was another worst-case-timing situation.
Citry clapped her hands together as if everything had clicked into place. Just because problems kept popping up didn't mean I'd gotten used to them.
Just to be safe, I asked cautiously: "Um… I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but… isn't there maybe a stronger curse-breaker? Someone who could restore Luke without needing a special locus? From what I heard, the ones with the most power are supposed to be the spiritfolk royalty, right?"
Well, maybe it was presumptuous for a mere human to ask a favor of royalty, but Luke's life was on the line.
If his petrification wasn't cured, Luke would become a permanent ornament at the Clan House. Seren's mouth twitched for a moment, and she spoke in a voice that sounded like she was suppressing something: "… I… am, that is, the royalty… I'm… sorry, Human."