Even though there had been such a tremendous battle at the World Tree, Yggdrasil was no different from when we'd first arrived.
The air was fresh and tranquil. There was none of the bustle of the Imperial Capital, but the dappled sunlight filtering through the countless massive trees was soothing nonetheless.
According to information passed down among Selen and Yggdrasil's Spiritfolk, even the last time a god had been resurrected, the effects outside the Treasure Hall had been minimal right up until the moment the god manifested.
Phantoms fundamentally cannot survive long in places with sparse Mana Material, so they normally don't leave their Treasure Halls. However, the ultra-high-level phantoms born from Treasure Halls containing Mana Material of such high density that they can sustain activity outside for extended periods are the exception.
Yet the phantoms of the Source Divine Temple—the most extreme example of such—were this quiet precisely because they possessed extraordinarily advanced intellect and purpose.
They were, most likely, guarding the god. That was why Yggdrasil had been left intact right up until the moment of destruction.
Until the moment of destruction—at the earliest, a hundred years.
On the way to Selen's residence to relay Citry's proposal, I let out a massive yawn and spoke.
"......Somehow I can't seem to get pumped up."
"?! The world is on the brink of destruction! Luke's petrification hasn't been cured yet, either... Pull yourself together, brother!"
"No, I mean, of course I'll do what I have to, but..."
Just to be clear so there's no misunderstanding—I'm incompetent, but I do what I can. The only problem is that what I can do is far too little.
In this case, what I could do was relay Citry's brilliant plan. If that didn't work, I could also call for Ark, but beyond that, there was nothing I could do.
It was still a ways off, but it couldn't be helped that having so little to do sapped any sense of tension.
"What Mastaa can do..."
"I'm in perfect condition, so leave everything to me, Krai-kun!"
Tino murmured under her breath, while Riizu said brightly. Here we were, possibly about to fight for the fate of the world, and they were acting no different than usual.
Maybe I should give them an important job... like delivering a letter to Ark!
--- When we arrived at Selen's estate, the members of Star's Holy Thunder were all gathered there. Lapis, Kyus, Astol, and the other elite members of Star's Holy Thunder. Their expressions were uniformly grim.
They must have been discussing things while I was away. The moment Selen saw my face, she spoke first.
"The situation is extremely dire. Krai's plan got us out of the immediate crisis, but as a result, they now recognize us as clear enemies. I can feel it—the currents of power swirling around the World Tree have shifted—"
"Meaning...?"
"The Source Divine Temple currently has a powerful barrier deployed from the inside. The Night Parade of a Thousand Demons must have been that much of a threat to them. But this means we can't lay a finger on them even if we wanted to."
Lapis answered on Selen's behalf with a sour expression. It seemed the situation had continued to change while I'd been entertaining Lucia and the others with my embellished account of events.
They were already powerful, and on top of that they were this cautious. What intelligent phantoms. They didn't seem like the fun-and-games type like the phantoms of the Lost Lodging, and they were absolutely the last opponents I'd want to fight.
"We attempted long-range magical attacks, but they didn't leave a single scratch. Hmph... It's a special barrier. It materialized surrounding the entire Treasure Hall without any gaps. If they can maintain a barrier of that caliber nonstop, then their abilities are beyond our imagination."
"It's a system of magic completely different from ours. Humans—analyzing it would be impossible even for a Spiritfolk mage. It's not about durability; attacks simply don't get through. The interior is completely sealed off from the outside. And it's different from a mana barrier, too."
"Mhm, mhm... I see."
Even knowing it was a dangerous Treasure Hall, they'd still tried launching attacks... That took guts. If I heard that an enemy had holed up inside and wasn't coming out, I'd just give up and go home...
Still, the good news was that there didn't seem to be any risk of them attacking first. If we had time, I could call Ark, and we could try other approaches, too. The only real problem was curing Luke's curse. Honestly, that guy...
"It's probably the same principle as the Divine Tree Circuit that Yggdrasil created—they're diverting the power accumulated within the World Tree to fuel the barrier. They won't run out of mana. However, that doesn't mean we're without options."
Selen looked around at everyone, then finally settled her gaze on me.
Her narrow, translucent eyes held an expression slightly different from what the other members of Star's Holy Thunder had been wearing.
It was the look of someone who had steeled her resolve—or, put less charitably, someone backed into a corner.
Even though there were still a hundred years to go, how long had she been wearing that expression? I didn't think I could keep it up, but it probably stemmed from the sense of responsibility that came with being royalty among the Spiritfolk.
Selen took a deep breath, pressed her palm to her chest, and spoke.
"Yggdrasil possesses a secret art for spatial transfer. With this art, it's possible to send a person through space, past the barrier, and into the World Tree—though it can't be used very many times. The current Yggdrasil lacks sufficient skilled practitioners, and we have no secret elixirs either. Even at full capacity, I can only send one person at a time, and once I use it, I won't be able to move for a while."
"........................Mhm, mhm. That's a no."
"......What?"
Selen looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. It was almost painful to watch. Even I had to shoot that one down.
For starters, being able to send only one person made the whole thing a non-starter. The only ones who'd be thrilled about being sent alone to such a dangerous place were our own members, and if Selen couldn't move, who would undo Luke's curse?
If you had that kind of time to spare, just use the art to send me home.
I let out a deep sigh, put on my best hard-boiled expression, and spoke.
"Selen, I hate to say it, but I think your perspective has narrowed a bit. And you're running yourself into the ground. You need to ease up a little—otherwise even the good ideas won't come."
"......I-I am the last member of Yggdrasil's imperial family, you know? I have a responsibility, as the administrator of the World Tree, to resolve this anomaly."
A flush rose to Selen's cheeks, and her voice trembled. I couldn't tell what was causing that trembling—whether it was the humiliation of being called out by a human, or the weight of her responsibilities threatening to crush her.
Not me—she was the one who needed a "perfect vacation." There were a hundred years to work with; nobody would complain if she took a few years off.
"......If we're going that route, I'm a Clan Master, so I have a responsibility to keep the Clan running smoothly."
"???"
But I'd dumped that entire responsibility on Eva and the other members and was living life without a care. I hadn't fulfilled my duties as a high-level Hunter at all; I even went so far as to think it was the fault of whoever had appointed me. If you added up my and Selen's sense of responsibility and divided by two, you'd get the perfect amount.
She might be a supremely gifted Mage, but this was too much for one person to handle alone. And I knew all too well what it felt like to be caught up in a crisis beyond one person's ability to resolve.
I didn't have the ability to resolve this current disturbance, so there was no way I could offer to take over—but I could at least lighten her mental burden a little.
The important thing in moments like this was to project confidence no matter how uneasy you felt inside. Timidity only made things worse. Some might call it brazening it out.
"What I'm trying to say is—I've got a plan."
That's right—the plan was to leave it to Citry!
"I don't know if it'll work out, but why don't you take a break for a while, Selen? I might need your help with something."
If push came to shove, I could even lend her my "perfect vacation." It wouldn't be as comfortable for me, but hey—I was used to feeling like I was going to throw up.
Selen was speechless for a moment, but quickly flushed red and shouted as if interrogating me.
"......Don't be ridiculous. You think a plan can get us out of this? Human—what power could you possibly have?"
I flashed a grin and declared with entirely unwarranted confidence: "I don't have any power. But I have excellent companions."
If I had any power at all, it was... connections.
When I turned my gaze to Citry, who had been silent until now, she broke into a radiant smile and stepped forward.
Having played my part, I decided to become a scarecrow. Oh right—I needed to make sure I didn't forget to summon Ark.
As I stood there grinning with the satisfaction of having done everything I could, Citry began to speak in her clear, carrying voice.
"I've been conducting research on Mana Material for some time, anticipating that something like this might happen. After receiving Krai's suggestion—one of my ongoing projects happens to be perfectly suited to this kind of situation. It's called a Mana Material Agitation Device—"
Huh, "after receiving my suggestion," she says. Did that actually happen? If Citry said it did, then I guess it must have. But when had she been working on that...
Whether it was the thrill of putting her creation to practical use or something else, Citry's cheeks were flushed and her voice was brimming with excitement.
"By installing it into a Ley Line, we can agitate the invisible Mana Material and either increase or decrease the flow! The experiments aren't complete yet, but we've already successfully altered the Mana Material flow of a single Treasure Hall. If we use this, we should be able to reduce the Mana Material flowing into the World Tree and weaken the Source Divine Temple... No—we definitely can!"
At that point, Kyus, who had been listening in silence, fixed his gaze on Citry and spoke.
"......Hold on. Hey, that's a crime, you know."