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The voice echoing in my head belonged to a stunning woman. Everyone suddenly heard the voice in their minds and showed surprise and tension.

In the meantime, the two elves knelt before the woman in front of them, bowing their heads.

In the direction where the elves bowed, a woman with green hair was sitting on a wooden chair raised one level higher.

Wearing a dress and holding a staff that seemed to be woven from tree roots, she was so beautiful that I questioned whether she was even human, but upon reflection, she was indeed like a tree.

“Great Warrior Palun. I stand before Yggdrasil.”

“Great Warrior Evangelin. I stand before Yggdrasil.”

Such formalities, I couldn’t help but wonder if living like that wasn’t tiring. As I yawned through the dreary scene, thud, the sound of a staff hitting the ground signaled that the World Tree had risen from her chair.

[Evangelin, it seems you haven’t heeded my warning.]

At the reprimanding tone of the World Tree, the female elf flinched, her shoulders tensing as she walked forward with eyes closed, the voice echoing without her mouth moving added to the pressure.

[I clearly mentioned to bring you here with courtesy. I also instructed you to avoid confrontation if any issues arose.]

With each word from the World Tree, even the previously confident elf appeared increasingly lost, repeatedly twitching her shoulders.

Thinking about it, the future-seeing World Tree must have witnessed the scene of me confronting the elves. And the scene of it ending up in utter ruin, scattered around like confetti.

From what I’ve heard, it seems she had warned them beforehand, and yet to challenge me knowing that and then get beaten? That “great warrior” is more like total garbage.

“···I have nothing to say.”

[Of course, you should have nothing to say. Looking at your current state, I suppose there was a threat of limb severing involved.]

“······.”

As the World Tree shot that remark, she stepped towards the goblin, was she going to execute a neck-cutting punishment for disobedience!? My heart raced!

However, what I imagined didn’t happen. She merely touched the staff to the goblin, causing it to gleam, and just like that, a Goblin Ear fell off, and new flesh sprouted.

“Uuu━, that’s so boring!”

“······?”

My jeer attracted the attention of my companions, and the elf man, who had been bowing all this time, was the one who reacted angrily to my comment.

“You brat!”

What are you gonna do about it? Are you going to start a knife fight in front of your god? I don’t care, go ahead if you want. Just as the elf was about to draw his sword, I heard a chilling voice.

[Enough.]

The cold voice pierced directly into my mind, making the elf’s face go pale as he immediately sheathed his sword.

[I will apologize on their behalf. Could you possibly grant us mercy once?]

“With empty words?”

[I had already prepared something just for that.]

She tapped the ground with her staff. Although it seemed to make the sound of wood meeting wood, it resonated with a vibrant tone. Roots began to grow from the floor, twisting together until they formed a branch.

[This is my branch. You may use it as a weapon or for potions. Will this suffice?]

Future sight indeed! She prepared everything knowing what I would like! Naturally, I accepted the World Tree’s branch, placing it in my inventory.

But did she think I would be satisfied with just this? This was merely compensation for the damages I initially sought. I would need to receive a separate apology. If the World Tree can use foresight, she must already know what I intend to say going forward, without me having to utter a word.

[Of course, this level of sincerity would be insufficient.]

This time, instead of raising up from the floor, a hole formed, sinking down, and from above, a bundle emerged. The bundle had something round inside, bulging irregularly. When the World Tree gestured for me to open it, I untied the strings and checked its contents.

One item I pulled out was a glass vial. Specifically, it contained liquid. The red-colored liquid resembled a potion we often encountered while playing games.

[You may use it yourself or sell it for a good price.]

For reference, potions in this world were among the rare items. The reason why adventurers, who set out hunting every day, didn’t carry any was that they were expensive.

And acquiring potions wasn’t just difficult for adventurers; nobles faced the same issue. It’s not that they lacked money, but rather there were few people with the skills to produce them, limiting the supply.

Moreover, as for potion materials, would you think a magical medicine that heals wounds could be made from any cheap ingredients? The World Tree, being able to create them from her own leaves, has such a stockpile; normally, obtaining potion ingredients would be akin to finding decades-old ginseng on a mountain.

“Alright. This is what I’d call sincere.”

I carefully placed the potion bundle in my inventory, and upon seeing that, the World Tree smiled and turned to my companions.

[I apologize for keeping the rest of you waiting.]

-Thunk━.

Once again, she tapped her staff. This time, the wooden floor rose, quickly forming a round table and chairs.

The heroines, including the goblin, were hesitantly looking at each other, wondering if it was alright to sit, but in that moment, I had already taken a seat. Following me, Luna, Yui, and Riche sat down in order, and only then did the goblin’s group start filling their seats.

[Before we get to the main topic, let me prepare some tea.]

With a rustle, a thin twig rose from under the table, brewing tea in a kettle and pouring steeped tea into cups to place before us. Something that looked like tentacles was flailing about, which felt a bit indecent.

The tea handed to us by the World Tree had a scent I’d never encountered before. If asked whether it would taste good or not, I would answer that it seemed tasty.

I mean, isn’t this made from her leaves? What else would come out in this situation? I don’t understand why she keeps detaching bits of herself to spread around like this. At this point, I find myself questioning the rarity of the World Tree materials.

[Is the tea to everyone’s taste?]

If leaves of the tree were akin to hair for a human, then this tea made from someone else’s hair tasted less like deliciousness and more akin to being healthy. If I had to summarize, it would be similar to green tea.

In response to the ambivalent flavor, my companions only shrugged and awkwardly nodded.

Sitting apart from us, the World Tree continued calmly.

[Now then, let’s get to the main topic. The reason I have called you all… especially you, Arthur, and you, Luke. Some of you may already know, but a sealed monster, the Volcano Dragon, shows signs of awakening near Alvheim. Our objective is to subdue it.]

“Just a moment. Why us, of all people? We’re just academy students!”

Suddenly, Tia raised her hand and asked. She followed the goblin without any qualm, yet seems to have so many questions. She has no sense of the situation at all.

[I possess a future-seeing ability called future sight. While I cannot see every scene, at least your figures appeared in the scenes I viewed, which is why I gathered you here.]

“I don’t know what monster we’re dealing with, but can’t you handle it yourself, World Tree?”

[Unfortunately, I have no means of attack. Moreover, I cannot leave this Alvheim. My true body is rooted here, after all.]

The World Tree can’t leave Alvheim. It’s a given; her massive form is anchored here, she would have to carry the entire tree to leave.

Once an adequate explanation wrapped up, she started detailing the monster known as the Volcano Dragon.

[The Volcano Dragon is a dangerous monster that once wreaked havoc across the continent. In the past, it appeared without any warning, leading to many sacrifices before we could resort to the contingency of sealing it. This time, we intend to be the first to break the seal and launch a preemptive strike after adequate preparation.]

In other words, it’s a spawn kill they’re aiming for. They really thought this through.

[You will help us by raiding the Volcano Dragon.]

That was the end of her explanation. Following that, the World Tree asked, “Do you have any questions?” The one to respond was Stella from the goblin’s group.

There were surely many inquiries on our side, but perhaps planning to extract information from me later, we didn’t have any questions.

“When… exactly is the raid scheduled for?”

[We’ve set it for a week from now… however, I cannot say for certain what may happen.]

Typical of those with future sight, there’s always a loose screw somewhere. In the case of the World Tree, she can see the future, but without a calendar in her visions, there’s no way to tell when exactly it will happen.

Thus, while she saw scenes of the raid, we can’t know if it was initiated under her guidance or forcibly triggered by someone else.

Following that, the next question came from the goblin, Tia again.

“Why are only the elves and the World Tree hunting this dangerous monster? Wouldn’t it be beneficial to have the help of other races?”

[I intended to do just that… but unity is not easy.]

If elves represent haughtiness, then humans epitomize selfishness. Even when danger looms before them, if it doesn’t concern them, they likely won’t cooperate. If they do, they’d demand outrageous rewards.

Also, dwarves hold immense pride in their craftsmanship. They’d think that weapons made with their technology could vanquish even S-Rank monsters alone, so the idea of collaboration wouldn’t even cross their minds.

As for beastmen… the Beast King is quite aggressive, and they’d likely seek to confront rather than collaborate. The unification of even the three nations took countless wars, making the idea of uniting many nations a monumental task.

[Even if we left the seal alone, it would be broken in the near future, so we no longer have the time to negotiate with other races. Furthermore, the long-term seal has weakened the current Volcano Dragon. If we miss this opportunity, subduing it will become impossible.]

Once the World Tree finished addressing the questions, there were no further inquiries.

[Then, that’s all for the general explanation. We have prepared accommodations for you, so please rest until tomorrow. I will relay more detailed information once all preparations are completed.]

That concluded the explanation. The World Tree instructed us to rest at a provided lodging, accompanied by the Great Warrior elf.

I contemplated taking a look at the seal’s mechanism before heading to my lodging when suddenly…

[Just a moment.]

The World Tree called out to me. I stopped abruptly, but seeing the rest of my companions continue out, it seemed to be directed solely at me. Feeling odd for pausing alone, Riche turned to me with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You guys go ahead.”

“Don’t you have something else to do?”

“I don’t know. She called me, so…”

I pointed back at the World Tree, still sitting there. Riche squinted over my shoulder at the World Tree before she continued.

“Hmmm… Could I join you?”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have been specifically called.”

“…That makes sense. Alright. We’ll wait outside, then.”

 

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