"An Erdtree?"
After handing the to Samantha, the teacher sent them off, two Holy Knights following behind.
The teacher hesitated to share any details with l, probably suspecting the Saintess would fill her in later.
l shrugged slightly, showing she’d picked up on their closeness.
"Yes, it’s an Erdtree," l whispered to Lila, as they walked past the familiar green path again. "It’s way more different than the Erdtree I know, but yes."
In the ga, the Erdtree was depicted as a lush, green tree with the richest bark and thickest roots.
Strangely, the Erdtree was known to thrive only in the Eastern Habitat. Had the Cult sohow forced it to grow here?
Or worse, had they known Embervale could nurture an Erdtree all along?
l frowned, rembering how grotesque the tree looked—far too unnatural compared to the ga’s illustration.
"Mm." Lila hung her head, tightening the grasp on l’s hand. "It’s also a little too creepy to be the fad Elf Tree."
"Hm? How exactly?"
"The roots." Lila’s brows knitted together. "They... they were rged with the lava veins, a little too closely."
She clutched her chest. "I feel it more closely when sothing inside grows; there was an echo inside that tree. Or rather..."
Her erald eyes dropped to the ground. "It’s like... sothing alive-but-not-alive is calling out from beneath our feet."
l cupped her chin, contemplating.
’Partner.’ She sent a telepathy. ’Any idea what that tree entailed?’
[ Hm... before that, l, have you ever noticed that there were fewer Mana Crystals when you arrived at the site earlier? ]
Nodding to the air, l deduced. ’I assu the Cultists mine them all out for the operations. Is that not true?’
[ Technically, no. Rember that those Mana Crystals were the tortoise’s corpse made manifest. ]
A blink. Then l’s eyes glimred with a subtle realisation.
’You an the Erdtree... devoured the Mana Crystals? Is that why there were none near it?’
[ Ding ding! You’re right, l! ]
[ Normal creatures would have gone berserk when consuming those crystals, but there was one exception. ]
With a smirk, l glanced around the forested path; crystals still shimred under the shadow of trees and leaves.
’Plant.’ l nodded to herself. ’When I first entered here, the Plants seed to have adapted well in contrast.’
How the lava veins lost their heat, and how the mana crystals’ energy was transford to benefit the plants’ growth in the end.
A cycle born from impossible circumstances, a ’beautiful coincidence’.
[ Exactly. Unlike Monsters, Plants easily adapted to the mana crystals and converted them to controllable energy!]
’And the Erdtree was known to be the hardiest of all trees...’
l idly stroked Lila’s hand, further calming her lover as she continued the discussion. ’And those [ Amplifying Crystals ]—were they the result of using the Erdtree for experints?’
[ Specifically, failed experintation. ]
’Failed?’
[ Of course! Samantha’s reports said the enchanted monsters unleashed on the students were failed byproducts. ]
[ Not even corpses or undead brought from the Kingdom could withstand the Erdtree’s corrupted version of Pride’s energy.]
l gulped, a trace of nervousness slipping through her cheerful expression. ’Then, if the Knights consud the failed [ Amplifying Crystals ]...’
[ They will explode without a trace. ]
She chuckled, surprised she’d unwittingly spared her enemies such a cruel fate.
’A final question then.’ l’s face bead, the prideful satisfaction of a last-minute detective rumbling in her chest.
’What is the thing that called out to Lila from beneath us?’
l glanced back towards Lila, whose gaze was still stuck to the ground.
To her surprise, the erald eyes trembled not with an intense fear of the unknown, but rather a soft understanding.
[ That’s extrely simple. ]
Viewing the knowing ssage from the Saintess, l tilted her head. ’Co on. Don’t play mystery man on !’
[ Hehe. It’s a relatively simple mystery, l. ]
[ Like Calina stated before in the restaurant and the battle, Enchanted Monsters happened everywhere in Embervale. And by extension...]
’...ans the Mana Crystals grew everywhere for the Monsters to consu, yes?’
l grumbled against the teasy Saintess, earning a confused look from Lila.
Flashing a small smile to reassure Lila, she asked again. ’Furthermore, that showed how influence from [ Volcanic Tortoise ]’s corpse spread everywhere in Embervale, right?’
[ You should’ve thought it a more... balanced manner, l. ]
[ The true Miracle lay in that the corpse’s energy co-existed with nature in the form of those crystals, almost like a parasite. ]
The word ’parasite’ flickered in l’s mind, and with it storm the truth that horrified l a little.
’You couldn’t have ant...’ l’s lips parted slightly. ’that the ...’
[ I ant what I said. ]
The panel paused, as if giving l a mont to process the revelation before delivering the ultimatum.
[ Volcanic Tortoise’s corpse has completely rged with Embervale. ]
l’s steps slowed, her breath catching in her throat as the revelation sank in.
’Is that... why that huge wall exists?’ l heaved a deep sigh. ’To keep the entire Embervale out? In case the was resurrected?’
l rembered the massive wall she’d seen when she first arrived at Embervale, encircling the entire region.
[ It was the Dwarves’ idea; the rging has seeped too deep into the soil that , or rather, Embervale, was too difficult to be defeated. ]
’That’s why the Witches in the ga didn’t even bother touching Embervale...’
Overwheld by the revelation, l let go of Lila’s hand and wrapped her arm around her instead.
When Lila shot her another confused look, this ti tinged with concern, l squished her cheek in frustration.
"Mmmm... l...!"
"Sorry, Lila." l’s eyes closed as she sighed, unbothered. "I just feel like relaxing a little."
Sothing alive but not quite alive...
Lila’s analogy now made perfect sense; a fitting conclusion to the true nature of Embervale.
’But sothing still hasn’t quite added up.’
As Lila groaned at l’s touch, l frowned at the System panel. ’If any tree would work, why did the Cult insist on planting Erdtrees here?’
[ That would have to conclude after I look at the reports. Wait for tonight! ]
’anie...’ l complained, twirling idle circles on Lila’s cheeks.
[ For now, though, I predict Envy’s awakening tonight will resolve everything, if our little gamble pays off. ]
’Wait,’ l’s brows raised. ’That ans... I have awakened Lila within tonight? Seriously?’
[ Yep! Good luck, Host! ]
’Grr...’ l pouted, her thighs clenching together with desires emptied.
With Lila’s awakening set for tonight, l realized there wouldn’t be ti for any ’bedti’ with her Partner. Had she played herself for nothing?
l pouted as her hands stretched Lila’s cheeks further, much to Lila’s dismay.
Little did she know; a certain Saintess was smirking, her mind not intending to skip the al that was l.
[ Envy’s cheek burned with an annoyed confusion! ]
[ Envy’s favourability: 99 -> 98 ]
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