Chapter 478: Fruit of mory (1)
"If you have sothing to say, say it tomorrow. It would be better to rest for today."
Though it sounded sowhat cold, Sedina simply smiled faintly.
She knew it was Rudger's consideration for her.
"I don't think I'll have the chance tomorrow."
At those words, Rudger turned his gaze from the window to look at Sedina.
"Sit down."
They sat facing each other.
In the quiet room, Rudger and Sedina remained silent for a while.
It seed like they were both yielding to let the other speak first, or perhaps organizing their thoughts about what to say.
Sedina was the first to break the silence that seed like it would last forever.
"First, I want to express my gratitude."
Sedina bowed her head slightly.
"The fact that I'm here right now is all thanks to you, Professor Rudger."
"It's thanks to everyone. I couldn't have saved you alone."
"Of course, I'm grateful to the others too. But you're the one who brought everyone together, Professor Rudger."
"That might be true. But there was soone who asked first. Hans, Alex, and I all received help from him."
"Who was it?"
"Walter Roschen."
Sedina's eyes widened, apparently not expecting that na.
"That cold man bowed his head to directly and asked to save you."
"Father..."
To Sedina, Walter, who was still her father, was a complicated figure.
After losing her mother, Sedina hated him.
Now, after experiencing a series of events, things were a bit different.
Sedina's anger had subsided compared to the past.
She had t her mother and heard from her about what kind of person her father was but that didn't an all the past resentnt could disappear at once.
While less than before, Sedina still hated Walter.
Wounds carved into the heart last longer and deeper than physical wounds.
Although it was for her sake, Walter's actions were ultimately selfish deeds that ignored Sedina's opinions.
Is it justified to hurt others with the intention of helping them?
At least Sedina didn't think it was justified.
But looking back, wasn't that the sa reason she had pushed Julia away?
"Do you still hate him?"
To Rudger's question, Sedina nodded slightly.
She hated her father, and felt self-loathing as well.
Rudger carefully opened his mouth while looking at the increasingly depressed Sedina.
"As an outsider, I have no right to say anything. After all, this is sothing that you and your father need to resolve directly."
"I...suppose so."
"But I can tell you what I've seen for certain. Walter Roschen promised to give corresponding compensation if you were rescued."
"...That's very worldly, just like father."
Whether to call it dishonest, or businesslike in that way, Walter Roschen used material things as compensation.
"Yes. He's a worldly man. And do you know what he offered as compensation?"
"Money, I suppose?"
"An enormous amount of money. Because he didn't hesitate to say he would hand over his entire company."
"That's...!"
The entire company.
Sedina wasn't unaware of how hard Walter had worked to build it up.
And he said he would give up all of that just for her?
Sedina clenched her fist.
Her mother had said the sa thing.
That Walter cherished her.
There must be no lie in those words.
"Even if you say that, I still don't understand well. It was really hard. I had to stay alone for years."
Though her head understood, her heart couldn't accept it.
"No matter how much I try to understand, the feelings built up over years don't easily subside."
"I know this isn't sothing that can be resolved quickly. I don't intend to force reconciliation. What matters in the end is your feelings."
Right now, no words could move Sedina's heart.
"Still, soday, you'll need to face each other and work it out through dialogue. The mont you miss that chance, it will stay with you for life."
"...Have you had such an experience, Professor?"
"Every word I say cos from what I've experienced and felt."
Rudger's expression as he said this seed to hold a hint of distant sadness.
"People always regret too late. They realize how precious this fleeting mont is only after it has flowed away too far to ever retrieve. And then they say: Why did I do that? Regrets form, and sothing heavy settles sowhere in their heart. That burden continues to grow one by one as you live."
It continues. And continues.
Before you know it, when those heavy things pile up beyond what you can handle.
So part of your heart breaks.
"Sedina. I don't want you to have regrets."
"So that's why..."
So that's why Rudger conserved every hour and never wasted ti.
Giving his all to every minute and second.
It was all for that reason.
"I've brought up a heavy topic unnecessarily. Let's talk about sothing else. How is the new power you've discovered?"
"You an this?"
Sedina extended her hand to one side of the room.
The plants on the floor moved.
Not just that, but the walls and ceiling, and all sorts of things responded to Sedina's will.
Dentis’ mansion was a mass of huge plant colonies.
Even this guest room was a space woven together by tiny plants.
In other words, it was a place Sedina could control as much as she wanted.
The sight of the entire space breathing was a strange sight not easily seen anywhere.
"Impressive."
At Rudger's sincere admiration, Sedina smiled awkwardly as if embarrassed.
"Before I could only handle paper, but now it's different. I can interfere with all plants and draw out their will."
"And you can resonate with the World Tree too?"
"Yes."
"Sedina. You've beco a magician without precedent. You must know what it ans to handle living plants?"
"You an a magician with a color title?"
"Yes. You've beco what people call a magician with the title of Green (綠色). Not just in the magic tower, but across the entire magical community, you'll have an extraordinary position."
"To that extent?"
"You'll probably receive love calls from all directions. You'll live a completely different life than before."
"Sohow it doesn't feel real."
"If you want, I could write you a letter of recomndation."
Sedina's eyes grew round.
She had always looked like a small animal, but now she looked like a squirrel that had found a huge acorn.
"That, I'll need to think about it. I an, there are still many problems to solve, right? Like the matters related to the World Tree."
"I see. Perhaps I was too hasty."
"No. It's all because you were thinking of ."
"So what do you want to do? Will you stay in this forest?"
Rudger asked Sedina directly.
"That..."
Sedina hesitated to answer.
She had been thinking about it internally as well.
Sedina had beco an indispensable existence to the elves.
It's one thing to receive such a role overnight, but accepting and understanding it is another matter entirely.
The higher the position, the greater the weight it carries.
"As much as I'd like to keep such a capable you, that would be my selfishness. Sedina, you have choices. Many of them."
"...Yes. I'm also wondering if I should succeed my mother right away."
"It might be the position that suits you best. The fact that there's no elf to replace the position is also significant."
Sedina could beco the king of the elf kingdom if she wanted to.
Her bloodline and abilities made it possible.
"I've thought about that too. Actually, the elders have hinted at such things to as well."
"You an Ambella and Vierano?"
"The elf kingdom is experiencing unprecedented chaos. The central family has disappeared, and the three noble families that maintained tradition have suffered near-devastating damage. This might be the chance to take that empty position."
Sedina's eyes sparkled.
"If I beco queen of this kingdom, I might be able to help you too, Professor. No, I'm certain of it! If I give you full support...!"
"Calm down."
At Rudger's words, Sedina realized she had gotten quite excited and cleared her throat slightly.
"...Of course, it would take quite a lot of ti to prepare for that."
"Still, it would be good for you. Didn't you say you t your mother at the World Tree?"
"Yes. I didn't know, but it seems our family elves have been inheriting abilities for generations. The maternal factor sleeping inside connected with the World Tree and was manifested inside it. Should I call it a soul?"
Although Sedina could only et her at the World Tree, and not even whenever she wanted, just having the chance to et her dead mother again was a joyous thing.
"Your mother, Ella Plante?"
"Yes."
Rudger stroked his chin.
Sedina's mother, Ella Plante, had tried to grow the World Tree underground in the Exilion Empire by joining hands with humans in the past.
Rudger still didn't know why she had tried to do such a thing.
Honestly, if he could just have a conversation with her, there was quite a lot he wanted to ask.
"Professor?"
"What is it?"
"No. You just seed to be thinking about sothing."
"I was thinking I'd like to et your mother at least once."
"What? Why my mother?"
"There are things I want to ask her. Ah, this might work. Could you ask her on my behalf?"
"Oh, that should be possible, but..."
Sedina thought for a mont before suggesting another option.
"Or, how about eting her directly?"
Rudger asked back, surprised at the unexpected suggestion.
"Is that even possible in the first place? If we need to et her, who only exists in the World Tree, we'd need to access it, but I thought that was impossible for humans."
"I thought so too, but sohow I feel like you might be able to, even if other humans can't. I don't know the exact reason, but you seem special sohow."
Though it was a sowhat imprecise statent, it ca from Sedina who could directly resonate with the World Tree.
There must be at least a possibility.
"I heard that inside the World Tree, there's a storm of massive data, and if you enter carelessly, your brain gets fried."
"That's fine. It'll work if I go with you. That only happens if you go in randomly without knowing anything, but I'm fine. Ah, since we're talking about it, shall we try it right now?"
Sedina asked with an expression like a child trying to play with fire for the first ti.
"Now? But this is Dentis' territory."
"The entire Life Forest is within reach of the World Tree's will, so it's perfectly possible. Let's try it."
Sedina took Rudger's hand and made him stand up, then she led him to the window with the balcony.
Outside, as if already prepared, a small stem had climbed up to the railing, waiting for Rudger and Sedina.
"Huh. It's true."
Rudger let out a light exclamation as he looked at the gently swaying stem.
"Just grab this."
"Do we need to keep holding hands?"
"...Yes!"
Rudger said he understood and kept holding Sedina's hand.
"Just close your eyes. You might feel a bit dizzy."
Rudger closed his eyes.
After confirming this, Sedina grabbed the stem sent by the World Tree with her other hand and attempted to connect.
Rudger felt a sensation like his consciousness was being pulled sowhere else.
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was green text overflowing against a pitch-black background.
"This is..."
"This is inside the World Tree. More precisely, it's where the stored data is."
The green letters moved vertically and horizontally.
They were all composed of elven language, and each letter contained massive amounts of information.
"Follow ."
Sedina held Rudger's hand and led him to the depths of the World Tree.
After breaking through the sea of green data, the surroundings turned white with an intense light.
Green paint began to spread like a watercolor from the center of the white canvas.
Rudger looked around at the changed scenery.
-Crunch.
When he took a step, the sound of stepping on grass was heard.
Looking down, there was a green lawn.
Eventually, the lawn spread widely around Rudger and Sedina, trees and flowers sprouted, and a blue sky was created.
'Is this environnt also composed of mories, information, and data?'
It seems so real.
Rudger was montarily captivated by the beautiful sight.
Then there was a rustling sound and presence from behind.
"Oh my."
A strange exclamation.
When Rudger turned around, there was an elf there.
It was a woman with beautiful silver hair that seed to have captured moonlight itself.
Most elves are said to be beautiful, but the elf before his eyes possessed beauty that would stand out even among such elves.
"My daughter brought an unknown man?"
The blatant playfulness in that smiling face.
Rudger was internally surprised at the behavior that contrasted with the noble first impression.
"Mom. This is the professor I told you about."
"Ah, the one our daughter sang such praises about?"
"Wh-when did I ever!"
Sedina shouted with a reddened face.
It was an uncharacteristic reaction from Sedina, who usually tried to appear mature and composed.
Perhaps it was because she t her deceased mother again.
While Rudger was thinking this, the conversation between mother and daughter continued.
"But, bringing him here and holding hands right in front of your mother like this, how can I not think that way?"
"Th-that's because I need to help to co here."
"Now that we're here, there's no need to keep holding hands, is there?"
Is that so?
When Rudger turned to look at Sedina, she hurriedly let go of his hand.
Her face, slightly bowed, was as red as a tomato.
"I-I forgot."
"Hoho."
Ella Plante looked at Sedina as if finding her endearing.
It was the look of a mother proud to see her once young daughter all grown up.
Eventually, Ella's gaze turned to Rudger.
"But this is quite unfortunate"
An icy gaze, in stark contrast to how she had looked at her daughter.
Before Rudger could react, Ella moved first.
Suddenly created green chains flew and bound Rudger's body.
"In my view, I think this man needs to die here."
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