Chapter 21
Yes.
Surprisingly, the World Tree wasn’t only in the temple as the world believed!
There was a second World Tree hidden in the Winter Mountains.
This fact was revealed near the end of Part 2 of the original story.
Here’s how the original went:
Throughout Part 2, Calix wandered in search of the fruit, but eventually realized he had no way of obtaining Arpedis’ fruit with his own power. In desperation to save his son, he even took part in a civil war.
The war, triggered by the emperor’s death without naming a successor, ended with victory for the side Calix had joined.
And just when it seemed like he would finally get the fruit…!
It turned out that someone had already eaten the Arpedis fruit during the war, and none remained.
In despair, Calix carried his dying son up the Winter Mountains—intending to give up and die with him.
In that process, he stumbled upon the second World Tree hidden in the mountains and was able to save his son.
After that, he was granted a dukedom for his contributions and governed the territory of Rogas, bringing Part 2 to an end.
“Anyway, thank goodness it’s here…”
Around the untouched World Tree, untouched by human hands for years, lay an abundance of Arpedis fruits!
Golden, glowing fruits.
‘I’d be rich if I sold these, wouldn’t I?’
Honestly, it was strange that a single tree was sustaining such a vast land.
There should be at least two—so that if one has problems, the other can sustain the land during its recovery.
This gets explained in more detail in Part 3…
But the important thing was—I’d found the fruit.
‘And I successfully saved Dad, too.’
Before packing away the fruit, I placed a sacred magic stone near the roots of the World Tree. Then I placed one of the fallen fruits into my bag.
“…”
Hmm.
I looked around and quickly slipped in one more.
‘I should bring one for my uncle, too.’
He could probably recover if he consistently took medicine, but still—it was a miracle cure. I couldn’t just give it away for free.
I could’ve eaten one too, but I held back. Things like this work best when used dramatically.
Phew. But… isn’t it a bit much to only take two after coming all the way here?
‘You never know when something might go wrong!’
Justifying it to myself, I picked up a few more and stuffed them into the bag. Soon, it was bulging.
“Thank you very much.”
I gave a respectful bow to the World Tree.
‘Not that it really meant anything… but it felt like stealing if I just walked away.’
Just as I secured and tightened the bag—
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, something dark swished past in front of me.
“Huh?”
I quickly looked up—but nothing was there.
‘Did I imagine it…?’
The peaceful scene, with only bees and butterflies fluttering about, made me feel like resting for a bit.
But there were only two days left until the date I’d promised Calix. Even if I left immediately and caught a carriage, I’d barely make it.
The sacred magic stone I placed near the root was filled with divine power, not mana. It was like putting gasoline in a diesel car—it would work temporarily, but not for long…
“Let’s go.”
It was time to head back.
Meanwhile…
Glance.
Gulp gulp.
Glance.
Gulp.
Staring at the door, then drinking. Staring again, then drinking.
A mercenary, unable to bear the bizarre ritual, wrinkled his nose and asked:
“Sir, what exactly are you waiting for?”
“Oh, come on. You’re not seriously waiting for that little brat and that one-week promise, right?”
“Ha! Still falling for that kind of stuff, huh?”
“Exactly! It’s a child’s promise. Today might be a week later, but…”
Slam!
Calix set his glass down hard, and silence fell.
“Don’t you guys have anything to do?”
“Well, not really, sir…”
“…”
“Ahem. It’s not like A-grade requests come in every day…”
Calix sighed as he ordered another drink.
He knew that what the kid said was probably nonsense.
A child—a duke? A lord?
That alone was absurd enough. And now, she’d claimed she would bring back the Arpedis fruit?
Next-level nonsense. Even dogs barked less nonsense than that.
Still… her clear, unwavering eyes occasionally came to mind…
Tsk.
‘Why am I getting my hopes up like this?’
Thinking that made him feel foolish for wasting time here.
Calix downed his drink in one gulp and got up from his seat.
‘Maybe I’ll go check on Aiden.’
Bang—!
Just then, the tavern door burst open, and a ragged-looking child walked in.
Calix turned reflexively, then widened his eyes—the child’s condition was terrible!
Her whole body was red with frost, her robe was torn and tattered, and her pale lips trembled pitifully.
Her hands, now bluish-white from the cold, were clasped tightly together as she hunched and shivered, looking around before spotting him—and smiling brightly.
“…Ah!”
The child staggered forward and held something out in both hands: a glowing, golden-white fruit.
“Sir… I brought it.”
Her small, delicate hands were covered in cuts.
Her already worn shoes were now even worse—her toes peeked through the holes. She was covered in dirt from head to toe.
Her lips and hands had cracked so many times there were dried bloodstains.
“Now, please… be my dad.”
The once-pristine child was now ragged and pathetic, smiling weakly.
‘What the hell did I do to this kid…?’
Overwhelming guilt surged over Calix, twisting his face in pain.
Then the child swayed—and collapsed to the floor.
“Ah…”
Calix urgently scooped her into his arms and rushed upstairs. Her frail body, leaning weakly on his shoulder, would have looked pitiful to anyone.
Of course…
‘Heh. Success!’
…The pitiful child was thinking something completely different.
In truth, I’d returned to Roth five hours ago.
During those five hours, I tossed out my magic stones, tore my robe a bit, scraped my shoes against the ground to wear them out, and rolled around in last night’s snow.
Then I stood in the cold for about three hours.
Climbing a mountain filled with monsters wasn’t easy, but I hadn’t gone in blindly—it wasn’t actually dangerous.
I’d crawled on all fours on the mountain, so my knees hurt, but I’d taken a carriage on the way there and back, so my shoes shouldn’t have worn out. Saying I’d climbed a treacherous mountain yet still looked rosy-cheeked would’ve been suspicious.
So I needed to look extra pitiful.
“Cough, cough.”
But now I was probably going to catch a real cold.
“You foolish little brat… What the hell did you do…!”
Judging from his face, Calix was extremely shocked.
‘Well, I do look pitiful, even to me.’
He hurriedly laid me on the bed and piled several thick blankets on top.
Only my face stuck out—I was practically being smothered.
‘Is he trying to kill me by suffocation now…?’
“I don’t know what kind of rumors you heard, but just because something’s white doesn’t mean it’s the World Tree’s fruit. Why would you do something so foolish?”
What the heck.
After all this, he still didn’t believe me?
Well, I suppose he’s never actually seen the real fruit either. His reaction made sense.
“It’s real, though…”
“Kid, do you think ‘Arpedis’ is someone’s dog’s name or something? And you, a child, brought one just like that? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It wasn’t easy…”
Twitch.
Calix glanced at me.
“…Did I say you got it easily?”
“You just said: ‘you, a child, brought it just like that.’”
Freeze.
“…I didn’t say that.”
I mimicked his voice exactly, and Calix was at a loss for words.
He opened and closed his mouth silently, narrowing his eyes.
“Quiet.”
“…”
“Why do you risk your life on these silly stunts? You nearly froze to death. Do you get that?”
He began scolding me.
Blink, blink.
I had so much to say, but my brain refused to function.
I had to convince him to eat the fruit—it was the real one he’d been looking for. But my vision was blurry.
‘Was it because I went from freezing cold to a super warm blanket so suddenly…?’
A child’s body is fragile…
Thunk.
My head drooped, and sleep overwhelmed me.
