Chapter 410: - Iglued's Truth

Helme's liquid was enveloping everyone, causing everyone's butts to shine brightly…but I didn't point it out.

"It's done."

"Aye."

All of the girls had become perfectly clean, while still asleep. Is it an effect of Helme having grown?

I prepared a light breakfast with Helme and Chrono. After placing the cutlery and the plates with the food on the table, I started playing with Rollo, who had been toying with Ciel's finger, while using a cat teaser.

As I was horsing around for a bit like that, I suddenly received a blood message from Veronica-senpai.

『Somehow I got a bad feeling』

『Haha, you're quite sharp. Everyone gathered at my place and we had some fun』

『Eeehh~ Erase the memories of it right now and here…』, and after inserting a pause, 『So anyway, I got something to report』

『What's up?』

『People related to the Holy Church led by several priests showed up in search of Amelie-chan. Even though I used

, those guys apparently possessed some sort of

spell. Since it looked like it'd develop into a battle, they immediately ran away, but…I guess it's only natural for a blind girl to draw attention if she continues to do voluntary work…』

『Although it's called Holy Church, it encompasses all kinds of factions. At the very least, they didn't belong to the Demon Extermination Agency, right?』

『Probably not』

Thereupon, the others came down after waking up, greeting me.

『Okay, it's time for breakfast now. Talk to you later』

『Oki～?』

After finishing the messaging with Veronica, I had Helme cast her water at all of us. We used it to wash our faces, did radio calisthenics, and then took breakfast together while peacefully sitting around the table.

"Shuuya! Thanks, this is really delicious!"

"Higlia-san has the biggest portion of us all."

Higlia was wolfing down her breakfast. She participated in the table tennis tournament, but didn't join the orgy afterwards.

『There's an important ceremony for me!』, she refused obstinately and thus we postponed having sex.

But, because I knew that she was spending all her time worrying while rubbing her thighs in horniness, I increased the amount of meat, which I had previously procured at the markets of Hekatrail and Pelneet, for her alone, stacking it up to a mountain. She got a bit cocky by opening her mouth and wanting me to feed her, but Kisara stuffed a big chunk of meat inside her mouth instead.

Sana-san and Hina-san were startled, but only praised me with, "So Shuuya-san can cook as well, huh?" and "…Yes. A man with lots of stamina is lovely."

Hina-san had apparently found out about the events occurring after the table tennis tournament, but I dealt with it by smiling at her.

After savoring the enjoyable breakfast, Kisara and the members of Red Tiger Storm took Higlia with them and left my house while talking about a fortress.

"Very well, I'll excuse myself as well then. Shuhelia-dono."

"Yes."

Quiche and Shuhelia also stepped out.

"Rollo, we're going as well."

"Nya."

I grabbed Ciel's hand while heeling my partner's weight on my shoulder, and all three of us headed to the training ground. Helme, Rebecca, and Eva followed us with a slight delay.

Solobo and Quema were on standby outside the house's entranceway. They bowed at me. They had already gone outside during yesterday's tournament.

"Morning."

"Good morning!"

"Good morning! Please leave the protection of your home to us!"

Quema and Solobo were intent on acting as guards. Recently they had been acting as if they were regarding the Burning Knights as rivals of sorts.

"Sure, thanks. I'm going to examine the Iglued tree next. Come if you're curious."

""Okay!!""

We continued towards the training ground in front of us, now with Solobo and Quema in two. Moga, Nemus, and Muu were already present on the grounds. And I could also see Kisara and the others, who had left ahead of us, walk outside the training ground's boundary.

They had joined up with Bucchi and were now scrutinizing each other's items as if to check their equipment.

"Very well, I will have Rotalz carry the heavy stones and wood then."

"You can count on me!" Rotalz yelled after swooping down from the sky.

"I'll get my unit to help out with the smaller things. I need to inform Ryokline and Daon who are currently in the middle of patrolling."

"Alright, we're looking forward to working with you, Higlia, Rotalz-san. As you might expect, heavy stones will be a bit too much for us."

"What if you use your hidden technique, leader?"

"Hehe, it'll be impossible anyway. It requires the power of the bent cutlass, and even then I'm not confident enough that I could crush rocks with my body like Rotalz-san."

"Really? I feel like it'd work out one way or the other if you gigantified your arm, though," Bucchi objected.

"If something were to happen to my precious weapon, it'd be a huge shock, so it's better that way."

"I still haven't seen your technique that gigantifies your arm. That and your pretty, red fur…are you possibly related to the ancient wolfman race?" Higlia asked, apparently curious about Sarah's secret technique as catwoman.

"No, I can't use my claws to make armor, so I'd say we differ. I think my race is a hybrid between catwoman and demonoid, but…well, I got a sort of special body and the racial trait of a subspecies, I guess." Sarah explained.

They continued their chat while continuing to walk outside the training ground's fence. Before long their voices became inaudible.

During the table tennis tournament they had come up with a first version of a plan for expanding Cydale as the village's trade was only going to grow from now on. Their idea was to build the foundation of a simple fortress and town inside the Sea of Trees.

If you headed straight from the main gate of Cydale, you'd run into a cliff. A narrow path meandered its way while flanked by those rocky cliffs on both sides, serving as a bottleneck. This bottleneck was quite useful during attacks. But, during peacetime, it was quite a hassle. Of course, it wouldn't be much of an issue for a few travelers, but when it came to caravans…

The part was quite steep and inaccessible, making the transport of bigger amounts of goods time-intense and unreasonable.

For that reason, they got all excited about building the foundation for a town or a simple fortress in the Sea of Trees at the end of the path. They probably had the idea of regarding the current Cydale, which was located in the mountains, as a castle. Well, the details of their conversation had developed from their talk about putting the area of the forest, which Rollodeen had mowed down, to good use…

We had spoken about this some time ago, but I hadn't expected that they'd really implement the idea of maintaining a road towards the Hino Village while slowly clearing the tougher areas of the Sea of Trees…

I opposed the idea as it'd be unreasonable to set up infrastructure like it was usually done by a country, but everyone was brimming with motivation. I didn't think that their discussion would even reach a point where they planned to establish a caravan route to Hekatrail, Benrack, and the Phenimul Village on top of establishing an adventurer's guild here.

Of course, a truckload of problems stood in the way of achieving all that. Although things had calmed down in regards to the Death Butterfly people, the Sea of trees and its underground was full of threats. I don't know whether the forces of the Tree King of Wonders and the Water Spider inhabiting the crystal pond in the Plemos Basin will become our enemies, but many goblin nests can be found around the pond. And in addition, the orc empire extends its influence in the underground and the surface.

If you also consider the ancient ruin of Go Rad, which Red Tiger Storm failed to explore, nothing of this will be easy, but…thanks to Quiche's strong endorsement and Helme's perfect incitement, everyone agreed to the idea.

But well, I can understand where they're coming from. Although I think that the bolstering of Cydale's defenses through excellent fighters such as Shuhelia also plays into this, them seriously considering this as an option stems from my presence here, beside Helme's pep-talk.

I've already told Quiche about it, but I also explained the chain events so far to everyone else. All the stuff about me being the perpetrator who threw the traditional joint organization of dark guilds, the 【Eight Lights】, off balance, the guildmaster of 【Moon of Dignified Heaven】 which established a large alliance of dark guilds, and all the other stuff I did in the past, be it in Pelneet or elsewhere, which led to me forming connection to various influential people all over South Mahaheim.

In addition to that, Helme, who's very gung-ho about me getting more bloodkin, used my story cleverly to weave her own idea of a Holy Lucival Empire into the minds of the other girls.

Because of that, it seemed like they all were oddly motivated about all of this. But, is this possibly some kind of spirit-sama effect?

As I looked at Helme while wondering about that, she returned a smile.

Helme's ambition, huh…? I'll head out on a journey when the time's ripe, but is that really going to be alright with her plans?

I didn't voice out my doubts, however.

Although Red Tiger Storm and Higlia had left the training ground's perimeter, Shuhelia and Quiche were still present. They were chatting while watching Muu, Moga, and Nemus who were inside the training area. Both wore stiff expressions.

Quiche was bringing Shuhelia up to date with all the things that pertained in Cydale ever since I came here, while Shuhelia told her about Spirit World Knights and the circumstances in the Spirit World. Yesterday, they had chatted about various things in a big circle, but it looked like they were now reconciling ideas and views in private talks.

Shuhelia was also quite knowledgeable about matters concerning Pelneet. As for the subjugation of the Valmask family which infested Coast Bay City Terria, she not only knew about the high-ranking noble of Oseberai who ruled over Terria, but also their hidden involvements with Zamalia's high-ranking nobles.

Suddenly, Helme said next to me, "Your Excellency's Evil Domain-based trees will play a crucial part."

"FOr the fortress? There's still a long way to go until then. The negotiations with Higlia's hometown are up ahead, too."

"…Yes," nodded Helme.

"Nn, everyone busy. I also have my restaurant in Pelneet."

"But if you're honest, you wanna be with us, don't you Eva? There's also the apple orchard over here."

"Nn…yep. But, me not being able to help Shuuya, if I only stay in Pelneet, also plays a role."

"You got a point there. Other than my work for Betty-san, I've been working on training with everyone on the courtyard."

"The mock battles with Ajul and Riko-san were quite intense."

"Ajul sure was strong, seeing how he defeated Mamani. Not to mention Riko-san, a divine spear king ranker."

"So you joined the special training in the courtyard as well, Rebecca?"

"Yep. I wonder whether I'm getting too much influenced by you, Shuuya," Rebecca looked back at me while showing me a cheerful smile.

It caused me to become cheerful as well.

"Haha, so you got a training sickness?"

"Since I've also been striving at the Kulbul style, it might be a sickness at that point, yeah."

"Nn, Rebecca is doing her best! I've also been active with His Highness Falz and so on through Mel's connection, other than helping out at the restaurant."

"You've been helping out while working together with Lulu, Lala, and Robalt, right?"

"Yep. Kilie-san and the bug-user, too."

Those two girls have a family which is waiting for them.

Come to think of it, I heard just a bit about the matter with the Mel connection from Eva, but it sounds like she's been assisting in punishing nobles together with Kilie, who's become a subordinate of the second prince.

Eva belonged to a Baron family called Nightray in the past. I haven't heard anything about it, but maybe she's got prospects to have her nobility reinstated in the future. Well, I guess that's unlikely.

Eva was supporting Ciel while fiddling with Rollo's tail. Then we walked up to Muu, Nemus, and Moga.

Moga, who had the same height as her, said to Muu, "Muu, you're Shuuya's pupil. The pupil of a spearmaster. It seems like you're using threads, but…a sword king like me can teach you something other than swordsmanship. Do you know what it is?"

"…ng"

Muu released her thread and then cocked her head in confusion while watching the threads aimlessly flutter about.

"You don't? Alright, let me tell you…it's stamina!"

"――daa!" Muu almost fell over while yelping in surprise.

"Fuhahaha, was it too obvious? But, listen, no matter how top-notch you might be, it'll be the end once you run out of steam."

"…" Muu nodded."

Afterwards, Moga stressed the importance of training stamina, and after getting Nemus involved in the training, Muu messed around by running around on top of her while making use of her threads.

Getting tired of it before long, she leaped off Nemus, and resumed the training with Moga by running along the fence surrounding the training ground together with him. Seeing that, Nemus lumbered after them.

Thereupon, Solobo commented, "Moga-sono appears to be a member of your party, Milord."

"Solobo, you can tell that the magic sword dangling at Moga-dono's waist is quite a fine piece of weaponry. He might be small, but his swordsmanship can't be underrated."

"Yes. I'm sure the Elderly Swordsman Giza of the Great Wen Clan, who's adored by anyone, would think so as well."

"You mean the Cooking God Legyue's?"

"Yes, one of the legendary elderly swordsmen whose ebony sword is filled with the power of the cooking god. He's a first-class swordsman who'd be totally suited for my haori and magic umbrella. That's why I'd love to see him exchanging a few blows with Moga-dono."

Solobo swung his silver longsword in front of him as he talked with Quema.

There are still many things I don't know about the Eight Great Orc Gods. But, they seem different to the underground gods associated with

【Prison Dimension Godolon】

. So far as it goes, I've updated Quiche on the differences between the orc gods and the underground gods…

Afterwards, the two orcs talked about the writings and statues of Demon God Kisarame-sama. Things related to that god heavily influenced greater parts of the Lalarbuin region. I guess this also enters the framework of dark guild work.

I did report all kinds of things to Mel, including the matter with Nora, but I postponed talking about Kisarame-sama to her. Mel had told me that it might be a good idea for her to tour Lalarbuin, but recently her work related to the second prince had increased. Currently she was mainly tackling the manifold of important matters like the

【Blood Moon Cloth Art】

As I thought about those things, I addressed the two orcs, "…Quema, Solobo, you're free to jog together with Moga and the others, if you're bored. I also don't mind if you have some mock battles. I think it's better for you to not go to the village below since you don't understand the language and it's possible that you'll end up getting processed as meat, but basically you're free to do as you like."

"…Understood."

"…Milord! That sounds very terrifying! But, thanks."

After nodding at Quema and Solobo, I shifted my look to Eva.

"Eva, could you touch the Iglued tree before I pour mana into it?"

"Nn, got it," Eva consented.

She switched from her wheelchair mode to her metallic legs. Apparently intending to be elaborate about it, Eva focused her violet mana from her palm to her finger. And then she touched the tree's trunk with her slender finger.

"Nn, Iglued alive…," muttered Eva after closing her eyes.

Afterwards she remained silent so as to focus. A while later, she was still focusing…it lasted much longer than usual…is she reading the deeper parts of Iglued's mind?

I guess I have no choice but to wait. 𝒻𝓇𝘦𝘦𝘸𝘦𝒷𝓃𝑜𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"…Hey, you okay?"

"…"

————— End of Part 1 —————

Read over 40 chapters ahead and support the TL!

Rebecca let go of Ciel's hand and called out to her friend, apparently worried after seeing Eva having completely stopped moving while touching Iglued. But, Eva didn't respond.

That's really weird. Should I touch her for a bit? It might be bad if I get in the way of her reading, but…

Rollo apparently found the whole thing fishy as well, and got off my shoulder. She briskly walked up to Eva's feet, just to bump her small head against Eva's calf.

But, Eva didn't stoop down.

"Hey, Eva. Wake up――"

The instant I touched Eva's hand, which she had extended towards the Iglued tree, while telling her that, the world got inverted――

In front of me was a child who enjoyed the music coming from the lute it was playing.

All of a sudden, huh?

The child's hair was white and it had odd eyes. …How unusual.

A huge tree with banyan roots, resembling the Iglued tree, towered behind the child.

Still, are we currently in a mental world? I don't see Eva anywhere, though…

『Oh great Ghost Tree protecting this land, my name is Elias. In the future I'm going to become a spear wielder using lute music! So, cheer me on!』, the kid exclaimed.

『…』

Was I seeing Iglued's past through Eva's power? Moreover, the scenes shown quickly shifted, reflecting the passage of time. The young boy became a young man. And now he was training his spearmanship. A lute was lying on the ground nearby, too.

Having finished his training, the youth looked at the huge tree.

『Elias…』

Is this Iglued's voice?

Suddenly a part of the tree's roots transformed, taking on the form of a humanoid woman. She had deep green hair…no doubt about it, that was the same appearance Iglued had when I saw the water-steam-like illusion I saw at the end.

Was she originally some sort of tree race, and not a human?

『Shuuya, this is Iglued's illusionary world. It's just a part of her memory, so don't worry』

Oh, Eva's voice.

『Are you alright, Eva?』

『Yeah. Since your power has entered this tree, it's kind of like an interaction. Since I'll listen to her strong emotions, stick with me for a while』

So I guess this illusionary world of the past was created when Eva's mental powers came into contact with Iglued's spirit body.

『…Gotcha. To be honest, I don't understand mental worlds, but…don't force yourself too much, Eva』

『Nn, fine. But, give me a "smooch" afterwards!』

Haha, I can only hear Eva's voice, but I'll give her plenty of kisses.

Immediately following, Eva's voice disappeared.

Still, Iglued sure was pretty. Her vivid green hair and the shape of her eyebrows, which reminded one of a crescent moon, accentuated her womanhood. I had no doubt that she'd become even more beautiful if she were to apply make-up. There was no trace of an Evil Spirit Spear to be found in her.

As I thought, she must be a spirit of sorts.

But then groans could be heard from the huge tree.

『Iglued, for you to separate from us while defying the laws of us ghost tree spirits…』

『She has turned into a sinner who ought to be punished! A filthy scoundrel who broke the law!』

『Filth won't be tolerated』

『Filth is going to bring our downfall…』

Multiple voices filled the air. Yet, the boy called Elias apparently couldn't hear them.

『Ah, Ghost Tree Spirit-sama…you look unwell…』

『Don't worry about me, Elias. It's an issue on my end. Rather than that, we've already obtained a very close relationship, so stop adding -sama. Also, could I ask you to call me Iglued?』

『…Sure, Iglued』

Elias cast his face down in embarrassment, his cheeks red. After smiling at that, Iglued said, "『Hey, Elias. I'd love to also become able to handle spears and lutes as wonderfully as you』

『It's a continuation for the other day, right?』

『Yep』

Elias and Iglued enjoyed listening to the lute while having a wonderful relationship. They spent days full of joy and happiness, growing together as they taught each other how to handle the spear.

For me, it was nothing but the memory of a momentary picture, but I could fully understand.

It became very natural for Iglued to leave the forest with the ghost tree and spend time with Elias. But, each time Iglued left, the shape of her ghost tree transformed into something evil, crooked, and wriggling.

However, the people, who lived there while worshiping the ghost tree, didn't notice that change.

Each time when Iglued left to spend time with Elias, Iglued's power grew while the area around her was affected by good harvest.

And then something conclusive happened.

『Iglued, did you who broke the law of the ghost tree spirits and became corrupted by absorbing mana and human vitality…think we'd let you scatter the power of ghost trees into the vicinity just like that!? Become nourishment for the ghost tree spirits!』

Countless branches rushed towards the humanoid Iglued while the huge, evil-looking tree squirmed.

『Iglued!』

The youth brandished his spear, cutting down the branches heading for Iglued.

『Human, know that your defiance against the ghost tree will bring about calamity to this land――』

As a multitude of voices overlapped, the number of branches increased.

『Why can't all of you understand!?』, Iglued shouted.

She grew tentacles and wooden spears out of her own hands, and sliced down the flock of branches approaching Elias. But, the branches charged at the two with such a force that it looked like they were trying to cover the whole ground.

Iglued couldn't protect Elias any longer.

『Guuaaaaah』

Elias had a branch drill through his heart, before being absorbed into the ghost tree.

『Wh-, Elias!』

『…Gufaa, guee…devour this ghost tree alongside me…Iglued』

Elias was being dragged into the tree after having been mercilessly butchered, but he still appealed to Iglued even as the quality of his voice changed midway.

『N-No way…』

『Listen to what I tell you and devour iiiiiiiit』

By then only half of Elias remained outside the tree. Thus he screamed…slamming his own feelings at her as if to burn through his remaining life in one go.

While shedding tears, Iglued transformed herself into a huge wooden spear.

『Uuuaaaaaahhh!』

She rushed at the ghost tree while crying. Tearing through the approaching branches, she splendidly stabbed the core of the distorted center of the ghost tree. And then she absorbed the tree's mana into herself as if sucking all the trees around her dry.

『Sorry…Elias』

『It's fine…now I'll be able to always stay with you, right…?』

『…Yep, we'll be together. Elias…did you enjoy having been able to be with me?』

『……』

Elias never answered Iglued's question.

『…Did he die? N! No way! Uuuuaaaaaaaaaahhhh』

At that moment, Iglued's voice was filled with resentment going far beyond a simple grudge. Her own spirit was completely overtaken by darkness.

Her shape, which imitated that of a spear, became twisted, and as bark clashed with bark, the shape of her spear transformed into something crooked and wicked. And then, after she had transformed into darkness from within, her skin color changed from a bluish-black to a sticky jet-black as she devoured the other ghost trees.

I wonder whether that's how it looked like when Violent Devourer Hal'Konk went on a rampage in the Spirit World…? At the very least, this was the very moment spelling the birth of the Evil Ghost Tree Iglued.

And after her transformation, Iglued used the power of her internal core and apparently succeeded in combining the fragments of Elias's spirit with her own soul.

『Hihi, Elias, you'll be able to live on as long as you have a human heart, right?』

『…I'm…』

『…You'll be always with me from now on』

Iglued had changed into a monster that attacked the surrounding area. She thrust her homeland into the abyss with her own hands.

The replay of her memories after this…became very chaotic…as the scenes changed very quickly. The things looking evil and ugly weren't shown since they apparently went against Eva's own spirit.

Just like this, Iglued continued absorbing souls and desiring human hearts…until she was defeated by Hoffmann and Schmihazar, who had come to this area to investigate the treasured Orb of Wisdom.

Wait, Hoffmann has been searching for the Orb of Wisdom?

Suddenly the present Iglued tree appeared in front of me. At the top of a knoll which was also the highest point of Cydale. Beneath were my house and training ground. We were visible on the training ground.

This seemed to be a real-time video. Next, the interior of the Iglued tree was projected. A special view that seemed to allow a peek into the cave-like structure of roots.

…The video continued in a First-Person view as the image headed deep underneath the training ground. Iglued's roots reached deep into the ground. The images continued deeper and deeper underground.

But suddenly, the viewpoint switched to a Third-Person view. We were now deep underground, but I could clearly see a swarm of roots. And the image also reflected how Iglued's trees fought against a flock of roots with crooked shapes that extended towards our village from the Sea of Trees.

Is Iglued preventing the invasion of foreign roots with her own roots?

I stared at the distorted roots coming from the Sea of Trees. A female head surfaced. Queen Sardyne, huh?

In that case, the Iglued tree has been protecting Quiche's Cydale? It has been defending the village from the invasion by the roots of Queen Sardyne's tree, who's probably ruling over a part of the Sea of Trees, huh…?

At that point, the viewpoint got reversed. My view returned to normal, reflecting the real world. It was different from the time when I ate Hal'Konk. My vision returned to normal in an instant.

"…Eva."

"Nn, Iglued…"

Eva was crying with her eyes bloodshot. She removed the hand touching Iglued.

"Great. It looks like you returned to normal. But, why are you crying?" Rebecca peered into Eva's face from below while worried.

"Nnn, nyaoo," Rollo meowed, apparently also worried.

Seeing how her meowing was different from usual, she had apparently suffered a shock from seeing Eva cry.

"Rollo-chan, Rebecca, I'm okay…"

"Nyao?"

"Really? But, was it really so saddening?"

Eva stared at Rebecca with a sad look, "Yep…Iglued's feelings and memories were sad…after having seen her memories…I understood the reason why she grew into this huge tree after absorbing Shuuya's mana…"

Big tears trickled down from Eva's eyes.

"Yeah…I saw them, too. This tree has apparently been protecting Cydale from an invasion by Queen Sardyne…"

"Hoh, this huge tree has been doing such wonderful work…" Rebecca looked up to Iglued while sniffing so as to hide her own tears.

Does Iglued still have traces from her time as a ghost spirit? Or has she evolved as a race after feeding on my mana?

Either way, if she has been protecting Cydale in secret, I must thank her. And if she desires my mana, I'll share a bit of it with her.

Still, I'm kinda curious about the thing with her being a ghost tree. Is that somehow related to

? 1

I looked at the two flowers and the handprint on Iglued's trunk. The flowers used a deep, vivid green as a deep tone, and white as a light tone. Maybe the colors of these two flowers…

"Okay, I'll insert my hand into this handprint and give her some mana――"

After doing as told, the gaps between my fingers were filled with bark as if my hand was being fused with the tree, just like last time. It seemed almost as if my hand was sucked into the tree. For an instant, I entertained the silly idea of a tree hammer, but although I tried to lift my arm, I couldn't do so.

Suddenly I remembered and laughed.Previously I'd thought the same thing due to the magic book of Trapezohedron, didn't I?

But, Iglued's memories from before were a tragedy.

For an instant I worried whether it was okay to give my mana to Iglued, but after seeing Eva's face, my anxieties vanished.

Alright, I guess I'll summon my courage and pour mana into the tree.

For an instant, I felt a stinging pain from my hand. Many pipes extending from the tree had stabbed into my hand. While the pipes pulsated, my blood was sucked into the tree.

"Shuuya! Your blood!"

"Nyagoaaa."

The Iglued tree grew in the blink of an eye as if to disperse Rebecca's scream and Rollo's meowing. It didn't become much broader, but the tree grew vertically and then to the sides. This looked kind of like the revival of the Holker Tree.

Hmm? Its shape resembles that of the Lucival's Crest Tree, doesn't it?

The instant I asked this myself――

invoked.

A Bloody Surge Teller expansion.