Chapter 961 – 961. Yggdrasil (7)
A girl who appears to be of similar age to Yeriel.
However, despite her young appearance, the atmosphere was unusual.
It wasn’t too strange that she was sitting on an old tree, and it seemed as if time had stopped.
The most unusual thing was her hair.
Green hair long enough to scare even Rapunzel.
Just a few dozen… No, green hair that seemed to be hundreds of meters long filled the bottom with the gap.
‘… ‘I can dive.’
No kidding, it was a huge amount of hair that you could dive into.
And the identity of the girl with such long hair…
〈My name is… Yggdrasil. I have something to say to you, so I came to you despite being rude.〉
Yggdrasil… She was a party
‘It was really Yggdrasil.’
She had a rough guess.
However, she was more shocked than happy that her guess was correct.
‘This person is the culprit of all incidents.’
A being that summoned people at random and then forced them to climb.
The climb isn’t even friendly.
Some people get their heads exploded by fairies, some get killed by human-sized bees, and some kill people to survive.
A world where kindness seems to have been abandoned.
That was Yggdrasil.
I asked with a wary expression.
“Why did you call me?”
Instead of talking with his voice like before, Yggdrasil appeared directly in front of me.
It’s clear that he’s going to do something unusual to me…
〈I called you to give thanks.〉
“… “What?”
… I thought so, but it was a big mistake.
Yggdrasil thanked me in a friendly voice.
〈 To that child… Thank you for giving me a happy rest.〉
“…”
By that child, I meant a gravedigger.
I scratched my head, embarrassed by my own excessive caution.
“That’s what I’m going to say. “Thank you for telling me to take the gravedigger to the mountain.”
I was truly grateful.
If it weren’t for Yggdrasil, the gravedigger would have met a vain ending.
Even though I witnessed his happy ending with my own eyes, I felt depressed.
If he had found out later that he had met a vain ending…
“If it weren’t for you… “I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.”
I would have felt regret and guilt for the rest of my life.
After hearing my thanks, Yggdrasil spoke in a softer voice.
〈You… You are as kind as ever.〉
“… ?”
Before or now?
“When have we ever talked?”
I was caught up in a few regressions during midsummer and when I was on the 0th floor.
If we had a conversation back then, it was normal for me not to remember it.
Even the ship couldn’t catch the conversation with Yggdrasil, so it wasn’t strange that Armonia didn’t know.
But to my question, Yggdrasil…
〈When the time comes… I’ll tell you everything.〉
She naturally avoided answering.
‘Just in case, I’ll discuss it with Armonia as soon as I get back…’
It was a moment to think like that.
〈 Please. Meeting with me… And please do not tell anyone about our conversation.〉
“… Okay.”
In the first place, I had no intention of telling Gekkosu or the party members.
‘If I only tell Armonia…’
It was a moment when I thought the same thing again.
〈What I’m saying is… It doesn’t mean a colleague who shares hardships with you.〉
“…”
Even I, who pride myself on being a good actor, couldn’t manage my facial expressions.
Yggdrasil looked at my expression and calmly…
〈Please keep it a secret even from the outside helpers who brought you to this world.〉
I recited my biggest secret as if it was obvious.
As soon as I heard her words, I immediately controlled my expression and thought.
‘If you think about it, it must be strange not to know. Because it disappeared from time to time.’
If you think about it, Yggdrasil was in a position to observe and supervise all summoners.
There was no way he would have known I was disappearing in the first place.
But…
‘… They say they are sure that there is an external helper.’
I couldn’t understand that part.
No matter how great Yggdrasil is, it would not be able to know the existence of the ship.
‘Is it possible for you to read my thoughts…’
The moment I was so worried, Yggdrasil smiled and said.
〈 I’ll tell you just in case… Even I can’t read your thoughts.〉
“… “I think you read it?”
〈The facial expressions were just easy to read.〉
“Hmm…”
What can I say… I felt like I was being made fun of.
But strangely enough, I didn’t feel bad.
I relaxed my expression and neck and looked at Yggdrasil’s notice.
‘For now, let’s decide later whether to tell Armonia or not.’
And to make that decision, I asked Yggdrasil an important question.
“Now tell me. “Why did you call me?”
After hearing the reason for calling me, I decided to decide whether to tell Armonia or not.
Yggdrasil heard my question and made a disappointed voice.
〈The conversation was so enjoyable that I didn’t even notice time passing.〉
It didn’t seem like something I just said to be pleasant to hear.
I felt disappointed as if I was really happy.
〈The reason why I served you like this… I wanted to explain.〉
“Explanation?”
〈Yes. To you I… How does it look?〉
“…”
A being that randomly summons innocent people and drives them to death.
Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything other than that.
At least the image has improved a bit thanks to giving the gravedigger a peaceful rest?
‘That doesn’t mean the mistake goes away, but…’
I thought like that and kept silent.
Yggdrasil perceived my silence as an answer and continued his speech.
〈You must look like a monster so terrible that even the evil god sticks out his tongue.〉
“No, that’s…”
I couldn’t just deny it.
And surprisingly, that fact…
〈I think it’s normal to see it that way.〉
Yggdrasil, he himself did not deny it.
I wondered if he would admit it.
However, Yggdrasil began explaining in a sad voice.
〈But it’s not me.〉
“Huh? “No?”
〈Most things happening now… It has nothing to do with my will.〉
“… “What?”
It was something completely unexpected.
What happened in Yggdrasil has nothing to do with Yggdrasil…
“Then who did such a thing?”
〈That’s… I can’t tell you.〉
He didn’t say he didn’t know Yggdrasil.
He said he couldn’t say.
She briefly explained why she couldn’t speak.
〈If I tell you about its existence, my meeting with you will definitely be discovered.〉
It was a story that there was a separate source of all evil, and that even Yggdrasil could not do anything about it.
I looked up at the sky for a moment.
The sky was full of black clouds, blocking the light.
I muttered to myself as I looked at the clouds blocking the light.
“No way… The light that possessed Baron?”
〈…〉
Bingo.
We were able to roughly identify the culprit through Yggdrasil’s silence.
I still don’t know the identity of the light that came to Baron, but I was able to realize at least one more fact.
‘That guy is the culprit of this situation.’
Once it was clearly determined who the enemy was.
The guy who possessed the Baron, killed the gravedigger, and further imprisoned Yggdrasil.
“You mean that guy summoned random people and made them climb to death?”
〈… As a result, it is my strength.〉
“Huh?”
If this is the case, it doesn’t make sense again.
If I hadn’t summoned it in the first place, something cruel like this wouldn’t have happened.
In the end, Yggdrasil is also one of them…
〈Summoning is also my strength, and all the hardships you go through are also my strength. But…〉
Yggdrasil continued his words in a sad voice.
〈The power I have is… It’s a situation I can’t control.〉
In other words, Yggdrasil is not only trapped…
〈All the power I have… I’m being used for your pain.〉
His own power was being used against his will.
And in an extremely cruel way…
“But why did he do this?”
〈It is to cause confusion within Midgard.〉
For reference, the 4th floor where I am, as well as the 1st to 5th floors, are all together called Midgard.
〈The goal is to divide Midgard and maintain hostility.〉
“But wouldn’t it be easier to work together if there was a summoner?”
The best way to unite internal forces is to create external forces.
But there was something I overlooked.
〈Elves were not like that in the past, but as they became influenced by the light, they came to despise humans and Umbra at some point.〉
Once that was misaligned, the vicious cycle began to repeat itself.
Elves start wars every time, and join hands with summoners to protect Umbra.
The situation was repeated infinitely.
And it was Yggdrasil that built a system for summoners to survive.
However, Yggdrasil’s power is gradually being taken away, and if it continues like this…
〈Maybe this season… This might be my last memory.〉
As soon as I heard Yggdrasil’s explanation, my stomach started to boil.
‘I don’t know who he is, but he’s a real bastard…’
For now, I decided to believe Yggdrasil’s explanation.
However, apart from believing the explanation, one question arose.
“Why me?”
I also did not deny that I am currently the strongest summoner in Yggdrasil.
But even before I first set foot in Yggdrasil, the strong existed.
A representative figure was Ardia.
Ardia is also at the top level among summoners, and Yggdrasil would have quickly known that she was a trustworthy person.
But ironically, the reason why Yggdrasil called me had nothing to do with her skills or credibility.
〈In your heart… It’s because I have an alter ego.〉
At the same time as Yggdrasil answered, a green object suddenly flowed from my chest.
And the thing that came out of the chest…
“It’s a seed.”
It was the seed of Yggdrasil received as a reward for clearing floor 0.
It was so long ago that I forgot about it…
〈Yes. Thanks to this seed, I was able to communicate with you smoothly.〉
“There were seeds before that, right? “Why didn’t you talk to me back then?”
〈I couldn’t try to talk because it didn’t activate until it was charged to 100%.〉
As Yggdrasil said, the seed of Yggdrasil was in an activated state, perhaps because it was 100% charged.
=====
Seed of Yggdrasil (Activated)
=====
Yggdrasil explained to me in a self-deprecating voice.
〈For reference, the time when it was activated was when engaging in combat with the elves. 〉
“Ah!”
Pegasus cavalry.
Although he did not kill a single elf, it seemed like he had accumulated energy thanks to the battle.
〈You kept it well all this time. I’ll put it back in. 〉
The seed of Yggdrasil that came out of my heart flowed back into my heart.
〈I hope this helps you on your journey…〉
Yggdrasil gave me his blessing and planted a seed in my heart again.
The situation has been roughly sorted out.
Yggdrasil was not the source of all evil, but the greatest victim.
And the source of all evil…
‘Unidentified light…’
It was the light seen in Baron’s dream.
Once the situation was resolved, I was able to decide on the concerns I had raised earlier.
“I won’t tell anyone what happened to you.”
I decided not to tell anyone what happened with Yggdrasil.
Originally, he would have told Armonia, but the information and help he received from Yggdrasil was too great for him to ignore her earnest request.
Yggdrasil, who was trapped inside the trunk, closed his eyes and smiled and spoke to me in a friendly voice.
〈Really… Thank you.〉
To this extent, it can be said that her misunderstanding about Yggdrasil has been fully resolved.
However, there was one more important question.
“Where is the guy who made you like this?”
〈…〉
Yggdrasil hesitated for a moment, then she told me.
〈It’s in the new world.〉
“God’s Realm?”
〈Yes. Up to the 5th floor is Midgard, and above that is the New Realm. If we reach the final layer of the God Realm…〉
Now the goal is clear.
“You have to go all the way up.”
From the beginning, the goal was to climb the last floor…
This is the end of our business with Yggdrasil.
However, even though her business was over, I still wanted to talk to her more.
But…
〈It’s unfortunate, but it’s time to say goodbye.〉
With her notification, the clouds in the sky suddenly began to slowly clear.
As the light poured down more and more, Yggdrasil spoke to me again with a sad expression.
〈Please… Please stop beings consumed by desire.〉
As soon as she finished speaking, a huge beam of light began to surround Yggdrasil, as if a hole had opened in the sky.
Light pouring into Yggdrasil.
But the brightly pouring light…
〈Thank you so much. The meeting that took place today was… I will never forget it for the rest of my life.〉
They began to surround Yggdrasil again as if they were imprisoning it.
As my vision became increasingly blurry, the sight of Yggdrasil also became increasingly blurred.
I left her last words while looking at Yggdrasil being trapped in the light.
“Wait. “I will definitely save you.”
Yggdrasil heard my voice…
〈…〉
She just smiled and touched her lips, but unfortunately her voice could no longer reach me.
Save the tree waifu