Chapter 438 – Wiki Clipport (Complete)

As soon as day broke, I set out on a territorial patrol with my apprentice.

“Dana.”
“…Yes.”

We strolled along the path, enjoying the sunset while Wiki lay asleep.

We encountered monsters, but to me, it felt just like a leisurely walk.

– Sssst.

We’d simply walk down the path like this, singing songs.
If a monster were to appear on the road where people pass by, we’d send out our Ebony.

Just like this.

“Krrrrk.”

As a goblin let out a howl towards us, we stopped and immediately signaled.

“Go in boldly. Even if you get hurt, you can be healed.”
“Yes… Hmph!”

With her small frame, Ebony quickly closed the distance, reached the target, and bravely pierced its heart, just as I had instructed.

Our territory wasn’t safe, and it was frequently overrun with monsters. Because of this, our apprentice’s experience grew day by day.

– Flick, splat!

Ebony fearlessly thrust her blade, heedless of the blood that splattered onto her face. It wasn’t long before a goblin let out its dying cry.

“Huff, huff…”

Ebony, having delivered the killing blow to the creature’s head, returned, breathing more heavily than anticipated.

“Feeling tense because it’s morning?”

Ebony nodded, the dagger in her hand quivering. I patted her head and offered some advice.

“Next time, try to control your breathing a bit more. You did well.”

Naturally, I didn’t forget to praise her with the warmth and affection of a mentor. I then pulled something out of my pocket and presented it to her.

It was a grape drawing sticker, the kind that elementary school students typically collect to exchange for notebooks or pencils.

“You did a great job. I’ll give you one ‘Master Sticker’.”

“…??”

“Collect ten, and I’ll grant you anything you want. Absolutely anything.”

“Anything at all…?”

“Of course.”

Blinking her round eyes, Ebony nodded and gripped her sword more tightly.

Does she have a request for me?

It may be a childish approach, but if it sparks motivation, it suits me just fine.

With my undeniable talent, nurturing it like this for a few months will make me no less capable than I once was.

“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yes.”

Despite appearing cautious on the surface, it becomes fiery when engaged in battle.

We haven’t become close yet, but if this person’s mind were to stabilize a bit, wouldn’t they actually possess a cheerful personality?

Such thoughts occurred to me that morning.

* * * * * * * *

“Lee Si-heon.”
“Uh, what?”

On my way back from patrol, I ran into Gu-seul in front of my room. As soon as she saw me, she threw a small plastic container my way.

As I effortlessly caught the flying container, Gu-seul pointed at it.

“That thing.”

I checked it, as it looked familiar, and sure enough, it was a container filled with the medicine I used to take.

“What’s with this?”

“It’s too easily accessible in a room with Wiki.”
“Ah.”

I should have kept the medicine out of children’s reach. I completely forgot.
She’s so clever that she probably distinguished it well, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Upon realizing the meaning of the words, I shrugged my shoulders.

“…Remember, you’re a supernatural being. Do you know how much medication it takes to control just one of your hormones?”

Unlike the world I used to live in, in this world, people needed to prescribe different drugs for hormonal control depending on the magical power within their bodies.

“Even consuming just the powder of that medicine could kill ordinary people… I’d like to say that you should quit, but…”

Gu-seul tactfully refrained from saying anything further.

One can freely modify a person’s physical state, but the mind is a different matter.

“It’s okay.”
“…Alright then.”

With a shrug, I placed the medicine on top of the wardrobe and left the room.

“What about Wiki?”

“303 Workshop. Do you need a computer or something? I’ve made breakfast, so I can bring it over.”
“Alright.”

Wiki had quite a lot of tasks assigned to her for this kidnapping plan. Until now, Hong-Yeon and the others had been responsible for the intellectual work, but even all of them combined couldn’t match Wiki or Alba. No matter how one looked at it, both were prodigies.

I opened the door to the studio without knocking.

-Startled-

Wiki, sitting in the chair, caught my eye.

With her feet not touching the ground, Wiki swayed her legs gently while focusing on the computer. Adorable.

When I went inside and looked at the screen, I saw a modeling program running. At a glance, it seemed to have rendered a map of the cradle.

“Wiki?”
“…Eek!”

She was so focused that she didn’t even know I had arrived. When I called her name, the startled Wiki tried to move back. I caught her, and as I looked at her face, color returned to our daughter’s cheeks.

“Was it you, Dad?”

With a flourish of both hands!

As I hugged Wiki tightly as requested, her lips brushed against my ear.
Hearing her giggle, I rubbed our cheeks together.

“Ouch! Hehe. Dad’s beard is prickly.”
“Should I stop?”
“No, no! Keep going.”

I gently shook my head and continued rubbing our cheeks, careful not to cause any pain.
Finally, it ended with a sweet and affectionate kiss from Wiki, filled with her playful charm.
My heart melted.

“What’s this?”

I asked while holding Wiki and sitting in a chair.

“It’s a route.”

Confidently stating this, Wiki subtly tilted her head forward.
I raised my hand and affectionately stroked our daughter’s hair.

“A route?”
“Yes, it’s a plan for how to move about.”
“Let’s take a look.”

The cradle I saw on the computer was strikingly similar to the one I had seen in person.
Winding, maze-like paths, and areas where access was restricted without a card key.

“…This part seems a little different though.”

“After reconstructing it and transforming it into other artifacts, the structure should have changed considerably since three years ago.”
“How did you know this?”
“……”

Wiki laughed awkwardly.

“…If Dad knew what kind of misdeeds Mom, who had a contract with the World Tree of Knowledge, had committed, he’d be shocked, wouldn’t he?”

Somehow, she managed to dissolve the contract and become free.

The knowledge that can be learned in Eden remains fully intact within Alba. Wiki murmured softly.

“From prophecies about the king, all the maps of the world… dungeon structures. There’s knowledge accumulated over thousands of years. More than all existing wooden beings and trees… My mother’s knowledge might be even greater, right?”

Wiki, who spoke calmly as if merely stating facts rather than boasting, pointed at the screen.

“…so this is hardly a challenge.”

Wiki, who had learned all of this, must possess knowledge beyond imagination. I tapped the top of Wiki’s head.

“Well done, my daughter.”

“No.”
“But Dad wants to see Wiki play like kids her age.”
“What?”

Wiki looked up as if she was asking what I meant.
I stretched Wiki’s cheek all the way.

Her soft cheeks!
Pull and release, and they snap back like a rubber band.

“Ouch, Dad, that hurts…”
“Come on, come on~”
“Aaah! That tickles! Hehe, hahaha!”

As I tickled her armpit and neck, Wiki laughed with her bottom bouncing.
After wiping away her tears, Wiki shivered, still feeling the tickling sensation.

“Please… huff, huff, don’t do that… Heh.”

Wiki, catching her breath and wiping her tears.
I held Wiki and moved my hand.

“Would you like me to show you something fun?”
“Something fun?”
“Ta-da.”

It would be a mistake to think that only Wiki’s proficiency in spatial magic has increased.
In the meantime, the number of coordinates that could be memorized increased, and now it was simple to take out items she had memorized.

-Pop!

Even with a slight effect, a non-blinding light spread out, and a dinosaur doll popped out of my hand.

“What do you think?”

When I asked, Wiki replied.

“It’s space magic, isn’t it?”

…Normally, one would be surprised. It felt unfair that she knew magic and didn’t show much of a reaction.

“What’s fun about it?”
“……”

I put my hand inside the doll and opened the dinosaur’s mouth wide.

“Hi? I’m Green.”
“……Huh, why is Green’s name like that?”
“Because it’s green?”

Why was she laughing? I thought my naming sense was rather good. Feeling annoyed, I used the dinosaur’s mouth to bite Wiki’s hand.

“Ouch! I won’t forgive you for making fun of my name!”
“Oh, I got bitten.”
“Kwaaak, kaak!”
“Hehe. Cute.”

Hmmm…

Why did it seem like Wiki was having more fun than me? I looked at her with my mouth closed.

I was so dumbfounded that I didn’t even think about moving the dinosaur.

“Phew… Huh? Dad…?”

Wiki, who had been still, looked up at me and subtly glanced around before reaching out both hands to me.

She brought her hands together like a puppy and gently tapped my cheek.

“Wow. Baby puppy.”

She laughed, blushing.

This angel is my daughter. I almost shed tears.

-Thump thump.

“No, I said to eat, why aren’t you coming…”

At that moment, Gu-seul suddenly opened the door and entered the room with a fierce glare.

“…What are you doing?”

Guseul, seeing our father-daughter moment, looked at us with a puzzled expression. We looked at each other and simultaneously said:

“Rawr.”
“Rawr.”

A small hand-made puppy and a dinosaur toy opened their mouths. Gu-seul, furrowing her brow, let out a sigh as a bonus.

*Swish, swish.*

As the sound of rustling leaves reached her ears, Shiba’s stance wavered.

*Thwack!*

Startled by Shiba’s sudden appearance through the foliage, a wooden training figure drew its sword. Its reaction speed was impressive in its own right.

However, Shiba’s movements became even swifter.

“One!”

*Clang!*

She parried the figure’s sword, knocking it aside.

“Two, three, four! Five!”

*Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!*

A rapid succession of blows followed. The training figure struggled to defend against the flurry of horizontal and vertical slashes, ultimately leaving an opening.

“Gah!?”

With a sharp glint in her eyes, Shiba’s sword traced a straight line from the gap in the figure’s armor.

*Squeak!*

Just before her sword could pierce it—

【 “Stop.” 】

Shiba’s body halted, along with Mary’s voice.

“Beep, well done. Your skills are like a fool’s.”

Shiba lowered her sword and scoffed at the toppled wooden dummy.
The man’s face twisted at the sight of Shiba, who showed no signs of exhaustion.

Behind Shiba, the World Tree dressed in a gown approached.

“Good job. A… A+?”

The World Tree of Elegance and Mischief, Mary.
With a light judgment, Shiba relaxed and sheathed her sword.

“Why not an S?”

The second trial, Forest Survival.
Three years ago, it was the first test, but this time it was deferred to the second trial.

Instead, the first test was a consultation with the World Tree.
The order of the first and second tests from three years ago was reversed.

In Forest Survival, a tree is assigned to each student for scoring purposes.
Safety is guaranteed, and the process is more professional.
This was possible because the number of participants in the first test had decreased.

“Yeah, there’s only one person who can receive an S from me.”

Mary spoke to Shiba with her arms crossed.

“…One person?”
“Yes! There is such a person.”

Wasn’t that a bit too much? Shiba held back from swearing at her opponent, using a curse derived from her own name.

With a graceful gesture, Mary cast a healing spell on her opponent and then addressed Shiba.

“And you… using magical power feels awkward for you.”
“…Magical power?”
“The color manifestation hasn’t been done properly. Honestly, I’m not in a position to criticize your swordsmanship skills… But aren’t you too indecisive?”
“……”

Shiba closed her mouth. It was true, after all.

The manifestation of magical traits meant mastery in wielding magical power. However, ever since Shiba held a sword, she hadn’t been able to properly manifest the true color of her magical power.

“Is it that you can’t use it? Or you won’t use it?”
“…Well.”

Shiba then opened her palm.

– Hmmm.

The light of the emerging magic was a plain blue. When power was applied to it, Shiba’s magical energy turned ashen gray.

*Fwoosh*

The color of the flaming magic was neither black nor white.

A never-before-seen hue. A grayish tint.

Mary’s eyes widened.

“…What is this?”
“It’s like this.”
“Can you not speak to me for a moment?”

Mary’s gaze scanned Shiba’s magic.

“…At least no one inside the cradle can see magic as well as I can.”
“True.”
“It’s strange.”

In Mary’s transparent pupils, both white and black magical power orbited.

“It’s not gray…”

The white and black magic intermingled, creating that particular shade. Mary knew of only one such case.

“A sage.”

Two types of magic, a blessed talent. But it doesn’t manifest this way.

“Hmm… I can’t help you with this?”
“What?”

Mary shrugged her shoulders without changing her expression at the sound of Shiba’s sigh.

“What is it… Never mind. But who is that person?”

“Which person?”

Shiba asked, shifting the topic.

“You said there was one, right? The one who’s linked to the ‘S’.”

“Ah… that person?”

A wistful look appeared in Mary’s eyes. Shiba immediately noticed Mary’s hands clasped together like a love-struck girl.

“They’re amazing.”

“What do you like so much about them?”

“They have black hair, they’re kind, and it’s impressive how they swiftly call me out when I make mistakes. Plus, they’re sexy. They’re just… perfect!”

Mary’s dignified demeanor crumbled, and her playful side grew more apparent. The sight of her tapping her feet couldn’t help but be endearing.

Mary was younger than Shiba in terms of her physical age. Shiba smiled at the sight of Mary’s childlike love.

“When we meet later… I’m certain you’ll be praised. Saying it’s grown this big. That I’ve worked hard… Yes, compliments are guaranteed.”
“You really adore it… What’s its name?”
“Name? I can’t just tell you. Hehe.”

Mary spoke with a mischievous grin.

“Still, it’s been a while, and I’m curious about any news. How long do you plan to keep me waiting?”

He said he would come.
Mary remembers.

He promised to grant a higher status and earn the respect of others.
And for that, Mary knows she must ascend to a loftier position.

When she becomes the World Tree, Mary will transform into a deity.
She will be an object of unwavering faith.

And the one who receives the favor of that god… In this society, they become the most powerful figure.

“I must grow even more.”

Mary has been dreaming of this ever since.

Three years ago,
the agonizing two years,
and even now, having achieved her goal.

Mary believed her dreams would persist,
Until, days later, she learned of his demise.