Chapter 333 – Cycle of Life (2)

A huge gate made of trunks thicker than my body.

As I looked up at the figure that somehow resembled a knot in a tree, Nariel, who had been leading the way to guide us until now, took a step back.

“From here, Milone and I cannot go up.”

“You mean Her Highness the Queen?”

“Yes! We weren’t invited!”

“Huh.”

So, do we have to wait in front of this until we meet the circulating life and come back?

Anyway, it’s a bit awkward to just leave these two standing. First of all, isn’t it the queen and the chancellor?

Milone opened her mouth with a blunt expression, probably noticing my thoughts.

“It’s okay. The upper level of the World Tree has a different flow of time than the outside, so we only have to wait a few seconds. More than anything… The door is opened for a moment and the aura of the upper layer that flows out contains enormous vitality. For me, blessed by the circulating Life Lord, just inhaling it has the same effect as taking a break for several hours.”

“…”

Just sleep well!

I know very well that Milone has too many things to do, and even important ones.

Wasn’t Nariel just attacked there? Right now, she is acting cheerfully as if nothing happened, but Milone is still worried.

Having guessed her intentions, she nodded her head.

“Then, I’ll come back slowly, so you can rest well.”

“It’s a little bit hard to say that taking a rest for just a few seconds…”

“…”

Which rhythm are you going to match?

Perhaps it was a joke of its own, I left Milone smiling proudly and stood in front of the door with her party. Then, the World Tree reacted shortly after.

Goo Goo Goo-

The intertwined stems are slowly untied, and the blocked door is dismantled and disappears.

A scene closer to disappearing entirely than a door opening.

The inside that was revealed was very dreamy.

A waterfall of yellow-green light pouring down from the ceiling. A huge circular staircase that clings to the wall and catches it. Lastly, as Milone said, even the air full of vitality.

When all of this is put together, it gives you a strange sense of being transported to another world, just a few steps away.

Helena, who came in with her, whispered in a small voice.

“It is a kind of sanctuary. The World Tree is the alter ego of the Lord of Circulating Life, so there is nothing strange about having a place like this inside.”

“Aha? Is that why you felt a strange sense of incongruity?”

I nodded and looked around. But all you can see is a circular staircase that runs around the wall.

Even if I turn my head and look up, I can’t see the end. Do I really have to climb this on foot?

I stared blankly at the ceiling, then turned around to ask Nariel something.

However, the tree trunk has already been tangled again and the door has been closed for a long time. I looked around with a puzzled expression, but there was no sharp way that the others were.

“Hmm. It’s going to be hard to just climb up. If it’s hard to climb up with magic, should we sit down on the stairs in the middle and rest?”

At my words, all the women silently looked at each other and nodded. Now is the moment to raise your magic attribute.

“No! You don’t have to!”

The Solari, which sprang out of Helena’s body, said that.

“There is no need for that. What do you mean, Solari?”

“It is literally. This is the sanctuary of circulating life. It’s a place where the rules are slightly different from the outside. Maybe if I recklessly tried to go up, I’d run out of magic within a short time? Even if you try to sit down and rest, you won’t recover properly.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I said that the time flow is different from outside. In H&A, it was a word that only came out as a setting, but I can understand it after hearing Solari’s story.

It is also a kind of defense system.

If anyone breaks in, it twists the flow of time to their disadvantage.

The consumption rate is inflated, and the recovery rate is infinitely slow.

In H&A, you could go to the top of the World Tree by following the circulating Apostle of Life route, and the loading screen at that time was this circular staircase you see now.

I wanted to see if it was shown as a somewhat unusual loading screen because it was a world tree, but it was like that after actually going through this place.

“Then what should I do now? If you can’t go up blindly, isn’t there some way?”

“Yes? Can I just wait?”

“?”

“?”

“?”

Solari and I tilted our heads left and right at each other. Then, at some point, Solari smiled and suddenly hugged her.

“My husband is cute!”

“Eh.”

To put it bluntly, isn’t Solari cuter with lion ears and tail?

With such a question in mind, he asked while receiving an attack of Solari’s affection.

“So? Why do you have to wait?”

“Simple. Are we guests? It is also a guest invited directly by the circulating life. Of course I’ll call you What’s so late… Could it be tidying up the room? Because the house has been dirty since the old days. The last time I went out to play, well, there was only one place for one person to lie down, so I cleaned it up too. What is it?”

“Uh… Is it okay if I say that?”

Solari reveals her personal life as if it’s not a big deal, perhaps because they’re the same god. Is it okay to do this? Between the blink of an eye.

I only closed and opened my eyelids for a moment, but before I knew it, the scenery around me had changed.

The infinitely rising staircase disappears, and the situation is surrounded by ordinary homes.

Its center. A woman sitting in front of her cozy fireplace said dumbfounded.

“Of course it’s not okay. I am also a god. Let me keep my body in front of mortals.”

“Eh. Am I not following you? Shouldn’t you accept the faith by mingling with the believers with a true appearance, not a fake one?”

“This is my true self. It’s just a little tidy.”

“Aren’t you saying that’s dirty?”

“… This short-limbed cat.”

“Wow! That’s a secret! You can’t speak in front of Yandel!”

“Huh. Wasn’t it you, Gwangmyeong, who said that we should come forward with a true appearance, not a fake one?”

“Cancellation! I will cancel! Quiet!”

The Solari, which shakes its arms vigorously while sneakily watching me, and the circulating life that leisurely crosses one leg.

If you look at it this way, even a god is no different from a human except for the status of existence.

No, in the process of gaining strength by receiving faith in the first place, it is also affected by personality and way of thinking, so is it natural?

Even though gods and followers seem to be one-sided, in reality they influence each other.

All the followers of the good god are good people, and that is why all the followers of the evil god are crazy.

He shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth at the excited look of the two, perhaps because they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“Lady Solari. In fact, I know that you have been bragging about me from before, so you don’t have to try too hard to hide it.”

“… Uh, how?! How do you know?!”

“You know Solari, too, right? Who gave me this or that ability?”

“Fafnir… !”

Grinding their teeth in anger, the Solari calls out the name of a dragon that no longer exists.

On the other hand, instead of being surprised by the sudden appearance of the name Fafnir, the circulating life nodded calmly.

“As expected. You are the last arrangement left by Fafnir and the heir to all of them…”

“This is Yandel Lindelheit. Nice to meet you, Master of the World Tree.”

“Oh? It’s okay if you’re not too polite. You know what? I helped quite a bit when Fafnir created you. Maybe that’s why I’m not like everyone else.”

“Is it?”

“It was. So, be a little more comfortable.”

“All right. Then…”

This body is a chimera made of magic. He used Fafnir’s cells as the main material, and since he inherited many things, he could be seen as something like his father.

Then, what should I call the circulating life that Fafnir helped to make me?

If Fafnir is the father, there must be only one thing left.

“… Do you mind?”

“… Isn’t that a bit too comfortable to call?”

“Then let’s call him Life-sama.”

Let’s say that with a shrug of the shoulders. A circulating life replaced by a sigh. Solari smirked as she saw her.

“How is it? Isn’t my husband funny?”

“… Ah! Called her guests and left them too standing. Everyone come and sit down. We have also prepared snacks, so don’t hesitate.”

The circulating life pretending not to hear the Solari, waving her hand in her air.

At the same time, cookies and cool water appeared on the previously empty table.

Since it’s inside the World Tree, a miracle like this is nothing.

At first, they were the ones who noticed little by little, but after Solari sat down first and I followed, they began to gather one by one.

I ate one cookie and it was delicious, but it was just a snack with no special effect. The water was also cool.

… There are so many leaves of the world tree, but if you boil one, it will be gone.

I felt a bit of regret inside, but the cookie was really delicious, so I focused on eating it calmly.

The circulating life that gazed at it happily spoke.

“I’m glad it fits in your mouth. It’s always nice to see one of my hobbies that I’ve taken the time to learn is well-received. … So now that you’re ready, shall we move on to the main topic? It may be short-lived, but it is quite a burden for a mortal to stay in the sanctuary for a long time.”

“Thank you if you do.”

With a slight nod of their heads, everyone except for Solari nodded in unison with a tense expression.

In particular, Elisha and Iris were stiff like robots, probably due to the fact that the god they believed in was right in front of them.

Seeing their reaction, the circulating life gave a softer smile.

“Don’t be too nervous. I have called you here today to congratulate you on your achievements. Of course, Yandel was the most active, but other people also defeated countless cultists and monsters, right?”

“Ah.”
“Go, thank you?”
“Come to think of it, he said he’d give me a present…”

Women nodding their heads in bewilderment or understanding. It was only then that the tension eased, and the expressions on his face became comfortable.

The circulating life nodded contentedly and continued.

“What you want. Or do you need anything? If possible, I’ll give it to you. Even if you don’t have one, don’t worry, I have prepared something for you.”

“Oh oh… But can I just take it like this?”

“Of course not. There is one condition.”

“Conditions mean…”

“Please fight against the evil spirits and their forces as you do now. That’s enough.”

Circulating life looking at this side with a smile. I looked at that smile for a moment, then carefully opened my mouth.

“Then could you provide me with plenty of leaves from the World Tree to drink as tea?”

“… To?”

“If possible, cut off the branches to be used as staff materials, and I think I will need fruits and flowers.”

“…”

“If you take care of the sap and dew, I think it can be used in many ways, so it’s good.”

“…”

“Ah, roots and bark are perfect for processing into accessories… A circulating life?”

“…”

It wasn’t long before they were excited and asked for the world tree goods they had been waiting for. For some reason, I was concerned about the quiet surroundings and raised my head.

A circulating life with its face dyed red and its head bowed.

When I stared at him, wondering why he was doing that, he opened his mouth in a stammering voice, as if he considered it a haste.

“Oh, it’s difficult.”

“… ?”

“I never thought I would grow up to be such an active child…”

“?”

Did I say anything dirty?