Translated by AmaLynne
by AmaLynne
I followed Demiurge through the forest for a while, and then suddenly, my vision opened up.
“O-Oh…”
There, I found myself in a space where a pure white carpet covered the ground.
The plains beyond the forest. There was a field of white flowers.
“This is amazing…”
“Umu, it’s pretty spectacular, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
I nodded in agreement with Demiurge’s words.
I was taken aback by the sight in front of me.
Demiurge smiled a little at my reaction and continued on through the flower garden.
Then, in the center of the plain, she climbed up a small hill with a slight bulge.
I followed her up the hill.
Then, above me, the field of flowers was broken up and formed a beautiful circle.
In the center of it, there’s something like a shiny transparent crystal floating around.
“What is this?”
“Umu, this is―――【 The Seed of the World Tree 】.”
“Wha?!”
At Demiurge’s words, my eyes widened.
“This is, the World Tree?!”
I raised my voice and looked closely at the shining crystal.
I can’t help but be astonished that this crystal is the seed of the World Tree…
The World Tree, the great tree that creates mana in this world.
However, its existence is shrouded in mystery, and we don’t know anything about where it grows or what it does.
A mysterious being that I’ve only heard about in fairy tales now exists right in front of my eyes.
How could anyone not be surprised by this?
“Umu. It is not even a sapling yet, but over the next few hundred or thousand years, it will grow into a magnificent world tree with branches that will cover this plain. My daily routine is to make sure that this seed is alive and well, and of course to monitor its progress.”
This is the World Tree… and come to think of it, I can sense some powerful mana in it.
When I focus on the seed, I can see that a huge amount of mana is being released.
It’s so thick that if you’re not careful, you can feel the physical density.
Probably no matter how many wizards there are, they cannot come close to having this level of mana.
Of course, the same is true for me, a hero.
“Even though it is a seed, it is still releasing mana to the world in this state. Well, compared to the state of the tree, there is still very little mana to be produced.”
This is a small amount?
I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of mana that will be released when it grows to a large tree.
But why are the seeds of the Great Tree here?
“By the way, as I recall, you said something about the world tree being on the verge of dying now. Don’t tell me that the previous tree has already died?”
But Demiurge shook her head and denied my question.
“No, that’s not it. The first world tree is still alive. Well, I don’t know if it can survive another 1000 years.”
“1000 years…?”
I’m not sure if that’s a long time or a short time.
No, on a global scale, 1000 years is probably quite short.
Demiurge said that there was a world tree growing somewhere in the depths of that strange space where we fought.
At the end of our fierce battle, the huge explosion I caused at the end caused a huge amount of mana to flood Demiurge’s body.
It is said that the world tree was bathed in her mana, and a ray of light came into the life that was about to disappear.
As a result,
“The world tree squeezed out its last remaining life force and a seed was born… That’s the seed.”
The Demiurge caresses the seed as if it were a mother.
The calm expression on her face made her feel like a mother, and my heart skipped a beat.
Can this girl even make this kind of expression?
Damn, this girl is beautiful.
While I was staring, Demiurge was speaking and stroking the seed.
“I have decided to nurture this seed. Right now, the majority of my mana is being used to grow this seed.”
According to her, if left unchecked, the world’s magical civilization would continue to exploit the mana and it would soon wither away.
That’s why she continues to give her mana to the tree.
I see, this is what she meant when she said that she was using her mana for『 something else 』.
“Also, the forest where we are now was once inhabited by the elves, and there are strong wards covering the area.”
Well, it seems that even those strong wards could not prevent the Demiurge from entering.
No matter how weak she’s is, she’s indeed the creator god.
However, because it is such a forest, there are no demons, and there is no one to harm the world tree.
In other words, it is an ideal environment to grow the world tree.
“When the new tree grows, it will be able to bring mana to the world along with the current world tree and extend the life of the world somewhat. In the meantime, if I can recover the seeds of a new world tree from this tree, I should be able to keep the world alive…”
As soon as she finished, Demiurge’s face turned sad and she looked down.
“If humans develop their magical civilization any further, it will be too late. My estimate of a thousand years for the life of the last world tree is based on the assumption that future magical civilizations will continue in their current state.”
“……”
This means that the real deadline may be shorter.
Even now, research and study is being done all over the world to develop magic.
Each country is even competing with each other to develop new magic.
Naturally, magic will continue to develop in the future.
In exchange for the life of this world…
“But I don’t have the strength left to destroy the humans. My body has been weakened by my battle with my husband.”
“…………”
I could only look down.
At that time, I was just selfless and swung my sword just to protect the people who are living in this world now.
But as a result, the world is on the path to destruction.
Regret surged in my heart.
I feel like I should have been the only one to be defeated.
In the end, what was the right thing to do?
I don’t think it was the right choice to leave my loved ones to die.
But it’s also not a good reason to abandon the world.
“So, husband. I have a favor to ask you.”
“Wha?! Wh-What?”
I was struggling inwardly when suddenly a voice called out to me, and my voice fluttered back.
I was a little embarrassed.
But I took a stance to listen to Demiurge’s words.
I wondered what she was trying to say to me, as if she would normally have a grudge against me.
“Umu. If this continues, the end of the world is in sight. So, I thought to myself, “How can I avoid the end of the world?””
“O-Ouu.”
I felt the heat in Demiurge’s voice, and I tensed up.
What in the world does she want me to do?
“The world tree of the previous generation had so little mana within it that it had little chance of giving birth to a new tree, but now it has given birth to a new tree. And now, with this new tree, it may be able to produce more offspring.”
Demiurge looked excited.
It was the first time I had seen her expression.
She seems to be very passionate about it.
“I have a plan to increase its offspring and flood the world with mana, and I call it―――【 The World Tree Project 】!”
“O-Ouu…”
Demiurge raises her arms and loudly raises the name of her plan.
Or rather, her character seems to be changing again.
What’s more, the name of the plan is so straightforward【 The World Tree Project 】.
It’s an easy name to understand, though.
“If one tree can’t supply the mana, there’s no choice but to increase the number of trees. Until now, I didn’t know if I could give too much mana to the world tree, so I could only maintain the status quo. In other words, if I grow this seed up to a big tree and give it a lot of mana, it will produce new seeds.”
Then, by increasing the number of seeds, it would grow a large number of world trees.
That was the entirety of Demiurge’s grand plan.
“In order to do so, I must first make sure that this seed does not die. But for the tree to grow, it needs mana to grow in addition to what I’m giving it… So, I want you to gather the mana to grow this tree with me. Together, we will protect the tree… and the world.”
I listened to Demiurge’s plan and thought about it.
If things continue as they are, the world is going to end in ruin.
However, if her plan succeeds, she might be able to save the world.
In other words, my answer had already been decided.