Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Hana no longer fiddled with the blades of grass beneath her feet. She put down the glass of water she was holding in her hand to quench her thirst. Then, holding her hands together, she glanced at Weed anxiously.

“I have to visit her one last time… I wanted to see her at the end of my vacation. However… I only have two months, and any more than that is too late. Can you send me back before then?”

“Ah…”

Weed could not answer.

It was obviously a mistake for her to be here, so he promised to send her back. She understood the circumstances and mentioned a specific time, and he replied that there was no problem with that either.

The summoning ceremony to open the passage to the other world required about a month of preparation.

After announcing that Hana was not a sacrifice, the priests would be steadily preparing to open a new passage. Even if he didn’t order it at that time, they would have enough free time to prepare from now on. She gave him two months to spare as preparations could be done in one month.

However…

He couldn’t figure out why emotions ran through him like this.

She made a reasonable request. It was a question she asked because she deserved it… but he didn’t know why he didn’t like it so much.

“Weed?”

“…Of course. It will take about a month to prepare, so don’t worry in the meantime.”

She wanted to visit her grandmother, but she only had two months. It was evident that the old woman was ill, and there was a high probability that they had received a terminal sentence in the situation. In addition, that period was only two months.

And besides, she was Hana’s benefactor when she was young, so she must go to see her. It was obvious that she asked impatiently.

“Weed, then I will believe you.”

“…Yes.”

There was barely a reply. Weed avoided her eyes. For some reason, it was difficult to meet her eyes. He wanted to avert her gaze for no reason.

She was not a sacrifice. She shouldn’t even be in a place like this.

He said he would keep his promise.

He knew.

Was it because of the divine disease caused by the void? It felt as though his chest had been stabbed with something sharp like a needle.

Wouldn’t it have been nice if they had gone out together and looked at the flowers of Lár de Ligna Initia together, and then she asked after that? They should have been preparing to open the passage anyway, and it wouldn’t have been too late.

He thought so.

7. The Day the World’s Tears Fall

In the sanctuary, Lár de Ligna Initia, the forest race lived.

Also called the central guardians, they were the only race allowed to enter the sanctuary. It was partly because their birthplace was inside the sanctuary, and partly because they were the only race that could properly repay the benefits received from the sanctuary.

The beautiful forest race.

They were exceptionally excellent in all fields as if they were created because God wanted to create a perfect creature.

They looked like they were created by gathering all the beautiful and noble things on earth, and in addition, they exuded a unique divine atmosphere. The atmosphere was so special that even if they had just passed by, people would turn around at least once.

There was a saying that when people faced each of the forest races, they were enveloped in these feelings. It was said that a strangely overwhelming emotion would boil, like how they couldn’t help but be mesmerized in front of a magnificent forest untouched by humans for a long time or a majestic waterfall with no end in sight.

Therefore, most other races did not think to treat them badly. Even if they harbored disrespectful feelings, they were not so weak that they could easily be defeated.

They had an extraordinary brains that understood the principle of magic as soon as they saw it. An excessively long lifespan, as if the god of death had made a mistake. A strong body. Youth that lasts forever…

Certainly, it was not efficient to antagonize such a race. Rather, there was much more to be gained by getting their favor.

The forest race was also called the incarnation of vegetation.

They were also called fairies or spirits. Because they could handle plants freely, it was basic, just to make vegetation grow rapidly. They breathed new life into withered trees, and outside the sanctuary, plants that reacted sensitively to the season and did not grow well, bloomed with a single flick of their finger.

Was that all? Each person’s personality was slightly different though their bodily fluids could be all kinds of poison or medicine. It was as if herbs or poisonous herbs gathered to form their blood.

That ability was coveted by all intelligent beings on Earth.

Some have thought of this.

“Even if we can’t antagonize the whole, can’t we isolate one or two and covet their blood?”

However, the forest race did not die.

To put it in more detail, they killed them, but there was nobody left as if they had been a virtual image, and it got revealed that the figure that they thought had already died was revealed somewhere else? There wasn’t even retaliation like they got bitten by an insect.

In a word, it was futile.

Their bodies were separately protected in a secret and deep place in the sanctuary.

They were merciful. Nonetheless, as long as the sanctuary is not insulted, sometimes they would come forward to solve problems just by talking. In the beginning, there was no need to deliberately provoke a race that was not warlike, nor did they have to be hostile at the cost.

In the first place, they were not very interested outside of the sanctuary. Other tribes decided not to agitate the sanctuary on purpose.

They monopolize the most blessed land on earth and usually live without ties to the outside world. The forest race were such people. They even seemed omnipotent at first glance, but there was a problem they couldn’t solve. It was the divine disease.

In particular, the divine disease caused by the last void in this world was a real headache for them.

“I don’t know if this will work.”

Dark red liquid swirled from a bottle held by one of the priests.

“Did he really say she wasn’t a sacrifice?”

“Yes. Oh, you weren’t there. Is this your first time going to the void?”

“Yes, I didn’t go that deep.”

Among them, a priest who looked quite young nodded his head.

“If you look at this, you will know. It would be nice if it worked, even temporarily.”

A group of priests were walking in a row on a lonely forest path. The destination was the very center of Lár de Ligna Initia.

Their home

Swirl, swirl. Crunch, crunch.

There was the sound of blood in the bottle shaking, and the sound of the waist-high grass opening itself and clearing the way. Other than that, no one said anything. After walking for a while, someone suddenly said…

“Weed seems to be in a good mood these days.”

“Yes. Oh, he went with the sacrifice.”

“He used to be someone who didn’t like to move.”

“Did he like that person from another world that much? I’ve never seen him smile like that. No, it has been a few years.”

The light began to shine on the forest path, which was densely packed with trees. The more they walked, the more the trees shrunk and they saw more and more empty spots. At the end of this path, there would be an open meadow, while at the center was what they value most.

“Weed always liked everyone that got summoned. She’s a human and can communicate, so it’s obvious that he’ll like it more.”

“Did we really make a mistake? Did we do anything stupid?”

“I don’t know. I still want Weed to live.”

“I want to talk to the sacrifice, but he won’t let us approach it… Ah, we’re here.”

The young priest, who was visiting this place for the first time, thought he had reached an empty space.

As the grass that had just covered to the waist was gone, the cliff exposed a land full of holes, pieces of land floating in the open sky. However, before he could see the clear and clean sky, something phenomenal caught his attention.

“Ah…”

There was a sigh.

There was a guardian of their bodies, tall enough to touch the ceiling of the sky and thick enough to cover dozens of priests that surrounded it with arms wide open.

The only World Tree that has been with this world since the beginning.

The first tree.

The leaves that once fluttered brilliant gold were drying up and dying.

“…The Void is around here. Let’s go.”

The young priest took his steady gaze and moved on. Were they going to talk a while longer? All of them reached a huge cliff with no end in sight.

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