Chapter 9

"Wh-What is this...?"

Simurgh, who saw me pulling out the World Tree fruits one after another from the 'Storage Bag,' muttered with a dazed look on her face. Despite looking like a large bird, she had an unusually expressive face and her movements were quite comical.

"..."

When I brought out the World Tree that was starting to bear new fruits, Simurgh was completely speechless.

"H-How utterly outrageous! Even among World Trees, the probability of bearing fruit is extremely low... How can all these tiny World Trees bear fruit?!"

"Mr. Woody, you're being called 'unconventional' by a divine beast... (whisper)"

"Platinum coins, a thousand, two thousand, three thousand... Oh no, oh no, oh no (panicking)"

In the back, Aila and Najya were talking about something. They were just saying whatever they wanted, so it seemed they weren't really communicating at all.

But one platinum coin for each... and with the current situation, I can get over ten a day... That's ten thousand platinum coins a day... Huh!

No, no, no, my eyes are completely filled with dollar signs.

Anyway, in such a remote place, having money is meaningless, so it's better not to think about it for now, yeah.

I put aside the money issue and placed the last World Tree pot.

"By the way, the number of World Trees can still be increased."

"..."

"Right now, the limit is four a day."

"---Planting four World Trees a day is not a matter of limits at all!!"

Simurgh pressed her forehead, looking like she was trying to endure a headache. Then, she shook her head and bowed her head.

What's going on?

" Woody... no, I won't say anything more. As a reward for giving me one World Tree fruit a day, I will present you with monster meat and materials. Of course, if this is all I give, it would exceed your carrying capacity, so if you decide on a place to live in this desert, I will grant it my protection and make it a formal sanctuary."

Simurgh said that sanctuaries have ranks.

The one I created by layering tree barriers is a makeshift sanctuary, the lowest rank.

The altars created by the church are higher but are the second lowest rank.

These two are only called sanctuaries in name, and their effects are limited.

For example, the tree barrier only has the function of repelling monsters, and the altar can only grant skills.

However, a sanctuary protected by a divine beast is a different matter.

A place protected by Simurgh will become a truly sacred domain, and even in a desert, it will have abundant water resources, fertility, and no monsters will come near. It will also be able to perform the blessing ceremony to grant skills.

"If the number increases too much, there could be problems in the next few hundred years, so for now, I would like to limit the number of sanctuaries to one."

"---Amazing, Mr. Woody! With this, we can live happily in the desert together!"

" Woody, as expected! Then we should hurry and find a place where we can live for the rest of our lives!"

Najya grabbed my right shoulder, and Aila grabbed my left shoulder.

Guh, both of them have a really strong grip.

My shoulders feel like they're going to fall off... As I turned around with tears in my eyes, the two of them were glaring at each other, sparks flying.

"Huh? Najya, you weren't invited. Go back to your hometown immediately, marry that lord's son, have his child, and stay there for the rest of your life."

"What did you say, you! How dare you speak to the only daughter of the Tristan family like that...!"

"Oh, how annoying. You cut ties with the family, yet you only mention the family name when it suits you. That's why Mr. Woody didn't want to take you along."

"What did you say, you flat-chested maid!"

"Shut up, poor-breasted sword saint!"

"H-Hey, don't give me weird nicknames!!"

"..."

I said nothing and turned my face forward again.

Simurgh, crossing her wings skillfully, nodded in agreement.

"I understand your feelings."

As I experienced the rare experience of being worried about by a divine beast, I realized that the two of them had let go of my shoulders.

The tension was so high that they could start fighting at any moment, but they're not so unreasonable as to start fighting right away... right?

Yeah, it'll be fine.

"World Tree fruit... do you want to eat it?"

"---I will gratefully accept it!"

And so, I began to act together with the divine bird Simurgh.

As a sign of friendship, we ate the World Tree fruit together.

It's still delicious... but why?

The World Tree fruit I ate after half a day was, for some reason, a little salty...