Chapter 54

At Mesquite's words, Mesquite (the druid) hummed and fell into deep thought.

"Even Daisy is a modified variety!"

The word 'modified' suddenly brought something to mind. But Elder, who followed, shook his head and explained that it seemed to have a different meaning.

"Little Daisy is indeed a modified variety, but the fact that she was born from the World Tree's fruit suggests a high probability that she is a mutant modified variety grafted from a different plant. She has solidified into a species through repeated births."

"What's different about her?"

"Mostly, it was left to nature. Ultimately, it used the genetic information of the mother plants in the World Tree."

"That's why you couldn't immediately recognize the druid Jay. Now I understand."

Mesquite nodded in agreement with Elder and continued.

"You did something forbidden in the Alchemy Tower. You combined the mother plant of the helmet flower with alchemy to twist the genes and create a modified variety. Since this child was born through human hands, there will be no information about her mother plant in the World Tree. Recognizing a small World Tree is like an instinct etched into the souls of the ancestors of the mother plants born from the World Tree. If she becomes a dryad, when she dies and returns to the World Tree, new information will be written."

"This child's very existence is like a violation of the World Tree's power. All plants should be born and grow on the land blessed by the World Tree and learn the natural order. This is no different from the socialization of dryads taught by nature. If there are more of these kinds of beings, they might not recognize a small World Tree like you and attack it, as they just did. They are not true dryads. We should kill them and send them to the World Tree. The World Tree would think the same."

The conclusion is to kill it, right? Why did you have to say it so long? I thought artificial modification was common, but with the addition of alchemy, words like 'forbidden' and 'violation' popped up.

Mesquite seemed to agree with Elder and raised a lance, ready to end the child's life at any moment.

Thinking back to the 26th terrarium where we first met, they at least considered killing the dryads born from the same World Tree. The Barog dryad only received the World Tree's pollen; they didn't even consider it the same species.

But the child's appearance kept bothering me, especially since she looked Daisy's age. She hadn't done anything wrong by being born. From what I heard, her attacks on me were just instinctive actions out of fear.

Does the World Tree really hope for her to die and return to its embrace?

Suddenly, the terrarium artifact began to glow and vibrate. As I raised my left hand to examine it, my head buzzed, and I felt a dizzying sensation, as if I had suddenly lost my vision.

Before I could even scream in surprise, I was distracted by a white light in the pitch-black darkness. It was a round glass orb. Or rather, a transparent fruit. My left hand, raised without my awareness, touched the fruit, which felt as cold as ice.

I suddenly remembered the fruit given to me by the black branch in my dream. This is it.

"Jay?"

"Why are you suddenly like this?"

A warm hand landed on my shoulder and shook me, and the darkness cleared, restoring my vision. I met Mesquite's worried gaze.

I also saw the transparent fruit in my raised left hand. Everyone was surprised by the fruit in my left hand.

No... Why did this... happen? Damn, it looks like I grew a fruit with my hand.

Through the transparent fruit, I could see the distorted ground, Mesquite's black armor, and the face of the Barog dryad with rabbit eyes. Her puffy, tear-swollen face looked even funnier through the convex lens of the fruit.

"Don't misunderstand. I can spew diamonds with my hand, but I can't grow fruits. Besides, even though everyone calls me a small World Tree, I'm human, right?"

Daisy's eyes sparkled like stars as she looked at the fruit. ...Should I pretend it's magic? Ta-da!

"That's... "

Since Mesquite seemed to recognize it, I extended my hand to bring the fruit to eye level. She even bent down.

As her sandy hair cascaded down, a strong scent of smoke wafted over, instantly overpowering the damp smell of the place with its intense aroma.

"Definitely not a nutrient fruit."

Right, it's not full of white inside.

"It's not a dryad fruit, but it is a fruit of the World Tree."

If it were a dryad fruit, it would be full of gold. But it is a fruit of the World Tree. More precisely, it's a fresh fruit just picked from the World Tree's branch before being placed in a dryad port. It's a fruit in a state where it's unknown whether it will become nutrients or contain a dryad.

"Feeling no life, but sensing a blessing... Yes, it's an unripe fruit."

Huh? This is an unripe fruit? Well, since it's a fruit that grows on a branch, I guess it has a ripening process. But to think that the fruit that came to me in my dream is unripe. Now that I think about it, it's a bit disappointing.

Stop moving! You're pulling the rug out from under me! If you're going to give it, give a fully ripe one! That way, I can use it as a fruit or make a dryad bloom, right? What's the point of giving me an unripe fruit that I don't even know how to use!

The cold fruit gradually warmed up, absorbing my body heat.

"Then why did you give an unripe one?"

"Give? Who gave this to Jay, and when?"

"It's a bit hard to say when, but it was first given to me in a dream long before I came here... I actually touched it just now? Ah, it was given by the World Tree's branch. In the dream, a black branch appeared, hanging this fruit at the end, as if inviting me to take it. I took it right away when it dangled in front of me."

Mesquite and Elder's faces turned serious.

Oh no! What if I just took it without permission...? I'd be a complete thief, right? Come to think of it, the branch didn't specifically tell me to take it. Bad thief, thief thief.

I've tried to live a moral life, even if not perfectly... Can diamonds make up for it? Your 28th branch is sucking my diamonds in real-time; can't you do something about it?

"Unripe fruits are usually not picked from the branches. There's a bad omen associated with them. A long time ago, there was a rumor that when the world was about to end, unripe fruits would fall from the World Tree's branches like rain."

What the heck did you give me? Or rather, what did I pick?

"Of course, it's just a rumor. My master, Jay. The story Elder mentioned is a scare tactic used by mature trees to frighten young saplings. There's no need to worry. Fundamentally, it's correct not to pick unripe fruits. You don't know which dryad might bloom from them."

"Then did I crush a dryad's dream...?"

It feels like I did something even worse than stealing a fruit...

"There's no life, so there's no need to look so upset. It's a fruit that hasn't been assigned dryad information yet. It could have become a nutrient fruit."

Mesquite gently placed her hand on my cheek, calming me down. Seeing her kind eyes, I immediately felt reassured.

"Unripe fruits grow at the very tips of the World Tree's branches. Dryad information flows from the inside to the tips. The growth rate is fastest on the inside and slowest at the tips. Fruits that ripen without receiving dryad information become nutrient fruits."

I looked at the fruit in my hand. It didn't seem much different in size from the other fruits I had picked. There were no signs of unripeness like different colors on the skin, like an apple. It was just transparent enough to see my palm.

"The reason Elder's story is a scare tactic... is that unripe fruits are sometimes picked from orchards. They are harvested before they ripen and before dryad information is assigned, because fruits that miss the blooming season can't be processed. When the blessing power in the fruit disappears, the dryad inside returns to the World Tree."

Does that mean they rot...? This expression sounds a bit strange.

"If they were given away at a lower price or for free to avoid processing, everyone would intentionally visit the orchard after the blooming season. So, they are harvested before they ripen and before dryad information is assigned."

"Then what do you do with the unripe ones?"

"Unripe fruits may seem useless at first glance, but they are born from the World Tree and possess the power of its blessing. They have their uses. They are used to form a connection with wild dryads and their souls. Druids who have this purpose buy them separately."

Mesquite said this while looking down at the Barog dryad with a dispassionate gaze. The Barog dryad jumped in surprise at her look.

"The World Tree... knew about this sapling."

She sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then slowly opened them.

"And even though this being was born in violation of the World Tree's power... it seems the World Tree decided to embrace it. It even came to your dream to ask you, my master, Jay. Why would the World Tree want to take in a being that endangers its small master?"

"Refuse. It's just a decision the World Tree made on its own. You don't have to follow it."

Elder said this bluntly and extended his hand. It couldn't be for diamonds...

"Give me the fruit if you don't want it. I'll destroy it. If you hesitate to kill it because it's small, just leave it alone. When the World Tree's blessing runs out, it will naturally return to the World Tree."

But isn't the World Tree an incredibly important being to you dryads? This is like a revelation from a god-like existence. How can you say that so easily?

But I could guess the answer without asking. Mesquite didn't look surprised when she found the fruit in my hand. She still looked displeased.

Elder looked annoyed. Daisy listened to our conversation calmly, as if she had just realized something.

It's because... the small World Tree, my master, is more important.

"It's fine. No, it would be great if a debuffed dryad appeared! It would help the team!"

"Jay..."

Mesquite called me with a voice that seemed to ask if I should reconsider.

"I'm not making some grand decision to fulfill the World Tree's will. It's just that this child was born this way, right? She didn't choose to be born this way."

Just like there are no dryads who choose to be born at a low rank. I had a resolve when I came here, something I decided after meeting Daisy.

Even if Daisy was born at the lowest normal rank, it doesn't mean she is limited to that. No one should look down on her because she is a normal rank. I will make sure of that.

The Barog dryad, who is labeled as forbidden and a violation, shouldn't be judged to have a bad life just because our first meeting was unpleasant.

I had no problem with the background of the Barog child's birth.