Chapter 142
Chapter 142. Planting the World Tree
Having finished its business at the temple where Yul slept, the Strellock finally headed south across the Great Azure Ocean.
At the entrance leading toward the Archipelago Ocean lay the Island of Boundaries, Yul’s island.
Before arrival, Lucian gathered the crew and gave a speech.
“Now, listen up! Soon we’ll arrive at a place to the south called the Island of Boundaries! It’s an island personally owned by Yul, and at the same time, his people live there! So once you’re ashore, absolutely do not cause any trouble.”
“We absolutely won’t!”
“Finally, dry land!”
At the mention of a new island, the sailors all cheered. After all, they had gone through such dangerous voyages that anchoring at land felt like something from the distant past.
The temple that had risen from the seabed had only been a brief stop for sightseeing, and it wasn’t proper land anyway.
In the distance, the Island of Boundaries began to come into view. A nearby ship started approaching them.
A familiar ship. It was the Seldora, which had once set out together with them to the Rainini Archipelago.
“Huh? Captain! That ship looks like it’s about to attack?!”
“What?”
“I’ll handle it.”
Seeing that it was about to fire its cannons without warning, Yul quickly flew over and landed on the opposing ship.
“Whoa, take it easy.”
“Lord Yul? Huh? Cease fire!”
Aboard the ship was Shillenwe Arkatil.
“Why the sudden fire without even asking questions?”
“A few days ago, a ship that came down from the north attacked us.”
“Huh? A few days ago?”
“Yes. They were humans, and we thought they were on the same side as you. Their flag insignia was the same.”
“The insignia was the same?”
Then that would mean the Britain flag. Had they really come all the way down to the Archipelago Ocean?
“How did you deal with the attackers?”
“We crippled one ship, and the others fled toward the Rainini Archipelago.”
“Things have been off on the wrong foot from the start.”
In any case, Yul had to explain that the ship arriving now wasn’t an enemy, and that his friend Lucian was aboard.
“Is that person Lord Yul’s Sinker?”
“That’s right. He’s the Sinker.”
“……!!”
Shillenwe’s eyes narrowed.
“Understood. For now, I will treat him as a guest. AndifIdon’tlikehimI’llkillhim.”
“Huh, what did you say?”
“It’s nothing.”
In truth, Yul had sharp hearing and heard everything. It definitely sounded like she said she’d kill him if she didn’t like him.
He wondered if it was really all right to enter like this, but in any case, the Strellock safely entered the Island of Boundaries.
Lucian, captain of the Strellock, planned to stay on the island for an extended period to service the ship, replenish the crew if possible, and install new magic engineering artifacts aboard.
“E-elves.”
“A village where elves live?”
“Wow…… it’s beautiful…….”
Watching the crew already making a fuss, Lucian cautioned Cowin.
“Please make sure the crew doesn’t cause any trouble.”
“Understood.”
Cowin nodded with a firm expression. Once they were properly docked, Aranmas appeared ahead of them. Then, from the Seldora that had followed closely behind the Strellock, a sulky-looking elf admiral disembarked and stood beside Aranmas.
“Welcome to the Island of Boundaries, Sinker.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome. I am Lucian Beltaine.”
“I am Aranmas. And this is…….”
“Shillenwe.”
Shillenwe grabbed Lucian’s outstretched hand and squeezed down hard. Lucian felt a terrifying grip strength, but thanks to the strength enhancement imbued in his gloves, he was able to endure it.
“……Pleased to meet you.”
Lucian, who was being disliked for reasons unknown, didn’t mind at all and spoke to Aranmas.
“I’d like to anchor here and spend some time.”
“Lord Yul has vouched for you. You are free to rest on the island as long as you wish.”
At Aranmas’s words, Lucian expressed his gratitude and asked various questions.
Yul, who had been watching them from afar, soon flew through the air toward the center of the island.
Seeing Yul move, Shillenwe quickly followed after him.
“Where are you going, Lord Yul?”
“Somewhere around the center of the island? Aranmas will be busy, so I’ll explain later. I’m thinking of planting this.”
When Yul took out a branch of the World Tree from his pack, Shillenwe felt a sensation like a shiver running through her entire body.
“Th-that is?”
“A branch of the World Tree. More precisely, it’s the mistletoe that wrapped around the World Tree. Well, it’s roughly similar.”
“I can feel divine power.”
“I obtained it in a completely unexpected place. There was a World Tree in the Arctic. If my guess is correct, once this World Tree fully grows, the sea elves’ Rejection Phenomenon should return to its original state.”
As Yul searched for a place to plant the World Tree branch, he soon discovered something unusual.
“What’s this place?”
“It’s a cave I’ve never seen before.”
Even Shillenwe had never seen this cave before. Embedded in the cave walls were crystallized ores emitting a blue light. Among them, Yul sensed a familiar trace of magic power.
-Puyo?
-Yes?
-Hey, you brat, come out.
What emerged was Puyo. In its original state, without riding anything.
“What are you doing here?”
-I was looking around the island and found an interesting place, so I’m exploring it, sir.
“You found it for the first time, too?”
-Actually, I’m learning magic, you see? And while practicing the 「Fireball」 spell, I fired it at the wall and ended up discovering this cave, sir.
“Hm.”
Yul went inside the cave for now. The blue ores on the walls were glowing.
The cave sloped downward. And as they went deeper inside, they discovered a vast cavern.
It was a cavern that looked as though no one had touched it for hundreds of years.
“Such a place exists…….”
From the ceiling, an overwhelming light poured down. There was a gaping hole wide open above, but it hadn’t been visible when looking down from the surface.
Even Yul, the lord of this island, hadn’t known there was an undiscovered location like this.
‘I’ve always observed the island from above, but to think there was something like this beneath it.’
Groundwater had pooled around the cavern. It was clear water that could easily be used as a well.
Puyo went into the water and then spoke.
-his seems like water even ordinary humans could drink, sir.
“Shillenwe, is the island short on drinking water?”
“No. We use water that flows down from a small lake in the highlands.”
“Then this is a good place to plant it.”
Yul planted the branch of the World Tree in the center of the cavern, where sunlight came in well.
The moment he placed the branch on the soil and fixed it in place, fresh light blossomed from the World Tree branch, and it fully took root in the ground.
“A sacred divine tree…….”
Receiving the light, the World Tree began to grow slowly. Perhaps, just a little at a time, at a rate of only a few centimeters per day.
‘That’s incredibly fast compared to the growth rate of ordinary trees.’
In a few years, it would become a fine-looking tree.
The light spreading from where the World Tree grew reflected through the cave, casting an emerald glow.
“To think such a mysterious place existed.”
-Indeed, with that tree here, it feels like magic training would go well, sir.
“If you start throwing fireballs in here, you might end up becoming Puyo paste.”
“I also oppose it! This place must not be freely accessible to just anyone.”
-I-I’ll look for another place, sir.
In any case, planting the World Tree was a success. Yul felt a connection forming between the World Tree and the island’s soul.
‘It feels like the island has connected to the World Tree.’
He could feel the will of the tree. It seemed extremely happy at having found a new place.
It was as if a part of its soul had been interwoven.
In any case, Yul informed the other sea elves of the World Tree’s existence. This place would become another sacred site, in addition to Yul’s temple.
Yul went back up. Shillenwe stuck close by his side.
“Lord Yul, if that sacred tree were to bear fruit someday, would it be all right to use it?”
“You’re talking about the food ship.”
“Ah, you remembered what Lord Kaiman told you.”
“Yes. He said you’d need seeds imbued with divine power, didn’t he?”
“Yes. If it comes from that tree, I believe it would be more than sufficient as material for a food ship.”
Shillenwe wore an enraptured expression as she thought about the World Tree.
All sea elves would probably react the same way.
The hypothesis that the origin of elves lay in the World Tree gained even more weight.
“All right. When the time comes, you can handle it as you see fit. It looks like it’ll grow quickly.”
“Thank you, Lord Yul.”
“And the humans you drove off, you said they went to the Rainini Archipelago, right?”
“Yes. The Seldora is continuing to guard the Island of Boundaries, while the Shalomina and the Isilien are in pursuit of them.”
“I’d prefer this to be resolved amicably.”
“Shall we pursue them ourselves?”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Leaving the care of the World Tree to Aranmas, Yul, and Shillenwe pursued the Britain ships in the Rainini Archipelago.
They had all been captured. They were transferred to Rainini Island, the largest island in the archipelago.
“Is this the place?”
“Oh? Isn’t that Lord Yul? Welcome!”
Yul saw Sonam Rinpoche come running out in a hurry.
He was far more polite than before. It wasn’t just his imagination—Yul could feel faith emanating from him as well.
Up until now, it had seemed like he’d betrayed the Sea Succession Church at the first opportunity and latched onto Yul, but whatever had happened at the temple, he had begun to regard Yul as a true god.
“Have you been well?”
“I’ve been writing a new theological text. It’s almost finished, would you like to take a look?”
Yul lightly pushed aside the book Sonam offered him.
“I’ll look at it once it’s completely finished. For now, I’d like to see the northern humans you captured.”
“They’re all imprisoned. Rainini Island is managed by the Sea Succession Church as an exile island, so the prison is large and has ample capacity.”
“Were they properly fed?”
“Yes. Not too much, though. There are some violent ones. Since communication was impossible, we were debating whether to sell them as slaves to the South.”
“…….”
The Britain people had nearly been sold off wholesale.
“Hey! What do you intend to do by locking us up like this?!”
“G-give us more food!”
“What are you shouting about?! Quiet down, you lot!”
The jailer of Rainini Island shoved the muttering prisoners back inside.
Yul approached them. As Sonam and other high-ranking figures appeared, the jailer stepped back.
“Where are you from?”
“S-Someone who can speak the language of Britain is here!”
“H-hey! Please let us out! We haven’t done anything wrong!”
“Be quiet. Who’s the highest-ranking person responsible here?”
“I am.”
There stood a moon elf with milky-white skin, wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
“I’m the admiral leading these ships. We were merely fleeing pirates.”
“I heard you attacked the sea elves first?”
“The ship we saw after the pirates was a massive battle line vessel, and it was extremely intimidating. We thought it was attacking us. If they had no hostile intent, we would never have fought.”
They were intimidated by the Seldora? If they weren’t as aggressive as expected, there was room for dialogue.
“Your name?”
“Largo Faegan.”
“Faegan?”
Yul recalled that surname. He’d seen it in the papers—news about the eastern Empire.
“If I remember correctly…… one of Sone Helvich’s companions was named Yarel Faegan.”
“He’s my older brother. I’ve been part of Sone’s party myself.”
“Your brother?”
Yul turned his head and examined the other sailors. It didn’t seem like the man was lying.
“Sonam, release them. But don’t return their weapons.”
“Understood.”
“Shall we talk?”
A former companion of a Hero? His curiosity was piqued. Why were they all the way out here?