Chapter 303. The Prodigal Son (3) (1/2)
The room went silent in an instant.
A sudden silence could mean many things depending on the situation. There might have been a slip of the tongue, or people might have been struck speechless by something startling.
This situation fell in the latter category. Everyone was looking at Aphriso’s Sedge with looks of disbelief.
The only reason they believed it was solely because the evidence was right in front of them. Their eyes were staring right at it.
After a long silence, Gabriel barely managed to open her mouth.
“Really… I’m just as surprised as when I heard Undying Diligence perished…”
“What a mysterious human.”
Yuirel also chimed in.
“It was the same with the First Army Commander, but he really has a way of solving problems that the Federation cannot do anything about.”
She even sounded a little dejected.
The Sky Fairy cried. She got up from the floor and looked back and forth between the seed of the World Tree and the tuberous roots as tears streamed down her face.
Seol Jihu was taken aback by the inaudibly crying Sky Fairy, but it helped him realize how desperate the Federation really was.
“I understand how you feel…”
Gabriel glanced at the sobbing Sky Fairy with a disapproving look.
“But don’t you think it’s too early to be shedding tears of joy?”
“…I’m not crying tears of joy.”
The Sky Fairy stopped crying and replied in a quiet voice.
“I’m crying tears of regret. It’s just like the Fairy General said.”
Her response wasn’t all that enthusiastic for someone who was greatly rejoicing.
Seol Jihu knew why. Gabriel had mentioned three problems obstructing the revival of the World Tree. The items Seol Jihu had taken out only solved two of them.
Of course, solving two problems was an undeniably great achievement, but that didn’t mean the current situation changed. It was only that they now had a method to change the situation.
“It really is regrettable.”
Gabriel heaved a heavy sigh.
“Things would have been much better if you brought those items to us just a little earlier. If we had those items when the connection to the Spirit Realm was unstable, we would have been able to provide a solution.”
They now had the seed that would become the foundation of a new World Tree and the nutrients that would help the seed grow. The only thing that was left now was…
“It is truly, truly regrettable, but the World Tree cannot grow in the Middle World.”
Fertile land and environment for the World Tree to grow.
“The World Tree is born in the Spirit Realm. The World Tree that exists in Tigol Fortress is only an avatar of that tree.”
“You mean we can’t plant the seed in this land?”
“Unfortunately, no. Our picky World Tree can only grow in a special area of the Spirit Realm. Planting the seed in the Middle World is no different than waiting for a flower to bloom inside a trash can.”
Meaning…
“We need to send the seed and the nutrients to the Spirit Realm somehow…”
The seed of the World Tree and Aphriso’s Sedge were no different than trash in the Middle World. For these two items to show their true worth, they had to rebuild the connection to the Spirit Realm and send the items over. But because the World Tree withered away, that was now impossible to do.
This difficult dilemma made Seol Jihu speechless. He was inwardly thinking to just hand over the items for free, but they were saying it was too late.
“Damn it.”
Gabriel wrapped her hand around her face.
“I shouldn’t have asked. It’s just that I was not expecting anything anyway.”
She grumbled, saying that she was made to get her hopes up for nothing, then sent a signal with a glance. Yuirel got up from her seat and handed over neatly folded clothes to Seol Jihu. At a glance, it looked like a black uniform of some sort.
“It’s a present.”
“?”
“It’s woven with the feathers of Fallen Angels, the hair of Cave Fairies, and the wings of Sky Fairies. It should be comfortable. You’re the Federation’s great benefactor. We figured we should do at least this much.”
“…Thank you.”
Seol Jihu responded with difficulty. He should be happy since he finally got his hands on good armor, but his face was only dark. He had a lot on his mind.
“Then we’ll take our leave.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ve stayed here for too long. Since we’ve done what we came here to do, it’s time we go back.”
Gabriel placed both her hands on the table. But before she fully pushed herself up, she subtly murmured.
“Anyway, since we can’t rely on the Spirit Realm anymore, we’ll need to make do with ourselves…”
Judging by how her words trailed off, it didn’t look like she was expecting much. She must know how humanity worked.
“I won’t make it long. But this needs to be said. Thanks to you, the Parasites have been keeping a low profile. But it’s going to be soon.”
Hearing the word ‘soon’, Seol Jihu raised his eyes and looked up at Gabriel.
“I think the withering of the World Tree is only the start, kind of like a prelude.”
“A prelude…?”
“The Parasites have been quiet for too long.”
Gabriel continued calmly.
“Of course, Undying Diligence perished and Unsightly Humility had to leave the battlefield after manifesting his divinity. Even so, they’ve taken too long to regroup. And now they’re finally making their move.”
“….”
“This must mean one thing.”
Seol Jihu’s complexion waned. He had an ominous feeling about what was to come next.
“The Parasites have found a way to deal with the adversary that’s given them a catastrophic defeat in the valley war. The Parasite Queen will not make the same mistake twice. Probably.”
Seol Jihu quietly clenched his teeth.
“I just wanted you to know.”
Gabriel slicked back her long hair.
“Then we’ll take our leave. It was fun seeing you.”
With those words, Gabriel got up and walked away.
“Wait.”
Just as she was about to open the door and leave…
“If we can cross over to the Spirit Realm…”
Seol Jihu turned his body and spoke in his seat.
“If we can make a new World Tree grow…”
Gabriel stopped.
“If we can do that…”
“…Well—” Gabriel turned halfway and spoke, “The Sky Fairies and the Federation’s upper echelon have concluded that there is nothing we can do. I want to ask what mere humans can do… It’s not sensible to make meaningless theories.”
Gabriel smiled blandly.