As lunchtime was nearly over, Loop hadn’t returned. I ordered room service for Iris and Notos, who were with me, and treated them to a hearty meal, but I was very worried about whether the others had even managed to eat breakfast properly.

To me, worrying that something might have happened in that suspicious 16th terrarium, Iris showed me the cocklebur fruit stuck firmly inside her jacket.

When I said that sending a honeybee wasn’t an option, she was very wise and used their own long-standing traditional method of communication.

“If something had happened, she would have used her dryad powers to retrieve this fruit. Don’t worry too much.”

I offered to book separate rooms for Iris and Notos at the inn, but they refused, using my safety as an excuse.

The two of them took turns napping on the wide sofa in the big room. I offered them the bed, but even that was refused. They said they’ve often slept outside to save on inn fees, so it was nice enough just to sleep somewhere soft.

Loop, Zephyr, and Herma returned around the time the inn clerk asked if we’d be having lunch in the room too. A man I’d never seen before was with them.

Zephyr yawned widely and shoved Iris, who had been lying on the sofa, out of the way to take her spot. Herma, barely pressing her trembling eyelids, explained to me the circumstances that led them to come with the mysterious man.

“As Master Loop expected, there were already many people in line… We failed to get tickets…”

At Herma’s words, Iris trampled on Zephyr’s side with her foot, nagging him.

“Hey, you couldn’t even complete the request, and you’re sleepy?”

“It’s collective responsibility. We all failed to complete the Guild Master’s request. Since you, who also failed, are lying down, I want to lie down too. Those who came first took all the good spots, so we had to sit on the hard ground.”

Herma looked at the two of them dismissively and continued.

“I pleaded with the people who bought tickets… but everyone refused, and only this person agreed to sell us a ticket…”

Loop said in a small voice, “Everyone didn’t want to miss the chance to meet Earning… I’m sorry, sir.”

It wasn’t their fault. It was my fault for not realizing Earning’s lecture would be this popular.

I guided them to the sofa to rest first and called the clerk to bring out food. Soon, warm dishes were served in a row on the low table in the living room.

But why would the person willing to sell a ticket be brought all the way to the inn where I was staying? Were they demanding an exorbitant amount?

“Hello, you’re willing to sell the ticket? For how much? I’ll give you whatever amount you want.”

He was a young man of small stature. He was as tall as Loop, and his unkempt brown hair hung down, covering his eyes.

He had a pale face, as if he hadn’t seen the sun in ages, and was bundled up in an oversized coat that didn’t fit his frame, making him look like a flu patient. But wouldn’t dressing like that be stuffy? He even had gloves on.

“What I want… isn’t diamonds…”

The man’s tone was utterly weak. He seemed to be breathing heavily, as if he had just run a race outside.

“That’s why I brought him here… Dia, Master Jae gives a lot for activity support funds, so we could draw from that, and it’d be no problem… but he insists on not taking diamonds…”

Herma tore off a bite-sized piece of bread dusted with powdered sugar as she spoke. Diamonds aren’t needed? But that’s what I do best… How can there be someone who doesn’t want diamonds? This is the first time I’ve encountered someone who doesn’t want diamonds, so I don’t know how to handle it.

“That tastes good when you dip it in coffee.”

Unlike how she treated Zephyr, Iris seemed apologetic for putting Herma through trouble outside and looked after her quite attentively. “Having coffee on an empty stomach is like asking to drop dead…” Just as Herma was groaning, the mysterious man introduced himself.

“I’m… called Winter. I’m a 2nd-class researcher from the Alchemy Tower of the 16th Terrarium… If you grant my request… hah, I’ll give you this lecture ticket.”

He pulled out a glossy piece of paper that shimmered from blue to purple in the light and showed it. That was the ticket to attend Anewning’s lecture.

“What is that request?”

He hesitated a bit at my words and then glanced at Loop.

“I heard… there’s a very remarkable druid here…”

Loop nodded at his words.

“Yes, since he wouldn’t sell even if offered diamonds, I revealed myself as the administrative manager of the 28th Terrarium to try and pressure him with my authority.”

Then she said it very proudly. Well, it’s no big deal since the fact that I’m an administrative manager isn’t a secret… But still, this feels just like a sub-quest to get a lecture ticket as a reward.

“If you’re an administrative manager of a terrarium… you must be a very great druid, right? There’s a dryad I absolutely must meet. And I have a story I must hear from that dryad. As you can see… I’m not a druid, so I can’t communicate with dryads. So… I need help.”

“Isn’t talking to a dryad something any druid can do…?”

For someone who was tense, worried about what he might ask, a rather trivial quest popped out. Since he seemed to have difficulty speaking, I offered him something to drink. But he refused.

Well… on my way to meet that dryad, somehow, branches of unknown origin densely blocked the path, making it impossible to proceed. I asked many druids for help, but… they all failed. No attack could clear the way. They said they could feel the power of the World Tree from those mysterious branches… so it’s clearly a dryad’s mother tree, but they had no idea what species it was…

“A dryad’s mother tree of unknown species?”

“Yes, and I… don’t have time. I need to meet that dryad quickly to ask something…”

“Is that place far from here?”

“No, it’s inside the Terrarium. It’s in a hill behind the Alchemy Tower. To get there… permission is needed, but as a researcher affiliated with the Alchemy Tower, I can bring one companion…”

Winter bit her lip anxiously. She was also pressed for time. Earning’s lecture was scheduled for late this afternoon. After the lecture, Earning would leave the Terrarium immediately for his next talk. She had to finish Winter’s request in time and get the ticket.

Only one person can go?

“I’ll go, Jae.”

Iris volunteered to go herself.

“No, I’d like… the help of the druid who is the administrative manager of the Terrarium. No strong druid could clear the path. So I… want to rely on a special druid. Aren’t you the druid in charge of one branch of the World Tree?”

“Me?”

Me? As he pointed at me and asked, he cautiously nodded. Why me of all people?

“Hey, isn’t there an administrative manager here too? Why don’t you ask that person?”

“The administrative manager of the 16th Terrarium… is an extremely busy person, not someone just anyone can meet. I’ve tried hard to request a meeting, but I’ve been refused every time…”

I suspected whether the administrative manager Winter was talking about was the same person as Papillion, who had been lounging in the inn lounge yesterday and bothering me. That bastard didn’t seem busy at all.

“I can’t send Jae alone.”

Iris responded firmly. But Winter didn’t back down either. She said she only came here because I, the administrative manager, needed the ticket, and if not me, she would rather attend the lecture herself.

“Even though I’m an administrative manager, I’m not that great…”

I’m the weakest one here. The administrative manager is also a Diamond rank. But you said you don’t need Diamonds, right?

“Jae, I shouldn’t have left this to Zephyr; I should have gone myself. I’ll look for someone else to sell me the ticket. With an enormous amount of Diamonds to pressure them, someone will sell!”

“It’s impossible… they say even if you bring Diamonds by the cartload, they won’t sell…”

As Iris calmly brushed herself off and stood up, Winter tightly clasped the hands on her knees and closed her eyes. Then, with a choked voice, she uttered.

“Even if the ticket isn’t the reason, I beg you. I don’t have much time left to live. Before I die… I must meet that dryad.”

Appealing to emotions won’t do. Koreans are so weak to emotional pleas. Saying it in such a pained voice leaves me no choice but to help.

She gestured to Iris to sit back down. Let’s hear him out first.

“I contracted a fatal disease due to a failed experiment.”

He pulled down the scarf wrapped up to his chin, revealing his neck. Where human skin should have been, something like tree bark had taken its place. It was a pale bark, as white as his sickly complexion. It felt more mysterious than grotesque.

“My entire body is hardening like this. It’s a disease with no known cure. And that makes sense… because it’s a disease born from my own foolishness. Once all my skin hardens like this… my insides will harden too. Lately, even breathing has become difficult. If my lungs harden first… Don’t worry, it’s not contagious. I wanted to seek the opinion of the great alchemist… Lord Earning regarding this disease…”

Huh… A disease that hardens your entire body like tree bark? How on earth do you even get sick like that?

At his explanation, Loop suddenly sprang up and grabbed him by the collar. With her strength, Winter was pulled helplessly like a puppet with its strings cut.

“You, that’s the ‘White Wood Blight Pest,’ isn’t it? What did you do with that dangerous thing? That pest went extinct a long time ago; how did a mere second-class researcher, not even an alchemist, get hold of it? What about safety protocols? Is the original properly stored?”

Winter barely managed to pry Loop’s hand away. Thrown back by the force, he collapsed onto the sofa and fidgeted anxiously.

“As expected, you’re a top-tier researcher worthy of attending Lord Earning’s lectures… I didn’t think you’d recognize it… As you said, I contracted this disease from research using the ‘White Wood Blight Pest’…”

“That pest is dangerous only to plants or at most dryads, who have plants as their host! It’s an extremely dangerous bug, but it can’t harm humans!”

Loop urged Winter to talk sense.

“Well… the reason I was affected… is because I conducted research by deliberately infecting myself with the pest.”

At Winter’s words, Loop let out a shriek.

What did I just hear? He conducted human experiments on himself?