When I took all the fruits out of my pocket, Elder, who had been quiet, suddenly started causing a ruckus.

“Why are you giving those to her? You should invest in me or Mesquite!”

“You two are already grown.”

“I can grow more! No, I can become stronger! Give them to me instead of that chubby little brat!”

Wow, what a foul temperament. So greedy right in front of the kid.

Here, try holding one. Can you just chew and eat the nutrient fruit? Or is there a specific way to eat it? When I gave one fruit to Daisy, she carefully received it with her small hands. But she just held it, glancing at Elder’s expression.

“This kid is an attack type. She needs to grow quickly and deal damage. If the dealer can’t deal, the others will suffer, right?”

“I’m stronger than her!”

Elder, looking at Daisy, who didn’t even reach his waist, threw a huge fit. But Daisy, while watching Elder’s reaction, didn’t want to have the fruit I gave his taken away, so he swiftly turned his body. My little Daisy was kind but had a temper.

“You can’t treat Daisy like that. You should be grateful instead. Even honoring her isn’t enough.”

“Why should I do that for some little kid?”

“You bloomed from the fruit Daisy picked. She personally chose you, you know? If it weren’t for Daisy, would you have ended up with a diamond-rich person like me? You’d probably have gone to someone trembling over 300 diamonds, right?”

Born with a diamond spoon thanks to Daisy’s choosing. Elder’s mouth shut tightly. It’s nice when he’s quiet. When he keeps his mouth shut, his handsome face becomes even more handsome.

Watching this, Mesquite let out a chuckle. When he laughed, it felt like looking at a pictorial.

Both sides and the front are flowers. They were literal flowers, but also metaphorical flowers.

“But is Daisy really an attack type? She’s so small and delicate.”

“Druid, shall I show you my weapon?”

Daisy pulled out two daggers from her waist, spun them around, and gripped them. Oh, pretty cool, huh?

“My master, Jae. You shouldn’t judge a Dryad by appearance.”

Mesquite explained to me gently, like a nurturing teacher.

“A Dryad’s roots can easily pierce even hard rocks. Even if it’s a small sapling. This child might have been no different from ordinary humans when she had no master, but now she has Jae.”

Suddenly, the image of weeds bursting through road asphalt overlapped with Daisy. Daisy… rips… people apart….

“Hehe, but it’s a bit unfortunate for me.”

“May I stroke your head?” Mesquite asked Daisy. Mesquite’s eyes were twice as high as Elder’s, so he knelt on one knee to meet Daisy’s gaze.

“It’s fine,” the child replied, meeting her eyes, and a heavy gauntlet gently settled on Daisy’s head.

“The earthquake caused by my large roots was quite useful when dealing with multiple enemies. But this child Daisy can’t withstand my quake. So I can no longer use it.”

It was an earthquake powerful enough to overturn the ground. Elder claimed to be immune to Mesquite’s quake, but looking at Daisy, it seemed clear that the roots of a tree and those of an ordinary flower would differ.

Still, to my eyes, they just looked like pretty and cool dryads. When talk kept veering toward their mother tree, it didn’t quite hit home.

“Above all, since it’s a sapling, its roots will be weaker. It needs to grow quickly and become a sturdy sword protecting my master. My master, Jae, would you like to try lifting this sapling child?”

Suddenly? It’s not like I can’t. I’ve lifted her up before, after all.

Bending his knees slightly, he lifted Daisy up. Unlike the very first time when she was flustered, Daisy burst into joyful laughter as she was lifted into his arms.

“I’ll grow up quickly and carry the Master Druid!”

Ah, that’s fine. Still, the thought was so endearing it almost made me tear up.

“You can put her down now, Jae. Little sapling, go ahead and put down your roots.”

Daisy stared intently at Mesquite, then nodded.

“Now, Jae. Try lifting her again. You don’t have to overdo it.”

Hmm, what’s the intention? Anyway, Mesquite wouldn’t make me do something pointless. But then Daisy suddenly burst into laughter at me. Just like before, I bent my knees and put strength into my arms to lift the child.

“Hup!”

Damn, I thought my shoulder was going to pop out. My hip felt like it was leaving too. I couldn’t lift Daisy, who was standing normally. She didn’t budge, as if her feet were nailed down.

At least give me a warning! I, who spend more than half my day sitting, was creaking all over!

As I was rubbing my back, Elder’s clicking tongue sound accompanied by a flash of white light approached. ‘Are all humans this physically trash like you?’ Elder’s eyes seemed to say.

Her mouth was silent, but her eyes clearly said that. Call the police. No settlement.

“Amazing, right? This is exactly what I meant by the dryads’ roots.”

With that, Mesquite yanked Daisy up as if pulling a radish from the field. Daisy, letting out a surprised ‘Oh!’, was helplessly dragged upward. The child dangled around Mesquite’s waist, wearing a dazed expression on her face.

“Little sapling child. At least, I’ll make your roots strong enough that I can’t pull you out with my own strength. You’ll need to spread your roots deep and thoroughly into the ground, even to the most secluded places. I’m warning you in advance—I’ll be lifting you up often. Regular stimulation to your roots will make them stronger. With effort, you might even be able to withstand my earthquakes for a while.”

“Wow!”

Daisy nodded enthusiastically, her face full of admiration. The two of them looked like a master and a disciple. It was clear that Mesquite was no beginner at this skill…

I glanced at Elder out of the corner of my eye. For some reason, Elder was watching the two of them with that pretty face of his completely scrunched up.

“Were you yanked up like that too?”

“That’s right, Jae. You caught on quickly. Elder was raised that way too. The little Elder kid was able to withstand my earthquakes not only because of his strong root stock but also because he underwent the same training as this sapling child.”

I imagined a young Elder dangling around Mesquite’s waist instead of Daisy. That hefty girl…

“Hah… hah…”

“Shut up! Don’t laugh! There’s no way I could have endured it—Mesquite’s strength is top-tier among dryads from the start!”

Elder trembled, his hand gripping his staff as he tried to suppress his anger. He couldn’t do a thing to me, after all.

So you grew strong under Mesquite’s care. You could have at least picked up some of Mesquite’s upright character.

“I’ll do my best! I’ll grow quickly and return to my original size!”

Daisy, now back on the ground, shouted out. Then she took a bite of the nutrient-rich fruit she was holding with a loud crunch.

She’s eating it normally, huh. Alright, try eating these too. I fed her three more in a row. Daisy ate them with gusto. Elder watched the fruit disappearing into Daisy’s mouth with displeased eyes.

Daisy, who had been eagerly swallowing the fruit, suddenly wore a shocked expression. Her arms were glowing. Stems and leaves sprouted gently from Daisy’s body, wrapping around her arms as they climbed upward.

The stems and leaves that covered every single finger of the child’s hands glittered for a moment before vanishing. In their place, smooth, dark green leather gloves embroidered with silver-threaded flowers settled on the backs of her hands.

Daisy spread both hands wide and stared at them in wonder. Oh… Is that the visualization of a level-up? My motivation is surging.

“If I want to buy just the nutrient fruit separately, I’ll have to get it from other druids, right? It would be a disaster if I tried the gacha and ended up with a dryad fruit instead.”

“Can I speak now?”

The guide, who had been standing like an ornament in the greenhouse, suddenly opened their mouth. No, why take the ‘don’t say anything’ order so literally? I only said not to talk about the grades.

“Yes, that’s right. You can go to the market where the druids often gather.”

With that, they even handed me an unsolicited map of the town’s market and shopping district. Just as well. To Elder, this would probably look like the maps on each floor of a department store. I can already see the gears turning in their head.

Even though the map was a favor from the guide, I paid for it with diamonds, pouring my heartfelt sincerity into the transaction. A tip from those dwarves over there. Wink.

I will do my best to ensure that Daisy’s innate grade becomes a non-issue. Of course, my diamonds will do their best. I’ll show her a relentless support offensive on par with the academic zeal of Gangnam.

But I didn’t even need to go to the market to achieve my goal. As I left the orchard accompanied by the dryads, a few people who had been loitering nearby approached me.

“Oh, you have some fine dryads there. Their aura is on a whole other level from any dryads I’ve seen so far!”

It looked no different from people approaching me saying, ‘Do you believe in the Dao?’ but my pride kept swelling up like a clown about to be launched into the sky. Ahem, ahem. So you do have some taste. It’s not just in my eyes that our dryads are beautiful.

“For a fine dryad, suitable nurturing is essential. If we’re talking about this fruit….”

“I’ll buy it.”

“Huh?”

“You pulled nutrient fruits, right? I’ll buy every single one you have. 300 diamonds for one, 700 for two, and for three or more, I’ll add 100 to 300 and buy them all at 400 diamonds each.”

And then, I got to experience the feeling of a celebrity idol surrounded by sasaeng fans. Or rather, the feeling of a lone survivor dropped into a zombie movie….

Even the people who had been standing far off, having missed their chance, all swarmed in. They clamored to assert how many nutrient fruits they had. Mesquite gently pushed people away with a shield as a guard. Oh, is this the feeling of a celeb protected by bodyguards?

“Stay calm. I won’t move from this spot until I’ve bought every fruit here. I’ll trade with you one by one.”

But how do you handle large diamond transactions between individuals? Our dwarves don’t know restraint.

When I pulled out my phone, the other person also took out something that looked like a phone. A wallet belonging to another person, which I was seeing for the first time. But while similar to a phone, it looked more like a very small tablet.

When I woke up the phone, the <Infinite Diamond> screen popped up as if it had been waiting. Then the dwarves started chattering incessantly.

[Master! Do you finally need diamonds?]

[Master! Take the diamonds quickly!]

[Master! We were worried because you don’t visit often!]

How do I adjust to withdraw diamonds in units of 100 here?

“Here, take these fruits first! I’ll sell one!”

My worry was brief. Suddenly, a small cart with the number 300 written on it appeared chugging along the railway leading outside the mine. Crazy… was this a concierge service?