Blue fountains bursting out all over, and transparent spheres laden with lovely flowers floating around—it felt just like watching an amusement park parade.

The dreamlike scenery made my heart swell. That I, who was once just a noob, could now create such a beautiful sight.

I wanted to hold it in my eyes for a long time, but I couldn’t stay on the hill forever. The Central Administration of the 1st terrarium said they would visit this place soon. To fully secure my position as an administrator, I had to clean up all the loose ends that could be held against me.

Having Papillion pay an advance by teaching me the Gardening Skill was one thing, but I wasn’t keen on trusting him when he could switch sides as easily as flipping his palm. It’s his fault for having tormented me so much.

Kalong, who betrayed the organization, was a similar case to Papillion, but he had a leash made of many diamonds. He claimed he sided with me because his life was in danger, but I needed a more secure leash. He might be on my side in words only, and someday he might stab me in the back.

“Hand over your wallet.”

I still don’t fully understand the precise value of a wallet in this world.

At first, I thought of it as similar to the smartphones with banking apps that people carry around one by one, and I figured it was just something that made life inconvenient without it due to the many trivial things you could check with a wallet.

I considered it a semi-consumable, like being able to switch to a new smartphone anytime if it broke or got lost, just like in my world.

But seeing Earning, who gave up his wallet to avoid tracking, and Papillion, who couldn’t give up his wallet even though he was being tracked and feared leaving the 16th terrarium, the meaning of a wallet seemed to carry more weight than just the concept of a basic smartphone.

So I decided to make a gamble. I couldn’t think of anything right away to use as leverage to put a leash on him. He seemed like the type who would betray me even if I suggested signing a contract.

Fortunately, the gamble seemed to have paid off. Papillion hesitated greatly at my words.

“I think it’s a good judgment. If you have to choose between your life and your wallet, you know the answer, right?”

“Taking away my wallet, huh. As expected, Master, you’re quite bold. A wallet is something not even shared among family members.”

Iris and Zephyr defended my choice. It was too late now to subtly ask about the special nature of the wallet. I still lacked a lot of common knowledge about this world.

“Confiscating my wallet… it’s no different from taking my eyes away. Administrative work is impossible without a wallet.”

“That’s your problem. Don’t you need to prove your usefulness to me now? I’m the administrator now, so you don’t necessarily need to use your wallet. Show me how competently you can handle things without it.”

Papillion silently stared at the wallet in his hand before finally handing it over to me.

“You know what? Handing over your wallet, which can only be made once in a lifetime and is practically your soul’s ID, carries the meaning of a marriage proposal.”

“That’s nonsense, Jae.”

Iris said in a horrified voice.

I’ve seen the trick of leaving a wallet or watch as a pledge at a drinking party—is it the same kind of thing?

By the way, a wallet can only be made once in a lifetime. If that’s the case, it really is important. The expression ‘soul’s ID’ made me think a lot.

A wallet where diamonds, bound to a druid’s soul, accumulate. I understood why bees that replaced the messenger system for people to exchange messages could accurately find distant locations, and why alarm pop-ups appeared at uncanny timings. The expression ‘soul’s ID’ seemed truly fitting.

“So there’s such a custom in human society.”

Kalmia Dryad seemed very interested, like an exemplary student diligently listening to a lesson. Her tone suggested she wasn’t bothered at all by Iris’s interruption.

It was my first time touching someone else’s wallet. Seeing it up close and touching it directly, its appearance was similar to a smartphone, but it felt heavier and more rugged. Compared to my iPhone, it was like a metal plate with just a piece of glass attached. There were no power or volume buttons either.

Is this what it feels like to see an early prototype smartphone just invented? It seemed like something someone who had only vaguely heard about the appearance of a smartphone would imitate and make.

After using the wallet to put a leash on Papillion, I decided to move to the inn with the guild members and discuss the future plans. I didn’t want to discuss important matters in Papillion’s presence. I ordered Papillion to immediately deal with the issues that needed solving.

“Please take care of Earning’s remains. Though I wasn’t on good terms with her, we weren’t enemies either, so don’t even think about leaving her to rot. Also, disperse the crowd swarming like ants in front of the alchemy tower. If we leave them as they are, something serious will happen.”

According to the administrative manager’s guide screen, I still wasn’t officially recognized by the people. I thought that him, who had been consistently showing his face at the management office, stepping forward would be more effective than me, a complete stranger.

But with public opinion soured by artificial tampering, I worried whether he could truly disperse the angry crowd. The current poor reputation would surely not help the future of the 16th terrarium, which would soon be mine.

Even if I managed to secure a higher-numbered terrarium, if external perception worsened and people kept leaving, it would ultimately be my loss.

Before returning to the inn, I held up my phone to Papillion. It was to let him know that if he tried any tricks like when he watched me, I could now track his location with my phone. He only gave a bitter smile and said nothing.

On the way to the inn, I briefly visited the orchard. It was the same orchard whose employees had previously blocked my entry under Papillion’s orders.

But now, I was the administrative manager, not him. It made no sense for the manager to be barred from the orchard, which was essentially the heart of the terrarium.

With expressions that seemed to hold hundreds of question marks in their heads over the sudden change in authority, they led me to the World Tree branch.

And there, I confirmed the utterly wretched state of the World Tree branch. Compared to the 28th terrarium, I was amazed at how it had withered and sickened so rapidly to the point of death.

It was still white, but the smooth, jade-like beauty was gone; the bark was peeling in white patches like scabs, cracked as if slashed by a knife, in a state too wretched to describe.

A black fluid with floating white oil dripped from the crevices of the bark, and the branch, once stout as a stone pillar, had shriveled up as if put through a dryer.

It really looked like it had drained its life to yield strength to the black branch, didn’t it?

Just hours ago an outsider, I was now scrutinizing every detail of a diseased, dead World Tree branch—like the terrarium’s shame—and the orchard workers couldn’t lift their heads, their faces dark.

But it was I who wanted to just stare at the ground. Sooner or later, the Central Administrative Department would come down to witness this sight.

It was a branch of the World Tree, considered sacred in this world. Damaging a branch seemed to put one on a wanted list, and they even sent inspectors from higher-numbered terrariums for quality checks each time.

Showing them the great world tree’s branch dead from pests? Not only would my temporary badge be stripped, but the administrative officials would vanish like dust.

Ugh, how do I explain this?

***

In the 16th terrarium, I invited all the guild members to the room I had first stayed in at the inn.

The spot where we had discussed the black branch now became a place to sort everything out. A brief memory flashed through me of being trapped in the alchemy tower, not knowing anyone’s fate, spending busy and exhausting times.

Zephyr and Herma, who had parted ways with us briefly, brought Rue, who looked haggard after just a few days. They said that she, being nearly a civilian, had been hiding by moving between the Iris party and pre-marked spots to avoid enemy pursuit.

Seeing that everyone was safe, she murmured with a teary face that it was a relief, and then, as if her tension suddenly released, she collapsed softly onto one side of the bed.

She clung to a black, coarse cloth that was too shabby to even call a coat, like a caterpillar wrapped in leaves, and fell into a deep sleep, snoring softly through her nose.

I felt sorry imagining her hardships—never able to relax or rest properly—and having come all this way on my call, only to endure all sorts of troubles.

We had a lot to discuss. Also, the Iris party couldn’t afford to waste any more time in the 16th terrarium, especially because of the guild quest I had entrusted to them. Their help was desperately needed for Rue and Pila’s families to safely relocate to the 28th terrarium.

“Can’t you do something about the dead branch with your gardening skill, Master Jae?”

“I’ve actually tried it, but… I couldn’t control it.”

Unlike the world tree branch in the 28th terrarium, which was barely clinging to life, the branch in the orchard—whether it had completely died or lacked the strength to respond—didn’t move.

In the dream, the orchard branch had said it would give up, but it spoke of asking for a chance to start over from the beginning. Didn’t that mean there might be a way for both to survive?

I thought it could die and then revive, like turning a machine off and rebooting it. I wanted to believe it wasn’t truly dead, just lacking even the slightest strength to move.

The world tree branch in the hill was still greedily absorbing diamonds, as if competing with the branch in the 28th terrarium. Although it was practically just a twig, it was powerful enough to form a hill and was larger than the orchard’s branch, so I believed it would take time to fully recover.

If it poured all its power into recovering, just like it revived the branch in the 28th terrarium, it could circulate diamonds to the orchard’s branch and heal the disease.

However, that must be perfectly accomplished before the Central Administrative Department arrives. If they want to see the World Tree’s branches, I’ll have no choice but to open the orchard’s door, so I can’t hide it either. This is truly a matter where time is the best answer, so I’ve set it aside for now.

“If he really wanted to be protected in the 16th Terrarium for the sake of his own life… for himself, he’ll have to drive out all the remaining members of the organization inside the terrarium. He’s practically a traitor to the organization now, so rather than for Master Jae, he’d better deal with it quickly for his own sake.”

Another form of help that Papillion proposed: assisting in cleaning up the interior of the 16th Terrarium, which was practically a hideout for the Inferno organization. According to Iris’s claims, this should be an easy task.

But how would we deal with the remnant organization executive, the highest dean of the Alchemy Tower, the old man Creacion?