Daisy 2 had come out to greet me at the entrance. Saying how glad she was to see me in person after so long, she rambled on in her trademark chatter for quite a while.

Just as Daisy 2 finished her welcome chatter and offered to guide me through the much-changed Terrarium.

“Master Jae, Ironbeast seems a bit off?”

Iris lightly grabbed my arm and pointed at Siedling. Standing apart from the group, Siedling had his arms crossed, silently staring at the entrance. Why Siedling?

“He hasn’t budged from over there at all?”

“Isn’t he pissed? I think Iris’s pranks have all been found out. Honestly, who else would drink water for someone until a whole bottle’s empty? That guy probably won’t need a single sip of water for the rest of the day.”

Zephyr covered his mouth with one hand as if whispering, but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, glancing toward Iris.

“I only mentioned that wicked people could secretly poison the drinking water to assassinate someone. You helped too, you know. You kept saying things like the water looked a bit off-color or had something floating in it every time Jae took a drink, making Ironbeast nervous the whole carriage ride.”

“Hey, keep your voice down!”

Even Zephyr, who was tense with caution, joined in on Iris’s pranks, so it’s probably safe to say Siedling is getting along well with the guild members without any issues, right?

Contrary to Zephyr’s thoughts, there was a different reason why Siedling couldn’t enter the 28th Terrarium.

Even though they had accepted him as a guild member, previously they had expelled him from the Terrarium and placed a no-approach restriction on him.

I hadn’t thought of it until just now. It seemed that the section where Siedling was standing was the limit of his allowed access.

Why didn’t he say anything to me and just stand there silently? I hadn’t told the other guild members about the incident where Siedling was expelled. It was obvious that would harm the fragile trust we had just started to build.

I picked up my phone, raised the rank next to Siedling’s name from the very bottom, and lifted the no-approach restriction.

“You can come over now.”

When I gestured, Siedling uncrossed his arms and strode over without hesitation, standing beside me. He showed no sign of displeasure, just a blank expression. I suddenly wondered if this stoic guy could even smile.

“If Jae shows everyone around with Ironbeast for about a week, that nickname will probably disappear soon.”

Iris glanced at the two of us with a peculiar look and blurted out.

“Then how about we stop calling him that ridiculous nickname and use his real name instead?”

“Does Master think that nickname is ridiculous? That’s impressive. We thought he was a really dangerous guy when we first saw the wanted poster. It’s not easy to get a nickname like that instead of a real name.”

“Despite that, you were the one who suggested we catch Ironbeast… I mean Siedling, and claim the bounty. And yet when we actually met him, your hand holding the bow was shaking.”

“When did I ever shake?”

“Stop pretending. I thought there was an earthquake. I thought the inn would collapse.”

“And you, why are you teaming up with Iris against me?”

With Herma joining in, the lively atmosphere made Daisy2’s face light up. She looked like someone who had found a comrade.

I thought that maybe Iris and Zephyr would be good conversation partners for Daisy2. The two of them, like Daisy2, were constantly chattering away whenever they had a chance.

The 28th terrarium had changed remarkably. It had been a place filled only with collapsed and burned rubble, exuding a desolate atmosphere, but now it seemed mostly tidied up. Instead, empty lots appeared here and there.

Guided by Daisy2, I saw a large tent and several temporary stalls set up in one area. In front of them was a sign with a big, plump pumpkin illustration glowing yellow. The Golden Pumpkin Company had brought various daily necessities and opened a temporary shop.

The workers sent in droves by the Great Bean Union also seemed busy moving the remaining rubble and setting up temporary housing in an orderly manner. Artificial improved dryads relocated from the 16th terrarium were visible everywhere. Clearly, there were more inside than outside.

Surprisingly, the dryads were willingly helping the workers who entered their territory without a word. Seeing them—whom Papillion had warned about and had actually faced as enemies—willingly doing helpful things for me felt deeply moving.

The once-empty terrarium now seemed to be buzzing with life.

In the distance, two bright yellow figures came running over noisily. They were the dandelion children. The children were growing vigorously day by day.

“Little World Master Tree! I can now use the power to block heat toxins! They say it’s a good power for dryads weak to heat! They said if I get stronger, it could even work on people like you, Little World Master Tree!”

The child with two pigtails who arrived first said while bouncing around. Contrary to my expectation that it was the male-type Dandelion-Roh, the voice had a higher pitch. Huh? Wait.

“Little World Master Tree! I’m stronger first! That one’s a novice. If it uses its power, it’ll faint before even removing the heat toxins.”

But as far as I knew, the two children’s powers were like their appearances—twin-like and equal in strength.

“Don’t be ridiculous! You just awakened your power last night, dummy!”

Indeed, the child who arrived later had a lower tone. But its hair was tied in a single low ponytail. Loose strands stuck out, swaying in the wind. The hairstyle was opposite to when I met them before.

Since the child who won the fight got to have an extra hair tie, it seems Dandelion-Na won this time. Learning that they were still competing over a single hair tie was so adorable.

As I watched the dandelion children starting to bicker, Herma cautiously approached me and spoke.

“Don’t you find anything striking about those two sprout kids?”

“Huh? Striking?”

What could he mean by something striking about those dandelion kids? I followed where Herma was subtly glancing.

“Last time I came, I didn’t get to look around much because of the request, but doesn’t it seem bigger than the other terrariums?”

“I wouldn’t know. Since all the terrariums are within the domain of the World Tree’s branches, aren’t they all about the same size? Maybe it just looks wider because there aren’t any buildings around?”

“That’s because you’re too stupid to notice. And who’s so tactless as to openly say there isn’t a single building?”

I spotted Iris and Zephyr bickering not far from the dandelion kids. When I pointed alternately at them and the dandelion kids, Herma giggled. Ah, they really do resemble each other. I let out a laugh too, following Herma.

“Both are impressive? Mastering a new power while I was away. But, did someone teach you, by any chance?”

The dandelion kids eagerly talked about the dryads who had descended from the sky of the 28th terrarium.

“I thought it was raining flowers!”

“It was the first time I’d seen so many different dryads.”

Amid the chattering kids, Daisy 2 abruptly cut in.

“Druid, I thought it was a bolt from the blue. Do you know how startled I was, thinking countless dryads were invading our precious 28th terrarium? Fortunately, I felt your energy from them right away, so I was relieved, but if I’d noticed just a bit later, the viburnum tree might have drawn its sword and forced an attack.”

The dryads wrapped in the virtual artifact space had suddenly moved, so even I hadn’t been prepared. It made sense that my dryads would be startled. But the dandelion kids only remembered that day as wondrous and joyful.

“You sensed my energy? What kind of energy was it?”

Could they sense my energy without having a soul connection with the dryads?

“Every single dryad was enveloped in an immense and rich coolness of the World Tree’s sap. It was on a completely different level from the energy bursting from ordinary World Tree branches. We thought it was impossible unless diamonds were used, and since you’re the only one who can handle that level of diamonds, we could figure it out.”

So my energy is the energy of diamonds? That’s a pretty novel way to notice it.

After that, Daisy 2 said she had gathered and recorded all the information about the artificially improved dryads that had arrived.

Since artificial improvement is forbidden in this world, most dryads find it unpleasant, but Daisy 2 and the dandelion kids right in front of me didn’t seem to feel that way. Even some dryads I know openly expressed disgust.

“While recording, I noticed there were several dryads mixed with dandelion seeds, so I asked them to act as supports for the saplings here. Since they didn’t understand the concept of supports, it was a bit difficult to explain. It seemed they had never once thought about having to teach saplings as mature trees. Trees born against the laws of nature certainly… But since the druid willingly embraced them, I believe they’ll learn gradually.”

I recalled the numerous artificially modified species in the seed storage of the alchemy tower. Even wolfsbane alone had been combined with female monk’s hood, reed canary grass, and two other types.

It did seem plausible that among the dryads who migrated here, some had dandelion seeds mixed in. I had thought that Daisy-2, being an attack type, might have limits in teaching dandelions with different traits, but it seems they luckily gained good mentors.

Daisy-2 mentioned that other dryads were very envious seeing a few qualified dryads teaching the dandelion saplings, and joked that at this rate, some dryads might end up scooping up passing saplings to teach them.