Rowella, like me, wasn’t well-versed in knowledge about the first settlement or Bark Reinforcement. Although I had acquired the relevant knowledge less than a day ago, I willingly relayed to Rowella everything I had heard from Porta.

After hearing my story, her eyes sparkled at me so intensely it was almost overwhelming. It dawned on me that I, who had always been eager to glean unknown information from others, could now teach something to someone else.

Accompanying Rowella to the Back Row Terrarium made me think that, perhaps from the moment I obtained the Mistletoe Bullet from Romgato, I had no choice but to consider it positively.

A bullet that could only be used on Dryads of Druids lower level than me. And coincidentally, I had it in mind that it would be fine to recruit a couple of newbies into the guild.

If she’s passionate about everything and has a heart that treasures even normal-grade Dryads, wouldn’t she make a good colleague?

But bringing Rowella along wasn’t a decision I could make alone. Even though I’m the guild master and hold a superior position in our relationship, Siedling is a companion who will journey with me going forward. I would have accepted immediately if I were traveling alone.

While Rowella left to get dessert, I straightforwardly asked Siedling about recruiting Rowella into the party.

“She is weaker than you. Barely a sprout just unfurled.”

“Since you called her a sapling, I suppose that’s a relatively generous assessment.”

“As we head deeper into the Back Row Terrarium, the World Tree’s blessing weakens. Normal fields shrink, and fields where Dryads are heavily affected by weather and temperature become more extreme. In dangerous situations where you have to fight fire with penalties, a sprout-level Druid would only be a hindrance.”

As expected, Siedling’s evaluation was harsh. Even when I first met him, he advised me to flee, let alone fight, in the decisive battle against the Fire Chariot. Maybe it’s too presumptuous to think about looking after Rowella when even managing my own body might be a struggle.

“But people grow through combat… Our guild offers good benefits for beginner Druids. If we recruit her first and then travel together, couldn’t she grow quickly? Above all, she knows the first settlement of the Thistle Dryad, and I need to go there for Bark Reinforcement.”

“If you wish, I will break the first settlement’s rule of not revisiting with outsiders and guide you instead to Cadon’s settlement.”

“I’m curious about Cadon’s settlement too, but there’s no need to break the rules for that.”

“You once willingly broke the non-disclosure clause about the commission in the 16th Terrarium for me and gave me information about Wolfsbane, but now you talk so casually about breaking the rules.”

“The situation was unavoidable back then, but kindness like this that could harm you now feels burdensome.”

“Alright, I understand your opinion. I’ll have to tell Rowella that she can’t join us, reluctantly. Ah, saying something like this is really hard. How can I phrase it so she won’t get hurt…”

“As it is, I’ve already been rejected from joining parties here and there.”

Not long after finishing the conversation with Siedling, Rowella came back with not only her own share of dessert but also ours.

She hadn’t even been asked, but she was trying so hard to please us, and it broke my heart. Having to refuse someone with such a bright face.

I awkwardly took the dessert from her, thanked her, and couldn’t bring myself to say the next words.

But she was quite perceptive. She seemed to catch the refusal in my troubled expression. Yet she didn’t get discouraged; instead, she smiled even brighter.

“Oh, you don’t have to feel too pressured by my request! I wasn’t really expecting much anyway. I know my own abilities, so I’d be too much of a burden to go to a Terrarium with a high number yet.”

“It’s not about being a burden… I’m not as strong as you think, so I can barely take care of myself.”

“Can I ask again next time, after I’ve gotten stronger? You gave me such great gear, and you seem so amazing that I really want to travel with you and learn from you!”

It seems like it would be fine to travel together… Her resilient way of bouncing back like a weed after rejection inspires me, making my passion burn bright too.

“Then… are you part of any guild?”

“A guild? No, how could a novice druid like me already think about guilds?”

“Then would you like to join our guild? It’s the exclusive guild for this Terrarium, but it’s not that grand. Druids with smaller souls and young dryads can grow faster with its benefits. I really want to travel with you someday, so how about joining our guild to grow quickly?”

“Huh? The exclusive guild for the Terrarium? Me?”

Rowella clearly seemed like she’d become a capable druid as she grew. Even if we couldn’t travel together, I had to snatch up such talent for the guild in advance.

“Can I really join? I’ll root myself and stick around, so even if you change your mind and try to kick me out later, I won’t leave…”

Rowella accepted the offer without a hint of refusal, like a fish biting the bait. If she had kept underestimating herself and refusing, it would have been a bit tiresome.

On my phone’s administrative screen, she was labeled ‘Fresh Visitor,’ but after joining the guild, the information that appeared about her was also special.

Unlike Iris’s party and even Siedling, whose names only appeared, next to her name was a green circle icon. Tapping it revealed the message: ‘Growth promotion trait active, growth points can be acquired.’

Also, shortly after she joined, an alarm went off and a new message appeared. It was similar to when a new trait had unlocked with Siedling’s joining.

‘The branch of the World Tree welcomes a small soul befitting the blessing of the Gaia Guild, where all is born and all begins.’

‘Another trait is ready to sprout.’

‘Acquire growth points to fully grow the trait.’

After reading all the messages, my vision suddenly narrowed and then widened again. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my phone again—no vision problems there. What just happened?

“What’s this other trait?”

Does this mean that as Rowella grows, I can earn points, and by accumulating points, I can awaken another hidden trait? This game’s guild content is pretty well made.

I can’t predict what trait it’ll be, but if we can gain guild traits this way, other guilds would definitely be trying to recruit beginners too.

If it were me, I’d have plastered promotional materials all over the Terrarium entrance to lure beginners, but I’ve never seen any guild ads during my visits to Terrariums.

I turned to explain the guild trait to Rowella, but noticed a strange phenomenon unlike before.

The floating golden effect that appeared after Siedling joined the guild was also visible on her. However, I could also see a translucent, light green spherical effect located around her chest, near her heart.

The sphere was about the size of a baseball. Its strange light faded and brightened repeatedly. Wondering what it was and if I had one too, I looked down at myself and saw the same thing—but much larger than Rowella’s, about the size of a basketball. What is this?

Just in case, I looked at Siedling, but it wasn’t visible on them. Why only on me and Rowella?

“I see something weird on Rowella. Right here. There’s this strange light, like a green sphere.”

I patted my chest and asked Siedling, because I had a feeling they might know.

“It’s the size of the soul imbued with the World Tree’s blessing.”

“Whoa, can I finally see things like you do?”

Can I finally visualize my level? My level being a basketball? I want to see the size of Siedling’s soul too. I wonder how big the difference between me and them is. But no matter how hard I focused, I couldn’t see it.

With Rowella joining the guild, the possibility of a newly unlocked trait, the size of my soul that I can finally see, the notification that seems to reaffirm the worth of the Gaia Guild’s name, and growth points.

“How about we stick together until around level 30?”

It felt like fate. Even if we couldn’t stay together until the terrariums with very high numbers, wouldn’t terrains around 30 to 40 be fine? If Rowella grows more in the process, that would be a good thing.

“Really? Is it okay?”

At my suggestion, Rowella clasped her hands together as if praying and cheered.

“Siedling, wouldn’t it be okay up to the 30s? I haven’t heard that it’s dangerous, right?”

“I will follow your decision.”

Unlike before, Siedling didn’t strongly oppose it either. Rowella was already fussing, preparing to leave the terrarium.

I calmed her down, saying we’d leave at daybreak, and she disappeared, saying she was so excited she couldn’t sleep and would go for a run. I’m really envious of her overflowing energy.

***

The sleeping area where Iris’s party had left looked so empty. Just last night, we were there whispering softly with the blanket pulled up to our heads. I felt a strange emptiness.

While I was checking the bedding to prepare for sleep, Mesquite called me. It was the first time she had called me out separately, so I felt a bit dazed.

“Jae, I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I think it’s time for you to follow the ways of other druids.”

“The ways of other druids?”

“My master Jae has grown a lot compared to how she first appeared.”

“Yeah, isn’t that right? I can now see the size of my soul. Compared to Rowella’s size, I think I’ve grown a lot.”

I felt proud at Mesquite’s compliment.

“I was always worried that you might go wrong if I wasn’t always by your side. But not anymore. I thought that overprotecting you to the point of feeling anxious when you’re not in my sight could actually hinder your path.”

“What do you mean? Mesquite, you hinder me? Absolutely not!”

“Hehe, from now on, follow the ways of other druids, Jae. The more experienced a druid is, the more they should hide their hand, right? I think it’s time to hide your dryads, Jae. Now, besides fire, people might approach you as enemies. Having all the flowers you’re with out in the field like before is like showing your entire hand to your enemies. So it’s better to keep only the minimum with you and the rest in the artifact. Now you have a fellow druid too, don’t you?”

I recalled what Iris had said. She also suggested sending some dryads back to the artifact.

Back then, I let it be because I was used to traveling with the dryads. But for the later terrariums I’m heading to, perhaps following ‘the ways of the druids’ as Mesquite said might be the right judgment.

“Since I’m using Elder’s butterfly as a guide, Elder should stay… but I’m not sure Marguerite will stand idly by.”

“Mesquite is right…. There’s a big difference between enemies knowing I have Mesquite and not knowing. I’ve always had it with me, but now I can’t, and that makes me a bit afraid….”

“It’s not like we’re falling forever; we’re just in an artifact that can come out whenever you call, right? We’re together inside Jae’s soul. We’re closer to Jae than anything else. So you don’t need to feel afraid at all.”

Even Siedling, who usually walked around with their dryads out in the field like I do, had now returned all their dryads to the artifact and was moving alone. They had decided to follow Mesquite’s advice.