We followed his guidance, avoiding piles of debris, heading toward the orchard. He walked without hesitation, and the fires we encountered along the way were quickly dealt with by the strengthened Daisy.

The other Daisy Dryad clapped lightly in admiration, but I felt a strange unease. Even the fires we met here…

The orchard was close, and as we approached, we could make out the shape of the massive fire that had nested in the terrarium far in the distance.

Though barely retaining its form, it was so huge that even the towering buildings couldn’t hide it. Flames flickering like flares were menacing… The heat and fireballs made it feel like a small sun. But the rough shape of that fire…

A caterpillar…? A maggot…? No, an aphid…? Why such a trivial form…?

Suddenly, a booming sound came from outside the village. The giant fire raised its body in response. Looking again… it really looks like a bug? Wait, outside the village? Could Siedling have already arrived?

“Here it is. It’s collapsed a lot, but it’s the orchard. Yes, the glass is shattered, the iron beams have caved in, and only its shape remains, but it’s definitely the orchard.”

Good thing we found it. I thought we might meet again. Whether Siedling outside was kicking up a fuss to get into the terrarium or not, we entered the orchard guided by Daisy Dryad.

Inside was a mess. It was an interior that hinted at the urgency of the time. Compared to the tidy interior of the 26th terrarium, this was… right in the middle of a battlefield.

Mesquite stuck close to me, wary of debris falling and causing secondary damage, and guarded me closely. Elder’s barrier was also layered thickly above my head.

There must have been precedents of people being crushed to death. A fragile human like me needs to be careful, yeah.

“Where is the branch of the World Tree?”

“This way.”

Even in the chaotic mess, Daisy Dryad somehow found the way well. We arrived, but the door was blocked by piles of debris and couldn’t be opened. The door frame was even warped, making it seem impossible to open by normal means.

Mesquite didn’t hesitate, thrusting her lance to break the door and immediately building a sand wall to support the collapsing debris. So cool!

We entered a huge room. The same kind of room where I had picked the fruit. Inside, as expected, it was a wreck.

“Oh no, the branches are all burned too.”

I had anticipated it since fire had crawled through the orchard and fire damage was evident… But the branch of the World Tree was also charred black. It was so dry and burned that it would crumble at the touch, turned into charcoal. Ah, it seems beyond recovery. There seemed to be no hope either.

Yet, in the midst of the blackened ash, there was something that stood out.

“Look at this. Was the World Tree’s branch always like this? It’s burned, sure, but it looks different.”

For me, the only World Tree branch I’d actually seen was the one in the 26th terrarium’s orchard, and the one in the dream was just a dream, so I can’t count it as experience. But wouldn’t the dryads know if something’s off? If even I can sense something strange.

I picked up a stick from the ground and vigorously brushed off the ash from the branch. Then, a deeply indented white spot-like part was revealed.

I poked it with the tip of the stick, and white powder fell from it. I also brushed off the ash next to it. This time, a sticky, unpleasant white sap was caked on.

“Looks strange, right? Doesn’t it? It really seems to have been sick, doesn’t it? With a very severe disease.”

Mesquite looked quite confused. She stared seriously at the place I pointed to. Elder also wore a serious expression in turn. Hmm, they don’t seem to know anything.

I sighed, kicking away the round lumps of ash that rolled around a lot at my feet. So it really was sick. It got sick and then burned. What now for this terrarium?

“Shall I guide you to the administrator’s office? There might be data on the disease.”

As I was kicking the lumps out of frustration, Daisy Dryad spoke. Since she said it was nearby, I readily agreed.

We walked just a bit through the collapsed hallway and arrived at the destination. We entered the administrator’s office through the wide-open door.

A large portrait hung precariously on the wall, barely clinging by one corner. Though scorched by fire, I could make out a young woman with luxurious blonde hair staring straight ahead, her eyes firm and resolute.

“That’s the administrative manager of the 28th Terrarium. Scarecrow, I believe that was the name.”

No way. That old man I met outside the village was her?

“Is that from a long time ago? When she was young?”

“No. She looked hardly any different from when I last saw her.”

I was so stunned that words failed me. The last time I saw her, she had wrinkled, brittle skin like an ancient old woman and straw-like hair. But how….

Life force, right, life force. She said she used up all her life force for the final graft. Could it be because of that…?

I was so deeply shocked that I couldn’t think at all until Mesquite pulled a nearly burned notebook from the collapsed desk and handed it to me. Seeing her sacrifice so vividly like this made my chest feel heavy and my entire body tingle.

“Jae… are you okay? You look really pale.”

“…I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

I forced myself to pull it together and examined the charred, stuck-together notebook. It was the administrative manager’s log. There weren’t many pages intact enough to read. I carefully turned the pages, making sure the paper didn’t crumble.

The World Tree has been damaged by an unknown pest infestation.

Where on earth did these bugs come from?

The orchard is meticulously managed.

There’s no way they could have easily infiltrated from outside.

There’s no information about the bugs. Nowhere.

Even the staff member, a former skilled scholar, couldn’t uncover the origin of the bugs.

The bugs are rapidly eating away at the World Tree.

Bugs that can overcome the World Tree’s blessing? That’s impossible.

No matter what methods are used, the bugs can’t be eradicated.

Even with medicine, they withstand the dryads’ power.

The bugs have a strong life force.

They keep reviving.

My loyal adjutant says I must not report this outside….

He insisted we could definitely solve it.

But how long can we hold out?

No fruit is blooming.

We need help.

This is something we can’t solve.

People are leaving.

We requested aid from the alchemy tower of the 16th Terrarium.

They promised to send us a highly potent venomous herb capable of killing any living creature.

The promised day came, but it never arrived.

Why isn’t it coming?

This year too, no fruit was produced.

We can no longer supply dia smoothly to the World Tree.

It’s sheer despair.

The handwriting grew wilder and more chaotic with each page, as if reflecting the writer’s state of mind. And on every page, nothing but heavy, bleak despair seeped through.

Bugs…. So the cause was a pest infestation. Through the log, I was able to confirm the full details of the story Daisy Dryad had told.

So, all those white traces clinging to the branches were insect marks? Even the black clumps I kicked?

Insects. That strange feeling. The fire I encountered on my way here, and the huge fire I saw in the distance—they were all insect shapes. The strongest beings in this ecosystem weren’t the dryads or druids, but those mysterious insects that directly threatened the World Tree.

What kind of insects could threaten the World Tree? Where did they come from?

“My master, Jae. What does it say there?”

Mesquite gently grasped my trembling hand and asked. Could I tell her? That the mighty World Tree she firmly believed in had weakened due to a pest infestation. I kept moving my lips, unable to speak easily. What should I do?

“Well… well…”

“I’m fine…”

Just as I was leaning toward speaking and trying to spit out what I’d read, I heard the singing again. This time, it wasn’t faint; it came through clearly, as if expressing that I had grown closer to its source.

“It says it’s fine! Wait. Could it be the World Tree? Is the World Tree the one calling me?”

“Help me… my hope.”

“A tree can talk? What kind of tree talks? Well, dryads, whose origin is plants, talk too, so why can’t you? You should have told me sooner! I thought you were a ghost!”

“Jae?”

I shouted toward the room where the World Tree’s branches were. But Mesquite looked at me with surprised eyes. She couldn’t hear it.

“Let’s go! The World Tree says it’s fine! It says it’s still alive! There’s hope!”

And so, the matter of the insects was brushed aside. I’ll tell her later. Later. I’m sure I’ll be able to speak of it.

The insects that the administrative manager couldn’t eradicate no matter what… In the end, the fire burned all the World Tree’s branches, and somehow they were eradicated. It ended up being an extremely drastic method.

Ever since I found out that the charred lumps rolling underfoot were the corpses of burned insects, I carefully avoided stepping on them. The corpses filled the floor in heaps. How much did they reproduce?

“Alright! I’m here! What should I do?”

At my shout, the dryads looked at me with puzzled expressions. To others, I must have seemed like a strange kid talking to myself.

No, I mean the World Tree’s branch spoke! Once I explained, their faces finally relaxed as if the misunderstanding was cleared.

I no longer cared if my hands got dirty and placed them on the charred black branch. Now, please tell me what to do!

“It’s dangerous! My life force has been exposed!”

At that moment, a sharp sound like a tearing scream rang out. It was so desperate and deafening that I instantly raised both hands to cover my ears.

But it was no use covering my ears, as if the sound wasn’t coming from outside but was driving straight down into my inner self.

The urgent voices, telling me to dodge, that it was dangerous, to be careful, mixed together chaotically. At the same time, I felt an intense heat.

The enormous fire… it’s found us! No. I can’t let it burn any more here!

I rushed outside with the dryads in a panic. Daisy the dryad quickly took refuge inside my terrarium artifact. Yes, that’s a wise choice.

The enormous fire was wriggling its way into the orchard. It looked like a giant worm that had spotted its prey to devour. The heat was unbearable as it swept in.

I can’t take this. I have to divert its attention! I need to protect the orchard!