It was the sound of rubble collapsing that brought me back to my senses.

On the spot where the giant worm fire had been, a pile of diamonds was stacked, incomparable to the one from the carriage fire. Thinking that those were all the lives sacrificed in this Terrarium made my stomach churn.

That’s right, the worm fire was the fire that had swallowed this entire Terrarium.

Unlike my mixed feelings, the Elder was captivated by those diamond piles as expected. Wouldn’t the Elder faint if he knew how many diamonds I used to revive the World Tree’s branch? For the sake of my Dryad’s mental health, let’s keep it a secret.

And those piles. Compared to the diamonds I have, they’re ridiculously small, but since the Elder has already lost his mind, if I give them all to Siedling, the backlash might be severe, so I should assert ownership for once.

The battle that seemed so hard ended anticlimactically thanks to the World Tree’s blessing, and finally, my journey for the quest I received from the 26th Terrarium came to an end.

Now, if I just go and report, the quest should be complete. It was too harsh for a first quest. Still… well, it was fun. Looking back, I learned a lot and gained a lot.

“We meet again. I survived thanks to the Druid’s Elder Flower. Just a moment ago, I saw an illusion of my kin waving from the other side of the World Tree. I really thought I was going to die. But how did the branch of the World Tree, which I thought was dead, recover? Do you know?”

Belladonna approached. She might have given a glance to the towering pile of diamonds, if not like the Elder, but he came straight to me.

Even though things ended well, I felt a bit uneasy about the witherling dryad that made me part ways with my dryads.

Yes, it’s a good thing it ended well! By now, the initial anger had largely faded, and the urge to hurl curses at him upon seeing him had quieted down a lot.

“Well… I guess so.”

Still, I didn’t soften my tone. Not wanting to meet his eyes, I just tapped idly on my phone screen, pushing aside the Stonehenge mode and pulling up the <Infinite Diamond> screen.

Hey, guys, let’s sort out the settlement. How many diamonds have you used and spent? The diamond count is still dropping? Isn’t this thing a total money-guzzler?

The dwarf group was split in half—one side was hauling diamonds back to the fountain, while the other was filling carts with diamonds mined from the quarry. As I tapped the cart, the diamond count quickly recovered, but then it began to plummet again.

The dwarves won’t be nagging me to use the diamonds for a while.

“I’m really glad to see you safe. Actually, our group doesn’t usually rush into battles that look like this. Siedling saw your Daisy Dryad wandering alone and judged that something had happened to you. Normally, dryads don’t stray far from their druid.”

Your master sure is nosy. Even if it was well-intentioned, what if I couldn’t revive the World Tree branch? If my dryads had gotten into big trouble jumping into a boss fight without their master, I wouldn’t have been sane either.”

“Besides the World Tree Branch recovering its power, I can sense an unfamiliar force. This is… yes! It feels like another druid’s domain declaration! Though I can’t pinpoint which field it is. Surely, the owner is you, right? The more I learn, the more impressive you are! Even when you made rain with diamonds. What kind of power is this? We’ve seen countless druids, but we’ve never encountered someone like you!”

Rosewood had quietly approached and started speaking. He seemed very excited, his face flushed, and even his forced dignified tone couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice. The pitch was all over the place too.

Thanks for the compliment, but I Was still sulking. By the way, Mesquite said the same thing, and now this Rosewood. Had I unknowingly drawn out the power of my Terrarium Artifact? I have no idea.

“You don’t look too good… It’s because we acted hastily… and separated that druid from her dryads….”

Mallow chimed in from a distance. At his words, Belladonna sighed with a “Just as I thought….” Soon after, Siedling, who had been staring at us with burning eyes, strode over. Right, the three dryads are saying this, aren’t they?

But contrary to his entrance’s momentum, Siedling kept his mouth tightly shut. His eyes seemed to hold so much to say. That’s unlike him.

Of course, I knew they had acted without knowing my situation, so it wasn’t a matter where I needed an apology, nor did I particularly want to demand one. Besides, I thought she’d say something to upset me the moment we met! For instance, something like “You’re fearless, coming to the 28th Terrarium again?”

“What are you looking at?”

If you have nothing to say, get lost. I shortened it to a sharp retort. For some reason, Siedling’s gaze deepened. Rosewood fidgeted nervously, glancing between Siedling and me. It looked like his mouth kept twitching, as if he was trying to say something.

Ding.

Suddenly, a notification sound came from my phone. Why now, out of nowhere?

On the phone screen, there was an envelope I’d seen somewhere before.

Could it be a quest completion? I thought, and I tapped it, which this time lacked a sealing wax.

Notice of Transfer of Administrative Rights for the 28th Terrarium of the World Tree

Druid Name: Jae

Due to the absence of an administrative manager and your high share in the terrarium, you, Druid, have been designated as the interim administrative manager of the 28th Terrarium.

The 28th Terrarium will temporarily be attributed to your Terrarium Artifact.

Until a new orchard manager and the commercial district responsible for supplies are restored, all administrative matters of the terrarium will be managed through your wallet. If you decline the transfer of administrative rights, the 28th Terrarium will change to an unmanaged state.

In an unmanaged state, the terrarium’s risk of fire threats will increase.

Achievement conditions: Achieve an equity stake of 80% or more in the terrarium. Current achievement: 100%

★You will be revered as a miraculous being among the townspeople.

Your status within the 28th Terrarium of the World Tree: Level 1 Gardener (Administrative Manager)

(From Level 4 and above, you will be able to own a certain share of the respective terrarium.)

(From below level 9, you become hostile with this terrarium, making entry impossible.)

Your authority within the terrarium is as follows:

– Right to adjust taxes within the 28th Terrarium of the World Tree

– Right to manage personnel in the orchard within the 28th Terrarium of the World Tree

– Right to manage access for residents and visitors of the 28th Terrarium of the World Tree

Please visit the 18th Terrarium to have your temporary authority officially confirmed.

The 1st Central Administrative Department and Orchard of the World Tree certifies this certificate.

What… is this again? What did I become? An Administrative Manager?

The word ‘temporary’ bothers me, but it seems I’ve become something incredibly amazing! Did I get the equity stake by pouring diamonds into the branches of the World Tree? Is this a world where money solves everything? Can other dryads see this too? I want to show off!

This is way bigger than when I received the letter saying I became a Level 5 Gardener in the 26th Terrarium! If we compare it to civil servants, what would a Level 1 civil servant be? Anyway, this is a super high-ranking official!

An excitement incomparable to that time surged up. I tightly shut my mouth to stop myself from screaming in joy. I was so surprised that fireworks kept popping off in my head.

The letter was neatly folded and placed next to the message I received in the 26th Terrarium. And a new screen appeared on my phone.

If the arrow on the left allowed me to go back to the Stonehenge mode screen, the arrow that appeared on the right, when touched, showed the 28th Administrative Management mode screen.

Even within this small phone screen, I can check all sorts of things. Not only the equity stake, but also how many diamonds my World Tree is consuming in real time, the state of the terrarium (even the judgment that it’s unsuitable for human habitation was visible), the number of fire entities outside the terrarium, and who is currently inside the terrarium—everything appeared on the screen.

This feels like watching a version of <Infinite Diamond> called <Terrarium Adventure>? My game <Infinite Diamond> also managed a world of dwarves in a similar way.

“Wow, that’s freaking awesome….”

Has my card game now become a village management game too?

“Um… Druid.”

When I touched the visitor menu in the terrarium, a small list popped up. There was Siedling. Siedling’s current grade was Level 7. There was also a mark indicating a special visitor.

When I touched Siedling’s name, up and down arrows appeared in the section displaying their grade. Oh, could this be?

“I’m sorry… but do you remember what you said to Siedling earlier?”

“Huh? What?”

I felt my mood improve, and now I feel okay facing and talking to Siedling. That grudge just got resolved because of this amazing reward. As I smiled with a much brighter expression, Belladonna, who had been watching my mood, finally lit up.

“Do you remember when we last met, the druid told me not to speak to Siedling unless you permitted it first? Because of that….”

Ah, that. Come to think of it, I did say that. That guy used to annoy me every time he opened his mouth. Surprisingly, you’ve been keeping that promise well?

“Well, you can speak now.”

“Even though I’m only a temporary administrator of the 28th Terrarium, I’ve become much more lenient. I’ll let slide about three of your irritating remarks now.”

“I was worried.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

What else can I manipulate on this screen? I can’t see Siedling’s personal info. The dryads I own… it lets me know which dryads are currently outside. Belladonna, Blue Mallow, etc. I already knew this much.

“You were reckless. You shouldn’t have sent the dryads away from your side.”

“Watch your words. It was an unavoidable situation back then, and our Daisy was supposed to return to me soon. It was you who caused the separation by entering combat mode with the boss.”

“Why did you come into the Terrarium? If you had any sense, you shouldn’t have recklessly entered such a dangerous place. Your actions were risky enough to create hellfire here. If Mesquite had been hit….”

I held back three remarks, right? It feels like I held back more than that. As my expression darkened, Belladonna let out a sigh.

But she doesn’t need to exhaust herself explaining. Siedling said exactly what I expected. Actually, knowing in advance makes it less shocking.

Go ahead and babble on. I happen to have something I want to test.

I went back to the screen showing Siedling’s rank within the 28th Terrarium. I frantically pressed the downward arrow, dropping it from level 7 to level 10.

Is this the end? A pop-up asked if I wanted to apply the changes, and I clicked confirm without hesitation. A new button appeared next to Siedling’s name. [Exile] This is amazing, really. I’m totally excited.

“Siedling, have you ever been exiled from the Terrarium before?”

Belladonna answered instead. Worried that further conversation would ruin my mood, she cut Siedling off as an emergency measure.

“Yes, he got caught up in a bad fight… Of course, the root cause was with Siedling… but still, it wasn’t done with ill intent.”

“I heard that if your rank in the Terrarium drops below level 9, access is restricted. But there’s a level 10 too?”

My subtle smile left everyone looking puzzled. As they went “Uh,” my hand steadily pressed the [Expel] button. Then Siedling, and of course his dryads, were engulfed in golden light and vanished.

They were truly expelled from the terrarium. This is fun! Thrilling!

Who would have thought the diamonds showered on the World Tree branch would come back like this! I want to shed this provisional title and become a full-fledged administrative officer! That’s totally cool, isn’t it?

“Jae, what happened?”

Mesquite, who had somehow come to stand by my side, asked with a surprised expression.

“I expelled them. I became the administrative officer of the 28th Terrarium! Though it’s only temporary. Let’s go to our 26th Terrarium, complete the quest, and set the next destination as the 18th Terrarium!”

I pointed to the pile of diamonds at Elder, who looked like a puppy wagging its invisible tail at the sight of food. When I told him to take it all, Elder dashed over with a delighted face.

Are diamonds really that great? I diligently explained the administrative officer role to Mesquite. Daisy also toddled over and listened to my explanation. Since Elder wasn’t around, I was able to explain that the inevitable reason I became an administrative officer was the diamonds.

When I said I used an unimaginable quantity, maybe a few million or so? Daisy’s face turned pale.