A peaceful afternoon where the World Tree branch was continuously sucking up my diamonds in real-time. Noticing that the situation had concluded, Daisy Dryad popped out of the terrarium artifact.

Somehow, her equipment state was different from before she went in. She had been wearing simple cloth clothes, but now she was equipped with gear similar in appearance to when Daisy was first bloomed.

Did she level up inside the artifact already?

Mesquite habitually said that dryads must do their utmost to protect druids, but I think that if one lacks the ability, it’s also a method to avoid causing trouble and quickly stay out of the way.

It would be a huge problem if you jumped in and got caught in the fire. I always use Elder as a barrier to stay out of the way, too. So, I had no intention of saying anything to Daisy Dryad, who appeared late and fussed about looking around the terrarium.

Rather, I wanted to praise her for being exceptionally perceptive in reading the situation. No, she didn’t hesitate at all and jumped straight into the artifact.

Even if she’s a Daisy Dryad with the same hair color, eye color, and species, upon closer inspection, each has their own unique personality. In appearance as well as personality.

If our Daisy has eyes that beautifully narrow into a smile with their maroon eyes always gently closing, then that Daisy Dryad has eyelids that droop as if slightly sleepy, even when she makes a surprised face.

With those half-lidded eyes that showed no sign of tension, she looked around and let out continuous exclamations of admiration. It wasn’t because she lacked energy.

“I saw it all inside the artifact… but I never expected the fire to be completely dealt with. And you even revived the hopeless 28th branch of the World Tree. Lord Jae, you are truly amazing! Now if we restore the buildings and tidy up the interior, we can return to how it was before! Of course, for that, the residents will have to come back, right?”

Hearing that, this was quite a hopeless situation, wasn’t it? It wasn’t something to simply be happy about becoming the administrator of the 28th Terrarium.

I was taking on a completely destroyed wasteland of a village. It seemed no different from the opening background of <Infinite Diamond>, where you become the owner of a failing dwarf mining town.

It took half a year just to build up the dwarves’ diamond empire like this. How long would it take to restore it to the same state as the 26th Terrarium?

“It feels hopeless…”

Ah, I felt like letting out a groan. It’s not like there’s a guide quest for new players or anything.

Welcome! You’ve become the administrator of the 28th Terrarium! Now follow me and tap! First, shall we learn the controls? Something like this.

In <Infinite Diamond>, the dwarves played that role. Master! First, empty the cart! The cart is small and fills up quickly, so you need to empty it often! I followed those instructions and tapped every 5 minutes. This… where do I even start… Someone tell me…

I let out a whistle and looked at the Daisy Dryad, who was tapping the ground scorched by the giant fire bug with her toes.

Come to think of it, wasn’t she the one in charge of odd jobs at the orchard? She said she’d worked there so long she knew the entire village inside and out. Though she’s just called the odd-job person, from what I’ve felt, the orchard feels like the central part of the Terrarium, a kind of public institution, right?

In a way, like a public service worker assigned to a government office…?

Even if her combat power might be the weakest among my Dryads, no one is more suited for this kind of work than her.

Right, just like our Daisy, it was fate that this Daisy Dryad came to me!

“What should we start with?”

I casually approached and started the conversation.

“Hmm, you should start by adjusting taxes. Even if you want to fix the village right away, there’s no manpower. People from later-numbered Terrariums would be desperate to come to a Terrarium where the tens digit changes, but the path is extremely treacherous. The best option is people from nearby Terrariums or earlier numbers, but since the Terrarium is in ruins now, the only thing to offer is low taxes.”

Tax…. I’m sure it’s a word I’m not familiar with. Honestly, I have no idea. I can already feel a Great Wall-level distance between us. If I don’t know, I’ll just follow the old way. I can check the genealogy.

“Then how was it when the previous administrative officer was around?”

“Hmm, for the central area, the full payment was 1,000 diamonds, and the installment was 15 diamonds per month. For the outermost area, the full payment was 300 diamonds, and the installment was 5 diamonds per month. Still, I remember the taxes were lower than other terrariums. From what I heard from traveling druids, they all said the same.”

“What’s the full payment and what’s the installment?”

Why are they so different? It’s supposed to be tax. Why isn’t there a percentage? My question left Daisy Dryad slightly flustered.

Ah, I’ve seen that expression before. When I first met our Daisy, she made that face when I asked about things that might seem obvious to people in this world. I’ve gotten too used to Mesquite, who explains everything before I even ask. I’ve lost my touch.

“An outsider can choose between two tax methods when moving into a terrarium: either pay the full amount upfront or pay diamonds every month while staying in the terrarium. For the installment plan, even if the total exceeds the full payment amount, once chosen, you must keep paying diamonds. The outskirts are the first to be hit by fire attacks and are far from the orchards, so the full payment is lower. But not many people can pay that many diamonds all at once. Moreover, unless druids who can circulate diamonds visit frequently, it’s hard to save up the full payment during the grace period.”

Grace period? Catching my clueless look quickly, Daisy Dryad added an explanation.

“Ah, the grace period is the move-in grace period. We give you one month, during which you can stay in the terrarium for free and even engage in commercial activities. So everyone applies to move in during the branch-fruiting season. That’s when many druids visit. They’re confident they can squeeze diamonds out of the druids by all sorts of methods to gather the full payment. But unless you’re highly skilled in specialized fields like potion or equipment crafting, it’s almost impossible. That’s why most end up choosing the installment plan. Even if it’s a loss in the long run.”

“…So that’s how the system worked…”

“Well, it was inevitable that all the residents of the 28th terrarium left. Since the World Tree’s branch didn’t bear fruit, the druids who could supply diamonds stopped coming altogether. But now that the branch has regained its energy, maybe it will bear fruit next year, right?”

Daisy Dryad smiled brightly, as if already imagining a bustling terrarium. At this moment, that cheerful smile seemed no different from our Daisy’s.

Taxes… I suppose it’s a cycle—you need diamonds to manage the World Tree branches, so you have to attract more residents, something like that, right? But fundamentally… do I even need taxes? The World Tree branches are already siphoning diamonds out of my wallet as it is.

Then Daisy Dryad, interpreting my dilemma in her own way, looked uneasy.

“Are you worried about having to lower taxes? I understand your confusion over continuously supplying diamonds to the World Tree branches in this bleak state with no residents. Honestly, you must have suffered great losses to revive the World Tree branches. The amount of diamonds is unfathomable… did you perhaps take out a loan? But if you don’t lower the taxes… no one will come… not a single person…”

It was refreshing to have someone openly worry about my diamond situation like this—it had been a while. She doesn’t know me yet. When will she realize that the druid who’s her master would never fret over something like that?

Thinking of that, I turned on my phone screen and tapped it. No matter how much they mined, they couldn’t keep up with the diamond production rate of the dwarves I had maxed out. Carts were piled up, even.

“I’m not going to collect taxes.”

“…Huh?”

“Especially from the technicians. You know, the ones who build houses and do repairs? Ah, no.”

“Right? We do need to collect taxes after all…”

“When I think about it, this place needs every profession, and I’m desperate for even a single person. So yeah, if someone’s purpose for moving in seems plausible, I’ll just let them all in without taxes. But I can’t just take anyone randomly or it might cause conflict, so we’ll have a different grace period. I’ll collect taxes from people who do absolutely no productive activity in the terrarium. Only from those who laze around doing nothing will I extract taxes.”

I haven’t even gotten to laze around myself yet. That won’t fly. I was the kind of person who took summer classes even during breaks.

Not to mention, my dwarves were kids who tirelessly swung pickaxes from a dying mining town until they turned it into an empire—so even if the people coming here aren’t as hardworking as the dwarves, shouldn’t they still need to do something?

I need to feel that it’s worthwhile paying the diamonds from my wallet instead of them.

Daisy Dryad, as if she thought she’d misheard, widened her previously lowered eyes and asked me again.

“I told you, no taxes. I’m that kind of woman.”

“Why wouldn’t you collect them?”

“Why would I?”

“You have to manage the World Tree branches!”

“It’s already helping itself to a sip from my wallet, sucking it dry.”

“It requires an enormous amount of diamonds! How can an individual afford that?”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, my wallet is an endless spring of diamonds!”

The endless cycle of mutual misunderstanding was broken by an elder, who approached with his pretty face puckered into a pout.

What’s with that expression? Did she hear about the diamonds? No way, she would’ve passed out then? I thought she’d be grinning so brightly it’d glow, having scooped up that mountain of diamonds.

“Why the long face? Did someone bully you?”

No, is there even anyone here who would bully you? Or was it not enough even after taking all those diamonds? In response to my question, Elder made a utterly sour face and slowly extended his hand. What, asking for more diamonds?

On Elder’s palm lay a transparent diamond ring that gleamed brilliantly. It was a ring where gold crafted like a leaf wrapped around the diamond gem like a fruit. Whenever light hit it, flashes burst out like stars from its densely faceted surface.

A diamond ring out of nowhere?

“Huh? This…”

Daisy Dryad recognized the ring.

“This is a specialty from the 28th Terrarium of the past! How did it end up here? Even the former Administrator only heard legends about it and couldn’t find it after searching the entire Terrarium!”

“…I was there when she picked up the diamonds.”

Elder’s hand was now trembling slightly.

Ah… so you picked this up, wanted it, but couldn’t keep it, hence that sour expression. Right, with a gem ring this dazzlingly shimmering, who wouldn’t want it.

As I took the ring to inspect it, Elder’s eyes clung to it lingeringly, dripping with regret. The giant bug monarch dropped not just diamonds but even accessories like this when it died. That’s what makes it a boss monster.

“Jae, this is the Immortal Diamond. It’s a birthstone with the same effect as the ruby ring on that Elder kid’s finger. It’s said to hold the sun of April.”

Mesquite spoke. She had been watching with a delighted expression, as if seeing chattering sparrows, while I and Daisy Dryad were talking.

Sometimes, even when she could explain, she just observed. And now, since Daisy Dryad was lost for words going “Wow, wow,” she stepped in.

“April… so if it’s April, combat bonus?”

I had two Dryads who get a combat bonus in April: Daisy and Mesquite. Seriously. What are the odds that when you defeat a boss, the dropped item just happens to be a specialty item for my Dryads? Is this also Elder’s luck bonus?