Judging by the scope and duration, I figured this must have cost another hefty amount of diamonds.

The elder stared at the droplets clinging to his staff with a conflicted expression, and Mesquite, who had been watching all of this, let out a small chuckle, saying it was always an astonishing sight. Daisy also eagerly praised me, and Wolfsbane nodded slightly in rhythm with Daisy’s words.

Even though my diamonds were used, this was clearly a graft done with the elder… Give him some credit too. Though, he’s probably calculating how many diamonds were consumed in this rain of life and mulling over the harsh reality, so he might not hear a thing.

Even if everyone praised me like I’d done something amazing, I had a slightly different purpose.

Since the path has been cleared, please visit the 28th Terrarium often. As you come, look to both sides to see small, cute duckweed floating in puddles filled with clear water. If you’re lucky, other duckweeds may one day find their place too.

Having poured out the rain of life abundantly, won’t the plants now explode in growth? May your journey through the greenery be a pleasant travel path. Jae2Tour.

Should I name it too? Since the only plant here is duckweed, from now on, this place is Frog Marsh. I don’t know if it had an original name; it was just marked as marsh terrain on the map. Isn’t it much friendlier and cuter than what I internally called it, like the Forest of Death? Harmless and inviting for anyone to visit.

With all this duckweed, will real frogs start swarming in? As I followed that stream of consciousness, my phone rang.

It was a notification that the name of this area, within the influence of the 28th Terrarium, had been changed to ‘Frog Marsh’ under the authority of a temporary administrative officer.

Hey… I only thought it…

Thinking this would be adopted as an official terrain name… somehow, I felt embarrassed.

***

On the way back to the 28th Terrarium after finishing the work, I walked while chatting cheerfully with the other Daisy dryad who would be there, contacting her through the Terrarium artifact.

I had so many stories to tell that the conversation never ended. He paused in clearing the building debris, sat down on top of it, and listened to my tales with wide, astonished eyes.

He started with exclamations of amazement upon hearing that on the way to the 29th terrarium, there was a swamp of death where neither life nor fire could approach.

When I recounted the scene of using Graft with Elder, his face lit up with extreme excitement, as if reaching the climax of a movie.

He muttered in a slightly trembling voice, ‘It’s really a shame I couldn’t see that rain scene in person. By the way, Master Jae, you just had a lot of diamonds, didn’t you? A huge amount. And then… surely… you paid out of pocket for the branch of the World Tree…’

When I mentioned that Wolfsbane, who was originally supposed to go to the 28th terrarium long ago, had become a dryad and was coming with us, he expressed mixed feelings. Mesquite clung close to me, watching out for any stumbles as I walked while staring only at the terrarium artifact.

The topics of conversation never ran out until we arrived, and before I knew it, we had reached the 28th terrarium. ‘Mom’s here! Did you clean up the room?’

The sky had grown quite dark. Still, I thought we could spend the night here.

In that brief time, the Daisy Dryad had gathered useful equipment into one of the orchard’s relatively intact rooms and carefully prepared a sleeping area. It seemed she had believed my words that I would return here soon.

“’You must have struggled alone.’”

“’It wasn’t much of a struggle. I just wish a skilled technician would move here soon to clean up the scattered debris. Since I have no technical skills, I can only move things aside, but there’s a limit to how much I can pile up. The outer walls are badly burned, but if you search carefully, there should be many useful items. Since the ground may have weakened, it’s best to start with low-rise buildings…’”

If I had been the one talking nonstop when I arrived, now it was the Daisy Dryad’s turn. Baton touch! I couldn’t believe she had so many stories to tell even in such a limited space. Maybe if we had traveled together, she could become an incredible storyteller.

I jumped onto the pile of blankets that the Daisy Dryad had stacked up, saying she hadn’t been able to wash them but had diligently dusted them off. It had been a while since I lay down somewhere soft. Honestly, I can rest and sleep well anywhere I lie down, but soft places are still better.

There was a musty dust smell and a faint odor of ash, but when I focused on the fragrances of the dryads huddled around me, it was largely diluted.

When Mesquite asked if I wasn’t hungry, the hunger I had forgotten came rushing in. It would be unreasonable to expect decent food in a village this ruined. Making a grim face, I stuffed emergency rations into my mouth and looked at Wolfsbane, who had returned with a Daisy child after seeing the branch of the World Tree.

Under normal circumstances, the mother body, not the dryad, should have arrived here before the situation worsened. But now, far past the deadline, it only arrived after the 28th terrarium was destroyed once.

If Wolfsbane’s mother body had arrived on time, might the worst-case scenario have been avoided? Given the power Wolfsbane displayed that drove us into crisis, the mother body’s strength must be immense, perhaps enough to exterminate the bugs.

“How was it?”

“It was amazing… A warm light… uh… burst out just like when we first met….”

Wolfsbane hesitantly listed the emotions he felt upon meeting the branch of the World Tree. Daisy Dryad, who had been rambling on about building walls and digging moats around the terrarium, handed over the baton at the story cautiously spilling out from the Wolfsbane child.

The child who met a part of the real World Tree, not me, a small World Tree, seemed to be entirely immersed in awe. Watching her earnestly describe her emotions from the moment they met until parting, an unintentional gentle smile spread across my face.

A child created by humans using forbidden power, betraying the World Tree’s power. Yet still, she revered the World Tree. Of course, the World Tree pitied her enough to entrust her to me.

As I quietly listened to Wolfsbane’s words, something caught my attention. The child would occasionally pause mid-sentence, stare at me intently, then continue—but what was missing in those gaps… was me.

So, the child didn’t know what to call me. Mesquite and Elder call me Jae, and Daisy calls me Druid, so was she confused?

“I’m Jae. You can just call me Jae. Why didn’t you just ask?”

I pointed at myself with a finger. My name, no nickname, is Jae. Such formal introductions came late. Wolfsbane looked flustered. Was it hard? What was so hard? It’s not like I’m asking you to call me ‘my master’ like Mesquite.

“Master Jae…?”

“Pfft….”

Daisy Dryad, who had been silently listening, hastily stifled a laugh. Thanks to that, Wolfsbane made a sad face, thinking he had done something wrong.

“Try… try again.”

“Master Jae….”

“Choke….”

“Don’t laugh! You’ll make the kid cry! Have you ever tried comforting her? If she cries, poison rains down on the rainbow pond, you know?”

Though the safety pin has to be pulled for it to switch to attack mode.

Thanks to the child’s uniquely high and piercing tone, I ended up as ‘Jae’ instead of ‘Jae.’ Jae is my alt nickname…. The child definitely said Jae. But what came out of her mouth just had one extra character attached!

Because Daisy Dryad couldn’t read the mood and burst out laughing, Wolfsbane was on the verge of tears, sniffling.

“That’s right. That’s how you say it. It’s not wrong. That dryad is just being fussy. Don’t cry! You did great!”

As I earnestly patted their head to comfort the child, the elder’s expression as they looked at me turned mischievous.

“Don’t you do it. With a build as big as a mountain, what, are you trying to copy that too?”

“Why not? You said calling her Jjei is correct.”

“I told you not to! Think I’ll go easy on you just because you have a pretty face?”

While I was squabbling back and forth with the elder… I saw it. Mesquite was smiling playfully too. That’s not very nice of you, Unnie….

It had gotten quite late, so Mesquite urged us to settle in for sleep. She said that even if we couldn’t make it to the 26th, we could skip a day and leave early. Daisy Dryad looked a bit disappointed but quickly shook it off.

For once, the dryads didn’t go into the artifact. Because the entire 28th terrarium was practically my artifact. All my dryads huddled together in one place and lay down, it almost felt like we were on a training retreat…. I never realized their numbers had grown this much.

I tossed and turned restlessly.

“Jae, can’t you sleep? Usually you’re out as soon as you lie down. Is something on your mind?”

Mesquite pressed down gently near the top of my head as she spoke. That made my head roll around to look at her. Even in the darkness, her brightly shining amber eyes reminded me of the candlelit ceremony by the campfire on training retreat nights. Eyes that compel you to confess everything.

I could feel the other dryads focusing all their attention on me too. It seemed they were all worried about why I couldn’t fall asleep.

There was something troubling me ever since heading toward the 29th terrarium. The log of the former administrative officer regarding this branch of the World Tree.

The reason I couldn’t easily tell the dryads—especially Mesquite—about that log and the conclusion I reached by combining the clues I gathered while heading to the 29th terrarium was… because of their attitude of blindly believing in the World Tree.

That the reason the strongest World Tree, which they firmly believed in, had weakened was merely due to a pest infestation. Also, that it seemed someone had deliberately tried to isolate the 28th terrarium.

Killing the messengers heading to the 29th, and intercepting the highly toxic herb Wolfsbane that was coming here as a countermeasure to the bugs. As if they wanted the World Tree’s branch to sicken and die.

The pest infestation might actually be easier to talk about. But saying there might be something threatening the great World Tree… that was harder.

Honestly, I was afraid they’d get angry and say I was talking nonsense. Of course, that was only until just before we entered the swamp area.

Now, I planned to tell them everything and ask what they thought. Just in case I was jumping to conclusions.

That’s because… it was the attitude the dryads showed me before I recruited Wolfsbane. The elder who said he’d crush the fruit entrusted by the World Tree if I didn’t want it, Mesquite who was displeased by my worries over the World Tree’s one-sided attitude, and Daisy who placed no importance on whether the World Tree entrusted it or not.

That’s when I realized. What matters more than the World Tree is me, the Little World Tree. The one they blindly believe in is me.

I looked into Mesquite’s eyes and spoke calmly. When I brought up the journal, there was a long silence, and then she simply said, “I see.”

Compared to what I had worried about, it was a concise answer. Rather, Mesquite seemed to notice my hesitation and even inferred the reason. Her careful touch felt like an apology for making me agonize alone.

The reaction from Daisy the dryad over there was bigger. But given the atmosphere, she seemed to hold back her words. When Wolfsbane, with his small head, tried to blame himself, saying, “I should have come properly earlier,” I flicked his forehead.

We’re not asking about your fault, you know. At the sound of flick!, the child startled and wiped away her gloomy expression.

When I shared the conclusion I had drawn by combining the clues obtained heading to the 29th, the dryads showed an unexpected reaction. Setting everything aside, they worried about me first.

Afraid that beings targeting the branches of the Great World Tree might also threaten me, the Little World Tree, who is deeply involved with the places they targeted.

They scolded me, saying my conclusion wasn’t a leap but valid, and asked why I hadn’t told them sooner. I really did worry alone for nothing. Even the usually silent elder Daisy dryad joined in, sparking a discussion about whether they had secretly brought in the bugs.

As the anxiety that had been pressing down on my heart disappeared, my mood brightened considerably. I was foolish to worry alone for nothing. Next time, I’ll just tell them everything. I buried my face in my hands.

I felt Mesquite gently gather my loose hair. Embarrassed by my solitary worrying, I kept my face buried but slyly turned my eyes to look at her.

“My master, Jae. I want to know your worries first. At times like this, I regret not visiting you in the terrarium artifact, even for a moment. Because when you look at the terrarium artifact, your thoughts are all shared without filter, and even fleeting worries, I can catch them all. I’m sorry I didn’t notice your worries sooner.”

With a soft rustle, the gathered hair was swept over to my other shoulder. She might have wanted to make eye contact and talk with me once more. After all, before she brushed it aside, my hair had been covering my face like a curtain blocking out the surroundings.

That action seemed to say that we should have no more secrets between us.