“That’s good to hear.”

“Right? I’ve heard some say it’s because some druid willingly cleaned up around the 26th Terrarium, and others say the World Tree’s energy suddenly got stronger. What was that druid’s name? The residents of the 26th Terrarium called them very fondly. I think it was an alphabet. A? K?”

My face suddenly flushed. It felt like they were talking about me. I was so embarrassed I thought steam would come out of my nose. Elder’s eyes seemed to say, ‘You guys.’

“They must be an incredibly strong druid, right? I tried wandering around here to copy them with my Thistle, but even catching just one fire like that was a bit tough. A few days ago, there were fires several times bigger roaming around, and that druid caught them all—how strong must they be? They’re a total role model!”

Stop it… I feel like my face is going to explode.

“But you look really strong too! All your Dryads seem to have super high grades—how did you get them? Don’t tell me you got them all from an orchard? Wow, you’re so lucky…”

Whether it’s my luck or Daisy’s luck…

“Oh! I know that Dryad kind! It’s Daisy, right? I recognized it at a glance since it’s a common one. But it looks really strong. As far as I know, it’s the same normal grade as my Thistle.”

“Right? Our kid is strong. Really strong. Completely strong. Probably the strongest Daisy Dryad in existence?”

I pulled Daisy closer, showing off her weapons and upgraded gear for a better look. Unlike Mesquite or Elder, who were strong from birth, Daisy had grown from the bottom up, making her feel similar to me, who had grown from level 1.

That’s why the praise for Daisy felt like praise for my own reflected self, making me twice as happy.

After introducing her to the other Dryads of unfamiliar kinds and wrapping up a light chat, we parted ways. Since she didn’t seem to expect any favors from me, who looked stronger (like a free ride in vulgar terms), I just passed on a few simple combat tips.

Good attitude. I thought about giving her some diamonds out of goodwill, but felt a bad vibe about it, so instead I emptied my pockets and handed her some emergency rations and potions. Even though I stressed beforehand that the emergency rations tasted awful, she accepted them so happily that my conscience stung.

Her passion for everything—her Dryad, combat, adventure—seemed immense, and I sensed a potential for her to grow at lightning speed. I also had a feeling we might meet again after she sprouted up.

Come to think of it, I never even asked her name. By the time that thought crossed my mind, I was already near the 26th Terrarium. Well, she would’ve had to tell me hers for me to share mine. If I had, my face might have exploded from embarrassment.

Alright, let’s go find the administrative officer to complete the quest!

Indeed, the 26th Terrarium, which had suffered a long drought due to a broken balance, seemed to have regained more vitality than before after its recovery. I could see many smiling faces, and the once-harsh attitudes of the people seemed to have softened a bit. Now that I vaguely understood the workings of the terrariums, I felt like I could see things more clearly.

I had become a 5th-grade gardener of the 26th Terrarium. Perhaps that was why the residents here recognized me and treated me warmly. When I was wandering around, not knowing where the administrative manager was to complete the quest, they approached me first and spoke to me very kindly.

“At this hour, wouldn’t he be handling administration at the orchard? Thank you for helping the terrarium. Thanks to you, the situation has improved a lot.”

“Since there’s no shortage of water, we might be able to lower the price of wheat. Stores that closed their doors are reopening too. The druids who were about to leave for other terrariums have decided to stay longer.”

“Now the stores don’t have to compete fiercely with fiery eyes. The borders of the outer area have been lifted, so the residents no longer have to tremble in fear. But it’s a bit sad that taxes went up.”

“At this rate, we might get close to the tax rates of the 10th-level terrariums. But since it’s become easier to attract druids, we’ll make it back quickly. It’s all….”

“Jae, thanks to you.”

“…….”

“My master, Jae. Are you okay? Your face….”

“Looks like it’s about to burst? Do you have a fever? You don’t seem sick, but should I channel some healing power?”

“Master Druid, are you sick?”

With Jae, Jae being called out from all sides, I felt like I was dying of embarrassment. Even the people who used to yell at me back in my low-level days for standing in front of their stores had done a 180-degree turn and were sweetly calling me Jae, Jae.

Because the residents treated me so reverently, the druids were also looking over here, wondering what was going on. I’m not thick-skinned, so I can’t handle this kind of attention. I guess I’m not cut out to be a celebrity. So this is what it means to become a 5th-grade gardener.

Among my dryads, only Wolfsbane, who was unfamiliar with crowded places, was shivering like a curled-up hamster. Mesquite shielded me with a large barrier, blocking the gazes and attention of others, and only then did I feel a bit better.

The orchard guide, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, hadn’t forgotten my VVIP face. I didn’t forget to bring up the story about unripe fruits to him.

In the case of the 26th Terrarium, it seemed like everyone was only interested in regular fruits and rarely sought out unripe ones, so there was quite a bit of stock.

So I told him to bring me as many as I could carry, regardless of the number. Then about five or six guides disappeared all at once following him. How many are they going to bring…?

I moved away from the spot the guides had vacated and headed toward the administrative manager.

Hello, this is Jae. I’m back. (Quietly)

The administrative officer looked extremely busy, failing to notice my arrival right away and staring intently at a wallet that looked like a smartphone.

“Oh, it’s you. I’ve been waiting. I was worried you might have failed or gotten into trouble like the other druids. How could I not worry when every druid I sent went completely silent? Especially since you were a druid with a very immature soul.”

Well, that quest was S-rank, a damn difficult one. The path was hell every step of the way, and at the end, I had to fight a giant fire bug in a boss raid—who could have completed that?

It was a quest I could never have cleared without the special-grade Mesquite, the diamond-summoning elder, and the willful battle dryad Daisy. Of course, there was also me with my infinite diamonds… I feel like I deserve to be a little proud of this.

I concealed as much as I needed to and reported the tragedy that occurred in the 28th terrarium, stating that I had finished the task by becoming the temporary administrative officer.

Even though he noticed right away that I had cleaned up around the 26th terrarium and sent a message via smartphone, the administrative officer seemed completely unaware of the quest regarding the 28th terrarium until I spoke about it myself. What kind of system is this?

“A temporary administrative officer? You’ve done something truly remarkable.”

And his attitude toward me changed. It felt more polite, as if he were treating me like a fellow administrative officer.

I pulled out a quest scroll I hadn’t touched since that day. ‘For the safety of the 26th terrarium of the World Tree, we request that you investigate the truth of the 28th terrarium.’ At the end, a ‘Mission Complete’ stamp was stamped over it, finally finishing the long quest.

“It will arrive soon.”

At the same time, my phone beeped with an alarm. On the screen, a familiar envelope had arrived.

To the Benefactor of the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree.

Druid Name: Jae

Thank you for saving the 26th terrarium.

With your help, the terrarium has regained peace.

Residents no longer need to tremble in fear from the threat of fire.

Achievement Condition: Complete the administrative officer’s request regarding the 28th terrarium

★Your name will be affectionately spoken among the village residents.

Your Status Within the 26th Terrarium of the World Tree: Level 4 Gardener

(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.)

To commend your contributions, we provide the following benefits.

– 30% discount on purchases in shops within the 26th terrarium of the World Tree

– Free use of all inns within the 26th terrarium of the World Tree

– World Tree 26th Terrarium Orchard, Diamond No-Collateral Loan Available

– World Tree Fruit Free Supply Permanent Priority

– When visiting 20th-tier terrariums, the 26th terrarium guarantees your identity.

The 26th Administrative Manager and Orchard of the World Tree certify this document.

“Grade 4 is actually the highest level an outsider can achieve. In the 26th Terrarium, no druid has yet reached Grade 4. If you want to own a stake in this Terrarium, feel free to talk to me anytime.”

Everything was so astonishing I didn’t know where to start being amazed. Yet, it wasn’t as thrilling as when I first received the message.

The first Grade 4 Gardener! But since I already held the highest position as Provisional Administrative Manager, I was moderately happy.

Equity ownership! But since I already owned the entire 28th Terrarium, it just felt novel. Loans were useless to me with infinite diamonds, and for the same reason, other benefits didn’t impress me much.

Still, it’s a good thing. Let’s be happy! Yay!

Owning equity… does that mean I could own this entire Terrarium too… No. Constantly flaunting infinite diamonds might seem suspicious, so let’s keep it moderate. Moderate. But contrary to my thoughts, the words blurted out first.

“How many percent can I own? Maximum?”

“The taxes on the Terrarium are enormous. Even if you’re a tycoon, owning more than a single-digit percentage might be excessive, wouldn’t it?”

“Ah… I mean… no. Let’s talk about this later. I have something more important than this!”

The old man looked at me with eyes that questioned what could be more important than becoming the honorable Grade 4 Gardener of the 26th Terrarium.

“The butterfly! The butterfly!”

Butterfly! That’s the reason I willingly dragged my body through the 28th Terrarium! A transcendent item that can help my children grow even more!

At my words, the old man looked a bit weary. He disappeared through a door at the back of the room, not the one I used to enter, and reappeared holding something like a collection container. So he kept the butterfly in a collection container. I almost burst out laughing.

“How do you plan to use it? If there’s a dryad you’ve already marked as the butterfly’s honey mate, it’s best to temporarily send the other dryads back to the Terrarium artifact.”

“Huh? Why?”

Inside a cage that looked like it was made of gold, an opalescent butterfly fluttered its wings gracefully. It was a life form so beautiful it could enchant.

It was completely different from the ordinary insect butterflies I knew. Fluttering like a piece of the polar aurora torn off, it was mysterious and beautiful.

“That’s because the butterfly is instinctively likely to be captivated by the flower with the strongest scent.”

At the old man’s words, Mesquite let out a light laugh.

“My master, Jae. If you’re not sending butterflies to me, then as that person said, it would be best for me to stay inside the terrarium artifact.”

The flower with the strongest fragrance—that metaphorical expression meant that butterflies automatically flew to the highest-grade dryad.

Whoa! You could find another Mesquite dryad to create a forest, and become an even stronger Mesquite here? Isn’t that incredible?