Chapter 7: Picking Flowers at the World Tree
Dorami and I set out to a visit a wilderness far away from the capital.
The quest this time is “King Scorpion subjugation”, which we’ve already cleared.
Usually, I would try and hurry back so I could have a chat with my beloved Garnet-san but…
“Where are you going? The town is over there.” (Dorami)
Dorami called out to me as I headed in the opposite direction of the nearest town.
“I want to go get some flowers for Garnet-san before we return.” (Jade)
“There wouldn’t be any flowers blooming in a place like this.” (Dorami)
“It’s just over here. There’s a World Tree over there and some rare flowers bloom at its base.” (Jade)
About half a month had passed since I decided to give Garnet-san some flowers.
This past half a month, I’ve been visiting various flower shops in different towns and asking the same question over and over again while I was clearing quests. “What kind of flowers would make the best present?”
They all had the same answer, “Star Flower”.
Star Flower is a rare flower that only blooms at the base of the World Tree.
When I looked at the picture books, it was a very beautiful flower. I would’ve hesitated if it was a dangerous flower but it’s apparently perfect as a present.
“What is the World Tree?” (Dorami)
“It’s a really big tree. It’s also the World Tree’s fault why this area looks so barren.” (Jade)
The World Tree takes all the nutrients from the ground causing all the plants around here to die.
Conversely, thanks to the abundance of nutrients the World Tree is taking, there are so many flowers blooming at the base of the tree.
The Star Flower is one of those flowers.
If Garnet-san really loves flowers, then she’ll definitely be pleased.
“There’s a tree that big here? Dorami wants to see it too!” (Dorami)
“If it’s sunny, you’d be able to see it from here.” (Jade)
The dust blowing around here really makes it hard to see.
“Let’s go now!” (Dorami)
She was so timid when we first met but she’s become so full of curiosity after traveling with me for so long.
I carried Dorami on my back and while being careful not to blow her head off, I rushed up the cliff.
“Why is there a wall in a place like this? Is this someone’s castle?” (Dorami)
“It’s not a castle wall, it’s a cliff. The World Tree is just at the top.” (Jade)
“If we don’t climb this cliff, we can’t reach the World Tree…?” (Dorami)
“There’s a mountain trail that people normally go to but if we take that, then it’ll take a week to go up.” (Jade)
I wouldn’t be able to stand not seeing Garnet-san for such a long time.
More than anything, I also want to see Garnet-san as soon as possible!
“Hold on tight! Leaving me aside, if you fall from here you’ll definitely die!” (Jade)
“Yeah! I need to survive to see the World Tree!” (Dorami)
Dorami tightly hugged my neck.
While trying not to scare Dorami, I quickly tried to climb up—
The quest she received was to collect medicinal herbs at the base of the World Tree.
It was just a simple mission. She only needed to go pick some herbs and return with them.
However, that girl—Angen, is a four-petal class adventurer who is known for her vigilance.
T/N: Anjen (アンジェン) but it sounded weird so I just left it as Angen as suggested by MTLs.
Since the reward is shared, the earnings are reduced but just to be safe, she also hired her little sister who was in the same industry so they could safely arrive at the World Tree.
The two of them split up, found the medicinal herbs, and were about to head back down.
But…
The Anjen sisters found themselves in an unexpected situation.
It was very bad.
Without any warning, a giant caterpillar fell on top of them.
After just a moment, they realized it was actually a fire-spitting caterpillar—a Flame Worm. The Angen sisters’ vision was covered by blazing flames.
She quickly deployed [Shield] at the last minute but the Flame Worm is not a monster that a normal four-petal class can compete with.
However, the shield was gradually pushed back and the Angen sisters were slowly driven to the edge of the cliff.
“W-why is something like this happening…?! Even though I was so sure we were safe! Where did that monster come from?!” (Older Sister)
“Over there! There’s a charred monster over there!” (Little Sister)
Ahead of them was a charred bird. Insects are just prey for birds in the natural world but that wasn’t always the case with monsters.
The Flame Worm that had nearly been eaten was venting out its anger on the Angen sisters. The flame’s momentum and heat amplified and forced them to the edge even faster.
“At this rate, we’re going to get charred! Can’t you do something, nee-chan?!” (Little Sister)
“It’s impossible! I can only use defensive magic! While I’m trying to hold it down with a shield, try to defeat it with some offensive magic!” (Big Sister)
T/N: The big sister calls herself “onee-chan”, but I’ll just omit that.
“Don’t be so unreasonable, onee-chan!” (Little Sister)
“B-but at this rate, we’re both going to die!” (Big Sister)
Would the shield be destroyed first or would they be pushed off the cliff before that?
Either way, what awaited them was only a gruesome death.
Crack!
Suddenly, an ominous noise resounded.
A crack had spread on the shield.
The heat surged through the cracks as the two of them prepared for death.
At that moment…
“Dorami, we’ve arrived!” (Jade)
“Wow! That’s a big tree!” (Dorami)
From behind them were cheerful voices.
Hallucinations?
The sisters looked back in disbelief.
And over there…
—The Selfless Hero, a legendary adventurer was standing there.
“Waaa! There’s something happening over here!” (Dorami)
Dorami shouted.
At the edge of the cliff, a battle was unfolding with a monster.
Two adventurers and a fire-breathing monster.
And right behind them was the Star Flower!
“This is bad, it’s going to burn!”
I leaped over the shield and dropped my heel on the Flame Worm.
Buchu!
It made an unpleasant sound and black smoke started to come out. I didn’t crush the magic stone but the fact that the ether is coming out means that I defeated it.
As soon as I turned around, the two of them collapsed on their knees.
“Uwaaa! We’re alive! We’re actually alive!” (Little Sister)
“I’m so relieeeeved!” (Big Sister)
I don’t know what happened here but I’m glad I saved someone.
For the time being, I decided to wait for the two of them to stop crying. After a while, the two of them wiped their tears and lowered their heads.
“Thank you very much! We didn’t think that Jade-sama would come to our rescue…!” (Little Sister)
“I’m a failure as an adventurer… I couldn’t even defend against it…” (Big Sister)
“That’s not true! I should actually be thanking you! I actually came up here to pick this flower.” (Jade)
If they hadn’t put up a barrier, the flower would’ve been burned without a trace remaining.
To show my gratitude, I gave the biggest smile I could muster.
“It’s a dream to be of service to you, Jade-sama!” (Little Sister)
“I will also do my best to continue as an adventurer!” (Big Sister)
After the two cheered up, they left using the regular route.
I picked the flower and placed them inside the flower pot I brought with me.
Next to me, Dorami was looking up at the World Tree.
“It’s so big that I can’t see the top…” (Dorami)
“It’s the biggest tree in the world after all.” (Jade)
“My neck is starting to hurt from looking up so much… Right, how was the flower?” (Dorami)
“As you can see, it’s blooming quite beautifully. I’m looking forward to seeing Garnet-san’s happy expression.” (Jade)
“Then let’s go home so you can see it as fast as possible!” (Dorami)
“Yeah! Let’s hurry home!” (Jade)
Dorami climbed on my back and I carefully but quickly descended the cliff to return to the wilderness below.
We took the train to the nearest town, Dorami ate some ekiben, and I slept a little.
I had a dream where Garnet-san gave me a kiss as thanks for the flower.
It was a very happy dream.
