Eat The World Tree

Meeting with Maronnie.

At first, I wasn’t sure how it would go, but eventually, things went as planned.

“Is that really true? I don’t think so.”

“You have to consider even the slimmest possibility. After all, you’re looking for the Flower too, right?”

Finding the Flower hiding here—that’s my mission, and it’s the directive given to me by the Hunter Association.

After explaining it all for an hour, Maronnie cautiously mentioned that she had received a similar request. Surprisingly, Maronnie and I had the same task.

I was contacted by the Hunter Association, and Maronnie by the World Tree Foundation. Although the organizations were different, both sides were concerned about the Flower.

A secret agent of the association. Maronnie seemed to take my words in that sense.

“…So that’s why you’re so strong.”

“Alright then… You’re asking me to take a look at the National Trees?”

“Yeah.”

Right now, she was the only one I could trust.

I didn’t think the Flower was careless enough to be caught by Maronnie’s authority. But I believed her mere presence might give the Flower some level of fatigue.

“If I do this… Then will you take me somewhere else?”

“Is that really the issue? If you find even a clue about the Flower, I’ll take you on a tour of the best local food spots and even more.”

“…More than that?”

Maronnie’s cheeks flushed as she blinked, her lips twitching before she nodded her head up and down.

-Nod, nod, nod, nod.

“Alright. I’ll do it. If you have any doubts… let me know.”

“Of course.”

A dramatic agreement.

Although we didn’t shake hands due to Maronnie’s mysterious symptoms, we exchanged trusting glances. Talking about the task, time flew by, and before I knew it, two hours had passed. We could extend the meeting, but usually, two hours is enough. Especially for a first meeting. I stood up and said to her.

“Time’s up. Let’s go.”

I had things to do too. By now, that woman Bao might be making a mess in my room.

As I turned to leave, I suddenly heard a pitiful sound from behind.

“…Ah.”

A cute noise that a stray kitten might make.

“What’s wrong?”

“…We only talked about work, didn’t we discuss anything else?”

“That’s right.”

Blink.

Her gaze shifted with each blink. She was fine when we were talking about work, but why suddenly like this again? I bent my knees to meet her eye level, and as if gathering courage, she gritted her teeth and cautiously spoke.

“Uhm… How about we extend the meeting just once?”

“Huh?”

“I still have so many questions….”

I could hear her rolling her eyes. If she’s that eager, there’s no reason to refuse. It’s quite amusing to see her reactions. She’s fun to watch.

A cat. The more I looked at her, the more she resembled a cat. If every household had a Maronnie, perhaps there would be peace across the world. If I joked about it, a few might even nod their heads.

“Alright.”

At the end of our first meeting, I managed to get Maronnie’s phone number before we parted ways.

Entering the room, I removed my mask.

The longer I wore it, the more it filled with sweat, making it unbearable. I only wore it because Jin Dallae insisted, but how much longer did I have to keep it on? It’s not like the mask was as comfortable as the Infi Mask that you barely noticed you’re wearing. Especially since the jewel inside it was removed, making the mask even more uncomfortable.

‘Is Bao still not here?’

I thought to myself as I changed clothes.

Bao didn’t show up in the morning, nor did she appear at lunch. It seemed the incident from last time shocked her quite a bit, causing her to keep her distance. If not that, she might be struggling with the second trial. Either way, it’s better for me if Bao doesn’t storm in here.

-Knock, knock, knock.

A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts. Since it wasn’t a loud, aggressive knock, I knew it wasn’t Bao. It must be either Sansuyu, Taeyang, or Aori. Thinking it was one of the three, I put on the clothes I was holding and went to the entrance.

As expected, at the door were the lackeys A and B, waving their hands.

“You came just in time. Come in and sit down.”

“Oh? Hyung-nim, did something good happen? You didn’t start off with a curse today.”

“When did I ever curse as soon as I saw you?”

Although I might treat these two more harshly compared to others, I’m not that much of a jerk.

“Really? Heheh.”

Taeyang tapped his head with a playful grin. A wave of anger suddenly welled up.

As Taeyang made a motion that showed a sudden murderous intent, I pondered what to do with this brat when Aori, standing beside him, elbowed Taeyang in the side.

“Ow!”

Aori’s fist dug about 5 cm into Taeyang’s stomach. Aori, taking quick steps towards me, pulled my arm, leading me to the sofa.

“Your Majesty, let’s go in. What’s this about?”

“Aori, you little…”

“Taeyang, you should be grateful to me. I just saved you from getting hit by His Majesty.”

“What the heck are you talking about? Ugh.”

I ignored their banter. I brought cola and snacks to the table. Although I had everything else prepared, I’d had too much tea, so I needed a change.

“So what’s the matter this time? Is it another counseling session?”

The real Taeyang asked me. He nailed it. As usual, it’s another counseling session.

The advantage of these two was that they crossed boundaries like a jump rope, making it easy to talk to them without hesitation. They know a lot about me, and above all, they were the closest to the Tree Spirit King. There was a lot to consult them about in various aspects.

Before speaking, I took a sip of cola. The sharp carbonation flowed down my throat, loosening it a bit. My throat was tired from telling Maronnie stories about commoners.

“Ahem, ahem. How are you guys holding up?”

“If you cut straight to the point like that, how am I supposed to know? Ah, you mean the trial?”

“Yeah.”

“Unfortunately, I’m just a male tree.”

…Unfortunately?

That wasn’t the kind of talk I was expecting. Aori, who was sitting nearby, threw a sarcastic comment at Taeyang.

“Why do you think you can’t do it with a male, Taeyang?”

“Hmph, never. Why would I? You go stick it in a branch if you want.”

“…Tsk.”

They were getting off track again.

“Calm down and listen to me.”

Taeyang and Aori turned their attention to me. Where should I start? After organizing my thoughts, I began to speak.

“To get to the point… it seems they have no intention of letting me pass.”

“Why?”

“They seem to have an intense hatred for humans. No matter what I say, they just catch on to my words and curse at me, and they don’t even give me a trial… What should I do about this?”

“Ah, I see~”

Taeyang clapped his hands as if he understood.

“What kind of tree is it? Do you have a list?”

I handed over the folded paper with information about Merry written on it. After reading it, Taeyang smirked.

“Well, this is easy.”

Easy?

At my questioning look, Taeyang made a lewd hand gesture.

“Just stick it in. Pull down the panties and go right in. The subjugation will be over.”

“……”

“Why do you look like that?”

“Is there no other way?”

Although Merri was a tree, she wasn’t a World Tree. I didn’t think there would be much benefit to me if I assaulted her. Of course, I had never grafted with a non-World Tree before, so I didn’t know how it would turn out….

“About that subjugation thing, does it always work once it’s triggered?”

“Not always. It depends on how much the target has submitted, their mental state, etc. Basically, it doesn’t work on World Trees or those with strong spirits.”

“So it’s conditional?”

“If there’s a significant power gap between you and your partner, you could say it’s almost 100%. It’s a difference in mental strength. But then again, how strong could the mental strength of a greenhouse flower be?”

They looked like they’d cry even if a single leaf fell off.

Taeyang tapped the photo of the tree reflected on the paper with his index finger. I agreed with his following words. Merry probably wouldn’t be able to withstand even a slight injustice done to her.

“In short, just stick it in, and once you climax, it’s over. The trial will pass on its own.”

“……”

“What else are you unsure about?”

“No matter how I think about it, if I suddenly burst in and force it, wouldn’t I be screwed?”

From what I had been told, there were no cameras in the room. It’s not broadcast, but even so, wouldn’t the tree have some means of protecting her body?

If I did something harmful to her and got caught? I could be executed on the spot as a heretic.

“Isn’t that a bit rich coming from the guy who took a National Tree during the first trial?”

The first trial’s stage was nearly impossible to monitor. It’s a place that’s only slightly altered from an existing dungeon. There’s a reason why they bothered to use AI cameras and artifacts. It’s because monitoring was otherwise impossible.

“But this place is different.”

“Hm… I disagree.”

Taeyang pointed to the tree again.

“Would a being like this really allow her home to be filmed with her eyes wide open?”

“If it’s done secretly, it’s possible.”

“Come on… Trees aren’t that insensitive. Especially when it comes to magic; their sensitivity is more than twenty times greater than that of a tree person. They’d definitely notice an artifact.”

He might be right. The perspective of a self-proclaimed tree expert is different. There’s a lot of useful information to take in if you listen. It’s just absurd that he’s applying this knowledge to seducing a tree.

“The unrefined flow of magical energy from an artifact is like unpleasant electromagnetic waves to a tree. Some trees might tolerate it to protect themselves, but… from what you’ve said, it doesn’t seem like this one would.”

Taeyang chuckled.

“She probably has a false sense of security. Think about it. From her perspective, ‘I’m a superior tree, so who would dare lay a finger on me? Only inferior species would try something like that. It’s ridiculous.’”

It’s frighteningly similar to her words.

“Exactly like her.”

“Do you think I haven’t seen a few of these trees before? When I was young, I was their plaything.”

Taeyang, even bringing up his sorrowful past, instilled confidence in me. Just give it a shot, he insists. The problem is, I’m starting to think he might be right.

“I’ll consider it as a last resort.”

“Do you have another option?”

“It’s explained that the Tree Spirit King is the best husband candidate for trees.”

“True.”

That approach was too aggressive. If it went wrong, it’d be like crossing a river I couldn’t return from. It’s risky. And it wouldn’t be good for my mental health either.

After making my decision, I spoke cautiously.

“I’ll try it my way this time.”

“Can I trust you?”

I responded to Taeyang’s grin with a smile of my own.

“Don’t worry.”