98. Taunt (3)
98. Provocation (3)
As promised, I ran for a morning canter with Sotia. At first, she ran at Sotia’s pace, but due to the difference in stamina, she couldn’t run for long. It was the moment when I felt my inadequacies. After that exercise, I came to class today as usual.
“The test is just around the corner, and looking at your expressions, I thought there was no need to worry! Let’s all fight.”
It was the words of Professor Marina May. She ended the morning inquiry by asking me to stay for a while. I followed Marina May’s words and stayed in her classroom, then approached her after all of her students were gone.
“Woros students! I called you because I had something to tell you!”
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“What is this?”
“You will know when you open it!”
Marina May says so after handing over her paper bag. I don’t know why, but she’s smiling quite happily. After making a puzzled expression, I opened the paper.
It was a piece of paper with 「Report on the result of the Melgard Dormitory Freezing Incident」 Written on it. Along with a rough outline of the incident, the names of the students who were active in the incident were listed. The report states that the case was able to be safely closed with the quick response of Woros Blood.
“Deputy Principal Duralph went looking for Woros, but it seems he couldn’t find him. So that’s how I delivered it.”
“I see. Thank you for passing it on.”
“I am so proud! If you look at the back page, there is a compensation plan written on it, so please check that too.”
Marina May comes down from the special platform and smiles. I nodded her head and put the paper bag in the bag.
“I mean. I am really looking forward to this competition. I submitted a problem that even the Woros students would have a hard time with.”
“Are you talking about the Potion Improvisation Contest?”
“Yes! I’m going to present the exam outline today, and I think it’ll be just right for a Woros student!”
“Professor, I’m sorry, but… “
After I said this far, Marina May tilted her head. I cleared my throat and continued talking.
“I decided to participate in the Melguard Tournament this time, so I won’t be able to participate in the Professor’s Tournament—”
Clang!
Marina May missed and broke the flask she was holding as she began to tell the story of her exam. She begins to shudder in shock, and water begins to build up around her eyes.
Looking at Marina May’s personality, she must have been shocked as she conceived the competition while thinking of each of the faces of her students in her lectures.
In particular, since Marina has a high opinion of me, she must have been secretly expecting what kind of answers I would give to her assignments.
“… Professor?”
“… Ah! That’s right. The Woros student is going to the Melgard Tournament. Ha ha ha… “
“Sorry. It’s because I have something I need to take care of.”
“I’m sorry about anything. Competitions are chosen by students. It is.”
She was smiling, but I can feel that she is quite agitated.
“Yeah, but I’m curious about the assignments that the professor put so much effort into. If you don’t mind, can I try it after the competition is over?”
“Worros students… Ah, I get it! Then since the competition is over, I’ll raise the difficulty a bit and show you!”
“Please.”
As if she still had a sense of regret, her expression did not completely brighten, but she was Professor Marina, who had returned with a somewhat stable expression. After finishing her conversation with Marina, I came out to her hallway, where Shaiza Year 2 senior Eva was waiting for me with her arms crossed.
She sees me, and she hurriedly opens her arms.
“Whoa, Woros, is it a coincidence?”
“… Didn’t you know I was talking to Professor Marina? Is it really a coincidence?”
“That, that… “
“Okay. Let’s call it a coincidence. So, do you have something to do with me?”
At my question, Eva shakes her head. There are no overlapping schedules with Eva today, so there is no need to wait for me like this. But she mumbles her mouth as if she wants to say something.
I wondered and opened my eyes narrowly. In response, Eva closed her eyes tightly. When you wonder why this woman is doing this, she opens her mouth to Eva.
“Actually, it is not different. Someone asked me to pass this on.”
“Oh, is that so? I am sorry.”
“Okay, then I’ll go. Please suffer today.”
“Okay, have a good day too.”
Eva hands me a small paper box and she hurries away from her seat. There is no morning class today, so I ran to the store. There was no one in the store except Sora, who was cleaning.
“Bocchan, you are here.”
“Yes.”
Going to my private seat, she opened her box that Eva had handed over to her. Inside, there is a glass bottle filled with her unknown liquid and a piece of paper.
I picked up the note and read the contents.
“A1, acting as the owner of the toy factory, tells Shaiza’s successor. I can’t leave the toy factory empty for a long time, so grab a student who is easy to encounter with you and hand over the goods. I wrote this letter because I needed to convey detailed information along with the order.
I got the information that the enemies who stole the magical power from Arisha’s ring divided the magical power into 6 parts. Some of them seem to have been sealed somewhere in the Ashen Forest, but I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.
Let’s get to the point. Among the projects Arisha-sama supervised in the past, there was a world tree project. Arisha, who likes fairy tales, thought of making a world tree.
Luckily, the tree belongs to me, and I can check its condition in real time. This time, the manipulation of magical power was detected in that tree. It’s shameless, but I feel the need to directly examine the tree.
It is said that the tree has the ability to create its own clone by spreading its roots widely. You’ve probably seen it too. As far as I know, I heard that the tree is in Shaiza-sama’s domain. If you say it is a huge tree that is alive and moving, you will get a sense. First of all, I want you to investigate the trees in Shaiza-sama’s territory.
I have a relationship with the student who handed me this item, and I have magically treated it so that the secret does not leak out, so there is no need to worry. After checking the tree, write a report on the enclosed paper and deliver it to the student who handed over the object.
Of course, there is no need to worry, as the paper is magically secured. Good luck then.”
The note was cut off there. The person who sent this note was Arisha’s clone A1, whom she met at the toy factory, and she must have written it quite hastily, so the handwriting was quite messy.
I put the note in my bosom and stood up.
“Sora. Didn’t you say that the tree in Greenhouse 2 had a seizure yesterday?”
“Yes. I thought it was an earthquake.”
“Um… I’ll have to check the condition of the tree tonight. Come with me into the 2nd greenhouse. And… “
“Yes, please tell me.”
“No. Let’s talk about that after this is over.”
Perhaps feeling puzzled by my words, she stood blankly and nodded her head. If A1 is true, I need to quickly remove the trees growing in my greenhouse.
If the tree in the greenhouse is connected by roots to the world tree A1 mentioned, then someone can interfere with my greenhouse through the roots.
That must be stopped. First of all, it’s important to finish the day, so I went to class as usual. While going through the day, he sent an application for participation in the Melguard Tournament and even sent a challenge letter to Staffin. The day passed like that, and it was finally night.
Sora stood in front of the door leading to greenhouse 2 with a nervous look on her face.
“Sora, it might be a little dangerous. You keep your distance from me, and if I am in danger, take action.”
“If that’s the case, I will take the lead.”
“No. This is something I need to check.”
“But… All right.”
I give her the nod of her head. I squeezed her window and opened the door to the second conservatory. Then I saw a passage leading in a straight line, and the floor was made of a steel-like material. As I step into the aisle, a sudden vibration begins.
2 The tree guarding the greenhouse started to have seizures.
“Mr. This?”
“… I will finish the investigation and let you know.”
I said that and walked all the way to the end of the aisle and opened the door to the conservatory in District 2. Then the tremendous heat suffocates me at once.
I didn’t care and stepped inside District 2. There was a lot of gray grass growing on the floor, and I could see a huge tree in front of me. The tree was still beating the floor with its thick trunk.
“Sora, that thing.”
“Yes, here you are.”
I took the glass bottle from A1’s box and opened it. Then, the madly glowing tree suddenly stopped moving. Judging that now was my chance, I got as close as possible and threw the bottle at the tree.
Chii Iik!ㅡ
On contact with the liquid, smoke begins to rise from the bark. Then, the trunk of the old tree splits open, and a man emerges from the inside. He was called a man for convenience because he had a male physique, but he was not human.
“Boss, what the hell is that… “
“Cryptid. 2 He is a being called the Tree Man of the Greenhouse.”
The Tree Man was a being whose whole body was made up of tree branches, and those tree branches were in human form. He looked around him, then he sat down on the floor and stared at me.
If you want to take back this land, it must mean that you should always challenge yourself. Because it was in the game. One curious thing is, in the game, the old tree was the first phase. I had to go into phase 2 for that guy to crawl out, but somehow I just passed through phase 1.
“… Conch. Can you see the mana leaking from between that wooden man’s body?”
“Yes. That… Sure It is the same as the magical power that was in Arisha-sama’s ring.”
“I see. I get it. Let’s withdraw for today. The two of us are not worthy opponents.”
I told Sora that. What A1 feared was true. They sealed Arisha’s magical power in the tree called the World Tree.
It is said that the trees growing in the 2nd greenhouse are connected by their roots to the World Tree that sealed their mana, so maybe you can collect Arisha’s magic through the trees in the 2nd greenhouse.
“I need to come up with a little plan.”
After returning to the greenhouse, I closed the passageway door.