As I stared at Yuna hovering in the air, I caught a glimpse of the woman beside her.

My body began to tremble uncontrollably.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop shaking.

[The Demon Lord has descended into the mortal realm!]

The notification declaring the presence of a demon lord was enough to send shockwaves through us.

Even high-ranking nobles among the demon race needed to be defeated through a raid, yet here was a demon lord...

In that moment, another message appeared.

[The heavens gaze upon the intermediate realm.]

“Do you dare to steal a glance at me?”
As the demon lord waved their hand, magical energy spread in all directions.

[All stats decrease by 50% due to magic.]

In an instant, I felt my body grow weak.

They had only waved their hand, yet all stats dropped by 50%!?

In this absurd situation, someone shouted loudly.
“What the hell are we supposed to do about that crazy bastard!?”

As the demon lord turned to look at the source of the loud outcry, my body froze.

“Lower your voice.”
[All stats decrease by 80% due to magic.]

“Don’t raise your voice like that, human.”
[You are now unable to act due to magic.]

Countless players found themselves paralyzed, unable to move a single finger.

In this unbelievable situation, the demon lord whispered something to Yuna beside her.

As their conversation ended, with a single gesture from the demon lord, space tore apart, and they stepped through to the other side.

The torn space reverted to its original state, and as the demon lord disappeared, Yuna was left alone. She took out a scroll from her inventory and tore it, disappearing in a flash of bright light.

In a situation where no one could move, a golden alarm window appeared.

[You have successfully protected the World Tree.]
Contributions will be ranked.
Please wait a moment.

No. 1: Yuna
No. 2: Uncertain
No. 3: Uncertain
No. 4: Uncertain
No. 5: Uncertain

Rewards will be distributed based on contributions.

[The quest will end, and the channel will normalize in one minute.]

For one minute, no one could move, and as the channel normalized, all players disappeared back to their respective channels.

It wasn’t until about 30 minutes later that the status effect was lifted.

Even the abilities of the hidden job, Saint Aria, couldn’t do anything about it.

I didn’t know what was going on, but Yuna would likely have an idea.

As I activated the item that allowed me to send messages, the notification appeared.

[???'s interference has caused failure.]

Gripping my throbbing head after checking the alarm window, I realized there was a being capable of blocking the messaging system within a certain distance. No, this collective was limited to the Arcana continent.

Among them, the group with the highest likelihood of having made contact with Yuna was—

The information guild was controlling the information.

I would need to contact the real world.

Sasha, who had been beside me, looked at me.

“What in the world is happening!?”
“I’m curious too. But more importantly, Yuna’s identity has been exposed.”
“Hmm? Yuna?”

It has been a week since I began living in the demon realm.

Although I was living comfortably, there was one fact the demon lord hadn’t informed me about.

To return to the intermediate realm, I would have to wait until the gate opened.

I could return to the intermediate realm through the main quest.

During that time, I helped with the reconstruction of the village and took care of the newly born children.

A race born from the fruit of the World Tree.
Elves.

Could it be that they were influenced by the demon realm?

Unlike the forest tribe with their snow-white skin, they were born with bronze skin.

The World Tree referred to them as dark elves.

The children born from the fruit grew to adult size within a week.

It was disheartening that the children, who were roughly the same size as me at birth, grew taller than me in just a week.

I wasn’t growing at all...

However, there was a more significant issue at hand.

“Mom!”

They call me mom.
“What are you talking about, ugly! I’m their mother!”
“Your appearance looks like a dried radish! Do you want to argue!?”

Not only did they call me mom, but they also fought over me among themselves.

So many children. No, they all looked like adults, but since they were less than a month old, was it wrong to raise them with affection?

The day I had to leave the demon realm.
It turned into a sea of tears.

The dark elves clung to me, begging me not to go, insisting we live together.

If I could, I would love to stay, but I couldn’t.

I was a traveler. An outsider.

When the World Tree stepped forward to explain to the children, they finally released me, promising to come back later.

“If you don’t come back, we’ll come find you!”
“Right! We’ll bring the whole clan to look for you! Got it!?”
“I understand, kids.”

As the time approached, the gate appeared before me.

Just as I was about to take a step forward, the demon lord appeared in front of me.

“I wish to see the intermediate realm as well.”
“Can you go to the intermediate realm?”
“I can’t stay long due to restrictions, but a brief visit is fine.”

With a wave of their hand towards the gate, space tore open.

As I took the demon lord’s hand, we stepped through the rift.

In an instant, I was floating in the air, looking at the massive World Tree.

It was not the World Tree I had nurtured but the one existing in the intermediate realm.

And I could see countless players, among whom I heard someone calling my name.

As I turned to look in the direction of the voice, I saw Lea, and feeling delighted, I waved my hand, but her expression...?

[The Demon Lord has descended into the mortal realm!]
[The heavens gaze upon the intermediate realm.]

Messages flooded in one after another.

Someone among the players shouted, and the demon lord told everyone to be quiet before bidding me farewell.

“It was a pleasant outing. Until next time.”
“See you next time!”

The demon lord vanished beyond the rift, leaving me awkwardly alone. I used the scroll I received previously.

[Teleportation Scroll]
You can move to any place you have been before (some areas excluded).

As I tore the scroll, my surroundings changed, and I arrived at the Cradle Village.

The village I returned to after a long absence remained unchanged.

I greeted the villagers, met Uncle Charles, and chatted with Sister Belle at the Moonlight Inn before leaving the village.

As I walked along the path towards the City of Stars, I encountered muscular rabbits.

“How much you’ve grown?”
“Kyuuuu!”

They flaunted their muscles while adorably trying to charm me, and their muscles...

“Awesome! Amazing! How did you get those muscles!?”
“Kyuuuu!”

They showed me their training method by pulling out a giant carrot buried in the ground.

Then, with a loud shout, they began their muscle training.
“Kyuuuu!”
“Is it delicious?”

After finishing their workout, they taught me that eating the carrot was part of the training.

After parting ways with the rabbits, I continued along the path, where I spotted a slime in the distance.

It wasn’t a round slime but one that took on a human form.

“Hello!”
“........”

It waved at me, and I could sense emotions in its gesture.

There was no change in its face, but it seemed pleased.

“Have you been well? You’ve changed a lot!”
“........”

The slime thanked me for giving it the power to protect its kin.
I couldn’t just leave without giving something to such a kind-hearted creature.

“I’ll give you one more!”
I took a high-grade magic stone from the new pouch I received and handed it over, and it accepted it with delight.

After saying goodbye to the slime, I headed towards the goblin village to greet them, and the atmosphere had changed significantly.

“For Valhalla!!!!!”

The goblins were performing some strange ritual while shouting.

The small physiques they once had were gone, replaced by towering, muscular bodies.

For a moment, I wondered if I had entered the orc village, but as a goblin recognized me and approached.

“Kuruk! Brother! Come here!”
“It’s been a while! You’ve changed a lot, haven’t you?”
“Kuruk! All thanks to you, brother!”

They expressed their gratitude for showing them a new world, and as I continued along the path towards the City of Stars, I spotted an orc warrior in the distance.

Once green-skinned, it had now transformed into a red-skinned orc.

“It’s been a while.”
“It’s been a while! Have you been well!? You’ve shrunk compared to before?”
“Thanks to you, I was able to shape up. Thank you, young lady.”

Hmm, is that a compliment?
I’m not sure, but if they’re satisfied, I suppose that’s good.

After parting ways with the orc, I walked along the path and soon saw a bear taxi approaching.

How did they know I hadn’t called for one?
“Graaar!”
“Were you worried since you haven’t seen me lately?”

Even this bear could say something touching?
“Graaar!”
“You can’t eat magic stones without me!? Give me back my touching moments!”

After haggling over the taxi fare, I climbed onto its back, and it took off at high speed.

It’s convenient, but the bear taxi fare is way too expensive...