The voice of the World Tree, which I hadn’t heard in a long time, was not in good shape.

Was it having a hard time? Or was it not getting enough nutrients? Whatever the reason, it needed to be moved as soon as possible.

“Yong-yong, I’m counting on you.”
“Kyuwung.”

A blue light enveloped the World Tree, and it gradually shrank in size.

Once it was small enough to pass through the gate, we moved to the hideout of the Red Revolution located in China.

Since the World Tree already existed on the Arcana Continent, there was a concern that a collision could occur, prompting the decision to transport it to China. However, problems arose.

Had it been holding back contamination with its power? Dark, shadowy figures began to reveal themselves, one by one.

“Quickly! Hurry!”
“Yes, yes! Mom!”

Even though it was a phrase I could never get used to, there was no time to dwell on it.

We needed to evacuate the Dark Elves as quickly as possible and escape this space.

As expected, with the loss of the World Tree’s purifying power, Yong-yong screamed from the intense resistance of the contamination.

“Kyuwung!”
“H-hang on a little longer!”

I barely stopped him from returning to his original form and devouring those creatures, then threw myself through the gate after the last remaining Dark Elf had evacuated.

I sealed the gate to prevent the contamination from escaping, and as I approached the World Tree, which was absorbing nutrients from the newly rooted ground, I could see its withered, gnarled body slowly recovering.

“How long do you think it will take?”
[It will take about ten days, Mother. This land is lacking in mana, unlike the Demon Realm.]

One of the advantages of the demon lands is their fertile mana, but unfortunately, such land does not exist on Earth.

Was there no way to help?

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

What if I poured mana stones into it?

As I pulled out a bunch of mana stones from the pocket dimension and dumped them on the ground for easier absorption, Yong-yong began to cry blood tears in despair.

“Here, here! Take these and go play over there!”
“Kyuwung!”

Finally receiving a bundle of mana stones, Yong-yong whipped his head around and settled in a corner to enjoy a feast.

Who did he take after to become such a glutton?

Me...?

After absorbing the mana stones, the blue leaves visibly increased, and I was relieved that he regained his strength.

[Thank you, Mother. Thanks to you, I was able to recover my energy.]
“What’s with the thank yous between us? It’s nothing.”

I said casually as I checked the mana stones in the pocket dimension, realizing I had used quite a bit and would need to replenish them.

I’d need to take a trip to the hideout.

Gathering Yong-yong, who was burping after presumably devouring the mana stones, I opened a portal.

“I’ll be back soon, so just rest here.”
[Understood, Mother.]

No matter how many times I heard it, it always felt awkward.

I crossed through the portal and returned to the hideout of the Red Revolution located on the Arcana Continent.

I greeted the welcoming monsters as I made my way to the storage.

Yong-yong was shaking his body and following me around, but what was going on?

“What are you doing?”
“Kyuwung!”

Our Yong-yong was saying he was digesting.

Could it be that he was planning to eat more mana stones in the storage?

“I’m not giving you any.”
“Kyuwung!?”

He whimpered, as if asking if I was serious, and my heart softened.

This little guy... he knows my weakness all too well.

“Even if you say that with such a cute voice, I’m not giving you any.”
“Kyuwung...”

I ultimately lost to Yong-yong, who spoke in a sullen voice, “What’s the point of living more?”

Upon reaching the storage and handing him a bundle of mana stones, he joyfully began to eat.

“That’s it for dinner tonight.”
“Kyuwung!”

Even though people eat three meals a day, he was causing a fuss because he’d only eaten two meals today.

What do you mean only two meals! You’ve eaten four today!

Embracing Yong-yong, who was maintaining a silence, I opened the gate and returned to the World Tree, only to see the fallen Dark Elves around me.

I hurried over to check on the fallen Dark Elves, finding each of them with a bump on their heads.

At that moment, the Enho Twins revealed themselves.

“What’s going on!?”
“We gave them etiquette lessons.”
“......”

The Dark Elf was teary-eyed, complaining to me.
“Mom!”

I patted her head and listened to the story; it turned out the Dark Elves were at fault.

Starting with informal speech when they first met and making disrespectful comments about the Enho tribe.

Teaching children good manners is essential.

“You all did wrong.”
“W-well, yes, but! But!”
“Hey! If you did something wrong, you shouldn’t be making excuses, you should be apologizing!”
“O-Okay! I’m sorry!”

As I accepted the Dark Elf’s apology, the Enho Twins said we should get along moving forward.

Such mature kids.

“Is there something strange in your eyes...?”
“No, there isn’t.”

As I patted the heads of the twins, they looked at me with incredulous expressions, and their faces were identical.

Twins are indeed twins.

***

The executives of the Red Revolution gathered in one place.

Today’s agenda was a single item.

[The main scenario quest conditions have been fulfilled.]
[CHAPTER 7: Conquer the Tower.]
[Time remaining: 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]

Only two days left.

All the towers that had appeared across Asia had been eliminated, but beyond that was impossible.

It wasn’t just one or two; hundreds of them had appeared, and eliminating them all was beyond our capabilities.

We managed to persuade many Travelers to help, but there were casualties we couldn’t ignore.

As we held a meeting about what would happen in two days, in a hopeful scenario, the monsters in the towers would surge out and gather in one place.

If that happened, we could easily persuade them all at once, but in a despairing scenario, what if all those monsters scattered across the globe...?

That would lead to a complete dead end.

If only we could find the Demon King, we wouldn’t have to struggle like this. Where could he possibly be?

Letting out a sigh, I finished the meeting and stared blankly out the window when I heard a knock, and someone entered.

It was my friend, the Kraken, Lara.

“Why do you look so down?”
“There are only two days left. I’m worried.”
“Worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet is the most tiring thing.”

My friend, who was trying to comfort me, said that somehow it would work out.

I was busy, yet she came to check on me. Truly, I was blessed.

“But speaking of which, I need your help.”
Forget what I just said.

“Get out.”
“No, it’s not a big deal. It’s a very minor request!”

After hesitating for a long time, she cautiously blurted out a shocking piece of news.

“My dad is searching the ocean looking for me, and I need you to stop him.”
Lara’s father was a Kraken.

A Kraken so huge that it could swallow an entire city.

In short, was he planning to use me as a sacrifice?

“Thanks for everything until now.”
“What do you mean!? Is our friendship worth this little!?”
“Don’t talk about friendship! You’re trying to sell me out!”

“But my dad listens to you well.”

Whether it was because of the mana stones’ effect or not, he indeed listened to my words relatively well.

That was a relative statement, though. It wasn’t absolute.

I remembered the time when Lara hadn’t returned home and how it had caused quite a stir; that scene left a trauma that occasionally resurfaced in my dreams, making me terrified.

“I’m scared too!”
“I’m more scared!”

As we both yelled and fought over it, we finally came to an agreement.

“If you can persuade my dad well, our guild will take care of Yong-yong’s food expenses for the time being!”
“Huh? Who would fall for that!?”
“Kyuwung!”

I tried to refuse outright, but our Yong-yong fell for it.

And with her last words, she sealed the deal.

“Also, I’ll provide unlimited supply of high-grade mana stones!”
“Kyuwung!”
“Wait, wait a second!? H-Hold on!”

Before I could even finish my last word, I was sucked into the gate that Yong-yong was trying to throw me through.

The last thing I saw was Lara’s evil grin as I fell deep into the ocean.

Before long, Yong-yong gently placed a pacifier in my mouth.

Thanks a lot.

“Chup chup!!”
“Kyuwung.”

Though I found it amusing that he told me to hurry up and find the Kraken, I figured I might as well take it as an opportunity to refresh myself. I was determined to find out everything that Lara had been up to.

How dare she assign me such a task? She’d regret it.

As I swam around for a while, searching for Lara’s dad, the massive Kraken finally came into view in the distance.

As I approached, the atmosphere felt off.

“Chup chup!”
“Kyuw

ung.”

Was there an intruder in Atlantis?

How unfortunate...