Eat The World Tree

Chapter 282: Eden (1)

“Lady Maronnie, how about researching magic with me?”

“Lady Maronnie. Together with the old tower magic of Brittany.”

“Lady Maronnie, how about using your authority in combat for once?”

“Lady Maronnie, your spirit magic has potential! Why not try learning directly from the Yoshino family—”

“Lady Maronnie—”

So many offers.

The third trial of the selection competition allowed the participating mentors to expand their young networks, so their eyes naturally turned to the National Trees who participated, even if it took a long time.

After all, becoming the mentor of a National Tree was a career milestone that others would look up to.

Maronnie sat on the nearby stairs, massaging her calves, holding a handful of recommendation letters.

She was lacking in stamina. The need for exercise was becoming desperately apparent.

Maronnie sighed as she looked over her own body.

‘I feel like I’ve gained weight in my thighs lately.’

There were times recently when she feared stepping on the scale. Really, it wasn’t much weight, just a little. But for a female National Tree , even that was a critical blow.

41kg.

She now weighed a lot more compared to when she was 35kg, back when she first earned the title of National Tree and was suffering through training.

She was the face of France. Managing her weight and body was naturally one of the things she had to do.

‘…I don’t care.’

Exercise was too exhausting.

It wasn’t just because she was naturally weak; her body was not healthy, to begin with.

Locking herself in a room to research magic was far more fitting for her circumstances.

“Who am I supposed to pick as my mentor now?”

Maronnie kicked her legs as she scanned the pile of recommendation letters.

The pages were crammed full of dense sentences, much like a resume for a major corporation.

They kindly explained how the training and trials would proceed. It was hard to tell whether these were mentors or job applicants.

‘They told me to pick someone from France.’

The government, which had sent her, had once suggested that she form a mentor relationship with a French hunter.

The choice was hers, but she didn’t want to make unnecessary trouble.

She was in the middle of sorting through the recommendation letters when it happened.

“Lady Maronnie?”

“Yes?”

Hearing a woman’s voice, Maronnie put down the letter she was holding and stood up.

The moment she looked ahead, she gasped.

The Sage. She was standing right in front of her.

“…Are, are you the Sage?”

“Huh? Ah, many people call me that.”

She was so surprised that she almost lost her breath.

The God of Magicians! The living fossil of the magic tower world! Wherever she went, magic followed.

No matter what title you put on her, you could only nod in acknowledgment—the genius of our time stood before her.

“Why are you here, Sage…?”

The Sage was notorious for never showing up at global events, including the Forester Selection Competition.

She was always one of the most curious figures among hunters. A workaholic, completely engrossed in her research and work.

The Sage smiled at Maronnie’s question.

“This time, I couldn’t miss it.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Hmm, maybe because Lady Maronnie is here?”

She almost fainted this time.

For real.

Maronnie blinked rapidly, feeling her heart race.

The hair on her head lifted slightly, twitching.

“B-because of me?”

“How about it? I may not be the best, but would you like to learn from me?”

“Re-really? But I’m a National Tree… The government already picked a mentor for me, so…”

“Hmm. Lee Shiheon is here too.”

Lee Shiheon.

“What do you mean by that?”

Amid her pounding heart, the sudden mention of that name made her tilt her head in confusion.

Why had that name come up all of a sudden?

“It’s nothing.”

The Sage smiled slyly, her eyes narrowing for a moment.

“Well, think it over carefully, and if you’re interested, come find me.”

With a casual bow, the Sage disappeared, leaving Maronnie standing in a daze, her hand on her chest, blinking blankly.

Whoosh!

Just then, a gust of wind blew, flipping over the pile of recommendation letters beside her.

“Oh! Oh no…”

Luckily, she managed to catch them with magic just in time, stiffening the papers mid-air before gathering them back into her arms.

Learning from the Sage… it was the dream of magicians around the world.

Even for a National Tree like her, it was tempting enough to sway her completely.

As she gathered the papers, Maronnie fell deep into thought.

‘…Lee Shiheon.’

Crrrk.

As her grip tightened on the papers, wrinkles spread across the surface.

‘It’ll be fine, right?’

Even if they attended the same class, it would be nothing more than a coincidence.

The Sage was one of the mentors.

The rumor spread like wildfire, and it took less than a day for everyone participating in the selection to hear about it.

While everyone else was sitting in the cafeteria, nearby cafes, or bars, mulling over their recommendation letters, we, the Sage’s mentees, were already gathered elsewhere, exchanging greetings. ʀÀŊȮ𝐛ÈS̈

Maronnie, Sansuyu, and myself.

Three mentees and one mentor.

“Hello? You must be Sansuyu, right?”

“Yeah.”

Maronnie greeted Sansuyu, and Sansuyu gave a small nod in response.

An awkward atmosphere lingered as Maronnie kept glancing at me, and Sansuyu stared at Maronnie.

It was so uncomfortable to watch them using formal speech with each other, so I decided to cut in.

“Just speak casually. We’re all the same age anyway.”

“Sh-should I?”

“I’m fine with it.”

Even though she was a noble, recently my reputation had been on the rise as well.

These days, it felt like I was being treated the same as any other tree person.

When I first arrived, people looked at me like I was just another insignificant human. But now, with some word of mouth, I felt like a noble.

“You look like a cat.”

“…Huh?”

At Sansuyu’s comment, Maronnie froze.

Without much thought, Sansuyu reached out and gently petted Maronnie’s hair. That probably felt really good.

Her hair was soft and fluffy; it felt amazing to touch.

“So soft. Like tteokbokki.”

“Tteok…? What’s tteokbokki?”

“My favorite food. Sihun can make it.”

“R-really? I’d love to try it someday.”

Maronnie’s way of talking to Sansuyu felt like she was speaking with a great noble lady, but then tteokbokki suddenly came up and ruined the atmosphere.

“You both go to the same academy, right? How did you become friends?”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“It just happened? We met at the training hall, talked, and became close.”

“I see….”

It didn’t take long for Maronnie and Sansuyu to become friends.

They started talking more as they ordered and shared food, soon exchanging stories about magic and swordsmanship.

Unlike the other friends at El Academy, they seemed to connect easily, likely because of their similar backgrounds.

-Crunch.

I set down the half-eaten piece of bread and looked at the Sage.

This person had been quietly observing our conversation without saying anything about the trials. Who exactly is she?

There was no telling anything about her age or personality.

“Um, Sage?”

“Yes?”

“I have a question. You’re a magician, right?”

“Of course.”

As the Sage answered my question, Sansuyu spoke up.

“I only know basic magic.”

“That’s okay, Sansuyu. I’m not really here to teach magic.”

“What?!”

“Oh, but if you want to learn, I’d be happy to teach you. So, don’t be too surprised. Blanche.”

“Th-that name is a bit….”

“What exactly are you going to teach us then?”

At this, the Sage looked directly at me and smiled.

“Maybe… how the world works?”

How the world worked?

The fact that she was specifically addressing me made me suspicious again.

Sometimes people in this world knew more about me than I did.

For example, even Guseul, whom I met the other day, knew all about my relationships.

Taeyang and Aori knew I was the Tree Spirit King, and they understood more about the Tree Spirit King than anyone else.

Even the World Tree of Time knew I was coming to this world, and both the Flower and World Tree factions were preparing for the arrival of the Tree Spirit King’s heir.

It was all rather amusing.

It felt like I was in some kind of Truman Show. I knew nothing, but everyone else seemed to know everything about me.

It didn’t happen often, but sometimes you came across people like that.

Powerful corporations or politicians sometimes made predictions that turn out to be eerily accurate. I’ve witnessed those miracles firsthand.

Given that there were such extraordinary people in this world, it would actually be strange if the Sage, supposedly the wisest person, didn’t know about me.

‘Even Maronnie can read people’s thoughts.’

So, there was no way there wouldn’t be powers related to prophecy or destiny.

On the other hand, I didn’t have any powers to rely on except my physical abilities. I had to purely use my intellect to contend with other politicians.

Why else would Guseul look down on me?

If those in power really wanted to, they could easily crush me in an instant.

I adjusted my thinking and looked back at the Sage.

The woman, with her excessively pale skin, was gazing at me with beautiful eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

The Sage’s voice echoed in my ears.

“Don’t worry. I don’t mean any harm.”

Maronnie and Sansuyu tilted their heads at the Sage’s sudden remark, but I couldn’t manage to smile.

Don’t worry. That was the scariest thing she could say.

It as the same as saying she was already above me, reading my thoughts with ease.

“Ah, yes.”

I replied half heartedly and put the bread back in my mouth.

The bread had gone a bit stale by now, and I didn’t like it much anymore.

“I plan to start lessons tomorrow.”

“So soon? The mentors aren’t finalized until three days from now.”

Maronnie was surprised by the Sage’s words.

It was not strange at all. Since the mentor was confirmed, the sooner the lessons began, the better.

The third trial was deeply connected to the fourth.

The fourth trial was where we got to showcase the skills we had developed from the previous trials. For the mentors, the sooner the lessons started the better.

“I have a lot to prepare. I think we’ll be conducting the lessons in my laboratory.”

“Huh? Your laboratory?! Really?!”

When I asked the shocked Maronnie why she was so surprised, she waved her hands around excitedly.

“Do you not know? It’s the Sage’s laboratory! You’re a magician, right? How can you not know?!”

“Hey, I could not know. Why are you reacting like that….”

“It’s a place where all magic in the world converges. It’s called Eden!”

Eden?

This was the first time I had seen Maronnie this excited.

“…It doesn’t really have a name like that. Others just call it that. It’s a place where I store the magic I’ve created, along with ancient spells made by our ancestors.”

Magic.

No matter how many times I heard it, it was a thrilling word.

It was fun because you could manifest things that were thought impossible with your own hands.

There was a reason I came to the selection as a magician.

It’s far less tiring, cleaner, and more fun to take down enemies with magic than with brute force.

“But you’ve never been this excited before.”

“W-what do you mean! I can’t help it. It’s Eden! Eden, I tell you!”

“Alright, alright.”

Tomorrow, we were heading to this so-called Eden.

I didn’t know what I’d learn or hear there, but one thing was for sure: very few smart people were truly innocent on the inside.

I thought to myself as I looked at the Sage.

I’d better stay on guard.

The very next day.

A single spell from the Sage was all it took to access Eden.

No one knew the location or coordinates of the laboratory, and therefore, only the Sage could bring us here.

Just in case, I quietly spread my magical energy around, but the coordinates were concealed, preventing any reading.

We finally arrived at Eden.

As I wondered what kind of place this could be, I looked around behind the Sage.

“Lee—Shi—eon!”

A small child with long hair jumped out from a pile of books to greet us.

The girl’s eyes gleamed like moonlight.

She was about the same size as Shiba, so small she looked like the youngest in a kindergarten class—barely old enough to be taking her first steps.

Was she the Sage’s daughter?

The little girl tried to get up but tripped, pointing at me as she fell to the ground.

“The king has appeared—!”

The girl squealed in delight.

With the four of us standing there together, I couldn’t find the words and simply closed my mouth.

“Tree King~!”

I was on the verge of having my identity exposed.