Book Eater

The ecology of the Great Forest, the forest where Elvenheim was located, was unique and mysterious. It was the boundary between the Red Plateau and the ice-colored Arctic, where even weeds couldn’t be found. From an ecological point of view, there shouldn’t even be an ecosystem, yet the rate of growth for the flora and fauna was unimaginable.

However, everyone knew the reason for its existence, the world tree, Yggdrasil. In the old myths, its branches reached for the distant stars. It was the source of life that fertilized the soil and allowed plants and animals to live here.

But aren’t the trees too big? It will block all the sunlight and rain.

Trees that normally couldn’t even reach ten meters in height outside the Great Forest reached up to fifty meters inside it. Theo had been concerned back when he flew above them, but according to Mitra, there was no problem. The world tree’s influence made sure that the plants received enough nutrients and moisture as one body. The reason why the forest remained abnormally sized was that the world tree created an ecosystem that transcended the environment.

At this moment, Mitra puffed up her cheeks.

[Theo, are you listening to my story?]

She had noticed his wandering attention through her connection to his soul. Theo was surprised by her words and replied without hesitation, “Ah, I heard it all. The power of Dmitra is a heavy burden on the world tree. Therefore, you concentrated your efforts on boosting the natural abilities of the forest by dividing your body into smaller ones?”

[Yes! I worked hard as Theo asked!]

After she demanded praise a few times, Theo stroked Mitra’s head and admired her idea. He knew that a god could degenerate to an ancient elemental after losing their divinity. However, after regaining her divinity, Mitra had turned part of her strength into ancient elementals. Moreover, the bodies also had the ability to act on their own. Theo had thought that the speed of the forest’s growth was oddly strange after being disrupted by so many battles, but it was all due to Mitra’s idea.

“You did a lot better than I thought. Great job, our Mitra.”

[Hoing! Hooing!]

Mitra pushed her head against his hand as she was praised again and let out her distinctive cheers. Anyway, her bud seemed to be ticklish, so Mitra was laughing too hard.

Theo barely managed to place a finger against her mouth. “Mitra, I want to ask you one more thing.”

[Yes?]

“You were riding on Tres, but he was rather small a few months ago...” Theo looked down at his cloud-covered feet. Below him, a fox was fluidly leaping through the trees. Tres couldn’t fly in Theo’s arms because he was too big, but he managed to keep up with Theo by running. Of course, Theo was keeping his speed moderate.

[Tres? Ah, Yellowy.]

“... Yellowy?”

[His fur was that color, so he is Yellowy!]

The name was so tacky that Theo got chills.

“Y-Yes. Yellowy. Why did Yellowy grow so suddenly?”

[Umm... Tiger Auntie taught him. Ah.]

Mitra was reminded of something and started to chatter again.

[That’s right. Yellowy said that this was his original size. Since one aspect was a creature and the other was a spirit, his mind needed to develop as well in order for his body to grow bigger.]

Theo nodded absently. “... I see. The mental age was lower than his spiritual power. Thus, his body is slow to grow.”

[From now on~ the longer he lives, the bigger he will become!]

In fact, it was strange that a three-tailed fox was originally the size of a dog. As Mitra explained, this was the right size. He wouldn’t get bigger or smaller for a while. Theo thought about it while flying over the forest.

By the way, is ‘Tiger Auntie’ a nickname for the Tiger King?

The Tiger King couldn’t complain since Mitra was the mountain god.

She didn’t like leaving the Baekun Mountains, but it seems like she is doing well.

At that time, the Tiger King had lost a lot because of Lust and had been humiliated in battle. It wasn’t just the living creatures. The millions of variants had also destroyed the natural environment. Meltor had quickly regained control of the Baekun Mountains, but it had become a land where no spirits could live. The damage to the animals and plants was a secondary problem. The main problem was that the dragon vein itself had been greatly damaged. In the end, the spirits were forced to migrate.

“Mitra, what about the other spirits here? Are they doing well?”

[Yes! They were a bit awkward at first, but now they are fine. They often talk to the elves and have helped restore the forest.]

“Yes, help them to make it a second home.”

[Of course! If you live in this forest, everyone is a friend of Mitra’s!]

Mitra’s bright smile was particularly dazzling today.

Let’s walk a bit before going to Elvenheim.

After hearing Mitra’s story, Theo didn’t teleport. Instead, he flew over the Great Forest to see all the changes that had taken place. He saw the forest that had burned in the fight against Laevateinn and the ground which had blackened in the battle against Jerem and Nídh?ggur. The battles that had once threatened the world tree and Elvenheim were over, and the organisms in this forest were living for tomorrow.

“Eh? M-Mitra!”

“Mitra! Have some potatoes!”

“The raspberries are ripe, Mitra!”

Sometimes the elves looked up at the sky and greeted Mitra.

“I-Is that?”

“He has come! Everybody say hello!”

“The sixth dancer, Ziavisida, greets you!”

They also immediately recognized Theo.

... It is going well without my intervention. With Mitra, the elves, and the spirits working together, they will revive this forest in fifteen years.

No one else knew it, but the role of the Northern Great Forest and the world tree was to control the resentment of several species. Sloth had been banished, and the mana concentration of the material world was destined to decline over the next few centuries. The elves were more sensitive to the concentration of mana than humans and would find it difficult to live outside the Great Forest in around five hundred years.

They would still have their natural abilities, but they wouldn’t be able to use spiritual medicine and it would be easy for them to get sick. Thus, Elvenheim and the Great Forest had to remain.

Tak.

Theo drew out a distant future and realized that his feet had landed on the ground. He arrived at the point he had set as his destination.

“Um? Who?”

Coincidentally, he had landed in front of someone. The person’s dark skin and silver hair belonged to the dark elves who were known to be extinct in the outside world. Additionally, he was one of only six high elves.

“It has been a while, Alucard. Has it been almost half a year?”

“... Theo!” Alucard rose from his seat, approached Theo, and aimed his fist without hesitation. But Theo’s abdomen was so strong that the only result was a set of bruised knuckles.

“Oww! You foolish child! Why did you go so far as to leave behind the child you promised to marry?”

Theo cast a quick healing spell. “I-I’m sorry. I was a bit busy. That’s why I’ve come now.”

Alucard kept grumbling, “You’re the one driving the incidents every time, so you must’ve been caught up in something nasty. Of course, half a year isn’t that long for us elves, but you are human.”

“... Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Be good to that child.”

Alucard was right. Theo could’ve stopped by before his honeymoon. Theo scratched his head, as he reflected on his mistake.

Alucard changed the subject. “Ellenoa has many things to do today and will return in the evening. I also have a shift. It doesn’t matter wherever you go, but there is someone you should talk to.”

“Um? Who is it?”

They were on a branch of the world tree overlooking Elvenheim, a viewing area where only the high elves could go. It was a useful place for the high elves who could grasp precise situations with Ratatoskr.

“... Me,” a drowsy voice spoke out from behind Theo.

Theo turned. “Naia?”

“Yes.”

As always, her dull hair and half-hooded eyes reminded him of a student who stayed up all night studying. It was the high elf Naia, who was well-known for her wisdom and poor self-management.

Alucard put down his book when he saw her. “You came at the right time. I am going.”

“Ah, work hard.”

“Yes. Naia, don’t fall asleep again.”

“... Nagging.”

“What?”

Naia’s head drooped, making Alucard sigh before he disappeared. Thus, only two people remained on the branch of the world tree.

“It has been a while, Naia.”

“... Yes, a while…”

Theo greeted Naia first to try and lift this awkward atmosphere, but it didn’t work. Naia sat in the chair where Alucard had just been sitting and stared blankly into empty air. If her eyelids weren’t moving occasionally, he might’ve thought that she had fallen asleep with her eyes open.

Why did you ask me to talk to her, Alucard?

Theo would rather talk to Alisa or Lumia. Just talking to Naia felt disturbing. Her blurry eyes seemed like she was only moments away from falling asleep. ｂ𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎ｌ.ｎｅｔ

“Excuse me…”

However, Naia was the one to break the silence, “You… have become the ‘great one’... right?”

Theo frowned. “Great one?”

“Border... surpassing… existence.”

Theo’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. The other high elves didn’t show any signs of awareness, so how did Naia find out that he was a transcendent? He couldn’t hide the question in his blue eyes.

Naia yawned. “... Don’t be… surprised. My clan can see another person’s ‘star’...”

Theo asked, “Star? What is that?”

She shook her head sleepily. “There is no clear notion. Vessel? Destiny, soul... I have never seen one before, so I am just guessing.”

But as the conversation continued, Naia’s sleepy voice became sharper. She didn’t speak well normally. The unused vocal cords loosened, and her voice grew clearer. It was a voice that even the high elves would only hear once every few years. Naia gazed at Theo with sharpening eyes.

“A being born as a mortal and overcoming his birth. A transcendent who can break the thread of fate. If you are such an existence, why?”

Naia’s eyes filled with mysterious colors as she seemed to see through Theo’s heart. “Why are you ready to die?”

Theo carefully replied, “... You can guess once but not twice.”

“Of course. The eyes of this old clan are just a mere trick in front of a ‘great person.’ There’s no way to read you once you close your mind like you have now,” Naia said. However, she continued muttering like she was confident, “But you were shaken when you first heard me? I saw it in the gap. I don’t know the meaning because it is uncertain, but ‘red star’―”

“Naia, stop.” The words that were as sharp as a blade stopped Naia. It was because she realized Theo’s words contained a warning, not malice.

Naia understood. “I see. Am I not supposed to know?”

Theo relaxed. “Well, something like that.”

“Okay, I understand. I will forget everything I said just now.”

p>

“Thank you.”

If Naia had ignored his warning, Theo was fully prepared to erase her memories using forceful means. A high elf’s resistance to magic was ineffective against a 9th Circle magician. However, he didn’t want to use such means against an acquaintance who wasn’t an enemy. Theo was also very grateful that he now knew to take precautions against something he hadn’t known about previously.

Naia’s eyes blurred again as she lost interest, but she said a few more words, “... Still, I am curious. Tell me when things are over. At this old age, I am always curious.”

Theo nodded quietly.

***

The sun sank below the western horizon, and the cool night covered the land. Theo watched the light change to darkness from a branch that was closer to the sky than the land. Long branches stretched around him, creating a transcendent observatory.

“Theo!” Finally, Ellenoa finished her work for the day and called out to him.

“Ella.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming? You’ve been here for a few hours.” Ellenoa felt sorry to keep Theo waiting. She grabbed his sleeves with a pout.

Theo smiled. “It’s okay. For the time being, I will stay in Elvenheim.”

“Ah! I see. If you want to have a cup of warm tea...”

“―Before that, Ella.” Theo grabbed Ellenoa’s hand that was holding his sleeve. “There is something I want to talk to you about.”

“...”

The two of them looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. What did she see in his eyes?

Ellenoa smiled and answered, “Shall we take a walk?”