I didn't know Brimdal had such a purpose. I thought he had followed me to put me through body‑refinement training. In truth, it was to snatch me away from Dersia. ...
No, more than that, since when did he think so highly of me? As I stood there bewildered, trying to grasp his true intentions, Dersia looked this way with a strange look.
[What is the meaning of this? Is this true?]
"Yes. He is my Master."
[Why would you become the disciple of a crazed dwarf like this? I understand you were in a hurry, Jern, but this man is not a mage, he is a knight, is he not? And the kind that renders all his squires unable to recover.]
"Your words are harsh. I broke their spirits, not their bodies."
[That is far more terrible. What is the reason?]
"... Didn't I fall into a comatose state because you knew of my condition? Though I'm not sure if 'comatose state' is the right way to describe it."
[I do not know. What are you talking about?]
"My body was melting. He said that if I didn't undergo body‑refinement training, mana itself would become my enemy."
[Hmm.]
Dersia tilted her head and replied.
[So such a thing happened.]
"... Ah, yes."
I felt a slight sense of unease from that sentence. Though I couldn't pinpoint exactly what was strange about it.
[However, you may rest assured now. As I am here, you may stop with these stopgap measures.]
"Stopgap measures? Ha!"
Brimdal scoffed and met Dersia's gaze.
"I will forge this boy into the greatest sword. A sword that can endure even if he were to live in the deepest parts of the Deep Sea."
[A human cannot become a sword.]
"No, they can. All my past deeds prove it."
Brimdal looked at me, still with an expression of distrust, and muttered.
"I have watched him closely all this time—what he thinks, where he is, and what he aims for. Why he holds a sword. What he is willing to give up."
Somehow, I had been feeling a gaze on me recently. So I was being spied on. As I listened quietly, I was hit with a sudden criticism.
"To be honest, he is not talented. He is not particularly outstanding as a mage, and his talent as a knight is nothing short of hopeless."
"?"
"He is sharp, so he must know this himself. But this boy has never once complained. Not even in situations where others would have long since given up and collapsed."
[... That is true.]
Dersia lowered her head ever so slightly.
"He is the kind of man who, even if his world were to run rampant and try to kill its master this very moment, would struggle on without self-pity or surrender."
[I agree. It seems not all dwarves have knotholes for eyes.]
"If I cannot break him, I wish to grind him down. I want to see with my own eyes just how far his struggles will take him."
After saying something similar to what Dersia had said, Brimdal threw the small sword he carried on his back. It was a small sword only to him; to me, it was a greatsword. I barely managed to catch it.
He crossed his arms and declared.
"Choose. I am different from the elf who might abandon you and run away again at any moment."
[I have never once run away.]
"Then that is even more dreadful. An elf who does not consider this situation to be running away."
"!!"
Dersia and Brimdal stared intently at me.
[Are you in your right mind...? So, you think Jern will choose the path of becoming a knight?]
"I have my own thoughts on the matter."
I looked back and forth between Dersia and Brimdal— And then I plunged the sword into the ground.
"I apologize, but I am in no position to choose."
"What?"
[What did you say?]
"Please do not look at me like that. I have no choice."
Feeling it was unfair, I spread my hands and protested.
"If I do not learn body‑refinement techniques from Sir Brimdal, my body will melt and I will die."
"If I do not learn magic from Lady Dersia, I will die even if I learn body‑refinement techniques."
"To choose one is to abandon the other, and I am not in a position where I can choose one."
To be precise, I wasn't living a life with such leisure. It was a literal fact that unless the world's greatest mage and the world's greatest knight helped me at the same time, I would not be able to last long.
"That is how it is. I am sorry."
"... Tsk."
Brimdal clicked his tongue in disappointment and took a step back.
"If that is your will, then it cannot be helped. However, I will take that to mean you will learn from me for at least half your time."
"Yes. If that is what will help me, it is what I desire."
To endure the burden of the Deep Sea with my body. It was such a preposterous idea that I hadn't even considered it a possibility from the start—but Brimdal wouldn't say such a thing without reason.
[... Hmm.]
Dersia, too, seemed reasonably satisfied and didn't raise any further objections.
"Well then, I think it is time I heard some details. It's not that I don't believe you when you say you won't cause any harm, but I'm quite curious as to what method you'll be using, and why you are doing this in your hometown of all places. It's not just me; others are curious too."
[... Yes. I suppose I must explain.]
She began to speak in a slightly lowered tone.
[It seems you do not understand why stopgap measures are no longer necessary. I suppose I will have to show you directly.]
"?"
Wasn't she satisfied? Just as I was thinking that, the number of moving objects caught by my Tide Sense suddenly increased by hundreds of times. From the ground, no less.
The ground was disappearing. That was what it felt like.
"Dammit— Run!"
"What? No, what is this!"
I shouted urgently, but it was too late.
Crack!
Dozens of living, downy tree roots burst through the ground and bound me.
"... Tsk, you really can't trust those knife-ears!"
Brimdal was quick. In an instant, he drew his sword and cut away the tree roots binding me, but thousands of branches were already wrapping around his legs.
"Je, Jern—!"
"This is crazy..."
Ciel, Azrael, and Linmel. All of them were enveloped by roots. The force wasn't enough to hurt them, but they couldn't break free no matter how they struggled.
Dersia watched the scene and quietly declared.
[It is something that will be over in a week anyway. I had planned to come for you after that—but it seems convincing you with words was too difficult.]
"Let Jern go! You old, crazy hag!"
Linmel had lost it. Still bound by the roots, I was startled and said to Dersia.
"She is just a child. You mustn't pay her any mind. You understand, right?"
[... Yes.]
Her reply was a little slow. The roots plunged back down, just as they had emerged. With only me.
"Jern...!!"
Linmel's desperate voice gradually faded away.
"Cough, ptui, ptooey...!"
"My apologies. Transporting humans is not its purpose."
I spat out the dirt in my mouth and surveyed the utterly dark place. Since I couldn't see a thing with my eyes, I used Tide Sense and confirmed that I was inside a small, long tunnel.
"Where is this... Though even if I ask, it's probably under the World Tree."
I dusted off my robe, stood up, and looked straight at Dersia. To be precise, I scanned her with Tide Sense. It had been a while since I'd seen her, but well, not much had changed.
She was just Dersia. Her actions seemed crazy, but she had always been like that. Though this time was a bit extreme.
"Yes. To control the elves, it was most convenient to tamper with the World Tree."
She turned sharply and walked down the tunnel. It was an unspoken command to follow, so I had no choice but to do so, checking my surroundings as I went. The soil was slightly damp.
So much so that it was strange it hadn't collapsed. In other words, I could escape if I set my mind to it. I don't breathe, so digging my way out wouldn't be a problem in itself.
The problem was the fact that she probably wouldn't let me set my mind to it. Dersia, walking ahead, muttered as she always did.
"Jern. I was greatly shocked when I heard those words from you."
"What words?"
"That I had no intention of saving you."
"... No, those weren't my words. That was Red Lotus's nonsense."
"I am aware. What is important is that it was the truth."
For a moment, my eyes widened without me realizing it.
"... Pardon?"
"I did not do my best. A path should have become visible with something as simple as a change in perspective; I am surely not so incompetent. Why? Why on earth did I act that way?"
"I could not understand my own actions. I could not accept them. Though it was clearly a mistake, its magnitude and fault were so great that I absolutely could not let it pass."
Hmm.
There is something different about her. She's talking too much.
"Then, at a certain moment while I was agonizing over it, I realized."
"What did you realize?"
"I was being greedy."
Dersia, who had stopped in front of a tree root, turned her head to look at me. Her expression was blank, devoid of any emotion.
"I wanted you to survive as you are. It was excessive greed."
The root split to the left and right, revealing a vast space. In the circular space, about ten elves were bound by tree roots, unconscious. Small roots were embedded in their heads, injecting some kind of liquid, and it wasn't just elves suffering this fate.
A few humans and even beasts were in a similar state. On a table lay thousands of books scattered about, and the ceiling— —was covered in rituals inscribed in languages only she could understand, resembling a constellation.
"Ugh, ughh... ahh..."
"Uh, hehe... ugh..."
I correct myself completely. Dersia was by no means in a normal state. She was never a normal person to begin with, but she was now a step further into madness.
"I know what you are thinking. But these individuals are all unharmed, and they will later return to their daily lives with their memories erased, living on without any problems."
"... I don't think that's the issue here."
My voice had lowered enough for even me to notice. Dersia surely noticed as well, but she didn't point it out and simply raised a finger.
Drrrk...
A single root descended, piercing through the rituals. It was a root as small as my wrist. As Dersia held up a bowl from somewhere, a drop of water trickled from the root and began to fill it.
"Ugh, ughh..."
At the same time, one of the elves writhed in agony. Dersia handed the filled bowl to me.
"Look. It is a world."
"Pardon?"
Wondering what she meant, I looked at the bowl. I was looking at the white water when I saw it. Inside the bowl, a single star was swimming.
Feeling a chill run down my entire body, I looked up at Dersia.
"... What is this."
"You worry too much. I did not kill them; I am merely taking back what was given."
Placing the bowl on the desk, Dersia quietly looked at the elves.
"They were not mages. Therefore, I personally created worlds and bestowed them upon them. This is merely the result of extracting what was given."
She said it lightly, but it was hard to imagine how many attempts it must have taken to actually manifest such a miracle. Even for a 9‑Star, it couldn't have been an easy task.
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"During my battle with Suirak—with that man—I experienced a strange phenomenon."
Dersia slowly took out bowls and began to fill them with worlds, one by one.
"I felt my thoughts slowing, my hands and feet freezing over. The Great System is capable of proclaiming one's heart‑realm upon the physical‑realm, allowing everyone within it to experience its burden."
Even as I listened, I couldn't grasp her objective. While listening, I began to explore this maze-like tunnel with my Tide Sense. I wasn't sure if it was necessary, but I felt I should find an escape route.
"Do you understand the meaning of this?"
"Are you saying you will extract my world and give it to someone else?"
"Of course not. Do you think it possible to extract another person's world in liquid form? These worlds are a special case, possible only because I created them."
Dersia lovingly stroked the bowls containing the worlds— Then she dropped a black liquid from a bottle in her pocket into them.
Plop, plop...
The reaction was violent. The liquefied worlds churned and convulsed. So much so that the star's orbit began to wobble.
"Jern. My purpose is to neutralize your burden."
"Neutralize... it?"
"It is a simple matter. For example, contrary to you, who are freezing to death, somewhere in the world, there must exist a world whose master is dying from their body boiling over."
"Yes, that's right."
"You will take on the burden of that world. In doing so, you will return to a normal state."
"...?"
Dersia declared it as if it were the truth.
"No, does that even make sense?"
I was dumbfounded. Did she go strange from sleeping for too long?
"If a boiling burden and a freezing burden are combined, you don't become normal; you freeze to death while being burned. Isn't that just common sense?"
"Yes. It would be so. You are doing well."
Ah.
This is a topic I shouldn't bring up. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and pointed out something else.
"Fine, let's say that's the case. You have researched for a long time, so let's assume it is a possibility. Then are you saying you will inject that world into me?"
"No. To a mage who already possesses a world, it would be nothing but poison."
"Then what do you intend to do?"
Dersia did not speak, but looked at me. As if to say, you know as well. I shook my head, praying that it wasn't true.
"Master."
"Many experiments must be conducted. But first, it must be injected into a person."
"Isn't this the same as what Red Lotus does?"
"They fumbled for a way to survive for hundreds of years. At the end of that road, they must have chosen such a method."
"When taken to the extreme, one cannot help but arrive at similar methods. However, I am far more efficient."
"I am not trying to argue about the issue of efficiency."
"Jern, did you not resolve to struggle in any way necessary to survive?"
"Yes. I did. But if I wanted that kind of method, I would have put on a red necklace and gone to Red Lotus long ago."
"My struggle is not about grabbing the legs of people above water and dragging them down."
I am no saint.
Absolutely not.
Someday, I might have to consume the lives of others to survive. Perhaps right now, my worries are a luxury. But—this is not just about consumption.
"You are not just killing them; you are dropping them into a hell similar to mine."
"Not for no reason like me, but burdened with the fucked-up reason of 'to save me,' they will literally live a life more miserable than death, will they not?"
This was the first time I had protested so vehemently to Dersia. Perhaps it was because Ren's face came to mind.
"I do not want to lose to my world. I absolutely refuse to. Therefore, I do not want to become that kind of world and crush other people."
I looked her straight in the eyes and expressed my refusal. Dersia looked at me quietly, then closed her eyes.
"Is that so. So this was not the way you struggled to survive."
"... You understand."
That's Dersia for you. Her essence is no different from mine. Just as I was feeling a warmth spread through my chest.
"However, I must conduct the research first. It is likely the only way to save you."
"No, Dersia. Have you really gone senile—" Before I could finish my sentence, roots read me and pinned me to the wall.
They handled me gently, so it didn't hurt. However, I couldn't even open my mouth. When I looked up at her with an expression that said, Are you really going to do this?— "Jern, I am sorry."
"You may hate me. But not reaching for a means that is clearly visible is not my way of living. I will accept all blame after you are well."
With those words, Dersia went outside. The ground rumbled; it seemed that no matter what, she couldn't just stand by idly against Brimdal without any preparations.
Sigh.
With a root gagging my mouth, I sighed and looked around. Currents and water pressure could reach almost every part of the space, but that didn't mean there was anything I could do. The roots that bound me were too strong to break free.
It was the same for the other bound elves. Dersia, knowing me, wouldn't have set things up in a way that would allow me to escape with Deep Sea magic in the first place. Let's see, what should I do.
If this continues, Dersia will become a murderer. I cannot let my great Master become a criminal. I had to escape, bring her back to her senses, and try to persuade her one more time.
"She really is a terrifying bitch... To think she had such a goal."
Just then.
Suddenly, one of the bound elves shook his head and regained consciousness.
"?"
"Ugh, what's this now? What's stuck in me?"
The elf looked at the tree root stuck in his head with disgust and took a deep breath. —Crrrack! His body instantly shriveled as if in a state of starvation, allowing him to slip free from the root. It was an extremely unsettling sight.
It was as if he had become an emaciated corpse. The elf creaked his way over to me, still bound, and smiled with satisfaction.
"So, child. Do you still feel you do not need my help?"
Looking at that vulgar smile, I realized one thing. ... Why Brimdal had been wary of shamans.