The World Tree absorbed the mana Rei had poured into it, flashing with a particularly dazzling light before fading away.
Seeing this, Rei turned his gaze to Marina, whose hand was still resting over his own against the World Tree's trunk.
Marina met his eyes and parted her lips with her usual alluring smile.
"The World Tree has definitely recovered. ……Look."
Marina's gaze drifted toward the upper reaches of the World Tree—where the branches and leaves spread out.
What was there were the same branches and leaves as just moments before.
That much was certain, yet the overwhelming presence emanating from them was vastly different from when Rei had first laid eyes on the tree.
When he'd first seen it, Rei had certainly sensed ample vitality and been struck by its sheer size. But this was something else entirely.
The difference was so dramatic that he wanted to ask himself what exactly he'd been feeling before.
An overwhelming presence truly befitting something called the World Tree.
"This is…… incredible."
Rei, who managed to voice his astonishment, was arguably among the more composed members of the party.
In fact, even Elena, Vihera, and the others were completely captivated, overwhelmed by the World Tree's presence before their very eyes.
"Isn't it? ……But there's no doubt it recovered this much thanks to your mana, Rei."
Even with every Dark Elf in the settlement pooling their mana together, they had barely managed to keep the World Tree's condition from deteriorating. Yet now, Rei alone had poured his mana into the tree and produced this result.
Without Rei's mana, the World Tree might have withered entirely.
Seen in that light, the gratitude in Marina's gaze was only natural.
"Impossible…… He really healed the World Tree all by himself……"
The stunned voice came from Ragdo, who had been observing the treatment from a short distance away.
He had heard about Rei's mana from his confidant Resume at the plaza the day before. Heard it, yes—but since Ragdo himself lacked the ability to sense mana, he had never truly grasped what it meant.
Even so, seeing it demonstrated right before his eyes, he had no choice but to accept Resume's words.
Rei's mana was on a completely different level from their own—literally orders of magnitude apart.
Ragdo stared blankly at Rei and Marina, but eventually a smile crept onto his lips.
The fact that the person who had treated the World Tree was someone Marina had brought didn't sit well with him. But when it came down to a choice between his personal feelings and the World Tree's recovery, there was no need to hesitate.
Gazing at the World Tree—clearly more vibrant than before the mana infusion—Ragdo sighed and turned his attention back toward Rei and Marina.
There, the two had apparently just noticed that their hands were still touching. Both were flushing faintly—though Marina still wore an alluring smile—as they pulled apart.
Naturally, Elena and Vihera were none too pleased and closed in to confront them.
Ara smiled happily at Elena's displeased reaction, while Byune glanced at Vihera before fixing her gaze intently on the World Tree.
Set, standing a short distance away with Ielo still on its back, was likewise gazing at the World Tree just like Byune.
Ragdo had been watching the group's antics, but eventually he approached the four bickering over whether their hands had actually touched.
(Becoming involved with Marina-sama in that way…… I wonder how that will turn out. I feel like it would invite all sorts of trouble. And with two other beauties on par with Marina-sama around, rather than envy, I'd almost feel pity for the man.)
With two others possessing beauty rivaling Marina's, Rei would undoubtedly draw resentment, jealousy, envy, and hatred—he'd be targeted by all manner of people.
Thinking it through, Ragdo did find Rei's situation enviable on the surface, but he had absolutely no desire to trade places with him.
Even so, he felt at least some gratitude toward Rei for completing the World Tree's treatment.
He understood perfectly well that Rei didn't think favorably of him after yesterday's incident. But even so, he figured he could at least throw the man a lifeline here.
"Shall we return to the settlement soon? The people there must be quite startled by that light just now. ……Well, the World Tree has recovered enough that it's visible even from a distance, so I doubt there'll be any panic."
Startled, yes—but startled in a good way.
The World Tree, whose power had been steadily weakening over time, had recovered in an instant.
Every Dark Elf in this settlement would understand that.
At Ragdo's words, Marina nodded hastily.
It wasn't that her nod was entirely free of any desire to gloss over the hand-holding incident, but it was also true that they needed to officially inform the settlement of the World Tree's recovery.
Meanwhile, Rei wore a surprised expression at Ragdo's perfectly timed interjection.
He hadn't expected Ragdo to come to his rescue.
Ragdo surely understood that Rei disliked him.
Was he covering for Rei as an apology over the Marina situation, or was it simply gratitude for the World Tree's treatment?
Either way, Rei had been saved by Ragdo's words.
"R-right. Then let's head back to the settlement soon. The World Tree's treatment is finished, but we'll need to keep monitoring it for a while, and above all, I want to make sure we properly investigate the abnormalities in the forest."
"Yeah. If we waste time here, the settlement will just be in chaos from not knowing what happened."
Rei agreed with the flustered Marina.
Elena and Vihera fixed the two with looks that clearly said they had more to say, but it was equally true that they couldn't just leave the settlement unattended, as Rei had pointed out.
Making that judgment, Elena and Vihera agreed to shelve the matter until after the current situation was resolved.
That they could communicate as much with a single shared glance was surely because both harbored the same feelings—no, the same emotions.
"Understood. Then let's go for now."
At Vihera's words, everyone left the World Tree and headed toward the settlement.
Naturally, Rei was about to do the same—but he suddenly felt as though someone were watching him and stopped in his tracks.
He scanned his surroundings once more, but no one seemed to be looking his way.
(This gaze…… I've felt it before. ……What is it?)
He was definitely being watched, yet he couldn't pinpoint where the gaze was coming from.
What was more, the moment he let his guard down, the sensation would vanish entirely.
And yet there was something urgent about it—a gaze that felt pressing in some way.
It was peculiar in any number of ways, but despite his search, Rei ultimately couldn't find its source.
"Rei, what are you doing? I'm leaving you behind."
Elena, having noticed that Rei had fallen behind while looking around, called back to him.
The moment his attention shifted to her voice, the gaze vanished without a trace.
(What's going on?)
He puzzled over it, but the fact that he alone sensed the gaze was confirmed by looking at Set—tilting its head as if to ask what was wrong, showing no sign of having noticed anything.
A gaze only he could feel. One that slipped past even Set's sharp five senses, his Sixth Sense, and his mana detection. To Rei, it was nothing but a mystery.
The reason he didn't rush to get to the bottom of it was simple: he couldn't sense any malice in that gaze.
If it had been malicious, he would have been frantic to do something about it. But what was directed at him now felt more like goodwill.
"Rei!"
Despite having called out once already, Elena raised her voice again—more sharply this time—as Rei had stopped once more to look around.
"Oh, sorry. Something caught my attention."
Rei called back as he jogged toward Elena, who was a short distance ahead.
"Something caught your attention? Did something happen?"
"Well, that's……"
Rei was about to mention the strange gaze when, as if to cut him off, a cheer erupted from ahead.
The voices, brimming with unbridled joy, belonged to none other than the Dark Elves of the settlement.
They had seen that the World Tree—more precious to them than anything—had recovered.
And so, with faces radiant with happiness, they came running toward the World Tree—in other words, straight toward where Rei, Elena, and the others stood.
"This is dangerous at this rate. Let's move aside and clear the path."
Everyone nodded at Marina's words and shifted to the edge of the road.
The Dark Elves ran past without so much as noticing Marina or Rei, continuing on toward the World Tree.
"Oh my, as I thought. Youth is wonderful."
Seeing that the runners were among the younger members of the settlement—though even they were mostly close to a hundred years old—Marina smiled as if looking at something endearing.
Watching her, Rei felt the urge to ask exactly how old Marina was. But the moment he opened his mouth, a chill ran down his spine and he clamped it shut.
"Good grief…… I wish they'd behave with a bit more pride as Dark Elves."
Ragdo muttered in complaint, but an unmistakable smile spread across his face.
"Well, it can't be helped. Everyone's had a lot on their minds with the World Tree situation. More importantly, let's head to the settlement quickly. We need to report to Grandfather. ……You were a witness, Ragdo, so you'd better explain things properly too."
"Understood."
For Ragdo as well, the fact that the World Tree had been successfully treated was tremendously gratifying.
He had his complicated feelings about Rei, but he had no intention whatsoever of trying to conceal the man's achievement.
Once the Dark Elves rushing toward the World Tree had thinned out, the party set out for the settlement once more.
However…… what awaited them there was an entirely unexpected turn of events.
"Eh? Grandfather went outside the barrier? ……Why?"
Marina had been about to explain the World Tree situation to Optis, but his house was empty. After asking around about his whereabouts, she learned he had headed outside the settlement.
"Who knows? I was so happy about the World Tree that I wasn't really paying attention. I only caught a glimpse of him while everyone was celebrating. ……But the World Tree has recovered, so perhaps he wanted to take a quick look at conditions outside."
Under normal circumstances, an elderly man known as the Elder going outside the settlement alone—especially now, with monsters growing more aggressive from the excitement—would be nothing short of suicide.
But Optis was an exception.
Despite being a Dark Elf, he possessed the raw physical prowess to butcher monsters bare-handed. He likely had every confidence that he could handle himself alone outside the settlement.
And Rei, who had fought Optis directly, understood that his confidence was by no means misplaced.
"What do we do? If the person we were supposed to report to isn't here……"
Rei pointed out that staying put would only be a waste of time. Marina considered for a moment, then turned her gaze beyond the settlement—toward the barrier.
"You're right. Then let's go find Grandfather. I'd also like to investigate how the forest has been affected by the World Tree regaining its power."
"Is that okay? I mean, I'm fine with it."
When Rei glanced toward a spot a short distance away, some Dark Elves were even dancing, overcome with joy at the World Tree's recovery.
Watching the rare sight of Dark Elf dancing, Rei asked whether it was really fine to leave the settlement as it was. But Marina's gaze was already fixed on Ragdo.
"It'll be fine. Ragdo will handle this commotion."
"W-wait, me!?"
Ragdo clearly hadn't expected the matter to land in his lap.
After all, their exchange yesterday had established their adversarial relationship as plainly as could be.
So why……?
But Marina, paying no mind to Ragdo's protest, entrusted the settlement to him and led Rei and the others toward the settlement's edge.
(Now that the World Tree has regained its power, anything Ragdo says will be futile anyway.)
Since Rei—whom Marina had brought—had successfully treated the World Tree, it was obvious that Ragdo would have a hard time trying to marginalize Marina politically.
And above all, Marina planned to return to Gilm once the World Tree matter was settled.
Even if Ragdo tried something political, she figured that for the time being—say, the next century or so—there was nothing to worry about.
And so, leaving the hapless Ragdo behind, Marina arrived at the barrier with Rei and the others.
"Then, we're good?"
She confirmed once, and seeing everyone nod with weapons in hand, Marina gave a small nod in return.
Since no one knew what might happen at the World Tree, they had all naturally equipped their weapons and armor beforehand. The fact that there was no need to return to their lodgings was a convenient bonus.
With a short murmur from Marina, an opening appeared in the barrier, and Rei and the others stepped through.
"……Looking at it like this, there's nothing particularly unusual."
Elena murmured, surveying the surroundings with Mirage in hand.
"That's true. But we're right next to the barrier, so……"
As if to cut Vihera short, a nearby bush suddenly rustled.
Those present instinctively readied their weapons, leveling their blades toward the bush, and then……
"Pwaorororo, porururu~?"
Such a cry echoed through the surroundings.