"This... no way... why has it come to this?"
As Rei and Marina, led by Ragdo, made their way toward the World Tree, partway there—at a point where they had drawn somewhat close—Marina cried out as though unable to contain herself.
Despite wearing a party dress, an outfit hardly suited for running, Marina kept pace with Ragdo without falling behind in the slightest.
Her bearing radiated an intensity befitting a veteran adventurer.
"I can't really tell much of a difference compared to yesterday... but you can tell just from looking from here?" Rei murmured as he watched her.
Ragdo, running beside him, shook his head.
"No. Ordinarily, one would only be able to grasp it upon standing before the World Tree, if at all. However, Marina-sama's bloodline is simply different. She can likely sense the condition of the World Tree even from here."
"...Bloodline, huh."
The surname Ariansa crossed Rei's mind.
He had understood that Marina having a surname meant she came from special circumstances, and he had assumed that being the granddaughter of Optis, the elder of this settlement, was related to those circumstances.
As Rei thought about this while watching Marina's stern profile, they eventually arrived beneath the World Tree.
There were likely already some Dark Elves who had sensed the abnormality. Several of them were gathered at the base of the World Tree.
One of them noticed Marina and the others running toward them.
"Marina-sama!"
That gaze held a pleading quality.
The World Tree should have been treated yesterday by pouring mana into it—why was it in this state?
Eyes filled with anxiety, with no understanding of the reason why.
Marina, having arrived at the base of the World Tree, offered the Dark Elf a reassuring smile and spoke.
"It's alright. Looking at it like this, it does seem weakened, but it's clearly far healthier than yesterday, the day before, or any time before that, isn't it?"
Even as she said this, Marina herself was not convinced by her own words.
It was true that the World Tree could be said to be healthier than before.
But that was only because it had been just one day since yesterday's treatment.
If it became tomorrow, or the day after, it would undoubtedly grow weaker than it was now.
Given that, they had to resolve the cause of the World Tree's weakening no matter what.
(To prevent the World Tree from withering... no, from dying, having Rei pour mana into it every day might manage somehow... but that would essentially mean binding Rei to this settlement.)
If that came to pass, Rei would leave this settlement unless something extraordinary happened.
It was obvious from their interactions thus far that Rei hated being tied down to one place.
And if the Dark Elves of the settlement tried to interfere with his leaving, this settlement would undoubtedly be engulfed in flames.
Marina, as the Guild Master, knew full well just how powerful Rei was.
After all, he possessed enough skill to earn the alias Crimson.
Thinking that, she absolutely did not want the people of the settlement to do anything reckless.
(Well, after causing that much of an uproar in the mana-sensing incident earlier, I don't think they'll do anything so foolish anytime soon.)
Sensing the gazes of those around her, Marina closed her eyes and gently reached her hand toward the trunk of the World Tree.
A pulse.
That was the first sensation that reached her.
She could feel magical power flowing regularly, but even so, it was undoubtedly weaker compared to yesterday.
(At this rate, two months... no, depending on the circumstances, it could return to the state it was in yesterday within a month. But why? Yesterday the World Tree definitely regained its power. If so, something must have happened... but according to Ragdo, no suspicious person approached it.)
Opening her eyes, she looked around.
Nothing seemed particularly different, and there was no sense that a monster or anything else was hiding nearby.
But considering that the World Tree, which had only just recovered yesterday, had weakened this much, there had to be some cause behind it.
"Marina-sama... how is it?" one of the nearby Dark Elves asked.
Seeing her open her eyes, they likely assumed she had already grasped the World Tree's condition.
"...It's definitely weakened. I don't know what happened, but at this rate, it will run out of mana before long."
"But yesterday it was so..."
A Dark Elf pressed a hand to their mouth as if to say they couldn't believe it.
The others around them wore similarly shocked expressions.
Precisely because they had seen the World Tree recover with their own eyes yesterday, the Dark Elves were struck by an even deeper sorrow.
To raise hopes, then dash them.
That was exactly what had been done to them.
Watching his companions from a slight distance, Ragdo judged that this situation was dangerous.
The World Tree, which was their spiritual anchor, had supposedly finished treatment only to weaken again—because they had once believed it recovered, the despair they felt was all the more intense.
Reaching that conclusion, Ragdo hit upon the possibility that this had been the enemy's aim from the start.
(An enemy... yes, they should be called an enemy. If the World Tree were simply weakening on its own, it should have been recovered by Rei's mana yesterday. And yet, for it to weaken again in this situation can only mean that someone is doing this intentionally.)
Ragdo turned his gaze toward the trunk of the World Tree, his face twisting in sorrow.
Like the other Dark Elves, Ragdo held strong feelings toward the World Tree.
One could even say he cherished it.
That was why, if someone was doing something to the World Tree, he could never forgive them.
(No, now is not the time to be lost in my own thoughts. Above all, I need to prevent everyone from panicking.)
Looking around and seeing so many Dark Elves with sorrowful faces, he opened his mouth to act.
"Everyone, there is no need to worry."
At those sudden words, the Dark Elves turned toward the source.
There stood Ragdo.
His reputation had taken a significant hit from his interactions with Marina—or more precisely, with Rei. Even so, his words reached everyone present.
"In the first place, you all know that Rei treated the World Tree yesterday... even if you didn't see it yourselves, right? If so, then having Rei treat it again means there's nothing to worry about for the World Tree."
Those were words that Marina absolutely did not want spoken.
As if leading to what could be called the worst possible development for her, the Dark Elves turned expectant gazes toward Rei.
Before any of them could say something, Marina spoke.
"Wait. I understand Ragdo's suggestion to have Rei treat the World Tree, but that poses a bit of a problem."
At the word "problem," the other Dark Elves questioned with their eyes what she meant.
Ragdo, who had steered the conversation in this direction, also directed a questioning gaze at Marina.
It was only natural. If there was a problem with Rei restoring the World Tree, that would mean there was a high likelihood that the World Tree would genuinely wither at this rate.
"Listen. Rei did treat the World Tree yesterday. That is an undeniable fact."
"Then..."
As one of the Dark Elf men was about to say something, Marina cut him off and continued.
"Listen to the end. Alright? The World Tree was fully restored at once using Rei's mana. But that act itself must have placed a considerable burden on the World Tree. It was weakened, and then had enough mana poured into it to fully restore it all at once. If that were just once yesterday, it would be one thing, but what do you think would happen if it were done repeatedly?"
"That would be... the World Tree would be treated and..."
"Wait."
Another man who had been listening to the exchange interjected as though he had realized something.
"Repeating the cycle of exhaustion and full recovery means that much more of a burden is placed on the World Tree?"
At those words, Marina flashed a bewitching smile as though he had read her mind.
Despite the situation, the man was momentarily captivated by her smile, but quickly came back to himself and spoke.
"If it places a burden, then naturally it's not a good thing for the World Tree either?"
"That's right. Especially, try remembering how those who can sense mana reacted when they saw Rei. Pouring that much mana into the World Tree all at once? Once or twice might be one thing, but if such a thing were done over and over again, it could ultimately lead to the worst possible outcome for the World Tree."
"Give a tree too much water, and it withers too..."
At another Dark Elf's murmur, Marina nodded in response.
"Yes, that problem exists as well. Rei's mana is abnormal in both quantity and quality compared to an ordinary person's... no, even compared to us Dark Elves. I know I keep saying this, but once or twice might be one thing, but if such mana were poured in over and over again..."
At worst, the World Tree would wither from mana overload before it even had the chance to weaken.
As Marina conveyed this implicitly, the Dark Elves wore stern expressions.
Watching that exchange, Ragdo, though not voicing it, directed a harsh gaze at Marina.
What was she doing demoralizing everyone here?
Ragdo had of course also noticed the problem with having Rei treat the World Tree repeatedly.
But... even so, right now, giving everyone hope was what mattered most.
That Marina had interfered with that made it difficult to suppress his inner irritation.
(What are you planning! If you depress everyone here, it will spread throughout the entire settlement!)
She wasn't clearly reading Ragdo's intent through his gaze alone, but even so, Marina could somewhat understand what he was trying to say.
"I'm almost certain that someone is doing something to the World Tree from somewhere. In other words, before treating the World Tree, we need to deal with that first. If we do, the World Tree shouldn't weaken any further."
"...But who, and how, could they be doing something to the World Tree? Yesterday, many people were holding banquets nearby, so if someone did something, we should have noticed from the start."
"Yes, I've heard as much from Ragdo. But... even so, we have to find the culprit who's doing something to the World Tree, don't we? Otherwise, the World Tree will simply continue to weaken."
What Marina declared was also an irrefutable fact.
If they couldn't find the cause of the World Tree's weakening here and now, the World Tree would eventually succumb to illness.
If that happened, the Barrier that the World Tree maintained would naturally disappear as well.
That had to be avoided at all costs.
For the survival of this settlement... and above all, to save the World Tree, which was their symbolic existence.
"But..."
The lack of confidence in the man's voice was likely because they had absolutely no idea who could be doing something to the World Tree.
"Everyone in this settlement may not know this, but Rei is a famous adventurer. At this young age, he's active as a B-Rank Adventurer, and he's even an Alias Holder."
The Dark Elves of this settlement also knew about aliases.
The few merchants who traded with this settlement had heard stories from the adventurers they brought as escorts, and within the settlement, there were a small number of people who, like Marina, had worked as adventurers.
"An Alias Holder...?"
Someone murmured, and the voice rippled outward.
And then, everyone turned their gazes toward Rei.
But there was no suspicion in those gazes.
Those with the ability to sense mana knew just how much mana Rei possessed, and even those without such ability had seen with their own eyes how he had instantly treated the World Tree, which they had barely been able to slow the progression of its illness.
...More accurately, they hadn't witnessed the treatment itself, but rather the World Tree after it had been completed.
Because of that, nearly all of them could accept the claim that Rei was an Alias Holder.
That was partly because, in this moment, they wanted something—anything—that could serve as hope.
Rei, receiving gazes from everyone around, gave a small nod and spoke.
"The recovery of the World Tree is a job I was commissioned for. As such, I promise my fullest cooperation."
Those words, filled with confidence, strangely resonated in the hearts of the Dark Elves present.