◈ Episode 479: Fruit of Memory (2)
“Uh, Mom?!”
Sedina exclaimed in surprise at the sudden grim atmosphere.
“What, what are you doing? Why is the teacher… … .”
“Back off. Because this is a problem that that man and mother have to solve.”
Ella said without taking her eyes off Rudger.
Sedina opened her eyes wide as if she was a little shocked by those words, but soon put on a determined expression and stood in front of Ludger as if guarding her.
“What are you doing? Get out of the way.”
“It can’t be! did you forget You are the benefactor who saved me!”
“okay. I am grateful for that part.”
“But why are you doing that!”
“Thank you for being grateful, but the problem is different. My daughter has grown up a lot, but she is still weak in this area.”
The moment Sedina tried to protest, Rudgar stepped forward and said,
“Stop it, Sedina. You don’t have to step out.”
“teacher… … .”
Sedina pursed her lips, then stepped back.
Ella put on a look of surprise as Sedina easily backed off.
The same was true of Ludger’s attitude of not seeking help from his daughter.
Are you not afraid of death?
“Your daughter’s education is strict.”
“Because I don’t want my one and only child to suffer from some bastard.”
“What a bastard. Does that mean me?”
“Isn’t there anything else besides you?”
Ella raised her eyes as if staring at Ludger, who was not backing down.
“In the world, why is the lineage of the Bretus Kingdom with my daughter?”
indeed.
Is that why you’re so overreacting?
Rudger had no choice but to understand why Ella reacted like that.
“Even if you try to cheat, it’s useless. From the moment I entered this place, I have already read your data.”
“It was like that. However, I had no intention of cheating in the first place.”
“I like that boldness. So let me ask again. What is the purpose of your lineage to me? No, what the heck did you approach my daughter with? Wasn’t it enough even from 500 years ago?”
“That part.”
“what?”
Ella asked what that meant.
“The incident 500 years ago. And the whereabouts of the fragment somewhere in the World Tree. I came to ask about it.”
“you… … .”
Ella stared at Rudger in silence.
Rudger did not avoid Ella’s gaze.
“If you read my data, you already know, right?”
In the end, it was Ella who raised the white flag first.
As she sighed, the chains that restrained Ludger disappeared as if they were melting into the air.
Rudger touched the part of the chain with his hand.
“Has the misunderstanding been resolved enough?”
“Not quite. It’s just that we can have a conversation without having to tie it up.”
“That is enough.”
“So it’s a little bit hard to keep calling you teacher, but what’s your name?”
“Ludger Chelsea.”
“Ludger Chelsea. ‘Now’ is such a name. You actually gave up my name?”
“Can you even know that?”
“Coming here means that you have been in touch with the world tree and spirit. That means that your mind is also connected to this one. Even if I don’t want to know, you will naturally find out.”
Ella added that she didn’t know all of her memories, so don’t worry.
“I’m so surprised I don’t know what to point out. She said that no matter how much my daughter helped, she was a human being who could telepathize with the World Tree. Even she is a blood relative of that kingdom of Bretus.”
“If you had seen the information, you would have known enough. There is nothing strange about my background and constitution.”
“okay. It’s something to do with God.”
Knowing that Ludgar was from the Kingdom of Bretus, Ella gave a subtle smile.
“I thought it had already been a long time, but I never thought we would be related again like this. Could this be fate? It is very sad that fate cannot be escaped even after death.”
“I read a lot of literature. And I heard that you were the one who tried to increase the world tree 500 years ago.”
“that’s right. It was. But it failed spectacularly.”
“The reason was also because of the demon attack.”
“what. Did you know that?”
Ella’s face became astonished.
It’s funny that the blood relatives of Holy King Bretus know about the past, and they even know about the devil.
“Haven’t you read the data yet? It is I who fought that demon.”
“… … wait for a sec.”
Ella closed her eyes for a moment to see if that was true.
A few seconds later, when Ella opened her closed eyes, her pupils contained a feeling of astonishment.
“It seems to take quite a while to read.”
“… … What is it?”
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“It is as it is. Although I am of the blood of Holy King Bretus, I am fed up with it and run away. But, damn it, fate wouldn’t let me go.”
“So you came to ask me about what happened 500 years ago?”
“okay. I needed confirmation of what exactly happened at the time.”
Ella Plante let out a small sigh.
It is surprising that the teacher who saved her daughter is the bloodline of Holy King Bretus, and it is surprising that she entered the World Tree, and even has a purpose for herself.
So much happened in a short amount of time that I needed some time to organize my thoughts.
“… … okay. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t tell you. Follow me.”
Ella immediately turned her back.
As Ludger silently watched his back, Sedina, who was next to him, cautiously asked.
“Aren’t you going?”
“I have to go. Oh, should I hold your hand again?”
“… … !”
As Sedina ran away from Rudger, the dodo also ran and stood by Ella’s side.
Rudger shrugged lightly and followed them.
As I walked, the beautiful scenery disappeared, and the space filled with green letters that I saw when I first entered unfolded.
“Are you going to be a little desolate at this point?”
When Ella snapped her fingers, space warped.
The green data gathered together, clumped together, and began to take on their own shapes.
The scenery that changed in an instant was an orchard full of fruit.
However, despite the appearance, the contents did not change.
Trees and fruits are all aggregates of data.
But as I looked, I noticed something strange.
Some of the fruits were showing off their desirable fruits, while others were discolored or rotted.
Perhaps noticing Ludger’s gaze, Sedina spoke instead.
“That’s tainted information.”
“pollution?”
“yes. Some of the data stored in the World Tree has been significantly lost by malicious code. That’s how it was shaped.”
“It’s the remnant that Bentmin planted.”
“I tried to recover a lot of it, but there is also information that I couldn’t. It won’t disappear completely. But it will take a long time to recover.”
The further we went deeper into the orchard, the more the number of rotten and spoiled berries increased.
“I don’t feel very good. Could it be that the data I was looking for was lost or not?”
“You have to see that.”
Ella, who was leading the way, stopped in front of a tree.
Unlike other orchard trees, it was a very small tree.
A single red fruit hung from the end of a thin, bony branch that could be called a sapling.
“thank god. Should I say I’m lucky? As much as this data remains intact and intact.”
“that is… … .”
“that’s right. It is the stored fruit of an incident from 500 years ago that you were desperately looking for.”
Ella carefully touched the fruit of that memory.
Her eyes staring at the fruit were filled with all sorts of complex emotions.
It was natural.
The flashpoint that triggered the downfall of the Plante family.
An unprecedented event that caused the destruction of the former kingdom of the Exilion Empire along with the Elf kingdom.
It wouldn’t be a very good feeling to look at the fruit of a failed past.
“I never thought I would come back to this. You don’t know anything about the world.”
“… … mom.”
“I wanted to ignore it forever, but it was also a past that I had to face again someday. Because someone needs to know this.”
Ella looked back and forth between Rudger and Sedina.
“Are you ready?”
As the two nodded, Ella picked the fruit from the tree with a determined expression.
The bright red berries turned into powder and scattered.
When I looked closely at what I thought was powder, there were very small letters.
Bright red data rose like a sandstorm and engulfed the surroundings.
As the dusty data settled down, the landscape that unfolded was a huge underground cavity.
“here is… … .”
Ludger looked at the cavity in his memory and had a difference in his eyes.
A huge cavity that exists underground in Lindebrunn, the capital of the Exilion Empire.
In that cavity was a newly growing world tree.
If you put it that way, it’s an object that can be called a sapling of the world tree.
But even so, the size was huge enough to reach the high ceiling of the common room.
“If it grows up, it will pierce the ground and grow in the middle of the capital.”
Rudger looked at Ella and asked.
“For what purpose did you try to increase the world tree?”
When I first said that I would increase the number of worlds, I didn’t have any thoughts.
It was all because they were a little surprised that they were trying to increase a tree they considered sacred.
Nothing much was revealed about the World Tree, but I thought it was just a big tree.
However, Ludgar’s thoughts changed greatly after the incident in the kingdom this time.
‘You want to increase that? Isn’t that crazy?’
A fully awakened world tree can easily destroy a country.
Considering what Bentmin was trying to do, it was good to see that it could affect the entire continent.
The world tree mentioned in the academic world is a very old, ancient tree.
From Rudger’s point of view, it was a very dangerous high-altitude biological weapon.
“Did you ever intend to rule the world?”
“It may seem that way.”
In response to Ludger’s question, Ella only put a bitter smile on her lips.
“As you can see, the World Tree has a will. I know how to think, and I have feelings. In fact, it’s a person, or rather, something far superior to that. But aren’t you curious? Why does a being that can think for itself not use its power according to its own will?”
“Isn’t it because there are restrictions?”
“Who do you think put that restriction?”
Rudger stared at the world tree with a puzzled gaze.
“Could it be that you put restrictions on yourself?”
“Because this child is so kind and loves nature. That’s why he suppresses his great power and spends most of his time in a crouching sleep.”
“For Mother Nature’s providence, restraining one’s power and staying still. it’s like… … .”
“Isn’t it like an elemental lord?”
At Ella’s penetrating words, Ludger sighed.
The world tree is not a spirit.
However, according to Ella’s words, calling him the elemental lord of the trees was no different.
“The world tree stayed quiet, suppressing its power and killing itself, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it because I still have an ego and can think.”
“What do you mean?”
“To be lonely.”
ah.
It was Sedina who made that noise out of her mouth.
Because she also came into contact with the World Tree, she could feel the will of the World Tree.
It was only after hearing Ella’s words that he remembered what one emotion he felt inside that huge ego.
“It was too harsh for the World Tree to have to stand tall alone forever, without anyone like it. Everyone treats them as if they are respecting them, but they don’t look at them on an equal footing. I have lived for thousands of years as a being with no place to lean on.”
“so… … You were trying to make friends.”
“that’s right. The elves say that our Plante betrayed the will of the World Tree. But the reality is different.”
Why is the family that regards the World Tree as holy trying to increase it?
The answer to that question was surprisingly clear.
Because the World Tree wanted it.
Those who served the World Tree simply followed its will.
“But why did you keep it a secret?”
Because of that, the Plante family became a traitor, and most of the family’s elves were slaughtered.
If this was the will of the world tree, it would have been enough to expose it to the whole world and act confidently.
The world tree is like that, but the other elves won’t be able to throw up.
Nevertheless, Ella chose the human kingdom rather than the other elves.
“There must be another reason.”
Ella nodded at Sedina’s question.
Seeing that, Ludger remembered Ella’s reaction, who was very wary of him.
no way.
“The Church of Lumensis and its home country, the Holy Kingdom of Bretus.”
It was a word that came out almost as if driven by instinct, but it was actually the correct answer.
Ella didn’t say anything positive, but that response was already enough.
Soon the scenery changed.
The gradually growing world tree spread its roots throughout the underground cavity.
Originally, another world tree would have grown successfully.
But what happened after that, Rudger knew well.
This job fails.
by the demon Basara.
The scenery changed again and Basara appeared.
Basara, who had his original body, used his authority to devastate the kingdom and its surroundings.
Despair, pain, frustration, fear, hatred, anxiety.
With all sorts of negative emotions fluctuating, the kingdom’s capital fell into chaos, and countless wizards, knights, and Plante’s elves were sacrificed.
However, after a fierce battle, they succeeded in sealing the demon Basara in the World Tree.
Even while being sealed, Basara struggled to get out, and the traces of it were carved in the form of a human trying to escape all over the root.
The distorted figure looked like the work of an artist announcing the end of royalties.
With Basara’s appearance, the plans of Ela Plante and the ancient kingdom were foiled.
But there were those who drove a wedge here.
The scenery changed, and paladins in white armor entered the kingdom in chaos.
“The Holy Kingdom of Bretus.”
500 years ago.
The Holy Kingdom of Bretus, known to have the most powerful authority over the entire continent, dispatched a large force.
A woman stood at the head of the army.
He was wearing a white robe and a deep hood, but he could see Rudgar.
With ash-gray hair that escaped under the hood’s shadow.
Eyes that sparkle like starlight.
