Chapter 92: Chapter 88: The World Tree

When they returned to the banquet hall, the feast stopped in awe as they beheld Rose. Or…rather, Meg, Neph, Ophelia, and Alisha, the only other people who had seen Rose’s form without an illusion before, stopped in awe. Rose was lightly glowing again, which was apparently something she could turn off and on at will. She had chosen to glow to both reveal that it was normal for her, and for dramatic effect on her entrance.

“What…happened?” Meg breathed. “You look divine, literally.”

Rose turned off her glow, giving Meg a smile. “Yamamoto’s status as a Hero has been transferred to me.” She said. “I am now, apparently, the Personification of the World Tree.”

“I thought the World Tree was a myth.” Ophelia said curiously. “Does that mean it’s actually real?”

“It will be.” Rose said. “I have to pick a place to plant it first. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was originally thinking the dungeon, but I can sense it’ll fundamentally change the dungeon, and I’m not totally sure we want that.”

“Let’s put it in the dungeon.” Lia said. “I mean…I don’t think it’ll be a negative change, just…different. It won’t be dangerous to anything in the dungeon when you plant it, right?”

Rose paused, then nodded. “It will be safe, but likely disorienting.” She said. “But this is a discussion to be had later. I’m hungry, and I’m sure the rest of you would like to get back to your meal.”

At her prompting, the banquet resumed, and after another hour or so, it finally ended. As it did, Alisha walked over to Lia and her lovers and began to speak. “Mistresses, thank you for attending this banquet, I’m sure it will do much to lift the spirits of the staff here. As Duchess of Aura, my home is always open to you, and I would be overjoyed if you would stay here whenever you please. You do not even need to ask; you may just walk in as if you own the place, because you do.”

When she said that last bit, she focused on Lia, clearly attempting to remind Lia exactly what her position was. “But I am aware that you wish to return to your home as soon as possible, so I wanted to ask if I should have the maids prepare your rooms further, or if you will be leaving now.”

“We’re going to head back, yeah.” Lia said. “We need to get the World Tree planted, figure out what we’re going to do with Yamamoto, and negotiate with Brom.”

“In that case, please do not forget to use my Skills.” Alisha said. “I’m sure they will be of…no, my apologies. I forgot you were negotiating over Amelia’s magic, they will not work in that situation, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lia said. “Besides, this is an entirely friendly negotiation, I don’t want to try and pull one over on him.”

Alisha frowned. “Are you sure, my Queen?” She asked. “It seems foolish not to press our advantages.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Lia replied. “From what I’ve heard, Brom’s a good person, and this negotiation is solely to let Meg reunite with him. I don’t wish to push him more than necessary.”

“Very well.” Alisha said. “I will not press the point further. Is there anything else I may assist you with here before we return?”

“Nothing you couldn’t help me with back at the dungeon.” Lia said. She turned to the rest of the group who had come with her to fight Ichiro. “Is everyone ready?”

The moment everyone indicated that they were ready, Amelia initiated the teleport, there was that familiar wrenching sensation, and they were back in the dungeon, next to the dorm. “Okay, what first?” Amelia asked. “Do we do Yamamoto now, or wait until we finish planting the World Tree?”

“Let’s wait.” Rose said. “If we use a branch from Yggdrasil, I feel we could strengthen him even further. We already have that fruit, yes, but it came from an echo of the World Tree, and its power would likely be less than a product from the actual tree.”

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“And I think contacting Brom should wait until after Yamamoto has been converted.” Lia added. “It would be good to have him there as proof that we have defeated him.”

“That settles it, then.” Amelia said. “Everyone, good work out there today. Go tell everyone else about the World Tree, then get some rest. We’ll call you as we need you, okay?”

“So…how big is the World Tree going to be?” Lia asked once the others had left.

“Yggdrasil will be…incredibly large, I think.” Rose said. “Large enough that there would not be enough open space in the dungeon even if we demolished several buildings. That shouldn’t be a concern, though; the area around it, including the buildings, will morph so as to fit with it.”

“Perfect.” Lia said. “Let’s put it next to the dorm, then.”

“You’re really sure about this, right?” Rose said. “It could well change the entire layout of the dorm, and perhaps even the entire layout of the dungeon.”

“It’s better than having a giant beacon leading to the dungeon.” Lia pointed out. “The other countries might know where we are, but I’m sure wild monsters will be drawn to it too. Besides, the current layout of the dungeon isn’t suited for becoming our capital in the future, and having the option to change it through your abilities will be nice.”

“We were going to outgrow this place anyway.” Amelia said. “If the transformation is somehow so large that the dungeon becomes unusable, that’s fine, we’ll just have to move out a little earlier than scheduled.”

“Alright, then.” Rose said. “Well, we’re already here, so might as well just…go.” Rose held out her hands in front of her, concentrated for a moment, and then a seed the size of a watermelon appeared in them. With a stomp of her foot, the earth in front of her excavated itself into a small pile, leaving a hole large enough for the seed to fit into, and Rose knelt down and placed the seed inside.

“Eh?” Rose muttered. “Um…my hands just fused with the seed. I’m not sure –”

The ground began to rumble ominously, and Rose’s body quivered before a mass of wood exploded out from within her at a high speed. In the blink of an eye the wood had reached Lia and Amelia, but instead of colliding with them, the wood just in front of them slowed, gently wrapping around them and pulling them deeper inside the wood.

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Rose carefully maneuvered the expanding wood mass of wood that was her body, grabbing her lovers and bringing them towards a cavity in her center, where her “normal” body was, hands freed but legs merged with the wood. “Sorry.” She croaked, vaguely aware that part of herself had washed over the dorm building, enveloping the whole building in one large space. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

Part of her body reached a small cluster of drones that were in the middle of transporting stone of some kind, but it thankfully moved around them instead of impacting them, but her attention was torn away by Lia speaking. “Are you okay?! Do you know what’s happening?!”

“I’m fine.” Rose said. “I’m just growing – I mean, Yggdrasil is growing, it just feels like my body. I can kind of control it, and I can tell no one’s getting hurt, it’s just…overwhelming.”

“I’m pretty sure that the tree is literally your body.” Amelia said, crouching and stroking Rose’s bark at her feet. “All this magic is definitely yours, and it is completely impossible to tell where the tree ends and you begin, magically speaking. It’s strange that the tree has another name, yes, but in basically every important way it is indistinguishable from the body we’re talking to now.”

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