Chapter 58
#58. Portents of War
After spending nearly an entire day in bed, I had to reluctantly get up at Iris's insistence.
I would have liked to spend another three days leisurely enjoying myself as I had yesterday, but there was no denying that we didn't have much time.
With no choice, I washed myself quickly by the lakeside to drive away my drowsiness.
‘I should carry even a makeshift shower around with me.’
Even if I could heat the water with magic, washing by the lakeside itself was more inconvenient than I had expected.
Still, I had no major complaints simply because I could wash together with Iris. The person in question had kept her back against my chest and refused to show me her front because she was embarrassed, but did she not realize that only made it more arousing?
The provocative line running from Iris's neck down to her buttocks made my groin throb, and I couldn't get dressed until I had ejaculated inside her three times in succession while washing.
Of course, I didn't tell Iris to wear the camisole and dolphin shorts. By my standards, they were everyday clothes, but from Iris's perspective, they felt like the kind of daring outfit a girlfriend might wear for a special occasion.
I took out several decent dresses and shirts and let Iris choose whichever one she liked.
“Mr. Hyeon-woo, how do I look? Does it suit me?”
The moment I saw Iris elegantly spin around once in a white off-shoulder shirt and a black high-waisted skirt, applause burst from me automatically.
“Hehe, thank you.”
At Iris's bright smile, my groin began to throb again before I knew it, but I didn't want to ruin the mood, so I displayed superhuman patience and held myself back.
There was no need to be hasty in the first place.
As long as the ‘Dating App from Another World’ didn't disappear, I intended to make memories with Iris until the day my lifespan finally ran out.
‘As long as the Dating App from Another World doesn't disappear...’
I wasn't particularly worried about my lifespan.
As one's realm rose, one's lifespan automatically increased as well. Even I should be able to live comfortably until the age of 120.
If I raised my realm while taking elixirs as well, living to 200 seemed possible. There were plenty of other ways to extend one's lifespan, but I couldn't help wondering whether this app I'd acquired so suddenly might vanish overnight.
That alone planted a seed of anxiety in one corner of my heart.
“Mr. Hyeon-woo?”
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Iris approached until she was right beside me and looked at me with concern.
“Is something wrong?”
“...No, it's nothing.”
At Iris's concern, I pulled myself together.
Right. There was no point worrying about things that hadn't happened yet.
No matter how long I agonized over it, I wouldn't find an answer, so there was no point wasting time dwelling on it.
What mattered was the time I was spending with Iris right now.
And so, the seed of anxiety disappeared before it could even sprout.
We held hands and returned to the temple.
The moment we set foot in the temple, the golden tree, which had been slightly withered as recently as yesterday, began emitting a radiant light once more.
At the same time, I could feel the air around us shift slightly.
[Have you come?]
“Mother!”
At the message that seemed to slam directly into her brain, Iris hurried over to the golden tree.
I looked at my lonely right hand and felt a strange twinge of jealousy, but I soon gave up on feeling that way.
‘Right. It's strange to be jealous of the relationship between my girlfriend and her parents-in-law.’
If anything, thinking of her as my future mother-in-law made the faith I had never possessed seem to spring up within me.
However, judging by Iris's excited voice and expression, it didn't seem as though their conversation would end anytime soon.
With nothing else to do, I decided to kill time by reviewing what I had learned yesterday.
In truth, a single day was far too short to learn much.
A few new fire-element spells, at most.
Iris wasn't a mage who specialized in the fire element in the first place. She mainly used the earth and wind elements through spirit magic.
That didn't mean I had any aptitude for the earth and wind elements, either.
My aptitudes were limited to fire and lightning, after all.
I hadn't even been using lightning because I couldn't control it properly.
Lightning had the most fearsome power of all the elements, but it was just as difficult to control. One wrong move could easily damage my mana circuits.
Even so, I continued practicing.
Iris had advised me that repetitive practice was the only way to use the lightning element freely.
I quietly closed my eyes and concentrated the lightning element in both hands.
Crackle-
Before long, rough sparks began to rise, but that was all.
Even with my strengthened mana circuits, handling a greater output wasn't easy. Still, if I pushed myself, I felt I could cast one or two high-powered lightning spells.
I could definitely feel that I had grown compared to before.
I was savoring the sense of accomplishment that came from being certain I would be able to handle even more powerful lightning in the not-too-distant future.
[Kang Hyeon-woo.]
A familiar message reached me.
[I cannot help but admire your accomplishments. I never imagined that you would defeat the gatekeeper of the first floor and return with the key.]
The World Tree directed its will toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
Although the tree clearly had no eyes, Kang Hyeon-woo felt as though he had come under the World Tree's gaze.
[To be honest, I had not held even the slightest expectation of you.]
“M-Mother?”
Iris was startled by the harsh words of a mother directed at the boyfriend she had brought home as the man she would soon marry.
[However, I can no longer doubt you.]
The golden tree of the World Tree stretched a branch toward me. A small fruit grew at its tip.
“What is this?”
[This is the last fruit this tree can bear.]
Iris could not help but stare in shock at the sight.
The fruit of the World Tree, which exuded enormous divine power, was one of the finest elixirs in the world, comparable to a sacred relic.
Of course, because it had grown on an avatar with only a small amount of divine authority, its efficacy was somewhat inferior as well.
Even so, there was no doubt that it would be the ultimate trump card for Kang Hyeon-woo's growth.
Unaware of that fact, Kang Hyeon-woo merely guessed that it was some kind of elixir.
It was an elixir bestowed by a god, no less.
It would be nice if it was better than the ones available on Earth, but he was certain it wouldn't be inferior, and the corners of his mouth rose.
After sneaking a glance at Iris, I popped the fruit into my mouth in one bite.
It tasted surprisingly good.
It still wasn't as good as the premium fruit sold on Earth, but who ate herbal medicine because it tasted good in the first place?
People ate it because it was good for their bodies.
I gave it a few perfunctory chews and swallowed it.
“...Huh?”
The problem came afterward.
My vision suddenly grew distant, and just as I thought I heard ringing in my ears-
Thump-
That was where my memory cut off.
***
The World Tree looked down at Kang Hyeon-woo, who had collapsed on the floor.
More precisely, it saw through his inner self—his very essence.
However, even under a god's gaze, the ‘Dating App from Another World’ within Kang Hyeon-woo kept itself completely hidden. Thus, seeing how rapidly he had grown in such a short time, the World Tree had no choice but to conclude that he was a genius.
Although the World Tree felt uneasy that he was human rather than an elf, there was little hope of finding anyone more suitable in the current situation, so it had no choice but to compromise with reality.
[Child.]
“...Yes, Mother.”
Iris wore a worried expression as she laid Kang Hyeon-woo's fallen body across her lap.
Seeing the child's heartfelt concern, the World Tree was able to dispel at least some of its anxiety over the fact that Kang Hyeon-woo was human.
[Do you love him?]
“Yes.”
At the answer without even a hint of hesitation, the World Tree let out a low, troubled groan.
[Does he love you as well?]
Knowing that this was not a simple question, Iris could only hesitate for a moment.
However, when she remembered how he had appeared here after breaking through her 200 years of loneliness, shown her a new future, and taught her warm love, Iris steeled her resolve.
Even if he didn't truly love her, she was confident that she could win his genuine feelings through her own efforts.
“Yes!”
The World Tree was pleased by the spirited answer of its most precious child.
It was not yet certain whether its decision could save all the elves.
Even a god was not omnipotent.
Therefore, believing that trusting its child was the best thing it could do, it wrung out all the divine authority it could exercise in the mortal world.
Once again, golden waves churned through the underground temple.
***
Ding-
[Nine Kinds of Fruit: Mana consumed]
[Mana circuits are becoming extremely active]
[Mana circles are becoming extremely active]
[The body has detected a change and is preparing for a new transformation]
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“...Where am I?”
I briefly frowned at the slight headache, then pushed aside the screens filling my vision through the crack between my heavy eyelids.
Then I closed my eyes again.
The headache seemed to lessen a little when I closed my eyes.
Besides, the pillow beneath my head felt so good that I stroked it back and forth.
‘...Why is it warm?’
The pillow had a soft, springy texture it shouldn't have had, so I touched it a little more boldly.
After touching it this way and that, I realized it was clearly Iris's thighs, worthy of a national treasure.
Naturally, I began wondering why I was doing this, so I cautiously opened my eyes again and turned my head.
“Have you awakened?”
“Huh?”
My eyes met Iris's.
Yet there was something in Iris's gaze that I had never seen before.
“Iris...?”
A sense of dissonance and unfamiliarity prickled sharply at my instincts.
Her normally lively green irises had been replaced by radiant, glowing golden ones, stoking my suspicions.
At that moment, a hypothesis flashed through my mind.
“Could it be... the World Tree?”
Iris—or rather, the World Tree—gave a short nod.
Only then did I spring upright.
“This is the first time I have met you from a human's perspective.”
I felt an indescribable pressure from the World Tree wearing Iris's form as it stood up and brushed off its knees.
A distant divinity—an existence humanity called a god—had descended upon this land by borrowing the body of a believer.
The golden tree in the center of the temple had withered beyond recovery and rotted completely.
“I borrowed this child's body for a moment in order to tell you something.”
“Uh... Was that really necessary? Couldn't you have just spoken to me?”
The World Tree shook its head.
“Although the golden tree is also a weak avatar of mine, using a considerable amount of divine authority is necessary for me to intervene in the mortal world. If I borrow the body of this child, who is strongly connected to me, I can minimize the expenditure of my divine authority.”
I understood why the World Tree had borrowed Iris's body, but what could it want to say that warranted descending into a believer's body just to minimize its expenditure of divine authority?
“I believe you are the hero who will save all the elves.”
“...A hero?”