The World Tree's Descendant in a Fierce Struggle for Survival Against Beavers

"Oh, I got an email from the former Demon King Spacious."

'Why would a Demon King, who already had a lousy life and then died such a pitiful death because of you, email you?'

"Apparently, after meeting an untimely end, he reincarnated in another world through a different temp agency."

'This isn't a temp agency. If we sent out someone like you, we'd get sued.'

"I think my track record is pretty solid. I've defeated Demon Kings and heroes plenty of times."

'I won't deny that, but there's a proper way to do things.'

"We had a history together, but we also took down a god we hated, so we exchanged contact information."

'Time tends to get out of sync around here, so I'd prefer you not contact other worlds too much.'

"It gets out of sync?"

'There haven't been any problems within the areas I manage, but when other gods reincarnate people in different worlds, the timelines can get out of sync.'

"Well, I haven't contacted him even once, so we're fine."

'You're rather cold. But I have a bad feeling about this.'

"It's nothing like that. Apparently, he once again made a name for himself across the world as the Demon King's successor."

'He was able to become a Demon King, so I suppose he understands the ins and outs of the job.'

"Thanks to his ultimate attack, powered by a cheat Skill, things apparently went very smoothly."

'I'm not too impressed by that part.'

"After his adventures finally wound down, he apparently settled down to a happy life with the woman he loves."

'That's wonderful.'

"By the way, apparently, he looks like a sockeye salmon."

'My bad feeling was right. He'll probably go around again.'

"Amazing! You can predict the future and everything, Goddess-sama. I respect you."

'If you mean that seriously, I'm worried about your mental state.'

"Sockeye salmon, huh? That reminds me of Master Salmon, who taught me the Purgatorial Great-Flame Thunderclap Netherworld Kick."

'You have a great memory, but you're terrible at reading between the lines.'

※If you want to meet a protagonist who can read between the lines, please check out the protagonist of "My Syndrome of Wanting to Live Safely Even in Another World."

"Anyway, I should reincarnate in another world too, so I can keep up with him."

'Please don't try to popularize a word that only gets single-digit results in an exact-match search.'

"All right, let's rummage around in the suggestion box... From Maroyaka: 'The World Tree's Descendant in a Fierce Struggle for Survival Against Beavers.'"

'That's an awfully specific assignment.'

"The 'fierce' part sounds difficult."

'I can see a few parts that are even harder.'

"No, no, this prompt has a fatal flaw. We already know who the enemy is. If I look up beavers' weaknesses online now, it'll be a piece of cake. What? There aren't any?"

'You're the idiot. They're animals you can hunt, so it's not as though they have some special weakness.'

"You're telling me to fight an opponent with no weaknesses? This really is fierce."

'Let's make sure you don't get out of the assignment by claiming it's too fierce. Now, let's decide on your options.'

"Do you have something like Beaver Bane?"

'No.'

"What about Beaver Resistance?"

'No.'

"Beaveria?"

'No. If you keep fooling around, I'll throw you out without any options.'

"They're only rodents. Even without cheat Skills, I'll gnaw-gnaw my way through them."

'That was the worst pun I've heard in ages. I'm irritated, so I'll limit you to three options.'

"No way. How fierce of you..."

'Just saying "fierce" doesn't make everything all right. You have two left.'

"Oh, most beautiful goddess in the world, please grant me your kind and merciful compassion."

'All right, you can have three more.'

"Yes! You're so easy."

'One left.'

"Oh no."

◇

'I wonder how he's doing. Maybe it was a little cruel to send him off with just one option, and not even a cheat one.'

"I'm back."

'So it didn't work out after all?'

"I came close, but I had a lot of fun."

'Was I worrying over nothing? All right, tell me what happened.'

"I was born as a descendant of the World Tree Yugdrashiro."

'That name sounds like a knockoff.'

"This is what I looked like at three days old."

'Let's see... A sprout has just emerged in a flowerpot.'

"A rare nude photo."

'I refuse to call that nude.'

"It took several decades for me to grow properly, so let's skip that part and talk about the world instead."

'You were a tree, after all. Was it a world where you were locked in a fierce struggle for survival against beavers?'

"Yes. The world was built around my father, the World Tree Yugdrashiro. All around him, my many siblings formed a forest and gazed up at their enormous father."

'That's a rather fairytale-like world.'

"But one day, a beaver army suddenly appeared, and war broke out."

'I'm fine with the beaver army, but I'm curious how the trees fought a war.'

"Because they were trees?"

'If you make another stupid pun like that, I'll plant you in the ground and leave you there until a plant grows.'

"How terrifying. The trees could communicate with animals through telepathy, so the animals of the forest lent us their strength."

'That's reassuring. Though if deer and bears were helping you, wouldn't the beavers have no chance?'

"The beavers were armed with modern weapons."

'How fierce... And what exactly were these beavers?'

"They walked on two legs, communicated using an advanced language, had a high capacity for learning, and formed an impressive army with a hierarchical system."

'Aren't those just people?'

"Their staple food was wood."

'They were beavers, then.'

"Wild animals stand no chance against firearms. The tide of battle was against us."

'The wild animals are your enemies, though.'

"But once they realized the beavers were after the World Tree, every living thing in the world banded together to help us."

'Beavers versus the entire world is a pretty harsh setup.'

"But the beavers' relentless attacks drove many species to extinction."

'Almost like humans.'

"Humans had gone extinct 800 years before I was born."

'Your last hope was already gone. The beavers evolved at an astonishing rate.'

"They were a new breed of beaver, created by a researcher who wanted to make beavers that could talk."

'Human ambition never seems to lead to anything but tragedy.'

"Watching my siblings on the outer perimeter get eaten from the roots up, one after another, was just like an R-rated splatter movie."

'That could probably air during primetime.'

"Well, I think it's about time I entered the story."

'It sounds like things were pretty rough. Did you just show up out of nowhere?'

"When I turned 180 and became a proper adult..."

'You said several decades, and you're not even human.'

"When I became a large tree, I finally faced off against the beavers."

'Facing beavers with modern weapons, maybe you could've used one of those options I vetoed.'

"I couldn't decide when to use my option, so I tried to handle things on my own first."

'Was your power the ability to speak with animals telepathically and get them to fight for you?'

"No. I used my proud voice to launch a telepathic attack."

'Were you a mandrake?'

"The beavers were animals too. I figured that if they could hear telepathic voices, I could attack them with telepathic ones."

'I don't know whether to say that makes sense.'

"My soul-filled shouts knocked down the beavers one after another."

'That was surprisingly effective.'

"I was putting out about 200 decibels."

'It's telepathy, yet louder than a jet engine.'

※A jet engine is about 130 decibels. Decibels are a unit of measurement.

"But the beavers' fierce attacks made my animal companions foam at the mouth and collapse one after another."

'That was probably because of your telepathic attacks.'

"Still, their sacrifices weren't in vain, and the beavers struggled to advance."

'There was no need for anyone to sacrifice themselves.'

"Eventually, the beavers' leader appeared, determined to break the stalemate."

'It was still a beaver, I assume.'

"Its velvet-like fur repelled water, and its hind feet were webbed. Its large, flat tail was shaped like an oar."

'That's a beaver.'

"The leader's name was Arenu Makajan, and the hobby was hanging out at the arcade."

'Beavers go to arcades?'

"If they can make modern weapons, surely they can have an arcade."

'Can they? Maybe they can.'

"They used the corpses of my siblings to build dams by the water and set up settlements. How grotesque."

'They're wooden dams, so they're actually rather charming.'

"Arenu Makajan appeared before me, so I launched a preemptive attack with a 300-decibel shout."

'You can make it even stronger?'

"To my surprise, Arenu Makajan let out a scream of their own and canceled out my shout."

'A screaming beaver... I've seen that somewhere before. Can telepathy and screaming really cancel each other out?'

※I'll leave it up to you whether you search for "beaver scream."

"Let's just say it's fantasy."

'You're escaping into fantasy at the first opportunity.'

"My first encounter with Arenu Makajan ended in a draw. We both suffered serious injuries, but neither of us won."

'I wonder what sort of serious injuries you suffered.'

"We both strained our throats."

'That makes sense. Wait, you don't have a throat.'

"As a descendant of the World Tree, I healed relatively quickly and was able to withstand the enemy's continued attacks."

'You don't have blood, either.'

"Time passed as I endured tearful farewells to my fallen siblings."

'You don't have tears, either.'

"You don't have to make me sound like some heartless monster."

'You're a heartless, tearless tree, aren't you?'

"Meanwhile, Arenu Makajan was healing wounds by hanging out at the arcade."

'The beaver should've been resting.'

"I somehow managed to resist, but the day finally came when my defenses were breached."

'Oh, were you defeated?'

"They went around me."

'That was the right choice. But if they had modern weapons, couldn't they have done something about you?'

"Against wild animals, a gun you could fire at medium range was enough, and the trees got in the way. They didn't have any long-range weapons."

'That's strangely convincing.'

"Unable to do a thing, I could only watch as my siblings and then my father were eaten by the beavers."

'You don't have hands or feet, and you don't have fingers or a mouth to suck on, either.'

"No, I had legs."

'Why?'

"It was an option."

'Why?'

"I couldn't move as a tree, right? So I wanted to be able to walk."

'That makes sense—no, it doesn't. Actually, you do have legs.'

"I realized that too late. I hadn't used them for 180 years."

'I suppose it's understandable you'd forget.'

"That's right! I have these legs! I sprouted up out of the ground."

'That's horrifying.'

"I ran 100 meters in exactly one second and drove off the beavers attacking everyone."

'That's horrifying.'

"I also unleashed a 400-decibel shout while I was at it."

'That's a panic horror movie.'

"My father and siblings had been near death, but they survived. To show their gratitude, they said, 'Please be quiet.'"

'Of course they did.'

"Then they continued, 'You're the only one who can end this war, as a World Tree descendant with legs.'"

'The legs were the important part, but you've ruined the moment.'

"Once I was motivated, I shuffled my way toward the beavers' settlement and their dam."

'What's the point of shuffling?'

"If I made any noise with my steps, they'd notice me."

'Are you saying a 180-year-old World Tree could sneak up on them by shuffling?'

"I managed to reach the entrance without being noticed."

'That's impossible.'

"Fantasy must have come to my rescue."

'I think Fantasy hates you.'

"There were beavers on watch at the entrance, but I quickly took them out with my shout and snuck inside."

'What's the point of shuffling?'

"But when I went in, armed beavers were already waiting for me."

'You just made a 400-decibel shout. What are you talking about?'

"I felt that Fantasy had betrayed me terribly."

'That's a harsh accusation when Fantasy never intended to help you.'

"Since I'd been spotted, there was no helping it. I dashed back and forth so fast I left afterimages, knocking the beavers aside."

'What's the point of dashing back and forth?'

"I could dodge bullets, couldn't I?"

'I want to curse myself for almost finding that convincing.'

"When I went deeper inside, I finally came face-to-face with my old nemesis, Arenu Makajan."

'An old nemesis... I suppose so.'

"Arenu Makajan had just come back from the arcade. The beaver looked at me and said..."

'Do we really need the arcade part?'

"Whoa, a walking tree? That's completely ridiculous."

'I never thought I'd hear a beaver make such a perfectly reasonable observation.'

"Then the final battle began: our telepathic shouts clashing with the beaver's screams, carried by sound waves."

'Not a fight you'd want to have in a settlement.'

"Arenu Makajan's screams were far more powerful than before. The beaver's voice training had paid off."

'Voice training shouldn't let anyone go toe-to-toe with a sonic weapon.'

"Fantasy must've helped."

'Fantasy's going to reincarnate in another world if you keep this up, so take it easy.'

"I shouted as I dashed back and forth, determined not to lose."

'What's the point of dashing back and forth?'

"Could I make a Doppler effect or something?"

'Don't ask me.'

"The battle raged as we moved around inside the dam."

'What a nuisance.'

"On the bridge, beneath the clock tower, atop the observation deck, inside the shrine, inside the museum, inside the art gallery..."

'The beavers have quite a civilization. And weren't you sightseeing?'

"Oh, here's a picture from that time."

'A blurry picture of a tree, thanks to the beaver and all that dashing back and forth.'

"Inside the inn, in the hot spring, under the futon..."

'You stayed the night.'

"Oh, here's a picture from that time."

'Is this beaver singing karaoke in the banquet hall? And the tree's a blur again.'

"After a long, drawn-out battle, we finally reached its conclusion. When Arenu Makajan used a gauge attack, blocking it left the beaver stunned for a few frames. My character didn't miss that opening—I immediately landed a guard cancel into a special move."

'Were you two fighting at the arcade?'

"I won by a narrow margin and made a name for myself as the strongest tree in the arcade."

'Fantasy is definitely reincarnating in another world.'

"After the defeat, Arenu Makajan promised never to attack the World Tree again."

'I can't accept that a game decided the outcome. Besides, aren't trees the beavers' staple food?'

"Their staple food is wood, but they eat rice and bread too."

'So they're omnivores.'

"They were beavers modified by humans, after all."

'I still want to know why they attacked the World Tree.'

"They use wood for more than just food. They need it to build dams, too."

'So they really were beavers.'

"And so, the world was saved."

'How was the world saved by all that?'

"It was a truly fierce battle against a powerful foe, and we never stopped moving."

'What's the point of dashing back and forth?'

"But after saving the world, I was met with discriminatory stares from people who thought I was strange."

'You were a World Tree with legs, after all.'

"Whenever I tried to shuffle up to someone, they'd beg me to spare their lives."

'If a World Tree with legs shuffled up to me, begging for my life would be one of my options too.'

"I couldn't take it anymore, so I asked Arenu Makajan to let me leave this world as lumber."

'You're usually so tough mentally. It must've been pretty bad for you to reach that point.'

"I was sick of a world with no cute girls, just plants and beavers."

'Humans had gone extinct, after all.'

"Arenu Makajan gladly agreed, dismantled me, and made me part of the dam."

'The beaver agreed even though you were a World Tree with legs?'

"The beaver preserved just my legs and displayed them in the town square."

'That's horrifying.'

"Here's a picture of it."

'Is this The Inugami Family?'

"And that's how I ended up back here."

'That story makes me want to say, "Take a box of sweets to Fantasy, find whatever god Fantasy is reincarnating under, and apologize."'

"Anyway, about my souvenir..."

'If you say it's a pair of bare legs, I'll incinerate you.'

"I wouldn't bring back a horrifying souvenir like that."

'I still haven't forgiven you for the crime of bringing back the corpse of that fishman-type Demon King folded into six last time.'

"It's a World Tree sapling. I brought it in the flowerpot I grew in."

'If that thing grows, it'll take up all the space in here.'

"Don't worry. It's been selectively bred so it won't grow that big."

'A World Tree, huh? Well, if that's the case, I suppose it's fine.'

"Just be careful: if you pull it out of its pot, it'll scream."

'Isn't that a mandrake?'