The End of the Event and the Sprouting of Rebirth

I logged in. Apparently, the event 'The Wonderful Aspect of Autumn: Food' ended without incident while I was working on my day off. The moment the appointed time arrived, the potted plant supplied by the Goddess floated into the air and shattered into dazzling light. They say that after the light subsided, all that remained were the seeds of the crops the players had painstakingly cultivated. It was a real shame I hadn't been there to witness it.

The interesting part was how many seeds remained. More than a hundred grains and beans were left, along with around twenty tomatoes and potatoes, while only one seed remained from the trees, including the Wise Tree I had raised. Reports to the same effect appeared on the forums, where people theorized that the number was proportional to the size of the fruit produced.

I did wonder about the acorns, since they were small. Trees, however, were an exception. Most vegetables withered once harvested, whereas trees could be harvested repeatedly. Apparently, they couldn't be treated the same as vegetables that had to be grown from seed all over again.

The crops harvested during the event apparently couldn't be used as seeds and had to be consumed as food. It seemed that a certain kind of cheating—stockpiling seeds during the event and mass-producing crops after it ended—wasn't allowed. Since the event's main purpose was 'Food,' the Goddess seemed to be telling us to eat them properly.

Setting that aside, it seemed that only one seed of the 'Phantom Peach,' which had won the exhibition, remained as well. I hear that Momo and the Dark Elves are cultivating it with great care. Other well-received crops were distributed to those who wanted them and will be grown in several fields now being established around the city. The day when Konrad begins exporting them as this city's specialty may not be far off.

As for the unpopular plants, Shiitake took all of them except for Shio, who had decided to grow them personally. Apparently, one of the crops Shiitake had raised was among those harshly criticized. Shiitake seemed determined to find a way to make effective use of them. I don't dislike the spirit of proving them wrong. Do your best!

"Still, the Wise Tree's seed is beautiful. Without the branch attached, I'd believe it was an item from a mining point if someone told me so."

"Yes. It surprised me because it was unlike any of the fruits we saw at the exhibition."

What Iris gave me was a fist-sized acorn. The hard, shell-less nut was black and translucent like crystal. At its center was a small something glowing bright red, from which complex red lines spread throughout the acorn.

However, if you brought your face close and looked carefully, you'd notice that the glowing object was shaped like a brain and that the red lines were blood vessels. Put that way, it seemed creepy, but from a distance it was still beautiful. It was a strange sensation. Incidentally, the result of 【Appraisal】 was as follows.

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Pseudobrain Fruit of the Crimson Orb Dragon-Scaled Wise Tree. Quality: Excellent. Rarity: L (Legendary)

A special fruit of the Crimson Orb Dragon-Scaled Wise Tree, which possesses a firm will.

The organ known as a pseudobrain, necessary for possessing a will, has been transferred into it.

As long as this fruit remains, the Wise Tree will not die.

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I had never heard of an organ called a pseudobrain, but as the description made clear, it was probably the Wise Tree's brain. It was an organ necessary for possessing a clear sense of self, and it was precisely what made the Wise Tree a wise tree.

In other words, before it withers, the Wise Tree pulls out its own brain, puts it into a fruit, and revives when that fruit falls to the ground and sprouts. Doesn't this mean it preserves its sense of self in a fruit and can reincarnate on its own even after withering? I'd be happy if it remembered me when it sprouted again.

"Now, where should I plant this acorn...? I'd like to put it in the courtyard. Is that all right?"

"That's fine. There's only the fountain there so far, and we can arrange the courtyard's landscaping around the fountain and Wise Tree as focal points. However, I'd like to be a little particular about where we plant it."

There was a fountain in the courtyard filled with 'Scorching Hellblood of Resentment,' and if I planted it there, I could pour as much as it wanted over it whenever necessary. That's why I preferred the courtyard, but I wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to plant it there. Iris had given me permission, so there shouldn't be a problem.

Once I had made up my mind, Iris and I headed to the courtyard. Taking the Wise Tree's eventual growth into account, we dug into the ground some distance from the pond, dumped in all of Cal's dung as fertilizer, and mixed it in. After planting the Pseudobrain Fruit, I poured a generous amount of 'Scorching Hellblood of Resentment' over it. I then tried using 【Tree Magic】's Growth to accelerate its development.

Since this magic forcibly promotes growth, I deliberately weakened it through spell adjustment before using it, but even so, the effect was tremendous. Immediately after I cast it, an adorable pair of leaves poked their heads out through the soft soil I had just turned over.

The Wise Tree shook its leaves to brush off the soil. When it noticed Iris and me, it happily bobbed its little leaves up and down. Oh, it remembered us! I was incredibly happy!

"Long time no see... Would it be strange to say that? Anyway, I'm glad you sprouted safely. Is there anything you want?"

When I asked, it pointed its leaves toward the fountain. It seemed to want more blood. I tried pouring more 'Scorching Hellblood of Resentment' over it, but apparently it still wasn't nearly enough, because it continued bobbing its leaves imploringly.

In the end, I had to keep dripping blood until the ground around the sprout was muddy. As a result, one corner of the courtyard looked like a sea of blood straight out of a splatter film. Th-this is a terrible sight. I need to build a border like a flower bed as soon as possible so the blood doesn't spread. I'll probably have to ask Iris to do it. Sorry for giving her more work.

"It's incredibly vigorous! It's hard to believe it was a seed until just a moment ago."

"It's almost too vigorous. Is it still as much of a glutton as ever? Honestly..."

The Wise Tree had needed a large amount of 'Scorching Hellblood of Resentment' ever since it was growing in the flowerpot. If it needed this much blood as a seedling, what would happen after it grew into a large tree? Just thinking about the maintenance costs gave me a headache already.

Even so, I was far more delighted that the Wise Tree had sprouted again than I was worried about that. This time, I hoped it would grow as tall as it could, without the restriction of a flowerpot, until it pierced the heavens.

"We should probably check on it every day, but I think the Wise Tree is all right for now. However, I suppose it will be difficult for it to interact with the residents now."

"Because the 'Scorching Hellblood of Resentment' is dangerous, right?"

We mustn't forget that 'Scorching Hellblood of Resentment' and its source, the 'Great Heart that Harbors Resentment,' are extremely dangerous substances, just as their descriptions said. Merely being drenched in either of them could result in being taken over. I had children carry the glass bottle when Cal watered it, but now that I think about it, I'd been making them do something incredibly dangerous. I needed to reflect on that.

We hadn't tested it yet, so I didn't know how high a level someone needed to withstand being drenched in it safely. Therefore, the residents would be prohibited from entering until the testing was complete.

However, that would force the Wise Tree to remain isolated. I should make a point of talking to it myself whenever I watered it, and ask the clan members to speak to it as often as possible too. I'd send them a message later.

"Come to think of it, the Wise Tree had borne several kinds of fruit, hadn't it? There are a few Dark Elves saying they want to grow only the red fruit or only the black fruit. Can't we do something about that?"

"Hmm, I don't even know whether that's possible."

I couldn't answer Iris's question. The Wise Tree had borne four kinds of acorns, but I hadn't even considered planting them in the ground. But in the first place, an acorn is a fruit. Plant fruits contain seeds, and if planted in the ground, they basically sprout. That's how plants produce offspring.

The Wise Tree did, however, have a special fruit known as a Pseudobrain Fruit. It was the fruit the Wise Tree bore when the potted plant disappeared, so it was possible that the only fruit capable of sprouting was the Pseudobrain Fruit. Whichever was correct, we couldn't even experiment until the Wise Tree grew and began dropping acorns. They'd have to wait patiently.

"How is the cultivation of the 'Phantom Peach' that won the exhibition going? I heard through a message that the Dark Elves would grow it, but... Does it look like things will go well?"

"The Dark Elves were enthusiastic, so I think it'll be fine. They said they'd absolutely succeed, even if it cost their lives."

"You don't have to take it that seriously..."

"That was said by someone who ate it at the exhibition. They were staring with bloodshot eyes as they said they couldn't forget that taste..."

"So they're just gluttons?"

I nearly keeled over when the reason turned out to be much more mundane than I had imagined. Then again, perhaps that's the kind of thing that unexpectedly motivates people.

"How is Shio doing? I hear they insisted on growing one personally."

"Yes. Shio was planting grape seeds in a corner of the Dark Elves' forest that they had borrowed."

"Grapes...? Oh! The metallic ones? The ones the Metallica panned as being disgusting!"

"That's the one. Once the grapes were ready, I was asked to develop a gun that would use them as bullets. It seems Shio intended to grow them as bullets from the start."

Using metallic grape berries as bullets. Would that be real grape shot? If they had been trying to turn them into poisonous plants, that would have been one thing, but I never expected one of my companions to try to create a weapon for physical attacks. What a remarkable idea.

I never would have thought of that myself. Having companions really does provide good inspiration. I found myself thinking that again.