Chapter 96

The next day, we immediately headed to the lab inside the association.

No matter how many times I see it, it always amazes me. As I was looking around at it all…

Jeong Jae-hyun, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, approached us and greeted us.

“Oh, you’re here? How’ve you been?”

Looking at his face, which wasn’t just tired but had become pure exhaustion itself, I started feeling drained too.

I was worried he might be damaging his health when…

Chae-a suddenly dashed forward, rummaged in her pocket, and handed him a candy.

“Eat this!”

Jeong Jae-hyun took the candy Chae-a offered, looked startled, blinked a few times, then gave an awkward smile.

“Huh… huh? Thanks?”

“Yup! When you’re this tired, sugar gives you energy…!”

“Hmm, eating sugar does give you energy…”

“Sugar…? No, it’s CANDY!”

“Ah…”

Listening to their exchange made me chuckle a bit.

As I watched Jeong Jae-hyun researcher regain some vitality while talking with Chae-a, I felt relieved. Just then, he snapped out of it, pointed to some snacks nearby, and continued speaking.

“You guys are here, so my fellow researchers and I got some snacks. Help yourselves to whatever you like. If you want, you can even take them home.”

At that, I glanced over and saw a mountain of various snacks piled up.

“Wow, they really bought a lot…”

Despite thinking it might be excessive…

He actually looked apologetic, saying he wished he could have gotten even more, then told us:

“I originally wanted to get some international snacks too, but I’ve been so busy lately. So I just cleaned out the convenience store nearby.”

At that, Yuna slowly stepped forward, bowed deeply, and thanked him.

“Thank you very much. Haeuni will probably like these.”

“R-right? I’m glad she’ll enjoy them.”

Yuna nodded, then grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the snacks.

It seemed she wanted me to choose first.

I picked something that caught my eye and commented.

“This one looks good.”

“Yup.”

Yuna smiled faintly, clearly proud, then grabbed four of the same snack as me and said:

“I’ll give these to Arin-ssi, Chae-a-ssi, and the person who gave me the candy.”

She still didn’t quite remember Jeong Jae-hyun’s name…

Regardless, her thoughtfulness was so cute that I patted her head to praise her.

“That’s great.”

Yuna clearly liked having her head patted, perking up her ears and tail before…

She clung to my side, rubbing her cheek against mine and said:

“Shall we go?”

“Yup.”

Even though Yuna was carrying a bunch of snacks and couldn’t hold hands, we were sticking together so closely it felt similar. With our tails wagging happily, we moved forward.

* * *

Inside the conference room of the lab…

There, Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun explained the request to us with a somewhat serious expression.

“So… there’s this thing called a ‘Monster Creation Prevention Device’. It’s basically a device that prevents monsters from spawning.”

“…?”

Though it was more serious than I expected…

I figured that being told about this meant my help was desperately needed, so I vigorously nodded my head.

‘Finally, I can be of use…!’

Of course, it might not work out, but I decided to hear him out while my eyes sparkled. Then Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun chuckled wryly and continued.

“Well anyway, this device has kept the city safe until recently… But now it’s stopped working. That’s why we need your help, Hae-un. Can you assist us?”

“…?”

At that, I blinked in confusion. After all, I know nothing about machines and still can’t properly use magic yet.

With my mind in chaos, Han Arin answered for me.

“Do you really think asking a three-year-old is appropriate?”

Instead of outright saying “Don’t spout nonsense,” she rephrased it politely. Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun realized his mistake and nervously laughed while continuing.

“W-well… It’s true what you say, but there’s no one more suitable than Hae-un…”

Han Arin judged that continuing the conversation was pointless, stood up, and made a gesture to take us away. Seeing this, Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun urgently spoke up.

“The prevention device contains a sapling from the World Tree, which has started wilting recently! We thought Hae-un might be able to figure something out, so we wanted to assign her the mission. It’s a very safe job!”

Hearing “World Tree”, Han Arin paused mid-step, turned around, and asked.

“World Tree? You mean the World Tree is part of the safety device?”

“Yes, yes. It’s not exactly classified information, but please don’t talk about it outside.”

Is it really okay to reveal such a secret so casually?

Thinking that if Han Arin didn’t know, most people likely wouldn’t either, I tilted my head in confusion. Then Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun explained why he had so urgently grabbed us.

“Anyway, since this is a national disaster situation, we’ve gathered all relevant personnel and conducted numerous investigations and experiments, but we haven’t found even a glimmer of hope. That’s why we decided to ask Hae-un and Chae-a, hoping something might come of it.”

From his explanation, it sounded like they were grasping at straws due to the urgent need for resolution despite having no answers.

Han Arin seemed to understand the situation, but didn’t want us involved in such serious matters, firmly waving her hand to decline.

“No matter what, I don’t think it’s right to give such an important task to a three-year-old.”

“That… that’s true. Still, it’s a safe job, just requiring a quick look…”

Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun scratched his head, seemingly troubled, then sighed and continued.

“Arin-ssi is right… Sorry kids. I shouldn’t have said that because I was in such a rush…”

“I’ll do it!”

“Huh?”

“It sounds fun.”

Hearing the explanation, it seemed like they were just asking for a casual observation of the World Tree sapling and its condition.

‘After all, they’re only asking because they’re desperate and don’t expect much.’

Realizing they weren’t placing high hopes on me, I decided to go along lightly.

* * *

“The World Tree is a sacred tree known as the source of life. It burned down due to some past event, and now only seeds and saplings remain.”

On the way to our destination, Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun briefly continued explaining about the World Tree.

Since I didn’t really understand what he was saying, I blankly stared at the ceiling when…

Chae-a beside me grinned widely and said:

“There’s something cool here!”

That reminded me of something I’d seen in a fantasy setting before.

“I’m sure I read somewhere that spirits love the World Tree.”

Though it might not apply since we’re in a different world setting, judging by how excitedly she flapped her hands, it probably wasn’t entirely wrong.

Thinking it was fortunate that Chae-a was happy, I giggled when Researcher Jeong Jae-hyun pointed at a distant sapling and said:

“That’s the World Tree sapling. Why don’t you go closer and share your impressions?”

Hearing that, I nodded, then grabbed Chae-a and Yuna’s hands and approached the sapling.

Getting closer, I saw the sapling looking weak and listless.

Though it seemed well cared for, I wondered why it appeared so lacking in vitality when…

Chae-a looked extremely downcast and said:

“The baby plant is lonely…”

Hearing “lonely”, I tilted my head in confusion. After all, I’d never heard of trees feeling loneliness.

‘Still, Chae-a doesn’t lie…’

Deciding to trust her, I squatted down and gazed at the World Tree when…

Somtul, who had been hiding in my arms, suddenly popped out, chirped “Pii!” and bounced up and down enthusiastically.

“Piii!” (I can help!)

Hearing that it could help, our eyes all focused on Somtul. When we asked how, it confidently claimed it could strengthen the World Tree.

‘The World Tree can be strengthened too? Somtul is amazing.’

Thinking its abilities were growing stronger, I stroked its head when…

Somtul chirped happily then requested our assistance.

“Pii!” (You have to help too!)

When we asked what kind of help, Chae-a seriously explained:

“Yup. Chae-a knows. Dance like this.”

?!

Confused by the word “dance”, I blinked repeatedly, but…

Chae-a maintained her serious expression and continued.

“If we dance, the baby plant will regain strength! Because it won’t feel lonely anymore!”

“…?”

Still unsure, I mewed in confusion when…

Yuna nodded determinedly, stood up, and declared:

“In that case, let’s dance. Yuna will do her best.”

“Yup!”

Since everyone else was doing it, I couldn’t be the only one not participating. Suppressing my embarrassment, I stood between Chae-a and Yuna and said:

“Let’s dance?” (Shall we dance?)

We all nodded and began moving our bodies in motions more akin to exercises than actual dancing.

“Awww, the kids are dancing!”

“Huh? What, really? Such weirdos.”

Voices reached our ears from somewhere. The louder the comments became, the more embarrassed I felt, but…

Now that we’d started, we couldn’t stop. While we were all dancing together…

“Done!”

With Chae-a’s voice, the World Tree regained its vitality with a poof.

Amazed that such a simple act had worked, I smiled warmly when…

Somtul chirped and injected a blue mana light into the World Tree.

Having seen Somtul’s strengthening ability several times before…

Wishing it would work well, I anxiously watched as the World Tree grew larger than before and successfully sprouted new leaves.

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