Chapter 39

An unbelievable event occurred.

I never imagined that there would be a concept of portals in this world, not even in my dreams.

The shock amplified, making my mind drift hazily in an instant.

“Wahaha—!! This is the best!! It’s not a dream!!”

“This doesn’t make sense… How can this be…?”

“Is this also magic?”

The children’s reactions were not very different from mine.

As soon as a portal appeared that allowed us to go directly from the Loen Forest to the church where we live, they all wore ambiguous expressions mixed with confusion and surprise.

However, they cautiously took a step into the portal after me and gradually began to erase the anxiety in their hearts.

“……”

The children were mainly just happy that they could comfortably return home.

Normally, it would take half a day to travel that distance.

“Thank goodness, Levi. You were scared of crossing the river.”

“Y-Yeah… I was secretly worried…”

I answered absently, forcing a smile at Aizen’s comment.

If I think about it, I should be happier about this situation than the children.

Because vampires cannot cross rivers.

I had vaguely thought that if I held Rune’s hand like last time while crossing, it would work out somehow.

But it seemed that method had too many unexpected variables.

Maybe the World Tree knew that in advance and opened the portal for us…

“…Hmm, I don’t know.”

In any case, thanks to the portal opened by the World Tree, we could comfortably come to the church.

I thought it might be better to start with a feeling of gratitude for that point.

After all, thinking about it now won’t resolve anything.

“Is this the church where Levynia lives?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s not very spacious for a church, but it’s enough for us to live in.”

“Wow… The forest is right nearby, and there’s such a big tree in the garden…”

“……”

In the middle of the garden, where it should have only been overgrown with weeds, a single tree suddenly stood tall.

Compared to the World Tree, it was infinitely small, but still, we could easily cross from the Loen Forest to the church through this tree.

“This tree is probably connected to the World Tree… It wasn’t here originally.”

“What? This tree?”

“I think it was perhaps a consideration from the World Tree, thinking of Rune who might miss her hometown…”

“Wow!”

I convinced Rune with somewhat plausible words, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure if that was true.

It would be nice if the spirit of the World Tree would appear like a fairy and neatly explain it…

“Nun, will this tree not disappear and stay here?”

Ellie, who had come closer and was clinging to my side like a cicada.

Unlike Aizen and Iris, who were just happily enjoying the current situation, Ellie seemed quite puzzled, akin to my own feelings.

“Well, I think it will stay.”

“I feel something strange… This is the place where Iris, Aizen, and I always used to play…”

“You don’t have to worry too much. It’s larger than I expected, so I’m a little surprised too, but there’s still plenty of room left.”

“Still…”

“Besides, thanks to this tree, I can come out to the garden during the day now, so it’s more beneficial in many ways, isn’t it?”

“…Oh! I see! Now there will be shade, so the Nun can come here too!”

“That’s right. If this tree remains here.”

I gently patted Ellie, who was still clinging to my leg, and smiled lightly.

Finally feeling relief, Ellie gradually shifted positions and naturally nestled into my arms, burying her face softly.

“……”

As I watched this scene closely, Rune’s expression began to change oddly.

She seemed to be deep in thought, squirming her body a bit, then cautiously approached Ellie from behind, wrapping her arms around her in a hug.

Ellie was taken aback by the sudden back hug and hurriedly looked around in surprise.

“Eek—!! Wh-What is this…?!”

At Ellie’s unexpected strong reaction, Rune immediately had a startled expression and quickly stepped back.

“O-Oh… I’m sorry… I just thought it seemed nice…”

Knowing Rune’s background, it was a truly unfortunate scene.

She had never received any real love from anyone since she was born and had been severely bullied even by children her age.

It was just pitiful to see her unable to even learn how to interact with adults or children of a similar age.

“Rune didn’t do it with any bad intentions…”

In that moment, I tried to speak calmly to mediate the awkwardness between the two, but then suddenly:

“The Nun’s embrace is mine, so you come to my side.”

Contrary to my expectations, Ellie, who was feeling awkward and hesitant, spoke first and calmly eased the uncomfortable atmosphere.

Not only that, but she also offered her seat next to her, guiding Rune to enter our space naturally.

“Since you are now part of our family, you must remember this rule.”

“Yes…?”

“The Nun’s embrace is always mine.”

“……”

“No cutting in line. Understood?”

“Y-Yes…”

“And you can stop using honorifics. Talk comfortably with Iris and Aizen.”

“…Is that okay?”

“If Aizen says anything about it, tell me. I’ll resolve it.”

“Oh…”

Although no explanation had been given yet, it seemed the children had already caught on to a certain extent.

That I would be accepting Rune into the family.

Maybe that’s why, when the word “family” naturally came out of Ellie’s mouth.

I couldn’t help but open my mouth wide in surprise.

────────────

【Rilune】 – Messiah

[Race] Elf

[Job] Archer

[Level] 10

[Passive Skill] Blessing of the World Tree

────────────

At that moment, feeling dazed and blinking my eyes frequently.

Suddenly, Rune’s status window popped up in front of me, filling my view with information I had not known until now.

“Uh?”

It seemed that only those closely connected to me could check their status windows.

But that wasn’t what was important right now.

“……”

For some reason, I was puzzled that Rune also had the title of Messiah and that her job was listed as Archer.

Rune had certainly said she couldn’t even properly draw a bowstring…

“I felt it before, but… the Nun’s embrace feels cold yet cozy…”

In this confusing situation where nothing made sense.

Moreover, the level and passive skill listed after Rune only added to my bewilderment.

【Passive Skill: Blessing of the World Tree】

Just from the name of the skill, it was clear that it was quite an unusual skill.

When exactly did the World Tree grant such a skill to Rune…?

And why was Rune’s level 10…?

────────────

【Party has been disbanded.】

– Rilune

– Levynia Fallen Grace

────────────

Before I could even ask about Rune’s level, a notification suddenly popped up as if it understood my words.

Only then did I realize that a party creation notification had popped up when I crossed the river with Rune, and my eyes began to widen slightly.

“Ah.”

It was just a guess, but perhaps if this party system was what I thought it to be.

It might mean that Rune leveled up by receiving the experience I gained when I eliminated the bad elves.

However, it was a bit puzzling that she had only leveled up to 10.

No matter how much she shared the experience, it seemed strange that she had only managed to reach level 10 after eliminating quite a number of elves…

“……”

The elves’ levels could only be thought to be much lower than I expected.

At this point, most of them were probably around level 10—.

– Thud

During that time, a mysterious sound suddenly echoed near the tree.

It was the sound of something dropping.

“…Something fell from the tree.”

As I slowly turned my head toward where Rune pointed with her finger, there lay a bow resting on the weeds.

“A bow…?”

No matter how I looked at it, the bow did not seem ordinary.

It was too clean and seemed too new to be considered abandoned, and the string tied intricately at the end of the bow looked very strong.

“Th-That’s a bow—!! A bow fell from the tree!!”

At this point, I felt a bit guilty for merely referring to the World Tree as a tree.

Could it be a gift from the World Tree to Rune, who was embarking on a new beginning away from the Loen Forest…?

“Wow… It sparkles so brightly and is beautiful…”

Rune smiled widely, a smile I’d never seen before, filled with joy.

Until now, she had acted as if she had completely given up, claiming she had no talent for archery.

But now, the way she was overjoyed at discovering the bow was quite impressive.

I began to understand why Rune’s job was listed as Archer.

“I think that bow is a gift from the World Tree to Rune.”

“Th-The World Tree—?!”

“Yes. It means the World Tree recognizes you as an elf.”

“Oh… But I haven’t done anything for the World Tree…?”

“That’s not it, Rune. I’m not talking about such recognition.”

With that single line, I gently set Ellie, who was still nestled in my embrace, aside and slowly moved closer to Rune.

I then bent my knees, making eye contact with Rune, who was sitting blankly in front of the tree.

“The World Tree recognized a single flower blooming from the wasteland at once.”

“A flower…?”

“Yes. That flower has a special fragrance, unlike the surrounding weeds, and blooms towards the sun.”

Rune gazed at me intently, as though lost in thought.

“That is Rune’s sincerity and heart. Even if you haven’t done anything directly, your pure heart has already reached the World Tree.”

After finishing that sentence, I gently ruffled Rune’s hair and smiled softly.

The World Tree’s recognition was worth several thousand times more than the acknowledgement of the unappreciative children.

Just that alone was enough for Rune to have pride in herself and about being an elf.

It proved that all her efforts weren’t in vain.

“Now, let’s head into the church. We have dinner to…”

Just as I was about to wrap things up warmly and stood up—

Without warning, I heard some rustling above my head, and something fell.

“…?”

“Oh? It’s a crown of leaves.”

At Rune’s quiet remark, I slowly raised my hand to my head, wearing a confused expression.

“It seems the World Tree is giving this as a gift to Levynia.”

“Wh-Why me…?”

“I don’t really know about that, but it looks great on you.”

Although it had the shape of a crown, there were no flowers in sight—only intricately made of leaves and stems.

I could understand the gift of the bow to Rune, but why such a gift to me…

Could it be a sign to take good care of Rune from now on?

– Pitter-patter!!

Just as that thought crossed my mind, a bunch of fruits fell around me, causing me intense surprise.

“What, what is this…? Why is this happening all of a sudden…?”

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