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In a pitch-black dream where nothing was visible, something emitting a bright red light from its eyes was glaring fiercely at Flower.

That gaze, as if it were licking off her skin to reveal the flesh beneath, drove Flower to madness. Breathing became a struggle, her head spun, and it felt as though she would vomit everything inside her at any moment.

After enduring all the pain, what came next? The thing approached Flower as if amused and began to make crying sounds.

—Grrr…

With that sound, Flower opened her eyes and realized she had been dreaming, and the monster before her had vanished.

However, she couldn’t escape. Even in this supposedly safest place, she could not evade that monster. How long was she expected to live like this? How long?

“I want to die…”

Fear, anxiety, and depression gnawed at her mind.

The superpower etched into her soul began to move according to her emotions. And that was the reason the Eternal Tree in City N went on a rampage, destroying the entire city.

*

Every day, new incidents and accidents erupted in the world.

Today was no exception.

[As you can see, the herbicides are utterly ineffective…]

[Heroes capable of launching flames are desperately trying to burn the roots, but it’s not enough…]

[In City N, emergency response measures have been initiated, and all efforts are focused on resolving the incident—]

The head of the environmental protection organization, Flower, had infiltrated City N, which was now in chaos. The Eternal Tree, once the pride of the city, had begun to exhibit bizarre growth and abnormal behavior.

It was clear who the culprit was without needing to see. As far as I knew, there was only one person in that city with such abilities, and there was someone who witnessed Flower riding the Eternal Tree at that time.

The local government and heroes of City N appeared to be doing everything possible to resolve the situation, but Flower’s rampage, deemed nearly invincible due to her absurd powers, could not be easily stopped.

“If she keeps going like this, she might end up dead… Talk about guts.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim as I watched Flower wreak havoc on the news. In a world where villains could be executed on the spot with no objections, she was truly brave. How much human and property damage had she already caused?

At this point, even if she became the president of the world government, she couldn’t escape being labeled a villain. In fact, the association was already showing signs of designating her as one.

However, it wasn’t clear if she had enough power to commit such acts, and also, if she had such ability, she should rightfully hold a rank as an S-Class villain. They were merely hesitant to add another new S-Class villain to that notorious list.

“I should send some support too.”

I had a few ideas for herbicides that might work on the Eternal Tree, which was likely utilizing Flower’s powers, and as I was developing them, my smartphone started ringing uncontrollably.

Glancing at the screen, I saw a number I hadn’t saved. I thought it was a mistake call and ignored it, but the phone started ringing again. Only then was I sure it wasn’t a misdial and answered the call.

“Hello?”

[……Dr. Eight?]

“Who…?”

It was a voice that sounded somewhat familiar. As I pondered over the unfamiliar voice, I sensed a refreshing fragrance from the other end. The scent of nature, like the fresh smell of mint from the forest.

There could only be one person who could convey such a sensation over the phone. Someone like me, who had crossed over to this world. Especially if that person smelled like the forest…

“Dr. Aushilion?”

[You remember. That’s a relief.]

“How did you get my number?”

[I hacked the phone company. It wasn’t too difficult.]

“That doesn’t sound like something you should be saying so calmly…”

I gave a few awkward chuckles at Aushilion’s nonchalant reply about hacking the phone company, and she immediately got to the point as if time was of the essence.

[By the way, are you busy right now?]

“If I’m busy, then I’m busy, and if I’m free, then I’m free?”

[So that means you can spare some time. Good. Could you lend me a moment?]

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

[Something similar.]

Like an elder elf, Aushilion casually took my joke in stride and began explaining why she called me, having hacked the phone company.

[Are you interested in environmental protection?]

“……I had a bad experience with that recently, so I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

[Oh? How about the plan to create the biggest tree in the world?]

“Now that’s somewhat intriguing?”

[Come over.]

Squeak-

I heard her smirk through the phone.

[I’m in front of the building right now.]

I fell for it.

Like a fish caught on a hook, I left the laboratory after biting down on the bait she threw out. But I couldn’t just resist that.

How could I just ignore a plan to create the biggest tree in the world?

*

Slurp-.

The majestic scene of her sipping tea transformed the surroundings as if it were part of a commercial. Just that single act of slurping her tea turned this place into the most luxurious teahouse imaginable.

In reality, it was just another run-of-the-mill franchise café. Yet, people were captivated by her sipping a dark coffee. Even the staff seemed to scream, “Ouch, it’s hot!” in a delayed reaction.

“The tea isn’t bad.”

“The coffee is from beans, though.”

“Is that so? I’m old; I can’t distinguish well anymore.”

Aushilion, holding up the shield of her years, declared that coffee = tea as if it were an important point and then leisurely set down her teacup to look at me. Her eyes sparkled with the essence of nature.

No matter how many times I looked into those eyes, they never felt familiar. Perhaps it was simply because I had seen someone quite similar to her recently but found them to be 180 degrees different, thereby contrasting even further.

‘It doesn’t feel like she’s special because she’s an elf… but because she’s special as a person… It’s not like I can just go grab an elf and dissect them…’

As I savored the atmosphere that seemed to be more about her inherent abilities than mere characteristics of her species, I inadvertently caught her smiling subtly. She had the gaze of an elder looking down at someone younger.

When the soft corners of her eyes swept over me, I felt a sense of comfort as if I were embraced in a grandparents’ arms.

“So, you mentioned we should plant the biggest tree in the world—could it be one I know about?”

“What do you know?”

“Well, I have a vague idea.”

Seemingly confused, Aushilion tilted her head, but she quickly moved past her curiosity and pulled out a seed from her own pocket. It looked too large to be a tree seed, resembling more of some exotic fruit.

Carefully placing the seed on the table, Aushilion dusted it off gently and spoke.

“It’s the seed of the World Tree.”

“Just as I thought…!”

“Hmmm—so you’ve heard of it before? Are you also a traveler from another world like me?”

“Yes, well. That’s accurate.”

“You’re admitting that way too easily?”

Aushilion’s eyes sparkled with surprise as she examined me from head to toe. After all, meeting someone from another world couldn’t happen too easily, and even if it did, it was unlikely they would openly admit to being from another world.

In fact, until a few months ago, I had been avoiding revealing my identity at all costs. Even if it wasn’t for the Boss’s orders, I would still have kept my status as a traveler a secret.

However, now there was no need for that anymore.

“There’s no real risk in admitting it… above all, I trust Dr. Aushilion.”

“Oh? So I’m trustworthy, huh? I don’t think I’ve ever shown anything that inspires trust.”

“More accurately, I trust your superior.”

I smiled softly as I looked at her. Aushilion was a traveler from another world along with the dragon Hisberk. Like in many fantasy novels, the two were bound in a spiritual master-servant relationship, which had continued for centuries even after arriving in this world.

Aushilion had humbled her own honor and pride to work for Hisberk—meaning that breaking that contract was immensely difficult and there even existed absolute powers that maintained that bond.

After Hisberk had recently fought and lost against our organization, unfair contracts were established. Hence, even if Aushilion found out my true identity, it wouldn’t really pose a threat.

“That’s what happened.”

“……Another thing I didn’t know.”

“Well, moving on—what do you intend to do with the seed of the World Tree?”

If it could simply be planted and would grow, she wouldn’t have asked me for help. Clearly, both planting it and growing it required specific conditions.

Aushilion seemed to scan the area before carefully tapping the table twice. An invisible curtain enveloped us. The magical waves mainly used by Arima.

Once the surrounding sound was contained, Aushilion gazed back at the World Tree seed and spoke.

“This seed requires an immense life force to grow. For example, the life force possessed by a tree that has lived for over a thousand years.”

“……Are you saying…?”

“Exactly. I intend to replace the Eternal Tree with the World Tree.”

“But the Eternal Tree in City N is currently rampaging; it’s like a warzone!”

“That’s precisely why I came to find you.”

Aushilion spoke as if it were the most natural thing.

“You must have a few hidden tricks up your sleeve, don’t you? Evil Scientist.”

“……You’ve found me out.”

I flinched like a child hit on the mark.