Chapter 115

At long last, the Glasir tree had borne fruit.

Eight in total.

But the state of those fruits was…

One shaped like a star, one like a heart, one some bizarre, unidentifiable lump—and…

‘Why is that one so huge…?!’

The eighth fruit was the size of a pumpkin!

And every single one of them was golden. No matter how I looked at them, they didn’t seem edible.

‘There’s no way these are meant to be eaten. They’re probably potion ingredients… or useful for something else.’

Staring at the strange fruits, I activated my appraisal skill.

“…?”

You can eat it…?

That gold nugget-looking thing is edible? Seriously?!

‘Th-then what about the others?’

This time, I appraised the heart-shaped fruit.

“…….”

No, really…?

It was hard to believe, but… they really did seem to be edible.

Now that I knew they could be eaten, I was curious about the taste—but that wasn’t the urgent issue.

‘What about the ninth fruit? When on earth is it going to appear?!’

Ever since meeting the three goddesses who favored me, my overwhelming anxiety had eased. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The penalty for failing the Elixir crafting quest: someone’s death—and the reversal of fate.

‘The Elixir… I really wanted to make it today.’

Just as I reached out and placed my hand against the golden trunk, heart pounding—

—Yaaawn~ I slept well!

A voice rang out of nowhere.

“…?!”

Wh-what? I froze on instinct, startled out of my skin.

The voice continued to echo.

From inside my head.

—You’re the human who woke me up, right? Thanks!

“Uh… huh?”

“Muriel?”

“Master? What’s wrong?”

“J-just a second. Wait.”

I waved a hand at the two slaves, then focused on the voice again.

—Huh? You don’t know who I am?

The tone was innocent, like a child’s.

—It’s me, me! I’m right next to you!

‘Ah…?’

Right next to me?

‘Th-this… tree?’

—That’s right! Glasir! It’s me!

Good grief. The tree is talking.

—First time seeing a talking tree? Hmm~ Well, I suppose this isn’t the age of gods and heroes anymore…. I don’t hear the whispers of the nymphs either. They must have all returned to nature. …Hm? This aura is….

The golden leaves trembled slightly, and then a delighted voice followed.

—A spirit, huh? And there’s a descendant of a dragon too! And you’re a Purifier! What a colorful group, my friend!

The shimmering leaves swayed gently. Somehow, it felt like Glasir was smiling.

The gentle golden tree spoke warmly.

—Purifier friend, have you tried my fruit? It should be delicious! Go on, have a taste!

Hearing the tree itself—no, the tree in question—tell me to eat its fruit felt strangely awkward.

I forced an uneasy smile and asked politely,

“Are you sure I can eat it? I mean, the fruit is… part of you… right?”

—My friend, sprouting leaves, blooming flowers, bearing fruit—that’s what trees do! If a fruit tree doesn’t bear fruit, who will? Go on, eat it! That’s why I grew it!

Well… if it insisted like that, refusing would be rude.

After a brief hesitation, I pulled a pair of pruning shears from my inventory.

First, I carefully harvested the heart-shaped fruit.

Snip.

‘I-is this okay?’

For a split second, I even had the ridiculous thought—what if the tree feels pain?

But Glasir only hummed cheerfully.

—Hmm~ hm~ hmm-hmm~.

‘It seems happy.’

Apparently, it didn’t feel pain after all.

Relieved, I stepped back and put the shears away.

‘This fruit….’

I stared down at it in my palm. Firm, yet smooth to the touch.

When I brought it to my nose, a faint sweetness drifted up.

If not for the odd shape and color, it looked almost like an apple.

—Go on and eat it! Share some with the dragon’s descendant too!

“Oh—okay.”

At Glasir’s urging, I carried the fruit over to Lycian.

He and Ninabel were staring at me with puzzled expressions while I muttered to myself.

‘Oh right—I didn’t explain!’

I hurried to clarify.

“I was talking to this tree. It suddenly started communicating with me today. Weird, right?”

“It did seem that way. …And that fruit?”

“Um, it says it’s edible….”

I studied the golden fruit for a moment, then took a paring knife from my inventory and sliced it cleanly in half.

Two pieces of heart. I handed one to Lycian.

“You should try it too. Glasir says its fruit is incredibly delicious.”

“It looks like it would kill you if you ate it.”

“W-well, it looks that way, but it should taste good. Probably….”

There was no way my appraisal skill would scam me.

With a faint smirk, Lycian lifted the slice to his mouth.

I took a bite of mine as well.

And then—

“…!”

My eyes flew wide at the unexpected flavor.

“Mm—.”

It’s delicious?!

It was like… a mix between pineapple and apple.

The texture resembled an apple, but the bright tang of pineapple burst through.

And it was incredibly juicy. Each bite flooded my mouth so thoroughly it felt like the juice might spill over my lips.

‘This is seriously good…?’

Startled by the delightful surprise, I glanced at Lycian.

Even he wore a rare expression of genuine admiration.

“It’s good, isn’t it….”

“It is….”

When we finished, I actually felt a flicker of regret. I’d never had a fruit that made me want to keep eating until I was stuffed.

—Well? It’s tasty, right?

Glasir asked for my thoughts. I nodded enthusiastically.

“It’s really good. Sweet and refreshing….”

Maybe it was the fruit’s effect? My mood felt extraordinarily light.

‘Right now, I feel like I’d agree to anything Lycian asked for….’

…That’s dangerous.

—Hehe, hurry and harvest the rest! That way the ninth fruit can grow!

At that, my eyes widened.

“The ninth fruit only appears after I harvest all of these?”

—Yes. You didn’t know?

I didn’t…!

How would I know how to raise a legendary tree like Glasir?

In any case, now that I knew how to trigger the ninth fruit, I had to act immediately.

Gripping the pruning shears again, I harvested the remaining fruits one by one.

The two slaves offered to help, but I did it myself. There were only seven left anyway.

‘All done….’

I stored the harvested fruits in my inventory.

Rather than eating them ourselves, I planned to give them as gifts. To the Veratis Guild, perhaps—or members of the Imperial Family….

Just imagining their reactions made me feel proud already.

—Great! Now, would you splash me generously with fresh water?

Glasir’s voice rang out brightly.

Water supply? Easy. I grabbed the finest sprinkler in our farm and issued an order.

“Go! Ninabel! Water Glasir!”

“M-Master~! You’re handling me roughly for the first time in a while! I love it~!!”

The masochistic water Poké—no, spirit—shot straight toward Glasir.

Spinning through the air like she was dancing, she doused the tree thoroughly.

—What a peculiar spirit. She likes being handled roughly.

“…….”

At Glasir’s oddly impressed remark, I felt embarrassed for some reason.

Anyway, after watering—

—Now divine power! A lot, a lot!

The tree certainly knew what it wanted. I immediately stepped closer and used Sacred Touch on Glasir.

And then—

—Wonderful! The ninth fruit will appear very soon!

Glasir swayed from side to side and grew slightly taller than before.

And maybe it was my imagination… but unlike earlier, it now seemed tinged with a subtle crimson glow.

—Thank you, Muriel! Thanks to you, I think I can bear the finest fruit possible!

‘Oh….’

The finest fruit? Could I dare hope for extraordinary effects?

Before long, at the very tip of a branch stretching high into the sky, a luscious golden fruit began to form.

At the sight, my eyes sharpened and my fists clenched tight.

‘Finally…!’

The last ingredient for the Elixir!