6. The Seed of the Spirit Tree

The morning of the day after our break, I had another mana pool-growing tea party with Lord Glen. Today’s main treat was pancakes covered in cream, so he taught me utensil etiquette. You held the knife in your right hand and the fork in your left, and cut things into bite-sized pieces before eating them.

I had a lot of trouble, since I wasn’t used to it. But when I managed to bring it to my mouth, the sweetness of the cream and the fluffiness of the pancakes spread around my mouth, and it was delicious. Is eating yummy things really necessary for growing your mana pool? Without the [Appraisal] Skill, I couldn’t tell if it was doing anything. I could have asked Lord Glen to use his on me, but asking a nationally-recognized Appraiser to do it was far too scary, so I didn’t.

In the afternoon, after our lunch, Lord Tris came with an old scroll and a dictionary.

“Last time, you created seeds that you saw in your book. If you can do that, you might be able to make extinct or fictional seeds after looking at documents that describe them!” Saying that, he unrolled the scroll on the table before me. On it were pictures of a big tree and leaves, and letters that I’d never seen before.

“What does it say?”

“Apparently it described the World Tree in ancient script,” he answered, flipping through the dictionary to translate every character.

Lord Glen got up off the sofa, walking up to our table. He took a look at the old scroll and said, “...This isn’t about the World Tree, but Spirit Trees.”

“Huh? Spirit Trees? Wait, forget that, you can read ancient script!?”

“Yeah, thanks to my Skill.”

Maybe his [Appraisal] Skill let him read things like this. Lord Tris just dropped his dictionary hearing this apparently shocking revelation.

“If you can understand ancient script, you’d be able to read the murals on the temple’s walls, or the stone monuments around the border...” he muttered quickly, staring into the void. Since it wasn’t his usual slow tone, I didn’t catch a word of it.

“Spirit Trees are ‘Trees that birth Spirits who can cleanse the miasma,’ or so it says,” Lord Glen continued, completely ignoring Lord Tris’ outburst. “They can be duplicated through cuttings from the Origin Spirit Tree, and the leaves can be used for mana potions, while the trunks keep the miasma away.”

A tree that births Spirits—that’s just like the “Fairy Story” book I borrowed! Tree cuttings were when you removed branches or stems from a tree and planted them directly in the earth to make more trees. The old gardener had done it a lot.

“It also says that the Origin Spirit Tree was burnt in a mountain fire long ago, so they don’t exist anymore.”

“Does it say anything about the seeds?” I asked.

“Nothing on here, no.”

Up until now, I’d memorized what seeds and grown plants were like in reality or my book, and only been able to summon those ones I knew. If it didn’t say anything about the seed, I didn’t know if I’d be able to create it.

“Chelsea, your Skill is to create the seeds you wish for. You might be able to do it if you wish, even without seeing anything about it.”

“If I wish... Okay. I’ll look closely at what’s on the scroll first.”

I examined how the old scroll illustrated the leaves and twigs, and how it looked as it grew. I also asked Lord Glen what exactly was written in the annotations, and learned about everything but the seeds.

“Okay, I’ll try to make it now!”

You never know what you can do until you try. This is for investigating my skill, anyway. I clasped my hands in front of me in a prayer-like fashion, before whispering: “I want to make a Spirit Tree seed — [Seed Creation]!”

Right after I cast it, something rolled onto the old scroll, making a bigger thunk than usual. It looked like a clear glass orb, just a bit bigger than my fist. A size I could hide in my hands.

“Hah...! You actually made a Spirit Tree seed!? Wait, it looks like a marble.” Lord Tris had still been staring into space and muttering while Lord Glen and I were talking, but he came back to his senses when I made the seed, going back to his usual calm tone. He looked at the clear orb from different angles, while Lord Glen’s eyes widened in shock.

“How did it go?” I asked timidly.

Lord Glen covered his mouth, and said, “My [Appraisal] is showing it as a ‘Spirit Tree Seed.’”

“Wooooh!” Lord Tris cheered excitedly, and went to touch it, but Lord Glen grabbed his hand to stop him.

“Its full name is ‘The Spirit Tree Seed That Chelsea Created,’ and the notes say, ‘Only Chelsea should touch it. Quickly dig a hole in a sunny, large space near Chelsea and bury it’...”

My jaw dropped, not understanding what was happening. We all seemed to be at a loss for words, but after a bit, Lord Glen broke the silence.

“The best spot near Chelsea would be outside this lab. Let’s bury it there,” he said. I nodded in response.

＋＋＋

“Okay, we’ve got permission,” Lord Glen announced as he re-entered the room. We could do whatever we wanted in my personal lab, but we needed permission from the higher-ups like the Chief to do anything outside.

“Let’s go plant it, then!” Saying that, Lord Tris grabbed the scroll and opened the door leading outside from the lab. Outside was just a patch of lawn that was about the size of my room.

“Plant it as far away from the building as you can.”

“How about here?” Lord Tris pointed to a spot about three carriage-lengths away from the building.

“That should be good.”

“I’ll dig a hole, then — [Earth Magic]!”

With a rumble, a hole big enough to put the Spirit Tree seed in opened in the ground. It was the first time I saw [Earth Magic] used. It really did seem quite useful for field work, and fun!

“‘Kay, drop the seed in here. Since it says ‘bury’ rather than ‘plant,’ I made it a bit deeper than usual!”

“Alright.” Nodding to Lord Tris, I walked to the hole and dropped the glass orb-like Spirit Tree Seed inside. It looks really deep...

“I’ll bury it now — [Earth Magic]!” The moment he cast it, the hole closed in on itself with a glub.

We stared at the little mound of dirt left for a while.

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to sprout immediately,” I murmured, and the two men nodded in response. The notes in the [Appraisal] were strange, so we all seemed to have misunderstood.

But just as we were about to leave, the ground began to shake. I almost fell from the sudden movement, but Lord Glen caught me. I was shocked to be held like a princess.

“Thank yo—!?”

When I tried to thank him, something sprouted from the ground with a big roar. It was clear like glass, just like the seed had been, and it sparkled. Once it grew to about my height, it started sprouting leaves. Instead of growing to a sapling, it seemed to have skipped right to a tree.

I clung to Lord Glen in shock, while Lord Tris went to work comparing the leaves and things to what was illustrated on the scroll.

“The leaves are the same shape as what’s drawn here. But they’re clear like glass.”

Lord Glen was just staring at the tree... He was probably using [Appraisal].

“It says that it’s the ‘Origin Spirit Tree,’” he announced.

“But the Origin Spirit Tree doesn’t exist anymore...”

“It means you made a new one, Chelsea.” He softly smiled at me from close enough that our noses nearly touched. His angelic smile was right in front of my eyes... Wait, he’s still holding me!? When I started panicking, he gently set me back down on the ground.

“T-T-thank, you...!” I managed to blurt out, which just made him smile wider as he pat my head.

Lord Tris was completely ignoring us, examining the Spirit Tree. “That’s weird... Didn’t the scroll say it’s supposed to birth Spirits?”

“Yeah, it did, but it didn’t say how.”

“So we’re gonna have to just watch and wait, huh...”

Lord Glen nodded. After that, we stood there until dusk, but nothing else happened that day.

＋＋＋

The next morning, I headed towards the lab with a restless Lord Tris. Opening the door, the room was dark, not at all like usual. This room is supposed to get the most sunlight in the whole Institute... This is strange. Thinking that as I stepped farther inside, I saw that Lord Glen was standing at the window. And beyond him... The outside scenery was all green. I blinked in surprise.

“Good morning, Chelsea. It was already like this when I got here.”

“Good morning, Lord Glen... It’s gotten really big overnight, huh.”

Walking outside, I could see that it had grown to the second story of the Institute. When I looked up, I saw something sparkle. Just as I was thinking I imagined it, something fell fast from above, stopping just before it hit the ground.

What had fallen was a translucent man wearing a light cloth around him, and he was floating. He was inhumanly beautiful, with big earrings that looked like the Spirit Tree’s leaves hanging from his ears, and a jingly-looking necklace on his neck. His hair was long enough to reach the ground. Since he’s see-through and floating, he can’t be a human... Right?

While I stood there dumbfounded, the translucent man stared not at my face, but the spot above my head.

“It seems that you are the one who birthed me. You should do.”

After nodding to himself, the translucent man snapped his fingers. Suddenly, I couldn’t hear anything. No sound of the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees, no far off voices, nothing. I looked around in shock, only to see that Lord Glen and Lord Tris were frozen in place.

“According to the reason of the world, time must be stopped when contracts are made,” the man explained, grabbing my right hand.

“I am Element, King of the Spirits. Here, I will make a contract with thee.”

As he said that, my thumbnail sparkled. Then, the transparent man snapped his fingers again, and the sound came back.

“Refer to me as ‘Ele’ from now on,” Lord Ele whispered, and there was a sudden gust of wind. It was so strong that I had to close my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again, he was gone.

“H-Huh? He’s gone. What was that?” Lord Tris gasped.

“It seems we’ve made a contract.” I explained what had just happened to both Lord Glen and Lord Tris.

Lord Glen looked above my head, furrowing his brow. “It’s true, you did make a contract with the spirit. Your occupation now shows as ‘The Spirit King’s Contractor.’”

Lord Tris’ eyes went wide at Lord Glen’s explanation.

“The notes say he’s ‘summonable near the Spirit Tree.’ Want to try?”

“Okay.” Nodding to him, I whispered, “Lord Ele, are you there?”

The next instant, a fluffy silver kitten appeared floating in front of me with a gentle gust of wind. The kitten, just big enough to fit in both of my hands, looked at me and said, «My beloved master, you may just call me Ele.» Its voice was the same deep one as the transparent man’s.

Almost sucked in by him, I slowly grabbed kitten Ele in my hands and yelled, “He’s so cute!” His fluffy kitten fuzz, his almost liquid-like soft body...

Back at the Eucharis manor, I’d seen kittens from the garden, but I’d never touched one before.

“He’s so soft and fluffy~!” I pet him all over in a trance.

«L-Let’s stop there! I am the King of Spirits, you know...!»

I could hear him, but he was just so cute and fuzzy that I couldn’t stop.

«Wa— Lady Chelsea...! Not my tummy, sto-stoppppp...»

A while later, the kitten-form Spirit was breathing heavily, exhausted.

After that, we went back to the lab to talk. Inside, it was still dark from the shade of the grown Spirit Tree.

“...It’s dark.”

“I thought we’d planted it far enough from the building, but... I didn’t think it’d get this big.”

Kitten Ele’s ears twitched as Lord Glen and I spoke. «Hmm... I will dispel the illusion during the day.»

Suddenly, the room got brighter. Looking outside, the green leaves and brown trunk of the Spirit Tree were going clear like glass, sparkling like it had the day before. The room might have even been brighter than it was before.

As I was thinking that while I held Kitten Ele, there was a knock on the door. Gina came in, pushing her cart. Oh, that’s right. It’s just about time for our mana pool-growing tea party.

“Let’s talk while we have our tea,” Lord Glen said.

Hearing his words, Lord Tris looked as if he’d just remembered something. “I wanna hear it, too! Lemme just go get the Chief’s permission!” he yelled as he ran from the room.

Gina pushed the cart to the table, but froze when she looked at me. Looking closer, she was staring at Ele in his kitten form. For a moment, she had an enchanted smile on her face, before she went back to her usual serious look and started setting the table.

A white table cloth, delicious-looking sweets on trays, a teapot, and cups. It was pretty how she did it all so quickly without any wasted movements. When she was finished, she moved to the edge of the room. I could see her eyes were still on kitten Ele, so she must have liked cats.

“Let’s start our tea party first. We can talk when Tris gets back,” Lord Glen said with a soft smile, gently pushing my back.

I was about to sit down on my cushioned seat, but then I realized, “Um, would it be bad manners to eat while holding Ele?”

“Hmm. There are some people who eat with their pets in their laps at unofficial events, but in your case, since you’re learning manners, you should put him down.”

“Okay,” I replied with a nod, before looking down at Ele.

«I’ll sit on the sofa,» he said, jumping from my arms. Then, he tottered over to the sofa and went to jump...and missed. «This body is too small, I can’t reach...!»

He was so small he fit on my palms, after all. Just as I was about to go help, Gina did instead. Gently picking him up, she set him back down on the sofa. Her eyes were sparkling, but she quickly put her work face back on as she moved back to the wall.

“Let’s eat.”

Sitting in my chair, I said a prayer to the earth gods. I’m gonna start with this jiggly flan! It jiggled just like jelly did, but the flavor was completely different.

“...Mmmmm!”

It was so delicious, I couldn’t even form words. I blushed, embarrassed, but Lord Glen just smiled happily from his spot opposite me.

“Looks like the flan is your favorite, Chelsea.”

Lord Glen looked towards Gina, who nodded in agreement.

“...Yes, it does.”

Sometimes I saw them conversing without words. Is this a special Skill? I kept eating my flan as I wondered. Once I finished my flan and was asking about the other sweets’ names, Lord Tris came back.

“Sorry I took so long.” His white robe was covered in dirt. He must have gone to check the fields.

“Since Tris is here, let’s get to the explanation,” Lord Glen said as Lord Tris sat down in an empty chair. Our eyes all fell on Kitten Ele, curled up on the sofa. Seemingly sensing our gazes, he sat up.

«Firstly, I thank you deeply for recreating the Origin Spirit Tree,» he started, before bowing towards me. The little kitty is bowing, how cute! Gina’s eyes were sparkling again, so I wasn’t the only one thinking it.

“Um... Can I ask something?” Lord Tris raised his hand. “All I can hear is meowing. What’s he saying?”

I was hearing the same deep voice I heard from him in his spirit form, but maybe other people couldn’t hear him at all.

«In this form, only my contractor and those with certain Skills can hear my voice.»

“Oh...” After that, I started repeating what Ele said in kitten form.

«Spirits are beings who come to this world via the Spirit Trees to cleanse the miasma.»

“The old scroll said that, too,” Lord Tris mumbled as he frantically transcribed every word that Ele spoke.

«Miasma is something that kills plants, pollutes water, and drives humans and animals mad.»

“That’s really dangerous, isn’t it?” I asked, and Ele nodded in response.

«I want to send more Spirits to this world to cleanse the miasma, but that will require planting more Spirit Trees. And Spirit Trees can only be grown from cuttings from the Origin Tree.»

I nodded along, since that’s what the scroll said, too.

«And the only one who can do cuttings is the one contracted to me, the Spirit King.»

“Huh?”

«Among those present, Lady Chelsea was the most suitable. That is why I entered a contract with her.»

There’s nothing we could do if that was the reasoning. Both Lord Glen and Lord Tris had indescribable looks on their faces.

«Please, spread the Spirit Trees. You can begin after the Origin Spirit Tree grows further,» said Ele, bowing deeply once again.

“I can’t do it right now, since my Skill is being researched, but if it’s okay to do it when I find time...”

He nodded at my answer.

“I need to report this to the higher-ups. Let’s skip the afternoon experiments for today.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll go tell the Chief,” Lord Tris said, rushing out of the room.

Lord Glen and I stood up at the same time.

“I’ll bring you back to the lodging house,” he said with his usual gentle smile.

But what would Ele do? I thought. “Wanna come back to my room with me, Ele?”

«I cannot move far from the Spirit Tree yet.»

“Okay... See you tomorrow,” I said, leaving the lab with Lord Glen.