Chapter 94: Stirring at the News

Chapter 94: Stirring at the News

Two nights later, as soon as Bran entered the dining hall, he saw Heavy Axe, Aisa’s wife, and her daughter. The little girl was smiling at him from across the table. Seeing the cleaver and iron hook at the little girl’s feet, Bran also smiled happily.

He waved at the little girl. She ran over to him happily. “You didn’t tell me your name last time.”

“Angie.”

“Did you miss me?”

“Yes! And I want to hear more stories.”

Bran decided to tease the little girl. “Look, your mother has a famous title, ‘Heavy Axe’. Actually, we all know that’s not her real name. But after so many years, now everyone, including your mother, only recognizes the title ‘Heavy Axe’. So, we should also build a famous title from a young age, right?”

The little girl nodded with agreement and longing, saying loudly, “Right!”

Bran looked at her hopeful eyes and said, “How about the title ‘Cook’?”

“Good! I’ll be called Cook from now on.” Angie’s face was full of determination and excitement.

Bran patted the little girl’s head. It looked a bit funny. A small boy was patting the head of a girl who was taller and stronger than him. Although Bran had grown noticeably taller recently, his original foundation was quite thin. So, it would still take some time for him to catch up to his peers, not to mention Angie who was two years older than him.

“I’m going to eat now. You can come play at the Mountain Villa sometime.”

“Mhm.”

…

This winter was bound to be lively. The news of the Fairies’ return had spread throughout the Northlands. Top figures from all over the Northlands, big and small, began gathering at the Castle. In previous years, after winter set in, many would return to their own territories to hunker down for the winter. This year, they all stubbornly stayed at the Castle.

The people who arrived one after another gradually filled the Castle. Among them were many underage children. So, during the day, the Castle echoed with the laughter and play-fighting of children. Little Fairies also began to occasionally show themselves, playing with these children.

Several Old Fairies also came to the Castle. They decided to create a story that would be passed down through the ages, a moving tale that Fairies and Northlanders would sing about for generation after generation. Then, Bran discovered a ridiculous truth: when these Old Fairies shouted, they were no quieter than the Northlanders.

Bran’s current situation was a bit awkward. Although he had completed his Trial, traditionally he should be considered an adult. But the people in the Castle clearly weren’t ready to treat him as an adult yet. Even though no one dared ignore or provoke him now, they still grouped him with the children. Bran didn’t like this treatment. And Bran, who was already used to being alone, liked the overly noisy environment even less. So, most of the time, he hid in the Mountain Villa, constantly polishing his skills.

Initially, the Fairies didn’t hope to form a union with the Northlanders again. They only realized, after observing Bran, that he was very friendly towards Fairies. So, the Fairies activated Bran’s Mana, hoping that this Little Wizard would return the favor and help them settle some Little Fairies.

But Bran’s ambitions were bigger than they thought. He believed the Northlanders’ external Mana had only degenerated, not completely disappeared. Like rarely used muscles, with proper guidance and training, some ability to move could be recovered. During the few days he spent with his cousin in the ancient forest, when their guard wasn’t too high, Bran tested some of his ideas.

After returning to the Castle, Bran tried to create a Mana environment, and by accident, he sped up this process. Without realizing it, Bran used everyone as experimental guinea pigs. Fortunately, the experiment was successful.

The main reason Fairies and Northlanders couldn’t restore communication was that the Northlanders had lost their ability to project Mana externally. Without external Mana, the Fairies couldn’t activate the Northlanders’ Mana vitality by first activating their external Mana. Now that this foundation was regained, everyone could happily play together again.

Bran knew his mission was over. His role as a bridge was finished. This could be seen from how few people paid him any attention now. He was sitting in the Courtyard, holding onto Danny, lamenting the decline of morals and the worsening state of the world.

The Little Fairies around Bran, under the orders of the Old Fairies, left him one by one. Now, only the two children of the Whisper family remained in Bran’s Mana Web. As for how to build a closer relationship with the Northlands, the Old Fairies and the people in the Castle were making plans. Meanwhile, his mother, as a representative of the Western Territory, was temporarily at odds with his father. What comforted Bran was that his parents hadn’t yet resorted to a full-on fight.

Whisper appeared before Bran, handing him a tree seed with a smile on his face. Bran subconsciously caught it in his hand. He was about to crack it like a sunflower seed when the Old Fairy roughly stopped him.

“This seed can grow into a towering tree.”

“Mhm, and then?”

“You can plant it in the Courtyard.”

Bran said with annoyance, “This is my home, not yours.”

Whisper showed no embarrassment. “It is our shared home.”

“Who will live here?”

“Me.”

“Sigh, then this isn’t a home. It’s your eternal resting place.”

“You can tell?”

“Yes, you are too weak.”

After a brief silence, Bran suddenly asked a different question. “What’s the ending of the story?”

“I will become the Guardian of the pact between Fairies and Northlanders. I will transform into an Ancient Tree, taking root in Bran Manor in front of the Castle.”

Bran laughed. “Since my name is in the legend, I’ll let you spend your old age here peacefully.”

With those words, Bran threw the seed into the center of the Courtyard. Then, to Bran’s astonishment, the seed sprouted, took root, and rapidly grew into a Little Tree at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, Whisper flew into the tree and disappeared. The Little Tree began to grow wildly. In the blink of an eye, the trunk stretched out of the Courtyard, and its branches spread out around it like an umbrella.

“Hey, come out for a moment. How did you do that?”

“We Fairies aren’t as useless as you imagine.”

“Boasting. If you were truly that powerful, your home in the ancient forest wouldn’t have shrunk. Tell the truth, what’s really going on?”

“One of the Ancient Trees, we transformed it back into a seed. This seed contains most of its life force.”

“I have a feeling you had your eye on the Meteorite Fragment in the Mountain Villa.”

“Consider it borrowing a little of its light. You just leave it sitting here anyway.”

Bran said with a bitter smile, “I regret it. This isn’t borrowing light. You’ve seized the rights of half the owner.”

Ever since the Ancient Tree began to spread out, Bran felt the Mountain Villa had swallowed something it couldn’t digest. The flow of Mana became sluggish. But he didn’t want to interfere with the tree’s growth. So, he suppressed the Mana Fluctuation of the Mountain Villa, avoiding a clash of Mana with the tree.

Whisper landed on Bran’s shoulder, leaning against his neck, and laughed. “It’s too late to regret now.”

“No regrets. At least we have firewood for the future,” Bran joked.

“Place your hand on the tree trunk. Experience it slowly.”

Bran obediently placed his hand against the tree trunk. Then, the World around him disappeared. A huge tree composed of countless Mana Starlight occupied his entire Spiritual World. Several massive clusters of stars were arranged in a sequence, forming the tree’s trunk. Countless points of light revolved around them, taking the shape of a tree. Mana filled these points of light, becoming bark, becoming leaves…

Bran slowly experienced it, learned from it. The tree in his Spiritual World began to shrink. The entire Mountain Villa, with the tree at its center, gradually entered his Spiritual World, starting to merge with this great tree. Countless points of Starlight gradually spread throughout the Manor.

Withdrawing from his Spiritual World, Bran felt that he too was composed of countless points of Starlight. When he looked at Huahua beside him, he could even see the Black Cat radiating endless light. He let out a long breath and whispered to himself, “An interesting experience.”