A New Power

The girls’ verbal battle lasted for over an hour before ending in a draw.

For the time being, the two reconciled, and together we continued onward.

Simurg-san, meanwhile, was flying outside the barrier.

Or perhaps “floating” was the better word?

Either way, he seemed to be matching his pace to ours.

“If we’re going to make a Sanctuary, we should probably head a good distance farther.”

“Yes. This is abandoned land outside any domain, so it’s unlikely the duke’s private soldiers would come here… but we should stay cautious.”

“Doesn’t it depend on how wide a Sanctuary actually is?”

“Oh, that’s true. Simurg-san, how big does a Sanctuary get?”

“That is for me, the Divine Beast guardian of the Sanctuary, to decide freely. The last one I made encompassed an entire city of a million.”

A city of a million…? So once a Sanctuary was set, its size could be expanded as much as needed.

Of course, nobody would ever bring a million people to a desert, so size probably wasn’t much of an issue here.

“However, once an area becomes a Sanctuary, it usually remains so for quite some time. You must keep that in mind in case of disputes over land.”

I see… then we should press farther in while we can.

In these turbulent times, you never knew who might seize your land.

Come to think of it, we’d traveled quite a distance already, yet hadn’t made contact with any locals.

It would be good to eventually establish clear boundaries for living space.

…Oh right, I’d forgotten.

With Nadja happy at our reunion and sharing fruit with Simurg-san, I had gained more Smile Points.

Probably enough to level up by now.

Yes, just as I thought.

Time to raise the level.

Each level-up seemed to come with some sort of bonus.

Before sunset, after settling on a campsite, I activated Tree Planting.

I planted three trees a short distance away from the barrier, enough not to interfere.

As expected, leveling up granted me a new skill.

But… a new tree?

Feeling a little nervous, I activated Tree Planting again.

That part was the same.

I tapped “Yes” as usual.

But instead of choosing a location immediately, new words appeared.

The list of plantable trees had increased!?

So that’s what “new tree” meant!

I could always store them in the Storage Bag later, so for now, let’s try planting.

There were some I didn’t recognize, but… let’s start with peaches and apples.

Also, does this mean the World Tree counts as a fruit tree? Somehow that classification felt strange.

I selected a spot and pressed “Yes.”

Smaller than the World Trees I’d planted before, new saplings popped up from the ground.

“S-something just sprouted!? Woody-sama, what did you do this time?”

That was harsh.

I was just testing out my new ability.

Now I could plant fruit trees.

“A new power… this tree, I think I’ve seen it before…”

“This is an apple tree. One of my favorite fruits, so I remember it well,” Simurg-san said.

As expected of a Divine Beast who had lived so long—he was very knowledgeable.

Maybe he knew about the other trees I didn’t recognize?

“What, pears, mulberries, and persimmons too? When we create the Sanctuary, plant plenty of them!”

Apparently pears and persimmons bore large fruits like apples and peaches.

Pears were often used like apples, while persimmons, like peaches, were eaten once ripened.

Personally, I liked firm peaches, so maybe I’d prefer firmer persimmons as well.

Mulberries and chestnuts, meanwhile, yielded smaller fruits but in abundance.

Eaten individually they weren’t much, but gathered in piles they could be devoured to satisfaction.

Mulberries could be boiled with sugar into jam, and chestnuts roasted with sugar on hot stones or made into sweets.

Slurp… I heard Nadja and Aira drooling.

Girls sure loved sweets.

Of course, I did too.

“Mulberries… I recall they were useful in various ways in the human world. Hmm, what was it…”

Simurg-san frowned in thought, but couldn’t recall.

“I can’t remember! Even a Divine Beast can’t escape the limits of age, hah hah hah!”

I didn’t really get it, but if he was happy, that was fine.

So Divine Beasts forgot things too.

Somehow, that made him feel more familiar.

Anyway, fruit trees meant more than just food. If they grew properly, they could be used as timber as well.

In a desert where wood was scarce, that could be valuable for trade.

“Come to think of it, even in the desert these apple trees haven’t withered.”

Nadja’s words jolted me.

World Trees had thrived in the desert too, so I’d stopped questioning it.

But logically, trees needed water.

Wouldn’t they normally just die here?

Yet these showed no sign of wilting.

An hour later—

“H-how is this possible…? They’re already bearing apples!”

Apparently my Tree Planting ignored such concerns.

Relieved, I noted the trees grew even without water.

“It’s a relief I don’t need to water them myself,” Aira said.

“And peaches too? Farming peaches seems easy,” Nadja said.

“No, no! Normally peach trees need to grow first, and only yield once a year! Why do you all act like this is normal!?”

Simurg-san was stunned.

But really… the World Tree bore fruit daily.

Compared to that, peaches and apples bearing in an hour didn’t seem strange at all.

Nadja and Aira nodded firmly at my explanation.

“C-could it be that I’m the one who’s wrong here…? Hm…”

As Simurg-san puzzled, we decided to harvest.

The apple and peach trees each bore five fruits.

We picked one each, washed them lightly, and took a bite.

“““U…unbelievably delicious!!!”””