Transference

“Hey, Cindy, I… I think I love you…”

“Brad, I… I feel the same way…”

“Huh!? Where am I?”

My vision went dark, and just as my consciousness returned, I found myself standing beneath the World Tree.

“Woody-sama!?” the two of them exclaimed at once.

“Ah, hello there. Sorry for interrupting such a lovely moment,” I said, bowing lightly.

“N-no, not at all!”

“W-we’ll… uh, make up for it later, so please don’t mind us!”

Waving at the flustered pair as they stumbled over their words, I started walking away.

(It seems the Tree-to-Tree Transference skill really does let me teleport just as I imagined… Oh, looks like about thirty points disappeared.)

For reference, here’s what my current tree status looked like:

Apparently, using Tree-to-Tree Transference consumed Smile Points.

Fortunately, I still had plenty left, so I tried using the skill again, setting a nearby tree as the destination—but it didn’t work.

After waiting for a while, I tried again, and this time it worked.

It seemed that once used, the ability required about five minutes to recharge before it could be used again.

A cooldown period, huh? I’d have to be careful about when to use it.

Interestingly, the second time I used the transference, it only consumed five points.

So, it looked like the Smile Points consumed were proportional to the distance traveled.

With this, I could move almost instantly between Tree Village and any new Sanctuary Wheel-san created.

I generally intended to travel together with everyone, but this meant I could avoid sleeping in a sleeping bag during our desert journeys and return home for a proper night’s rest.

And in emergencies, I could now rush over immediately as the person in charge. That gave me some peace of mind—though, of course, it would be best if nothing ever happened.

However, it seemed that the Tree-to-Tree Transference only allowed me to move alone.

(Still, given how my other skills evolved, it was entirely possible additional functions would unlock later.)

If I ended up transferring into a dangerous area, I’d have to handle things by myself—that’d be rough. And being ambushed would be even worse.

Honestly, I doubted I could last even five minutes alone.

Convenient as it was, the ability came with restrictions, so I’d have to be cautious.

I could’ve gone straight back, but for some reason, I decided to take a short walk.

When I turned around, I saw the very World Tree I had planted when I first arrived.

Unlike the other fruit trees that had hardly grown, the World Tree was steadily and rapidly growing taller.

When Aira and I first planted it, it had been small enough to fit in a flowerpot and be carried around. But now, it had already grown larger than the mansion itself.

At this rate, it might soon surpass Shekuri-san’s grand church-like House Tree, the largest structure in Tree Village.

If it kept growing indefinitely, perhaps one day it would become a massive World Tree like the ones from fairy tales.

Still, there were already quite a few World Trees in Tree Village, and if they all grew that big, there wouldn’t be much room left for people to live.

(But that rumor… it was true, after all.)

Once a World Tree reached a certain size, it began to emit a faint glow.

While a Light Tree shone brightly enough to illuminate the night road just by being nearby, the World Tree’s glow was softer and gentler.

Because of that, it created a calm and romantic atmosphere.

Apparently, among the young men and women of Tree Village, spending time flirting beneath a glowing World Tree had become something of a trend.

Maybe I should invite someone next time… like Nadja, perhaps.

—And then, the image of Aira’s demon-like face flashed across my mind, so I decided I’d better invite Aira too.

A light that sets the mood, huh…

Now that I looked at it, I could see how it might feel a bit… sensual.

No, no, bad thoughts—begone!

Shaking off such distractions, I decided to return to Nadja and the others.