Salty

“Wh-what in the world…”

Simurg-san muttered in a daze as he watched me pull out World Tree fruit one after another from my Storage Bag.

He looked completely like a giant bird, but his expressions were oddly rich, his movements comical.

“…”

When I took out another potted World Tree that had already begun to bear fruit, Simurg-san was struck completely speechless.

“T-to think you’d go this far beyond reason! Even among World Trees, the chance of bearing fruit is extremely low, and yet… why are all these little World Trees of yours producing fruit!?”

“Woody-sama, the Divine Beast just called you unreasonable… (whisper whisper).”

“A thousand platinum coins, two thousand, three thousand… oh, oh no, oh no (panicking).”

Behind me, Aira and Nadja were muttering to themselves.

They were both just saying whatever they pleased, not actually communicating.

But still, one fruit for a thousand platinum coins… and I could get more than ten in a single day… that meant daily earnings of ten thousand platinum coins…! Ha!

No, no, I couldn’t let myself think like that—my eyes had probably turned into coin marks already.

Out here in the wasteland, money was meaningless anyway. Best to put it out of mind for now.

I shelved the matter of money and set down the last potted World Tree.

“By the way, I can still increase the number of World Trees.”

“…”

“At the moment, the limit is four per day.”

“—Planting four World Trees a day isn’t even a matter of limits anymore!!”

Simurg-san pressed a wing to his brow, looking like he had a headache.

He then shook his head wearily and drooped.

What was wrong?

“Woody… no, I’ll say nothing more. In exchange for receiving one World Tree fruit each day, I will present you with monster meat and materials. And since that alone would still be unfair to you, if you decide on a place to live in this desert, I shall bestow my protection upon it and make it a true Sanctuary.”

According to Simurg-san, even Sanctuaries had ranks.

What I had created by overlapping Tree Barriers was only a provisional Sanctuary, the lowest rank.

The altars the church created were above that, but still second from the bottom.

Both were Sanctuaries in name only, their effects limited.

Tree Barriers only drove off monsters, while altars only allowed aptitudes to be granted.

But a Sanctuary granted protection by a Divine Beast was on an entirely different level.

A place under Simurg-san’s protection would become truly holy ground. Even in a desert, water would become plentiful, harvests would be abundant, monsters would no longer approach, and even ceremonies to grant aptitudes could be performed there.

“Still, if too many Sanctuaries are created, it could cause problems in centuries to come. So for now, I ask that you limit it to just one.”

“Amazing, Woody-sama! With this, the two of us can live happily in the desert together!”

“As expected of Woody! Then let’s hurry and find a place where the two of us can live out our lives!”

From my right, Nadja grabbed my shoulder. From my left, Aira did the same.

Ugh, their grips were so strong it felt like my shoulders would come off.

Turning back in near-tears, I saw sparks flying between the two of them.

“Hah? Nadja, you’re not needed here. Go home, marry that lord’s son, bear his children, and stay there forever.”

“What did you say!? How dare you speak so to me, the only daughter of House Tristan!”

“Oh, please. You cut ties, yet bring up your family name only when it’s convenient? That kind of vulgarity is exactly why Woody-sama didn’t take you with him.”

“You insolent flat-chested maid!”

“Shut up, you busty Sword Saint!”

“D-don’t give me weird nicknames!!”

“…”

I turned my face forward, saying nothing.

Simurg, crossing his wings deftly, nodded in sympathy.

“I feel for you.”

While I was having the rare experience of being pitied by a Divine Beast, the two girls finally released me.

The air was still so tense it felt like they might start fighting any second—but surely they weren’t that reckless… right?

Yeah, surely.

“Would you like some World Tree fruit?”

“I gratefully accept!!”

And so, I began traveling together with the Divine Bird Simurg-san.

As a token of friendship, we ate World Tree fruit together.

It was as delicious as ever… but for some reason, the fruit I ate for the first time in half a day tasted just a little salty.