“If you have something to say, leave it for tomorrow. It would be better for you to rest tonight.”
Though his words might have sounded cold, Sedina only smiled faintly.
She knew well enough that Ludger was saying it out of concern for her.
“I don’t think I’ll have the chance tomorrow.”
At those words, Ludger turned his gaze from the window and looked back at Sedina.
“Sit down.”
The two sat facing each other.
In the quiet room, Ludger and Sedina remained silent for a while.
It felt like each was yielding to the other to speak first, or perhaps they were simply sorting out their thoughts on what to say.
The silence, which seemed like it could stretch on forever, was finally broken by Sedina.
“First, I want to thank you.”
She bowed her head deeply.
“The fact that I’m here now is all thanks to you, Professor Ludger.”
“It’s thanks to everyone. I couldn’t have saved you alone.”
“Of course, I’m grateful to the others as well. But it was you who brought everyone together.”
“Perhaps so. But there was one person who came to me first with that request. Both I and Hans, and even Alex, received his help.”
“Who was that?”
“Walter Roschen.”
Sedina’s eyes widened. She had not expected that name.
“That cold man bowed his head to me personally, asking me to save you.”
“Father...”
To Sedina, her father Walter was still a complicated figure.
After losing her mother, she had hated him.
After everything that had happened, her feelings had changed somewhat.
She had met her mother again, and from her mother she had heard what kind of man her father truly was.
But even so, the resentment could not vanish all at once.
Though weaker than before, Sedina still hated Walter.
The wounds etched into the heart remained far deeper and longer than any wounds of the flesh.
Even if he claimed it was for her sake, Walter’s actions had been unilateral, ignoring her own wishes.
To hurt someone under the pretense of protecting them—could that ever be justified?
At least Sedina did not think so.
But when she thought back, hadn’t she also pushed Julia away for the very same reason?
“Do you still hate him?”
At Ludger’s question, Sedina gave a small nod.
She hated her father. And she despised herself as well.
Seeing her sink into gloom, Ludger carefully spoke.
“As an outsider, I have no right to say much. In the end, this is something only you and your father can resolve together.”
“...I suppose so.”
“But at the very least, I can tell you what I saw for certain. Walter Roschen swore that if you were brought back safely, he would give a reward in return.”
“...That sounds just like Father. Worldly as ever.”
Was it insincere, or just the businessman in him speaking?
Walter had put forth material things as compensation.
“Yes. A worldly man indeed. And do you know what he offered as that reward?”
“Money, I assume.”
“A vast sum. Because he did not hesitate to declare he would hand over his entire company.”
“What...!”
His entire company?
Sedina knew how hard Walter had worked to build it up.
And yet he said he would give all of that up for her sake?
Sedina clenched her fist.
Her mother had said the same.
Walter did care for her.
There could be no lie in that.
“Even if you say so, I still don’t know. It was so hard for me. I had to spend years alone.”
Her mind could understand, but her heart could not accept it.
“No matter how much I try to understand, the feelings built up over years don’t settle so easily.”
“I know this isn’t something that can be resolved quickly. I won’t force reconciliation. What matters in the end is your own heart.”
No words now could move Sedina’s heart.
Even so—
“But someday, you will have to face him and talk it out. If you miss that chance, it will remain in your heart for life.”
“...Have you experienced something like that yourself, Professor?”
“Every word I speak comes from what I have lived and felt.”
His expression as he said that carried a faint trace of sorrow.
“People always regret too late. They realize only after it’s gone beyond reach that the present moment was truly precious. And then they ask themselves, ‘Why did I do that?’ Regret builds, and something heavy settles in the heart. That weight grows, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° bit by bit, as you go on living.”
Again and again.
Until one day, when the weight becomes too much to bear.
The heart cracks under it.
“Sedina. I don’t want you to regret.”
“...So that’s why.”
Why Ludger never wasted a single moment.
Why he lived every second to the fullest.
It was all for that reason.
“I’ve brought up a heavy topic. Let’s move to something else. What about this new power you awakened?”
“This, you mean?”
Sedina extended her hand to the side of the room.
The plants on the floor stirred.
Not only that—the walls, the ceiling, everything responded to Sedina’s will.
The Dentis mansion was made from a colossal organism of plants.
Even a guest room like this was a space woven from countless small plants.
Which meant Sedina could control it as she pleased.
The entire space breathing with life was a strange sight not seen anywhere else.
“Amazing.”
At Ludger’s heartfelt praise, Sedina smiled awkwardly, embarrassed.
“Before, I could only handle paper. But now, it’s different. I can interfere with any plant, draw out their will.”
“You can even resonate with the World Tree?”
“Yes.”
“Sedina. You’ve become a magician unlike any before. You know what it means to wield living plants, don’t you?”
“A magician bearing a Color title, right?”
“Exactly. You have become what the world calls the Green magician. Not just the Mage Tower, but the entire magic world will see you as a great figure.”
“To that extent?”
“You’ll receive offers from all directions. Your life from now on will be completely different.”
“It doesn’t really feel real to me.”
“If you want, I can even write you a letter of recommendation.”
Sedina’s eyes grew wide.
She had always seemed like a small timid animal, but now she looked like a squirrel discovering a giant acorn.
“That... I’ll have to think about it. I still have too many things to settle. Like matters concerning the World Tree, for example.”
“That’s true. Perhaps I was too hasty.”
“No. I know you said it because you’re thinking of me.”
“So then—what do you want to do? Will you remain in this forest?”
Ludger asked her directly.
“Well...”
Sedina hesitated.
She had been thinking about it herself.
Sedina had become indispensable to the elves.
But being suddenly given such a role and immediately accepting it were two different things.
The higher the position, the greater the weight it carried.
“My heart tells me not to let go of someone as capable as you. But that would just be my own greed. Sedina. You have choices now. Many of them.”
“...That’s true. I’m also worried that I may have to succeed my mother.”
“It may be the most fitting role for you. Especially since there’s no elf to take her place.”
If Sedina chose it, she could become ruler of the Elven Kingdom.
Her bloodline and her power made it possible.
“I did think about it. In fact, some of the elders hinted at it.”
“Ambella and Vierno, you mean.”
“The Elven Kingdom is going through unprecedented turmoil. The central family has vanished, and the Three Noble Families that upheld tradition have suffered near annihilation. This may be the perfect chance to claim the vacant throne.”
Sedina’s eyes sparkled.
“If I become queen of this kingdom, I might even be able to help you, Professor Ludger. No—I’m sure of it. If I give you my full support, then...!”
“Calm yourself.”
At Ludger’s words, Sedina realized she had gotten overly excited and cleared her throat softly.
“...Of course, it will still take a lot of time to prepare.”
“Still, it would be a good path for you. You said you met your mother at the World Tree, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I hadn’t known before, but it seems that our family of elves has inherited abilities through the generations. The dormant factor of my mother inside me resonated with the World Tree, and from within, it manifested. If I had to put it into words... it was like a soul.”
Sedina could only meet her late mother within the World Tree, and not even whenever she wished.
But just the fact that she could reunite with her mother again was something that filled her with joy.
“Your mother, Ella Plante, you mean.”
“Yes.”
Ludger stroked his chin.
Ella Plante, Sedina’s mother, had once attempted to cultivate a World Tree beneath the Exilion Empire by joining hands with humans.
For what reason she had done such a thing, Ludger still did not know.
In truth, if only he could converse with her, there were many questions he wanted to ask.
“Professor?”
“What is it?”
“You looked as if you were troubled by something.”
“I was just thinking... that I’d like to meet your mother once.”
“Huh? Why would you want to meet her?”
“There are things I’d like to ask. Ah—perhaps that’s it. Could you ask her on my behalf?”
“Uh, I think that might be possible, but...”
Sedina paused, then offered another suggestion.
“Or... what if you meet her directly, Professor?”
At that unexpected remark, Ludger asked in surprise,
“Is that even possible? If she exists only within the World Tree, that would mean connecting to its interior, but I thought humans couldn’t do that.”
“That’s what I thought too. But somehow... I feel like you could, Professor. I can’t explain it exactly, but you seem to be... different.”
Her words were vague, but coming from Sedina—who could resonate directly with the World Tree—they carried weight.
At the very least, there was a possibility.
“I heard the inside of the World Tree is like a storm of data, and if one carelessly enters, the brain burns to ash.”
“That’s fine. If I go with you, it’ll work. It only happens when someone barges in recklessly without knowing anything. I’m perfectly fine. Actually, since we’re talking about it, why not try it right now?”
Sedina’s face shone with the same look as a child about to play with fire.
“Now? But isn’t this still the Dentis estate?”
“This entire Forest of Life lies under the will of the World Tree, so it’s possible here. Come on, let’s try.”
Sedina took Ludger’s hand and pulled him up.
She led him toward the balcony window.
Outside, as if already waiting, a slender tendril had grown up to the railing, swaying gently, awaiting Ludger and Sedina.
“Huh. So it’s true.”
Ludger let out a quiet sigh at the sight of the quivering tendril.
“Just hold this.”
“Do I have to keep holding your hand as well?”
“...Yes!”
Ludger, nodding, kept his grip on Sedina’s hand.
“Close your eyes. You might feel a little dizzy.”
Ludger closed his eyes.
Confirming this, Sedina grasped the tendril from the World Tree with her other hand and began the connection.
Ludger felt as though his consciousness were being drawn elsewhere.
When he opened his eyes, he saw an endless black background filled with streams of glowing green letters.
“This is...”
“The inside of the World Tree. More precisely, the place where its stored data exists.”
The green characters scrolled vertically, then horizontally, like a boundless tide.
All of them were composed in the Elven language, each one brimming with immense information.
“Follow me.”
Sedina tugged Ludger’s hand, leading him deeper into the World Tree’s inner layer.
As they pierced through the sea of green data, a dazzling light spread out, turning the surroundings white.
From the center of the blank canvas, green pigment bled outward like ink in water.
Ludger looked around at the changing scenery.
Crunch.
When he stepped forward, the sound of grass underfoot reached his ears.
Looking down, he saw a green meadow.
From around them, the meadow spread wide, trees sprouted, flowers bloomed, and a blue sky unfurled overhead.
‘So this is also an environment composed of memory, information, data.’
It looked so real.
For a moment, Ludger was entranced by its beauty.
Then—rustling, footsteps behind him.
“Oh my.”
A curious exclamation.
Ludger turned.
There stood an elf woman, her silver hair shining like moonlight.
Elves were known for their beauty, but even among them, this one was unparalleled.
“My daughter brought a strange man here, I see?”
Her smiling face carried a mischievous glint that contrasted sharply with her noble first impression.
“Mother. This is the professor I told you about.”
“Oh, the one you kept singing praises about?”
“W-When did I ever?!”
Sedina cried out, her face bright red.
It was nothing like the composed, mature demeanor she usually tried to maintain.
Perhaps it was because she was standing before her late mother again.
While Ludger thought so, the mother and daughter’s exchange continued.
“But bringing him here and holding hands so openly before me—what else am I supposed to think?”
“T-that’s because he needed my help to get this far.”
“Now that you’re here, you can let go of his hand, can’t you?”
Really?
When Ludger looked at Sedina, she hastily released his hand.
Her face flushed red like a tomato as she bowed her head.
“I-I forgot.”
“Fufu.”
Ella Plante gazed at her daughter warmly, pride shining in her eyes as she saw how much she had grown.
Then her gaze turned toward Ludger.
“But unfortunately for you—”
Her eyes turned cold, a stark contrast from moments ago.
Before Ludger could even react, Ella raised her hand.
Green chains materialized out of nowhere, whipping toward him and binding his body.
“From what I see... this man needs to die here.”