243: You know, brains and personality don’t always match up.

Van’s gaze settled on the messy-looking woman.

“Guhuhuhu. I’m not missing a chance to be with my idol, Lord Jabir, now am I?”

Actually, ever since a while ago, there’s been someone clinging to Lord Jabir. That perverted mage, Lilirily. Why’s he here? Well, he’s a researcher on the World Tree, and also been investigating the hidden alchemist village.

He was begged by old Paradio to bring him along. Not just a way to get rid of him, is it?

I’d like to think it’s kindness.

Anyway, Lilirily’s now traveling with the party.

At first, I thought I’d say no.

“I’ll be useful if you take me! I’ll do anything—just take me with you!”

—dragging her along, grumbling all the way.

Van gave Lilirily a suspicious look, but caught sight of our resigned expressions and just nodded, accepting it.

“Fine. If you think you need her, bring her along. The problem’s Maina though…”

Yeah.

From here on out, the journey’s gonna get a lot tougher. Part of me wants to leave her behind, but she’d never agree.

“We’ve got another portal ready, right? If things go south, set it up right away and send Maina back alone. We’ll keep our best guards posted on this side.”

“That’s the only option.”

Not exactly a trip you’d take with a kid, honestly. Still, so far our path’s been within the kingdom’s claimed territory, and we’ve had some grasp of the terrain.

A forest, or an ocean, or a volcano—nothing too wild, but at least we could predict the danger a bit.

This time, walking might become impossible.

If they give up early, we might even send them back. It’s a mountain range even adventurers give up on. No way to use a wagon.

I lift both hands up to shoulder height, showing Van.

"Travel like this, no wagon’ll work. Soon, Maina’ll have to turn back."

"Guess that’s true."

Even if she’s been training since the academy, she’s still a noble lady. Climbing narrow paths on sheer cliffs, ready to collapse any second? Not likely.

We decided that, and brought Maina along anyway. But I never thought a useless sack like him would pull something like that. Not even close to imagining it then.

That’s how we were narrowing down members and routes when Lililily cut in.

“Going to a place even wyverns won’t approach? I’m for it. Seems likely, you know.”

Van squinted.

“Why do you think that?”

“If a alchemist picked a hidden village, odds are it’s got the World Tree. So no caves or tunnels for shelter, probably.”

“Hmm… yeah. Makes sense.”

“If it’s deep in the heart of a treacherous mountain range, chances are no one’d spot it from the ground unless they’re real close. So a place invisible from the sky? That’s the top pick.”

Right. Sharp observation. Sure, her personality and outfit are a mess, but she’s sharp enough to earn Paradio’s seal of approval.

"If we assume the only habitable place besides the World Tree is caves, then given the mountain range's elevation, most vegetation shouldn't exist at all. The World Tree would probably just be standing alone, nyaa."

...That sudden cat-like ending was hard to process, but the gist was clear—most of the mountain range had thin air, so no plants could grow. If any did, they'd stand out like a sore thumb.

The corrupted World Trees we’ve found so far were fairly large, so if Lililily’s method works, we’d likely find one.

Still, one thing bugs me—the black plant we saw in the swamp.

After defeating the Hydra’s master, Raidock and the adventurers went searching. It was completely gone.

Raidock said the three black plants—Cocatrice, Hydra, and the one we collected during the expedition—had no real connection to each other.

Only what Raidock found during his exploration could be identified.

And that was the corrupted World Tree.

...Yeah, if those other black plants were also corrupted World Trees.

I’d debated this with Professor Javir a few times, but we still hadn’t reached a conclusion.

I yanked the documents the professor was obsessed with reading, endured the glare, and asked.

“Do you think the corrupted World Tree and those other black plants found elsewhere are the same kind of thing?”

Professor Javir raised one eyebrow.

“Can’t say for certain. If those black plants are… corruptions of the World Tree, then the only thing I can imagine is trouble.”

“Exactly.”

Me and the professor stared at each other, both sighing deeply, when Lilirily barged in uninvited.

“Question question question! What the hell are those black plants?!”

Oh right, I showed the black world tree I had, but never mentioned the story behind it.

"Short version? I've seen other black plants besides the corrupted world tree. Unfortunately, I couldn’t collect or identify them."

Lilirily dramatically strokes her chin.

"Hmm!? Oh-ho!?"

Overacting bastard.

"The problem is, those black plants didn’t share any botanical similarities. One was just a mangrove turned pitch-black."

Lilirily freezes mid-motion.

"…That’s… could it mean some seriously troublesome hypothesis just popped up?"

Damn sharp. Noticed the trouble in an instant—must be one of the good ones. Personality and talent don’t always line up, huh?

Lilirily forces out a trembling voice.

"If the world tree isn’t actually a tree at all… but just a plant that possesses the 'world tree' attribute… then… well…"

That’s exactly it.

If a plant with the 'world tree' attribute glowed or turned black, that’d make it easier to find. But something’s off about it turning black—definitely a mutation, no doubt. If it looks normal, you can’t tell it apart from other plants...

Then the teacher has an idea.

"Hmm... perhaps the alchemists of old noticed the world tree because there was no other vegetation growing around it."

Lilirily jumps right in.

"Ah! They found a plant that shouldn’t have sprouted there, and investigated it!"

"Indeed. Whether it’s a mutation or not, as long as it matches the sample’s form, we can just examine every plant in the mountains, one by one."

"Truly a master, great Professor Jabir!"

"Indeed, indeed."

Watching the teacher nod with satisfaction, I suddenly felt like giving Lilirily a good glare.

Funny, huh.

Van smirked, watching the exchange with amusement, and gave a light wave of his hand.

"Got it. If there's a world tree in the mountains, we'll have a good shot at finding it."

The professor and Lilirily were still flipping through research notes, completely oblivious to Van, so I answered for them.

"That’s about right. If we find the alchemist village too, we might get some useful info."

"Hmph. Knowing you lot, I’m sure you’ll end up arguing with the village over nothing."

"Jitarou’s not even here, so don’t go setting off weird flags."

With that weird flag still hanging in the air, we set off.