I, as the saint stationed at your mailbox between death and life, pray.
I will pray in the name of the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Father, the starlight, and the gods.
I pray in the name of one who cannot become anything and has no qualifications.
Please, oh you who hears my earnest prayer.
Even if it’s just a single moment when the dawn dew falls.
If you hear my voice for even a moment… please listen to my prayer…
May this sizzling leaf pancake become delicious…
Crackle
Crackle
“…….”
Is this really alright?
No matter how young I am, no matter how I didn’t know this tree is the World Tree…
“Wow, it looks delicious…!”
“……..”
Can I really make leaf pancakes with an elf elder and the World Tree’s leaves!?
“Hehe, KawaiiHorned is dead. I ate with Shia first, hehe…”
“…..W-what?”
If it’s KawaiiHorned, I know them very well… I’m not the best at reactions, but they consistently donate to my stream as a regular big spender.
Olga, who has the nickname “I Sell Leaf Fritters,” seems to know that person very well.
I guess the dead kids have been communicating behind my back…
Gulp, munch… “It’s delicious… I’ve never tasted something like this before!”
Y-yeah… even for an elf, this is probably their first time eating the World Tree leaves…
I’m sure it tastes good.
The batter I dropped earlier was made from wyvern egg yolks for Olga.
Honestly, that alone would have been enough to make excellent batter.
The wyvern egg yolks are merely my personal preference after all.
In any case, the batter I made again was successful, and I was now making my 30th leaf pancake from the World Tree leaves.
‘But, what the heck is going on here…?’
So, what exactly is the World Tree that the elves serve?
Elves, who are among the first humans and a long-lived species, are treated as a race that appeared in history before humans.
And the World Tree is the mother of the earth that allows those elves to live on this land, blessed by spirits and nature, the foundation of their lives, and they firmly believe that even if they return to the soil someday, they will return to the embrace of their mother, the World Tree.
Thus, the World Tree can be said to represent their gods, beliefs, and blessings.
Of course, each elf may have a different meaning regarding the World Tree.
Desert elves see the World Tree as a close friend.
Shadow elves, who have settled in the abyssal lands, consider the World Tree their teacher.
However, the elves from my previous world prioritized the World Tree above their own lives, and even if they had close friends or allies among elves, the moment they made even the slightest scratch on the bark of the World Tree, they would be pursued by the entire race of elves.
Among humans, it would be treated like sacrilege, treason, or murder—a heinous crime deserving of the harshest punishment, but for touching the World Tree recklessly, elves treat it as an even more heinous deed above that.
“…….”
Crackle…
“Hehehe… it’s delicious…”
And I… am a member of the dead kids’ group who has observed my stream from the beginning.
One of the elders leading the current elves, and the true heir of the World Tree that all elves in this kingdom are trying to protect with their lives, the last child of the World Tree.
Full name: Olgania Parcero Tishipia.
Shortened—for the kid called Olga…
Crackle, crackle, you Hebrew…
With my mouth, I was munching on the leaf pancake I made, while my eyes were staring at it with a gleaming appetite.
…What is this?
What on earth is going on?
I’ve never experienced anything like this before.
Eating pancakes made from the World Tree leaves?
It’s not like it was intended, but nonetheless, it’s my first time.
But to eat this World Tree leaf pancake… with an elf elder?
What on earth is happening…
“By the way, where did you learn such words?”
“From a streamer gallery!”
“…..”
…Oh my god.
What have you done to this young, innocent elf girl?
“When streamers grill meat or something, viewers often chat like that?”
You damned malicious Susu and Net Runners… do you even know what you’ve done!?
You’ve sullied the last child of the World Tree, Olga, who is going to be the next elf leader!
It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a lifelong achievement!
“T-that’s a joke, but… it’s not something good, so please refrain…”
“Hehe, I’ll be careful. But I’m also a dead kid, you know? I’m so happy I can eat something with you, the streamer Shia.”
“…W-well…?”
To be honest, I didn’t imagine I’d make pancakes from the leaves of the World Tree out of the scent of malice, not even knowing what tree it was…
Honestly, when Olga looked at me and asked what I was doing with the World Tree leaves, my hands trembled, not jokingly but genuinely.
Knowing how obsessive elves are about the World Tree, I thought they wouldn’t try to kill me, but I expected they might imprison me or play hide-and-seek with angry elves.
At least it’s fortunate that Olga seems to want to eat the leaf pancakes with me rather than get angry.
Gulp, munch… “So this is the taste of my mother’s cooking…”
I’m glad to hear it’s delicious.
“But Olga, it sounds strange, so please use the proper subject… it feels like I’m cannibalizing.”
“Is that so? Gulp… Shia, please give me another slice!”
“Are you doing that on purpose?”
“Hehe, mother, it’s delicious. Chewy-chewy!”
Olga wasn’t just empty-flattering; she genuinely smiled and enjoyed it very much.
Just to be sure, I looked closely, and there wasn’t a hint of deceit.
That young elf elder is enjoying the World Tree leaf pancakes with me!
An elf!
An elder!
I distinctly remember that Olga had just eaten with me earlier, and while I am a constantly hungry malicious predator, it seems Olga has an unexpectedly good appetite for an elf.
Stealthily, Olga and I continued to fry the World Tree leaves for a while, avoiding the gazes of other elves.
“Haa, I’m full… but actually, I’ve never eaten my mother World Tree leaves before.”
“But even if you forgive me, why did you… eat the World Tree leaves? You’re not angry with me, are you?”
“It was just a mistake, right? You wouldn’t intentionally try to eat the World Tree, would you, saint?”
“Even if it was a mistake… if I know elves, the moment they touch the bark of the World Tree, the entire race will try to kill that person.”
“Wow, that’s scary. So those elves in the previous world did that before you returned to the world?”
“Yeah…”
Olga seems to know that I’m a Returnee, probably because she’s one of the dead kids.
“If you put it that way, elves might be considered vegans, but they eat grains and other plants anyway. We do venerate our mother World Tree, but… that idea no longer really has meaning.”
“What do you mean by that?”
To hear that the elf elder is saying the World Tree has no meaning is unexpected.
At my question, Olga clutched her legs together and tilted her head toward the stone slab.
“Hehe, it’s nothing. I just wanted to experience cooking something like camping together on your stream as a fan, you know? I never thought I’d ends up eating pancakes made from World Tree leaves, though. Haha.”
“Is that it?”
“…….”
Of course, it’s not just that.
The reason Olga called me here isn’t simply because she wanted to meet me as a fan, nor was it to defeat something like a Chaos Ant.
It seems Olga is still not quite prepared in her heart.
From her restless fingers and unsure expression, I could feel there’s something on her mind.
“I saw the elves in the Great Forest, who are supposed to be brimming with life and spirits, sneezing like humans and looking feeble.”
“…You saw that.”
Even with the blessing and grace of the World Tree, elves should be immune to all diseases, and even if they faint from hungry, their life and spirit powers automatically fill.
The elves of the Great Forest had power greater than any sturdy fortress, and even the demon kings of the previous world couldn’t recklessly invade the elf territories, first annihilating humans before isolating the elves from all sides.
But what on earth is happening to the elves in this Great Forest now?
Just from the elves I saw passing by, many were coughing and looking weak.
Fortunately, it seems that the elite elf squad, the Lotus Knights, were okay, but from the bottom of the village, I could sense an ominous energy and signs of a plague.
“If a serious plague really breaks out, I can heal it. As you know, I’m a saint. A dead one, but still a saint.”
“……”
“But here, the plague isn’t the problem. The plague itself isn’t a big deal. I can heal it anytime. But the very fact that a plague is spreading in a land blessed by the World Tree is the real issue.”
Unexpectedly, the conclusion might be simple.
There should be no plague in the land blessed by the World Tree.
But if a plague spreads in a land where no plague should exist?
Then it implies that the blessing of the World Tree doesn’t exist in this land.
“Can you tell me honestly, Olga?”
“Yes…”
“Does the World Tree exist in this land?”
“……”
Before coming here, those elves said they had to come to Earth because the World Tree burned in the previous world.
To forget the trauma of not being able to protect the World Tree in the previous world, the elves wanted to settle and adapt to this Great Forest.
At one time, they restricted access from the humans they called friends and treated outsiders as potential enemy creatures.
However… even in the short time I’ve spent here, I started to doubt if this land is really the blessed land they claim it to be.
Surely, the World Tree leaves I ate were different from those of ordinary trees.
But… I’m not sure if this decaying malice emanating from the World Tree leaves can still be called a World Tree.
“…..”
Olga gazed at the World Tree for a moment.
Sure enough, the World Tree stood before me.
A colossal trunk, larger than any tree.
I felt a sacred energy, and each leaf seemed different from the ordinary, yet… amusingly, it conveyed a sense of decay.
The malice I felt couldn’t be false, and I sensed that a certain malice had been filled through eating the World Tree leaves.
“As the last child of the World Tree, I was… born a little differently than other elves.”
Olga wore a faint smile that seemed somewhat sad.
“Other elves all have parents. Though cultures differ, they all typically marry like humans and raise families. But I, as the child of the World Tree, am different.”
“Being a child of the World Tree isn’t just a metaphor.”
“Yeah, I was the last avatar born from the fruit of the World Tree in the previous world. Originally, I should have awakened in a state with hundreds of years more growth, carrying the memories of the previous generation. No, it wasn’t supposed to happen that I would awaken this early.”
Olga continued to mumble with her mouth full of the World Tree leaves.
“Thank you. Munch… But in the previous world, the elves were burned by the humans they trusted, and my mother, or should I say my sister, the previous World Tree’s child, went missing. With that, we came to Earth from the previous world, like dimensional refugees without a proper land.”
“I see.”
“Of course, the shock of the World Tree burning left us all mentally unstable. Some elves even tried to commit suicide over the trauma of not being able to protect our mother World Tree, and the entire race sunk into despair and sorrow etched deeply into our souls.”
Then, Olga looked up at the World Tree.
“And this is the fake World Tree created as a result.”
There was neither reverence nor respect in her eyes for the World Tree that elves typically possess.
“Desperate elves forced to grow immature seeds and try to settle them again in this Great Forest. That’s fine. It’s usual for humans to recreate what they want to rely on, right?”
“So, are you satisfied with the current situation?”
“How could I be satisfied?”
Olga was indeed the child of the true World Tree, but now she must serve a fake one.
She must regard this gigantic tree, with its malice taking root and concealing something unidentifiable, as a sacred deity and mother.
I wonder if she indeed felt any indifference during that process.
Moreover, according to what Olga said, the ‘child of the World Tree’ used to be a king of the elves. No, it was almost a unique being like a single god, and yet, now Olga has been demoted to merely being a ‘clergyman.’
One that’s treated like a child who can’t even voice her opinions.
If it weren’t like this, I would have received various rights just like a hunter assigned for a request, not just a guest of Olga.
In fact, Olga’s current position was more like being “demoted” following the establishment of the fake World Tree.
“But we… the elves who lost their mother need a mother, even if it’s a fake one. I can’t become their mother.”
“Why not?”
“They have already accepted a fake one. Even if it’s fake, at least this tree soothes the hearts of the elves. Of course, we’re not fools. We noticed the unknown plague spreading among the elves slowly, and that the once shining World Tree was suddenly emitting a putrid smell.”
“Did the other elves suspect the Chaos Ants were the cause?”
“Yeah, whether it’s something they want to ignore or hide, the council and the elves pinpointed the Chaos Ants as monsters that are eating away at the World Tree from the inside.”
If the Chaos Ants are indeed the cause, it would be easy to handle.
I could just exterminate them and that would be the end of it.
Even if the Chaos Ants’ numbers were enormous, the elves themselves should find it easy to vanquish them.
Each citizen possesses the power of a C~B grade hunter.
“We’ve already been betrayed by humans and lost our mother. I realize that the humans of this Earth aren’t like those of the previous world, but even so, we still can’t trust humans so we intended to resolve this internally on our own.”
“But Olga summoned me using the seal, looking for an S-rank or higher hunter… aimed at me specifically?”
“…Yes. It’s fine if you’re angry. This is truly the time for you to be angry, isn’t it?”
“If you want to see me angry, you’ll have to steal my freshly grilled meat right before my eyes.”
“……”
In response to my half-serious joke, Olga couldn’t help but smile.
This was why Olga liked Shia.
Even with the growing presence of the Chaos Ants across the Great Forest, the increasing number of elves in the village who are coughing, and the overwhelming stench of decay from the fake World Tree, there was nothing Olga could do.
Since elves began to worship the fake World Tree, the once singular god in their eyes, Olga was reduced to the status of merely being a clergyman.
Apart from just wasting her time watching Earth’s culture from her corner, these were feelings that Olga couldn’t express.
And that’s how it happens that Olga would eventually meet Shia for the first time by chance.
“I initially thought you were a strange woman. And then after a little while, I felt you were a much stronger woman than I had imagined. Even during small streams every day, I thought your broadcasts were fun and that you felt truly saintly.”
Approaching with an almost confessing tone, Olga looked at Shia with tear-filled eyes.
“Shia… I don’t need you as a streamer. I don’t need you as an S-rank hunter. What I desired and needed was you as a saint.”
How could she say to the elves traumatized by losing the World Tree, even if it’s a fake one, that they should get rid of it?
Olga couldn’t do that.
She didn’t know what she wanted or what the solution is, but maybe Shia, the Dead Female Saint Isia, could do something…
“It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
With a confident smile, Shia stroked Olga’s head.
A saint exists to provide hope.
Fulfilling the wishes of the dear dead kids shouldn’t be difficult.
—
A flower petal blooms.
As the bloomed petal fades.
The petal decays and rots.
It scoffs.
Who is scoffing?
Someone is laughing.
Why do they laugh?
Do they sneer at sorrow?
Rejoicing in pain, while decay and corruption run rampant.
Everyone seems to rejoice.
Instead of spirits, the nauseating pests.
Instead of wind, the dancing resentment.
Instead of fragrance, my mother produces a foul stench.
Another flower petal falls.
Oh, my petal.
Where are you going?
Ah, ah…
So sad.
If I’m sad, what should I do?
Tears arise, what should I do?
Those tears are consumed, and sorrow is eaten, cursed and cursed again.
With resentment, I shall resent.
Don’t go.
Don’t leave me alone.
Don’t laugh at my ugly days.
Ah, if someone is out there,
If someone would listen to my prayers… I beg you.
Please, please… let me die.
