WE WENT TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD TREE
And so, the three of us—Vania, Fatla, and I—headed for the World Tree.
There were no problems with the flight there on Vania, but just as we were about to land soundly before the World Tree—
“It’s such a shock to see it in person…”
That was my first impression of the tree stretching up and up toward the heavens. But still, its trunk was so thick that it almost seemed like an enormous wall.
I could see things that looked like branches and leaves above us, so I could just barely make out that it was a tree.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the World Tree. Not since my school trip,” Fatla said with a straight face. It was probably a normal thing for her, but there was something strange about hearing a demon say school trip.
“We went to the same place on our school trip as you did, Fatla. We came here, too.”
“I see, so you both came here on school trips. Then it seems like we’ll get through this no problem, yeah?” I jogged lightly toward the entrance.
My stride was smaller now, so I had to jog or I’d fall behind.
Finally, I entered the World Tree.
However complicated and mysterious this dungeon may be, it’s all to turn back to normal. I’ll make it through this!
The moment I entered, I found this sign:
Elevator to the 10th Floor—just over there!
1 Adult: 1,300 koinne
“…Hey, what is this?”
And koinne, by the way, was the currency in the demon world. Nothing to do with koi fish.
“There are many people who keep wanting to go up and up the World Tree, so these elevators are a business. The farther up you go, the more money it costs, though,” Fatla said, as though it wasn’t a big deal at all.
“Wait, I heard that part of it was going to be like a dungeon, though…”
I could also see a sign that said WORLD TREE ORIGINAL MERCH over there. This reminded me way too much of the Skytree and Tokyo Tower and stuff…
“Some parts are. World Tree Eleventh Floor Wolves and World Tree Twelfth Floor Wolves inhabit the eleventh and twelfth floors respectively, so we must be careful.”
“Those are the names people gave them?!”
“The World Tree Eleventh Floor Wolves are an endemic species that lives only on the eleventh floor of the World Tree. The World Tree Twelfth Floor Wolves are the same.”
What a bizarre ecological system. Oh, Vania vanished while we weren’t looking…
“Oh, sorry! I bought this at the shop over there!” Vania was holding a piece of fried bread that was covered in sugar. “They were selling World Tree Fried Bread over there, so I bought some. The fried bread here is so exquisite and very well-known!”
“You’re just sightseeing at this point… Let me have a bite.”
Sure enough, it was fried to perfection, and on top of that, the gritty sugar gave it a crunchy mouthfeel that was to die for. It was so good!
“I’ll get one, too.”
“You’re small, so don’t eat anything too greasy.”
Fatla cautioned me, but I bought it anyway. I probably won’t be able to finish it all since I’m still the size of a kid… Oh well. I’ll just munch on it bit by bit as we go.
The elevator was manually operated by three burly Minotaurs pulling a string that hoisted the car upward, and in no time at all, we had arrived on the tenth floor.
And since I was a kid, I got in for half price. I was surprised they had the concept of child prices…
There were plenty of shops on the tenth floor as well and, for some reason, places serving food from the human world—it was like a food court.
“People who can’t really fight only come up this far, you see. That’s why there are so many restaurants,” Vania said leisurely.
“There’s a lot I could say about that, but let’s head for the eleventh floor. We’ve still got a ways to go.”
And so we headed for the eleventh floor, where wild creatures were said to dwell. At the stairs leading up to the eleventh floor, we had to donate to the Wild Animal Preservation Fund, so it cost us five hundred koinne each. But since I was considered a toddler, I didn’t have to pay anything.
“By the way, there will be another tollgate on the way up to the thirteenth floor.”
“Fatla, this business is raking it in, isn’t it…?”
“It is. And incidentally, the farther up we go, the pricing incorporates transport costs so everything becomes more expensive. So please gather your supplies on the lower floors.”
It was the rule of mountain sightseeing—drinks cost more the higher you went!
The eleventh floor was a thick, dark forest, making the sightseeing atmosphere of the previous floors seem almost deceptive.
Looking up, I saw there was a ceiling almost thirty feet above me. The walls of the World Tree’s structure probably divided the floors as they were.
“It sure seems like a place to find frightening beasts.”
I readied myself. I’ll fight as much as I need to!
But that was all for nothing again.
A wolf approached me with a wheedling awoooo.
I tentatively patted it on its head, and it started wagging its tail happily.
“What the heck?! It’s totally used to people! It’s not wild at all!”
“The more powerful demons head for the higher floors, so they stopped fighting back at some point. I think they even have the habit of bowing their heads and asking for food.”
Fatla had a World Tree guidebook open and was reading it.
I mean, it wasn’t too strange to expect wolves to lose against demons…
“There will be no end to it if we start doting on them, so let us continue forward.”
“It feels like all my expectations are being betrayed. Everything’s upside down now…”
We got to the thirteenth floor and found another sign:
Elevator to the 17th floor—this way!
1 Adult: 2,200 koinne
“Not only is it more expensive but it doesn’t even go that far…”
“Next, there will be creatures on the eighteenth floor. There is apparently the endemic species of the World Tree Eighteenth Floor Wildcat and the indigenous, valuable World Tree Eighteenth Floor Rose.”
“And there’ll be another even more expensive elevator, right?”
“According to the guidebook, the fare is three thousand koinne.”
I finally understood the system. They were charging us for anything they could think of!
This whole business was devilish work! I knew the demons would think of something like this!
“This brings back memories! When we came on our school trip, I tried to see how far up I could get without spending any money, but I immediately got lost and then the sun went down and I missed the meeting time…!” Vania leisurely informed us.
“The residents here make a living off tourism, so they’ve purposely designed these mazes so they would be easy to get lost in. They install holes that are hard to jump through and add athletic obstacles. It’s all a scheme to get you on an elevator,” Fatla explained politely and bureaucratically. And still, what a stupid layout this was…
Afterward, we took many elevators, passed through plenty of wild areas, and finally managed to reach the thirty-eighth floor. It was about then that the sun started setting.
This floor was conspicuously lined with inns, like it was telling all those who were heading up to stay for the night.
I could see the view outside from my room at the inn. We were all the way up on the thirty-eighth floor, so it was a wonderful vista.
Not only that, but each room even had an outdoor bath overlooking the view.
“This is way different than how I imagined the World Tree to be.”
Why was I, in my child’s body, sitting in the bath, enjoying the view?
And the large tub was big enough for the three of us.
“The World Tree I imagined was a lone majestic-looking tree. Something with a more holy feel about it.”
“The World Tree was once like that, apparently. However, it was unable to fight against the wave of tourism and ended up like this. Back then, there was an unprecedented boom in the sightseeing industry of the demon lands, so they built several inns and elevators.”
Fatla was giving off an air of calm. Did she always feel like she was at work?
On the other hand, Vania was asleep in the bath. Don’t drown, okay?
“It kind of feels like I’m looking at a miniature version of the world of my past life. There were plenty of places like this that became more and more touristy.”
It seemed that the intelligent leviathan was thinking the same thing. “Well, there may be plenty of inns here on the thirty-eighth floor, but it will feel much like a real adventure soon. There are no more elevators after the eighth station.”
That made it sound like we were climbing Mount Fuji…
“And, Miss Azusa, this might be a strange thing to say, but…” Fatla turned her gaze from the view outside to me. “I thank you for giving me this opportunity. It has been quite a long while since I traveled with my sister.”
I was treated to a rare glimpse of their beautiful sisterly love.
“Oh yeah, you’ve been pretty busy with work, so you don’t get to travel together much, do you?”
Traveling together was important for a family. The girls and I should all go together somewhere sometime and take in some fresh air.
“I’m sorry. This is also genuine work, however.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Sorry for dragging you along in all this nonsense.”
I caught a flash of a smile on Fatla’s face. Aw, she’s a good kid, too.
“The floors above us will become smaller as well, so we’ll ascend more quickly. Let us stay at the inn on the eighty-fourth floor tomorrow. There are no inns beyond that, and it will be like a true journey afterward.”
“All right, we’ll keep up a good pace.”
We did indeed keep a good pace on our second day.
We pushed forward, our funds depleting with every step.
We stayed at an inn on the eighty-fourth floor, then made our way to our goal—the apothecary on the one hundred and eighth floor.
The beasts on the eighty-fifth floor and up were relatively dangerous and aggressively attacked us.
A sloth with an incredibly nasty look in its eye crawled along a tree growing inside the World Tree toward us.
“Whoa, it’s coming right at us! Look at that drool streaming out of its mouth!”
“That’s the Drooly Sloth.”
Even though we had an enemy coming right for us, Fatla’s eyes were still trained on the guidebook. There was no dignity in this nomenclature.
“What shall we do? Shall I protect you? You may use my sister as a shield, as well.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay.” I closed the gap between the beast and me and sent the Drooly Sloth flying with a single punch. “Seems I’m still all right, stats-wise.”
“Wooow, that was so cool!” Vania gave me an uninspired compliment.
And another creature was making its way over. It seemed like it was dashing right at her, scattering the grass around its feet.
“Ohhh, this is the Snotty Sloth. My older sister told me about this one.”
“What’s up with these animals?!”
Sure enough, something like snot was dripping from its nose. And it wasn’t being slothful at all. It was running at full speed.
“Its snot has very high nutritional value that helps with the growth of the plants in the area. In return, the plants produce nuts and give them to the Snotty Sloth.”
I hate this ecosystem…
“But it must want protein from animals as well, because it’s attacking us, too. I suppose we should step out of the way, then.”
Vania charged it and met it with a roundhouse kick.
A dull thud echoed throughout the floor.
The unconscious Snotty Sloth lay stretched out, twitching, and drool also started pouring from its mouth. Gross.
“Needless to say, we are strong, too. We’re leviathans, after all.”
I sometimes forgot I was surrounded by OP characters. Compared to the average inhabitant of this world, any one of them would be considered insanely strong.
“Indeed. My little sister won’t slip up in a fight, either.” Fatla seemed to have faith in her little sister when it came to this.
“Well then, let us hurry. If the shop closes, we will end up having to wait another day.”
“That wouldn’t be good. Falfa and Shalsha will probably be bored out of their minds.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. Our boss is probably happily looking after them. Actually, I’m sure she would rather us have our return be delayed!”
“That might be true, Vania, but you don’t have to say it out loud!” Actually, I was more afraid of my two daughters getting too attached to Beelzebub.
We rushed forward without practically any rest.
We caught up to and passed plenty of other climbers (well, we weren’t literally climbing, but we were in a way) who were headed to the top of the World Tree. Almost all of them were demons. We occasionally saw an elf or dwarf making the journey with demon escorts. They probably lived in the tree.
At around three in the afternoon, we finally came to the staircase leading up to the one hundred and eighth floor.
We finally, finally made it.
We all shared a look, nodded to one another, and slowly made our way up.
We opened the door at the top and exited to the outside of the World Tree.
The view was much more magnificent than what we’d seen in the hotels. Everything below looked like specks.
“Wow, we made it all this way. We made it! I’m so glad.”
Unfortunately, I was too short, so the safety railings were in my way, and it was hard to see the whole view.
Then, Fatla lifted me up.
“I didn’t say anything yet, though.”
“I understand to a degree. We’ve come this far together, after all.”
Ah, right. As we made our way to the top of the World Tree, a bond that tied our hearts together had been born among us.
Right beside us, Vania’s voice had taken on a nasal tone. “Wait, what? I… This is odd… I’m not the type to cry… Ooh… But…”
Having finally arrived at the top floor, her tension had evaporated, and her heart was filled with an indescribable feeling. I knew, because I was experiencing the same.
“Stop. We’re still at work,” Fatla scolded, handing her younger sister a handkerchief.
But I could see she was trying to keep her composure.
I was sure it wasn’t just because they’d been touched by the scenery.
For the first time in a very long while, the two sisters had overcome something together.
That was what this journey to the top of the World Tree was for.
“Let’s rest for a sec. You can put me down.”
I’ll give the two some alone time right now.
“All right. Thank you.”
Aw, she figured out that I’m giving them space. But it’s no big deal if she knows, so I guess it’s okay.
I sat down on a bench a short distance away from the sisters.
With their hands on the railing, the two of them spoke of the past. It sounded like they were talking about a time they climbed a volcano.
“If we were here when we were still kids, you would have jumped and almost fallen, Vania.”
“I’m not that much of a birdbrain. You would have started complaining halfway through about how much of a chore this is, Big Sis. Then Dad would’ve said we shouldn’t have taken you along in the first place.”
“But I truly was tired when we climbed that volcano. It took so much longer than we planned.”
“Not everything goes exactly according to schedule.”
“You’re just sloppy, that’s all.”
They both looked refreshed. Aw, I’m jealous. I want sisters like that.
It was a hassle coming all the way to the World Tree, but it was worth it. There were plenty of things I never would’ve seen if I’d stayed in the house in the highlands. So, so many.
Fatla and Vania finally came over to me.
“Both Vania and I have had enough of a break. You’re ready now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Let’s go to the shop.”
We were on the homestretch to the apothecary at the top floor—which wasn’t more than a five-minute walk away around the outside of the tree.
There was a little plaza there. It was the perfect final spot for the World Tree.
More precisely, the tree continued farther up, and one could reach the top by taking the narrow staircase. We could do it to make our trip official, but I had to accomplish the goal in front of me.
There was a shop right next to the plaza. It was an apothecary stocked with all kinds of medicine.
I went inside and immediately found the lady elf working behind the counter.
Medicine lined the shelves. The place was almost like a department store for drugs.
“Excuse me—I ended up shrinking after eating some gnomesform, and I was wondering if there was any sort of treatment that would return my size to normal…”
I listed all my symptoms in great detail, and the employee nodded attentively. Judging by her expression, everything would be fine.
“In that case, we’ve recently learned that there is indeed a drug that is effective in curing these symptoms. I believe you’ll be back to normal in no time!”
“Oh really! That’s great news!” I patted my chest in relief.
“This medicine has been a big hit as of late, and we’ve learned that it cures your syndrome as well. That mushroom has been quite a pain to deal with in the past, so it’s certainly a relief.”
“Wow. What’s it called, by the way?”
“This is it.” The elf employee placed a bottle of medicine right in front of me.
Mandragora pills.
……
Now where have I heard that name before…?
In fact, it almost felt like I kept that exact medicine in my house as my go-to…
“You will feel better with this medicine, made by the famous Eno, the Witch of the Grotto! Ten pills should be enough to be effective. There are no poisonous ingredients, so that dose will be no problem!”
“Oh, uh, okay…”
I recalled the story of the bluebird of happiness. Who would’ve thought this whole mess could’ve been solved at home…?
The door opened, and the bell on it jingled. Someone had come in.
“Hello! It’s me, Eno, Witch of the Grotto. I’ve brought three cases of your additional orders!” Eno stood holding some plain wooden crates.
“Why are you here, Eno?!”
“Hmm? Who is this little girl? …Oh, it’s the great Witch of the Highlands!”
Of course Eno would be shocked, too. I gave her a simple explanation of the poisonous mushroom. But to me, the real surprise was running into Eno here.
“Well, this apothecary is famous. Just having Mandragora pills on their shelves is a status symbol in itself. Ha-ha-ha! I’ve gotten so rich thanks to these. So rich! I’m thinking about redoing the grotto with a wine cellar and a billiards room. I cannot stop smiling!”
I think your character’s changed. What happened to your social anxiety…?
“I mean, it’s such a hassle to come all this way,” I said. “It’s so inefficient…”
“Huh? The shop has a transport wyvern that you can take to zip right to the top.”
Wait, “zip right to the top”…?
“The World Tree apothecary has its entrance on the outside of the tree, so you can get here by wyvern. Dragons are a bit too big to fit, though.”
So I ended up spending several days to get to a place I could’ve reached in a few seconds on a wyvern…? And the medicine was in my house all along…? Ugh… The fatigue is too much for this child’s body…!
I slumped to my knees on the spot.
What the heck have I been doing…?
“Oh, great Witch of the Highlands, what’s the matter?”
“I’m fine. I think it’ll just take time to collect myself…”
Fatla and Vania appeared unable to speak at all. Judging by that, they didn’t know we could’ve taken the wyvern to the top, either. It did sound like a kind of delivery route, so regular people probably didn’t know about it.
It was like taking a really long stone staircase all the way up to a temple or shrine only to find out there was a route for cars in the back.
“What shall we do? I believe we have some Mandragora pills in the castle…,” Fatla said apologetically.
“I may as well just buy them… It’ll be like a memory of our trip.”
I bought the Mandragora pills, made the return trip on Eno’s wyvern, and arrived back on the ground.
Afterward, we rode on Fatla in her leviathan form back to the castle in silence.
“Aren’t you going to take the medicine now?” Vania asked.
“I may as well just wait to take it and go back to normal in front of everyone.”
“I see. That’s a great idea!”
I was going to make good out of anything that came my way.
When we got back to the castle, Pecora said to us, “I’m so sorry, Elder Sister. I completely forgot that you can get there by wyvern. How careless of me.”
“You definitely knew, didn’t you…?” I could tell just by looking at her.
“Oh, it’s no problem, is it? Walking around and climbing the World Tree is a fun experience on its own.”
These things were totally unrelated, but now that we’d come this far, I wanted to go out with a bang.
“You should call over Beelzebub and my daughters now that I’m here. I want to turn into the old Witch of the Highlands in front of everyone.”
“…Oh, that sounds interesting!”
There was a strange pause before she replied, but I couldn’t see any problem.
And so Beelzebub, Falfa and Shalsha, my traveling companions Fatla and her sister Vania, and Pecora all gathered in Pecora’s room.
“This whole thing has become quite an ordeal…” Beelzebub seemed apologetic, but it wasn’t really anything for her to be sorry about. As the one who did the shrinking, it was my fault (and Halkara’s for not checking thoroughly enough).
“It’s fine. All’s well that ends well. And now, I go back to being an adult!”
Falfa and Shalsha were also looking on with great interest.
Pecora still had that look on her face, and it bothered me a little…
“Here I go! Down the hatch, Mandragora pills!”
I swallowed ten pills with a cup full of water. All that was left was to get bigger.
And not all that much time passed before my body started to itch.
I see, so this is what growing feels like. Keep going; keep going!
The spectators also started making sounds of excitement.
But Shalsha still seemed dubious.
“Shalsha is apprehensive. When your body grows larger, those children’s clothes won’t stay on…”
“Ah—”
It was immediately followed by a feeling of extreme pressure, like my whole body was being squeezed in by a full-body cast…
And then I heard a ripping sound.
My clothes were tearing all over the place! Oh no!
It wasn’t like they were going to fly off me, but they were ripped enough that I couldn’t show myself in public…
“Eeek! How shameless, Elder Sister! As your younger sister, I cannot watch this! Ahhh, eeep!” Pecora cried, all the while looking on with a delighted expression.
“Pecora, you knew this would happen, but you didn’t say anything!”
“I am not quite sure what you’re talking about. Absolutely no idea.”
I couldn’t believe I’d made this mistake… I think I was just plain panicking over shrinking… But still, I was surrounded by women I knew, so there wasn’t too much harm in the end.
I crouched down in my tattered clothes and mumbled a plea to Beelzebub.
“Get me some clothes.”
“Very well…”
But I wasn’t going to let this go. “And after I get changed, we’ll go to the big baths. All of us.”
I had to come out on top somehow, so I decided we’d go to the baths again.
“It won’t be that embarrassing if we all go to celebrate me getting back to normal, and—I’ll see what you look like naked, Pecora! It’s payback time!”
For some reason, Pecora’s expression sobered. “Oh…Elder Sister, I’m not very used to that…”
For a second, I doubted her response, but it made more sense the more I thought about it. She was the demon king, so she probably never had much experience bathing with other people.
“Um… The most I ever dreamed of was a kiss, but anything more than that…was never written in books…”
I see… That was as far as her imagination went, then. This girl was more innocent than I thought…
I began to speak with a mischievous smile. I supposed I could get her back for what she did to me.
“Pecora, I’m telling you what to do as your elder sister. You will do exactly as I say or else.”
Her face flushed, Pecora nodded.
The big baths at the castle really were big.
To put it simply, they were way bigger than any large-scale public baths I’d ever seen.
There were five baths in all. We decided to lounge around in the one that was scented with wine.
“Phew! Big baths are fantastic. They never get old.”
We took a soak when we were climbing the World Tree as well, but it was much more worth it with more people.
“I agree. Work has tired me out so; the heat is spreading through me more than usual.” Beelzebub liked hot springs to begin with, so she seemed very content.
The sister pairs of Falfa and Shalsha and Fatla and Vania pleasantly sat in the water.
But there was one demon king who seemed exceptionally embarrassed. She was soaking in another bath and wouldn’t come to ours at all.
Pecora can’t handle this.
I’d feel horrible ignoring her, especially because I was still acting as her elder sister, so I rushed to her side. We were close enough that I could instantly teleport with magic to her.
“Hello there.”
“Eeep! How shameless, Elder Sister!”
We were in a bath—this wasn’t shameless at all. You were supposed to wear nothing. You just weren’t supposed to stare.
“You went a little too far with your jokes this time. All’s well that ends well, since the two leviathans had a good time.”
Pecora’s eyes were swimming. Her whole personality had flipped.
“You really don’t like bathing with everyone else, huh? Are you that embarrassed?”
“But everyone’s breasts…are so big…”
Her gaze had dropped to my chest. That’s it…? It wasn’t like she would never see another girl’s chest if she stayed alone the whole time… Would she faint if she saw Halkara’s chest…?
I moved to sit right in front of her.
“Listen to me, Pecora. No matter what, I’m your elder sister. So when my little sister is bad, I scold her. Do you understand?”
Pecora nodded.
I thought about giving her a noogie, but I couldn’t with her horns. Instead, I flicked her on the head. I was very careful of my power, of course.
“Um, I’m sorry…”
“Yes, very good. No hard feelings, now.”
“Elder Sister, I have one request, though.”
“Sure, hit me.”
“Would you let me…touch your chest…?”
What…? What is she talking about…?
“I want to get more comfortable with this… I thought that perhaps…if I touched your chest, I might become impervious to it…”
“You may not!” I teleported back to my original bath in a hurry.
“Why not, Elder Sister?!” Pecora was running toward me.
“Because if you have any odd awakenings, then there’s no going back! Plus, you’re an authority figure, which makes things worse! What’s gonna happen when you end up making dozens of demon girls cry?!”
This girl should stay innocent. For the sake of world peace.
“Elder Sister, please!”
“Your request is denied!”
I escaped from Pecora, thinking about how much hard work it was to be a big sister.
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