Chapter 199: Chapter 195: Making A Deal With A Non-Human Race

“Nyaoo-a. Woo.”

“Naaa. Awoo~!”

A tree filled with light stood at the center of the field.

The children sitting around it, known as the World Tree, began to chant, causing the young light within its leaves to grow brighter.

Everyone watching the scene couldn’t help but let out gasps of admiration.

Even Ga-ram, who had personally brought the sapling on Flang’s instructions, was no exception.

“It seems you’ve never seen such a drastic change before.”

“Yes, yes… we just brought it and nurtured it.”

Indeed, the phenomenon we were witnessing couldn’t have been achieved by merely tending to the tree.

And I was the only one who could guess the reason behind it.

From afar, watching the scene, I could faintly sense that the spirits following those children were interacting with the World Tree, triggering a special reaction.

“Nyaoo-a. Aaa~”

The spirits moved in sync with the child’s cries.

Their forms were incredibly intricate, and their movements were nothing short of meticulous.

This implied that they were similar to the spirits of the great nature we encountered during our expedition or those controlled by Phobia, formed over a long period.

As my thoughts reached this point, I immediately realized how those children, abandoned by their tribe, had managed to survive until now.

Though I didn’t know the exact reason, it was clear that the spirits, who had come to follow the children through some catalyst, were protecting them.

-Crunch, creak.

The World Tree began to undergo even more noticeable changes, as if to confirm my suspicions.

As its roots gradually emerged from the ground, they began to spread sideways, and soon, the area around the children was covered with thick roots.

“Hero, isn’t that dangerous?”

Sanson, perceiving the scene as dangerous, voiced his concern urgently.

The others seemed just as anxious, but I remained calm and composed in front of them.

“It’s fine; just keep watching for now.”

Although I was merely observing for now, I could vaguely guess what the spirits following those children intended to do.

They were responding to the children’s will, shaping the surrounding environment to fulfill those desires.

In the process, they were enhancing the growth of the plants they touched, guiding the direction of that growth to suit their needs.

-Whoom, whoom.

As I predicted, the roots spreading around began to split and dig into the surrounding soil repeatedly.

The energy emanating from them spread to the nearby crops. The spirits, imbued with the power of the World Tree, began to activate that energy, causing changes in the crops.

In the blink of an eye, teal leaves sprouted, followed by vibrant, multicolored petals blooming between them, and finally, the formation of lively, fresh fruits…

“Nyaa~!”

The branches bearing the fruit responded to the children’s cries, naturally extending and dropping the fruits into their outstretched hands one by one.

As if to show that this miraculous scene existed solely for this moment.

It was as if this miracle occurred simply because the spirits wanted to feed the children they followed.

“Hero, this is…”

“Come to think of it, our food situation was getting tighter, wasn’t it?”

And if we provide shelter and care for those children, we too would surely benefit from this miracle.

Feeling that intention conveyed through the branch extended in front of me, I plucked the fruit and handed it to each of my companions in turn.

“If our numbers increase, it will be difficult to supply food from here alone, but if we take good care of those children, we won’t have to worry about food in the future. Do you understand?”

“Ugh, yes. It’s impossible not to believe after seeing something like this.”

One by one, the companions accepted the fruit and began to be convinced.

After biting into it, the exclamations from their mouths indicated that the fruit tasted and nourished far better than anything they had eaten before.

Well, it was only natural that the evaluation would be good.

The spirits meticulously controlled every aspect necessary for growth, making it akin to experiencing the genetic modifications of modern biological science in this world, wouldn’t you agree?

“Master.”

But for some, such a blessing might feel like the temptation of a demon.

Finally, Flang, who had been watching the situation, approached me and started staring at me with half-closed eyes.

Anyone could see that her gaze was full of dissatisfaction.

As I struggled with how to soothe her feelings, Flang sighed deeply and looked away from me.

“I’ll watch for now.”

“…You accepted that quite easily.”

“As the number of refugees increases, it’s inevitable that the food situation will worsen. So if we need the help of another species to tap into the World Tree’s potential, we shouldn’t hesitate to seek their cooperation on a transactional level.”

Transactional?

Was that how Flang perceived the idea of taking those children with us?

“…So fully embracing them is impossible after all.”

“They may seem like pitiable children to you, Master, but I’ve personally experienced what their ancestors did.”

She turned her gaze sideways.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

There, I saw the children lying down after filling their bellies with fruit.

As if to care for the children, fallen leaves from the tree cushioned the ground beneath them, and roots rose to form a fence, as if to prevent them from rolling off their spot.

“…If there’s any sign they might become a threat, I’ll have no choice but to act. My priority is humans.”

The children in the makeshift cradle looked adorable, but even ferocious beasts have a childhood.

I felt sorry for Flang, who was wary of them, but there were too many tasks ahead for me to indulge in that feeling.

“Can I test your patience just a little longer?”

“Pardon? What do you mean…?”

“There’s no guarantee we won’t meet others like those children in the future.”

I smoothly pulled out a note in front of the puzzled Flang.

Inside, the location where we would meet the ‘second helper’ was marked.

For treatment, go to a doctor; for medicine, go to a pharmacist…

As the saying goes, when you need something, it’s best to leave it to the expert in that field.

Likewise, when it came to maximizing the potential of this fortress filled with the artifacts of other species, getting help from those species would be the most suitable approach.

“Come to think of it, what powers this fortress?”

“It’s a magical engine created through the vision of the dwarves. Their craftsmanship is so precise that humans can’t match it, so if it breaks, it’s hard to repair, which is why it needs to be protected above all else.”

“There were also buildings rising on top of the ark. What about those?”

“Those are outposts and defensive facilities built using the technology of the Zoin tribe hundreds of years ago. The buildings erected by the Zoin tribe are made of light materials but are still durable, so they can hold their ground even during movement. However, they were designed with flight in mind, so without wings, it’s not easy to get around…”

“The blueprints show that the ventilation and circuits are quite complex. It’s not easy to maintain them, right?”

“Yes, they were based on the tunnels of the Undergrounders. It’s the most efficient structure for ventilation and transporting goods, but since we can’t enter the ventilation shafts ourselves, we’d have to tear out each section to perform maintenance.”

“The warehouse seems to be filled with a lot of weapons…”

“Those are weapons used by the Barbarians. They have destructive power, but without the inherent physical abilities, they can’t be handled, so we had to seal them in the warehouse.”

This information about other species was given by Flang as we traveled aboard the ark.

Indeed, we had gathered useful artifacts from other species, but most of them were designed for their species, making them difficult to use or impossible to repair if broken.

This meant that if we couldn’t overcome a crisis, there was a high possibility that we’d be set back so far that recovery would be impossible.

“…We have even more reason to bring in other species.”

Flang was mindful of the dangers, but she also acknowledged that failing to properly utilize what we had managed to obtain would be a waste.

So we had decided to carefully discuss and decide whether to recruit other species if we encountered them in the future.

Just like with the children, we had to consider sending them back if we couldn’t guarantee their safety… but that was something we couldn’t avoid.

In fact, Airi had also emphasized not taking on more than we could handle, rather than trying to embrace everyone.

“Hero, may I have a moment?”

At that moment, as I was focused on managing the ark during our voyage, Sanson called out to me.

The fact that he came just as we were surfacing meant that something concerning had occurred outside.

“…Is it time to arrive?”

It was something I had somewhat expected due to Airi’s prophecy.

When I took Flang to the top of the ark, we were greeted by the sight of soldiers who had come down from the outpost, prepared for any contingency.

And above us, flapping their wings and landing one by one, were giant birds—no, not birds, but human-like beings with wings.

“They’re the Zoin tribe.”

Flang immediately recognized them and expressed her wariness.

The Zoin tribe, as their name suggested, was a species with some bird-like traits, and they were once humanity’s enemy, known as the tyrants of the sky.

Their occupation of the outpost was alarming, but even though they were aware of us, they showed no signs of attacking.

And then they quietly landed in front of us.

“…You don’t have wings?”

With a flutter, a female Zoin landed, her wings folding neatly beneath her shoulders as she sat down.

She then slowly stood up, taking a stance as if looking down on us, and quietly spoke.

“I may not have wings, but I have a mouth. So I can speak.”

“My name is Coco. I am the leader of the group that came here.”

Her speech was light and somewhat disjointed, yet her demeanor carried an air of authority.

“And you, what are you?”

The short question that followed indicated that this leader of another species was open to negotiation.

“I’m Woo Hyo-sung. The one in charge of the people here.”

“Is the person in charge the leader?”

“Yes, I’m the leader of the people here.”

“Then this place, it’s your territory?”

“Well, yes.”

“This is a good place. Give it to us.”

After a brief exchange, she got straight to the point.

Her words made the onlookers tense up, but the Zoin leader paid no attention to their reaction, only looking up at her kin atop the outpost.

“We want to use this place as our nest. Give it to us.”

“Master.”

“Stay still.”

I reached out to stop Flang, who was about to rush in.

Flang, halted by my intervention, frowned and urgently whispered.

“The Zoin tribe is dangerous. Because they could fly, there was a time when they sought to dominate everything on the ground.”

“I understand your concern, but it’s too early to jump to conclusions.”

If they had intended to invade, they would have attacked long ago.

The fact that they were trying to resolve this through conversation suggested that they were not just here to deceive us.

“When you say territory, what exactly are you referring to?”

“These buildings here; they are perfect for us to live in.”

Right, when I think about it, these buildings were said to have been constructed using the techniques of the Zoin tribe in the past.

So it made sense that these buildings would be considered the most suitable shelter for their descendants.

“We like places with an open view. And nests should be light and strong. But you don’t have wings. Isn’t it inconvenient for you to climb up and down these buildings?”

“So you’re asking us to give you these buildings that aren’t very convenient for us to use?”

“We can fly, but we also need a place to rest our wings. But there are too many dangers on the ground. We’ve been flying nonstop for weeks. We need a safe base since many of our kin have fallen behind.”

So they thought this place was just right as a base.

Well, even if they were once called the rulers of the sky, they couldn’t fly forever. With the ground in ruins, they couldn’t afford to act as arrogantly as they did before.

“It just so happens we needed someone to manage the outpost and monitor the surroundings. If you’re willing, how about a deal?”

“I know about deals. We also trade shiny things and materials for nest-building.”

Her wing extended smoothly toward me.

It was a gesture, using her wing instead of her hand, likely an action the Zoin tribe takes to show goodwill.

“So, will you trade with us too?”

“It goes without saying.”

This was the moment we successfully recruited the second helper, following the Elves.

It was so smooth that I hoped things would continue to go this easily in the future.