....I'm sorry.

　I couldn't help but be disappointed by the scene in front of me.

　An underground space that used to be a treasure trove had been turned into a mere pebble pit.


　The ore in this underground space was growing day by day.

　Normally, it takes a very long time for a stone to absorb magical power and turn into orichalcon or magical ore. But the ores here were growing very fast.

　Perhaps it was because the leftover water from the bath was washed up here.

　I didn't notice it when I was taking a bath all the time, but when I was trying to fix the broken pipes, I felt a tremendous energy from the hot water that was flowing out.

　Master Harut's enormous magical power was dissolved in the drainage water.

　I think that the water containing such magical power transformed the soil and stones in this space into rare ores, orichalcone, adamantite, and baboons.

　Probably, if they had mined it properly, the amount of ore mined would have been greater than all the mines owned by the H&T (Halt & Tina) Trading Company combined.

　And yet──.


　Most of the ores have reverted to just stone.

　It was all because of these, roots.

　Suddenly, the roots of the huge tree that grew in the courtyard of the mansion extended to this underground space and sucked all the magic power out of the rare ore.

　A killing intent grew in the roots.

　It was also my fault for misjudging the time of mining.
　The ore was growing well, so I decided that it was okay to start mining much later.

　If we were able to mine a lot of rare ores, I'm sure Master Hult would have praised me.

　I wanted to receive his praise, so I waited for the maximum amount of ore to be extracted. That was a blunder.

　If I had reported to you earlier that the underground space I had created had become a rare mine, Master Hurt might have praised me at that point.

　I am not sorry.


　By the way, not all of the rare ores have returned to stone.

　Only the baboon cane was still in its place.

　It's an ore called an immutable metal.
　To the extent that the tree sucked out its magical power, it probably didn't turn back to stone.

　The baboon cane is the rarest of the ores.
　However, it is the ore that has the least market value.

　Because it can't be processed.
　Not only can it not be processed, but it can't even be mined.

　There are no tools in the world that can mine baboonbeams.

　The hardest ore in the world - that is the unalterable metal (babylonian bone).


　I have a ring of hollyhock on the ring finger of my left hand, but it is a miracle in itself of its existence.

　It is a ring that Halt-sama made for me when I was a guardian hero.

　In this world where level 300 is the upper limit, this ring was somehow managed to be crafted by Hult-sama, who activated the skill called 'Guardian' to reach level 360 status.

　Now Halt-sama doesn't have the Guardian (skill).

　In other words, right now, there is no one who can process baboon kane.


''Huh........''

　I sighed.
　It can't be helped.

　Even though it was very rare, all that was left was a completely useless ore.


Those roots..........I should burn them.

　I feel a sudden urge to kill the giant tree that takes root in the underground space.


　Oh?

　I wonder.
　I think the roots of the tree are trembling.

　Is the tree feeling afraid?

　No way.
　That can't be true, can it?


　Somehow, I put out a flame at hand.

''Eh.''

　The roots that had been stretched across the entire surface of the underground space pulled back surreptitiously, as if to escape the flames I had put out.

　Without a doubt, I could read that the tree was terrified.

　This tree, it seems to have a will.

　I felt a little sorry for the tree to burn it.

　By the way, I don't really intend to burn it. If we set fire to the roots here, the trees on the ground might be burned and the fire might spread to Mr. Hurt's house.


　I had an idea.

''Since you seem to be willing, I'll tell you. Show me that it's worth more than the ore you had here. If I decide it's not worth it.

　With a huge fire around his body...

I'll burn it.

　I tried to threaten the tree with all my might.
　

　...What am I doing to a plant?

　It's no good.

　I'm a little annoyed because I missed my chance to get a compliment from Mr. Hurt.

　There was no point in doing this.

　I put out the fire I was wearing.


　For now, let's just tell Mr. Hurt-sama that it might be possible to mine the baboon kane.

　Harut-sama might be able to come up with a way to mine even immutable metals.

　Then he might praise me!

　I left the underground space, feeling a little more positive.


　─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─

Ha, Master Hurt what is this?

"Tina, listen to me!　I heard that Sylph and Luna planted a world tree in the courtyard yesterday, but when I thought the world tree suddenly started trembling...

　Master Hurt was standing among the countless red fruits that were falling to fill the courtyard.

　A large number of these fruits had suddenly fallen from a huge tree growing in the courtyard.

　In the courtyard were Hurt-sama, Luna-san, and Spirit King Sylph-sama, but no fruit fell on everyone's heads, and they didn't seem to be injured.

　I heard a word that I was a bit worried about.

''Se-the World Tree?　Is this........a world tree?

Yeah, I guess so.

　It seems that the world tree that only grows in my hometown has grown in the courtyard of Master Hurt's mansion before I knew it.

　By the way, the World Tree produces only one fruit once every thousand years.

　The bright red fruit has the effect of raising the status of the existence of those who eat it.

　Specifically, it can extend one's lifespan and dramatically improve one's status.

　If this huge tree was truly a World Tree, then these red berries would be the fruits of the World Tree.

　And there were so many of them........
　As far as I could see, more than a hundred had fallen off.


　Huh?
　Could it be because...

Because I told you to show your value?

　As if to answer 'yes' to that question, a bright red fruit fell in front of me.