“…Mu.”

Certainly, it was easier to deal with him in the hamster form. I hid my perplexed expression and reached out my hand towards the hamster.

Then, as if waiting for it, the hamster climbed up onto my hand.

Yes, this is it. This is how it should be. It should come up like this, not biting my hand!

“What happened?”

“What? Are you asking why I disappeared, or are you asking where this place is?”

“Both.”

“It’s my unconsciousness. I prepared my power in case I suddenly disappeared. If you, who resonates with my power, approach my lingering unconsciousness, you can enter it.”

The hamster, Mu, casually looked around.

“I can’t hold it for long, though.”
“……When did I suddenly disappear? Mu, did you expect that you would disappear?”

“This was a precaution. I also didn’t know I would really disappear.”

Hamster Mu smiled compassionately and reached out his hand. His small hand lightly tapped my cheek.

“You must have been surprised. My child.”

“…Because I used too much power, and you helped me, is that it?”

Mu didn’t answer. He just continued to pat my cheek repeatedly.

“It’s not that my real self disappeared. In the first place, that hamster wasn’t my real body. It was a medium for me to live in that world.”

Mu, still petting me, urged me to ask if I had any questions, emphasizing that he couldn’t maintain his unconsciousness for long.

I was about to ask if there was no way for Mu to come back when I decided to say something else, thinking that if there were such a way, Mu would come back on his own.

I quickly spilled the beans about the Rose Tea I discovered and the death of Iana.

“If the power of the rotten World Tree is really infused into that tea, the divine beings would dislike it. Bring the cats and let them smell it. You’ll be able to tell by their reaction.”

“Can divine beings really sense that?”

“They need to perceive a sacred energy, so they instinctively avoid negative energies.”

Could divine beings really do that?

I nodded thoughtfully and realized something was off.

“…Does the divine being Semula also avoid the power of the rotten World Tree?”

“Like the last time when the smell of blood was thick in the palace, young divine beings are greatly influenced by their surroundings.”

That makes it even more strange.

“…The cats were playing well with Revenfell.”

At my muttering, Mu raised his eyebrows in response.

“That little one inside has the rotten wood, consuming your power and growing, completing the purification process, and diligently growing in size.”

“…”

“To become a true World Tree.”

“Ah…”

“If young divine beings don’t avoid it, it means they’re really growing diligently.”

Mu wagged his tongue, saying, “Yes, I told you to stop a long time ago.”

“Oh, right. If you confirm that the tea leaves do contain the power of the rotten World Tree, collect all the tea leaves and put them inside the Grand Chamber, in the fountain in the Divine Fountain Square.”

Inside the Divine Fountain Square…

“The place I put you last time?”

“Yeah. There’s no point in burning them. If you put them in the Divine Fountain, the rotten power won’t rampage, and it might calm down a bit.”

Indeed, I needed Mu.

What we needed to face was the Perdix group. Among them, the head was Alchemist Generba.

But he was just someone who used power. In reality, it was an intangible force without a form. It was the power of the god. We had to face the power of the rotten World Tree.

The World Tree was an unknown world that humans couldn’t reach with their knowledge. It was the same with the power of the rotten World Tree.

We didn’t know how that power would act.

“And don’t push yourself too much without me. …Do you still have the relic I gave you last time?”

“The relic you took from me?”

“…Yeah.”
Mu let out a deep sigh.

“Drink the divine water from the relic. It won’t be a significant help, but it should be a tiny aid in protecting your source. Anyway, even if I tell you not to, you’ll probably do it again.”

Mu, as if sensing my concern, murmured continuously, “What else is there to say?”

Now that he was gone, it was up to me to handle things alone.

“……Mu. Since you used up all your power to return, can’t you come back as the hamster again?”

Hamster Mu formed a bitter smile, then affectionately stroked my cheek as if expressing regret.

“I returned voluntarily before being forcibly summoned using up all my power. If I can return again, we might meet again. Although when that will be in human time, I don’t know.”

Saying that, Hamster Mu mumbled, “But it might take some time in human terms.”

With those words, a black barrier that suddenly surrounded us started to dissipate.

“Mu!”

I didn’t know what unconsciousness was, but I sensed that it was time for us to part.

“The unconsciousness is breaking.”

“Wait, wait! I’m not ready yet!”

“Since there is no one to suppress your power and the power of that rotten child, use the power that you can handle. It’s my power. If you try to use power comparable to a god’s, your body won’t be able to endure it.”