Nigel quickly ran towards where he heard the voice coming from.

It didn’t matter even if it was an auditory hallucination.

No, it would be better if it was just an auditory hallucination.

The forest was beautiful yet scary because it was so quiet.

The forest that appeared peaceful on the surface had been known to swallow people and monsters without a sound deep within.

Especially if it was a forest abundant with mana like Eliperum, there were probably quite a few instances where people disappeared in the forest and couldn’t be found.

Because all sorts of strange plants and animals grew in forests filled with mana.

‘Please let nothing have happened, please…’

Nigel chanted like a prayer as he approached Allen.

The closer Allen’s voice got, the clearer it became, the more his heart pounded.

His oblivious mind listed off the types of trees that grew in mana-rich forests.

That’s when a dark blue root as thick as a person’s waist came into Nigel’s view.

As far as he knew, among the roots that were dark blue, there definitely weren’t any that could swallow a person whole.

‘Then I can somehow save his life with divine power.’

Ignoring his heartbeat, Nigel slowly approached the main body of the tree.

“…Nigel?”

Fortunately, all of Allen’s limbs were still attached to his body.

But Allen’s frail body was caught by the tree trunk, unable to move in midair.

Only after seeing the blue flowers blooming happily did Nigel recognize the name of the tree.

Gwangdae Tree. As the name ‘gwangdae’ suggests, it was named so because it duped people.

Unlike other trees, it didn’t supplement its nutrients with mana and nourishment from the air, but mainly grew by stealing the mana of moving creatures.

Usually, most were about as thick as a human torso, but this was the first time seeing such an absurdly thick and huge Gwangdae Tree.

So right now, Allen was… slowly having his mana stolen by the giant Gwangdae Tree.

“You really were in the forest!”

At the voice that sounded too innocent to belong to someone caught by a tree, Nigel momentarily mistook it for an auditory hallucination.

“How did this… happen?”

“Ah, about that, I entered the forest to look for you since the gathering time was approaching, but when I tried to take a short break by leaning against it…”

“…What?”

Realizing that Allen was in danger because of him again, Nigel’s face darkened rapidly.

“Allen Evans, didn’t you hear what the professor said? You could get seriously hurt if you go deep into the forest, so why did you recklessly come here? And Beselion, why did you leave Allen alone and stay here despite the danger?”

“…Hehe.”

Allen, who was hanging limply, mumbled his lips and barely opened them.

“That’s… It’s been so long since you’ve worried about me, Nigel. I thought you’d be really annoyed and angry when you saw me. But… I’m just so happy.”

As Allen smiled absently, Nigel’s purple eyes wavered.

“…Is that, is that what’s important right now? Do you even know what kind of tree has caught you?”

“Oh! I can tell it’s stealing my mana.”

“How much mana do you have left?”

“Probably… enough to last about 10 more minutes?”

Nigel held his forehead as he looked at Allen, who was smiling brightly.

He thought Allen’s condition seemed a bit strange compared to usual, and it turned out his mind was hazy from having his mana stolen.

If Allen was left like this, the Gwangdae Tree wouldn’t stop at mana but would steal all of his life force mixed in with the mana.

‘How should I solve this…’

Just as Nigel was about to fall into contemplation.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the bushes.

“Allen!! Are you okay?”

It was none other than Noah.

He must have searched really hard, as Noah’s usually neat hair was completely disheveled and a mess.

“Huh? It’s Noah! Now all three of us are together?!”

Allen, who was still innocent, chuckled without knowing the situation.

“…Nigel? Nigel isn’t hurt anywhere, right?”

Nigel lightly nodded his head at Noah, who belatedly noticed him.

“But what on earth is this…”

Noah blankly stared at Allen, whose body was caught by the branches, his thin arms and legs dangling.

“It’s a Gwangdae Tree.”

“Pardon…?”

“Though it’s absurdly large.”

Noah blinked a few times and examined the tree again. Although its appearance was definitely different from the typical ones, it had all the characteristics of a Gwangdae Tree.

“Wait a moment, Gwangdae Trees never let go of their prey until they find new prey. Then if I get caught by the Gwangdae Tree, won’t Allen be released?”

“Well… give it a try.”

Nigel answered indifferently.

“Yes, I understand.”

Noah approached the Gwangdae Tree trunk with long strides.

Then, a thick branch of the Gwangdae Tree seemed to approach Noah, but soon the branch swiftly returned to its place.

…Toddle toddle.

Noah returned without any success.

“Why on earth…”

Noah’s face was filled with guilt as he looked up at Allen, who was about to lose consciousness.

Nigel, who had been quietly observing this, roughly ruffled his hair and opened his mouth.

“That’s natural. Because you, Beselion, are less tasty than Allen.”

“…Pardon?”

“If you were hungry, would you eat a plump chicken that you’ve already half-eaten, or would you catch and eat a scrawny chicken from the beginning?”

Only then did Noah realize why the Gwangdae Tree didn’t catch him. Compared to Allen, who was full of mana, Noah, who had mana deficiency, was far from an appealing prey.

“Then there’s only one way left to rescue Allen now.”

“What is…”

Before Noah could finish his words, Nigel began to move.

The method to extract Allen from the Gwangdae Tree was simple. Just as a plump chicken becomes miserable in front of a fatty cow, Nigel, who was more tempting prey than Allen, just had to go.

The closer Nigel approached, step by step, the more active the Gwangdae Tree’s movements became.

The way it moved its branches to allow Nigel to get close to the trunk without any interference seemed as if the tree was welcoming Nigel.

As Nigel arrived at the huge trunk that his two arms couldn’t even wrap around, numerous branches approached Nigel.

Even the branch that was stealing mana from Allen let go of Allen and approached Nigel.

Fortunately, Noah successfully caught Allen, who was about to fall. Seeing this, Nigel smiled in relief.

“Nigel…!”

Noah’s eyes wavered as he set Allen down in a safe place.

Trapped within dark blue branches that resembled a large cage, Nigel looked so precarious as if his life would be stolen by the Gwangdae Tree at any moment, so Noah drew his sword.

Even though he knew that Gwangdae Trees never let go of their prey until they find new prey, he couldn’t just stand by like this.

At that moment, Nigel shook his head.

“Noah, don’t waste your energy and stay put over there.”

Nigel didn’t lose his composure even among the numerous branches approaching to steal his mana.

At that firm voice, Noah suppressed his own feelings, sheathed his sword again, and made Allen lean on his shoulder.

Seeing this, Nigel raised the corners of his mouth.

He seemed to have vaguely found the reason he wanted to be with them and at the same time the reason he wanted to stay away from them.

He wanted to… protect them. Allen and Noah’s daily life.

‘Protect them, who’s protecting who.’

It was ridiculous even in his own thoughts.

But because he had desperately wanted an ordinary daily life, Nigel was quite satisfied with the reason he could come up with.

Now that he had figured out his own reason, it was time to ask the other two for their reasons.

‘But first, I need to get rid of these disgusting branches.’

Whenever Nigel’s body touched them, the branches and trunk wriggled unpleasantly.

“…If you want to eat my mana, don’t steal it, receive it politely.”

On Nigel’s hand, which now had a ring on it, a large mana flame was burning vigorously.

Sensing this, branches of varying thickness and length rushed to the mana flame.

Because all the branches rushed to Nigel’s hand, the thick trunk showed a gap.

“…Found it.”

Nigel brought his empty hand to the trunk and poured out his mana to his heart’s content for the first time since enrolling in Cienia.

Bang!

Amidst the loud sound that shook his head and the violently shaking tree, a single figure gracefully fell.

Blink blink.

Allen blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling, no, the unfamiliar sky full of trees he was seeing for the first time.

“…Ah right, Nigel!!”

Allen, who belatedly recalled his memories, sat up with a start.

Worried that Nigel might be hurt, he had scattered with Noah to search the forest, but ended up getting caught by a strange tree that stole mana… but his body felt too light to have had his mana stolen.

“…Ah, you’re awake?”

At that moment, Nigel, who was awkwardly smiling and approaching him, came into Allen’s view.

“That… A lot of your mana was stolen by the Gwangdae Tree, so I transferred my mana to you for now, but it might not be enough.”

Nigel spoke stiffly, avoiding Allen’s gaze.

Hug!

Allen, who had been in a daze, hugged Nigel tightly.

“…Nigel! Do you know how worried I was when you went into the forest alone?!”

“That… I’m sorry.”

Nigel stopped making excuses and patted Allen’s back as he sobbed.

“How much, how much I…!”

“Sorry…”

Nigel obediently accepted Allen’s light punches until his anger subsided.