“Huh, why the rush? You said you’d handle it if we got caught.”

I climbed onto the altar cautiously with my head shaking left and right.

Stomp.

The moment I just entered the warp was then.

“Squeeeak, squawk~!”

Ah, right.

I realized as I heard the clattering sound behind me. I had been so engrossed in my thoughts that I had passed through the warp alone, leaving Poppy behind.

‘He’ll come on his own.’

There were no limitations on the number of people using the warp, so I indifferently stepped onto the white floor.

“Where is this…”

Moments later, when my feet touched the ground, it was clearly not the Yellow Planet.

‘Is this a temple?’

A huge dome-shaped structure with holy engravings on the white glass tubes. Over the numerous layers of World Tree leaves, which surged like waves and receded, was a gigantic pot towering like a mountain.

And in the center was the World Tree, which had withered to the point where its old, green appearance was hard to find.

The sunlight pouring down on the body, which had nothing left but barren branches like sad bones, was pitiful. I decided to talk to the World Tree via telepathy.

The word that felt painfully squeezed out was like a patient writhing in agony. At a glance, the frail World Tree had lost all its glory and halo from the beginning of time, maintaining only a bare sense of consciousness and self.

It was as if a person was miraculously standing for a long time with decayed arms and legs, trembling all over.

“As you can see, this friend won’t last long. But… it’s strange.”

Lillith, who said the tree wasn’t this bad when she came before I was born, found it suspicious that even after receiving the punishment of sharing her immortality, the existence of the World Tree had weakened so rapidly.
“Unless someone has stolen the life promised by the gods, there’s no reason for such a rapid decline. I thought it would last at least a hundred years.”

With a serious expression, Lise Marsen looked up at the World Tree with a sorrowful face.

“Even if we find out why now, it’s too late to replenish the life that’s been lost.”

Muttering to herself about the harsh reality, Lise Marsen plucked a leaf falling in zigzag from the sky and spoke with a serious face.

“Your Highness, it would be good to say our goodbyes in advance.”

“Before that, I want to know why the World Tree is being punished.”

“I’ve been away from the land created by the gods for a long time, so I don’t know the details.”

Lise Marsen let the World Tree leaf float away in the light wind and moistened her lips.

“But what’s clear is that every being gathered around you is receiving the same kind of punishment as the World Tree. It’s not exactly the same, but that’s what I’ve observed over the long years.”

Suddenly chuckling, Lise Marsen displayed a relaxed demeanor.

“Yet the one who truly erred is you alone, Your Highness. Why, then, are their fates tied to the track of suffering just for being connected to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Some chose it semi-coercively, and some accepted it willingly. Either way, punishment usually follows wrongdoing.”

Why is she talking in such a roundabout way? I put my hands on my hips and stared blankly as Poppy, having safely arrived through warp, waddled over with a quacking noise.

“So you’re saying they’re being punished because of me.”

“Yes, whether they love or hate you.”

Having finished her response, Lise Marsen gently closed her eyes. That was the end. She didn’t elaborate further. I had hoped she’d eventually tell me about these ‘interesting beings’ she’d been observing, but her lips remained sealed.

“Oh, it seems the priests are coming. I’ll tell you the rest later.”

How long had we maintained this silence? I heard someone approaching from a distance.

“Alright.”

Since I had snuck in through a warp, getting caught would pose a big problem. It would be strange, wouldn’t it, for the princess of a kingdom that didn’t invite her to just appear?

Wanting to avoid any complications, I quickly jumped into the warp.