The meeting has begun.

Baekyang’s condition wasn’t stable yet, but he couldn’t put off work forever.

Still, it seems that persuading Baekyang yesterday was helpful in its own way, and she didn’t restrict my actions as much as before. Of course, whenever I feel anxious, I still hold on to my sleeves.

It’s time to be anxious though.

For example, when So-yeon entered after the enemy.

Baekyang always lowered her head and tugged at the hem of my sleeve.

What do you want me to do?

do you want to catch it?

“… … What are you doing!”

“No, I thought you were asking me to hold your hand because you kept pulling me.”

Baekyang kept bothering me, so when I held her hand tightly, she was startled and scolded me.

No matter how dirty it is, if you react as if you touched it, you will be hurt.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better though.”

“I thought it gave me goosebumps.”

Like this vicious goblin.

When I glanced at him, he was giggling. It was clear that he had been playing with me all this time. Should I still think that I have enough room?

I don’t shiver as much as before.

Yes, acting so desperately is better than being frightened.

I decided to help, so I have to endure it. What can I do?

“What are you going to do now?”

The white sheep asks cautiously. I’d probably be worried.

I’ve decided to help her, but I’m not taking any action. You must be curious about my intentions.

But still. Not now.

“First of all, we have to solve the problem in front of us.”

I’m busy. Because the meeting was extended by a day, the plan was a little off.

Perhaps after this meeting, or in the middle, we will have to act right away.

After that, even after solving her problems, there are plenty of other things left to do.

There is also the original purpose of going to Mt. Bongrae and persuading Tia.

“Do not worry about it. I’ll do something for you. You just need to prepare.”

“… … What are you ready for?”

“Prepare to be brave.”

Ultimately, it’s the two of them who have to deal with this on their own. There are limits to what I can do.

I just set the stage.

And he only shows the way for her and pushes her back.

Baekyang doesn’t seem to understand what I mean yet, but the meeting has already started.

“Then let’s start the meeting. This time, there are two outsiders, so I hope everyone behaves in a formal manner. hey! Don’t play around there! You damn children!”

Bihyung seemed to be holding his head while watching the goblins. It is a milky species.

The boss usually doesn’t do it right, so the rest of us do that too.

“Hmm, hmm. Anyway, let’s start? First, I’d like to introduce a guest from outside… … . You already know this one, right? I am the one who broke your limbs.”

At that moment, a lot of booing poured out on me.

yes kids grow.

I am the one who broke all of your limbs.

But do you know one thing about the booing bastards right now? The first is difficult, the second is difficult, right?

“And this is the famous Shaman of the Three Realms of Heaven.”

“Nice to meet you. Everyone. As I was introduced, I am So-yeon, one of the shamans of the Samdocheon, ‘the shaman of the moon.”

So-yeon, who started off with Bi-hyeong’s introduction, greeted me with a much more restrained attitude than I remember.

Well, since she would have her face as a shrine maiden, she wouldn’t go out lightly.

“The reason why I came out of the three provinces this time is to get cooperation for an emergency that covers the entire federation.”

“You mean the change in the forest recently?”

“you’re right. Fundamentally speaking, the tree has become a monster.”

An anomaly in the forest that covers the whole of the Federation.

And the place with the cause is none other than ＜Dokkaebi Forest＞.

Of course, Soyeon didn’t come knowing that. The shrine maidens must have been dispatched to different places.

I am the only one who fully understands the truth of the case here.

The sense of omnipotence that comes from knowing the future, which has been felt for a long time.

Recently, all of my work has been twisted and twisted, making it difficult to breathe, but it is a very comfortable feeling.

“Then I understand that this incident is not the work of the king. But why? Is there any reason why the king should try to solve this problem?”

Bihyung threw natural suspicions.

[Yowang] This is because Kang Chul-i belongs to the evil category if you look at his disposition.

There’s no way he dispatched a shrine maiden for the federation.

There is no reason to move unless you are harmed.

In fact, since not even a single tree can grow in Samdocheon, it may seem like nothing to do with it.

However, there was a phenomenon that appeared because of it.

“However, the number of travelers using Samdocheon has increased noticeably in the past month.”

“Oh, is that so? But why?”

“uh… … .”

Soyeon’s confusion was evident. She couldn’t have imagined that the leader of a group could be so ignorant.

“Hmm, hmm… … .”

So-yeon cleared her throat a few times as if she didn’t want to show it, then answered Bi-hyung’s question.

“Because of the change in the forest, each village put strong restrictions on entry and exit. Some of them didn’t accept outsiders at all.”

“So you were driven to Samdocheon because your movement was blocked?”

“Exactly.”

So-yeon nodded her head in a polite yet cheerful manner.

It seems to have been quite frustrating.

“As you know, Kang Chul-i hates noise. But lately, there has been a lot of floating population, so there was no choice but to create noise.”

“What is floating population?”

“… … It means there were a lot of people coming and going. The Goblin King.”

“aha.”

I’m ashamed of myself for nothing.

What happened to So-yeon, who was trapped in Samdocheon and couldn’t even get a proper education?

Did you win the leader position through wrestling?

Maybe it’s because he’s a goblin.

“Then do you have any guesses about the cause of this?”

“It is still in the investigation phase.”

“Hmm… … .”

Bihyung closed his eyes and began to think. It must be thinking about the connection with So-yeon.

The title of Shaman of the Three Realms of Heaven has a great ripple effect by itself. The magic they use will also exert considerable power.

But at the same time there are risks.

It’s just that I still can’t trust them properly. It is close to a miracle that this event was able to take place without any exchange in the first place.

Bihyung, who was struggling like that, opened his eyes slowly and said.

“… … Shall we listen to the other side and decide?”

My head is bad, so I thought about it, but I couldn’t seem to come up with an answer.

It’s only now, but I think I was able to figure out the seeds I sowed with that kind of intelligence.

Is it just a good feeling?

Anyway, finally it was my turn.

It will be simple here if you follow the original plan.

“I know the cause of this abnormality, the causal relationship, what will happen in the future, and even how to solve it.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Goblin and Shaman.

Both sides were silent. Suspicion, interest, and other emotions were directed at me. And those emotion-mixed eyes soon turned into one.

‘Let’s listen to what he’s saying.’

It’s that kind of eyes. Now everyone is looking at me in anticipation of what I have to say.

It feels like being the main character.

Noah must have been a servant because of this.

“First of all, let’s go over the prerequisites for each one. Who do you think did this and for what purpose?”

“I don’t know the purpose, but it happens irregularly, so maybe someone did it with malicious intent?”

“Uh, um… … . I think I am too.”

So-yeon made a reasonable inference, but threw Bi-hyung.

I wonder what it would be like as the boss, but well, it’s okay. Because that’s the wrong answer anyway.

“The causal relationship is reversed.”

It is not something done by someone’s purpose. Coincidence, something that could have happened one day just happened.

“Trees generally cannot become youkai. If a yogi is not some kind of omnipotent force, but mere energy, would he make an inanimate object animate?”

This is basic common sense.

That’s why it’s not the tree’s problem, but it’s normal to think that something has been done to the tree and approach it.

“But there are also trees with will. They are called world trees.”

The world tree had a clear will to say that it was a simple tree.

After that World Tree was polluted, it affected the surrounding trees.

This is the causal relationship of this incident.

“World Tree… … . What, let’s say there is one? Then who planted it and for what purpose?”

Bihyung asked another fundamental question. Also my prediction is correct.

This goblin is not smart, but has excellent instinctive senses.

Stupid, but got the point.

“It must have been planted by a passing elf.”

“Then the culprit is an elf.”

“… … There would have been no malice.”

“I had no ill will, but would you have thought of planting a world tree in the federation?”

“That is a valid opinion.”

Soyeon was suspicious. Did the elf really have no ill will?

To be honest, I’m not even sure. Because in the first place, there was no such thing as black magic.

I don’t think so.

“The World Tree is generally uncontaminated by yogis.”

Why did it only happen now? If it happened because the World Tree was polluted, it should have exploded when it was an enemy sapling whose power was much weaker.

However, the world tree has grown to a certain extent, and has been fine until now, when it can bear fruit.

Like I said earlier.

“The trees of the Commonwealth have grown with Yogi. It could be decades or even hundreds of years older.”

Because causality is reversed.

“Because the World Tree grows enormous, its roots are deep, thin and wide. Then you might be able to touch other trees.”

“But this is happening all over the Federation?”

“How far do you think the world tree will grow? non-type. As far as I know, there is no limit to the growth of the World Tree.”

A tree that grows constantly.

The world tree spreads its roots as wide as possible for maximum coexistence.

From the point of view that trees growing like that are not observed in the first place, elves are called a mysterious race in this world where there are all kinds of races.

“Then let’s think about it. If we are poisoned, when is the most lethal? when it comes into contact with the skin When bitten by a poisonous creature?”

“… … when consumed directly.”

Soyeon answered this question with a gloomy expression. She must have caught on to this, too.

“you’re right. If it comes in contact with your skin, just wash it off, and if you get bitten, cut it off in the worst case. But when you ingest it yourself, it’s a pretty tiring situation.”

It would have been fine at first.

Because the world tree itself has a purification ability that is close to divine power.

However, the story is different if it is a root to absorb nutrients.

A yogi who does not come from the outside but absorbs himself and eats away from the inside is bound to be fatal.

“Still, the World Tree is better. You can just export it again. But where would you like to take it?”

The process is too long to exhale through the leaves or stems what has risen through the roots. then?

Simple.

“I will go back to my roots. However, this time, due to the nature of ‘confusion’ that Yogi possesses, there may have been something a little unusual mixed in.”

“It means that the will spread through the roots… … ? then!”

So-yeon seemed to have noticed the direction the situation was going and forgot even the formal respect and shouted.

“you’re right. All trees that touch the roots of the World Tree can be said to be potential yokai.”

If it’s a root that has spread throughout the Federation, I don’t know how much it will be.

However, considering the nature of the game, the boss stage was a wave type that blocks several monsters for a certain period of time… … .

That there are enough numbers.

“Okay then, let’s make an assumption. The World Tree is repeating such an act. Cycles are getting shorter. What do you mean by that?”

It would be better if it was repeated in the same way now. All you have to do is defeat the tree monsters that appear.

But what does it mean for it to be a wave that bursts in unison?

“The world tree is nearing its limit, and sooner or later it will give out its deathbed. I will vomit everything accordingly.”

He will try to release all the yogi in his body, including his own strength.

If that happens, the elite who have absorbed the most of the World Tree’s power will appear up close, along with an absurd number of monsters.

“3 days. In at least three days from now, all the trees in the federation will turn into youkai and become a piece of shit.”

Once again, silence came to the conference hall. Bi-hyeong and So-yeon each seemed to check the situation with serious faces.

“How do you know that? How can you, who was in the Imperial Territory not so long ago?”

And the guy who protested as if my argument was nonsense also came out as if it were natural.

This is the guy named Cheongmang who was intensively slapped on the snout by me.

It’s obvious that he has a hard time, but there’s nothing wrong with what he says.

“Is that important now? So, are you going to suck your thumb until you get beaten up?”

“But don’t you think it’s questionable to say that now? Wouldn’t it have been easier to respond if I had said that earlier?”

“I was going to say it, but you guys put me in jail.”

“No, yes, the first one, but the second one is purely your fault… … .”

“boss! A huge number of tree monsters are coming out!”

It was even before the excuses that seemed to be unfair were over.

A goblin who appeared to be a guard opened the door to the meeting room and appeared.

He had already been in a fight, so he wasn’t normal.

Bihyung looked at him and frowned and asked me.

“… … baby boy Didn’t you say three days earlier?”

“Well, it’s faster than I expected. Didn’t you say minimal? And the work to be done has not changed in the end.”

“What should I do?”

“I have to stop it. Can you tell me anything?”

The wave, once started, will come incessantly.

Until that side withers away or this side is annihilated.

A war of destruction has begun on both sides.