Eat The World Tree

Chapter 270: Seducing The Tree (11)

[then, please hug me once before you go.]

after meeting the world tree of healing, she spread her branches wide and hugged me with a small, childish gesture. it wasn’t difficult.

as maronnie shyly covered her face with both hands, i took a step forward and opened my arms toward her. the tree trunk of the world tree of healing nestled directly into my arms. her whole body fit within my embrace.

[...please show your face sometimes while you’re here.]

“do you have a camera? or maybe a voice receiver?”

[no.]

the head portion, where the branches split from the trunk, was placed on my shoulder. the world tree of healing embraced me with her voluptuous branches, wrapping them around me as if trying to swallow me whole.

-squeeze.

the body being hugged.

‘i never thought i’d find myself doing this with a tree.’

i snickered quietly so the world tree wouldn’t hear. i closed my eyes.

-thump.

at that moment, a heartbeat could be heard. a heart....

something strange was happening. a tree shouldn’t have a heart, but there was a loud, resounding beat. startled by this odd occurrence, i opened my eyes.

-spark.

‘what?’

my vision turned bright white in an instant.

my surroundings flipped.

this wasn’t where i was before. a world appeared in front of my eyes, as if a small boat was floating on a vast, white expanse. it was warm, like a mother’s embrace. the faint smell of grass and the soft fragrance of flowers wrapped around me gently. i couldn’t help but smile. a pleasant scent filled the air.

‘what is this—’

soft skin that made my entire body tingle. it was embracing me. the body of the person hugging me slipped between my fingers.

she gently stroked my head and back with her delicate touch, wrapping my body like a gift with her silky, light green hair. she left a lingering, moist kiss on my neck. the branches that had been intertwined around me disappeared without a trace. this world was exuding a dreamlike aura.

it was as if someone had drawn a beautiful dreamscape on my closed eyelids.

[husband.]

i couldn’t see her face well due to my blurred vision. but she smiled at me.

-tap.

in that instant, my consciousness was pushed out of the world. when i regained my senses and opened my eyes again, the surreal atmosphere had vanished. only the dim lights of the room prepared for the world tree flickered gently in my view.

[my dear husband.]

the world tree of healing released me from her embrace.

[i’ll wait for you.]

“oh, uh-huh.”

i felt as if i had just woken up from a dream.

as i stumbled away, i instinctively rubbed the spot on my neck where her lips had touched and looked down at my hand. it felt sticky, like it was covered with human saliva.

i turned and walked towards maronnie.

“...why that face?”

“it’s nothing.”

nothing happened.

i felt like something had occurred, but i couldn’t explain it in words. the face of an unknown woman flickered in my mind. let’s just go. after bidding farewell to the world tree of healing, we left the room.

-clunk.

“sigh.”

as soon as we stepped outside, maronnie made a face of utter disbelief.

“what on earth just happened?”

she muttered in a tired voice, as if she couldn’t believe what had just transpired.

“right.”

i stood next to her, crossing my arms and nodding. it was a baffling situation. i had tried to act like a lover to help maronnie, but when we arrived, the world tree of healing was the one waiting for us. her frenzy had shattered all our original plans.

the fresh and innocent atmosphere we had when we first walked in had long since evaporated. both maronnie and i were exhausted, barely maintaining our steps.

“hey, you...”

“what?”

“are you sure it’s okay like this?”

her question came as we walked.

“the national tree.”

“oh... the one from africa?”

“definitely not that one.”

-crunch.

the biscuit split in half, and the slightly dry texture wasn’t bad.

“i think i might have used it unconsciously. it’s not hard to use.”

i knew how to use the power of subordination. i realized it at some point—there was a moment when you just felt it’s the right time. but i couldn’t be certain, because when i connected with maronnie, i had lost consciousness. i couldn’t even remember the feeling. only fragments of the conversations lingered in my mind.

after putting all the pieces together, i still couldn’t fully understand why maronnie was showing subtle affection now. i slowly explained it all to taeyang, and he nodded.

“then it’s likely subordination. wow, but that’s impressive. it’s nearly impossible to succeed with subordination in one go. so what now?”

“can’t you undo it?”

taeyang snorted at my question.

“it can be undone, sure. want me to?”

“honestly, i’ve observed the results long enough.”

in the worst case, it wouldn’t be completely useless, so there’s no harm in keeping it.

“that’s a bad idea.”

taeyang shook his head.

“it can be undone, but you’d need to wait at least another week. based on what you’ve said.”

i clicked my tongue.

“so, what’s the problem?”

“subordination is useful, but some of the world trees can sense the connection to the tree spirit king.”

“...that’s the first i’ve heard of it.”

“that’s because you don’t actively use subordination. if you mishandle the subordinated ones, and the tree spirit king thinks you’ve crossed the line, he might come to kill you.”

in that case, leaving the subordination mark on the national tree would be a terrible idea.

“then why the hell did you suggest i use subordination on merri? and on others too?”

taeyang looked flustered.

his expression was one of ‘did i really say that?’ he immediately raised a fist and knocked on his own head.

“oops, my mistake.”

crazy bastard.

now that i thought about it, he had been pushing subordination for a while. it was a miracle i hadn’t been screwed over yet.

“that’s because you’ve been so reluctant to use subordination. one or two people won’t matter. not even one tree. the world trees won’t notice such a faint connection.”

“and if they do?”

“then it’s cops and robbers, what else?”

taeyang added one more thing.

“it’s risky, but there are rewards. the more you use subordination, the stronger the tree spirit king’s power will become. it’s like filling up the codex to gain power. subordination works the same way.”

“does the power of subordination only increase if it’s maintained?”

“not necessarily. once you’ve used subordination, it stores experience points. think of it like a game.”

“so the most efficient thing would be to use it and run.”

but in order to undo subordination, at least 2-3 weeks had to pass. during that time, the mental strength of the target would return, and their mind would begin to pull against the tree spirit king’s power. that’s when you could decide whether to undo it or not.

“if their mental strength is strong, they might undo the subordination themselves.”

“in that case, can i never subordinate them again?”

“once it’s undone, they develop immunity. it’s similar to mind magic. if you want to make them yours after that... you’ll need to break them down completely.”

got it.

there was about a week left, and if maronnie’s subordination was undone, i wouldn’t be able to use it on her again. on the other hand, if i mentally broke her down, i could renew the subordination. after repeating this process two or three times, permanent subordination becomes possible.

“...this power is more complicated than i thought. why didn’t you explain it earlier, you bastard?”

“i figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to explain once you had made up your mind.”

-bam!

taeyang’s head flew back.

i should really sit him down and get all the information out one day. this golden goblin of a guy... unless i hit him, he wouldn’t spill anything about the tree spirit king. who knew how many more secrets he was hiding?

a sigh escaped my lips.