It seems Yggdrasil-san does not know about 『Divine Tree-sama’s Gift』.
Even though she is the Divine Tree-sama herself, she says she does not know.
What is going on? I find it hard to believe she truly has no idea…
「Well… the other day, I went to appraise Momo-chan.」
「Hmm… Wait, is it alright for me to hear those results?」
「Ah, it’s fine. Momo-chan himself said it’s okay to share.」
「Kii. ――Ki!?」
It seems Momo-chan had been properly listening to our conversation. He reaffirmed with a 『No problem!』――but at that very moment, the card tower he had been building collapsed.
「Kii…」
「Momo-chan…」
He looks a little sad…
「Kii」
「Hang in there, Momo-chan.」
As I cheered him on while he switched gears and diligently began rebuilding his tower, I took out a memo.
「In any case, please take a look at this.」
「Very well.」
I handed Yggdrasil-san the memo where I had written down Momo-chan’s appraisal results.
Name: Apple
Race: Giant Ra tAge: 0
Job: Giant Rat Apprentice
Level: 1
Strength: 1
Magic: 1
Vitality: 1
Dexterity: 1
Agility: 2
Skills:
Giant Rat Lv1 Sword Lv1
「These are Momo-chan’s appraisal results.」
「Hmm. …It says Apple, though?」
「Well, yes.」
I am not sure what to say if that is what she chooses to focus on.
「For some reason, during the appraisal he was listed as Apple-chan… Anyway, look at these stats.」
「Hmm… I do not see anything particularly unusual…」
「Here. This part. The 『Agility』 stat. It is 2, right? I was told that this is 『Divine Tree-sama’s Gift』.」
「Hmm?」
「No, I mean, I heard that when a child is born, Yggdrasil-san grants them one bonus ability value――」
「Ah……」
As I explained while pointing at the 『Agility』 in the appraisal results, Yggdrasil-san let out a sound as if something had clicked.
「ah ah ah…… That…」
「Um…?」
Yggdrasil-san lowered her head, looking genuinely fed up. What in the world…?
「It is not me.」
「Excuse me?」
「I do not grant ability values to newborn children.」
「You don’t?」
「I do not.」
So it was not her. It seems it truly was not Yggdrasil-san.
I see… Well, to be honest, I had already started to suspect that…
「So it really was not you, Yggdrasil-san?」
「It was not me.」
「I knew it…」
「What do you mean, you knew it, you brat!?」
「Oh…」
She kind of snapped at me…
But still, it really was not a gift from Yggdrasil-san…
「S-sorry… I was not trying to blame you or accuse you of anything…」
「H-hmm. My apologies as well. I raised my voice a little.」
「No, it’s fine. I just thought that maybe adding one point to an ability might be possible. But when it comes to adjusting it based on each individual’s aptitude, I figured that would be too much, even for you…」
Since Yggdrasil-san is essentially the god of this world, I wondered if something like a divine +1 to an ability score might be possible.
I thought that perhaps through some skill or title she possesses, it could happen.
Even so, individual adjustments would be pushing it…
「Then what exactly was this 『Divine Tree’s Gift』 that I heard about?」
「Hmm… How should I put it… Having exactly one stat at 2 at level 1 is actually something people can notice, you know?」
「Eh, really?」
「It may be rare to appraise someone at level 1, but you can calculate it, can you not? Normally, stat values increase in sets of three. So if you subtract three at a time, you can work backward noja.」
「Ah, I see. That makes sense.」
If you subtract the stat increases gained from leveling up, you would eventually arrive at one stat being 2 and the rest being 1.
「In the past, there were people who wondered what that meant…」
「That makes sense. I was curious too.」
After all, when one stat alone is 2, it stands out.
「And then… for some reason, it ended up being attributed to me.」
「Well…」
It is not exactly a bad thing, so saying it is “Yggdrasil-san’s fault” feels a bit harsh…
I suppose people thought it must be some kind of blessing or divine favor from the Divine Tree-sama.
「By the way, who started that? What group of people began saying that?」
「There was no specific person noja. Before anyone knew it, the idea had spread across various regions. It was a very long time ago.」
「I see…」
If Yggdrasil-san says it was a long time ago, then it must truly have been ages past…
I see… It was quite an interesting story.
It feels like folklore. Like I just attended another lecture on elven folklore by Yggdrasil-san.
「For my part, I keep denying it noja…」
「You do?」
「Of course. I did no such thing.」
「That may be true, but… wait. Then who is doing it? Why does it increase in the first place? Why is exactly one stat 2?」
「I do not know.」
Oh… I see. Well, if she does not know, then that is that.
Then maybe it is Deis-san? I do not know the reason, but perhaps Deis-san set it up that way?
「In any case, whenever I hear it, I deny it noja. Yet for some reason, the Church keeps trying to spread it noja.」
「The Church?」
「Even when I say 『It is not me』, they respond with something like 『Oh my, how humble of you』…」
「I see… so they do not believe you?」
「Hmm…Though, there are times when I suspect they know perfectly well that it is not my doing noja.」
Oh no, that makes it worse… So they might know and still be spreading it…
Is this what you call propaganda? Is the Forest and the World Tree Church using it for propaganda…?
Unbelievable. I only asked out of mild curiosity, and now I have brushed against the darkness of the Church…
「A-anyway… oh, look at this. Momo-chan inherited the 『Sword』 skill.」
The conversation was starting to feel a little too ominous, so I forcefully changed the topic. It is not like I want to dig into the Church’s hidden side…
「Hmm, I see. Inheritance, was it? Now that you mention it, such a mechanism did exist.」
「I was worried whether Momo-chan could even use a sword, but it seems the 『Sword』 skill activates even with claw attacks.」
I had Father observe Momo-chan’s claw movements, and he said it was probably activating. So it likely is.
That is a relief for me. At least my gift to her did not go to waste.
「So at the moment, Momo-chan possesses the 『Giant Rat』 skill and the 『Sword』 skill. I have heard he can continue learning new skills and skill arts from here on, so I hope he keeps acquiring them and growing stronger.」
Laudette-san was the one who explained all that to me.
So from here on, I want Momo-chan to steadily acquire useful skills and arts, and expand her range of activity.
「New skills, hmm… Perhaps 『Riding』 would be a good place to start?」
「『Riding』?」
「Nana rides him often, does he not?」
「That is true… Wait. Does that mean Momo-chan would acquire the 『Riding』 skill? If anything, would it not be something like a 『Being Ridden』 skill?」
「What is this 『Being Ridden』 skill? Both the one who rides and the one who is ridden have the 『Riding』 skill.」
「Really…」
I did not know that. So both sides use the same 『Riding』 skill.
In that case, Momo-chan acquiring 『Riding』 might indeed happen quickly.
After all, she is ridden almost every day by Nana-san, who already possesses the 『Riding』 skill, and they train together constantly.
「That reminds me, what about Mikoto noja?」
「Huh? Mikoto-san?」
「Has she not been appraised yet? She inherited one of your skills as well, did she not? What did she obtain noja?」
「Ah, well… we are actually on our way to have her appraised right now.」
「Oh?」
「She went to the Church with Nana-san, and then――」
So that Yggdrasil-san could see, I picked up a can of cola.
「It should be sent to me soon.」
「What is that supposed to be…?」
「…Ah, right. You cannot see it, can you, Yggdrasil-san? I have attached the dungeon menu to this.」
A while ago, I expanded it to a large size and stuck it on the wall. But after thinking about it, I realized there was no need to place it that far away. So I resized it to something smaller and attached it nearby instead.
It did not really matter where I put it, so for now I just stuck it onto a cola can that happened to be lying around.
「No, that is not what I mean. What is that red thing to begin with?」
「ah, this? Well…」
Even if she asks what it is, it is not really anything special…
If I had to describe it, I guess it is more like an object or decoration.
「In my previous life, there was a drink that came in something like this.」
「A drink…? Hmm… It was inside that container?」
「Yes, exactly. In my previous life, it was a very famous drink.」
「I see. And what kind of drink was it?」
「What kind? Let me think… It was black and fizzy.」
「What sort of drink is that supposed to be…」
I suppose that does not explain much…
Then again, even if you saw cola for the first time, the appearance alone would probably be quite shocking.
「Just hearing that makes it sound unsettling noja… Was it not harmful to the body?」
「Well… to be honest, it was not exactly good for your health.」
「It was bad for you…」
「There were even rumors that drinking it could melt your teeth and bones.」
「Y-you drank something like that…?」
「I heard it was the best-selling drink in the world.」
「As always, your world is a frightening one…」
next chapter: God Appraisal
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