Now, we have learned that the problem was caused not only by the decrease in spirits but also by Reagaia sucking on the roots. Therefore, we must have Reagaia cooperate with everything she has…!
「You can do it, you can do it! You can do even more! Do not give up! It is possible! You can still do it! Try a little harder!」
「I cannot do anymore! Mother is going to burst!」
「It is fine! You opened a hole in your own stomach to give me your liver before, remember? Compared to that, this is nothing! Praise yourself for working a little harder!」
「I could endure that because it was only a one-time thing! I do not want to do this over and over!」
Yes. I can certainly understand that feeling.
Even I was only able to resolve myself to do that to my own stomach because it was a one-time thing…
However, Reagaia, you are different. You are not a frail human like me; you are a sturdy dragon with fast regeneration, so I am sure you will be fine.
「Show me the best parts of a Great Dragon! You are shining brilliantly right now! The magic power ball after this will surely be the most delicious one in your entire life… or rather, dragon-life! I will make it with a little extra magic power!」
「Kuh… magic power ball… Ultra-Concentrated… A little extra… S-Sigh, I guess it cannot be helped! I shall show the majesty of a dragon to you, who seems to have been looking down on me lately! Funn-haaaaaa!」
「Oh! Amazing! Incredible, Reagaia! See, you can do it if you try! I think I am actually feeling moved! Go for it, go for it, Reagaia!」
「Uooooooo—!」
「Itsuki-san? …What are you doing?」
Hah! You startled me!
You surprised me by speaking so suddenly!
Wait, Hayato? You are back?
And for some reason, he is looking at me with a gaze full of concern, but it is fine. I am perfectly sane.
「Ah… No, well, ah, welcome back. The thing is… you see? Reagaia was literally shaving off her own life to supplement the vitality, but she gives up incredibly fast… However, Reagaia has reasons of her own for needing to cooperate, so I was asked if I could do something… and I gave her a bit of a Shuzo-style hot-blooded pep talk…」
「I-I see…?」
「Hmm. Lord was passionate.」
TN: Shuzo is a famous professional tennis player in Japan known for being incredibly passionate, loud, and encouraging (often called “hot-blooded” or nekketsu).
Ah, thank you, Shiro.
I believe that is the highest form of praise.
「Haa… haa… Shiro-chan’s lord is a demon that would make even a dragon run away barefoot…! I certainly said I would cooperate, but making me rip off my own raw scales to supplement vitality is the work of a cold-blooded monster…」
The magic power levels have been supplemented quite well, but the real issue is the vitality… so I made a suggestion. Though, looking at it objectively, I really am a demon, aren’t I?
I’ve been having her tear off her own scales and offer them to the Spirit Tree almost immediately to ensure as much vitality as possible is recovered… Yeah, that’s definitely the work of a villain.
But hey, she’s part of the cause, and Reagaia herself was the one who said this would be the most efficient way… so it can’t be helped, right?
Alright! Let’s go for one more set!
「That look in your eyes is saying ‘one more time’, isn’t it?! Wait, wait, wait! Magic power ball first! My regeneration isn’t keeping up! At least give me some time to recover!」
「I suppose you’re right. Well then, while you’re at it, we’ll have the materials Hayato and the others brought back buried.」
And so, while feeding the drooling Reagaia an ultra-concentrated magic power ball, I checked the materials Hayato’s group collected… and the amount was staggering. Apparently, they gathered so much that it filled their Magic Bags to the brim; it looked like a small hill.
Wait, has that much time really passed…?
「So frustrating…! We were just one step behind Hayato’s group!」
「Hmm. Shiro, individually, is second place.」
「That’s because you kept snatching away the monsters we were hunting! Hunt separately to be more efficient!」
「Now, now, Sorte. It’s fine, isn’t it? We gathered this much, after all」
「I know, but… what’s frustrating is frustrating!」
It seems Hayato’s party won the competition, but as Aina said, gathering this much is a win in itself.
With this much material, even if Reagaia says vitality is hard to get from them, it should still be a significant supplement, right?
「’Munch munch’… Hmmm. Well, I’d say this is worth about two of my scales?」
「Wait… are you serious?」
Even though there’s this much?
It’s a pile so big I’d have trouble climbing it!
「The quantity is high, sure, but I’m an Earth Dragon. Those over there are low-level monsters, right? There’s just no comparison.」
「Is that so…? Indeed, they were lower-floor monsters, so I had considered that possibility, but…」
Eeeh… you aren’t just lying to make yourself look more capable, are you?
Well, then again, if you appraised the market value of an Earth Dragon scale versus this entire mountain, the scale would probably fetch a higher price.
「In other words, it means you need to work even harder, Reagaia.」
「Eh?! W-Well, gathering this much is amazing, really! I’m sure this alone will be a great supplement to the Spirit Tree’s vitality!」
It’s a bit late to try and smooth things over, you know? Once you finish that ultra-concentrated magic power ball you’re sucking on, we’re getting back to work regardless.
Come on, come on. If you just bite down and crush it instead of savoring it, we can get back to the supplement process sooner, right…?
「Aaah… it tastes so incredibly good, but I’m terrified of finishing it… I mean, isn’t there any other way? Think of something else!」
“Find a method”, she says… but you can’t just transfer life force normally, can you?
If it were magic power, I could knead it out and they’d absorb it. But you can’t knead life force, nor is it something you can see.
I mean, I don’t even really know what “life force” is.
I can sense magic power, but when someone says “life force,” I just think, “Hmm?”
What bothers me is Atros-sama’s phrase, “You can manage with what you have.”
What I have… the only thing that comes to mind is this magic tool that can produce a “magic power ball.” But that does nothing for life force.
Surely, she doesn’t mean a vibrator… Hmm…
「Um… excuse me, m’lord?」
「Hm? What is it, Shion?」
「I have a suggestion. Could we use this?」
「This? This is… the Yin-Yang Blade?」
Shion shows me one of the two Yin-Yang Blades. It looks like she’s showing me the -Yang- one. Each of the two Yin-Yang Blades has a special effect.
The -Yin- effect severs connections with spirits. The -Yang- effect should absorb spirits.
I think spirits and life force are different, but… Hm?
Speaking of which, I recall that what the Yin-Yang Blade -Yang- absorbs can be returned to its wielder.
If I remember from what Daikoku-san, who gave me the blade, said… it’s less about recovery and more about improving one’s condition…
And I just remembered. Atros-sama didn’t say “what you have”. She said “what ‘you all’ have”. So it’s possible she meant the Yin-Yang Blade -Yang-.
「Ah… I see.」
「I know spirits and life force are different, but it does improve your condition. I thought it might have some effect.」
That’s true.
Even if it doesn’t work as intended, the effect of improving one’s condition might still be beneficial.
Thinking in terms of “you all” as Atros-sama said, this might be the most promising lead.
But…
「But it’s still a problem if it can’t hold it, isn’t it?」
「That’s the issue… How do we get the tree to hold a sword?」
Find a hole that looks easy to insert it into… would that count as “holding” it?
No, but I recall the Spirit Tree can extend its branches intentionally.
If it can understand me and act upon it, we could try… but I have a feeling it would be incredibly embarrassing if I talk to the tree and get no response.
W-well, I am the man who successfully charmed Strongberry.
Surely talking to a Spirit Tree is nothing!
「Ahem… Oh Spirit Tree. Would you be willing to extend your branches in a spiral so we can insert this blade to help you?」
『……』
…It was not a quiet scene, you know?
I suddenly remembered an incident from my childhood when I acted foolishly. I was alone in the heavy rain, laughing and shouting, “Let the wind blow! Let the storm dance!” only to realize someone was standing right behind me.
It felt like a fresh wound had been inflicted upon an old scar of trauma!
I am afraid to turn around and see what expressions everyone is making due to secondhand embarrassment!
Just as I thought this, a thin branch extended from the thick branch above my head, spiraling its tip outward just as I had said.
Wh-What? It was listening to me?
Good… Now it is no longer an embarrassing act…
「Oh… Master-sama. Are you seducing trees now too?」
「Seducing has nothing to do with it…」
Surely, it understood what I was saying and that we were trying to help, so it moved to save itself.
Seducing a tree… It makes no sense at all.
More importantly, when I inserted Yin-Yang Blade -Yang-, it tightened further, and the blade did not fall even when I let go. But having the tip pointed at me is somewhat frightening.
Originally, Yin-Yang Blade cannot cut spiritual bodies unless magic power is passed through it. But even though it is a Spirit Tree, can a tree pass magic power through the blade?
「Master-sama. It is dangerous with a physical body, so shall I do it?」
「No, I am just testing it, so it is fine.」
For now, I gently tested whether my index finger could pierce it… Oh, it is fine.
It passed through smoothly without touching my finger, so apparently, magic power is flowing through it.
Oh… My index finger, which passed through, feels like it is being sucked in…
This… It feels like something other than magic power is being absorbed, and it seems effective.
However, as it continues to absorb, I feel my body temperature dropping, and a chill running down my spine…
Instinctively, this feels more dangerous than having my magic power absorbed.
「Alright. I am done eating. Move aside, move aside. I just need to get stabbed by this, right? It is easier than peeling off scales.」
Reagaia pushed me aside and stepped forward, effortlessly passing the blade through her arm without hesitation. However, I, who was watching, felt my heart pounding.
「Oh… I see, I see. Ah, it is being absorbed. Oh, this looks promising.」
「Does that mean it is replenishing vitality?」
「Yes. It is not exactly vitality, but something that can substitute for it. It is something other than magic power that I can convert with my own magic power. It is absorbing vigorously, but this thing has no restraint…」
Ah… That is because you remember sucking on the roots, is it not?
It completely proves that it has a will.
But for now, it seems we have solved the issue of vitality.
If we continue this and keep pouring magic power into it, we and the Elves should be able to create clones without problem.
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