Chapter 35.1

Project: Sound of Music (4)

A tree that grew bit by bit, about 10 cm a year, suddenly grew more than 2 meters.

No matter how you looked at it, it was clearly an abnormal phenomenon, a matter worthy of an emergency meeting.

While everyone was wondering, "What on earth happened?"

Reed, unlike the others, could guess the cause of the incident.

'It must be their doing.'

The territory of Yggdrasil, where High Elves and Wood Elves coexisted.

Phoebe and Rosaria entered that place.

There was no doubt that the yellow rice cake and the white rice cake had caused a commotion in Yggdrasil's territory.

'I'm sure they didn't do it with bad intentions, and it must have been going in a good direction and ended up like that...'

As Reed was thinking that, the atmosphere among the Tower Masters became more and more serious.

It wasn't an atmosphere where you could speak hastily.

Then, the Master of the Greenwood Tower spoke with a serious face.

"If the world tree of the elves grew over 2m at once, there must have been an elf with exceptional magic skills involved."

"Then, wouldn't the balance maintained by the Greenwood Tower also collapse?"

"That seems to be the case for now."

The Master of the Greenwood Tower spoke with an expression of shame.

The collapse of the balance meant that the tower Master had not fulfilled their duty, so there was nothing to say even if they were blamed.

However, the tower Masters knew what their priority was.

Right now, resolving this situation was more important than blaming.

"So, are there any changes in those big-eared creatures? Did they pick up any relics or something?"

"It's difficult to say at the moment. We discovered the anomaly at the Greenwood Tower and immediately convened this emergency meeting, so we're still investigating the specific situation."

Although there was a problem, there were no concrete details yet.

So the tower Masters racked their brains and made guesses.

"If the World Tree suddenly grew 2 meters... could it be that a new magical formula was created?"

"The growth of the World Tree is more dependent on mana than spells. Even when all the elders combined their powers, it barely grew by 10 cm, but in just a few minutes, it grew by 2 meters.

There's no doubt that a talent with a completely different amount of mana from the other elders has appeared."

The emergence of talent and the invention of a new spell.

Either way, it was a tremendous event that could shake the balance of the Cloud Continent.

"What do you suggest we do?"

Freesia, with a bored expression, offered a solution.

"What's the point of whining like this? Nothing will fundamentally be resolved. Let's eliminate the problem before it becomes an issue."

Eliminate the problem in advance.

It was a solution, indeed.

Then, Dolores, who was sitting next to her, frowned and objected.

"Are you suggesting we slaughter the elves now? If that happens, not only the Black Sky but other towers will also become enemies of the continent."

"I agree with Wallin's statement. Don't say such things so easily, Black Sky."

As the Master of the Sky Chamber Tower, Helios also frowned and glared, Freesia's face turned sour.

"Really, you people are no fun. Don't you think so, Reed?"

She turned her head and passed the baton to Reed, who was sitting next to her.

"Anyone would think we're on the same team."

Taking the baton, Reed looked around and opened his mouth.

"In my opinion, the elves probably have nothing to do with this."

"What do you mean, Silence! It suddenly grew by 2 meters! You're saying this isn't a matter to be cautious about?"

To the other tower Masters, who were unaware of Phoebe and Rosaria's existence, it might have sounded overly optimistic.

'This must be related to Rosaria.'

But Reed didn't know the exact details, making it difficult to reveal at this moment.

'But to continue with this misunderstanding...'

Even if it was later revealed that the situation was part of the project, the worst-case scenario could arise where the misunderstanding would not be cleared up.

Reed continued to ponder and eventually made a decision.

Although the timing wasn't right since it wasn't a project to create an incredible weapon, he decided to disclose it first.

"That's the thing..."

"Ah! I've received a call!"

The Greenwood Tower Master, who was sitting on the opposite side, exclaimed.

Everyone's attention immediately shifted to the Greenwood Tower Master.

"What is it?"

"What's the situation?"

"Wait a moment. Yes... Yes... Yes?"

As her tone grew increasingly serious, she looked over at Reed.

"Yeah, I got it. Thank you."

The call ended, and silence ensued.

The Greenwood Tower Master mulled over what she had heard and remained still until the other Tower Masters, unable to bear the suspense, urged her to speak.

"Start by telling us what it is."

"Well, it's just that..."

"Did some problem occur?"

"Well... It seems that someone entered the Yggdrasil area a few hours before it suddenly grew...?"

At those words, some Tower Masters jumped up.

"An accomplice from the outside! As expected!"

"Let's go and investigate immediately!"

Including Freesia, some of the hardline tower Masters mentioned war and became agitated.

However, the Greenwood Tower Master continued her words while glancing at Reed.

"But it's confirmed that... a horned blonde woman in her twenties and a white-haired girl entered the area."

The atmosphere suddenly cooled.

"A horned woman in her twenties and a white-haired girl?"

"It seems specific..."

As they spoke, everyone's gaze focused on one place.

Someone who had a half-dragon assistant and a white-haired child.

That someone sighed, tucked their lips in, and resignedly said,

"...Anyway, it's not something the elves have done."

***

The emergency meeting ended anticlimactically.

Since they had gathered due to concerns that Yggdrasil's rapid growth might be related to the elves' ambitions, discovering that the cause lay elsewhere allowed the situation to be easily resolved for now.

Reed was talking to Phoebe through a call.

-I'm sorry...

"I told you to broaden your horizons, not create an incident that puts me in a difficult position."

-I have no excuse, Tower Master.

Her voice sounded tearful and damp with moisture.

Reed sighed.

-Were you interrogated?

"For now, I explained the project to everyone and also told them why you guys were there. They asked you to write a separate report on the events that occurred there to be sent to the Greenwood Tower Master.

-Yes, I will write and send the report separately.

"That's what you should do."

-Whimper...

The sound of whimpering, like a scared puppy, flowed in response to Reed's stern words.

"Has the contamination of the World Tree been resolved?"

-Yes, thanks to the lady's help, it was resolved quickly. And in the process, all the blood that was hindering growth was released, leading to rapid growth.

"Is that so?"

-Yes, even the elf elders were surprised, their mouths hanging open as they looked up at the tree.

It was indeed surprising.

When it was said that it had grown from about 10cm to 2m, the tower Masters, who are outsiders, were also surprised, let alone the parties involved.