Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Chapter 579



578 – The Tree That Opens the Flesh

As I reluctantly rose from my lost slumber, I discovered a returner surrounded by moss. When I tugged at the moss that had slipped out from the collar of the returner, they flinched violently. The moss, having moved across the returner’s skin for about an hour, had warmed to a lukewarm temperature due to their body heat.

“Puhah! Huh. Huh. You….”

“What? I did just as you ordered. I didn’t lift a finger, and neither did you, Shay. How does it feel? Refreshing, right?”

‘My body feels refreshed… but I hate it more!’

What on earth am I supposed to do? Sigh, let’s just not think about it anymore.

“What should we do with this moss? Want to use it again later?”

“Enough already… Just burn it. It’s unpleasant.”

“They’re the ones who washed you with their own bodies, and you’re being too harsh. You could at least show some gratitude.”

But I couldn’t think of any particular use for it, so I simply tossed it out the window. Indeed, throwing away trash without any responsibility feels the lightest.

‘It feels a bit sorry to be discarded like that….’

What am I even supposed to do? Even if I want to turn off my thoughts, I can’t. I wandered around the room, scratching my belly.

“I’m feeling a bit peckish now that I’m up. Should I get something to eat?”

“…There’s enough in the emergency rations. Just take it from your pocket.”

“Let’s save that. We have food right here, so there’s no need to use the emergency supplies, right? I think there was a food storage around here somewhere.”

Ah, found it. Near the stove where the seed oil was stored, I saw a branch bent like a fishing rod. It looked heavy and laden with luscious fruits compared to the slender branch.

A pumpkin bowl, a bamboo faucet, a moss towel, a seed oil stove. Just like those, the food storage was clearly made from plants. After all, food usually refers to crops. I tilted the branch, expecting fresh fruit.

“Since this is the tree of origin, there should be plenty of fruits and grains….”

As I spoke, my eyes fell upon the fruits hanging from the branch, and I was taken aback by the unexpected sight.

What hung from the branch was not fruit, but rather… a creature covered in thin, soft skin.

Pigs, rabbits, chickens. Edible creatures curled up and sleeping. Like children before birth, tethered to the branch by an umbilical cord made of eggplant, nestled in the amniotic fluid of their own juices.

An animal hung from the fruit. I had thought it would be nice if meat grew on trees, but I never thought it actually existed.

I picked a large pig fruit. It was so heavy that I had to use both hands to lift it, and a pig was squirming inside. It wasn’t alive, but it hadn’t grown into a pig either. I scowled at the pig fruit.

“This is….”

[Root of all evil!]

Suddenly, I heard a parrot’s voice from outside. I opened the kitchen window, and a green-feathered parrot flew in, perching on my shoulder.

“Root of all evil?”

[A beast born from a tree, the root of all evil. A masterpiece of Nebida and Agarta.]

The parrot puffed out its chest, chirping proudly, and then pecked at my ear, shouting.

[More than that! Open the window! If you close it, I won’t be able to come in when I want to!]

“Why do you need the window open for that?”

[It’s better if I come in, isn’t it? That way, I can use my knowledge to dispel your fears when you see the root of all evil!]

“I wasn’t particularly scared, though…. Wait, how did you know I saw the root of all evil?”

[Oh no!]

The parrot’s eyes darted back and forth, and it stammered, trying to come up with an excuse. It must have used a mouse or a bug as a spy, but it couldn’t admit to that.

[Hehe, I saw it through the window gap!]

“But I could’ve sworn I closed the window….”

[There’s a gap!]

“If you close the window, not a single ray of sunlight comes in, does it?”

[If I’m there, I’m there!]

“I guess that’s just how it is. Whatever, I suppose that’s how it is.”

Anyway, even if I pressed for answers, it wouldn’t stop the voyeurism. They’d just think they were unlucky to have been caught and would hide the servant spirit more discreetly. Let’s pretend we don’t know.

“Is it okay to eat this?”

[Ah! Of course! That’s exactly why it was made!]

“Is that so? Then, the source water was edible from the very beginning?”

[Yes! It’s inefficient to kill precious livestock for something like meat!]

That may be true. I hadn’t known that the source water, a power of Nebida, was edible. The source water moves and fights, after all. Naturally, I thought it was strength meant for battle.

The chattering parrot covered its beak with its wings.

[Oops. Did I say too much? Well, it doesn’t matter. There’s plenty more to share! Let’s finish the rest of the story at the exchange meeting!]

“Exchange meeting?”

[You suggested having an exchange meeting, didn’t you? I’ll wait until meal time, so hurry up and eat, then come outside!]

Ah, right. I did say to have an exchange meeting, didn’t I? Since I couldn’t read minds, I couldn’t immediately grasp what was being said.

I tore open the pig fruit and pulled out the pig. The pig inside the fruit opened its eyes and moved… but nothing happened. I took out a card and split the skin of the pig fruit. Even if it grew on a branch, its structure was just like a real pig.

Even while grilling the meat on the pan, I couldn’t shake off my doubts.

“A creature that grew on a tree. Is it really okay to eat it?”

It was a baseless worry. Meat is meat. Setting aside my feelings, I ate it deliciously. Somehow, it tasted like beans, but that didn’t matter to someone like me from the military.

[Hurry up and eat! How long do you plan to keep me waiting?]

“Where did the parrot go that said it would wait until meal time?”

The parrot urged me impatiently. It had the kind of petty impatience one would expect from a parrot possessing another. Grumbling, I prepared to step out and asked,

“I’ll go now, so please guide me.”

[I sent Valpurgis! She’ll be waiting at the door!]

“Excuse me? You made me wait all this time? You could have sent it after I finished eating. How rude.”

[What’s the big deal! It’s fine!]

“I was apologizing to Mr. Walpurgis, not you.”

[If I’m fine, then he’s fine too!]

“You’re so self-centered.”

I suppose it’s better that he at least asks for opinions, compared to Nebi. Still, there’s no doubt he’s quite a bothersome person. I turned to the parrot.

“Ah. Can I bring Mr. Shay to the exchange meeting?”

[What? Shay? Who’s that?]

“The one whose arm fell off.”

[Oh, that one?]

The parrot glanced at the reincarnator and pondered while stroking the underside of its beak with its wing.

[Is it okay? Or not okay? Eek. The saintess probably knows everything anyway, so it shouldn’t matter, right?]

“Well, if it’s something you can tell me, it doesn’t really matter if it gets out, does it?”

[Eek. But I might accidentally spill a secret!]

It’s great that he’s cautious about making mistakes. But isn’t there an option to not accidentally spill secrets?

[You might be able to keep your mouth shut, but it’s hard to keep hers shut. That’s the saintess. She looks down on all things, so there are no secrets under the sun. If you want to hide something from the saintess, you can only do it by not saying it out loud.]

It’s already too late. The reincarnator knows all your plans. They came back from the future.

“In that case, should I at least hear some information about Mr. Shay?”

[There’s really nothing to ask about….]

“There must be! That mask.”

[Ah!]

The mask of Agartha. I couldn’t decipher how it was obtained or what its origins were. It’s an opportunity to hear the story from the regressor.

[Eek! Alright! I’ll grant you permission with a big heart.]

“Then I suppose I need to take Miss Shay with me. As you can see, Miss Shay has become so weak that she can’t even clean herself.”

[Ah, did you see that! Right! You’re quite something, aren’t you? To toy with plants like animals! That’s an idea I couldn’t even come up with!]

“What? Toy? What do you mean by that?”

It’s not toying; it’s serving. I just made a slight adjustment to the towel grass here—what’s so toy-like about that? The regressor is satisfied with that service!

No, more importantly, when did you see that? Have you been watching every moment without fail? Does the great witch have nothing better to do?

The parrot seemed to realize its blunder and flapped its wings.

[…Eek! Just let it go!]

“What do you mean let it go? Come here.”

[I’ll tell Walpurgis to prepare the cart! Walpurgis!]

The parrot dodged my hand and fled out the window. A wingless human couldn’t follow. Clicking my tongue, I approached the regressor.

“You heard that, Miss Shay? Every move you make is being watched. From now on, be careful with your words and actions.”

“…Ugh. I don’t like being watched.”

“Is that something you should be saying? Who was it that kept following and watching in Tantalus?”

“That, that was because you were too suspicious! And if we’re being honest, my intuition was right! You, the king of liars!”

What? A liar? As for me, I’ve concealed or downplayed the truth, or even exaggerated it, but I’ve hardly ever lied! And if we’re talking about liars, you’re worse than I am!

“Is this something someone who’s been misunderstood as a sodomite while maintaining a disguise should say?”

“Do you think I wanted to cross-dress?! I had no choice! If I had looked like a woman from the start, you or Tirkanjaka would have definitely been on guard! I wouldn’t have been able to travel so comfortably…!”

“Really? Then, there’s nothing you’re hiding right now?”

You’re still hiding the fact that you’re a regressor, aren’t you?

The regressor, who had taken a heavy blow, tightly shut his mouth and turned his head away. As if he simply couldn’t bring himself to say that. Oh dear, I’m losing interest. This is why I don’t feel like siding with you. The regressor is the one in charge, after all.

“Alright. Let’s just go to that exchange meeting for now.”

“…Okay.”

“You said you’d send a cart. So, we can just load Mr. Shay like a piece of luggage.”

“Don’t treat people like luggage!”

“Excuse me. Has the cart arrived by any chance?”

I finished my preparations and opened the door. A witch, who seemed to have just rushed back from somewhere, was standing at the door, panting heavily. Witch Walpurgis presented the cart she had brought along.

“I’ve brought the cart. Let’s go.”

“…Oh. This is.”

I tilted my head at the familiar-looking handcart. The cart, resembling a wheelchair, was entirely made of… gears, from the wheels to the body.