The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 68



Only Noblemtl

Episode 68. The Price of Life

I brought the guy into the house.

I tried to put a towel on his head but I didn’t because I thought I’d get electrocuted, and I tried to massage his heart but I didn’t because his muscles were steel.

‘What should I do?’

There was nothing I could do about it.

While I was thinking about it, the outsider moved.

Boom boom!

The spirits enjoyed the sparks exploding like fireworks.

“The World Tree wields its power with confidence.”

Bam!

“… … !”

A long, outstretched stem struck the guy’s forehead.

The sound of the impact was refreshing.

I hit it a little hard.

There was a reaction as the head popped up like a fish in shock.

“hmm.”

Evolving from convulsions, the whole body creaked and each body part asserted itself.

And then.

Bam!

The activity has stopped.

“… … Dead?”

I don’t know if it’s correct to say that the machine is dead, but it seemed to be gone for now.

“I protest that the World Tree was an unintentional accident.”

The world tree trembled as it struck the final blow contrary to its intention.

The spirits circled around it and teased it.

It was the kind of spite that younger siblings have when they laugh at their older brother’s mistakes.

“Tsk.”

I stroked the world tree and comforted it.

If it had been saved, it could have been put to good use.

It’s a shame.

Still, there was demand for this as it was.

They say that when a tiger dies, it leaves its skin behind.

This guy also left a lot of parts behind.

If I sell it to a pawn shop, how much would I get for it?

It was then that I regained my appetite.

Push!

The guy’s front part opened with a puff of smoke and something burst out from inside.

“Phew! I almost died, I almost came back to life.”

“… … ?”

A person came out.

A skinny young man in oily overalls.

“The World Tree shrugs its shoulders proudly.”

As expected, a machine needs to be beaten to be fixed.

The World Tree insisted, forgetting all the fuss he had been doing just a moment ago.

It was an undeniable truth because the facts were right before our eyes.

“by the way.”

Beneath his long, bushy hair, his tired eyes scanned the surroundings.

“Where am I? Who are you?”

That’s what I was going to say.

***

“Ah, now that I look closely, I remember.”

The man who shamelessly asked for food, saying he was hungry, emptied the can of meat substitute I gave him and said,

“The contractor who performed the mission with my works. His name was Allen, right?”

“work?”

“I mean numbers 16 and 21.”

Although he was as tall as a pole, his voice was quite young, as if he had just gone through puberty.

In this city, there were many people who had a hard life, so it was impossible to estimate their age at face value.

He was presumed to be a young man, in his early twenties at most.

“Who is that person? He must be someone related to No. 16 or No. 21.”

It looks like a person, but I didn’t know.

The technological prowess of magical engineering is truly extraordinary, and in some areas, it even surpasses Earth’s modern technological prowess.

Android is a typical example of this category.

I couldn’t be sure that the guy in front of me was human.

“Me? The designer of these guys.”

“You seem to be human.”

“Only humans can eat food. Androids are fed oil and magic stone melting liquid.”

The gaze that said, “Don’t you know that?” was irritating.

He had the audacity to ask for food first, and he was quite self-centered.

‘Somehow, someone I know comes to mind.’

There was a similar one.

Their appearances and ages are quite different.

I asked him for more details.

“What is your name?”

“Name? Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know who I am, so why bother knowing that? I’m a famous person in our industry, but I have no connection with that industry. It’s better to not know than to be embarrassed by not recognizing me.”

“Do you know who wants my autograph?”

“Wasn’t it?”

Rather, the reaction was, “Why not?”

‘You have no manners.’

Everyone in this city is like that.

Let’s start by hitting each other.

My worries were overshadowed by the other side’s move first.

“The World Tree is annoyed by the arrogant conversational attitude.”

“Whoa! What the heck is this?!”

The guy was startled by the World Tree’s surprise appearance and ran away.

‘You seem like a guy who knows how to be scared.’

I explained because I thought I wouldn’t get an answer if I kept trembling.

“Say hello. He is your benefactor.”

“A benefactor?”

“Yes, he’s the guy who fixed that broken machine. He’s also the tenant living in my body.”

“Oh, really?”

The boy quickly adapted and began observing the World Tree with a curious expression.

“It’s clear that the internal circuitry is broken, and even I couldn’t dare touch it, so I was prepared to die. That’s amazing. What theory did you apply to find the problem and fix it? Oh, wait. Let me guess. In my opinion, among the recent papers published by Matap… … .”

“The World Tree is in chaos.”

The World Tree was embarrassed in front of the gongdol who was talking about something he didn’t know and asked me for help.

Luckily, I knew how to deal with this type of person.

“Tell me your name before I kick you out.”

“Bell Hackerson.”

“… …Franken?”

“Oh, I see. I guess I’ve heard of it. People who know me call me that.”

As you know.

‘I’m not the designer of the battle golem.’

The episode that was active in the previous magic tower.

We had worked together before as part of a collaborative research project that we had been awarded for funding.

A leader in the industry who popularized the golem, which was used for miscellaneous tasks due to its high price, by designing it as a weapon.

The Franken in my memories and the young man before my eyes were similar yet different.

“The Franken I know is a middle-aged man with a wrinkled face and a sunken crown.”

Although he was said to have presbyopia, Belle Hackerson in front of him was not that bad.

“Head! Not yet! Not taken off!”

I realized it when I saw the guy’s reaction to my mumbling and having a seizure.

‘Oh, he just got old from suffering.’

You can’t judge age by face value.

I had no idea that formula would apply to characters I knew.

‘Tsk, how long have I been working at the company?’

I already have presbyopia, but will it get any worse?

They say that the more capable a person is, the more likely they are to split, and this seemed to be the perfect match.

‘Franken is the designer of No. 16 and No. 21.’

Battle golems and androids may be similar in terms of field, but their relationship is difficult to associate.

In my memory, Franken was devoted to designing and distributing battle golems, so he was far removed from the achievement of designing androids.

‘Did your interest change in the middle?’

However, it was surprising that the guy who had already successfully designed No. 16 and No. 21 did not announce it.

‘Or… …is it related to the circumstances in which the guy was hiding in his own work and was given to me?’

Just then Bell spoke.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I ended up like this and collapsed in front of your house?”

“Since they were androids who worked as contractors, they must have suffered a setback in their assignments. It is an unwritten rule in the industry not to ask about such things because it could lead to conflicts of interest.”

“You’re being unnecessarily sincere and conceited. People should be curious and give in to it.”

I wasn’t interested.

He is a guy who has not yet paid the price for No. 16’s betrayal.

Saving my life was the greatest favor I could ask for.

“If you came to your senses, give me the money I paid for your life and get out.”

“The price of life, yes. I have to repay the help I received. What do you want? Just tell me.”

The guy was bluffing.

I couldn’t believe it when a penniless man said that.

‘But he’s still capable.’

I thought for a moment and then said.

“I don’t really want anything grand.”

“People who say things like that are usually incredibly greedy.”

No way.

“Just give me one Android stock, like #16 or #21.”

“See, I thought it would be like this.”

The bell grumbled.

I was the one who was treated unfairly.

“Is it the pride of an artist that his work is more valuable than his life?”

“That’s not true… … Well, that makes sense. My work isn’t worth more than my life.”

The guy who was finally convinced nodded.

Still, he looked very disappointed, so I took a step back.

“If you really want to waste it, give me the one you rode in. It may look dull, but it’s probably pretty useful.”

“Oh, that’s useless. It’s hard to fix, and it’s not a tough enough machine to handle your work. It’s something I’ve hastily built just to hide and transport myself.”

“It’s strong enough to move a person.”

“That’s true.”

“That’s fine. I didn’t ask to use you as a colleague.”

The guy’s expression became strange.

“Then what is it?”

“Handyman.”

The expression on his face became even more distorted as he continued to speak.

“I will do the farming for you.”

***

“Well, I guess there’s nothing you can’t use it for that purpose.”

Upon arriving at the World Tree’s Garden and hearing my blueprint, Belle scratched her head.

“I think it might be a bit difficult in the current situation.”

“Don’t you have that level of ability?”

It’s disappointing.

I guess I still lack the confidence.

The guy who was crying under my looking down gaze started to whine.

“No, who says you can’t? If you have the money and materials, you can make it right away according to the blueprint. If necessary, you can modify the existing stock.”

“Then why doesn’t it work?”

“It has to do with the circumstances that led to me wandering the streets like this.”

In the end, it all comes down to this.

I sighed and nodded my head, telling him to speak.

“It’s not like I was in trouble while carrying out the mission as you’re worried about. I went through various hardships while escaping.”

“escape?”

“I had a conflict of opinion with the company that hired me. They told me to focus on developing Golem instead of Android, which is difficult to commercialize. When I said no, they tried to threaten me by locking me up. That’s why I got wind of it and escaped.”

It happened often.

It is a worldview where you hire contractors to bring down enemy corporations.

It was not at all unusual for someone to kidnap and imprison a technician and try to run him around.

“If you think about No. 16 or No. 21, isn’t development almost finished already? Are you saying that they should give up because commercialization is difficult?”

“Oh, they are unique. Most of the rest were disposed of within half a year at most.”

“hmm.”

Considering the performance, it is a development process that must have required astronomical amounts of capital.

It’s not that I don’t understand the company’s judgment.

“And the Golem development was done in a sham just before the audit, and it was developed in secret. Damn, that’s why I secretly conducted performance tests while deliberately using contractors, but who would’ve thought they’d find out?”

“so?”

“I left behind all the blueprints and inventory I had made while escaping, leaving only my body behind. It’s such a shame.”

To put it simply, it was impossible because I was broke.

“I did something stupid.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It would be a huge regret to lose a talented person like me. You could have just negotiated it out, asked about it, and moved on. Why did you have to go through all this trouble… ?”

“If you had told your former employer about your intention to change jobs after transferring to the hostile company, this wouldn’t have happened. You were stupid.”

“Huh? Me?”

Belle blinked her eyes with a dumbfounded expression.

“No, I’m the one who embezzled the research funds, but it’s unconscionable to go that far.”

“If you were so conscientious, you should have just let it go.”

“Uh, um, is that so?”

In this city, it is a virtue to act like that.

Bell looked confused as I clicked my tongue and reprimanded him.

“Anyway, leaving all that aside, you’re broke right now.”

“right.”

“And then you were bragging that anything was possible?”

“Who knew that would be the demand?”

Her face turned red, as if she knew she was embarrassed.

“… … So that’s what I mean.”

Belle said, scratching the back of her head and taking a deep breath.

“I have a proposal that will satisfy both of us.”

“Is this a request?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious.”

There are more than one or two people who ask for their bundles after saving them from drowning.

In this city, the concept of morality was a distant dream.

“The request must be formally delivered through a broker.”

Direct requests from individuals were not credible.

In extreme cases, it was acceptable for the client to run away without paying the fee after completing the assignment.

Since the contractor did not go through a middleman who guaranteed credit, it was impossible for the contractor to legally demand compensation other than to pursue and collect it personally.

“If you do that, you’ll get caught by those guys who are lurking and taken away, so that’s why.”

“I don’t think you can offer compensation with your penniless pockets.”

“As long as you succeed in the request, the reward will be resolved. If it’s my masterpiece that you’re going to seize, it’ll be enough to cover the cost of your life plus the reward for the request.”

Bell looked regretful, as if he was at a loss.

Have you forgotten your own situation?

The guy must have noticed my concerns about just handing it over to the company and hurriedly explained.

“If you ask for a single worker, I’ll hand it over to the last machine I was developing. It’s a creature that learns like a human. No matter what you ask it to do, it’ll learn quickly.”

“Didn’t most of them get disposed of within half a year even after they’re completed?”

“This is the real deal. I can’t make it again even if they ask me to. I’m still so nervous that those ignorant corporate guys might tamper with it.”

That tidy guy.

To be honest, I wasn’t unattractive to him because he was a trustworthy person in terms of ability.

“What is the company name?”

“Delight Conquer.”

Now I remember.

A unicorn company that started out as a golem manufacturing company and is now emerging as a future military enterprise.

The person who made that miracle happen was the one right in front of you.

‘So does that mean he was kidnapped and turned into a thief?’

I wondered why his face was so pale and bald.

All connected as one.

“Okay, I understand for now.”

Although the reward was tempting, it was not something to be decided right away.

It was something I could handle if I was lucky, so I had to gather information first.

“Okay, think about it positively. I’ll owe you something until then.”

Belle became cheerful and asserted shamelessly.

I said it because it was quite unpleasant to see.

“Then, let’s pull out the weeds from here to there and water them first.”

“… … ?”

Belle, who was about to go home to rest comfortably, looked back at me with a look of wonder.

“Since I can’t provide workers, you have to do the work in my stead until then.”

“… … !”

Where to go to eat and play comfortably.

Bell insisted that he was not suited for such chores and gave in to the World Tree’s display of power.