Purururuk-
A gigantic body constantly changing colors.
Its flashing eyes were quite intimidating.
The beast, surrounded by something like clouds, stood still in front of Ara and me, watching us.
The sight felt incredibly fantastical.
“Purururuk!”
“Huh?”
Ara waved cheerfully and approached.
I tilted my head at the unexpected name that came out of Ara’s mouth.
‘Is that really Pururuk?’
A cute monster in the shape of a deer.
I remembered it transformed into a long serpent and disappeared before, but I never imagined the monster in front of us, resembling a haetae, would be part of the same deer group.
Sasasasat-
As Ara approached, the form of the gigantic haetae scattered.
The small deer we had seen before energetically wagged their tails and greeted Ara.
Such an incredible affinity.
“Are you well! Hehehe.”
Ara laughed broadly, surrounded by the approaching deer.
Gomgom in her arms, startled by the sudden situation, struggled and waddled over to me.
-Roar, Roar! Roar!
I picked up Gomgom, who was gesturing to be held, and watched Ara and Pururuk.
“Oh! Really?”
-Purururuk! Pururuk!
“Then you will give us a ride?”
-Pururuk!
Huh. The conversation seemed to be taking an odd turn.
“Ara, did you say they would give us a ride?”
“Yes! I said we wanted to go to the Glittering Tree, and they offered to take us!”
I turned my gaze to the small horned Pururuk.
It looked at me with sparkling eyes as if asking us to trust it.
“How are they going to… Ah!”
Could it be that they would transform into a gigantic animal like earlier and give us a ride?
That seemed possible.
“I want to ride it!”
“Alright. Shall we give it a try?”
It was an unexpected help.
As I nodded, Ara quickly made the request, and Pururuk began to merge into two groups.
This time, they transformed into a beast resembling a horse.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed they even depicted horns.
‘Is that… a kirin?’
Not the giraffes from the African plains, but the mythical kirin.
Now it seemed that all the transforming animals were mythical creatures.
Certainly, such animals were good for imposing, but how did these creatures know and mimic mythical animals?
“Could it be that they are the originals?”
If the mythical animals we knew were all creations of Pururuk and then passed down to us…
…but that’s just a wild guess.
These mythical animals existed long before dungeons and awakeners appeared, so people couldn’t have seen Purururuk first.
Setting aside such unnecessary thoughts, I climbed onto Pururuk, who had transformed into a kirin.
I was slightly worried it might collapse, but I was amazed to see it stabilize quickly for us to board.
“Ooh! It’s fast!”
Ara’s Pururuk started running first.
I wondered how the horse-like Purururuk would run through the forest, but it was a needless worry.
They moved freely in all directions, overcoming and leaping over various obstacles.
“Ugh.”
As a result, I was feeling nauseous.
“Kyahaha!”
-Roar! Roar!
On the other hand, Ara and Gomgom were cheering excitedly, which was quite impressive.
Maybe it was due to the ride that even made me, an awakened one, feel nauseous.
We reached the vicinity of the World Tree in less than an hour.
“It certainly is fast.”
Once I got somewhat used to it, the nausea subsided.
Just as I began to enjoy the speed, we arrived, leaving me feeling a bit disappointed.
-( *๑•̀д•́๑)」!!!
-(′σωσ`)ﾉ!
The Alfheims greeted us warmly.
However, they seemed wary of Pururuk, as if they had never seen its true form before.
-Oh! The Grand Lord has arrived!
“Long time no see, Frey.”
I got off the Pururuk, who had worked hard, and patted its back before saying goodbye.
Ara also jumped down and waved vigorously.
“It was fun! Let’s ride again next time!”
Purururuk-!
As soon as the Pururuks in kirin form disappeared, Frey cautiously approached and spoke.
-As expected of the Grand Lord! How did you tame those terrifying beasts…!
“Do you know them?”
-Of course! Around the World Tree, there are often fearsome beasts roaming about. The ones we just saw are what we Alfheims call ‘cloud horses.’
It seemed they didn’t know the true identity of Pururuk.
“Frey, have you ever seen small deer around here?”
-Yes! They are very timid and weak creatures! We call them cowardly deer!
“I see.”
It seemed the Alfheims saw Purururuk and its transformed appearances as separate entities.
I considered clearing up the misunderstanding, but it felt awkward to expose the survival strategy of the Pururuks that had helped us, so I let it be.
“In the future, even if such scary creatures appear, don’t be afraid. They are all friends with Ara and me now.”
-Gasp! Have you already conquered this entire area in such a short time! As expected of the Grand Lord!
“Well, something like that.”
I felt a slight pang of conscience due to Frey’s admiring gaze, but I laughed it off. This guy always reacts this way no matter what I do.
“By the way, how is the Meluca flower doing? Is it growing well?”
-It’s growing at an astonishing rate! Faster than I expected, which makes me a bit uneasy.
Perhaps because the slimes were nurturing it, the Meluca flower seemed to be growing quickly.
I took out the poison from Poispois inside Bokkeum.
-This is…?
“It’s poison. I heard the Meluca flower needs poison to bloom, so I brought some, but I’m not sure if it will work.”
-Oh! We were just struggling with the poison issue, so this is a relief.
“I’ll say it again, I’m not sure if it’ll work. It’s not that strong of a poison.”
-We’ll give it a try. Thank you, Grand Lord.
The fairies scurried over, lifting the poison bottle I handed them with some effort. Next time, I’ll bring it in smaller bottles.
“Let’s check on our friends first and see how much the Meluca flower has grown.”
-Yes! Follow me! Kids, bring some honey for our guests!
As we walked towards the Meluca field, the slimes, busy with their tasks, greeted us warmly.
Squirm!
“How have you been?”
Squirm- Squirm!
Three newly enlisted slimes approached and rubbed against us. Enjoying their affectionate gestures, Ara and I petted the slimes as the fairies brought the honey.
-Here’s the honey!
“Thanks. We’ll enjoy it.”
When I brought Young-seong over, we didn’t take any honey, so there was quite a bit stored up.
“Isn’t this too much? Did you overdo it?”
-Since we’re cultivating the Meluca flower, we’ve reduced the number of people searching for it and established a new honey harvesting department!
It’s a bit startling when they brief me as if they were a company. We don’t even know if the Meluca flower cultivation will succeed, but they’ve already done all that?
‘I need to level up Poispois immediately.’
Honestly, I thought the current poison might be insufficient, and I hoped the next stage of poison would work.
Ultimately, it means I need to synthesize and level up Poispois urgently.
The fairies brought the honey in plastic containers and wooden cases that I had given them before.
They seemed to have crafted the wooden boxes because of a shortage of plastic containers, but the quality was excellent.
“Oh, these are pretty!”
-Glad you like them!
“Did you make these?”
-Yes, we did.
The boxes were beautifully decorated with intaglio and relief carvings, showcasing exceptional craftsmanship.
The finely detailed leaf designs and geometric patterns conveyed a sense of artistry.
“Did you make this with pieces of the World Tree?”
-Yes! We used the wood chips that were lying around!
Wow, this is luxurious.
A honey container made from the World Tree would be unbelievable to most people. However, the unique fragrance of the World Tree subtly emanating from the wooden box was unmistakable.
“Do you have a lot of World Tree fragments?”
-An enormous amount!
“Then, would it be okay if I took some to use later?”
-Of course! Asking for permission to use resources while borrowing the dungeon shows what a noble ruler you are!
Hehehe. I was planning to build a house on the plot we prepared, and now I can secure the materials!
Of course, finding an architect and workers is still an issue, but that can be solved gradually.
After enjoying some honey and admiring the fairies’ carving skills for a while, I stood up. Since we’re here, I should check on the Meluca flower’s condition.
“It’s grown so much.”
The Meluca flower had grown up to my waist. I had only seen dried flowers before, so this was my first time seeing the stalks.
“Will it start to bud soon?”
-It looks like it will!
“Give the poison to the slimes in advance. They probably know the right timing to use it.”
-Understood!
Frey, responding like a diligent soldier, immediately ordered the poison stored in the World Tree’s dwelling to be brought out as I had instructed.
‘But isn’t the land a bit small?’
For now, we had only planted a few as a trial, but if it was successful, we would need to plant much more.
I didn’t know the exact number of fairies, but just a few flowers wouldn’t be enough to produce sufficient honey.
However, even if we wanted to plant more flowers, there wasn’t much open space around here.
“Frey.”
-Yes!
“If the flower cultivation succeeds, won’t we need to plant more flowers?”
-Hmm, indeed, this isn’t enough.
“But the land here is already too small to plant more. What do you plan to do?”
-How about scattering them in various places?
“Wouldn’t that be hard for our slimes to manage?”
As I awkwardly explained to the earnest Frey, her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands.
-That’s true! Then we need to find more spacious land!
“It might be a good idea to create an area entirely covered in Meluca. If it’s possible.”
-Oh, oh…
Frey, seemingly lost in imagination, had a dreamy expression and drooled a little. Did she like the idea that much?
“I’ll also look for suitable land. You guys should do the same in your own way.”
-Understood!
“And if we succeed in cultivating Meluca, would it be okay to grow other flowers when we have more resources?”
-Other flowers?
“Yes. They could be good for ornamental purposes and useful for honey harvesting as well.”
The plants here were unlike anything on Earth.
It seemed like they could be good as ornamental gifts and might also be useful as medicinal herbs or other purposes.
-We will do our best.
Frey replied with a serious expression.
I shook my head, worrying that the fairies might overexert themselves again.
“For now, focus on the Meluca. Until then, don’t worry about anything else. Actually, don’t do it at all. Got it?”
-Understood!
They sure know how to respond well.
I gently patted Frey on the head with my finger before heading back to where the others were.
There, Ara and Gomgom were engrossed in something.
To be precise, Gomgom had its nose to the ground, doing something, while Ara watched.
“What are you doing?”
“We found mushrooms!”
“Oh, mushrooms!”
I had forgotten, but it seemed Gomgom had sniffed them out. Looking closely, it was near the roots of the World Tree.
It seemed the mushrooms Gomgom mentioned were absorbing nutrients from the roots of the World Tree.
-Kuung.
“Oh! Found it!”
“Where, where?”
Gomgom began digging earnestly.
However, the small bear’s strength and paws were slow.
“I’ll help!”
Ara rolled up her sleeves and started digging alongside Gomgom. Soon, I could smell a peculiar fragrance.
“Is this smell…?”
-Oh? It’s a unique scent. It’s like the concentrated fragrance of the World Tree!
If this was the smell of the mushrooms, it was definitely promising.
Cliche Novel 