A medieval monk's journal.
He left behind a record upon seeing a small flower blooming in the garden.
「The more chamomile is trampled by wind and rain, the richer its fragrance becomes.」
He believed that the trials of the world were the very process by which the soul was polished clear.
A flower that released an even purer, more healing scent through the wounds left when rough beasts crushed it underfoot.
Perhaps I, too, had been trampled by cruel causality.
Could that be why I now carried the fragrance of such a radiant opportunity?
Now then, I wondered what awaited me at the end of this pleasant journey.
***
A dazzling curtain of light.
Warm sunlight filled my vision.
Verdant mountain ranges and the breath of boundless nature pressed deep into my core.
I quietly gazed at the scenery spread out before me for a moment.
'......Should I go back?'
The satisfaction of confirming an exit connected to the outside world was enough.
Without hesitation, I turned my round head and made my way back to Airi's nest.
I returned to Airi's chamber.
The blue glow of lustrous Mana Stones softly filled the room.
At its center, she lounged against a soft cushion as languidly as ever.
Her amethyst eyes trembled faintly when she noticed me.
Somehow, there was a warmth in them that conveyed deep delight and relief.
"Not only did you repair what was broken, you even cleaned the entire nest. How commendable."
I bounced my jelly as I approached her.
"I merely did what any Nest Manager ought to do."
Her red lips curved into a gentle arc at my answer.
A pleasant warmth suffused the amethyst eyes that had always seemed so languid.
Even with boundless freedom right before me, my tiny steps had deliberately returned to this dark, silent cradle.
Her gaze lingered on my transparent body for a long while.
"Such a diligent manager deserves a reward."
My round, star-shaped eyes shone brilliantly with anticipation.
"Yes, what would be suitable?"
My transparent core throbbed and pulsed.
Anticipation surged unchecked from the depths of my chest.
"Hehe, that should do nicely."
She rose lightly to her feet.
One slender white hand extended gently toward me.
SQUEEZE.
A warm, soft sensation. She lifted me, then drew me deep into her embrace without hesitation.
SQUISH.
A dizzying sensation. The graceful curves and body heat conveyed through her thin chemise enveloped every inch of my jelly.
I could not think straight.
Unable to steady my spinning core, I could only tremble helplessly.
***
My vision gradually cleared.
We had reached the Lounge where I had cleared away the debris just a short while ago.
She still held me in her arms like a precious doll.
"Today, I shall serve you tea."
Even noble aristocrats of the medieval age had struggled to enjoy quality tea.
And now a Dragon called a primordial mystery was brewing tea for me personally.
Seen in that light, it was an extravagant reward. Besides, nestled in her arms, I already felt as though I had received a reward I would not trade for anything in the world.
"I gratefully accept."
Embarrassment washed over me, and I tried to hold my round body stiffly upright.
Airi lightly set me down on the stone table.
Then she elegantly snapped her fingers toward the empty air.
SNAP.
At that instant, the air enveloping the Lounge grew strangely warm.
Absolute dominion. Divinity far beyond human comprehension. Mana particles scattered through the air clumped together and fashioned the fragments anew.
It was a wondrous act of re-creation performed without a single incantation.
The layers of pale dust evaporated cleanly along a stream of light.
In an instant, the room became a luxurious tea salon that retained all its former splendor.
Pure white porcelain teacups appeared before each of us.
Two or three golden dried leaves fluttered down from Airi's pale fingertips.
Clear droplets gathered in midair, heated rapidly, and quietly filled the teacups.
TRICKLE.
A clear, cheerful sound of flowing water.
In an instant, the entire tea salon filled with a sweet yet piquant floral fragrance.
"This is brewed from the dried leaves of the Dream Tree."
Her languid voice spread softly upon the fragrance.
The Dream Tree.
Back when I was a Hunter, had it not been a legendary elixir said to appear only occasionally in the Tower's hidden secret realms?
Even a single shriveled piece of its root had fetched tens of billions of won at auction.
It was a miraculous product that even an entire nation's budget could scarcely obtain.
'She is using something that precious for an ordinary teatime?'
My mouth hung open as my core churned.
The scale of luxury enjoyed by a primordial mystery was beyond anything human standards could measure.
"Hehe, you seem rather fond of the fragrance."
"Ah, yes. It is a truly magnificent aroma."
I wriggled my round jelly, trying to hide my surprise.
But just as I was about to drink the tea, one very practical problem stopped me.
'Wait, how do I drink this......?'
With ordinary Mana Stones or items, I could simply engulf and absorb them with my jelly.
But I could hardly chew up and eat an entire serving of tea this refined.
I could not display such barbaric table manners in front of Airi.
I finely adjusted the mana in my core.
I hollowed out the top of my blue jelly like a teacup.
Then I drew out a thin strand of jelly like a tentacle, shaped it into a straw, and carefully dipped it into the tea.
SLURP.
With a ridiculous sound, the golden tea streamed into my transparent body.
"Pfft!"
Unable to hold it back any longer, Airi covered her mouth and burst into clear laughter.
That was understandable, considering what a remarkable sight I made.
Hot golden liquid flowed into the middle of my transparent blue jelly and pooled there in soft globules.
It created a strange yet adorable visual effect, like a yellow lava lamp floating inside a huge transparent water balloon.
"Truly, you are such an adorable child. There is never a dull moment when you are around."
"I will have you know, I was considered a rather cultured intellectual in the outside world."
Feigning elegance, I gave my jelly a dignified shiver as I replied.
That was when it happened.
[You have absorbed the essence of the Dream Tree.]
[The impurities in your core have been completely purified.]
[Your mana affinity has permanently increased.]
An electrifying pleasure swept violently through my entire body.
Warmth wrapped around every inch of my core and washed away my fatigue like melting snow.
It felt as though a single sip of tea had raised my Soul Rank by another level.
Lost in ecstasy, I repeatedly sucked in the golden tea.
Airi rested her chin on one hand and watched me with great interest.
She tilted her own teacup lightly and spoke.
"So, what was the scenery of your world like? I would like to hear about it."
It was the quiet curiosity of one who had lived through unfathomable ages.
I tidied the shape of my jelly before answering.
"In my world, tall buildings of steel stand in place of forests."
"Oh, you mean to say they build forests from steel?"
"Yes. But the nature of those who live within them does not seem to have changed very much."
I quietly recalled the greedy spectacle of humanity I had witnessed in the Black Tower.
The foolish yet desperate struggles in which they betrayed and trampled one another, staking their lives for the smallest profit.
"They still chase after things, seize them, lose them again, and struggle desperately to survive."
Airi's amethyst eyes sank into contemplation at my composed answer.
"Life is finite by its very nature, and so it becomes all the greedier. Their thirst can never be quenched."
Her low voice spread wistfully like steam dispersing above a teacup.
In the past, she too must have faced the greed of countless intruders here in her nest.
The collapsed debris and traces throughout the nest told the story of that harrowing history.
I nodded my round head, deeply agreeing with her words.
"But sometimes that greed manifests in truly ridiculous forms."
I lightly changed the subject with a twitch of my jelly tip.
"Ridiculous forms?"
Airi set down her teacup and regarded me with curiosity.
"For instance, people once ruined an entire country's economy because they were blinded by a single flower bulb."
I brought up the so-called tulip mania from the history of the outside world.
Aristocrats had competed to sell their mansions and estates for a single bulb that would bloom with elaborate patterns.
A root that had been worth more than gold one day became less valuable than a roadside weed overnight, in a truly absurd farce.
It was one of the most dazzling and foolish obsessions ever born of greed.
Her eyes sparkled with interest as she quietly listened to my story.
"Goodness, they wagered their estates on a single flower bulb with no powers at all, not even a Dream Tree?"
"Indeed. There was even a hungry sailor who mistook one of those precious bulbs for an ordinary onion and put it in his sandwich. That single bite was worth two castles."
"Hahaha!"
Airi finally lost control and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
Her clear, melodious laughter filled the tea salon like jade beads rolling across a silver tray.
"Truly, humans are creatures one can never fully understand."
She wiped away the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and smiled brightly.
The heavy atmosphere instantly grew light as a fresh spring breeze.
"Wouldn't that make me far wiser than they were? At the very least, I know the Dream Tree's true value and am enjoying it with the utmost reverence."
I answered cheekily and slurped up another mouthful of golden tea.
Airi rested her chin on her hand and nodded at my outrageous banter.
"Indeed. I cannot serve only tea to such a wise and honored guest."
Once again, she elegantly snapped her fingers.
FLASH.
This time, a small silver tray gently descended from the air.
Three round confections that looked like solid clusters of lustrous starlight rested upon it.
"These are Nebula Candies. Put one in your mouth, and it will feel as though you hold the clear night sky within it."
Nebula Candy.
Even its name exuded the aura of an extraordinary elixir.
Without hesitation, I stretched out my jelly and gulped down one of the candies.
FLASH!
The instant the candy touched my core.
"Mmph?!"
A tiny universe quite literally exploded inside my mouth—or rather, inside my jelly.
An intense carbonated crackle. A refreshing mint fragrance reminiscent of a cool night breeze.
It was a miraculous crystal that condensed an ecstatic sweetness and highly pure holy-spirit mana.
[You have absorbed the energy of the stars.]
[Your senses have temporarily been heightened to their limits.]
[The rotation speed of your core has increased dramatically.]
An electrifying sensation.
Milky Way-like sparkles whirled violently across my transparent jelly body.
Unable to contain my surging vitality, I bounced around the floor and performed a boisterous dance.
"Oooooh! Shooting stars are falling through my mind without end!"
BOUNCE, BOUNCE, BOING!
The blue Slime ricocheted in every direction.
My jelly, unable to contain its springiness, soared as high as the chandelier before landing softly on the floor.
"This is incredible! If you sold it in the outside world, you could easily buy an entire kingdom!"
Airi laughed aloud at my fuss and pushed the remaining candies toward me.
"I have plenty, so enjoy as many as you like. In my cradle, your chatter is far more precious than stones like those."
Her voice was tender.
For some reason, those words warmed my core more deeply than even the fragrance of the Dream Tree.
No great elixir or world-commanding authority can ever completely fill the hunger of the soul.
Perhaps true repose lay within the warmth of this simple teacup and these sweet candies before me.
And so we drank our tea.
For a moment, silence flowed between the steaming teacups.
I rather liked that it gave me the chance to quietly admire her enchanting figure as she tilted her cup.
What should I talk about this time?
I was fidgeting with my jelly, lost in thought.
"Oh."
Airi set down her teacup and narrowed her eyes with interest.
'Hmm?'
Wondering what was happening, I lowered my gaze.
My transparent blue body had begun emitting a brilliant light.
My vision flashed white once more.
An unknown vortex pulled me toward a new battlefield.
"Off you go."
Her voice was languid yet affectionate.
As the flood of light swallowed the space.
Her faint smile, one hand waving elegantly, settled softly at the edge of my vision.