The Great Tree

Upon entering Eisen's house, it didn't look very big from the outside, but the interior space was surprisingly large.

In the center of the room stood a heavy stone table, a roaring fire burned in the fireplace, and on the shelf beside it were several old-looking travel items.

Eisen took out a teapot and cups from the cabinet, poured water, and spoke to the three of them.

"Please sit down. Speaking of Frieren, what is the purpose of your trip this time?"

"Yes, Frieren."

After thanking Eisen and taking the water glass, Fern asked Frieren a question.

"You said at the beginning that our current goal is to find Lord Eisen, and now that we're here, where should we go next?"

Wait a minute, it seems that Lady Frieren only started her journey after Lady Heiter passed away. Will she also have to wait until Lady Eisen also passes away before setting off again?

Fern suddenly realized a serious problem.

Although dwarves don't live as long as elves, they still live several times longer than ordinary humans. Could it be that my journey in this life has come to an end?

"I haven't decided yet. My main purpose this time is to learn more about humanity."

After thinking for a moment, Frieren replied.

"Understanding humanity?"

Eisen looked at her.

"Whether it was Himmel or Heiter, I didn't realize until they died that I didn't really understand them at all. We had traveled together for over ten years, but I didn't know what they were thinking or what they wanted. It wasn't until they died that I began to realize how important those ten years were to them."

So that's why.

Frieren continued.

"I wanted to see things I hadn't looked at seriously before, and try to understand human thought."

"I see."

After a moment of silence, Eisen suddenly stood up from his chair and spoke.

"In that case, come with me. I've found something interesting in this forest."

Led by Eisen, the group quickly arrived deep into the forest, where the trees were much taller than those on the outskirts, their intertwined branches almost completely obscuring the sky.

If I remember correctly, we're heading to the place where Flamme left the notes for Frieren.

Lorenzo walked along, lost in thought.

In that same journal entry, Flamme claimed to have found a place called "the Aureole" in the northernmost part of the continent, where he communicated with his deceased companions.

That's why Frieren ultimately decided to make the "Aureole" her destination.

"This is it."

Finally, Eisen stopped in front of an exceptionally large ancient tree.

That tree would require at least a dozen people to encircle it. Its exposed roots resembled giant snakes coiled on the ground, and its trunk was covered with a thick layer of moss. No one knew what species it was, but it looked like it had been growing there for over a thousand years.

Frieren seemed to suddenly remember something, and stepped forward to place her palm on the rough trunk of the ancient tree.

Immediately afterwards, a golden light appeared in her hand, and the tree in front of her began to change its appearance, with its branches and leaves making a continuous rustling sound.

Lorenzo instinctively took a half step back.

The entrance to the interior should appear at its base very soon.

But no one expected that after a brief period of silence, all the branches of the ancient tree would simultaneously grow rapidly in the direction where Lorenzo was.

"Lord Lorenzo!"

Fern immediately raised his staff.

Lorenzo reacted just as quickly, instantly deploying several layers of defensive spells in front of him. However, the branches seemed to have no substance at all, passing through all the barriers without any hindrance and swallowing him whole.

"Lady Frieren, what exactly is going on?"

Fern rushed to the tree and scanned the entire ancient tree with his detection True Magic, but he could not sense Lorenzo's presence at all.

"I don't know either."

Frieren looked at her palm, a rare look of bewilderment on her face. Logically, this shouldn't be happening.

"But Lorenzo should be fine. After all, he said before that he and Flamme are quite close."

Is that really the case?

Meanwhile, Lorenzo, who was swallowed by the ancient tree, did not feel the pressure and suffocation he had imagined. The moment he entered the tree trunk, just like in the underwater ruins, everything around him changed again.

The once dark and dense forest had vanished, replaced by a sun-drenched open field. A gentle breeze rustled the knee-high grass, and several startled rabbits darted past Lorenzo's feet and disappeared into the nearby bushes. There was also a stone tablet not far away.

Another virtual image?

Lorenzo looked around and suddenly noticed an orange-haired woman sitting on a rock not far away, holding a few blades of grass and slowly feeding the rabbits that surrounded her.

"Ah, they've finally arrived."

The woman raised her head and looked at Lorenzo.

Her appearance was almost identical to that of Flamme in the underwater ruins, except that she seemed younger, her robes were more casual, and there was even a vine basket full of wild fruits at her feet. She didn't look like a Great Mage had been dead for thousands of years.

I never imagined you would ultimately make this choice.

Flamme handed the last blade of grass to the rabbit in front of him, clapped his hands, stood up, and walked over to him.

"Choice? What choice?"

Lorenzo was somewhat confused by what Flamme had just said.

"It's nothing, just some reflections. I know you have a lot to ask, but let's wait a bit..."

Flamme put a finger to Lorenzo's lips to stop him from asking any more questions, then produced a sapling from somewhere and continued speaking.

"Let's plant this tree together first. After all this time apart, you should allow me to be a little willful."

"A long-awaited reunion?"

Lorenzo noticed this rather subtle statement.

"Oh, stop worrying about these trivial things, let's go!"

While carrying the sapling, Flamme pushed Lorenzo toward the stone tablet.

"This is it."

Flamme stopped beside the stone tablet and placed the sapling he was carrying on the ground.

Then, as if by magic, she produced a shovel and handed it to Lorenzo.

"Let's start digging."

Why not use True Magic?

Lorenzo looked at the shovel that was handed to him and asked Flamme.

"The most important thing about planting trees is to dig the soil by hand, put the sapling in, and then fill the soil back in little by little. If it's all done with True Magic, what's the point of commemorating it? Wouldn't it just be like a heartless machine?"

Flamme denied it without hesitation.