Ellis spent the rest of the day in a state of frozen shock.

He felt hollow and empty. He wanted to cry, but he had no tears to shed.

Everything that he had done up until now was useless. No, not even that. It had all been counterproductive to his real goals. It was like a sucker punch to the jaw, like a gut-punch that knocked the very air out from his lungs. Like a… like a kick to the balls!

At this point, what else was left for him? What should he do from now on? Should he even do anything?

He felt lost and directionless. Life was meaningless. He needed a nap.

Night quickly came. A flowery smell wafted throughout the cottage.

Grisella was in the kitchen. She stood in front of a brick stove. Heat radiated from the open flame and warmed the entire house. Right now, she was cooking a stew-like dish within a heavy black cauldron.

As the owner of the house, it was her responsibility to cook the food. To her, this was natural. From a young age, she had always been taught to properly take care of guests, especially when they were inside your own home.

Also, Grisella had some confidence in her ability to cook. After so long, a part of her simply wanted to show off.

She bent over and inspected the contents of the black cauldron. Steam engulfed her face. Squinting her eyes, she could see chunks of meat floating amidst a thick white soup. Pieces of green and orange dotted the surface.

It looked good. This was definitely a dish that she could proudly present to other people.

Just as she inwardly patted herself on the back, she suddenly felt a soft weight nimbly land on her shoulders.

Grisella immediately tensed. She discreetly glanced over her shoulder, only to see a certain red-fox peering into the cauldron.

It just had to be this damn thing!

Out of all the irregulars that comprised Ellis’s party, this little fox was the creature she feared the most. Her cute appearance might deceive most people, but to her, Grisella could only see an unimaginably terrifying demon.

Grisella was a witch, and like most witches, she possessed heightened senses. This was especially the case for things relating to mana. This harmless little fox exuded out an incredible amount of mana. It was so immense, that it almost made it difficult to breathe.

If it was purely through mana alone, then this thing already rivaled a calamity-class monster.

Grisella let out a strained smile. She tried her hardest not to acknowledge the fox’s presence as she silently continued to cook.

Eventually, the fox left and Grisella finished cooking the stew, albeit with a heavy heart.

After she finished, she then poured the contents of the cauldron into a large wooden bowl before she brought the entire thing over to the table.

The table was already set. Ellis sat on one of the seats. In fact, it was the same seat that he sat on before. He hadn’t moved a single inch ever since the surprise revelation.

“…”

Grisella silently stared at him.

Meanwhile, the wolves began to crowd around the table. Like it was completely natural, they pulled out the chairs and sat down like actual humans. Without missing a beat, Grisella poured some stew into the pre-prepared plates on the table.

She watched as seven wolves and one fox ate her cooking.

“…”

She half-expected them to go wild with shock. After all, she was fairly confident in her cooking. Also, the wolves had lived practically all their lives in the wild. Raw meat could not even compare to her level of cooking.

Much to her disappointment, the wolves did not seem all that excited. They ate the food with clear disinterest. In fact, it almost seemed as if they were dismissive of her cooking. A rare spike of frustration welled up in her heart.

Calm down, now. It’s obvious that a bunch of animals won’t be able to appreciate my masterful cooking. It’s alright, don’t let them get to you…

She inwardly reassured herself. Grisella let out an inaudible sigh before she sat down on the only available chair remaining. Like before, she sat between the big wolf and the poison wolf.

Grisella ignored the wolves and focused her gaze on Ellis. He still hadn’t moved. There was an empty wooden plate in front of him, but otherwise, not much else.

She hesitated for a moment, before she grabbed his plate and poured him a serving. She then loudly placed the plate in front of him.

THUD!

A thud echoed through the cottage.

Ellis flinched. He looked up and stared at the plate of stew for a while. “This is…”

“Stew,” she answered. “Wild berries, some imported herbs, and black venison. Try it.” She spoke rather dismissively, but the ingredients of this soup were all rather rare and quite expensive. They were definitely not something one could find within this forest.

“I see…” Ellis grabbed a spoon and tried a bite. After a while, he unconsciously frowned. “It tastes kind of bland.”

“Pfft—” She almost spat out all the soup in her mouth.

T-this guy is seriously… it’s one thing for the wolves to complain, but to think even he would too…

Grisella swallowed down all the hateful remarks brewing in her head and rigidly nodded her head.

“I-is that so…” She said through gritted teeth.

Ellis paused for a moment. He then turned to Ena. Without saying a single word, he gestured towards her.

In response, Ena nodded her head. With a flick of her wrist, something flew out from her spatial pouch. That something landed into his plate.

Seeing this, the wolves immediately howled in indignation. Ena, for the most part, smugly laughed. She enjoyed the feeling of being at the center of attention. She raised her head even higher into the air and flicked her paw again. More somethings flew out from her pouch and landed into the plates scattered across the table.

“W-what was that?” Grisella furrowed her brow. While a part of her was shocked at the sudden revelation that this little fox also owned a spatial artifact, she was more shocked at the fact that someone openly tampered with her cooking. What the hell did they add into it?

“Some seasoning,” Ellis replied as he took another spoonful of soup. This time, it tasted noticeably better. He turned to her, “You want some too?”

Grisella’s face imperceptibly twitched. She gritted her teeth and resolutely shook her head. Her non-existent title as chef was on the line. There was no way she could accept such a thing!

Ellis shrugged his shoulders. He did not pay her any more attention and instead, focused his attention back onto the plate in front of him.

The group ate in silence.

Although she was overcome with curiosity over what that mysterious seasoning was, Grisella did not pry.

Instead, she discreetly glanced at Ellis.

She felt curious. Curious about what, exactly? Well, there were a lot of things about Ellis that made her curious.

Today’s conversation only spurred her curiosity even further. In particular, there was one scene that kept constantly playing in the back of her head. No matter how hard she tried to shake it off, it stubbornly persisted.

For the most part, Ellis did not notice the witch’s wandering eyes and slightly flushed cheeks.

After some quiet contemplation, he suddenly asked a question.

“What’s at the source of the river?”

Grisella stopped for a moment. She played around with the spoon in her hand before she answered, “I don’t know. Nobody has ever made it that far.”

“Really?” He furrowed his brow. While the forest was indeed large, he did not think that it was so large that it would still remain unexplored.

In response, Grisella shrugged. “The forest is simply too dangerous. It earns its moniker as a forbidden region.”

“A forbidden region?” This was the first time he had ever heard of such a term.

She nodded. “That’s right. A forbidden region is a place of great danger and death. There are nine such places scattered across all of Lull. Ilpin forest is one of them.”

“Ilpin forest? Is that the name of this forest?” Again, this was the first he had ever heard of this.

Grisella mumbled a slurred yes. “That’s right. It has a reputation for being a den of high-level monsters… in addition, it was once the holy ground for a bygone god.”

God. That term stuck to him. After all, he had met two already. “What’s a bygone god?” He asked.

“Bygone gods were the gods that perished sometime before the dawn of recorded history. So much time has passed since then. Now, nobody knows the exact specifics anymore. From their names to even the exact number of gods there were, nearly everything about them is a mystery. Still, although they may be gone now, their old territories are still recognized as universally dangerous places.”

Ah, so it’s those shitty gods that ganged up on Alma way back when. He nodded to himself.

Just as he was deep in thought, Grisella continued to speak, “But there are rumors.”

“Rumors?” He looked up at her.

“Yes, rumors of what exists at the source of the river. From a slumbering ancient dragon to a mythical artifact, the theories vary quite a lot. The most prevalent one is in regards to the existence of a world tree.”

“A world tree…”

Various thoughts flashed through his head. Magical trees were a staple in almost any mythology. The most famous depiction was the one from Norse mythology: Yggdrasil. On earth, practically everyone knew of Yggdrasil. Ellis was no exception.

Seeing him in deep thought, Grisella went on to explain, “The world tree is said to be a giant ancient tree that has existed since the birth of the planet. According to the legends, it is located at the very heart of Ilpin forest. Its exact location is somewhere near the source of the main river.”

“So, if you just follow the river, you’ll eventually end up at the world tree?”

Grisella shrugged her shoulders. “That’s what all the legends say, but nobody has ever managed to follow the river all the way to the source and lived long enough to tell. And that’s not for a lack of trying either.”

“What do you mean?”

“The legend of the world tree is rather famous. It draws in hundreds of hopeful adventurers every year. Most give up halfway and return with zero success. Others don’t return at all. It’s that sort of thing.”

“After so many people failed, won’t other people just give up?”

“They might, but they don’t. Adventurers are a stupid bunch. They fall under the false impression that they are all ‘someone special’. None of them dare to admit the meagerness of their ordinary life. Plus, the accompanying rumors also play a role in their enthusiasm.”

“Accompanying rumors?”

“‘The river hides invaluable treasures in its source.’ That sort of saying commonly comes with this sort of cookie-cutter legend.”

She paused for a second. “In addition, the base of the world tree is where the bygone god’s old capital once resided. Of course, since no-one’s ever been there, nobody can actually prove anything. At this point, it’s all just a wishful pipedream that adults sing to their children late at night. When it comes to the mystery of this forest, nobody really knows the truth.”

“Do you believe it exists?” Ellis suddenly asked her.

“What?”

“The world tree. Do you think it’s really there, somewhere at the source of the river?”

Grisella’s shoulders tensed up for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, they slackened. She looked up at him and said, “The world tree is impossibly large. The top of its canopy reaches the stars. At the same time, nobody can see it. It is impossible to see from anywhere in the forest, no matter how far you go upstream.”

“…”

“Isn’t that convenient? Even though it’s so large, it’s also practically invisible. That sort of thing sounds like something a sleazy merchant might say to get people to buy his goods.”

“So, you don’t believe it?”

“I didn’t say that.” A somewhat faint smile stretched her lips. “I don’t know the truth, but… I think it would be great if something like a world tree really existed.”