“Tell me, Lynch, when did the headache start?” inquired Lilliana.

“Humm around a year ago, I guess? They started when I got here.”

“When you got here? Where are you from, originally? Ozen?” Lilliana was very thirsty to know more about me all of a sudden. It was almost creepy.

“No, I’m not from Ozen, haha… You wouldn’t believe me.”

“I can barely believe an individual such as yourself exists… But you’re right in front of me.”

After multiple back-and-forths, I managed to avoid the question. But Lilliana was eager for more.

“What’s your favorite meal? What’s your favorite color?” The questions were becoming more and more pointless, like a child trying to make friends. I answered the questions as best as I could.

“What about you, Lilliana? Where are you from? I’ve heard that you're a witch. Does that mean you’re different than humans?”

“Oh? You’re perceptive as well, I see. Yes, I am a witch. Witches and humans are very much alike, but we were ostracized out of fear because of our innate talent in the magical arts. We used to live in a small village on the outskirt of the human kingdom, on the border of the northern dense mana zone.”

**Should I push the matter further? I remember hearing Lilliana mention that Arkosh ordered the witch’s extermination…**

“Besides you… are there any witches left?”

“Oh? I see you’re already aware of the witches’ fate. As far as I know, I am the only witch left. The humans spared me… and only me.”

**Vain condolences would be meaningless. What should I do?**

“Hmm…”

I couldn’t find the words.

“Now that I think about it,” she resumed. “My sister… is probably still alive. She was expelled from the village a long time ago. For committing… something truly horrible.”

This ended the conversation. Even I wasn’t insensitive enough to ask for more details.

“We’re here,” she stated. Her eyes seemed vacant like she was looking somewhere very far away. “This is the Mana Tree.”

“Finally!”

The thick forest opened up, and we entered an immense glade. In the center stood an enormous tree. The leaves were a vivid blue and seemed to be pulsing with vigor. The trunk was white like birch, but unlike it, the bark was immaculate and without peeled-off parts or even the slightest mark. The only alterations to its pristine texture were the blue veins coursing through its bark, from the roots to the leaves as if inhaling the mana from the earth to sustain the upper portion of the magical entity. The faint glow emanating from it had an almost divine feeling to it.

“Holy shit! Hey, Lilliana, how tall is that tree?”

“Too tall for you to climb, that’s for sure, so don’t do anything stupid.”

“Duh, obviously, I’d probably die from lack of oxygen before I could reach the top.”

I stared at it in awe. This was no simple tree. It was a sacred existence deserving the utmost respect.

I heard a faint whisper spoken in a bell-like, feminine voice, “Will you stop staring? It’s embarrassing…”

“What the hell? Lilliana, did you say something?”

“No, I did not.”

“I must be crazy, then. I’m hearing stuff.”

“Don’t you dare discard me as an inexistent being of the occult! You’re hurting my feelings!” The bell-like voice sounded offended.

I turned my head swiftly and looked at Lilliana intently.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I kept staring at her, hoping that she would confess to her prank of impersonating a ghost.

I looked around. There was Lilliana, myself, and a big tree.

Surely, Lilliana was pranking me. Or I just discovered I could speak with ghosts. That was more believable than a talking tree.

But this was no simple tree.

“Is your investigation over, mister Detective?” The bell-like voice spoke once more.

“Lilliana, do trees usually speak?”

“Never heard of such a thing.”

“Uh. I guess there’s a first time for everything. I’ll try to hold a conversation with miss Mana Tree over there.”

“You can call me miss Mana. I don’t mind.”

“Miss Mana it is, then. Nice weather we’re having, isn’t that right?”

I figured talking about the weather was a sure bet.

“Very much so! The rain earlier felt great, and the sun now feels great too! It has just the right angle of incidence!”

“Tell me, miss Mana, since when are trees capable of communicating?”

“Lynch, who are you talking to?” Lilliana sounded concerned about my sanity.

“Wow, that’s rude, calling me a tree. I am no simple tree. I am the Mana Tree, and I’ve been sentient waaay before these bipedal races calling themselves intelligent lifeforms. As if the others were stupid!”

“Doesn’t seem like my guardian Lilliana over there can hear you though, what’s up with that?”

“That’s because I’m using the mana flowing in your veins to resonate through your eardrums to simulate sound. I can’t include her in our conversation because she’s blocking access to her mana circuits…”

“Hey, Lilliana, miss Mana over there told me you’re humm blocking communications or something with your mana circuits? She uses mana in my veins to speak to me or something. Ring any bells?”

Lilliana looked at me, skeptical.

“Never heard of such a thing. But as you said before, there’s a first time for everything.”

She closed her eyes and opened them again. I assume something happened while she had her eyes closed.

“Good evening,” she spoke simply, not convinced in the least by this speaking tree bullshit I mentioned.

“Hello there, young lady! I am miss Mana Tree, what’s your name? Well, I’ve already heard it from the young man, but I’ve learned that’s how humans introduce themselves!”

“Mana Tree?! It-It’s an honor to meet you, your Excellency!” Lilliana stuttered cutely at the beginning. “My name is Lilliana Vongra!”

**That last name, Vongra? That’s horrible. Now I understand why I’ve never heard her mention it before.**

“Did you really create all the mana present in our world, your Excellency?” Lilliana continued. “How did you create it? Are you still creating mana to this day?”

I knew from experience that once she got started with the interview, there was no end in sight. I had to stop her now.

“Hey, Lilliana, I’m sure miss Mana over there has plenty of stories to tell, but we came here for a reason, didn’t we? We’re on a tight schedule. You have to make me strong enough to take on Arkosh before the elves siege Brindle, don’t you remember?”

“Yeah, yeah… Humans can go to hell, for all I care,” she suddenly sounded nonchalant. She had just gone from the lovely but strict big sister stereotype to a rebellious delinquent in an instant.

“Humm, young lady? I’m afraid I don’t have many stories to tell since I haven’t moved from this spot since birth... But I would gladly listen to your stories!”

She sounded so lonely… I wanted to give her a big hug. But if I did, I would probably get zapped to oblivion by the mana surge.

“Maybe later, your Excellency, for now, please answer my questions!”

“Lilliana, for the love of God, give up and train me already! There are lives at stake!”

“Yes, for the love of God, indeed. This, in front of us, is the most powerful entity in the universe. In other words, God!” Lilliana didn’t give up.

“For fuck’s sake!”

“How dare you use such offensive language in front of our God?!”

“I give up.” I yielded. I could not fight against the tenacity of this woman. “I’ll sit on the grass over there, come and get me once you’re done with your interview.”

It lasted until the sun was well below the horizon. By that time, I had started a fire, and gathered enough firewood for an entire week.

When Lilliana finally left miss Mana’s side, she panicked at the sight of my small campfire.

“Extinguish this fire at once, you imbecile! Don’t you realize you’re in the presence of the Mana Tree? A sentient tree!”

I figured out pretty quickly what she was talking about. By burning wood, maybe I was hurting a member of miss Mana’s family or something?

“I am no simple… Ah, never mind,” miss Mana said in a faint, almost inaudible whisper. Seems like even this godlike entity had trouble dealing with Lilliana. “It’s, It’s alright, young lady, these trees were already long dead. Burning them is almost like granting them the freedom to roam through the sky… I’m sure that’s what they would have wanted!”

Aww, she’s so cute.

“But, next time, please start the fire a bit further away. I’m flammable, you know…”

**No shit, you’re a tree.**

“It’s not so simple. Since I’m linked to the world’s mana, if I catch fire, it will spread to the ambient mana and start a chain reaction.”

**Oh shit, I think she heard me!**

“I speak directly in your mind, remember? Of course, I can hear your thoughts.”

“Even the lewd ones?”

“Ah uhm, yes… These ones as well… I must say, humans, are fascinating creatures. Your mind is filled with certain thoughts about Lilliana, but none of these shows on the outside. You really are a great actor.”

**She somehow managed to turn my perverted thoughts into a compliment.**

The next morning.

“First thing, Lynch, I’m going to show you how to get rid of this headache. However, you won’t be able to hear miss Mana anymore.”

“I’m kind of conflicted, but let’s do it! I’m sure miss Mana won’t mind!”

“I-I don’t, but I’ll be kinda lonely…”

So cute!

“Even if it pains me to know that I won’t be able to hear your lovely cutesy voice, you don’t have to worry. I’ll still tell you my stories!”

“Yay!”

This heartwarming moment made me all fuzzy inside.

“Sorry to interrupt your heartbreaking separation, but with some slight adjustments to your mana skin, you’ll be able to hear her. It will simply bring back a little bit of your headache.”

“Why didn’t you say that first? You made miss Mana sad, you monster!”