There was a lady in particular who welcomed Ein’s return with overwhelming enthusiasm—his mother. Olivia cried tears of joy as she took him into her tight embrace—first with a hug, and then with her roots. Even as the clock ticked into the wee hours of the night, the princess refused to let the boy out of her grasp. Alongside Krone, Olivia and Ein laughed as they shared their stories.
The next evening, a resting Ein was suddenly caught off guard by his mother’s abrupt arrival. In the next moment, he discovered that she was quickly preparing him for something. She had her reasons, of course. A certain klutzy elf must’ve unconsciously noticed his return, and was about to awaken very soon.
“M-Mother... Do I really have to throw on the formal attire?” Ein asked.
“Hee hee, of course you do,” Olivia chuckled. “You’re my precious son, and you must go to her looking your absolute handsomest.”
“I-I don’t know how to argue with that.”
After he finished changing, she joyfully tidied his hair; Olivia seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit. Ein looked a touch embarrassed as he fiddled with his collar in hopes of distracting himself. It was then that his status card slid out of his pocket.
“Are you still the World Tree, I wonder?” Olivia asked.
“Hmm, why don’t we take a look?” Ein replied.
He picked up his card and placed it in front of him. Olivia peered at the card from behind her son.
Ein von Ishtarica
[Job] ——
[Stamina] 9999 + α
[Magical Power] 9999 + α
[Attack] — + α
[Defense] — + α
[Agility] — + α
[Skills] World Tree of Gluttony, Poisonous Charm, Curse of Solitude
“I see, so you are,” Olivia said.
Does she not care about the “gluttony” bit? Ein thought as he chuckled. I see nothing but problems with this. He’d managed to regain his powers once he awakened, but the realization that such a powerful force slumbered within him made Ein pause.
“Hee hee,” Olivia giggled. “You’ve only become more charming.”
“Have I?” Ein asked.
The first princess seemed to be overjoyed as she patted her precious son’s head, and no one had the gall to spoil her mood. He had no idea what Olivia—or dryad women, rather—found so charming about it, but he assumed that the “World Tree” name simply held quite a bit of influence.
“But I wonder what exactly the World Tree of Gluttony skill is,” Ein said. “All of my absorbed skills are gone now.”
“As it’s a skill of the World Tree itself, perhaps it’s just been bundled up into one name,” Olivia guessed. “And the other two skills are...”
“Likely the ones I obtained from Shannon.”
Sensing her son’s pain, Olivia hugged Ein from behind. The glum crown prince soon calmed down after receiving his mother’s embrace.
“I can’t look like this when I’m visiting the sick, can I?” Ein said.
“I’m sorry,” Olivia apologized. “I shouldn’t have suggested that we glance at your status.”
“You’re not at fault. I was curious myself.”
He pumped himself up once more and tried to slip the card back into his pocket. His mother, still curious, had her eyes fixated on the list of skills.
“I’d thought that I’d see ‘Hero’ on the list...” she whispered to herself.
“Mother?” Ein asked. “Did you say something?”
“No, nothing at all.” She flashed a saintly smile. “Your hair will be done soon. Sit tight, my dear.” She reached out to once again brush her son’s hair.
Through a nearby window, one could see Ishtarica’s crimson skies as the sun set. After making his way to Chris’s room, Ein pulled up a chair and sat at her bedside. Relief washed over his face—Chris appeared to be simply snoozing away.
“Chris, I’m back,” he said.
Her eyes remained closed, but one of her ears twitched in response to his voice.
“That’s a tactful response,” he remarked. He smiled, amused by what he just saw. “Remember your ceremony in the audience room? You’re the type to just run wild and plow ahead, aren’t you? I’m no different, really.”
Chris didn’t utter a word.
“Since we both run around as we please, we’re always leaving grandfather with a headache.”
“Mm... Mm...” Chris groaned. She flipped towards the crown prince as her eyelids slowly but surely opened. “H-Huh? Where...am...”
How many days had it been since they heard each other’s voices? It had only been a few weeks at the most since Ein sailed away, but it felt as if they hadn’t spoken for years.
“We’re in your room, Chris,” Ein said.
“My...room?” Chris murmured.
“That’s right. In the castle.”
A chilly breeze blew through the window. It’d been opened for some air circulation, but the bit of a nip in the air helped wake her up. Once hit with a cold draft, Chris seemed a touch bothered by the cold as she sat up. She spotted Ein and froze. Was she still dreaming? Had Oz sent her to the afterlife? Barely able to keep a grip on reality, Chris felt the last bit of hope in her heart surging as she reached out. She was about to bet everything on this small gesture. She had prayed for the best—the happiest of all possible outcomes—but it seemed as if she had clung to a desperate wish.
But when she took that gamble, the knight finally managed to touch his hand. She gasped, feeling the very real crown prince’s warmth through her fingertips.
“Sir...Ein?” she whispered.
“Yep. I’m right here, Chris,” he replied.
Her blonde locks were splayed across her bed as she remained still as a stone pillar, her eyes focused solely on her beloved prince. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes before they began to roll down her cheeks, one by one.
“I worked really hard,” she mumbled in a quivering voice.
“I know,” Ein replied.
“I truly believed that you’d be waiting for me. This is the hardest that I’ve ever worked in my entire life.” Her lips trembled as she lamented her shortcomings while rubbing her forehead against his hand. “But I couldn’t win. I was carried back to the royal capital as though I had fled from battle! So I... I...wanted to do anything that I could.”