Fresa looked puzzled. “Apple-san, by ‘Nursery,’ does it—?”
“Let’s talk later. There’s still more explanations to come, Fresa-san,” Datil said, cutting her off.
“Secondly, [Gaokerena-sama]’s Tree Spirit will be eliminated, and the Throne of Souls, now a blank slate, will be transferred to [Furutsu-sama]. You may use it how you wish.”
I have no idea what that means. Hey, could I ask a question? What’s a Throne of Souls—?
“Ahhhhh! It hurts! I can’t take it!” A piercing cry suddenly rang through the room.
Huh, what’s going on?
“Nooo! Stop! It hurts! I do not want to disappear! I want to stay!” Gaokerena shrieked as he was wrapped in a white-blue flame. He shook his branches, writhing in pain. “Agh! Owww! P-Please! Don’t kill me! It hurts!” Gaokerena continued to cry out.
Ding! “Currently eliminating [Gaokerena-sama]’s Tree Spirit. Please wait.”
Hold on! You don’t have to go that far...
“I feel so sorry for him, Apple-san!”
“Yeah, this is a bit much...”
Fresa and Datil were grimacing as they stared at the small tree.
Hey, this wasn’t the tone you took with the villagers, was it? Ah! You’re not being fooled by appearances, are you? There’s a super buff guy behind that tree, you know.
“Nooooo! H-H-Help meee!” Gaokerena continued to scream.
Ding! “Currently eliminating [Gaokerena-sama]’s Tree Spirit. Please wait.”
Hey, stop that already! Cut it out!
“Auuugh! Stop! Please! Stop!”
Ding! “Currently eliminating [Gaokerena-sama]’s Tree Spirit. Please wait.”
Damn it! If it’s not gonna stop, I have to force it to! I’m not sure where to aim, but I just need to attack that big thing, right? Strength at one hundred percent! Remove the shackles of fire, traveler!
Ding! “Confirmed activation of spell. Strength is at one hundred percent.”
A huge fireball erupted before disappearing high into the sky.
Ding. “Detected a magic attack. Elimination of Tree Spirit has been suspended. Eliminated 18.3% of the spirit.”
“Ugh... Huff... Y-You saved me,” Gaokerena said, tottering as he faced toward me.
Oooh! Is he gonna say the line?!
“Why? Why did you save me?”
He said it! I mean, why, you ask? I couldn’t bear to watch. Now, run while you can.
Gaokerena laughed.
Why’re you laughing?! Hurry up and get outta here!
“I cannot. I cannot leave this place. That is the way of things. The management unit is simply suspending my elimination because you, the victor, intervened.”
Got it. So, I just gotta redirect my request, right? Hey! Management unit! Is there a way to save Gaokerena?
“What are you doing?! I am your enemy!”
That doesn’t matter! From my point of view, you’re just a potted tree that moves funny, okay? A moving tree sounds kinda fun, so I’ll just cultivate you forever or something!
“Your selfish request will never be fulfilled. The management unit of this Theatrum is just a system that mechanically carries out its protocols until the end of time.”
Selfish? You’re one to talk. In any case, I don’t need this Nursery or that Throne of Souls! I’ll just throw them all away the moment I get them! Is that all right with you, management unit?
“What?! You cannot be serious. This is the ruler’s Throne of Souls!”
Again—I don’t know what any of this means, and therefore I don’t care. Don’t need it!
Bing Ding! “Confirmed the key terms [Throne of Souls] and [don’t need]. [Furutsu-sama], here is an alternative suggestion for you.” Another spotlight illuminated a new area, a short distance away from Gaokerena. In that spotlight was...
“Datil, look!” Fresa cried.
“Is that Gruszka?!” Datil said.
“Organism name [Gruszka] is expected to die in [982] seconds. As an exception, should this organism be combined with [Gaokerena-sama]’s Tree Spirit, and should [Furutsu-sama] connect a path with this organism, the post-battle arrangements can be completed.”
“Expected” to die?! Gruszka was still alive?!
“That man is still breathing after being struck by my magic?!” Gaokerena said.
Seriously. I can’t believe he’s still fine after those massive flames.
“Apple-san, no! He’s not fine! If you don’t hurry, he’ll die!” Datil said.
Whoops, right. I have less than one thousand seconds left.
“Well, I can’t really sympathize with an evil man,” Fresa said.
Come on, don’t say that. He’s evil, but he protected the children from Gaokerena’s fire. Now then, what should I do here?
Grida giggled. “You say that, but you’ve already decided, haven’t you?”
I’m no match for you. I guess I’ll ask that guy for confirmation though. Gaokerena, what do you wanna do?
He thought for a moment. “Of course, there is no reason to decline if you are willing to spare my life, but you should make the final judgment. You can do whatever you wish with me.”
Great, then I guess we’ve made our choice! Hey, management unit! Could you combine Gaokerena and Gruszka?
“Certainly. Thank you for accepting this suggestion. Please wait while I report this to Ain Soph Owl... Report completed. A set of conditions has been presented by Ain Soph Owl.”
Conditions?
“Before combining the two, [Gaokerena-sama]’s memories regarding confidential ruler information shall be erased. Will you accept this condition?”
Excuse me? That’s a bit too much!
“Hm. Confidential information...” Gaokerena said, shaking its branches.
No way that’s okay! Gimme a sec. Hey! I’d like to have a word with your manage—
“Fine. You may erase my memories. Make haste.”
“Acceptance confirmed. [Gaokerena-sama]’s memory disposal...”
Whoa! No! Wait! Wait!
“...has been suspended.”
Whew! That was close. Hey, Gaokerena! What’s your deal? Even if only a portion of your memory gets erased, that’s still pretty bad! Are you sure you’re okay with that?
“It cannot be helped. Information regarding the rulers cannot be leaked. I doubt they can conveniently erase just a portion—I would imagine that almost my entire memory will be wiped.”
Seriously?! That kinda sucks!