“Yes! Um… Emperor Treant, sir, could you please grow some ranma grass for us?” Mimi asked, trying her best to sound polite despite the tension still coiling in her chest.
“Too much trouble. I’d rather not.” The Emperor Treant’s voice drifted into their minds with serene detachment, as if the request had been no more significant than a passing breeze and not the desperate plea of two exhausted travelers.
“What?!” Mimi’s voice cracked in disbelief. That answer had been so blunt, so unexpectedly lazy, it knocked the breath right out of her.
“Y-You can’t be serious!” she cried, stepping forward in a rush, her voice rising with frantic urgency. “If you don’t, something terrible is going to happen! We fought so hard to make it this far!” The words tumbled out, half panic, half protest, raw, unfiltered desperation from someone who’d come too far to be turned away now.
“I’m joking,” the Emperor Treant replied smoothly. “No need to panic.”
“Joking?” Mimi blinked, her face frozen in blank confusion. The idea that this ancient, towering guardian could be the joking type hadn’t once occurred to her.
“I decided to increase the strength of the guardians this time. Did you enjoy the challenge?” The Emperor Treant’s voice rolled through their minds like the rustling of ancient leaves, unhurried and almost amused, like a god toying with his creations, curious to see how far they’d crawl before breaking.
“W-Wait, what? What do you mean… increased the strength?” Mimi’s voice wavered as she stared up in disbelief, her exhausted mind struggling to process the idea that their near-death ordeal had been… intentional.
“I raised the difficulty level. Things were getting too easy; it was becoming dull, wouldn’t you agree?” The voice was perfectly calm, conversational even, like a host discussing adjustments to a party game rather than life-threatening combat trials.
Mimi was speechless. “Y-You made it harder on purpose?!”
Now that she thought about it, it actually made a grim kind of sense. The dwarves didn’t use magic, and in terms of personal combat ability, they weren’t especially powerful. Even the strongest among them didn’t compare to Delarosa. And Delarosa had nearly died during the trial.
Which meant… if it had been anyone else…
They probably wouldn’t have made it this far at all.
“I… we almost died! That wasn’t fun at all!” Mimi burst out, her voice sharp with frustration and lingering adrenaline. The words slipped past her filter before she could stop them: raw, honest, and louder than intended. She knew she was supposed to be polite—this was a sacred ancient being, after all—but after everything they’d just endured, she couldn’t hold it in.
For a moment, there was silence. “Hmm. Is that so? Then, I owe you an apology.” The Emperor Treant’s voice, though still ponderous and deep, had softened with genuine regret. “The last dwarf who came through here said it was far too easy. He wanted more thrill, more challenge… I thought others might feel the same. But if it was too much, I’ll tone it down next time.”
So, it had been someone else’s fault, a reckless dwarf who'd convinced this ancient tree to raise the stakes. Mimi’s anger immediately deflated, guilt bubbling up in its place.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, bowing her head. “I didn’t mean to yell.”
“Now, about the ranma grass,” the Treant continued. “You needn’t worry. From the moment I awoke, it began to grow on its own. I don’t need to do anything further.”
“Wait, so it’s already sprouting?” Mimi asked, blinking in surprise.
“That is correct.” The Emperor Treant’s voice resonated gently in their minds, steady and composed, like the slow creak of branches in a timeless forest.
At that, relief washed over Mimi in a rush. The mission was complete. She’d done what she came to do. The weight she’d been carrying for what felt like days finally lifted, and she let out a long, shaky breath.
“Whew… looks like it all worked out,” she murmured.
“Thanks for growin’ the grass, Big Tree Guy!” Delarosa added cheerfully, waving toward the enormous face.
“What a crude nickname… but I’ll allow it,” the Treant rumbled, unoffended. It seemed his wisdom extended beyond magic; he had patience to match his size.
“All right! Let’s get back down and go help Belamus!” Delarosa said, already turning on her heel with renewed energy.
“Yeah. He’s probably still fighting,” Mimi said with a nod, her expression firming as determination returned to her eyes.
Just as they started to descend, the Treant’s voice halted them: “Wait.”
Both girls stopped in their tracks, Mimi tensing instinctively. Had something gone wrong?
“Judging by your condition, neither of you has any strength left,” he said matter-of-factly. “If you remain here a while longer, your stamina and magical power will recover faster in my presence. You should rest before you go.”
“What? But we don’t have time!” Delarosa protested, turning back.
“You spoke of providing support,” the Treant replied calmly. “But support is meaningless if you lack the strength to act. Go as you are now, and you will only get in the way.”
Delarosa hesitated. She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right.
“Ugh… I guess that does make sense…” Delarosa muttered, dragging a hand down her face, clearly annoyed but unable to argue with its logic.
As the two girls sat near the Emperor Treant, they could both feel it: an unmistakable sense of relief spreading through their bodies. The ache in their limbs began to ease, and the heavy fog of exhaustion started to lift. It wasn’t dramatic or sudden, but it was real. His words hadn’t been an exaggeration. Merely being near him truly accelerated their recovery.
“Hmm, what should we do?” Delarosa asked, stretching her arms overhead as she debated.
“I think we should stay and rest a bit,” Mimi replied, her voice calm but firm.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Delarosa exhaled and let her shoulders slump, conceding with a reluctant smile as the tension finally eased from her posture.
And so, just as the Treant had advised, they decided to pause their journey and recover their strength.
“Good,” the Emperor Treant rumbled, satisfaction in his tone. “Then remain here awhile. In the meantime, allow me to share a tale from the days when I still moved through the forest, as a Treant in full stride.”
“Huh?” Mimi blinked in surprise.
Is that why he wanted us to stay? she wondered. So he could tell us stories?
Apparently, so. Soon enough, the Emperor Treant launched into a tale from long ago.
Much to the girls’ surprise, it wasn’t some dry, meandering monologue. It was vivid. Dramatic. Genuinely entertaining. The kind of story that swept you up before you realized it, told in the slow, resonant cadence of someone who had watched centuries pass beneath his roots.