In a Different World with a Smartphone (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 3

Chapter III: The Pruning 

“It’s getting colder, huh...” 
Brunhild was entering its winter season. It wasn’t half as cold as the Kingdom of Elfrau was when I’d visited, but it was still quite bad. It looked like snow was due, too. 
“Do we have sufficient countermeasures to stave off the cold?” 
“All the houses in Brunhild have fireplaces. We have ample stores of firewood, too. If anything, our concern should be preventing fires.” That was true. We formed a small fire brigade just in cases any places got lit up. Also, there was a device much like a pump so fires could be extinguished quickly. Kousaka was definitely thorough in his approach, so it was good to have him around. It seemed the water from the town’s canal would be our primary method of opposing fire. For now, having them go on occasional patrols would be enough. Maybe I’d equip them with some claves they could slap together to alert others or something. 
After finishing my formal affairs, I headed to the courtyard training grounds. Hilde and Rebecca were both in the midst of a duel. 
After she was officially announced as my fiancee, Hilde had come to live in my castle. 
In all honesty, I didn’t expect her to come live with me until the wedding. Fiancee or not, she was still the princess of another nation, and had national duties. 
Unlike Yumina, who seemed to take a while to settle with me, Lu and Hilde seemed to have settled in relatively quickly. They were right at home. As you might expect, Sue was the only one who didn’t live with me. She still stayed over two nights a week, though. 
Obviously, she didn’t sleep in my room either. She mostly stayed with Yumina. Though I’d noticed she stayed with Renne some nights. 
I didn’t mind her staying overnight, but she really had to stop sneaking into my room in order to wake me up. It was a little much to be woken up twice a week by a little girl’s body slamming into me. 
As I winced, recalling the pain, Hilde wandered over toward me. 
“Touya!” 
“Nice job, Hilde.” I cast [Refresh] and restored all of her fatigue. Whenever she had time, she’d come to train here against my soldiers. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from a knight. 
Hilde wasn’t wearing the Lestian armor that she wore when we first met, though. Instead, she had light armor of Brunhild’s design on. Despite the fact that she was a knight, she didn’t belong to my country’s knight order. She herself said she wasn’t a knight of Brunhild, but my own personal knight... I knew for a fact that Commander Lain felt a little awkward having someone so close to me fighting alongside them. 
“Are you off somewhere?” 
“I’m heading to the guild. Brunhild’s branch finally opened up, so I’m gonna check it out.” 
“Ooh... May I come with you?” 
“Don’t see why not. Let’s go.” Having her come with me and see the town was on the agenda, so this was handy. I wanted her to get used to Brunhild sooner rather than later. 
I left the castle with Hilde. On our way into town, we passed a bunch of excited children who didn’t seem to care at all about the cold. 
“Heeey, Milord! Nice to see ya!” 
“Nice to see ya, Milooord!” 
“Ah, yeah... Good to see you. Don’t wander off too far, now.” 
“Ohkaaay!” The cheery kids ran off toward the fields. I’d been considering it for a while, but I definitely needed to make a school. Kids that could read and write, and learn other skills, would be useful to have in the country. Then again, I didn’t have any teachers. 
We didn’t have too many talented people amongst the general population... 
“The children are happy... That’s good, it makes me happy too.” 
“Yeah... We managed to build up the country without needing them to chip in and work. That’s a good thing, really.” Brunhild could be considered a fairly well-off country. We didn’t have anything in the way of poverty, and most people had jobs, but we also didn’t really have anything in the way of industry... Unless you counted bicycle production. I was doing some experiments with trade, agriculture, and manufacturing, but it was nothing concrete just yet. 
I’d asked Flora to improve several types of seed for me, so I wanted to kick off more agricultural production, but... our territory wasn’t all that vast or wide, so we were a little limited in our operations. 
As I pondered such things, we finally arrived at our destination, Brunhild’s guild hall. The place was already a little crowded. It seemed that the guild was operating like any other. 
I pulled a hood over my head and went inside. The crowd was pretty noisy, come to think of it. The quest board had a ton of people in front of it checking out all the different posts. Part of me missed the atmosphere. I’d completely changed my life since I first arrived in this world. 
Hilde kept looking around restlessly. I wondered if this was the first time she’d been in a guild hall. 
“Welcome! Are you a newcomer?” 
“Ah, no... I just came to visit. Is the manager in?” I gave a vague answer to the cat-eared receptionist and quietly flashed her my card. There were only two Golds on the continent, after all. 
“Wh...! W-Wow... A-Ah... Please wait just a moment!” The flustered catgirl stumbled off up the stairs while her colleagues looked on in confusion. I briefly caught the glance of a few adventurers, but they very quickly returned their gazes to the quest listings. A few were glancing at Hilde, but that wasn’t too surprising. She stuck out like a sore thumb, after all. 
After a while, the cat-eared girl came down and spoke in a low whisper. 
“I’ll take you to see the manager now... Y-Your Highness...!” The girl led me off up the stairs, and we passed through to the back room. There, someone I knew quite well was waiting on me. 
“Huh? You’re the manager here, Relisha?” Relisha, the elven guildmaster, stood there and smiled at me. She was supposed to be one of the great guildmasters of the west. I wondered if she’d been demoted or something. 
“No, not quite. A guildmaster can choose which guild branch becomes their home base, but I hadn’t decided. However, after establishing the Brunhild branch, I finally made my choice.” 
“Oh, so that’s how it is...” I pulled down my hood and took a seat. The room I was in was surprisingly gaudy, with several documents and books adorned the place, neatly organized on shelves. There were various magically-charged items dotted around, too. Guildmasters certainly lived interesting lives. 
“Ah, Grand Duke... I’ve been informed you’re engaged to the Lestian princess. Please accept my congratulations.” 
“Ah... Thank you.” 
“A-Ah! Thank you so much!” Hilde... That was loud. She squirmed in embarrassment, completely oblivious to my thoughts as I looked at her. 
“On to other matters, the Yulong incident troubles me greatly. The guild branch there was almost completely wiped out. The survivors were gravely wounded. It will take a considerable amount of time, but we will rebuild. Adventurers are necessary in a place with shattered morale.” As I’d expected, the effects of the incident were catastrophic. The information on the Phrase had been sent to the other guildmasters, but not the individual hall staff. Had they known, they may have found some way to escape. 
“Are there any new reports of Phrase activity?” 
“None at all, no. Do you believe it could happen again, Your Highness?” 
“I don’t think it’s over, but I can’t tell you when it’ll happen again. Tomorrow? A year? Ten years? I just can’t say.” Relisha frowned slightly, placing a hand to her chin as if deep in thought. 
“For now, we can continue to spread the warnings. I hope the same thing doesn’t happen in Yulong, though... Especially not after we rebuild.” Relisha chuckled faintly, as if she were telling a joke. Still, it was undeniable that the possibility of disaster was ever present. I saw the tear in reality form back in Yulong. There wasn’t any guarantee it wouldn’t open once more. 
The towns and buildings themselves weren’t especially damaged, since the Phrase went after living targets exclusively, but many people didn’t want to live there simply because of the fact that a genocide had occurred. 
The people of Yulong became refugees, having no choice but to escape to neighboring nations. Some of them became thieves and brigands, while others earned money defeating them... The lives of many were changed by the incident. 
“There are still many in Yulong who believe the invasion was your work, Grand Duke. But nobody outside of that country believes in it, I can assure you. The refugees who leave always end up learning the truth, as well. The more people they meet, the fewer lies they believe. I’m certain the stories won’t persist much longer.” 
“They can say whatever they want, honestly. I’m just about done with Yulong.” 
“They’ve been rallying people lately with catchphrases and slogans like ‘Never forgive, never forget.’ It’s entirely possible they may cause trouble for you down the line.” 
“Then I’ll crush whoever’s rallying them should it come to that. I’m not a wimp, so if someone causes me trouble, then I’ll squash them. Peace begets peace, and violence breeds violence.” I had no choice but to take that stance. I sympathized with Yulong, but this was another matter entirely. I didn’t want anything to do with their lies. 
“We’ll spread such a message from our guilds, then. Something along the lines of ‘The grand duke of Brunhild is a benevolent man, but he will surely strike down anyone that opposes his nation.’ Something to that effect.” I figured that’d be enough. Though I didn’t want to be exaggerated out of context too much... Still, there was nothing I could do. I decided to change the subject. 
“How’s the guild going?” 
“Well, it’s going. We’re employing plenty of people for general quests, and missions to kill monsters are coming in from Belfast and Regulus. The only real issue is there aren’t any high-tier missions available... Though, I suppose that’s a testament to how peaceful Brunhild is, no?” There weren’t any magic beasts around or anything, and I’d cleared out all the brigands. The quests here wouldn’t be fulfilling for people who wanted to earn a lot at once, since it was mostly small stuff. 
Just then, I heard some rowdy voices from downstairs. I wondered what it could be. I asked Relisha, and she told me that disputes were regular in guild halls, and fights were just a part of life here. 
I wasn’t too surprised. After all, I’d been involved in a few conflicts like that myself. 
“Hey, twerp. This isn’t a place you can just stroll into, got it?” 
“Come on, now. Don’t you think you’re just talking tough because you have a woman with you?” 
“Shut it. I’ll teach you how to be a real adventurer. Your wallet can be my payment.” 
...The situation didn’t exactly sound amicable. 
Guilds typically didn’t interfere in disputes between adventurers. So long as there was no damage to the property, it wasn’t their business. 
If people scuffled, they typically took it outside anyway. That was one of the reasons the guild was built with a wide area in front of it. 
Eventually we heard loud footsteps that grew fainter as people went outside. I figured they must’ve been asked to leave by the staff. 
“Oh, seems they’ve taken it outside,” Relisha muttered to herself as she peeked out the window. 
That reminded me of my own experience too. I’d once been told to take it outside. Back then they’d intended to humiliate me in front of the town, rather than just the guild, but they were the ones who ended up humiliated. 
“Hmph... Aren’t they ashamed of ganging up on one person like that...? It’s a woman, as well...” Hilde peeked out the window. She seemed rather interested as well. 
“She seems stronger than them, though. See? She beat a bunch already.” 
“Incredible. She must be strong to heft that axe around... She’s certainly light-footed as well. It looks like she might just be naturally talented, since she’s not moving like she has formal training... Her clothes are strange, as well...” 
“I believe that’s the traditional garb of the Rauli tribe, from the Sea of Trees. I never expected to see one of them out here...” 
Huh...? What’d they say just now...? The Rauli Tribe... Why does that ring a bell? 
I peeked out from another window and saw four men on the ground. A tanned woman was fighting a fifth. 
What?! That girl! 
“Touya?” Ignoring Hilde, I darted out of the room, bolted past reception, and ran outside. I made it there just in time to see the girl kick the last man hard in the side of the face. 
The onlookers cheered as the girl looked down on her attackers. 
Suddenly, her eyes fell upon me. As I’d expected, it was her. She was the granddaughter of the Rauli tribe chief, and the girl who bit me way back when. Her name was Pam, if I recalled correctly. 
“... Found you.” 
Huh? Did she just speak? I didn’t know she could speak the common tongue. 
My thoughts were interrupted by Pam suddenly charging over and embracing me. She bowled me over and started rubbing her cheek against mine. 
W-Wait a second now! The girl was wearing something like a hide mantle, but she only had a chest wrap and a loincloth covering her breasts and nether region respectively. She was... hitting against me, in various ways. They were definitely as big as I remembered. 

“Wh-What are you doing?!” I looked toward the guild’s entrance and saw Hilde standing there, red in the face. She was fidgeting like crazy. 
...This feels dangerous. Oh geez... Yep, this is a familiar sensation... 
“What are you doing?! Get off Touya!” 
“Who you? This Pam’s lover. Pam am having baby with him.” 
“Wh-Wh-Wh-What?!” Hilde’s cheeks grew redder than beets. 
What the hell is going on here?! I don’t understand! Someone explain the situation, damn it! 
 
“I can’t allow this.” 
“Why? If child born from Touya and Pam is girl, our tribe raises. If child is boy, you raise.” 
Yumina simply replied with a sigh and a shake of her head. 
“I’m sorry, but you aren’t suited to become Touya’s wife. You really need to leave.” 
“Pam doesn’t wish to be bride. Just having Touya’s seed is good. With Touya’s seed, I make strongest baby to become queen of Sea of Trees.” Well, her intentions were certainly plain and simple. We’d been talking in circles for hours. Pam had left the Sea of Trees in order to find me. She’d learned the common tongue during the trip, so it seemed she was smarter than I’d initially given her credit for. 
After the fuss in the guild, a bridal conference was called. The theme of the meeting was “Can Pam be accepted?” 
“Pam don’t know why you guys have problem.” 
“You’re more than free to want a baby, Pam, but it’s another matter entirely if it’s Touya’s child as well. You’d choose the prosperity of your people over Touya’s happiness. A person like that can’t be allowed to have his baby.” Yumina glared down at Pam with a tremendously imposing force behind her words. In all honesty, she scared me a bit too. 
“...The baby doesn’t have to be Touya’s, does it? It doesn’t need to be him if you want a strong child. Just go sleep around with some strong men, I’m sure one of them will take hold.” Linze let loose some bitter words as well. She seemed to be fully behind Yumina’s stance here. 
“Cannot. Pam has given Touya the Oathbite. That mean Touya is Pam’s.” 
“How utterly selfish! There’s no way Touya would acknowledge something so stupid!” Hilde stood up in her chair and yelled over at Pam. Sounded like that bite Pam had given me a while ago was the equivalent of a promise in their culture. Something like ‘I’ve marked this guy as mine, so back off.’ 
Their culture really didn’t care about men or their personal circumstances. It was entirely female-dominated. They were pretty similar to the traditional idea of the Amazons. 
“Let us begin from the start, yes? Why do you wish to bear Touya-dono’s child? There must surely be more than your simple reason, there must.” Yae took a more gentle approach in quizzing Pam, to which the brown-skinned girl replied by frowning and muttering. 
“We tribe of war... But we do not attack others, except for making child. We fight to protect home, but not to attack others. Still, lately many tribes attack us stronger and harder. Strong blood needed so we can stay in Sea of Trees. Also to win during the pruning.” 
“Hm...? What’s the pruning?” Sue tilted her head slightly and asked a question. As far as I understood it, pruning was when you cut off troublesome branches and leaves from trees in order to make it look better or help fruits grow. 
“The Pruning is war between tribes of Sea of Trees. Every ten years, warriors from every tribe comes battle to decide which tribe is strongest. Winning tribe becomes Tribe of the Treelord and can make one law in Sea of Trees.” 
Every ten years, huh... Well, that sounds interesting. I guess the winning tribe can establish a law to make it easier for his tribe and harder on the others. 
“A law? So can you pick and choose anything? What if you wanted to make a law to expel a tribe or something?” Elze took the words right out of my mouth. I wondered if you could make a law like ‘Tribe A must pledge obedience to Tribe B’ or something like that. I doubted you could make a dumb law like ‘Give me a hundred more laws,’ though. 
In classic stories involving situations with one wish, there’s usually a rule against wishing for more wishes. 
“If allowed by Great Wishing Tree, yes. If it does not dishonor tribe, then any law.” 
“Great... Wishing Tree?” 
“Is guardian deity of us. Grants all tribes spirit’s blessing and protection.” 
...Like one of those trees you tie talismans to? Still, I kinda wonder what she means by spirits. Hopefully nothing like the one that rampaged around in Ramissh... If there’s a wishing tree like that, I wonder... Does the Sea of Trees have a forest spirit? 
From what I understood, spirits were benign for the most part. In the case of the one at Ramissh, it went berserk due to being sealed underground for centuries. Plus, it was kind of an asshole after it fused with Ramirez and gained his negativity. 
The people from the Sea of Trees lived their lives worshiping this wishing tree and lived according to a spiritual creed. In a way, they were similar to the people of Ramissh. 
“Rauli tribe loses in Pruning for last seventy years now. Other tribes take in new blood. Strong blood. Pam and Touya’s baby will win Pruning. Restore honor and glory. If Pam do nothing, Rauli tribe destroyed by Balm tribe soon.” 
“The Balm tribe? They’re another tribe in the Sea of Trees, then?” 
“Yes. Is tribe that says women less good than men. They steal woman from other tribes, fill seed, make many babies. If baby boy, raise as warrior. If baby girl, cast out mother and child.” 
That’s not all that different from the Rauli tribe, though... Just a reversal of roles, honestly. Not that I’m saying either is right, it’s quite awful. 
There seemed to be a deep hate between the male-dominated tribe, Balm, and the female-dominated tribe, Rauli. Given their creeds, there could probably never be peace between the two. 
Both tribes were strong enough to keep the other in check, but the arrival of the Spider Phrase caused catastrophic damage to the Rauli people. The warriors that were to represent the tribe in the pruning ended up dying. Because of that, they were sitting ducks for the Balm tribe to pick away at. 
“We given up on winning next Pruning. Only hope that Balm does not win and become Tribe of the Treelord. But Pam and Touya’s child can win next Pruning, and we become Tribe of the Treelord.” That was certainly a long-term plan. Still, after hearing her circumstances, I couldn’t accept. I didn’t want her to give birth to my daughter just to make the girl fight. That would be horrible. 
“When’s the next Pruning?” 
“One month. We fight. Tribe brings great shame if not participating. We will lose. Pam not fight because Pam is here. Pruning has five tribe champions fight other tribe’s five champions. If unlucky, you die.” That sounded terribly dangerous. From what I had heard, the Pruning followed a simple set of rules. It was similar to a five-versus-five tournament. It was beginning to sound more and more like a military event than anything else. 
“Hm...” 
“Yumina?” Yumina was deep in thought as Lu tried calling out to her. 
“What kind of law will the Balm tribe add if they win this Pruning?” 
“Likely some law that drives Rauli tribe to edge of Sea of Trees. Bad hunt, bad soil. Hard to live. Kill us slow, over time. Does not dishonor Balm to make law. They take our hunting grounds after.” 
“Then what kind of law would the Rauli tribe make if they won?” 
“Same law, but drive away Balm tribe to die slow.” 
These guys really are two sides of the same coin. It’d be better if they could just get along already... Can’t they just be a big gender-equal tribe? I’d been thinking a lot more about gender equality lately, especially with regards to family. 
“So you only want Touya’s child so you can use her to drive out the Balm tribe?” 
“It is not only reason, but yes, for most part.” 
“...Very well, then. Let’s strike up a deal. We can help the Rauli tribe win the current Pruning. We can help your tribe reach this... Treelord Tribe status. In exchange, give up on Touya entirely.” 
Wait, seriously?! You’re gonna participate in the survival game?! I mean, I’d like to help Pam too, but... I can’t give her a baby, that’s way too much. 
“...Can you win?” 
“Hard to say, but it’s better to take a chance instead of losing now and betting on the next decade, no?” Yumina replied with a little smile. The girl was emanating some kind of womanly intensity, I could feel it. 
Come to think of it, after a decade or so my kid would only be nine or ten. They weren’t thinking of putting her in a survival game then, were they? 
“...If you say. If you can win, then Pam will be happy. But if lose like Pam expect, then Pam make a baby with Touya.” 
“I doubt it’ll come down to that.” Yumina and Pam gently smiled at one another. For some reason it was terrifying, though. 
Apparently if Yumina and the girls temporarily joined the Rauli tribe, they’d be allowed to join the games. I couldn’t help but find it a little weird, though. 
It’d be like having eight foreigners come in and substitute for your baseball team. It wouldn’t be the original team anymore, but just a group of some random guys. 
“Yumina-dono, are you serious, are you?” 
“I think this is the best compromise we can get. Are we all agreed?” I looked around, and found nobody disagreeing. Part of me did want to object, though. I didn’t want to see the girls get injured. 
But I knew that if I did object, they’d say something like... “You want to have a baby with Pam that much, huh? I see, I see... Is it because of her enormous boobs? Do you love boobs that much?!” I felt like some of them would worry, so I couldn’t really speak my mind. 
A lot of my fiancees had some insecurity about their breasts, which I thought was a tad silly. Most of them were still growing, so it was fine. 
In terms of breast size, Yae was the biggest, then Hilde, then a considerable jump down to Linze, then Elze, then Lu, then Yumina, and... if you could call them breasts, Sue. Pam’s knockers were bigger than Yae’s though, so even she could get insecure. 
Flora had mentioned some kind of dubious boob-enhancing medicine... but I wasn’t so sure about it... If Yumina suddenly showed up with a back-breaking mega rack, I just didn’t know how I’d feel. 
“Then we will represent the Rauli tribe, we will. We will win the Pruning and gain the title for your tribe. But there is limited space for participation, there is.” 
“That’s true... I guess if Pam goes in to rep her tribe, then the other four would be me, Hilde, Lu, and Yae, right?” Elze spoke up. This seemed fair, since Yumina and Linze weren’t capable of close-range combat. The two of them were long-range fighters. Sue couldn’t do much in the way of fighting, either. 
Though she had been learning about wrestling from Lapis, Cecile, and Renne. She had a keen interest in those maids. I wondered if she wanted to become one or something. 
At any rate, a plan of action had been decided upon. It was a little troublesome I couldn’t get a word in edgewise the entire time, though. 
“Ah, Yumina? I have a question...” 
“Yes, Sue?” Sue tilted her head a little, speaking over to Yumina. 
“Are we all going to go to the pruning?” 
“I suppose so, yes. You can all cheer on the Rauli tribe as they fight. Plus, something may happen that leaves us needing a substitute.” 
“What about Touya?” 
“He’s central to this, so yes. I want him to cheer us all on as we fight... It’d also be nice to have him around in case of an incident.” 
I definitely didn’t plan to just leave them to handle everything themselves. I’d accompany them as both moral support and actual support if anything bad happened. I had no idea what might happen, after all. I’d have liked to think there’d be no foul play, but there was no real frame of reference. 
“Uhm... Touya’s a man, though.” 
“Ah...” Everyone suddenly made the same noise. And she was right. If I called myself a guest with the Rauli tribe, my sex would be something people would find weird. If anything happened, I’d likely be told to butt out because I was an outsider, so I needed to make sure I was recognized as a tribe member. But I wasn’t sure what to do. 
“...Crossdressing, I suppose.” 
“No way! No way, damn it!” I finally mustered the strength to speak my objections to Linze’s idle muttering. 
 
The Pruning. 
All the tribes in the Sea of Trees gathered beneath the Great Wishing Tree. It was said that they competed for the sake of honor beneath the judgment of their patron deity. 
It was definitely something akin to a survival game. 
We were participating as members of the Rauli tribe and aiming to win. That way we could secure the Treelord title for them. If we didn’t, Pam would keep begging me for a baby... The Pruning would last a total of three days, so it wouldn’t be awful in the end. Elze and Hilde were quite eager to fight. They were the kind of people who enjoyed testing their abilities. Plus, if things went well, we’d have solid ties with the tribe that controlled the Sea of Trees until the next Pruning. 
Linze really wanted me to cross-dress, but I got out of it in the end. I was able to use [Mirage] to change my external appearance to that of a woman. Someone would find out if they touched me, but I was willing to chance it. I sent Pam back to the Rauli village using [Gate]. 
I also realized that holding conversations with them in their tongue would be difficult, so I learned the Null spell [Translation] for the occasion. It basically translated spoken words. To the listener, I’d be speaking their language. To me, they’d be speaking mine. Everyone won. 
It was sort of similar to the innate communication that I had with Kohaku and my other summons. 
For now... Pam, Yae, Elze, Hilde, and Lu were the ones picked to participate. I thought maybe we’d have to call on a substitute in case of injury, but apparently they had to lock in the teams they started with. 
I wanted to participate, since it’d be pretty easy that way, but Pam and the other Rauli tribeswomen opposed the idea. Apparently if the Rauli tribe sent out a man, even a disguised one, to the Pruning, it would be considered dishonorable. Even if it was a case of me participating as an outside helper, they vetoed it. 
It was a case of ‘a man should be seen and not heard’ with them. Honestly, it was a little scary being around them. Part of me pined for the safety of the Balm tribe. 
After that, a month passed. 
The day had finally arrived, and we headed to the Great Wishing Tree. 
“Phew...” The tree was big. That was all I could really say about it. 
What the hell... It’s like several dozen meters across... Beautiful green leaves and branches spread out as far as the eye could see, all from a remarkably thick trunk. The tree wasn’t nearly as tall as it was wide. It evoked the image of a fully unfolded umbrella with most of its grip cut off. 
Sunlight broke through its leaves, illuminating the ground in dots and streaks. All the great tribes of the Sea of Trees gathered to bask in that light. 
There were various tree stumps dotted around the Great Wishing Tree. Even the smallest were around twenty meters in diameter. Apparently they too were part of the big one, and used as staging grounds for duels. 
There were two-hundred-and-forty tribes living in the Sea of Trees. But only one, the Jaja Tribe, hosted the Pruning ceremony. They were also known as the Judgment Tribe. Apparently they were the only tribe that the spirits had allowed to live at the base of the Great Wishing Tree. They had a fairly impressive claim to the land they called the Wishing Grounds. In exchange, they weren’t allowed to participate in the Pruning. Apparently they worked like the priests of the region, conveying the will of the spirits to the other tribes. 
“...There sure are a lot, huh...” I glanced around nervously. There were tribes of fat people, tribes of thin people. I saw tribes with weird head decorations, tribes with jangly bracelets... I even saw a tribe full of people with really bad mustaches, and a tribe of people clad head-to-toe in hooded green cloaks. 
As I’d expected, most of the tribals here had a lot of skin exposure, both men and women. Nobody was sitting there with their junk hanging out, but some tribes wore so little that I didn’t know what to look at. 
“I am glad that we do not stand out, I am.” 
“Touya... It’d be best if you didn’t gawp at women so much. You’re disguised as one, after all.” Lu made a backhanded little comment, so I replied with a cough as I stiffened my posture. 
Everyone was wearing traditional Rauli clothing. In other words, chest wraps and loincloths. The girls were clearly embarrassed, so they wore little ponchos and wraparound skirts above the basic outfits. The clothes seemed suitable for Elze to fight freely in, though. 
My [Mirage] projection was wearing the same as them, of course. But underneath it all, I was just wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I didn’t want anyone to touch me and feel the sensation of clothing, after all. 
Sue was also wearing the Rauli style, but she only looked cute. I didn’t feel any kind of arousal when I saw her in it. The other girls, however... I had to avert my gaze, since they were pretty damn stimulating. 
But hey, a lot of the tribes I was looking at were wearing even less, so this was modest by regional standards. 
 

“Is there a reason we need to fight atop the stumps?” 
“Yes, there is. The spirits offer their divine protection to the areas above the stumps. Fatal attacks are nullified within the confines. If someone tries to fatally strike someone in the head, for example, the person would merely be stunned instead. Lethal blows are simply downgraded.” I didn’t know how it worked, but spirits were certainly interesting. I wondered if it was similar to my [Shield] spell. Then again, it straight-up prevented fatal damage, so it was likely very different. It reminded me of mechanics in some games where the damage stopped at 1HP. 
In other words, death wasn’t likely during the challenge. Though, apparently people still died now and then. The stumps were around two meters off the ground, so if a participant fell off and hit themselves at an odd angle, the impact would kill them. 
“What about magic?” 
“Ah... It’s all nullified. You shouldn’t use fire-based techniques here, either. You’ll be driven out of the region, and the Judgment Tribe will blacklist you.” So even magic wasn’t permitted. That meant Elze wouldn’t be able to cast [Boost] at all. Everyone was equipped with regular weapons too, since enchanted ones became inert. 
I could understand why they banned fire. If it actually caught and spread, it would’ve been awful. Apparently there was a large stream of water right outside the Wishing Grounds. Most people prepared food there to be safe. 
There was seating arranged amidst the tree branches, so supporters could look down and cheer for their tribe. The trees were connected by suspension bridges. 
“When does the first match start?” 
“Soon. If we win against three other tribes, we’ll be done for the day. That’s how we advance to tomorrow’s matches.” So two-hundred-and-forty tribes fight around three times... This round should bring them down to thirty. If today’s matches are the preliminaries, then tomorrow’s will be the finals. 
A bell rang out from somewhere all of a sudden. All the chatter and murmur from nearby died down, and a voice called out to everyone. 
“It is time. All but the participants must clear the area. All after this is the will of the spirits.” A man from the Judgment Tribe, clad in a white uniform, spoke up. The spectators from the other tribes began to file off, moving toward the treehouse viewing platforms. 
We decided to leave as well. 
“Alright, guys. Make sure to do your best. Stay safe.” 
“I will do my best, I will.” 
“Gotcha.” 
“Leave it to us!” 
“I’ll try hard.” 
“Let’s do it, then!” Yae, Elze, Hilde, and Lu followed after Pam to the tree stump where they’d do battle. 
We moved up to the seats atop a nearby tree, climbing up some stairs and making our way to sit down. Our view of the fighting area was pretty damn good. 
“I’m a little excited...” Sue leaned forward against the safety rail, staring down at the site below. Everyone in this particular tree belonged to the Rauli tribe. 
There were around fifty spectators from this tribe in particular... I found it a little awkward, being the only man. Even though they physically saw me as a woman, they knew I was really a dude. I really should’ve thought about this harder. I could’ve just used [Invisible] or something. 
Still, that would’ve made intervening harder in case of an emergency. It was better to be disguised as a member of the Rauli tribe, even if it was uncomfortable. 
“Oh, Touya... Take a look over there.” 
“Hm?” I looked to where Linze was pointing, and saw rays of sunlight shining down like spotlights, focused on each tribe’s representative. Slowly the rays moved, guiding each fighter to their stage. 
I looked up toward the branches and saw them freely moving their leaves to guide the light. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Did the Great Wishing Tree really have a will of its own? Apparently the lights decided who would fight who. 
I didn’t have too much time to think, because the battles began immediately. There wasn’t even an opening ceremony. 
“Are all the fights one-on-one?” 
“Apparently if the first three win, then the remaining two don’t have to battle.” In other words, if one of the representatives was a great fighter, they could still lose if the other four were no good. If it was just a knockout tournament, one person could carry whole team, but that wasn’t the case here. 
A loss counted as either a surrender or one party being unable to fight anymore. Falling from the stump also counted as a loss. Cheating was forbidden, and any party found dishonoring his tribe would be disqualified. 
I looked over at another stage and saw two people fighting. A large man brought down an axe onto his enemy’s head. While it would’ve split open like a melon under regular circumstances, the guy just fell down where he stood. 
It seemed like the spirits offered some kind of divine protection. Not all the wounds were prevented. Cuts and bruises still existed on the beaten man’s body, so it was likely that all it did was prevent the killing blow. The man was simply unconscious instead of dead. 
“Oh, the Rauli match is coming up.” Yumina pointed at a place that was pretty far to see. I used [Mirage] and [Long Sense] in tandem to project a feed of the match into the air. 
Amazed exclamations came from all sides of the crowd. It seemed my magic was still usable, since I wasn’t the one on the stage. 
I changed the size of the projection to a widescreen in front of the audience. Lu was the first one up to fight. 
Her opponent was a tall guy wielding a lance. There was a height difference of about forty centimeters between him and her. Lu confronted him, wielding her dual daggers. 
“Fight!” The white-clad referee brought down his hand, and Lu made a beeline for the man. He thrust his spear forward in response, but she repelled it using one of her blades and directed his attack elsewhere. 
Lu did a sliding tackle, brought her left arm out, and pierced hard into the man’s side. 
A dull sound echoed as flesh tore. The spearman crumbled. She took him out in under a minute. 
Roars of joy from the Rauli tribe echoed out. 
Lu hadn’t been training with me and Yae for show. From her perspective, the spear guy was way too dull in his motions. 
Plus, twinblades like her were naturally quick on their feet. Their technique involved confusing and dazzling the opponent with fast footwork and distracting motions. They didn’t have the raw strength of someone with an axe or broadsword, but they had boundless finesse. 
That wasn’t to say they couldn’t defeat their foes in a single blow, either. Aiming for vital or weak spots meant very easy kills for them. They specialized in agility and accuracy, so going for the kill was practically what they were made for. 
Lu looked over to us and gave a triumphant wave. 
Thus, the curtains fell on our first battle. 
 
On the first day we won with relative ease, securing three victories and advancing to the next round. Nobody except for Lu, Elze, and Yae even had to fight their battles. It was decided in a mere three matches. We were on a hot streak. 
Though, we were probably just lucky. Our opponents weren’t particularly tough. 
“Let’s hope we can keep up this momentum tomorrow.” I muttered quietly as I watched the sun set, the day leaving alongside it. We were in a forest by the river a bit away from the Wishing Grounds. The matches were all over, so everyone was preparing their meals. 
Even the tribes that lost had come by to cook their meals. I figured they were going to watch the remaining matches regardless of their own losses. 
We could’ve easily gone home and eaten in the castle, but the Rauli tribe had gone out in search of prey to cook up for us, so we decided to stay for some traditional tribal cuisine. 
I took out a BBQ pit from [Storage], lit up the charcoal, and prepped it for cooking. Then, I pulled out salt, pepper, and some different sauces as well. 
After a while, the Rauli tribeswomen came back with a bunch of what appeared to be various dead birds and rabbits. This place was a free hunting ground during the Pruning. For the rest of the ten-year period, only the Judgment Tribe were allowed to hunt here. There was more than enough wildlife to go around as a result. A vast number of animals were hunted and killed during the three days of the Pruning, but their numbers always replenished well enough before the next one came about. I wondered if this was another part of the spirit’s blessing. 
“Cooking outdoors surrounded by the beauty of nature isn’t so bad now and then, is it?” 
“Mm, you’re right... Ah, Touya... This one’s burning up!” Yumina was helping me grill dinner. We both looked like women from an outsider’s perspective, so I hoped nobody thought anything weird of how close we were. 
Eating meat alone wouldn’t be much good, so I took out some peppers, onions, and pumpkins from [Storage] to use. I sliced them up, grilled them a bit, and put them on a skewer along with the meat. As a finishing touch, I slathered it all in BBQ sauce. A delicious combo, if I do say so myself. 
“This is a first for me... but I quite like it.” Lu smiled a bit as she cautiously bit into the food. I wasn’t too surprised. A sheltered Princess of Regulus wouldn’t have had this kind of food before. I was happy that she was happy. 
Well, she might’ve been happy and relaxed, but I was more than a little uncomfortable being surrounded by so many girls. I was more than a bit out of my depth, for sure. I had a feeling that the former king of Lestia would be a little more proactive than me in a situation like this, though. 
As I pondered to myself, I heard a noise behind me. Two beefy dudes were fighting against each other. They seemed to be in the middle of a dispute. It was kind of annoying, so I wished they’d go elsewhere. 
“There’s a lot of tribes here, so having them fight now and then isn’t much of a surprise.” Pam bit into the roast meat as she spoke. Apparently during the Pruning you weren’t allowed to interfere during arguments, only the tribes of the people involved were allowed to speak up. The two quarreling men didn’t seem to be active participants either way. Not that it mattered to me. 
“Hm... Seems there are some strange people here. Oh wait, it’s just the Rauli freaks.” A few brawny guys came over, walking past the two arguing men. Their bodies were kind of like upside down triangles, as their chests were extraordinarily broad and muscular. They had scars and tattoos running along them as well. Their heads were shaved, except for the mohawks they had running along the middle. They definitely seemed like bad news. 
“What do you want, Balm scum?” Pam chewed on her meat, a low glare directed toward the men. Evidently they were from the Balm tribe. 
They sneered down at us with eyes filled with self-righteousness. Some of them were snickering and smirking at us, as well. I never wanted to be anything like these guys. 
“We’re pretty surprised you guys actually showed up this time. Weren’t your best and brightest killed in that attack a while back? Pretty goddamn miserable, isn’t it? But that’s women for ya.” 
“You scum... Are you disrespecting our fallen?” Pam and the other Rauli tribeswomen lowered their stances a bit in order to make it easier for them to charge into battle. The Balm tribesmen switched their stances as well, as if anticipating an attack. A tense atmosphere quickly developed between the two sides. 
“No, we’re not disrespecting them... I just think that men from our tribe would’ve killed that monster in seconds flat.” 
“Pfft. You’re ignorant and foolish, then. Even if the entire Balm tribe gathered together, they wouldn’t do a thing to that crystal creature. It would’ve wiped out every last one of you.” 
“The hell’d you say?!” They were just yelling at each other now. Spitting venom without any clear aim. The whole situation reminded me of cats being at odds with dogs. 
“Don’t be an idiot! If the pathetic Rauli bitches could kill it, then we definitely could.” 
“Well, I’m sad to say that it wasn’t our tribe that took it out. That honor goes to Touya here.” 
“Hm?!” H-Hey now... Don’t point! The entire Balm posse turned their heads to look at me. 
“This bitch?” A man from the Balm tribe came over toward me. He seemed to be around a hundred-and-ninety centimeters tall. He gazed down at me as if picking me apart. Then eventually, he smiled in a way that creeped me the hell out. 
“You’re quite a pretty little thing, aren’t you? I’m a little smitten.” 
“Gross!” 
“Excuse me?!” I couldn’t help but say it. It wasn’t exactly my fault! From my perspective, some big hunk of beefsteak was checking me out! It gave me the absolute creeps. 
“You whore!” The enraged man tried to grab me by the arm. 
“Don’t you touch me!” 
“Gaugh!” I kicked the man in the stomach, blasting him back a few meters. I couldn’t afford to go easy on him. I was scared for my chastity! 
“Bitch!” 
“Get her!” I avoided all the Balm tribesmen who came after me, knocking them back one by one. I kicked them instead of using my hands. I didn’t want to touch a single one of them. Honestly, I got a bit of a sense for how it must have been for some women in daily life... Being ogled by big creepy guys couldn’t be a pleasurable experience for either gender. 
“Get this bitch, get her!” 
“Haaaaaaaaah!!!” A musclebound mass of man-meat was charging my way. It was horrifying! 
“[Shield]!” 
“Ghuawuh?!” I stopped them all in their tracks with an invisible barrier. They fell to the ground one by one. It was seriously sickening. 
“The Balm tribe really is nothing to write home about, eh? All this struggling against one girl?” 
“Guh...” Pam was laughing provocatively toward the fallen tribesmen. I really wished she wouldn’t, though. I didn’t feel like going for a second bout. 
The remaining men had ashamed, red faces. From their perspective they’d been made a complete mockery of by a lone woman. There was no way a misogynistic tribe wouldn’t be mad about that. 
“Take your fallen and get outta here. It’d be a pain if you leave unpleasant clutter laying around.” I was in complete agreement with Pam. If this persisted, I’d develop machophobia or something. 
“Guh... We’ll remember this!” The Balm tribesmen scurried off, dragging their defeated with them. 
They were disgusting. Their eyes on me made me feel like a cheap piece of meat. I didn’t ever want to be the kind of men they were. 
“So that was the Balm tribe? They weren’t all that tough.” 
“None of those were their tribe’s champions. By Balm standards, those guys were meek. They were underage, too. Brats who haven’t undergone the rites of passage.” Pam answered Elze’s query. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, though. From what I understood you were regarded as an adult in the Sea of Trees when you turned fifteen. That made those musclebound freaks even younger than me...! I thought they were creepy old guys. 
There’s just no way... There’s no way they’re the same age as middle-schoolers... Do they get some kind of intense training or something? Good grief... All of a sudden, I wasn’t all that hungry anymore. 
After the barbeque ended, it was time to rest. The tribeswomen were sleeping in shifts, some acting as alternating lookouts. 
Ostensibly, it was to watch out for any monsters that lurked in the forest, but the threat of other tribes attacking was very real as well. Not every tribe was hostile, but we were certainly in the company of some violent types. 
I was a little tempted to whip up a [Gate] and get the heck out, but leaving after hearing about the issue would’ve left a bad taste in my mouth. 
I set up a barrier around us using [Shield] and decided to join the guard shift. The barrier was a temporary measure at best, after all. The five champions didn’t have to take the night watch. They needed all their strength for the matches the following day. They were allowed to sleep all the way through the night. Having Sue join the watch would’ve been pointless as well, so we just let her sleep too. 
It was just me and some Rauli tribeswomen. We were surrounding a blazing campfire, paying attention to the surroundings. 
Linze and Yumina had taken the previous shift, so they were sleeping soundly in sleeping bags nearby. 
Suddenly, I felt something strange. What... This is... 
I stood up and walked deeper into the trees. The Rauli tribeswomen turned their eyes to me briefly, but then went back to what they were doing. They likely assumed I was taking a bathroom break or something. 
Deeper and deeper I walked, and the presence I felt grew stronger as I walked on. It was one I recognized. One I had felt back in Ramissh. 
I came to a clearing deep in the forest. 
It was here. Right here. I’d found the spot. 
“Can you hear me?” All the trees in the vicinity were suddenly jostled by wind. Moonlight shone down on me, illuminating the clearing. 
Amidst the moonlight, a green glow began to reveal itself to me. 
“Name thyself.” The green light gradually changed its form. After a time, it took the shape of a young girl with dazzling emerald hair. She wore a one-piece dress, and her body emitted a faint green light. Her eyes shone like precious jade. 
“You’re... a spirit?” 
“I am. I am the tree that presides over the Sea of Trees. I am the Wishing Tree incarnate.” 
“Just as I’d thought. I felt something similar to what I’d felt back in Ramissh. Though, the presence back then felt... dirtier. More toxic.” I’d felt a faint presence from the Wishing Tree itself, but it was far more clear from this girl. If she hadn’t fully manifested, I likely wouldn’t have noticed her at all. 
“You are the one...? You fought the Spirit of Darkness? Then you are the one who saved it?” 
“Saved? I just ran in and exorcised it, really.” 
“Spirits are immortal beings, child. As the world turns, so too do we. The Spirit of Darkness will one day return to walk the earth. More importantly than that... Just what are you? Why do you wear such a meager skin? What is that... smell? That feeling? Your body leaks power beyond even mine.” Hm... Can she sense divine power or something? I guess I was casting a lot of spells earlier... Maybe my power leaked out a bit when I was doing that. I undid my [Mirage] and revealed my true form. 
“I’m Mochizuki Touya. I’m the grand duke of Brunhild, a Duchy just to the north of this area. I’m currently subject to some... special circumstances, but for all intents and purposes, I’m a human.” 
“Just what is that supposed to mean...?” The tree spirit looked confused. I didn’t really know what to do. It was clear my explanation of things wasn’t too satisfying... but I had no idea if she’d believe me if I told her about God. 
I didn’t really feel like the situation was important enough to call God Almighty down here, either... But there was another option, even if she was a little awkward. 
I opened up a [Gate] and plopped her in front of me. It seems she’d been sleeping in her bed when the portal opened. 
“O-Owie! Wh-What’s going on here, Touya?! That hurts, y’know?!” Karen, my dear sister, looked around with half-lidded eyes. She was wearing pink pajamas covered in pink hearts... It was a little weird. 
I thought a bit about how I’d been treating Karen, and I realized I hadn’t exactly been very gentle. But when I looked at her, I didn’t really get the impression of a god. She was reckless, liked to play pranks, was terribly selfish, and stole my snacks! 
Even so, I couldn’t hate her. In a way, I really did feel like a member of her family. She also treated me like a little brother... so I was satisfied. 
“Hey, Karen. Can you do that fwoosh thing that old man God does?” 
“Huh? I don’t know any fwoosh thing, y’know? Did you mean the Divine Release?” 
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Light suddenly emanated from my sister’s body, blinding everyone in the vicinity. It wasn’t nearly as overpowering as God Almighty’s, but it was definitely amazing. Even if she was a bit of a doofus, she was clearly a part of a divine pantheon. 
“Hmmm... Are you perhaps thinking something impolite?” 
“A-Ah, I’m sorry! F-Fowgihve me! L-Lemme goh!!!” She immediately began pinching my cheeks. It hurt like hell. 
As I rubbed my poor face, the tree spirit had shifted herself to a fully prostrated bow. 
It seemed that the divine aura was even effective against beings like her. Gods had incredible power, after all. Even if that god was... Karen. 
“I can tell when you’re thinking nasty things, y’know?” 
“Agh, I’m sohrry! Fowgihve me!” 
...Truly, the gods were terrifying. 
“Then... Lord Touya is Lady Karen’s...” 
“Little brother in this world, yes. He’s also an individual bestowed with power by the Almighty World God, y’know?” 
That wasn’t the full truth. It’s not like I’d been bestowed power for any special reason, it was a simple case of chance. A mistake on the old man’s part, really. 
But still, the tree spirit seemed satisfied, so that was that. 
“Why is a man like this present at the Pruning?” 
“I’m here to cheer for my family members, some of them are participating. Ah, right... Don’t rig the game in my favor or anything.” 
“I-I see...” Well, the Jaja Tribe was the group in charge of declaring the winner, so she probably didn’t have anything to do with it. 
Still, this situation was interesting. It seemed that, while Karen could suppress her divinity entirely... I wasn’t capable of such a feat. That was how the tree spirit caught wind of me to begin with. It wasn’t harmful for the time being, so I decided not to worry. It was probably a power I’d learn given time, anyway. Divine power wasn’t something that could just be taught and passed on, it was an innate thing. 
“So... this Pruning... is it a festival or something?” 
“In the past, tribesmen would duel to settle their disputes. I used my spiritual protection to ensure they didn’t lose their lives. Before long, it became somewhat of a tradition and a festival, though now it involves matters of honor and territory.” 
“Ah, that reminds me, y’know? I recall the Wishing Tree’s spirit having the ability to nurture and protect life. Makes sense to me!” 
That was interesting. The tree spirit had the ability to preserve life, that must have been one of her innate talents. But she didn’t seem all that forgiving when you took into account those that died during the Pruning. 
But still, if it could protect anyone anywhere, it’s not like there’d be so much of a survival struggle in the Sea of Trees. 
“This is quite interesting, y’know... Yes, I’d quite like to watch this Pruning first-hand. I’ll cheer for Yae and the others!” 
“Wait, you’re not going home?!” 
“You know... saying something like that after forcibly summoning a girl all the way here... It’s more than a little rude... y’know?” 
“Owowowowow!!!” I was mercilessly pinched once more. 
The second day of the Pruning was upon us. 
The tribes that had advanced to the second round were all ready to go. The day’s agenda consisted of two matches. The eight winners would progress to the finals, which were to be held the next day. 
In all honesty, I hadn’t seen anyone who could match up to the Rauli team. 
“By the way... which tribe won the last Pruning?” 
“They called themselves the Panau tribe, but they’re long-gone now.” That wasn’t terribly surprising. Ten years or so had passed since the last Pruning. It was a long time in a place built around survival of the fittest. 
There were a lot of strong contenders, but they still didn’t quite match up to our team. As far as our roster went, Lu was definitely the weakest link. Pam was stronger than her, and Elze was stronger than Pam when she employed [Boost] at least. Without any fortification spells, Yae and Hilde were as strong as Elze was with [Boost] too. 
I couldn’t imagine anyone beating our lineup, but we definitely had to consider weapon compatibility and the types of opponents they might face. It’d be bad if Pam, who wielded an Axe, was pitted against an agile knife-wielder. It’d also be bad if Elze, a close-range fighter, got paired up against someone with a spear. We also had to consider the fighting order as well. 
Today’s order was different to yesterday’s. Yae was up first, then Pam, then Hilde, then Elze, and then Lu, the captain, was up last in the batting order. 
“Wahoo! Yae’s fight’s about to begin, y’know?! Let’s cheer! Knock it outta the park! Yae, Yae, she’s our girl! If she can’t do it, I’ll totally hurl!” 
“Karen... This isn’t baseball... And it’s not a cheerleading event, either.” Karen stood by my side, prancing around like an idiot. Naturally, she was wearing the Rauli outfit as well. It would’ve been embarrassing if she had remained in her pajamas, but this was pretty embarrassing too. 
Karen really stood out because she had a great figure. I shouldn’t have been too surprised by her body. She was literally a goddess, after all. 
As I was lost in thought, Yae easily struck her enemy down. The match-up was nothing to worry about. The enemy team looked completely dumbfounded. They must have sent a strong guy in, but if that was the best they had to offer, then we were gonna be just fine. 
Our team won pretty handily. Both Pam and Hilde won their matches without a hitch. 
“What’s with this... Were they always this tough?” They’d been practicing every day, as well as completing the occasional guild quest. But still, even though they’d done daily training in our private facilities, the sheer speed of their increase in strength was something that startled me. 
As I muttered and pondered, Karen turned toward me. 
“Hm... I wonder... It might be that they’re transforming into Wards, y’know?” 
“Wards? What do you mean?” 
“The divine power you hold is just the power of the gods... but it hasn’t awoken completely in you. You can’t use it on demand, y’know? If I was to describe what you were right now... I’d call you a demigod, y’know?” 
Wait... I’m at that level already? I mean, I’ve felt my body shifting a bit, but still... That means I’m becoming less human even faster than I’d anticipated. 
“Those I refer to as Wards are those that have received the blessings of a god. Touya, you’re unconsciously distributing fragments of your divinity to the people you regard as family. You could consider it a blessing born from the love of a god... If we were to look at it on a more macro scale, we gods are all the Wards of World God. His almighty power is distributed to us, his family, y’know?” 
Ah, I kinda get it... I think of those girls as my family, for sure. I want to see them protected. So that means I’ve made them into my Wards without knowing? Huh... So I guess Karen, and even me, are Wards of God Almighty. 
“Those girls won’t ever awaken to their own divine power or anything, but they may develop special abilities as a result of your presence. I’m certain that if things continue like this, they’ll go down in history as some of the strongest humans.” 
“They’ll get that powerful?!” 
“God’s love is no trifling matter, y’know? Beings that are loved by the divine simply become powerful. It’s the natural order of things. The process will reverse if you ever come to hate them, though.” That’s not gonna happen. I couldn’t imagine hating any of the girls... But man, I didn’t know I was making them more powerful by caring about them. 
“Still... you’re only a demigod... They’re a little powerful for... Oh... Oh!” 
“Huh?” 
“Oh, I see... That’s how it is, then...? I suppose that’s fine, y’know?” 
“...Please stop reassuring yourself. Just tell me already.” I grumbled over at Karen, who had suddenly begun muttering to herself for whatever reason. 
“Ah, well... Those girls... are my Wards as well, it would seem.” 
“What?” 
“I view you as my little brother, Touya. As family. Thus, they are my family as well, and I love them a lot. But my love for them isn’t as strong as yours, y’know?” That made sense. She was the god of love, after all. I was a mere demigod. The girls had a good relationship with her, as well. It made me happy to see them getting along with their ‘sister-in-law.’ 
“...Something wrong?” Linze called out to us, curiosity overtaking her. All the cheering in the vicinity made it impossible for her to actually hear our talking. Though, even if she had heard it, she’d have likely had trouble understanding. 
“Nope, all good.” 
“I was just checking how much Touya wuvs you, Linze.” 
“I-Is that... so?! I-I, uhm... I-I also l-love you...” 
“Ehehe! That’s right, you do! You cutie pie!” Karen pulled Linze, who was now red as a beet, into a big hug. 
Yep... That’s a god’s love, alright. I can see why they’d be her Wards too. 
“Touya, take a look over there.” 
“Hm?” I looked over to the direction Yumina had pointed at, and saw two men standing atop one of the arena stumps. One of the men was large, flailing a great sword around. The other was bald-headed, more nimble, and wielding a bo staff. 
The huge man was clearly from the Sea of Trees, but the other man seemed different. Looking at his skin color, he seemed to be of eastern descent. I wondered if he was a helper like we were. 
He continued to deftly dodge each blow, wearing out the giant with ease. Eventually, he saw his chance and took it, driving the staff hard into his enemy’s chest. The giant was felled in seconds flat, and the bald man was the victor. He bowed to his enemy and returned to the tribe he was representing. 
He was strong, and clearly skilled, as well. He might’ve been hired by one of the tribes to win the tournament for them. By the way, completely unrelated, but try saying “balding bo brawler” really fast. Quite the tongue twister, right? I couldn’t manage it more than three times. 
I continued to look over, stupid thoughts like that in my head, until I saw another foreigner come out to represent that tribe. I was surprised to see a woman emerge, one who definitely looked out of place amongst the people here. 
Her ears were pointed like knives, her pupils were a pure gold. There were traces of scales on her brown skin. On top of that, a broad tail jutted out from above her behind, and two curved horns grew out from her short black hair. I’d never seen anything quite like her before. 
“She’s from the Dragon Clan, isn’t she?” Yumina whispered to me. The Dragon Clan... That was likely the case. The Dragon Clan was one of Mismede’s seven demi-human clans. 
“The Dragon Clan is few in number. Amongst the clans in Mismede, they have the least members, but they’re a noble race of warriors, and they’re said to be exceptionally powerful. It’s my first time seeing one in the flesh.” I hadn’t seen any when we were in Mismede, either. Apparently the Dragon Clan didn’t like to get involved in politics and generally only focused their interests on training and exercise. They didn’t hold any high positions in Mismede, either. 
She was wielding dark gray gauntlets. It looked like she was a brawler like Elze. 
The moment her match started, she stepped forward in a flash. Within seconds, she was inches away from her axe-wielding foe. Her right palm shot out, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. A rumbling sound echoed out, and her opponent was rocketed out of bounds. She hadn’t even placed her hand on him. 
What the hell... Was that some kind of... release of stored energy? It couldn’t have been magic, since that stuff’s forbidden in the ring. 
Just like the bald guy, she bowed and walked back to camp. She seemed pretty dignified. I wondered if they were students of a fighting school that taught respect to a defeated enemy, like in kendo or judo. 
“Seems like winning won’t be a complete cakewalk, then.” 
“Seems like it.” We looked at the other battlegrounds and saw various tough-looking warriors. None of them seemed quite as imposing as the bald man and the dragongirl, though. 
“Whuh?!” Karen suddenly made a weird noise as she looked down at a match. I wondered what it was she’d seen. I looked over and saw two people clashing swords. One was clearly a tribesman from the Sea of Trees. The other seemed to be an outsider from another nation. She was a swordswoman, wielding a blade in one hand and skillfully parrying her enemy’s attacks. Her hair was short and purple, and her skin was a very pale white. 
“Why... Oh... Oh dear...” Incredible. She isn’t moving at all... She’s even blocking attacks coming from behind! How can she do all of that?! More importantly, how can she do all of that one-handed?! 
Eventually her opponent ran out of energy, and she put him down by striking him in the shoulder. With a single blow, he was down for the count. Her victory was sealed. 
What the hell... She won without moving at all! That guy didn’t seem like a pushover, either. 
Sadly, the swordswoman’s tribe couldn’t match up to her, and her allies lost their following few matches. 
“What... Why? Why is she here of all places?” 
“Hm?” Does Karen know her? We saw her walking out of the Wishing Grounds, but she suddenly turned around. For whatever reason, she waved up at me and smiled. 
What? Huh? Do I know her? 
“Touya... I need you a moment. Yumina, I’ll be borrowing your fiance for a moment, thank you.” 
“Hm? Alright, then.” Karen dragged me away, way out of the Wishing Grounds, in fact. And, as if waiting for us, we came across the swordswoman. She was standing beneath the shadow of a tree, smiling. 

“Yo.” 
“Don’t ‘Yo’ me! What are you doing here?!” Karen folded her arms, an absolutely incredulous expression on her face. The swordswoman replied with a dry, fearless laugh. 
“Officially, I’m here to aid you. Unofficially, I thought this might be fun.” 
“Hrmph...” The swordswoman’s identity was completely unknown to me, but I had one terrible idea. I didn’t want it to be true, though... 
“Karen... This girl... Is she...?” 
“Yes. One of my kind. The god of swords.” 
“The god of swords?!” I was right, and she was a combat god no less... A whimsical one who’d come down for fun, apparently. But still, it really felt to me like the gods had a little too much free time on their hands. Though, I suppose capturing servile gods was technically work, even if it felt more like a convenient excuse to goof off... 
“A pleasure to meet you, I suppose. Though I’ve been spying on you now and then, so I feel like I already know you. Cool stuff, bro.” 
“Uh... Nice to meet you, then. I’m Mochizuki Touya.” 
“Oh, but uh... Hey, Love God. What’s the deal with that Karen stuff?” 
“That’s my identity down here! I’m his big sister, y’know? Mochizuki Karen! Has a nice ring to it, don’tcha think?” Karen puffed out her chest and cleared her throat. I had no idea why she was gloating. Then the swordswoman, or rather... the Sword God, said something completely out of left field. 
“Sounds cool, yeah. Alright, I’m a sister too.” 
“That’s forbidden, y’know? I’m the only big sister around here!” Karen started blushing and laughing like an idiot. In response, the Sword God clasped both her hands together. 
“I’m telling you it’s cool, man. I’m the second sister, so that makes me your younger sister. C’mon, Karen... Big sis...” 
“I-I’m the older sister of two?” 
“Yup, that’s the one. I’m your little sis, yeah?” Karen made an exaggerated gesture as she tapped her chin. Eventually, she clicked her tongue as she looked between the two of us. It felt like some kind of stage play. 
“Alrighty then! That’s just fine, y’know?” 
“Cool beans. That makes me your sister too, so be good to me.” The Sword God, who had inexplicably become my second sister, turned toward me and smiled. 
And, just like that. I had another member of my family. 
What the hell just happened? 
 
“Touya has another sister?!” 
“That’s right, y’know? Her name is Mochizuki Moroha! Little Moroha! She’s my little sister, y’know?” 
“Nice to meetcha.” The Sword God... or rather, Moroha, my sister... shook Linze’s hand. Everyone was baffled by the sudden appearance of my second sister. I couldn’t blame them, since I was baffled too. 
“So sorry we’ve taken this long to meet you. We’re your brother’s humble betrothed... It’s an honor.” 
“Yup, good stuff. I know you. You’re Yumina, that one’s Linze, and that little one’s Sue, yeah?” 
“Ah, you know of us?” 
“Yup. I’ve been watching you from up hi—” 
“Letters! Letters! Yep! Karen’s been writing letters to her, so that’s how she knows!” My new sister was close to saying something stupid, so I quickly butted in. Moroha didn’t seem the type to be able to read situations well. She seemed a bit airheaded. She was about as beautiful as Karen, but they were in two different categories. Karen was cutesy, but Moroha had an air of dignity and class about her. 
She was really tall, and moved with a manner of grace. If I’d found out she was a member of a traveling dancing troupe, I wouldn’t have been surprised. 
“But still... what are you doing in such a place, hm?” 
“Oh, uh... I tried to uh, force my way in and give it a go. It seemed pretty interesting, yeah? Ended up losing because my teammates weren’t all that strong, though. But I basically came here to see about getting stronger.” Moroha came up with a convenient excuse to deflect Sue’s interrogation. 
Apparently she was watching from above, but found the situation so interesting that she came down, forced her way into a tribe, and fought as a member like it was normal. The tribe treated her as if she was an old friend, though. I wondered if they’d been hypnotized... It shouldn’t be impossible for a god to manipulate someone like that. 
Strictly speaking, the two of them were forbidden from interfering with mortal affairs... 
But apparently that just included them using their godly powers down here. If they did things in their extremely overpowered human bodies, then it was permitted. Their physical abilities were basically at the peak of mankind’s potential. They weren’t master-tier, but more monster-tier. 
Still, even if I begged them to wipe out the Phrase or to restore Yulong, it wouldn’t be possible. These useless gods were simply incapable of acting outside their respective domains. 
“Getting stronger? Is it possible that Touya’s skill with a blade is the result of your training?” 
“Ah... Kinda, I guess. But Touya’s swordsmanship is largely the result of his own techniques.” 
“But there’s nobody in the world who can match Moroha, y’know? She’s the greatest swordfighter on the planet.” Karen started boasting, as if Moroha’s skill was her own. That was just like her. Well, she was a god too. I wondered if it might be possible to ask Moroha to train our knight order. 
Still, she was the Sword God... It was entirely possible she had no talent with axes or spears. Well, it was also possible she’d be okay with daggers and short blades, so I decided to ask her later. 
“Oh, Yae’s match is about to start! They’ll advance to the finals if they win this.” Sue’s voice stopped my pondering as I turned to the stage. Today’s matches would determine the top eight, and they’d go on to vie for the Treelord title a day later. But right now, sixteen remained. 
“The Balm tribe have won and advanced, as well.” 
“As we’d thought, their champions aren’t the guys who picked a fight with us earlier. They seem strong.” That much was obvious. If they’d won with the cannon fodder I’d seen yesterday, they’d have been extremely lucky. 
I decided to stop thinking about those weirdos and watch Yae’s match. 
Yae’s foe was a tribal figure covered in tattoos. He held a tomahawk in each hand. 
The moment the match started, he charged at Yae, raising his right hand high. Yae stepped back, avoiding him easily, then used her left hand to parry his right. She immediately jumped back, causing the two to be separated. 
“It’s Yae’s win.” 
“Huh?” Moroha muttered to herself as she watched the match. 
The man was closing in on Yae, but she simply continued to dodge his attacks, as if she was waiting for something to happen. And then, Yae moved. She deftly dodged his tomahawk and let her katana swipe out, cutting the thing in half. The weapon’s blade fell out of bounds. Her swooping motion wasn’t done. As her katana came back, it cut the other weapon to ribbons. 
After that, her weapon came down upon the man’s torso. He was defeated in a single blow. 
“Yae’s katana wouldn’t be able to handle clashing with a destructive weapon like that. There’d be a chance that the blade would be damaged, after all. If she attacked him and he guarded with his weapons, it’d be the same story. She was biding her time until she could destroy the tomahawk. Even though she drew her blade and defeated him in one swipe, she could’ve ended it much sooner. The truth of the matter is that she was playing around. She was likely testing her capabilities, seeing if she could disarm him entirely. She needs more training, though.” 
Oho... I see... I don’t fully get it, but she seems to... Moroha, the Sword God, understood everything from a mere glance. 
As for the rest of the match-up, Pam and Hilde won their rounds without any trouble, so the Rauli tribe would safely advance to the finals. 
We’d succeeded in reaching the final bout with no complications. 
“Hm?” As I looked over the other fights, I noticed the Balm tribe fighting a strange group. 
They had elongated, skinny bodies with a hunched posture. The lot of them wore unusual masks on their faces, and claws on their fingers. Well... calling it a mask wasn’t quite true, since it looked closer to a gas filter. For half a second, I could’ve easily mistaken them for a hazmat cleanup operation. 
Their eyes looked... odd, as well. Almost like there was a kind of madness in them. 
The Balm tribe’s current fighter, a hefty man wielding a spear, wasn’t doing too well. He had tons of tiny scratches all over his body. 
He brought his weapon forward, but his aim was completely off. The man was breathing heavily and sweating up a storm, as well. He seemed beyond fatigued. 
“Hm, poison?” 
“What?” Moroha suddenly commented, much to my surprise. If it was poison... then their claws were probably laced with the stuff. 
“It’s not like it can kill or anything, but it seems like it causes dizziness, numbness, and drowsiness. It’s not just on their weapons, but scattered across the entire stage.” 
“Isn’t that against the rules?” 
“You’d think that, but nope. Magic’s forbidden, but nothing else. Sure, dishonorable stuff’s forbidden too, but poison’s a bit of a gray area. After all, some tribes use poison to hunt their prey.” 
I guess that’s true. Feels kinda cowardly, though. I guess those skinny guys aren’t exactly strong, so they use poison to make up for their lack of physical strength... It’s a pretty clever way of compensating, I’ll give them that. 
I figured fighting with what you’re specialized in wasn’t something inherently wrong. 
With the Balm warrior completely dazed, the hunched man charged forward and sank his claws into his enemy’s stomach. Game, set, match. 
After that round, the Balm tribe took a massive blow to morale. It didn’t take long for them to lose the next two fights either. The poison-wielders, known as the Rivet Tribe, completely eliminated Balm from the proceedings without much fanfare. 
“Huh, the Balm tribe lost.” 
“At least the Rauli tribe can rest a little easier now.” This meant that the Balm tribe couldn’t take the Treelord title and create a law that harmed the Rauli tribe, so that was a major relief. 
Still, that poison was certainly worrying. If it was really scattered across the fighting stage, then they didn’t even need to land a hit for it to be applied. They seemed to run defensive battles and wait for the poison to take effect. No point fighting when you can just wait your opponent out, after all. 
Luckily the spirit’s blessing prevented the poison from spilling out beyond the confines of the stump arena. 
Though I suppose that was a subtle confirmation that the forest spirit and the judges approved of the poison. Speaking of which, the referee on stage was also affected by the poison, but it wasn’t a lethal dose, so he’d be up on his feet within a couple of hours. 
Regardless of it being a non-lethal amount, it was a major detriment. I decided it’d be wise for Yae and the others to prepare necessary countermeasures. They could find themselves facing that tribe, after all. 
I had asked about the Rivet tribe’s history in the Pruning, but apparently this was their first year. They were a relatively new tribe that had split off from a larger one. The original tribe used some poisons while hunting, but the splinter group was far more focused on it. 
The tribes of the Sea of Trees weren’t really families, but more like tiny societies. New tribes were born all the time, old tribes collapsed, or tribes merged with one another regularly. 
“Oh.” The brawler from the Dragon Clan was fighting elsewhere. She moved with the same deliberate gait, not expending any unnecessary movements. Just as before, her enemy was blasted away. 
That was the tribe’s third match, so the one she represented was also moving to the finals. 
Each of the top eight tribes had some unique element to them. One of them wore full fur pelts of what looked to be jaguars, another used weaponry made out of animal bones, and so on. They had a lot of variety to them. 
I was a little concerned about the challenge. 
“Are we really doing this?” 
“Yup. Don’t hold back. Come at me any time. Magic isn’t allowed, though.” After I introduced Moroha to the other girls, Hilde and Yae requested that she spar with them. 
Karen kept gloating about Moroha’s swordplay, which sparked the interest of the two. But Hilde and Yae were still participating in the Pruning, so I couldn’t afford to have either worn out. There was an important match coming up the following day. It would be too risky. 
But even so, Hilde and Yae kept demanding that they see an example of Moroha’s skills. So, after some arguing, it was decided that we’d hold a mock battle. 
“Why do I have to do it?” 
“There’s nobody else for it, really.” That was true enough. Even excluding Yae and Hilde, it wasn’t like I could let Linze or Yumina go up against her. 
It was just one of those things. Truth be told, I was a little curious myself. I gripped the mithril blade in my hands and faced Moroha down. 
“Make sure to go all-out, yeah?” 
“Then I’ll start! Haaah!” I rushed in and swung my sword down, since I wanted to test something. My elder sister parried the blow with ease and spun around me, then swung her own sword at my back. I bent down and managed to dodge the blade, just barely. 
I charged in again and tried a feint. I pretended to aim for her torso with a horizontal slice, but suddenly shifted my movement upward to go for her arm. However, before I could do anything, Moroha slammed right into me, knocking me off-balance. I fell on the ground and rolled a considerable distance away. She didn’t chase after me, so obviously she wasn’t even using her full power. 
She smiled softly at me, but that only irritated me more. Alright, she’s not being serious, so let’s go all-out! 
“...I give up.” There I was, dazed and battered on the ground, in a state of utter surrender. It was impossible. Absolutely impossible. I managed to graze her one or two times, but I couldn’t land a solid blow. If I had been able to use magic, it might’ve worked, but my swordplay alone was years behind hers. I couldn’t hope to compare. She was the god of swords, after all. What was I expecting? 
“Wowser, you were tougher than I thought. I even ended up getting a little serious. I bet if you keep it up and train a little harder you could reach my level, yeah?” 
No thanks... Not interested in being your apprentice or anything. Besides, if I get that good with the sword, then I won’t be able to fight fairly against anyone except you. 
“I-I could barely even register their movements, I could not.” 
“S-Same here... Both of them... are amazing...” Hilde and Yae looked utterly flabbergasted, but they still managed to speak a little. Even if they thought it was amazing, there was a clear and marked difference between my skill and Moroha’s. I didn’t have the strength to say that to them, though. 
“Hmm? Barely? That means you two could see our movements even a little though, yeah? Wow... you guys are pretty promising...” Moroha smiled over at Yae and Hilde. The two of them looked at her with amazement. I could practically see the stars in their eyes. They seemed to be happy just being acknowledged by her, I figured. 
“I intend to stay with Touya for a while, so I’d like to tutor you both in the ways of the sword.” 
“Really?! Th-Thank you, dear sister!” 
“O-Oh goodness... You have my deepest thanks, you do.” Both of the girls looked even more excited now. I couldn’t help but feel it was the birth of two new acolytes of the Sword God. 
“Hmph... Seems little Moroha stole two of my sisters-in-law, y’know...?” 
“I-I-I still respect you a lot, K-Karen...” 
“Aww! Linzey-winzey! You’re such a good girl, I love you!” Karen had Linze wrapped up in a bear hug for reasons completely unknown to me. Lu wasn’t completely enamored like the other two, but she was a little interested in Moroha as well. She wasn’t a complete sword nut like Yae and Hilde, so her reservation was understandable. 
I finally regained the ability to move again, so I cast [Refresh] on myself and was fighting fit once more. Geez... Looks like I’ve still got a bit to learn. 
I didn’t know when exactly, but we’d attracted spectators. Our fight was pretty wild, so it wasn’t all that surprising. 
“Who are those people?” 
“Guests of the Rauli tribe. Those ones aren’t their champions, though.” 
“Goodness... but they’re so strong. Why isn’t that one participating for them?” 
“I know, right?” The spectators continued their careless whispers around us. Why wasn’t I fighting in the Pruning? That was obvious. I was a man! 
I noticed the bald-headed staff wielder, and the Dragon Clan brawler amongst the crowd. 
The bald man bowed his head in greeting as our gazes locked, but the dragongirl just gazed at me without moving at all. Huh... Her right eye’s golden, but her left is red... Does she have a Mystic Eye or something? Her gaze was trained on me, but I suddenly felt a sense of incoming danger. I pulled out Brunhild and pulled the trigger within a matter of seconds. 
A man suddenly fell out of a tree behind the dragongirl. I’d hit him with a paralyzing shot. He was still clutching a bow and arrow in his hands. Evidently, it had been trained on the dragongirl. 
“Do you know this man?” I spoke to the dragongirl while pointing at the guy. 
“...An earlier opponent, from a tribe I fought today.” That made sense. It was a revenge attack. He couldn’t handle losing, so he decided to hurt her. A man from the Jaja tribe came out and dragged the immobilized guy away. 
The Pruning was fraught with danger, but it wasn’t like attacking people in dishonorable ways wouldn’t have consequences. In this case, his tribe would be banned from the next Pruning. Naturally, his people would turn against him because of the penalty he brought them. Exile would be a likely punishment in the end. 
He would have to walk the Sea of Trees on his own for the rest of his life. That was punishment enough. 
“I owe you a debt. My name is Sonia Parallem. I’m currently staying with the Ruluch tribe.” The dragongirl, Sonia, slowly bowed her head to me. 
“And I’m Rengetsu. Thank you so much for helping Sonia-san out of a potentially dangerous situation!” The shaved staff-wielder bowed his head to me as well. With a name like Rengetsu, I wondered if he was from Yulong or Eashen. I couldn’t discern much about his ethnicity through hair color, either. He didn’t have any, after all. Though, when I looked closely at his eyebrows, I did note that they were black. 
“Rengetsu, where are you from?” 
“...Hm? I’m from Eashen. Why?” Thank goodness... Would’ve been a pain in the ass if this guy was Yulongese... Man, Eashenese people really like to travel a lot though; even Yae was wandering when I first met her. It’s probably a case of training their bodies and learning the ways of the world. 
On the flipside, Yulongese people didn’t travel much at all. Or rather, leaving the country was difficult to begin with due to the old government policies. There was a lot of red tape and difficult rules and regulations. It got to the point where people just didn’t bother trying to leave. Their international news was also suppressed. 
But the old regime had been completely destroyed, so refugees were spilling out of Yulong at an alarming rate. There weren’t a lot of them, since most of the population had been annihilated by the Phrase, but I felt sorry for the nations that had to take them in. 
“I’m Mochizuki Touya. I’m staying with the... Rauli... Tribe. Sorry, are you alright?” Sonia was glaring at me in a weird way, which kind of put a damper on my introduction. I wondered if she was invoking that Mystic Eye of hers. 
“Uhm... what’s up?” 
“...I’m not sure if I wish to know the answer, but... why are you posing as a woman?” 
Wait what? Did my [Mirage] go on the fritz or something? Or can she just see through it. I quietly asked Sonia, and she nodded. 
“Ah, don’t worry... I know some people have this kind of hobby, I’m not a judgmental person.” 
“W-W-Wait a second now! You’re misunderstanding the entire situation here!” She thought I was some kind of cross-dresser or a man who liked to be seen as a woman. It’s just an illusion, I’m not even cross-dressing! I took the two of them to a secluded area to explain myself. 
The Rauli tribe wouldn’t lose any honor because I wasn’t one of their champions. Even if I was exposed, the only penalty would be me losing the ability to watch the matches. If that happened, I’d just cast [Invisible] and spectate that way. 
“So... is your Mystic Eye the reason my illusion wasn’t working?” 
“Yes. I have the Mystic Eye of Revelation. I can negate visual trickery. Any kind of visual effects caused by magic are completely undone by my right eye.” Incredible. So she can probably negate blinding spells as well. Oh, but then again... if she’s caught off guard she might not be able to trigger it in time. 
“This isn’t a huge deal, but I’d prefer it if you both kept quiet about it.” 
“Alright. That makes us even, then. My debt repaid to you for saving me.” 
Good to see some reasonable people around. These two are actually pretty nice, easy to talk to... According to the duo, they were adventurers who traveled the world together in order to improve. Apparently they were just in the region, and two champions of the Ruluch tribe came down with sickness, so they took their place. 
“We were lucky enough to see your battle earlier, Touya. You’re certainly something, but... The woman you fought, who is she?” 
“Aha. That’s one of my big sisters, Moroha... She’s the middle child, and I’m the youngest. Winning against her is pretty much impossible. When it comes to swordplay, she’s peerless.” 
“Peerless, you say...” The look on their faces spoke plainly. They didn’t believe me. Didn’t change the truth, though. 
For the time being we decided that we’d cheer one another on. After that, I parted with them. 
“So, you were here?” 
“Hm? Pam?” After I split from the two of them, Pam showed up. Her figure revealed itself from the shadows, faintly illuminated by the moonlight. 
“The Balm tribe isn’t gonna win, you can rest easy.” 
“That’s true... but I’d still like to see about... planning for the next Pruning. I’d really like your child after all, Touya.” 
“You said you’d give up on that if we won.” 
“I know I did. And a Rauli woman doesn’t break her promises.” Pam sulked a little bit. Clearly she was disappointed. 
“If we win, will you be using your law to banish the Balm tribe?” 
“Mm, that might work out... But we’ve come this far, so I was considering some other laws. It’s hard to think about what might benefit the Rauli tribe, though...” Pam pondered quietly to herself. 
Something to benefit the Rauli tribe, huh...? I guess the natural one would be a law that benefits women. The Rauli tribe is opposed to gender equality, after all... Still, it’d be best if they didn’t mix their gender politics into the laws of a whole region. 
The disparity between men and women was only present in the Balm and Rauli tribes, after all. 
Though, if I had to admit it, I would say that women probably had it rougher than men across the board in the Sea of Trees. 
“Oh! How about making it so only women can participate in the Pruning?” 
“Don’t be an idiot. That’d definitely make people freak out.” 
Guess you have a point. The other tribes would hate it. There are some tribes with mighty women, but most of the warriors are men. 
“Then what about making two separate Pruning ceremonies divided by gender?” 
“Hm... That... could be interesting... If it was split by gender, my tribe would have an incredible advantage.” Pam began to think once more. 
Hey now, I wasn’t being all that serious... But I guess having men and women fight each other in the same contest is a little unfair. The Olympics has two separate categories, after all. The body of a man and the body of a woman are fundamentally built for different things. That’s a biological fact. It’s not discrimination, but simple differentiation. 
“But if that rule’s established, tribes will likely participate in both divisions. Won’t that put the Rauli tribe at a disadvantage? The Balm tribe, too.” 
“That’s fine. Actually, I’d prefer it. If we put this into effect, the tribes in general will start to value women more.” Well, that made sense. I didn’t think about it from that angle. If women were put into an enforced category, then they’d become more active in society as well. 
Although, if the women of all the tribes started to find their strength and independence, they may look for a place where that strength is better respected. They might even end up finding themselves involved with the Rauli tribe before long. That’d result in the tribe becoming stronger... Pretty cunning, really. 
Improving a woman’s place in society was definitely not a bad thing... At least it shouldn’t have been, but the manly man in me felt a little mixed. I might’ve proposed something strange. 
The tree spirit would have to grant two laws if the Pruning was split into two, though... That’d probably be fine. 
It’s not like the spirit actually granted the law, they just determined whether it was appropriate or not. Enforcing it was down to the tribes themselves. 
“I’ll consult the rest of the tribeswomen. This could change the Pruning for the better.” Pam ran off with a spring in her step. As I wondered whether I’d done the right thing, the tree spirit suddenly appeared next to me. She was glowing as usual. 
“That was not a bad suggestion. Women may end up being treated better in the Sea of Trees as a result. While the Rauli tribe is an extreme example, the other tribes have women with potential as well...” 
Hm... I see, I see... Then it might not be so clear-cut... The Rauli tribe might even make themselves some rivals with this law. 
I decided to head back to everyone else. The tree spirit vanished as well, just like that. 
She didn’t ask about Moroha, which made me wonder if the Sword God had concealed her divinity entirely. It was still leaking from me, though... I had no idea how to turn off the faucet, so I had a feeling it’d cause me trouble again before long. 
On my way back, I suddenly turned around. I saw shadowed individuals heading deeper into the forest. Are those... members of the Rivet tribe? Yeah, those masks are too unique to be anything else. 
At the time I just assumed they were going off to the bathroom or something. I didn’t think anything of it. Sadly, that proved to be a terrible mistake. 
 
The third day of the Pruning had begun. 
The day had come to end this conflict. The remaining eight teams would fight, and the Tribe of the Treelord would be determined by sundown. 
Pam spoke about my proposal to her fellow tribeswomen, and it was met with an enthusiastic reception. I was a little worried that maybe I’d done something unnecessary, but I decided to just forget about it. Whatever would come to pass would come to pass. 
The first four matches would be held at the same time. That way, the top four tribes would be decided quickly. After that, two matches would be held one after the other to determine the finalists. Then, the finals would begin. 
The tribes all faced each other, atop the tree stumps in the Wishing Grounds. 
I wasn’t actually sure why the arenas were in the shape of stumps... Apparently they vanished into the ground once the Pruning was over. I figured it was more of the spirit’s power, or something. I decided it wasn’t worth thinking or worrying about. 
“Our first matchup is... with a tribe of strange ones.” They were draped head to toe in birth feathers, wore mantles around their necks that made me think of bird wings, and had head ornaments fashioned from the skull of what I could only assume to be giant birds. That’s... certainly an ensemble... I wonder if they’re a science ninja team or something... 
Once the match began, the bird guy jolted forward with incredible speed. Whoa! That guy’s fast! Elze, who was watching him, didn’t move a muscle. 
The man kept running around Elze, charging in for feints and real attacks at his own discretion. He kept trying to fake her out, charging in only to pull back, and jumping or rolling around like a madman. Even so, Elze didn’t move. 
Suddenly, he boosted his speed even more, using the momentum to get behind Elze’s back. Then, he pulled out a dagger and aimed right for her neck, but she sidestepped it masterfully. In a flash, Elze delivered a catastrophic chop that smashed the bird skull the man was wearing. I was fairly sure it would’ve smashed his actual skull if the protection wasn’t in place. Ouch. 
The bird tribesman had fallen and he couldn’t get up. He wouldn’t die, but it really felt like a serious case of overkill. 
After Elze, Yae and Hilde both achieved easy victories. The Rauli tribe was the first to advance to the semi-finals. 
“Incredible, y’know? They just totally overwhelmed them!” 
“If they were going up against slow and brawny opponents, their tactics would have worked. Using speedy disruptions is smart, but they were no match for Elze and the others. No match at all.” Like Karen and Moroha said, it was a case of a bad match-up for our enemies. The girls had become even stronger since the first day, somehow. It was terrifying... 
...Wait, don’t tell me that they’ve become Moroha’s Wards too?! Yae and Hilde have been hanging out with her lately, but... Oh geez... That’s totally what happened, huh? 
Well, it’s not like that’s a bad thing. I just feel a little bad since they’re all caught up in my weird circumstances now. 
“Ah, Touya. Look over there.” 
“Hm?” Linze pointed over at Rengetsu, the guy with the bo staff. He had just felled his own opponent. The Ruluch tribe had achieved a consecutive victory as well. 
Thus, the top four tribes had been determined. One of them was the poison-wielding Rivet tribe, as well. 
I’d prepared filtration masks for Yae and the others as a last-ditch countermeasure, just in case we were paired up with them. 
The final four were: 
The Femme Fatales, the Rauli tribe. 
The Poisonous Pests, the Rivet tribe. 
The Martial Masters, the Ruluch tribe. 
And the Remna tribe, who were really strong or whatever. 
With that, we had four basic Japanese starting syllables. Ra, Ri, Ru, Re! Ro was missing, though... Didn’t get a full set. 
“Should we be worried about the Rivet tribe?” 
“Well, there’s also the Ruluch tribe, since that’s the one with Sonia. Depending on who you’re up against, that could be close.” It’d be pretty easy if they were against the Remna tribe. All they had going for them was physical ability. Though it would’ve been bad if they got caught by one of them. The men from Remna had the physical strength to shatter a bear’s spine with one arm. The girls just had to keep out of their reach, which wouldn’t be too hard due to how simplistic their style was. 
“Oh, the first match is starting. Oh my...” Sue gestured to the stage. The branches began to rustle and creak as sunlight shone down onto the two selected teams. Rauli and Ruluch. 
“It’s Sonia’s group... This’ll be a tough one.” In all honesty, I didn’t think Lu had a chance if she went up against either of those two. The same probably applied to Pam. I wondered if Yae and Hilde would be able to match up to Sonia. Elze would likely lose against Rengetsu due to it being a bad match-up. If Pam and Elze were knocked out by Rengetsu and Sonia, and Lu lost her fight... We’d be done for. 
I still thought we had a higher chance of winning than losing, though. 
Both sides moved to their respective positions on the stump arena. You could see clearly from up here, but the participants didn’t know who they’d be fighting until just before the battle began. 
“Oh dear...” Lu was matched with Rengetsu, and Elze was matched with Sonia. That was a bit worrying. Still, even if they lost, Yae, Hilde and Pam could pull out a win. I was only really worried about Pam. 
It would basically be a certain victory for us if Lu or Elze won their battles. 
Elze had the best chances of winning, but it was basically a duel between brawlers. I wasn’t certain of her chances with Sonia. If she was able to use [Boost] she’d have the upper hand, but such a luxury was not afforded. 
The first match began, so Lu and Rengetsu walked toward the middle of the stump. There was a serious height disparity between them. Rengetsu was over a hundred-and-eighty centimeters tall, while Lu wasn’t even at a hundred-and-forty-five. It looked like an adult prepping to fight a child. I wondered if people would consider it dishonorable if Rengetsu beat her. 
The referee called the start of the fight. Lu took an offensive stance with her twinblades, and Rengetsu prepared his staff. The man’s staff was a gleaming silver, and had each end tipped with gold. At a glance I’d guess it was a mithril and orichalcum weapon. He handled it like a pro. His strength was clearly nothing to sniff at, but if the staff was actually made of iron and gold instead of light metals, I’d have been even more terrified. 
Lu dashed forward, and Rengetsu responded by moving his staff. She scraped down the side of his staff with one of the blades and tried using her forward momentum to jump at his chest. Rengetsu responded in kind by thrusting the bo staff into the ground and pole vaulting over her. His agility was nuts. 
Hmph... I guess this guy really is one level above. He saw through her entirely. 
“Lu... Will Lu be okay?” 
“Come now, she won’t let it end so easily.” Lu held her swords, spun them around, and charged right back into the fray. She sent blow after blow against him, attempting to wear him down with an overwhelming barrage. She was both light on her feet and monstrously relentless. It was almost scary... However, I noticed something off about her movements. 
“Wow... She’s moving just like a brawler, yeah? Did Elze teach her that?” Moroha understood immediately. She saw exactly what was going on. Lu’s movements were nigh identical to Elze’s deft footwork. It seemed that she’d been learning well. 
“Guh!” Rengetsu endured the assault using his staff, refusing her access to his vital spots. Still, Lu had the upper hand, since she was wearing him down. After a while he found himself cornered, sweeping his staff to the side and taking a few steps back. 
Lu, however, relentlessly pursued him. That was when Rengetsu changed his attack plan. He suddenly dashed forward, tossing the staff at Lu’s feet. She stumbled, and he drove his hand against her breast as she lost her balance. 
“Augh!” Lu fell to the ground and rolled off to the side before getting back up. That definitely hurt. 
Rengetsu, you bastard! What do you think you’re doing to my princess, huh?! You bald bastard! I’ll kill you! My thoughts briefly grew incomprehensibly angry. 
...Calm down, calm down. This is just a match. Let it go, let it go. You’ll get revenge later... You’ll [Slip] the bastard good. 
This time it was Rengetsu’s turn to unleash a barrage of attacks on Lu. She could barely avoid the staff as it jabbed against her, but then she dropped the sword in her left hand and caught the pole beneath her armpit. Still, just as she was about to launch her counter, Rengetsu let go of his staff. 
“What? Uwah!” 
“Haaah!!” Lu suddenly lost her balance entirely. Discarding his staff, Rengetsu held out his palm and yelled loudly. In an instant, an invisible force seemed to shoot out and knock Lu backward. 
Wait, is that the same explosion of force I saw Sonia use? I guess they’re allies, so it’s not too surprising. 
Lu managed to maintain her composure and, after flying through the air, gracefully landed on her feet. Out of bounds, though. 
“The winner is Rengetsu!” The referee announced the winner just like that. A thunder of clapping and cheering echoed out from across the venue. 
Lu was defeated. She was simply knocked away at a bad angle. If she was only a meter closer to the center, she’d have been okay. 
“So... she lost.” 
“Hey now, we weren’t going in expecting smooth sailing. Even Lu knew she might lose.” I patted the sulky Sue on the head, then gazed down at Lu. She collected up her weapons and shook Rengetsu’s hand. She seemed really disappointed. There was no doubt she wished she could’ve carried on. But to me, she’d done incredibly. 
“Well, now that this has happened, we really need to win the next...” Elze and Sonia both made their way to the stage. 
Both were melee brawlers, and they both signaled their readiness by smacking their gauntlets together. 
They took their stances opposite one another, looking at the other dead-on. The referee raised his hand and looked between the two. Then, he brought it down in a flash. 
“Begin!” 
Whoooooosh. They both charged toward one another at full speed. Their fists were flying toward their enemy’s face, and both hits connected. It was an incredible cross-counter, on both sides. Whaaat!!! That’s way too fast! And why are they smiling?! 
“You’re... pretty good.” 
“Y-You too.” 
Oh come the hell on, what are you guys?! Gang leaders brawling on a riverbank?! They separated and immediately began exchanging blows. Elze unleashed a straight right, and Sonia absorbed it with her gauntlet. Sonia then made for a left hook, but Elze parried that as well. 
The sound of metal was intense. 
Clang. Thwack. Thump. Thud. Scrape! The sound of metal on metal permeated the air around the stage. It was terrifying. The terror was amplified by the fact that both of them were laughing. They were smacking the hell out of each other, and cackling. It was seriously scary! I doubt anyone would understand how freaked out I was! 
Alright, that’s all folks! Come on now! Bye bye, okay! That’s it! 
I was uncomfortable, like a man possessed. 
Metal continued to clash, over and over again. Relentless. Strike, block. Strike, block. Strike, block... 
It looked like they were following some unspoken rule of taking turns to hit one another. The speed slowly ramped up until it was basically just two flurries of blows storming on at each other. 
“Hiyaaaaaah!!!” 
“Gaaaaaaaaah!!!” The sound of scraping metal rang out as their fists connected again, both of them going in for a straight right. 
For a moment, the two of them stood still, grinning and laughing all the while. I had no idea what high they were riding, but it was frightening. 
Then, both of them jumped back at the same time before rushing in and launching a flurry of kicks. The greaves on their legs clunked and chimed as they smacked against each other. After that, the metal sounds of clashing gauntlets repeated itself once more. 
“Hiyaaah!” Elze performed a spin kick. Sonia tried to block it, but the momentum was too strong, resulting in the girl being pushed further back. Elze charged forward, intent on following it up, but Sonia quickly dodged to the side and lashed out using her tail. 
Elze took the full brunt of the tail whip and was knocked back a bit herself. 
Sonia went on the offensive now, attempting to land a drop kick, but Elze brought both arms up in a cross and blocked it perfectly. Sonia kicked against Elze’s gauntlets and used the momentum to create some distance between the two. 
The heated battle continued to rise in temperature, with the offensive and defensive flickering making the crowd get excited. 
“Moroha, what do you think’s gonna happen, y’know?” 
“Hard to say. This isn’t a battle of blades. Unfortunately, my knowledge when it comes to fists is a little more lacking. Elze has the superior mobility, yeah? But Sonia’s definitely kicking it big with the power. The gap between the two isn’t all that huge, though. Sonia also has an ace up her sleeve, one she’s yet to play.” 
You mean that energy release thing... Elze hasn’t really given her a chance to use it so far, since there haven’t been any openings at all. 
Elze was unable to use her [Boost] too. Yae had watched several martial arts videos on my smartphone, but so had Elze. She learned a lot from researching how many different people fight. 
The two were slowly becoming a little slower in their motions, likely because they were running out of energy. Regardless, their fists kept flying back and forth, over and over again. 
Elze made a mighty sweep toward Sonia, but she managed to avoid being knocked off-balance by stabilizing her tail’s position. That tail of hers was really something. I wondered if it kept her more stable and balanced than regular humans. 
Sonia then used her tail to attack Elze. Elze steeled herself and took the brunt of the attack with her gauntlets. Then, she gripped the tail firmly, pulled on it, and tossed Sonia over her shoulder with all the strength she could muster. 
“Haaaaaah!!!” 
“Guh!” Sonia had been knocked prone, and Elze jumped in to land the finishing blow. But alas, Sonia rolled to the side and deftly dodged the attack. She rose to her feet, braced her body, and held out her palm. Shit, not good! 
“Haaa!!!” With a loud boom, Elze was knocked flying. She rolled all the way across the stage and just managed to stop herself from falling out of bounds. 
Goddamn! That was dangerously close to being the same as the Lu situation. 
I knew that stance meant bad news. It was definitely some kind of invisible ranged attack. Elze didn’t even get hit by it directly, but she was still knocked a fair bit away. 
Elze was on her knees, and looked to be in considerable pain. Sonia, refusing to let up, began charging toward her once more. Elze stood up and blocked it, but the pain from the previous attack was still taking its toll. Elze was shifted to the defensive position, and the stage’s boundary line was right behind her. 
“Haaaaaa!” Sonia brought her right fist rocketing forward, but Elze caught it using her left. Sonia then followed up with an attack from her left hand, but Elze caught it using her right! Sonia raised her leg in an attempt to kick Elze, and that was when Elze used her grip on the girl’s hands to start throwing her backward. 
Elze brought her own leg up, placing the flat of her foot on Sonia’s abs, and then began to hurl the girl upward with all of her strength. 
It looked pretty unconventional, but it was some kind of overhead throw. Elze’s head was leaning over the edge of the stage as she was on her back and hoisted Sonia into the air, though the rules stated your whole body needed to be out for it to count as a loss. 
“Ghhh...!” It looked like Elze was about to succeed in throwing Sonia out of bounds, but... Sonia twisted her body around and lashed out with her tail, escaping from Elze’s grip. Her body leaned backward, toward center stage. 
Sonia was barely balanced on the edge of the arena, but she wasn’t out of bounds. Suddenly, Elze came up to her from the front. 
“Hiyaaah!” Elze screamed and brought a right straight headed directly for her enemy. And, by reflex, Sonia brought her arms up to defend against the hit. Avoiding or dodging wasn’t feasible given her precarious situation. 
Unfortunately for Sonia, the punch was just enough to ruin her balance, sending her hurtling into the air and out of bounds completely. Game, set, match. 
“The winner is Elze Silhoueska!” The referee declared the winner, and the audience went wild. The two were applauded and cheered for. 
“She won! Elze won!” Sue cheered merrily. But honestly, it felt like more of a draw. Elze was really hurt. Neither had managed to knock out the other, either. But still, I believed that if it was a real fight, one unrestrained by rules, Elze would’ve come out on top. 
Elze shook Sonia’s hand as we all clapped for her. 
We had one loss and one win. So long as two more of our remaining fighters won, we’d be in the finals. 
I thought Pam might be a dead weight, but it was wrong of me to feel that way. She performed like a champ in the third match and won in under three minutes. She knocked her foe out of bounds with unrelenting fury. The girl was like a whirlwind. 
Yae was up after that, and came out on top with the greatest of ease. With that, the Rauli tribe easily secured its success over the Ruluch tribe. We’d made it to the finals. 
“Somehow, we managed.” I felt nothing but relief. The Ruluch tribe was the tribe that I had the most concerns about, so the final match was probably going to be a cakewalk. 
I cast [Refresh] and some recovery magic on the participants. Just to be safe, I prioritized Elze and Lu, though. They needed it the most. 
After that I cast [Slip] and made Rengetsu fall over repeatedly. He was sitting with the rest of the tribesmen that he’d represented, when suddenly he slipped and bashed his head on the ground. He stood up, utterly confused, and had no idea what was going on. He was on soil, so he wasn’t hurt or anything, just shocked. 
“What are you doing...?” 
“Well... he hurt Lu, so I kinda got mad.” 
“That dragongirl hurt me, too!” 
“Well, I know... but I couldn’t really get angry at your fight. It was like watching a hot-blooded drama.” Elze grumbled slightly and pouted. Well, it wasn’t my place to intrude on the fast-paced battle between two girls. Still, if her opponent was a guy, then I’d have definitely tormented him or something... 
“Either way, we’re in the finals. One more to victory. Ah, take these.” I handed a small vial of pills that kind of looked like the round thing in ramune soda to Elze and the others. It was an antidote I had Flora produce. It completely eliminated poison from the human body. 
“There’ll be poison scattered on the stage, so wear your masks before your turn comes. Then when it’s time for you to actually fight, remove your mask and eat one of these the moment your round begins. That way their claws won’t do anything to you, since the poison will be nullified. You don’t need to worry about the passive poison, either. One pill should last about ten minutes, so try to win before then. Take three of them.” After that, the girls returned to the Wishing Grounds. If poison was one viable method, an antidote was another. It wasn’t magic, so it didn’t go against the rules. 
We returned to our seats in the audience, but quickly found some commotion going on. 
Once we took our seats, we discovered that the Rivet tribe had already won their battles and been declared as the finalists. No matter how you looked at it, that was a little fast. 
“The Remna tribe moved to attack when the round started, but they collapsed immediately. It seems the Rivet tribe has a blowgun. Their dart was extremely narrow too, so nobody could see it... Even though they used masks to defend against the scattered poison, they couldn’t do a thing against poison directly entering their bodies! Plus, the poison acts incredibly quickly. It’s not immediately lethal, but if the affected doesn’t get medical attention fast... Well, it could be ugly.” I looked down on the grounds as Moroha spoke to me, and I saw Elze handing over antidote pills to the fallen tribesmen. Yup, good work... I gave them all a few, so sharing is caring. 
“Still, you said a blowgun? It’s pretty impractical unless the poison alongside it works.” If they’d been using throwing weapons like shuriken or knives, that’d be another story... Still, this poison was something to consider. It was definitely some kind of effective toxin, but it didn’t actually kill or anything. I wondered just what the poison was. 
If it had paralytic effects it could be a neurotoxin, like the tetrodotoxin from a pufferfish. However, that toxin definitely didn’t take effect immediately. Tetrodotoxin was one that made you numb over a long period of time, then killed you. 
I hadn’t seen any pufferfish in this world, either, so it was hard for me to tell. A more likely answer was just that I wasn’t familiar with the poisons of this world. Flora really was incredible, since she’d practically made a cure-all panacea for poison. 
That being said, I was sure I could remove the effects with [Recovery] as well. Better to be safe than sorry, though. 
The final stage in the Wishing Grounds rose up. 
This one was a bit bigger than the stages used for matches up until now. All five champions from either tribe stood on either side. 
Yae and the girls were wearing the filtration masks like I’d told them to, and so was the referee. It was kind of funny, seeing everyone in those things. 
The finale had begun. 
Yae was up first. Her opponent was the lanky, hunched man that I’d seen earlier. The one with the claws. There was a little opening on the front of his mask, where something similar to a tube jutted from. That was likely where the blowgun poked out. 
He wore the mask to avoid being poisoned, which must have meant that the blowgun wasn’t attached to his mouth. I wasn’t entirely sure how he got the air through it to shoot out the dart. His mask must have been designed in an interesting way. 
Yae tore her mask off and swallowed the pill. That would render her completely immune to their toxic trickery. Her masked foe looked at her in a somewhat confused manner, but he readied his claws all the same. In response, Yae drew her katana. 
“Fight!” Yae thrust toward her foe in a blazing display of speed as soon as the match begun. The man panicked and attempted to fire the dart from his blowgun. Yae raised a hand to protect her eyes, staying completely on target. The dart pierced her hand, but she ignored it and instead tackled her enemy and landed a single blow in the middle of his stomach. 
“Ugahagh!!!” The man coughed and sputtered unintelligibly as he blasted his way out of bounds. 
“The winner is Kokonoe Yae!” It was over in a flash. The entire place fell silent for a moment, nobody knowing what to say. But then a roaring cheer engulfed the crowd like a wave. 
She must have known the blowgun was coming. Presumably she’d heard about it from one of the Remna fighters. 
“Our poison didn’t work...? No way!” Hilde’s enemy, a younger man who looked kind of like a frog, muttered in frustration. He mustn’t have been able to believe what he had just seen during Yae’s round, but it was too late for him as well. The guy looked like he was shaking a bit, too. 
Just as Yae had done before her, Hilde charged forward recklessly, completely tanking the poison dart and sending the froggy fellow to his defeat. 
“Gurribitaaagh!” The poison was inert, which completely crushed the enemy morale. Pam prepared her axe as her enemy, a large trembling man, stood before her. 
He was no match for her. His dart did nothing either, and Pam was completely victorious. Her axe came down mercilessly on his head. 
“...Gh!!!” The last of Rivet’s champions fell unconscious. 
“The winner is Pam! Thus, the Rauli tribe takes the title! They are the new Tribe of the Treelord!” It was a consecutive three-person finish. A little boring for a finale, honestly. But even so, everyone in attendance cheered and applauded like their lives were on the line. The Pruning had finally concluded. 
Pam put on her war face and cried out to the heavens. In response, the entire Rauli tribe gave their best unified war cry. 
That was that. All’s well that ends well. 
...Or so I thought, but then I felt it. 
“Huh...?” The ground was rumbling... Shaking, even. I suddenly saw every tree outside the Wishing Grounds begin to wither and dry up. Their leaves all scattered to the ground. 
What the hell?! 
“Guhahah... We’ll be taking it now... The spirit’s power, I mean...!” One of the fallen members of the Rivet tribe muttered that. 
The ground began to rock and quake. Shockwaves began rippling everywhere as more trees died and more leaves fell to the ground. 
“Wh-What is that?!” I heard someone screaming out, and I turned to look. I saw... trees. Enormous trees, moving. Walking in our direction. As it turned out, whatever was happening hadn’t even begun yet. 
 
“Wood Golems... But they’re way too big! Did they end up becoming Behemoths or something? But why are there so many...?!” Several wooden Golems covered in bark were stomping this way, destroying anything beneath their feet. They were each over twenty meters tall. Shape-wise, they were the same as a Mithril Golem, size-wise they were not. 
One... Two... Three... Yup, there’s at least ten. Did they sap the life out of the local plant life or something? The closest Golem attempted to enter the Wishing Grounds, but found itself repelled by a green barrier. 
A small, glowing green sphere around the size of a baseball appeared before my eyes. 
“Lord Touya!” 
“Forest spirit? That you?” 
“It is. I’ve currently focused most of my power on erecting a barrier, so please forgive my appearance. Could you use your power to evacuate the local tribes from the area? Their target is me, so please get the innocent bystanders out of here! They want to absorb the Wishing Tree, to infuse a Wood Golem with my spiritual power!” If a Wood Golem consumed the Wishing Tree it would probably be able to control the power of a forest spirit. It was likely that they’d made preparations for this to happen for a while. 
The people behind this were obviously the Rivet tribe. If they’d won the Pruning, they were going to poison the Wishing Tree and then assimilate it into one of their Golems after it was weakened... Or perhaps they planned to turn the Wishing Tree itself into a Golem. There was no point in pondering, either way. 
But then, the Rauli tribe snatched away their victory, so they had to resort to another plan. And that was what resulted in the current situation... They didn’t know when to give up. Or rather, they were too stupid to know. 
...Moroha suddenly decided to dump all that information on me. I couldn’t believe it. I’d seen the Rivet tribe the night before, so they must have been making preparations for this. I should’ve just defeated them all there and then. 
I used [Fly] to swoop down and paralyze two members of the Rivet tribe. The spirit’s power was focused on maintaining the barrier, so my magic worked just fine. 
“Tell me now, what are they?” 
“W-Wood Golems. Our tribe raised them from saplings... We had them feed on the life of nearby trees so they would become behemoths, thanks to the adjustments we made to them...” 
“Adjustments?” 
“We mixed various poisons and remedies together, soaked them into their bark... It was a long process to transform them. They should be able to drain the Wishing Tree, as well... Use the spirit’s power, and with that power, the Rivet tribe will reign supreme over the Sea of Trees... Kuhuhu...” Well, it was exactly as Moroha had said. 
Don’t think you’ve won yet, asshole! It’s time for us to put the hurt on you! 
“[Gate].” I opened a portal in the sky, allowing a Frame Gear to fall out. 
The Knight Baron fell from about one meter up in the air, but still managed to make a heavy crash as it landed in the Wishing Grounds. It held a sword in one hand, and the Fragarach equipment was fitted to it as well. 
“Wh-What is that?!” 
“Shut up. It’s time to test out the new weapon. I’ll shatter your stupid Golems, and your tribe’s pride along with it!” The Rivet tribesman looked absolutely stupefied as I walked over to my Frame Gear. But suddenly, Yumina and Linze yelled out to me. 
“Touya, let one of us do it.” 
“Huh? You wanna ride the Knight Baron?” 
“Yes... Neither of us were able to do a thing. Not during the Yulong incident, or during the Pruning...” 
Oh, that is true, isn’t it...? We didn’t need magic during the Yulong incident, and it was banned for the Pruning rounds... 
Well, we will need to fight against the Phrase again at some point, and the Fragarach will allow people like Yumina and Linze to channel their magical power into a physical piece of weaponry... I wonder if they’re prepared for it, though. 
“Well, alright then. Please be careful, though! You can rely on me for support.” I opened up another [Gate] and brought forth another Frame Gear. Though, this one was painted blue... It was equipped with a mace. It was actually Vice-Commander Norn’s specialized Frame Gear, but having Linze or Yumina ride it wouldn’t be a big deal. 
Yumina climbed into the black one, while Linze took the blue. They started them up and synchronized their magical patterns with the equipment. 
“...Start the magic tuning. Activate the primary slot.” 
“Got it! Primary slot engaged! Charging the Fragarach! Tuning’s complete. No complications.” 
“...Nothing wrong here, either.” I took a radio out of [Storage] and communicated with them both. Everything seemed fine for the time being. 
“Yumina, you take the enemies on the right. Linze, you can handle the left. If you feel your magic weakening, remember that your engagement rings have surplus magical power stored in them.” 
“Got it.” 
“R-Roger!” The Black Knight and Blue Knight made a running start, turning toward their respective Golems with weapons in hand. 
“Strike true, Lightning! Hundredspear Thunderclap: [Lightning Javelin]!” 
“Pierce, o Ice! Frozen Point: [Ice Needle]!” The Black Knight fired lightning from its sword, and the Blue Knight’s mace became imbued with spines of ice. Then, they unleashed attacks upon the Golems. 
Yumina was using a wind spell, which made sense, but Linze was clearly being mindful. Her best element was fire, but she probably didn’t want the trees to ignite. Lightning was dangerous and could cause fires ordinarily, but magically created lightning didn’t have any such side effects. 
Two Golems fell beneath their assault, and the two rushed out from the Wishing Grounds. 
“Don’t overdo it, but I’d like you two to test out the Fragarach’s capabilities. Just be wary.” The two of them fanned out to meet more of the oncoming Wood Golems, but Yumina made her move first. 
“Fragarach, activate!” 
 

Four crystal blades began floating around the back of the Black Knight. Then, they moved forward, deploying out and orbiting the Frame Gear. 
“Go!” As if responding to Yumina’s cry, the crystal blades smashed into a Wood Golem at supersonic speed. It was splintered apart in seconds. The Fragarach was designed to be tough enough to smash the Phrase, so wood was nothing. 
The blades shredded the Wood Golem’s core and returned to orbit the Black Knight, floating freely in a circular pattern. They worked as a defensive system too, since they were based on the Satellite Orbs of Babylon. 
“Hm... Is it difficult to target more than one enemy at the same time?” 
“It is! I don’t think it’s impossible, but it’s hard to focus quickly enough. I think with experience it’ll become easier to handle.” That made sense. Rosetta had spoken to me about rhythm and tempo, and how important it was to get accustomed to the beat of battle. It could definitely be compared to learning how to play an instrument. It was similar in effect, too. Like when you played the piano and made your left and right hands do different things. 
I could actually manipulate all four Fragarach swords with ease, but I probably had my parents to thank for that. They made me play piano as a child. I never thought it would make me a more efficient combatant. 
That reminded me that I hadn’t seen a single piano in this world. I made a mental note to make one later, as it could help with learning how to control weapon systems like this. Also, I wanted to play the piano, since it had been too long. 
“Fragarach, launch...” 
Linze’s Fragarach fired up and began tearing up her opposition. Unlike Yumina, however, two of her blades were moving at once. 
Linze was able to attack two targets at the same time. Still, her movements were far less precise than they would have been if she just attacked with all four at once on the same target. It would surely improve with practice. 
“Th-This is impossible... How...?!” A member of the Rivet tribe stared on in horror as his beautiful Golems were turned into hunks of bark. 
I actually totally forgot about those guys. I targeted every member of the Rivet tribe on my map app, and hit the good old fashioned [Paralyze] switch. It was pretty easy to locate them, since they looked so distinct and all. 
Most of the Golems were dead at this point. If they were made from mithril or orichalcum, we would’ve made serious money today. Regardless of whether or not they were selectively refined, wood was just wood at the end of the day. There wasn’t any value to them in terms of raw material. Well, maybe they were good for fire kindling or something. 
“There, all done.” Linze took out the last remaining one. Every Golem had fallen. All the tribes in the Wishing Grounds cheered and celebrated upon seeing that victory had come. Well, all the tribes except the Rivet tribe, anyway. 
But the trees in the vicinity had taken considerable damage. They were all extremely ancient trees too, judging from the sizes. 
The spherical spirit came close to me once more. She probably used up a lot of her energy on the barrier, so it’d be a bit before she could take human form again. 
“Thank you, Lord Touya... How can I ever repay you?” 
“No need... Actually, I should say sorry for trashing the trees around here. I could’ve done better.” 
“Not at all... I will focus my energy later on and restore them to how they were.” 
Oh? You can do that? Well, I guess you are a forest spirit after all... 
The spirit suddenly whooshed over to the Judgment Tribe’s spokesman, and looked to be communicating with him. 
After a while, the man raised his voice. 
“These malignant men schemed to make the Wishing Tree their own, but their ambitions have since been trampled! Envoys of Brunhild, a far-off nation, have protected us and our dear home! We, the tribes of the Sea of Trees, now offer unto them our deepest gratitude! May the spirit’s blessing be with them, always!” 
“May the spirit’s blessing be with them, always!” As everyone clapped and cheered, I sent the two Frame Gears back home. Yumina and Linze were formally recognized as the saviors from Brunhild, and thus acted as our representatives to the Sea of Trees. That was fine by me, though. They were the ones that killed the Wood Golems anyway. 
The members of the Jaja tribe rounded up all of the Rivet tribesmen, then took them away somewhere. I also asked them to round up the other Rivet tribesmen all over the Sea of Trees, since my mass paralysis should’ve affected everyone in the forest related to them. 
Thus, the Rauli tribe was formally declared the Tribe of the Treelord, and their new law of separating the Pruning by gender was accepted. 
The rule caused some confusion and chatter amongst most of the other tribes, but it was accepted by the forest spirit and put into effect. 
The rule wasn’t all that bad once I really thought about it, and the other tribes seemed to feel the same as well. It benefited everyone, as it was just another opportunity for victory. Though nothing would change for the Balm tribe. They didn’t have women. 
Still, they seemed to accept the ruling, saying that they were happy they’d never have to face off against the irritating Rauli tribe ever again. 
Thus ended our foray into the Sea of Trees, and our very turbulent Pruning experience. 
 
“Guh... It’s cold! When did it get so cold?!” We were away for only three days, but Brunhild was colder than ever. It was hard to even get up in the morning. 
The Sea of Trees was directly to our south, but it wasn’t cold there in the winter. I couldn’t tell if I was cold because I was used to the climate there, or if it had just actually gotten colder. 
The climate of this world didn’t operate on conventional logic. Seasons didn’t exist everywhere, and where they did exist, they were often extreme. What seasons happened in which places also had nothing to do with geographical placement. There were small differences between east and west climates, however. That reminded me that I had no idea if the world was even spherical... It could’ve been flat. Hell, there might’ve even been a giant elephant or snake holding this world up. 
Apparently spirits controlled the climate, but I didn’t really know the details. I had no idea if it was related to magic, where magic even came from, or what. A country with four functional yearly seasons could be right next to a country where winter never ended. There was no rhyme or reason to it at all. 
I didn’t know if it was due to luck or what, but Brunhild had four distinct seasons. The environment was generally pretty similar to how it was where I grew up. 
“I could really use a heater right about now...” It wouldn’t even be that hard to make one using [Program], but it wasn’t like the cold was unbearable or anything. Plus, we had a fireplace. My grandad used to say that “inconvenience itself is a form of energy,” but I was digressing a bit. A hot water bottle would be fine. The Pruning was officially over, and Pam had given up on making a baby with me. She looked a bit sad, though. 
I wanted her to prove herself as a member of the Rauli tribe, or rather, a member of the Tribe of the Treelord. 
Brunhild had been formally recognized as a savior of the Sea of Trees, and they pledged to support us if anything ever happened. All the tribes agreed to lend their strength to me, should I ever need it. 
I didn’t get the full story about what happened to the Rivet tribe after that. Pam just told me that “the Sea of Trees passed judgment on them” and left it at that. I decided I probably didn’t want to ask anything else about it. 
I went out to the cold air of the balcony, only to see someone practicing in the training grounds. I couldn’t see them too well though, since the air was heavy in the morning. 
I used [Long Sense] to peek on them, and I saw Moroha sparring with someone. It was Lu. 
“Man, so early, too...” It was probably because of her loss. Lu was angry that she was defeated by Rengetsu. She put on a brave face, but I knew better. My fiancees hated to lose. 
Everyone in the castle was pretty surprised when I came home with Moroha. But that was only natural, since I’d never mentioned having another sister before. 
Kousaka asked me how many siblings I had, and I gave him an ambiguous kind of answer... But I think he misunderstood me, because he gave me this kind of knowing nod as if to say “That many, huh...?” Thus, the idea that the Mochizuki lineage was a bloodline of womanizers became accepted. 
That’s not it, damn it! We aren’t a bunch of siblings from different mothers! They aren’t even my siblings! 
What surprised them even more was Moroha’s martial prowess. We showcased her skills by letting her duke it out with the knight order. It was a battle of her versus eighty. She won easily. Didn’t get a scratch on her. 
She also pointed out every soldier’s individual weaknesses and gave them pointers to focus on. She was nothing if not meticulous. 
“...Yep, you’re the grand duke’s sister alright.” I asked Moroha to spar with the knight order whenever she had the free time. If they trained with her, then they’d likely become stronger over time. That was certainly a benefit, overall. 
“Morning!” 
“Good morning, Touya.” I got changed and headed into the dining room. Yumina, Linze, Elze, Yae, Hilde, and Karen were sitting and waiting for me. I was feeling a bit drowsy, so Renne brought me a cup of herbal tea. 
I said thanks to Renne and gave her a little pat on the head, when suddenly the door opened. It was Moroha and Lu, returning from their training. 
We ate breakfast at seven in the morning, every morning. Though we didn’t all have to be present to start eating. Still, if it was possible, we did enjoy eating together. Due to that, we usually ended up not actually starting to eat until after seven. Everyone was here today, even Karen, who usually liked to sleep in late. 
Sue came to join us for breakfast now and then, but it seemed she was busy today. 
Her room in the Ortlinde household was connected to my gateway room, so she could come and go as she pleased. Naturally only Sue was capable of accessing that particular portal, and it was set to record whenever she passed on through. 
I was engaged to her, so she was allowed to come to Brunhild castle at her own discretion. Though, I did tell her to try and eat with her parents at home as much as she could. 
It was better for parents to eat meals with their children. I didn’t want Duke Ortlinde to feel lonely or sad. 
After breakfast, we all set about our various businesses. Yae, Hilde, and Moroha all joined the knights to train. Yumina and Lu went to speak with old man Naito about the urban planning. Elze went to train, and Linze went to investigate the selectively bred crops. Karen, on the other hand, stayed in her room and did weird Love God stuff. Basically, we did what we wanted or needed to do. 
I didn’t ever force my fiancees to do anything official, but it seemed that they liked helping with my affairs. 
My plan for the day involved meeting with anyone that requested an audience. If nobody did, then I’d have some free time. I listened to Kousaka prattle on about domestic issues here and there, dividing them between urgent, non-urgent, and unimportant matters. 
Kousaka constantly tried to solve issues using the citizens, even though I could solve those issues in seconds flat, but he was right to do so. If I handled everything, the country would just rely on me forever. If the country couldn’t stand on its own, then it couldn’t really be called a country. I wasn’t going to be around forever. 
So whenever I offered to help out, Kousaka saw me as more of a hindrance than a help. Still, it was comfy not having any responsibilities. 
“How much colder will it get, I wonder...” 
“Hm... I don’t believe we’ll get any colder this year, sir. Even if it does, the Hot Carpet you created is a mighty boon to us all in the cold season.” Laim, my butler, spoke up as he brought me my black tea. There were a lot of big rooms in the castle, so keeping the whole place warm was a pain. That was why I enchanted various carpets with the fire spell [Warming] and placed them all over the castle. 
I also gave Laim a specially tailored suit enchanted with the spell. It was a great suit because it regulated its own temperature. Laim was very stiff, so I didn’t think he’d take the gift if I just offered him it. That was why I used his upcoming birthday as a convenient excuse to force it upon him. 
I didn’t want our butler to get sick, after all. 
I had plenty of free time, since nobody wanted to see me. Well, I wasn’t completely free. I had decided to spend my time finishing off the piano I’d started to make after coming back from the Sea of Trees. 
Building the piano wasn’t too hard. It was basically just a huge outward fake thing. I’d gone and used [Program] to jury rig the aspects I didn’t quite understand. The only issue was tuning it. I had to manually determine the tone using a piano app on my smartphone. 
Even so, I got pretty excited and wound up making an eighty-eight key grand piano. It might have been better if I’d made a sixty-five key studio upright piano, but it was too late. 
I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but I’d finished tuning it for the time being. I sat down on the chair and ran my finger along the keys. Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. I played them in order, and then backward. Do, ti, la, sol, fa, mi, re, do. 
How long has it been since I last played... When I was a little kid, I couldn’t get to fa using my thumb. I don’t remember how I practiced... but I remember struggling to hit mi with my middle finger... My fingers were pretty short back then, huh. 
I began to play the nostalgic tune of do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do, followed by do, ti, la, sol, fa, mi, re, do. I repeated it a few times for good measure. 
After getting into the flow, I began to play Der Flohwalzer. I got a little excited about it and ended up doing a few different arrangements. I ended up playing a jazzier version, too. 
After I was finished playing, I heard someone clapping. I turned around to see Sakura. She was standing alongside Kougyoku. 
“Is that... an instrument?” 
“Yeah, it is. It’s called a piano. It’s a keyboard instrument... but it could be classed as a percussion or string instrument too.” 
“I’d like to hear more. Another tune...” 
Hm... Let’s see. I’ll go with another easy one. It’s been a while since I’ve played this one, but here goes nothing... I can’t think of a better song for this season. 
I began to play, a slow tempo guiding me. It was a traditional Christmas tune. Still, I didn’t know if the month of December existed in this world. 
The song was Jingle Bells. 
Something told me that the American man who came up with this song over a hundred and fifty years ago would never have dreamed it’d be played in another world. 
Sakura bobbed her head gently from left to right. She seemed to enjoy it. Kougyoku closed her eyes too, as if appreciating the melody. They both started humming along to the tune of the song. 
When I was finished, she clapped softly again. I felt a little bashful. 
“The song... Teach me. I’d like to sing it.” Sakura asked me, glimmering puppy dog eyes trained on my face. It was pretty unusual of her to be acting like this. She was normally so emotionally withdrawn. 
Still, I answered her request and played the song once more, this time singing the lyrics along with the melody. Sakura hummed along as I sang. Once I was finished, I told her I’d do it again, but she told me that she’d already memorized all the lyrics. That was weird. 
I started to play the tune again, and this time Sakura was the one singing. W-Whoa... What the heck?! She was... amazing. Her voice was clear, unwavering, and beautiful. I had no idea she had this kind of talent in her. When she finished, she smiled broadly and seemed very happy. 
“Incredible... Do you think you might’ve been a singer?” 
“I’m not sure about that, but I may have liked to sing. Could you show me more?” I wondered if it might help her memories return, so I started lining up all the songs I could think of. Pop, rock, folk, nursery rhymes. Western or Japanese, that didn’t matter too much. 
Incredibly, she memorized song lyrics despite only hearing them once. Her memory was astounding. Ironic, given the fact that she had amnesia. 
Still, that voice of hers could be a formidable weapon through which to make a living. I could probably become an idol producer for her or something... Or at least, if she wasn’t such a naturally withdrawn person. 
The piano I had right now wasn’t built for accompanying singers, so I figured I should make a better one. To be honest, I was a little concerned about teaching Yumina and the others how to play, since I wasn’t even sure if this would help them manipulate the Fragarach. 
It didn’t take long for others to hear Sakura’s incredible notes echoing throughout the castle. Before I knew it, we’d gathered quite an audience. 
A torrent of applause came down upon us once she was finished. Sakura looked at the ground out of embarrassment, but she smiled gently when Linze gave her a few words of encouragement. 
After that, we continued on with the mini-concert. She was a shy and reserved girl in many ways, but singing brought out another side of her that I hadn’t seen before. 
I continued to play for her, while making a mental note to download some songs to my smartphone for her to listen to.