The next day.
Right after my afternoon class ended, I headed to the pre-decided location. As I reached the main gate, Lee Seonghan welcomed me with open arms and a warm smile.
"I've been waiting."
His smile, seemingly caring, even exhibiting affection at a glance, felt reassuring, but I knew it was all an act. Therefore, I put on my best facade and approached him.
"Nice to see you. Shall we go to a nearby café?"
"No. I have a place in mind. Let's go there."
He led me to a foreign car of an unknown model, tinted so you couldn't see inside from outside. I accepted his courtesy and got in the car, which soon started and took off.
-Woosh.
Within the mildly vibrating car, Lee Seonghan spoke.
"How have you been getting along with Dallae?"
"No, what could someone like me possibly…"
"There's no need to be conscious of status differences. Whether a human or a wooden person, they're all the same."
"Is that so?"
"Do you wear that mask every day?"
I paused the conversation for a moment before responding.
"Yes. I have my reasons."
"I see."
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Skip the pointless talk and get to the point. Whether he understood my intent or not, Lee Seonghan chuckled while steering the wheel.
"How much do you know about the World Tree?"
"The World Tree? Isn't it the mighty entity that controls the skies above and the lands below… and looks after us?"
"Yes. That's what most people know."
In my eyes, he was a jerk, but in this world, the World Tree was Yahweh, Buddha, and Allah. Everyone firmly believed in the World Tree. Naturally, in this world, the power of religion was located higher than the government. It was instead a theocratic political structure.
"But you don't believe in the World Tree, do you?"
As I was thinking, Seonghan suddenly asked a penetrating question. I naturally did not believe in the World Tree, but sometimes that disbelief could lead to punishment. The religion in this world was absolutely supreme.
"How could that be? I believe in the World Tree."
"You can be honest. I don't believe either. The World Tree will eventually destroy our lives."
"What do you mean?"
Without acknowledging the truth, I asked him back, and it was clear that Seonghan would regret losing me.
"There are too many fakes in this world. All the blessings from the World Tree are all ridiculous."
-Thud.
The moving car stopped in front of a building.
"Come out. I have a lot to talk to you about."
I followed him without saying a word, continuously thinking.
What did Lee Seonghan want from me? Why did he want me? I regretted not increasing my intelligence. Seeing him belittle the World Tree in front of me, it seemed like he knew about my feelings, but he didn't seem to know that I was a World Tree's spouse candidate.
Did that even make sense?
It hadn't even been 200 days since I came to this world. It was virtually impossible for someone else to know about me.
It meant only one thing.
Some transcendental entity provided information to Lee Seonghan or the power he belonged to.
"Sit here."
The room we reached was a confined space, much like a company break room. I sat on a sofa and had a private conversation with Seonghan.
"Firstly, you said I dislike the World Tree, right? Well, to be frank, that's true."
I exposed my information directly. If I tried to extract information unilaterally without exchanging any, suspicion would cloud the conversation. I needed to assure him that I was participating in this conversation.
"It's personal, and yes, I dislike it."
"I see."
"So, what's the main point?"
Silence ensued once again.
Lee Seonghan's face no longer bore the semblance of gentleness. Only the aura of a cold, ruthless leader remained.
"The Oracle has descended."
"What?"
"They ordered me to bring you in."
Oracle.
Just moments ago, he was muttering about the World Tree, and now he was invoking the name of a deity?
As I pondered this, a term crossed my mind.
'Cult?'
To call it a cult felt somewhat inappropriate.
In this world, gods truly existed. The existence of other gods wouldn't be strange.
"Who is this god?"
Lee Seonghan faintly smiled, inspected my face, and opened his mouth.
"He is known to none, but he is always with us. When you come to realize, you will know, too."
His casual tone made my body jerk involuntarily. It felt like I had encountered genuine madness.
"We intend to overthrow the World Tree."
His voice was profound and dark, almost abyssal.
"Not just the World Tree; we must utterly destroy its very foundation."
And somehow, this aligned subtly with my desires.
Revenge against the World Tree.
That was what I have wanted since I landed in this other world.
['The World Tree of Purity' attempts to-]
[Access is Denied]
A small crack appeared in the hologram window in my sight. Surprised, I checked and saw a twisted smile on Lee Seonghan's face.
'Is that so.'
I nodded internally.
These people, who were adversaries to the World Tree, had significant power.
The existence of such a group wasn't odd. The existence of challengers to rights and established privileges has been a constant in every advanced civilization, at every time and place.
Whether it was for a great cause or it would become a belief worse than societal parasites, history would prove it eventually.
"Join us."
"So, you've taken over an entire company like this?"
"Don't make it sound so sinister. It was necessary. And for others, coercion was necessary. Aren't you a human? So am I."
Lee Seonghan chuckled and placed a bead on the desk, a gem emitting a pink aura.
"Unlike the Tree People, humans have no inferior connection to the World Tree. A thousand years ago, there was a human who challenged the World Tree. That person was special."
When Lee Seonghan lightly touched the bead, it shimmered.
"Here, it is said to contain that man's power. With this, subduing the Wooden people is very easy."
How?
When I asked, Seonghan laughed as if he was revealing a surprising fact.
"For instance, the essence of humans."
"Is this brainwashing?"
"No. Ultimately, it's a kind of pleasure. The Tree People who have tasted this power can't live without it. It's like a drug. Don't sex addicts exist among humans, too?"
So that was the method.
"Jin Yeohui, too?"
At my casual question, Lee Seonghan nodded.
"If you apply it a few times, she will delusionally fall in love. It's blind. And that is also the power of this bead."
"And the men?"
"There is no one as frank about power and lust as men, even if they are Tree People."
They corrupted people in various ways.
Insane. I made my judgment there.
"So, what do you think?"
"Not bad. But the last time I saw you, Dallae didn't seem to like you much. Does this bead also have limits?"
"Dallae is a bit special. She too is a being on whom Oracle has descended."
Seonghan paused for a moment and stroked his chin.
"Her resentment can become a great power. It means accelerated growth in abilities. So, it needs to be left as is for a while."
"So?"
"When she's all grown, we devour her."
Was that even possible? At my expression, Seonghan spoke nonchalantly as if it wasn't a big deal.
"That powerful woman also eventually succumbed under me. Wouldn't her daughter be the same? Or I could give her daughter to you."
"Is that so?"
I bowed my head once. Then Seonghan asked me.
"How about it? Will you join us? No, you will. It was the Oracle."
I answered very calmly, very coolly.
I gave him the best answer I could give at this moment.
"Sounds really good."
Lee Seonghan was smiling.
The bright blue mana shimmered in the sky and disappeared like melting snow.
Around where the mana had been active were rough traces of magic.
Half-melted ice, flames burning the broken trees, vines hanging from the ceiling.
All these traces of her efforts disappeared instantly with her gesture.
"Haah…"
Jin Dallae, breathing heavily, sat down on a bench in the training room.
Her trembling legs refused to obey.
-Chirp?
A bird flew and landed on her knee, chirping at her.
"It's okay. I can do it."
The last gift from her father and her contract spirit companion since childhood.
The bird, in the form of a Cuckoo bird, pecked worriedly at Jin Dallae's thigh, observing her complexion and making her smile.
'Let's call it a day.'
The clock was already showing 9 P.M.
Jin Dallae, with her unresponsive legs, managed to walk back to the dormitory.
"What is this?"
She chuckled at the suspicious boxes stacked like mountains in front of her door.
Who wrote the wrong address?
Jin Dallae rarely used online shopping unless necessary.
She sighed and checked the address on the boxes. Room 3054. Recipient Jin Dallae. It was her room.
'...?'
She opened one of the boxes with a question in her mind and saw a familiar metal chocolate box.
'He really…!'
With internal irritation, Jin Dallae carried the boxes into the dormitory. Due to the number of chocolates, she had to make several trips.
What was she supposed to do with all these?
Going back and forth to the academy with all these chocolates was out of the question.
She wanted to find Lee Shiheon's room and leave them there, but she was too tired and irritated.
Maybe she should just accept them this once...
With her weakened resolve, she tried to open a box of chocolate but immediately decided against it and headed to the shower.
-Shriek!
Showering in cold water brought her back to her senses.
"Sigh, that guy… what is he thinking…"
Covered in foam, she thought about Lee Shiheon.
He was not a stalker, so why did he do these things?
She felt pitiful and a little bitter.
By now, that man must be persuading Lee Shiheon.
And, of course, Lee Shiheon would give in to his persuasion.
Everyone has done so far. She was sure that Lee Shiheon, whom she had treated coldly, would naturally do the same.
And this truth made her feel sad.
'It's obvious.'
-Chirp.
With a towel on her dripping hair, she came out of the shower and lay down on the bed in her underwear.
The chocolate on the desk bothered her.
Ah. Her resolve was weakening again.
Her hand moved, then stopped. Her internal conflict grew.
She was craving something sweet.
Refusing his kindness might be impolite.
Despite knowing she shouldn't, she rationalized her actions.
Soon, she was opening a box.
-Whoosh!
The chocolate box opened surprisingly easily as if it had been opened once and then resealed.
Looking at the spilled chocolates, Dallae frowned at the box, and then her expression changed.
Inside the chocolate box, a sentence was completed by following the attached chocolates with adhesive.
-Please become my friend
It could be a creepy sentence.
However, recalling the clumsy Lee Shiheon, his innocence reflected in the box made her chuckle.
"Unbelievable."
It was a bitter laugh.
"…Really."
She imagined Lee Shiheon falling for that man.
Even the friend who promised lifelong friendship left her side.
Her brother, who didn't spare his love, also left Jin Dallae.
So, this choice was natural for her, the best choice not to get hurt.
Suddenly, she recalled the mask Lee Shiheon wore.
In the end, she didn't eat the chocolate.