My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 121 World Tree: Hello
Fram led Roland to the top of the treehouse.

Lush foliage surrounded the wooden rooftop in the tree canopy. Furam sighed deeply and then began to mutter to herself.

"Roland, looking back now, your meeting with Leah really changed a lot of things."

"I have to admit that I have been too complacent over the past three hundred years."

"Even though they were aware that something was wrong with Leah, they were still too lax in their supervision of her..."

"So you still have a soft heart after all?"

Roland listened quietly without responding.

From the system's tasks, he also guessed that the Chaos Brotherhood had some kind of morbid obsession with Kalia.

All actions and behaviors were solely intended to induce Kalia's abilities to spiral out of control.

Or rather, to prompt it to undergo some kind of change.

As for the reasons behind this, Roland could not possibly know.

However, judging from Frum's current attitude, her reasons for adopting and raising Kalia may not be so simple.

Even the extremely strong barrier in front of us now has a different meaning.

It can only be said that once a conspiracy theory is born, it is difficult to stop the association.

After talking to herself for a while, Flam turned to Roland and said, "Actually... there were quite a few lies in the stories I told that child, Leah."

"First, I didn't just happen to be passing through her hometown."

“I had already received intelligence that the Chaos Brotherhood was active in Blackthorn Territory and several nearby noble territories and city-states, seemingly observing and searching for something.”

"Of course, at that time I was just collecting materials for alchemical potions in the vicinity, and I was just taking care of those Chaos Brotherhood cultists on the side."

"but……"

“I abandoned my original plan after I realized that their actions involved the god they worshipped.”

"After that... a Chaos cultist entered the village where the child Leah lived."

"After that, it's something you already know."

Flam sighed softly: "The power went berserk, the village disappeared..."

"You've already seen what it's like there."

"It's terrifying, isn't it... Even after more than ten years, it's still the same."

"Child of God... that's what the Chaos Brotherhood called Leah."

"Awaken the divine child, transform it into a vessel for the descent of the gods, and bring about the end of the world. This is the information I obtained after I searched the souls of those Chaos Brotherhood members."

“I was also wary of Leah’s power. To be honest, I really considered killing the child outright.”

"Quick and effective, leaving no future problems."

Fram’s tone was calm, but Roland could detect a hint of guilt and helplessness in it.

"What happened after that is pretty much what Leah knows."

"In the end, I didn't choose to take action. I wanted to teach this child to control her power. Perhaps if she could control her power, she wouldn't end up like the Chaos Brotherhood had envisioned."

"If she can grow up smoothly, it is not impossible for her to reach the level of the old Himmel or even that Demon King."

"But as you know, elves' concept of time is somewhat different from that of humans."

"It seems to me that in the blink of an eye, Leah has grown taller than me."

"In the blink of an eye, it was time for her to awaken her witch powers."

After speaking, Flam fell silent, and Roland continued, "Later, His Majesty suddenly fell seriously ill, and you rushed to the capital. Kalia was lured to Rishkan."

"Yes...their level of attention to Leah is indeed far beyond my imagination."

Frum turned to look at Roland: "There may be many more things like this in the future."

"As long as Leah remains in their sights, such incidents will only increase."

"And you're the same. Do you think the Chaos Brothers will let you off so easily?"

"If you continue to stay by Leah's side."

Roland raised his hand to interrupt Flam, then laughed: "Of course I know all that, and I'm too lazy to say any high-sounding words... As long as we wipe out all the enemies, isn't that enough?"

"We can simplify the problem."

"...That's way too easy. And have you really thought this through, kid?"

“Of course. After all, I don’t think it’s too late for me to back out now, Ms. Flam.” Roland shrugged and yawned. “If you have nothing else to say, I’ll go back and rest.”

"Wait, I'm not finished yet!"

Fram grabbed Roland's trouser leg.

"Now that we've finished talking about Leah, it's time to talk about you."

"Hey, is there anything else for me?"

Roland pointed to himself: "Are you sure? It has something to do with me?"

"Of course... you little rascal, do you have something like a rock on you?"

Roland was suddenly startled upon hearing this.

What happened? Were we exposed?
Didn't Koflam completely fail to recognize the Primal Runestone before? Not only herself, but Cherlinina's aura also failed to attract Koflam's attention.

I used the World Tree's protection so many times before, and Flam didn't notice anything amiss. I thought she really didn't know!
Could this old man have been pretending to be stupid all along?

"Um!?"

Floram's fingers pinched Roland's thigh, causing Roland to instinctively gasp in pain: "Stop! Stop! What are you doing, Ms. Floram?!"

"You little rascal... what impolite thing are you thinking about again?"

"If I find out again, even if you are the current weaver, I will not let you off the hook!"

Seeing Flam's face turn completely dark, Roland silently swallowed.

"Okay, take the things out and let me see them."

Fram extended her free hand and bent her fingers toward Roland.

After thinking for a moment, Roland decided to reveal the World Tree Runestone.

After all, once activated, the Primal Runestone was no longer just a simple item; Roland could feel it merging with his soul.

"Ah... I never thought it would really be like this... it really is something terrible that has happened..."

Frum's eyes widened the moment she saw the World Tree runestone.

"Alright, you can take it back now. I was just checking... although I don't know why the World Tree itself would choose you, kid."

"But since it has already done this, there's nothing I can say."

Roland scratched his head: "It...an old man?"

"You don't know? The chosen weaver should be able to communicate with the World Tree, shouldn't she?" Flam tilted her head, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"Ah, so that's how it is... when I was affected by Kalia's innate spell, there was a voice that woke me up."

In these words, Roland also recalled that somewhat blurry background noise.

“I knew it.” Fram nodded, then released her grip on Roland’s trouser leg: “You can go now.”

"Wait! What is a weaver?! You haven't explained this most crucial part yet!!"

Roland saw that Flam was about to leave and quickly called out to the irresponsible elf.

"Explanation? I don't even know what weavers do, how am I supposed to explain?"

Flam wore a matter-of-fact expression: "This is an ancient legend passed down among the elves."

“The World Tree will periodically select a being as a Weaver. The Weaver will then receive the World Tree’s protection and fulfill the duties entrusted to them by the World Tree.”

"Well, that's all the legend says. It doesn't say what the World Tree's protection is or what its responsibilities are."

"Even the few weavers I've heard of have never left any record of their duties or shelter."

“If a weaver hadn’t shown me your stone and said it was the symbol of the chosen one, and left an image record in Avalon, I wouldn’t have recognized it.”

Roland asked quietly, "When did the last Weaver appear?"

"Let me think... I was still young when I found it in an old man's collection of books... If I count the time, it was about ten thousand years ago. It was something from my parents' generation."

"..."

That's a long time ago, ten thousand years?

Humanity's current reliable historical records seem to extend only up to a thousand years ago.

As expected of an elf...

But how did you make the connection so quickly with such an ancient legend?
Could this be a bedtime story from when I was a child?
Fram stepped forward and patted Roland on the shoulder: "Although I don't know what the duties are, I have already seen the protection of the World Tree."

"Now that I think about it, your ability to nullify spells and even prevent users from using spells was given to you by Lord World Tree, wasn't it?"

"That's really something... Alright, I've satisfied my curiosity. End of conversation."

"If you have any further questions, you should ask World Tree yourself."

Furam left, without hesitation.

It seemed as if he breathed a huge sigh of relief after confirming something.

I felt much more relaxed.

Roland shook his head helplessly and simply looked up at the night sky.

"So, in the eyes of the elves... this is what the Primal Runestones are like?"

"Or is there a difference between the primordial runes?"

Roland then took out the Thunder Thorn.

Only now did he belatedly realize that the naming conventions for these two runestones in the system panel were meaningless.

The former is: Primal Runestone [World Tree], and the description of its associated runestone skill is below this name.

The latter only has a single skill description without a precise name.

Is it that some triggering condition is missing, or... is there a difference between the original runes?
"There are more and more problems... Forget it, let's think about how to deal with the Chaos Brotherhood first, and those damn armors."

Roland shook his head, but at that moment he realized something very frustrating.

He was no longer sleepy.

Perhaps it was the cold wind of this winter night, or perhaps it was the increasing confusion in his mind, that made it impossible for him to stop thinking for the time being.

Of course, the most likely reason was the lush green shadow of the tree that appeared in front of him.

(End of this chapter)