Eat The World Tree

“…Why, why didn’t you come? Why.”

Merri muttered pitifully, as if blaming me.

The murmurs around us began to spread. I scratched the back of my neck and stepped forward toward Merri.

There’s a secrecy clause, so rumors wouldn’t spread on the internet, but even so, these gazes were uncomfortable.

“You, a mere human… Why didn’t you listen to me?”

Her voice was full of tears.

I looked at Merri with indifferent eyes.

I was too flustered to know what expression I should make. I hadn’t even thought I needed to fix my expression.

Perhaps because of that, seeing my empty stare, Merri’s shoulders shook even more, filled with grief.

She probably thought I had cut off all emotional attachment to her a long time ago.

Merri seemed to think that way.

Drip.

Moisture gathered in Merri’s eyes, and soon, tears as big as marbles began to pool.

“If it was hard… you could have just said so….”

If I had said that, she would have probably yelled at me, calling me a whining human brat.

Until not too long ago, that was exactly how Merri’s personality was.

She would call me whenever she could, having me do massages, tend to her roots, water them, and even apply fertilizer. She would never do any of it on her own, and I had to take care of it all by myself.

These were all highly technical tasks, and if it weren’t for my high potential, it would have taken at least several decades of experience to accomplish them.

Yet, she told someone like me that I lacked perseverance and said things like “That’s why you’re just a human.” Of course, that made me feel bad.

Even if you expected to be insulted, it was still upsetting.

Drip, drip.

Tears fell onto the floor tiles.

Even in the midst of that, her gaze toward me remained fierce.

While tending to her, I often thought Merri gave off the impression of a princess who had thrown away all manners. Her hairstyle and appearance certainly added to that impression.

It felt like someone had pulled the imaginary Merri from my mind and brought her to life.

“Who’s that person?”

“Don’t you know? It’s Lee Shiheon. He’s from El Academy, with Jung Siwoo….”

For now, it seemed necessary to calm things down.

I unlocked the door, quickly entered the password, and spoke to Merri, who was staring at me from beside.

“For now, let’s go inside, Miss Merri.”

Merri nodded while sniffling.

I couldn’t tell if she was a tree or a cousin who cries at every little thing.

Somehow, I had felt at ease. No wonder today’s breakfast had tasted better than usual.

I let out a sigh.

---

Merri walked barefoot into the living room, leaving small footprints on the floor.

The tiny footprints reminded me of a puppy trotting through the snow, and for some reason, I found it adorable.

Specks of dirt fell onto the floor tiles.

Merri followed me, clutching the hem of her white robe in both hands.

“Please sit on the sofa over there. I’ll make tea shortly.”

“…Okay.”

Sniffling, she sat on the sofa as if it was natural for her to be served.

As I took out some high-quality tea leaves from the cupboard, I spoke to Merri.

“But becoming human? Didn’t you hate humans?”

It ended up sounding sarcastic, but I was genuinely curious.

I never thought someone like Merri, who despised humans so much, would tolerate having a body similar to theirs.

“You didn’t come. I called you over and over, but you never came.”

Maybe Merri misunderstood my question.

Her face, sitting on the sofa, turned teary once again.

Gurgle.

Pouring tea into the cup, I glanced at Merri, who kept sneaking looks at me. An indescribable feeling washed over me.

What should I even say?

I couldn’t believe I had tried to work things out with someone like her.

The thought made me feel like a piece of trash who was messing with a girl’s body.

Though she was twenty-eight and older than me, appearances often followed their original form, after all.

I handed Merri the tea and snacks.

Standing a step away from the sofa, I idly stared ahead until Merri asked cautiously.

“Hey…”

“Yes?”

She extended her thin index finger and pointed to the sofa in front of her.

“Aren’t… you going to sit?”

Was Merri actually allowing me to sit?

This was the same Merri who wouldn’t even let me breathe when we were within ten centimeters of each other.

What did she say back then? Something about feeling disgusted by even inhaling the carbon dioxide I exhaled?

I remember feeling hurt, as it was the harshest insult I’d ever heard.

‘Sure enough, her attitude has softened a lot. What on earth happened?’

I sat down on the sofa and put on a gentle expression, as I always did, with a faint smile.

“So, what brings you here?”

Merri didn’t answer right away.

Could she have come just to see me without any specific reason?

That didn’t seem likely. She probably hadn’t fully gathered her thoughts yet.

Well, whatever. What could I possibly do with someone like her?

Since she’s no longer my responsibility as the World Tree of Healing, I decided to treat her like a child who needed comforting.

I sat quietly, smiling, while waiting for her to organize her thoughts.

It took a long time.

“You.”

By the time the warmth of the teacup began to cool against my fingernails, Merri finally opened her lips cautiously.

“That thing you said last time… what did it mean?”

“Last time?”

“You said you couldn’t satisfy me…”

Couldn’t satisfy her.

She must be talking about when I stormed out of Merri’s room, pretending to be angry.

“Oh, that.”

To be honest, it was all an act.

I thought it would help fix some of her bad habits.

What kind of backlash would I face if I brought it up again now?

I carefully weighed my words.

After all, I had treated her with lies from beginning to end.

“……”

Her eyes wavered with unease.

Tremble.

Her tightly clenched fists were shaking too.

Since becoming human, it seemed like she couldn’t properly control her senses or emotions.

Was this some kind of side effect of becoming human?

It reminded me of a frightened puppy in an unfamiliar and scary place.

Blink.

Why did those red eyes look so innocent? And why did her tiny fists look so cute when clenched?

It was hard to remain unaffected when she appeared as a human, especially in the form of a child.

Even though she was older, a child was still a child.

Thinking this, I racked my brain to find the right words to say to Merri.

If I handled this well, maybe I could help her shake off her tree superiority complex.

I decided to avoid reprimanding her emotionally.

First, I needed to explain.

“So…”

Merri shut her eyes tightly.

Like a child awaiting scolding, she stiffened and fidgeted with her lips, unable to swallow.

What’s the best thing I could say right now?

I kept thinking while continuing to speak.

“Merri, you don’t like me, right? No matter what I do for you… it only seems to make you feel worse.”

Until now, her insults had been sharp, bordering on personal attacks.

“So I thought it would be better to just step back and fail.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Merri replied.

“…Then why didn’t you come? I called you, but you didn’t come…”

It was the same reason.

“If I went, I’d just hear more about how I’m a human… And you’d get stressed too.”

“Did I. Did I say I was stressed? I never said anything like that-”

“You did.”

“……”

That wasn’t the only thing.

“You also insulted my parents who gave birth to me. My future lover. Even my abilities.”

Merri avoided my gaze.

Her tightly closed lips didn’t seem like she was throwing a tantrum, but more like she had nothing left to say.

Did she not even remember what she had said?

She always used such harsh words that all she could think about was how to insult me further.

That’s just the kind of tree Merri was. She spent so much time thinking of insults that she couldn’t even recall what she had actually said.

“…That’s because you’re human.”

A childish complaint slipped from her lips.

“It’s… only natural…”

“Merri.”

“Hic…”

Why did she think that was natural?

It wasn’t as though the other trees had fed her these common-sense ideas.

Despite being hurt and wounded all on her own, she acted like a hedgehog, constantly showing her spikes. I couldn’t understand it.

Merri gave up looking at me again.

She tightly closed her eyes.

“Merri.”

I called her name once more.

Only then did she finally open her eyelids and meet my gaze.

Her shoulders were trembling irregularly, and a soft hiccup escaped.

Pheromones were already at work, in hopes of easing her tension.

“To be honest, I don’t understand.”

“What…”

“You’re a tree, Merri. A being higher than humans.”

Merri seemed to regain a bit of confidence from my somewhat agreeing words.

Although her voice was still shaking.

“Right, I’m above them, so… it’s natural… even if I insult you. And you…”

“Because you’re above them?”

At my words, Merri fell silent.

“Merri. Can I ask you a question?”

“……”

Nod.

“How have the humans you’ve met so far reacted to you, Merri?”

I spoke softly, as if handling a child.

My voice was as gentle as possible, aiming to make her feel comfortable.

I let a bit of my magical energy seep out, warming the air in the room.

“…They tried to flatter me.”

“Because that’s natural, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But how did it end?”

“They either insulted me behind my back or ran away.”

This time, I slightly changed the question.

“How about me?”

“…You’re the same.”

“Then why did you come looking for me?”

“Unlike the others, you didn’t insult me… You just said you were sorry, even though you didn’t have to be….”

She was aware.

Merri knew she had been treating humans harshly.

There must be some reason why she continued to push humans despite knowing that.

I couldn’t figure that out just yet. I needed to keep talking to her.

After asking the question, I remained silent for a long time.

I just stared at Merri.

She trembled for a long time. It looked like she wanted to escape this situation, distracted and avoiding my gaze as much as possible.

“Why… aren’t you saying anything?”

“Why do you think?”

I responded to her question with another question.

We waited for a long time. The minute hand on the clock moved several times.

I gave Merri as much space as possible to express her feelings. I set the stage for her to open up.

“…Do you…”

Finally, she spoke.

“Do you hate me too?”

I answered briefly.

“I do.”

Thud. The sound of her heart sinking echoed.

Merri clutched her chest in pain, blinking her tear-filled eyes.

The more she tried to dry her tears, the more they spilled out, falling onto the sofa in droplets.

“Most humans probably feel that way.”

“…Ugh. Sniff.”

What are these World Trees doing, not educating their children properly?

Without humans, they’d have no honor or power.

Treating humans like trash to be stepped on in a place that’s supposed to be the cradle of the trees… What were they thinking?

…Or maybe.

Merri might not even be worthy of receiving an education.

The World Tree of Healing received plenty of guidance and education upon arriving here.

So Merri was like one of those nobles on the outskirts.

Not particularly great, filling their inferiority complex by tearing others down.

“…Sniff, sob.”

Merri was holding back her tears as much as possible.

Tears kept falling to the floor.

“They’re all… the same….”

“Pardon?”

“…Why is it always just me…”

Another complaint.

I hid my weariness behind a friendly smile.

Well, she was a tree.

Maybe her mental age was younger than others’.

“They always say they’ll cast me out… They always, always insult me….”

“Is that so?”

“Because I’m an immature and underdeveloped World Tree, they always…”

This was a problem.

I intended to shock her, but it looks like I had hit too hard.

I smiled bitterly.

What should I do now?

When dealing with a child like Shiba, hugging them was always the best way to console them.

Without saying a word, I stood up and approached Merri.

She didn’t notice me coming, too busy crying her eyes out.

When someone’s mind was this shattered, there were usually a few ways to handle it.

You could keep pressing their mistakes, or you could empathize with them, comfort them first, and slowly persuade them.

I didn’t know which would work for Merri, but I moved my hand where my heart led.

“I haven’t finished speaking yet.”

I knelt down and hugged Merri.

She tried to pull away a little, but eventually, she collapsed into my arms, continuing to sob.

“I know it’s hard. Everyone insults you, so you start insulting them too. But if you keep insulting every person you meet, of course, they’re going to dislike you.”

“…Sniff, ugh, waaah.”

Sigh, now she couldn’t even respond.

I sighed and continued to pat Merri’s back.

“So maybe you could reach out to them first, so that people can start liking you, Merri.”

I wasn’t sure if she was really listening or not.

But if I could plant this thought in her head, maybe her attitude would soften over time.

Perhaps some of the humans who treated her like a nuisance might change their perspective when they see her transformation.

“Waaah… Sniff, sob, sniff.”

When would this end?

It had been a long time since I last experienced the exhaustion of consoling someone like this.