There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 99

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* * *

Morning of the next day.

Court wizard Cardin came in through the window of the state guest house.

“Phil! I came to hang out! I took a day off, so I can be with you all day today… Where are you going?”

His eyes caught his younger sister packing her luggage.

“Ah, Cardin. Welcome. But I have somewhere to go for a bit.”

“Where?”

“The Central Plains.”

“That far? When are you coming back!”

“Well, I’m not sure exactly how many days it will take…”

Le Guin, who was next to Philomel, looked at his second son.

“He would be perfect.”

Jeremiah frowned.

“No way. You want me to stay with this guy?”

“Then what do you want me to do? Do you have another option besides him?”

“…Tch.”

Listening to their conversation, Cardin wondered.

“What’s going on?”

Philomel smiled apologetically, looking embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I’m putting you through some trouble.”

A moment later, Cardin, transformed into Philomel, looked in the mirror.

“I’m… Phil?”

Le Guin, who had cast the spell on him, explained.

“What you see is an illusion, but it’s actually your body. You’re going to play the role of a doll here while we travel.”

“No! I want to go with Phil, too! I finally got a day off!”

“No. Phil and I are going alone.”

“That’s unfair!”

“You just watch the house. That’s an order as the Tower Master.”

“You don’t even work usually, but you only bring up Tower Master at times like this!”

“If you’re jealous, you can be the Tower Master.”

Philomel looked at the father and son arguing, feeling awkward.

‘How childish…’

It was yesterday that Le Guin suggested they travel to the Central Plains, where the World Tree was located.

It was fine that they decided to leave this morning since she had to pack, but there was one problem.

She would be away for more than two days, and she was worried about leaving only a non-speaking doll here. Jeremiah’s assistance would also have its limits.

‘But if I officially announce it to those around me and go out, things will get complicated.’

The Central Plains was a land of different races, untouched by humans. Everyone would make a fuss about taking a strong escort if they were to go there.

The idea that came out after much deliberation was to use magic to transform someone else into Philomel, and Cardin appeared just as they were discussing who to transform into a doll.

“I want to go play, too!”

Philomel looked at Cardin, who was grumbling while looking like her, and put on the most desperate expression she could.

“Please. There’s no one else who can do this role but Cardin.”

“…Really?”

His eyes wavered.

“Of course. I’m entrusting it to you because Cardin is trustworthy.”

“…I’m trustworthy?”

“Of course.”

She nodded vigorously, and Cardin’s expression brightened.

“Now that I think about it, it’s the first time. Someone has entrusted me with something other than using my strength!”

He smiled brightly, feeling happy, and clenched his fist tightly.

“Trust me! I’ll perfectly imitate you!”

“I trust you.”

“Phil, please go and come back at ease. Jeremiah and I will protect this place.”

“…I don’t talk like that.”

“Huh? Don’t you use it with other people either?”

“I don’t use it with anyone.”

It seemed that the noble lady in his imagination used that kind of tone externally.

Philomel became very uneasy and gave Cardin strict instructions before packing a small bag.

Le Guin held out his hand. As she took it, a light flashed.

* * *

“Wow!”

Philomel exclaimed, standing before the vast plains.

It was a magnificent sight that made her heart soar. And there was an even more amazing tree than the plains.

The tree, stretching so high that it seemed to touch the sky, looked down on the world.

The World Tree. A giant tree located in the center of this continent.

She had only heard of it, but this was the first time she had seen it in person.

Le Guin turned his head and looked around, saying.

“World Tree, where are you?”

“Isn’t this tree the World Tree?”

“There’s a separate avatar that can communicate, not the main body.”

“I see. I didn’t know.”

“It’s a guy who avoids the eyes of others.”

Fire rose from his hand.

“I’ll have to call him out with this.”

“…What are you going to do?”

“If I set fire to a branch, he’ll pop out quickly.”

Philomel, horrified, hurriedly grabbed his wrist.

“No!”

“It’s okay. I’ll put it out before the fire spreads wide.”

“That’s not the problem! Setting fire to a sacred tree is a terrible sacrilege!”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ve done it a few times, and nothing happened.”

Philomel was speechless at his nonchalant attitude.

‘What on earth is he doing usually…?’

In any case, the World Tree was an important figure. From now on, they had to get information about other worlds from the World Tree.

‘Setting fire to such a figure is out of the question.’

The information they would give will go back in.

“I have no choice!”

Le Guin reluctantly gave up setting fire after Philomel’s persuasion and climbed the tree with agile movements.

Stepping on a branch, he said to Philomel.

“While I’m looking for the World Tree, why don’t you go over there and look at the flowers so you don’t get bored?”

In the direction he pointed, there was a wide flower field. After Le Guin disappeared, she followed his words and moved there, and unknown yellow flowers greeted Philomel.

“…Pretty.”

There were plenty of flowers in the Nanggung Garden, but the scale was different, as expected of the Central Plains.

She walked for a while, admiring the flower field that stretched endlessly beyond the horizon. Her heart was pounding in a new world she had never experienced before.

But at that moment.

The yellow scenery was tinged with pink. And the cheerful music in her memory echoed in her ears.

“…!”

Philomel, surprised, rubbed her eyes, and the pink color and music disappeared like bubbles.

‘Again.’

The strange phenomenon she experienced on the Shooting Star Rock was repeated once again.

“Something’s definitely wrong.”

When she first experienced it, she thought she had a dream in her sleep. But now she was completely sober.

“…I need to investigate that rock.”

After meeting the World Tree, she should head to the village where Elencia lived.

When she saw it, it was just an ordinary rock, but if Le Guin, the Tower Master, saw it, he might find something suspicious.

Thinking that, Philomel tripped over something.

“Ugh!”

Someone lying on the floor screamed.

A short, stocky height that seemed to reach only her waist, bulging eyes, and a very long beard.

‘It’s a dwarf!’

Philomel was surprised to find a dwarf buried in the flowers. Come to think of it, the vicinity of the World Tree was the territory where the dwarves lived.

The old dwarf, his face flushed red, got up.

“What? It’s a human. How did you get here?”

The dwarf’s expression turned sour rapidly.

“Get out! This is not a place for a little human like you!”

The dwarves were a race that was particularly exclusive to other races. Especially to humans.

Philomel was worried that he might harm her, but that was not the case.

The old dwarf staggered and fell repeatedly.

“Hic.”

He was so drunk that he could hardly control his body.

The dwarf, who fell back into the flower field, shouted.

“Where’s my bottle? My bottle!”

“…Are you looking for this?”

Philomel handed him the bottle that was lying nearby, and the dwarf’s face lit up.

“Where did you find this!”

“Over there. It might be meddling, but I think you’ve already had enough to drink. Shouldn’t you stop drinking now?”

The dwarf looked up at her quietly.

“You… you’re a kind human?”

Soon, the dwarf, who was sitting on a log as a chair, continued to talk.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a kind human! I’m sorry I reacted sharply at first. I’ve been suffering from a vicious human for over ten years.”

“A vicious human?”

Philomel, who sat next to him, asked.

Talking to a dwarf was a rare experience. The dwarves were an entire race of excellent warriors and miners. They were blacksmiths and architects.

Occasionally, dwarf delegations visited the empire, but she had never had a private conversation with them.

The dwarf, emptying his bottle, nodded.

“There is. Such a guy. We call him the White Devil.”

The White Devil?

“His actions are so devilish. We’re breaking our backs every year to prepare the minerals that he takes away.”

The dwarf swept his funny-looking beard with a somewhat nervous gesture.

“I have a duty as a chief to protect my clan, but when I think of that guy, I need a drink.”

“That must be hard.”

“That’s right! If you ask what kind of guy he is…”

As Philomel chimed in appropriately, the chief dwarf began to enthusiastically slander the ‘White Devil’.

Devil, psycho, madman.

It seemed that the chief dwarf knew all the swear words he knew. Whoever he was, he seemed like a very bad guy.

‘But if he’s so bad, can’t you ask for cooperation from the human side and punish him?’

As Philomel was about to voice this question, a golden fruit was held out in front of her.

Le Guin had already come up behind her.

“Did you already find the World Tree?”

“No, not yet. I brought this in case you were hungry. Eat it.”

He placed the World Tree’s fruit on Philomel’s palm.

‘Is it okay to just pick this like this?’

Even the World Tree fruits that were offered to the emperor of the empire were naturally fallen from the tree to the ground. As such, it was impious to pick the World Tree fruit carelessly.

‘But a man who sets fire to branches wouldn’t care about that.’

Philomel looked down at the fruit with a sullen expression.

“Excuse me…”

At that time, the chief dwarf opened his mouth in a trembling voice.

“Ah.”

Only then did Philomel recall the other presence in this place.

“Le Guin, this is the chief of the dwarves. I happened to meet him here and we were talking…”

Philomel’s voice trailed off as she noticed the chief’s condition.

The chief dwarf was trembling, his face pale white. The red energy that had filled his face with drunkenness had completely disappeared.