novelraw Chapter 473: Macaron
Chapter 473: Macaron
The towering stone tower in the center of the Ideal State seemed to be the only building that existed since its construction. From the outside, it appeared extremely magnificent, yet within, there wasn't much decoration, making it seem rather cold and desolate.
The entire high tower exhibited a four-story hollow structure, yet an upright stone pillar rose from the middle straight to the top floor. Fisher didn't know what it was used for; he only felt that upon entering, his overall body temperature dropped a bit, as if certain existences around him had become more active.
Margaret walked ahead smilingly. She and Earl Tsubaki went up the spiral staircase hugging the tower's periphery one after another. She casually opened her mouth to speak.
"Actually, when you first entered the Tree Continent and met Tsubaki, I noticed you all. However, I didn't act rashly to expose myself, because this could bring disaster to Tsubaki. If Lord Tao hadn't been about to bring down her butcher's knife upon you, I wouldn't have been forced to use the loom to obstruct the truth to delay her."
Looking at her back, Fisher inquired.
"In other words, the one who obscured destiny was also you."
"Mm, the Lord Tao existing in the past, though powerful, possessed a fatal flaw. Because the bestowed past was both a blessing and a shackle, this caused Lord Tao to have her view obscured by a single leaf, easily losing her direction. As long as she doesn't know how I stole the Loom of Fate, she certainly wouldn't know my current degree of control over the loom, and thus wouldn't dare to act rashly."
Margaret and them quickly reached the top of the towering tower. Here, it was a hollowed-out shape, thus ventilated on all four sides. From here, one could clearly see the entirety of the Ideal State below and the undulating mountains outside.
It was also here that the stone pillar rising straight up the center of the tower to the top finally ended. It turned out this was an extremely profound pool of water. Fisher cast his gaze into it, yet only saw a patch of pitch black, as if this pool of water was bottomless, just like an abyss.
The furnishings beside the pool of water were also extremely spartan: a large bed, a large table, and several chairs made of Tsubaki wood. The number of chairs perfectly corresponded to the current number of people; it seemed Margaret had long known the number of incoming guests.Several stacks of extremely exquisite desserts and alien-world tea made from some unnamed leaves were laid out on the table. She also smiled and introduced them to Fisher's group.
"These are hometown desserts I recreated adapting to local conditions, macarons and chestnut cake. Please, let's talk while we eat."
Fisher and the others took their seats one after another. Asuka Karasawa initially wanted to sit in the seat closest to Fisher, but Helaire had already smilingly claimed that spot. The other side of Fisher had no remaining seats, and further over was the vacant seat opposite the table beside Margaret.
She stood in place, glancing at the seat on the other side. But before she move her feet, Margaret opposite her had already smiled and waved at her, speaking.
"Asuka, if you don't mind, please sit beside me?"
"Eh?"
Asuka Karasawa paused slightly, and Margaret also looked at her, thinking her form of address was incorrect.
"Mm? I heard that for Japanese people, the surname comes first and the given name second. Was my address incorrect?"
"Ah, no, no, no..."
Asuka Karasawa smiled and waved her hands, then glanced at Fisher before carefully sitting beside Margaret. The group thus sat around the table in a circle.
Margaret smiled, watching Asuka Karasawa pull out a chair and sit beside her. Her gaze remained fixed upon her, continuously scrutinizing the other party even after Asuka Karasawa had brought her legs together and sat properly.
"Madam Margaret, is there something wrong with me?"
"No, how could there be..." Hearing this, Margaret froze slightly, then smiled and picked up her teacup, taking a sip of tea before saying, "I just felt you are very young yet no longer a child, exactly at the most beautiful stage of life. I used to have a daughter; if she were still around now, she should be the same age as you. I wonder if she would be as tall as you..."
"I also heard you mention this inside Lord Tao's barrier..."
"Haha, because the me from half a year ago is also me. I think of my child every moment, and this moment is no exception."
Margaret's eyes went blank for a moment, silently staring at the ripple-less pool of water in the distance. Asuka Karasawa also gazed at her side profile until she withdrew her gaze a second or two later and continued speaking.
"Alright, back to business. I roughly know the purpose of your previous trip to the Tree Continent and your current visit to the Ideal State. It's for the Tear of the World Tree, right?"
Fisher nodded, speaking to Margaret.
"Exactly. If I'm not mistaken, the Tear of the World Tree is just a complimentary item of the Loom of Fate, which is why we took the liberty to come. We have prepared remuneration for it; if you have any needs, you can bring them up. We only want the Tear of the World Tree."
The negotiation process escalated very quickly. Whenever this happened, Asuka Karasawa would cautiously fall silent, carefully listening from the side. After all, she rarely experienced such things before, only beginning to encounter them after arriving in the other world.
Mm, the only negotiation she had ever experienced was exchanging math homework answers with a classmate for the ownership rights to the last yakisoba pan at the store during lunch break.
Margaret was just about to answer when her peripheral vision caught sight of Asuka Karasawa's nervous, sit upright and still, adorable appearance. She smiled faintly and pushed an untouched dessert from the others in front of Asuka Karasawa, whispering to her.
"No need to be nervous, we are not enemies... Your mood will improve if you eat some sweets, so my preparations won't go to waste."
"Ah, thank you, Madam Margaret."
Asuka Karasawa hastily reached out and accepted the macaron she handed over. Only then did she cup the macaron in both hands and slowly stuff it into her mouth. Instantly, a sweet berry flavor exploded in her mouth, making her involuntarily narrow her eyes.
Oishii! (Delicious!)
Margaret smiled, watching the chipmunk-cheeked Asuka Karasawa. Then she reached out and tapped her own lips, signaling that the other party had food crumbs around her lips.
And the reminded Asuka Karasawa also hurriedly flushed red, instantly reaching out to cover her mouth. Subsequently, she blinked and, under the cover of both hands, stealthily used her little tongue to swallow the food beside her lips.
"Regarding the Tear of the World Tree..."
Margaret turned her head back to continue the negotiation, only to see that beside the handsome gentleman who appeared to be the leader, that "man" with blonde curly hair poked the gentleman's shoulder as if possessing a daughterly demeanor, even whispering coquettishly at him.
"I want to eat that too..."
Margaret raised her eyebrows, seemingly not anticipating such a turn of events; even the words about to leave her mouth couldn't help but tremble.
And the being-urged-by-Helaire Fisher speechlessly sidled a glance at her, then helplessly reached out to retrieve a macaron and stuffed it into her mouth. And Helaire also swayed her body in complete satisfaction, causing Margaret's eyebrows to twitch involuntarily once again. It seemed that even for romantic French people, the version before her was still far too advanced.
Mikhail and Gou Wen beside them were completely holding back their laughter, seemingly thinking of happy things; while Nekelia was looking out the window, continuing to be in a daze.
"Ahem, Madam Margaret, what were you saying just now?"
"Ah, about the matter regarding the Tear of the World Tree..."
Recovering her senses, Margaret patted her hands lightly, dusting off the crumbs from feeding Asuka Karasawa the macaron earlier before looking toward the direction of the pool of water behind Fisher.
"You should have already learned of our current predicament when you were in the Sanctuary. Forced with no alternative, I utilized the Loom of Fate to locate the position of [Death]. As everyone can see, the resting place of Goddess of Death Heya is deep underground, connected to the pool behind you."
Hearing this, Fisher turned to look at the pool right in the middle of the high tower. Beneath that dark water surface, which seemed to lead to the center of the earth, faint pale golden light flickered intermittently at this moment.
"The loom possesses an extremely sensitive trait. This seems to share the same root and origin as the power of destiny possessed by the Elves. The World Tree defied the True God's order and privately gifted it to Bing to escape death. It therefore sensed the aura of death and revealed to me the source of that power. Following its guidance, I endured the hardships of a long journey to arrive here and used its power to carve out a path to death..."
"But the threat only works against the Elves; it poses no threat whatsoever to their mother, the World Tree. The reason she didn't take action during these half-year was entirely owing to the Elf King; her power temporarily substituted the loom to maintain his candle in the wind life. But ever since you killed the Elf King, her single misgiving was also eliminated. Half a month later, with the help of the World Tree, the Elf King will commence a reincarnating process lasting four years. After that, I will be forced to face the enraged World Tree and her descendants."
Margaret took a sip of tea, supplementing more details regarding this matter.
Fisher roughly understood why Margaret could continue wandering freely outside relying on a human body for half a year without the World Tree settling scores with her. Rightly speaking, with the World Tree's Twentieth-Tier immense power, it was unlikely she would be constrained by methods such as hers. The veritable reason restraining her was even simpler than Fisher imagined: namely the Elf King Bing.
Fisher was just somewhat puzzled. Since Elves could all reincarnate, and never experienced true death, why would the World Tree exert all her might to prevent his death? Obviously, Lord Tao had already died and reincarnated once before; the World Tree wasn't witnessed performing such actions previously.
Was it merely due to favoritism?
For some reason, Fisher abruptly remembered the words spoken by the Elf King on his deathbed.
He wasn't afraid of Lord Tao seizing power, nor was he worried about the Li he constructed falling into a state of collapse. What he truly worried about was an impending great chaos, and that great chaos seemingly additionally involved their youngest, long-disappeared sister Gui.
Then the question returned to the starting point. What kind of objective did Gui ultimately possess, and what kind of role did she play in this matter?
"The situation is roughly like this. But I believe you had already prepared the remuneration to exchange for the Tear of the World Tree prior to coming here. May I hear the remuneration you offer?"
Margaret's words came to an abrupt end. Subsequently carrying a change in tone, she transitioned to asking about another matter.
Fisher was just about to open his mouth, but Asuka Karasawa spoke first somewhat excitedly. Assuredly, she said to Margaret.
"Madam Margaret, it's a method to return home. Angel Pandora from the Sanctuary can take us back to our original worlds; she only wants the Tear of the World Tree."
Hearing this, Earl Tsubaki, who had been quietly listening beside them all along, abruptly looked at her. Following which, that pressure belonging to the Mythical Rank crept outward bit by bit, making Asuka Karasawa shiver all over instantly and involuntarily glance at the other party.
Naturally, the people around all knew the reason why. However, Asuka Karasawa was too young, and her train of thought was rather one-dimensional, thus it was easy to commit errors.
The issue lay in the fact that Margaret could accept the remuneration and leave this world patting her bottom, but what about Tsubaki?
He was originally a person of this world, and moreover, he had stolen the Loom of Fate for Margaret's sake, or rather for other reasons. In the event Margaret left, the pressure from the Elves and the World Tree would all fall straight upon his head. What's more, judging by his expression, he seemingly couldn't manipulate the loom like Margaret.
"Ah, thank you for your kind intentions, Asuka. But regarding leaving here, I currently possess no aspirations. My hometown holds no attachments anymore, and moreover, there are people who need me here. If I leave, Tsubaki and the subjects he brought over, along with the other living beings on the Dragon Continent who came to seek asylum in the Ideal State, would all suffer calamitous disaster. I cannot do so."
Instantly, Asuka Karasawa seemed to realize something. She turned her head to look at Fisher, assuming she probably had caused trouble again. But Fisher didn't speechlessly blame her, because he was just about to say the words Asuka Karasawa had spoken.
It's not that he couldn't read the atmosphere, but rather, ever since arriving at the Ideal State, he had roughly developed an inkling.
Since Margaret could accurately prophesize their arrival, she likely knew the remuneration they proposed. And given that, she still allowed Tsubaki to listen in from the side, which meant she had zero intention of accepting their remuneration.
And conversely, given that being the case, she was still willing to meet them, not to mention she had previously disclosed the current situation first. This went to show that what Margaret wanted was another kind of remuneration, moreover, it was one they could provide. Therefore, proposing a rejected plan first posed no major harm.
Therefore, although Asuka Karasawa was still on the first layer, in reality, her actions coincided with the fifth layer's methods, striking lucky by a fluke.
"Then, Madam Margaret, aside from this kind of remuneration, what else do you desire? We will try our best to satisfy it, only to exchange for the Tear of the World Tree."
Margaret initially threw a glance at the cowering Asuka beside her, seemingly consoling her by stating.
"No need to be nervous. Actually, just as you said earlier, the Tear of the World Tree is merely an accompanying item to me. It wouldn't hurt even to gift it to you. However, since I haven't fully mastered the loom, it's currently locked down by my interference with the rule of death, unable to move a single inch. Naturally, the Tear of the World Tree linked to it cannot be extracted either..."
"In reality, the items of True Gods are not usable by just anyone. Even the World Tree's descendant Tsubaki cannot control it. The reason I am able to utilize it is because I am a Transferred Person carrying a dense aura of Chaos, which is why Bing imprisoned me to extract blood. Yet relying solely on the power of me alone is still insufficient to fully master it, therefore... what I truly desire for remuneration, is Asuka..."
Hearing her own name, Asuka Karasawa jerked her head up instantly, meeting Margaret's gentle gaze. Subsequently, somewhat in disbelief, she pointed at herself and asked.
"Eh eh eh, me?"
"Correct, but no need to be so nervous. I merely wish to invite you to collaborate with me in controlling the loom during this period. With your assistance, I am confident in fully seizing control of the Loom of Fate within half a month. By doing so, even if the World Tree and the Elves wish to settle accounts with me, I will be capable of relying upon Death and the loom, and won't be entirely stripped of resistance. At the same time, upon completion, you will take away the Tear of the World Tree and leave this place. Our subsequent paths will also no longer intertwin. What do you all think?"
The gazes of everyone surrounding them all turned over. Fisher didn't voice his agreement either, handing the power of decision over to her, but this made her exceptionally unaccustomed.
She gulped a mouthful of saliva, waiting for a long time before answering in a small voice.
"Of... of course, if I can help you, but I completely don't know what to do."
"It doesn't matter, Asuka, I will teach you."
Margaret handed another macaron to her, saying gently to her in such a manner.
And Asuka Karasawa pursed her lips, looking at the Margaret beside her, then nodded vigorously, reaching out to accept the macaron she handed over.
She didn't eat that macaron, merely holding it constantly. Yet even so, that sugary sweet taste seemingly still took root and sprouted on her hand, spreading all the way down.