The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 519

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 519   Human greed and deeds

… Well, leaving that aside, there’s something I’m curious about.

“Why didn’t they completely kill the Sacred Tree? Even if it was cut down, wouldn’t it be in the way if it remained? If anything, it wouldn’t be strange to burn it along with its protective duties, right?”

From a brief investigation, I could sense the power of the Sacred Tree, and the results of the conversation with Flora and Lilia were the same. Roroel’s reaction was also like that. Probably, the Sacred Tree here is still alive. It’s incredible to think that it can survive in a place filled with such curses, but at the same time, a question arises.

That is, why didn’t they completely deal with the Sacred Tree, as I just mentioned?

Did they think it died because they cut the trunk? Unbelievable. Although it has now become a huge organization that essentially controls the Holy Kingdom, the largest religion in the world, it was originally just one of many. They would have wanted to proceed with things reliably because it would be inconvenient. Moreover, they had originally built a cooperative relationship with the guardians of the Sacred Tree and were also betrayers who had turned against them. It’s inconceivable that they would not confirm the aftermath. They definitely would have been curious about what happened to the Sacred Tree and would have confirmed it.

Yet, despite cutting the trunk, the Sacred Tree here is still alive.

“That’s easy. The barrier of the Holy City is drawing power from here. It uses the trunk of the Sacred Tree and feeds on elves, but the source of the power that underlies it all is ultimately here. That’s why the barrier can’t be set up without it remaining.”

I see. It’s only drawing the power from this place to the Holy City and not creating a barrier within the Holy City itself.

In that case, to somehow dispel that barrier, do I need to do something about this place? But how? If the source of the barrier is the Sacred Tree, it might be possible to lift it by completely killing the Sacred Tree. However, I don’t want to do that, and Roroel wouldn’t allow it either.

… Well, originally, I intended to somehow restore the Sacred Tree in this place to normal, and in the process, I might find something. Even if I don’t understand, the barrier itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a barrier to enhance plants. So, I think it’s okay to leave it alone.

“Did you ever consider destroying the Holy City or seeking revenge?”

“Of course. If I could, I’d want to do it even now. …But, I had something to do on my own.”

“Something to do?”

“Yeah. That’s the reason why I’m still here, the reason why I’m clumsily continuing to live.”

Saying that, Roroel briefly lowered his gaze to his own hands, but immediately lifted his face again.

“Elves can transform their form into trees. And that was intentionally triggered by human hands, as you said. So, what do you think the method was? …Well, let’s ask the puppet from a different world over there.”

“Huh, um, puppet… Oh, me?”

“What’s wrong? Give me an answer.”

Although the hero had been treated coldly until then, he became flustered when suddenly addressed by Roroel. Perhaps there was also a sense of discomfort and agitation about being referred to as a ‘puppet.’

Ignoring the hero’s reaction, Roroel urged him to answer.

“…I guess it was using machinery or tools, after all?”

“Tools… tools, huh… Well, indeed, you used tools.”

In response to the hero’s answer, Roroel smiled in a somewhat indescribable way and slowly stood up. Then, he approached the shelf in one corner of the room and opened a drawer, taking something out.

“This may be just a tool.”

Placed on the table as if casually thrown, it looked like a metal ornament, but a spring-like object could be seen through a slightly opened gap.

I couldn’t definitively say what it was, having never seen it before. However, I had seen something similar, and even in my knowledge, I had come across something like this.

“What’s this?”

“Don’t understand, huh? Well, I guess that’s expected. You wouldn’t be able to comprehend it at your level.”

He still treated the hero with coldness and a mocking attitude, but right now, such things didn’t matter. He could mock the hero as much as he wanted.

More than that, I couldn’t take my eyes off what was presented in front of me.

“Hey, Roroel. What is this…”

“What’s up? Do you perhaps know what this is?”

“…A torture device.”

“What!?”

“…Correct. As expected of the child of the sacred tree. Quite knowledgeable.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“Absolutely not. It’s a genuine compliment… Though, I’m not sure if knowing about this is praiseworthy or not.”

Roroel smiled at my words and praised me, but it wasn’t something that made me happy or anything.

What lay before us now was, as mentioned, a type of torture device.

A pear of anguish. I didn’t know what it was called here, but on Earth, it had such a name.

Although the details were different, I had seen it as an image, and I had seen torture devices in this world too. After all, I had been in places like Karakas. I had seen about ten or twenty of those kinds of things in real life.

There was a unique atmosphere to them, similar to those, seeking beauty while embodying madness.

“Hey, what’s the meaning of bringing out a torture device?! Why would something like that…!”

The hero probably hadn’t expected a torture device to appear. Moreover, he likely had never actually seen one before.

He stood up with a clatter, his voice becoming rough.

“Why, is it, why does something like this exist here? Or, why did I take it out now? …Well, no matter which ‘why’ you mean, it’s obvious that it’s because I intend to use it, right?”

That means… it must be something like that.

This had been used on the elves in the past. That’s why Roroel brought it out now.

“This is something that goes into human holes. By inserting it into a hole and twisting the handle, the tip opens up. Naturally, the hole is widened and eventually destroyed. And that hole could be the mouth or the anus, but there’s another place it’s more commonly used. That’s the genitalia. And especially, it’s used more on women than men.”

“Genitalia… using something like that…”

The hero, upon being told about genitalia, seemed somewhat embarrassed and slightly turned his face away. But in this situation, to be flustered by something like that… It just made me think that he wasn’t quite serious.

On Earth, the pear of anguish was used, I believe, on blasphemers or those who insulted gods. There might have been witch hunts too.

Setting aside the issue of same-sex relationships, using such a tool for those who insulted gods or witches seemed fitting, making use of the right tool for the job.

“Human deeds, should I say? No, maybe it’s more accurate to say desires?”

While wearing a cold and sarcastic smile, Roroel took the pear of anguish in his hand and began to turn it sharply.

Then, he directed the opened pear towards Canon…

“Well then, with such a tool—shall I use it on you too, Holy Maiden?”

Canon instinctively stood up, stepped back, and Darado interposed with his shield.

Lina, while holding her staff, exerted strength in her hands, but she didn’t stand up.

The hero, observing the situation with the three and Roroel, belatedly reached for his sword with a start. However, he seemed to hesitate to draw it, as only a small part of the blade was visible while the majority remained sheathed.

“…Just kidding. Well, not really a joke, considering I have this in the room because I’m actually considering it. But I don’t intend to use it in the current situation, so you can relax.”

In a situation that seemed like a fight might break out at any moment, Roroel said this with a joking tone, lowered the pear of anguish aimed at Canon, and once again turned the screw to close the pear.

“Now, let’s get back to the topic. It’s about why the elves turned into trees. I explained that elves can turn themselves into plants not only when they die, and I mentioned it can be done artificially. But to be precise, it’s more about being able to guide them to do so.”

Roroel stood the partially closed pear of anguish in the middle of the table and continued speaking.

Placing it there in that manner, you could feel this person’s unpleasantness and malice.

Well, I understand why he would want to do that, and it’s inevitable.

Ignoring the pear of anguish, I shifted my focus back to Roroel’s words. Being able to artificially turn elves into trees, huh?

But that doesn’t seem like a proper method.

Elves turn into trees when they die, and the Church guided the elves to become trees. That means…

“To make them wish for death… no, that’s not it. It’s about making them give up on living.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Exactly.”

“Give up on living?”

Roroel heard my words, his smile fading, replaced by a sad and regretful expression. However, the hero, seemingly not understanding the difference, repeated my words and tilted his head.

Indeed, they might seem similar, but they are vastly different.

It’s not about choosing to die. That would just be suicide. So, it’s about making them ‘give up on living.’ If you do that, they stop living and become a tree.

“If such a tool were used on them, it might be inevitable…”

While the hero might not fully grasp the meaning of my words, he offered his own answer while looking at the pear of anguish.

But…

“Huh? Don’t spout nonsense. We are not that weak.”

Upon hearing the hero’s words, Roroel directed a clear expression of anger towards him.