There's No Way the Hot Girls Would Fall for an Ordinary 'Healer NPC' Like Me! ~About How I'm Just Treating the Beat-Up Heroines, But For Some Reason Their Reactions Are Getting Really Weird~ - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: World Tree’s Fairy

“Pr-Princess… Are you really sure it’s okay for me to come along too?”

“Yes… I can’t just leave Kanaria behind like that…”

“Thank you, Princess… Hey, what are you looking at me for!”

“…N-no reason.”

Kanaria glares at me with damp, narrowed eyes.

Come on, it’s not my fault.

The girl who was tied up by vines just a little while ago, getting her breasts rubbed and saying stuff like “Khh… ♡” is suddenly joining us as a teammate?

My brain can’t keep up.

“…What’s with that look?”

“I-It’s nothing weird, I swear…”

“You’re totally lying!”

How does she know!

Kanaria turns red and covers her chest.

But she can’t really hide it.

If anything, it makes them stand out more.

Please stop.

The World Tree’s effect is still in me, so this is way too much stimulation.

“…Leon?”

Elfina peeks at me from the side, looking worried.

“Is the symptom coming back…?”

“N-No! I’m fine!”

That was close.

If I get hard again right now, Kanaria might actually kill me.

Well, her attitude has gotten a lot softer now.

Thanks to that, I can actually talk to her normally.

“…Hmph.”

Kanaria turns her face away and snorts.

“Fine. About what happened earlier… I… I’m grateful.”

Oh.

She actually says thank you properly.

“But don’t get the wrong idea! I-I haven’t accepted you or anything!”

Whoa, she suddenly started talking like a template character.

That actually feels reassuring somehow.

“Yeah yeah.”

“What’s with that half-hearted reply!”

Kanaria yells again.

But there’s no killing intent like before.

She just seems a bit thrown off.

Elfina watches the two of us and gives a small smile.

“…I’m glad.”

“Glad about what?”

“It looks like you and Kanaria might become friends… ♡”

“That’s impossible!”

Kanaria shouts, her face bright red.

Hey, you don’t have to deny it that hard, do you?

That kinda hurts a little.

“I-I’m only coming along because the Princess ordered it! Don’t get any weird ideas!”

“Yeah yeah.”

“Stop with the half-hearted replies already!”

This knight is such a handful.

But she’s way more energetic than before, which is good.

She seemed scary at first, but once I got used to her, it’s not so bad.

I shrug my shoulders and start walking.

“We’re heading deeper into the World Tree Hall, right?”

“…Yes ♡”

Elfina nods.

She looks a little relieved.

But the next moment, Kanaria’s face turns serious.

“…Wait.”

“Hm?”

“From here on, it’s really dangerous.”

Her voice sounds so knight-like that it’s hard to believe she’s the same person who was going “Khh… ♡” earlier.

She switches fast.

“Dangerous because of the fairy?”

“…Yeah.”

Kanaria gives a small nod.

“Ever since the World Tree started acting strange, no one can get close to the inner part of the World Tree Hall anymore.”

“Is the fairy going wild or something?”

“Not exactly going wild, but…”

Kanaria hesitates a bit.

“…People who get close start acting weird.”

“Acting weird?”

“They suddenly start laughing, see hallucinations… Some even walk straight toward the World Tree like they want to be absorbed by it.”

Whoa, this just got horror-movie level.

Elfina presses on her chest, looking uneasy too.

“…The fairy was originally the protector of the World Tree… But now…”

“…She’s completely an enemy?”

“I don’t know…”

Elfina quietly shakes her head.

“But… I think she’s probably suffering.”

When she says that, Kanaria looks down.

…I see.

So it’s not just a simple “beat her up” situation.

“Well, we just have to go see for ourselves.”

When I say that, both of them look at me at the same time.

“Leon… Aren’t you scared?”

“Oh, I’m scared out of my mind.”

It’s seriously scary.

A fairy sounds super dangerous.

But—

“We can’t turn back after coming this far.”

When I say that, Elfina smiles softly.

On the other hand, Kanaria’s face turns a little red for some reason.

“…You’re a weird guy.”

Kanaria lets out a sigh like she’s fed up.

But her voice doesn’t have that sharp edge from before.

It actually sounds like she’s a bit relieved.

We keep walking down the passage that leads deeper into the World Tree Hall.

The air around us slowly starts to change.

It was just quiet at first, but the deeper we go, the stronger this strange feeling gets.

The air feels heavy.

A ringing noise like tinnitus keeps echoing in the back of my head.

“This feels… off…”

“…Yes. From here on, the World Tree’s magic power is getting really thick…”

Elfina looks around with a tense face.

Kanaria keeps her hand on her sword.

“Stay alert. Anything could happen here.”

That’s when it hit.

‘—Why?’

“!?”

A girl’s whisper right by my ear.

It felt like it came from right behind me, so I spin around.

But no one was there.

“Leon…?”

“D-Did you guys hear that just now?”

“…Hear what?”

Elfina tilts her head, looking puzzled.

Kanaria stays on guard and scans the area.

‘Why… are you coming…?’

There it is again.

This time it’s even closer.

It feels like the voice is ringing straight inside my head.

And it sounds kind of sad.

“…!”

A chill runs down my spine.

This is scary.

Plain scary.

I hate horror stuff.

“Leon, are you okay…?”

Elfina grabs my sleeve, looking worried.

Her warmth helps me calm down a little.

“…I keep hearing a voice.”

“A voice…?”

“It’s a girl’s voice. Saying why are you coming…”

The second I say that, both Elfina and Kanaria’s expressions change.

“…Just as I thought.”

Kanaria mutters quietly.

“It’s the fairy…”

Right after that.

A faint green light starts leaking from the end of the passage.

“…!”

We all stop walking without thinking.

And then—

The next moment, the view opens up all at once.

What stands in front of us is one insanely huge tree.

It’s so massive it looks like it’s holding up the sky itself.

The trunk is thick like a mountain, and countless branches and leaves are glowing.

“…This tree is the World Tree.”

Elfina points at the tree right in front of us. Its glow feels somehow wrong.

It’s beautiful, but creepy.

It should be full of life, but it feels like it’s breaking apart.

And at the base of the World Tree, a small girl is sitting there all alone.

Well, I kinda expected it, but—

Why is the fairy naked too!!