It was just after sunrise when the ground started shaking like a toddler trying to carry too many watermelons.
Kazuki stumbled out of the inn, still in his pajamas.
The sky was cloudless. Birds chirped. Everything looked peaceful.
Until the tree walked into view.
Not a tree.
The tree.
It was easily ten stories tall, with bark like volcanic stone, glowing lines of green energy swirling through its limbs. Roots dragged behind it like tentacles, and branches spiraled with lightning leaves.
It had a face.
A face that was very, very angry.
Kazuki rubbed his eyes. "Okay, new rule. No more assuming anything here is just a tree."
The villagers screamed and scattered.
Tala appeared beside him, blades half-drawn. "That's a Kodomoku. Ancient forest guardian spirit. They don't leave their territories unless provoked."
"Please tell me it's not mad at me again."
"…It's staring directly at you."
Kazuki blinked.
The giant tree bent its entire trunk, lowering its face toward him. Its voice rumbled across the valley like boulders grinding together.
"YOU TOOK WHAT WAS NOT YOURS."
Kazuki pointed to himself. "Me?"
"THE SACRED BLOOM OF AEON'S ROOT."
"I haven't even touched a flower all week! I sneezed near one once, maybe?"
Smile bounced up between them, unusually quiet.
Kazuki narrowed his eyes.
"Smile."
The slime looked away.
"Did you eat the magical flower?"
Smile pretended not to hear.
"SMILE."
The Kodomoku roared, roots slamming into the earth.
"RETURN THE BLOOM OR FACE MY WRATH!"
Smile wobbled. Then very slowly… spat out a glowing pink petal.
Kazuki stared.
"You did eat it?! Why?!"
Smile burped apologetically.
Tala raised a brow. "It's a slime. It probably just thought it was shiny and edible."
"Everything is shiny to Smile!"
The Kodomoku groaned, its massive bark body creaking.
"DEFILEMENT. DESTRUCTION. I WILL NOT FORGIVE."
"Wait, wait!" Kazuki held up his hands. "Can't we just… return the petal? Do a formal apology? Bake you a cake?"
"I REQUIRE RETRIBUTION."
A giant root whipped forward.
Kazuki braced for impact—only to be snatched away by a gust of feathers.
"YUKIMARU! My glorious eagle!"
The Philippine eagle shrieked majestically and soared into the air with Kazuki dangling from his talons.
Tala leapt up a boulder and threw two spirit knives, slicing through a pair of roots. "I'll hold him back—go stall the murder tree!"
Kazuki, still flailing mid-air, shouted, "Why is stalling always my job?!"
Yukimaru banked hard, diving back toward the Kodomoku's upper branches.
✦
System Notification
[Kazuki Amano – Active Quest: "Oops, I Might've Started a War with a Tree God"]
Objective: Survive long enough to calm or escape the Kodomoku. Optional Bonus: Restore the Sacred Bloom. Warning: Failing to pacify the Kodomoku may result in regional destruction.
✦
High in the Canopy – Minutes Later
Kazuki clung to a tree limb, panting.
"Okay. New plan. Find out what this tree really wants."
He closed his eyes. Called on his newly acquired skill.
[Spirit Sympathy – Activate]
Suddenly, the world shifted. The rustling of leaves became whispers. The vibrations in the bark turned into murmurs.
He heard… sadness?
A voice, softer than before, echoed through his mind.
"It was the last bloom… from a friend long passed."
Kazuki's heart dropped.
So the Kodomoku wasn't just mad—it was grieving.
He looked down at Smile, who sat on a nearby branch, bouncing guiltily.
Kazuki sighed. "Okay, little guy. You broke it, we fix it."
Smile blinked, then reached into his gelatinous body…
…and pulled out the entire flower, untouched, glowing softly inside a slime-safe bubble.
Kazuki froze. "You had the whole bloom this entire time?!"
Smile wobbled innocently.
"Unbelievable. You're like a walking fridge that eats sacred artifacts."
✦
Ground Level – Moments Later
Kazuki floated gently down using Yukimaru's windburst feathers, holding the bloom like it was a bomb made of glass and emotions.
The Kodomoku's golden eyes narrowed.
"YOU DARE MOCK ME FURTHER—"
"No, wait! It was a misunderstanding! The slime ate it, but he preserved it. It's fine! Look!"
He held out the bloom.
The air trembled.
A slow, booming silence followed.
The Kodomoku leaned forward… and gently plucked the bloom from Kazuki's hands using a root.
The petals pulsed.
Light surged through the ground. The Kodomoku glowed brighter, and dozens of tiny spirit buds bloomed along its limbs.
Then, to everyone's astonishment…
It bowed.
Kazuki gawked. "Wait… are you forgiving me?"
"YOU ARE… A FOOL. BUT A FOOL WITH HEART."
Smile made a proud glorp.
Tala landed beside them. "Did we just… resolve ancient spirit wrath with slime-based flower delivery?"
Kazuki dusted himself off. "Honestly? That sounds on-brand."
✦
System Notification
[Quest Complete!]
Title Earned: Tree Whisperer (Honorary)
Reputation with Spirit Guardians: +150
Reward: Mana Bud Fragment (x1)
Smile gained Affinity Tag: "Botanical Menace"
✦
Elsewhere…
Deep in a crystal chamber, Aurelis meditated.
A faint tremor passed through the world.
One of his aides ran in, trembling. "My lord… the Kodomoku of the North Peak has bent the knee."
"To me?"
"No, sir. To Kazuki Amano."
Aurelis's sword cracked in his grip.