Pastor's Tantra

"Is that form called a tree demon..."

Aiwass nodded slightly, thoughtfully: "I seem to have heard of it before..."

"Well, I asked someone about it. When Aya is completely transformed, her soul will ascend into the dream world and completely turn into a sleeping tree. She may appear in any corner of the dream world with a tree. It looks just like other trees.

"If you are comfortably awakened by soft music, it is possible to grant the awakener a wish; and if you are awakened, the angry tree demon will attack the passing phantom demon."

"...I seem to have heard similar statements."

Aiwass felt that this statement seemed a bit familiar: "In the literary work "The Brave Series" during the Herasl Empire, there is an article about "The Forest Goddess".

"Legend has it that there is a brave man who travels all over the world, but because he and his fiancée were unable to convince each other when they were arguing about 'what is love', and they couldn't find a satisfactory answer to their friends, they wanted to ask the legendary forest goddess Praying for an answer. During the adventure, the brave man was seriously injured in a fight with a beast. His fiancée wanted to find herbs for him and accidentally ingested poison. As a result, he fell into a near-death state and even had hallucinations.

"After the brave man used various methods to save her, he hugged his unconscious fiancée and leaned against a tree sadly. He played the harmonica and wanted to accompany his fiancée until the end.

"After hearing the sound of his harmonica, the tree he was leaning against came to life and gently wiped away his tears.

"It was a beautiful girl with long hair like branches, and the part below the knees gradually turned into tree roots. She cured the hero and his fiancée, and after they woke up, they thanked the girl together. At the same time, they expressed gratitude to each other for their love for themselves. Painful with anxiety and concern, they apologized to each other for their previous stubbornness.

"When the girl heard the story of the two coming here, she smiled and used the wood from her body to make a flute that could cure diseases and curses. She used her leaves to make an amulet that would always give her a good night's sleep. The flower made a pair of bracelets that could hear each other's voices, and finally used its own fruit to feed the two of them.

"At this time, the two of them no longer had the stubbornness to continue taking risks and seek answers from the forest goddess. They just wanted to leave the dangerous forest quickly. So after thanking the girl, they returned home.

"But after they told their adventure story to their smartest friend, the other party slapped her on the thigh - the girl you met is the forest goddess!"

After Aiwass finished telling the story, he realized that the girl had sat beside him at some point.

Anastasia listened intently to Aiwass's story, her eyes brightening. At some point, her eyes lost their vigilance and became intimate.

"Will I also...become a forest goddess?"

she asked, half curious and half yearning.

It was the first time for Grace to see such a bright light in her eyes.

She was also a little surprised: "Aya... do you like this story?"

"I like it. I like it very much."

Anastasia nodded vigorously: "I also want to help others... I also want to give what I have to others.

"Mom, that forest goddess...is she a child like me?"

"...If nothing else, it should be."

Grace was a little helpless.

Because she probably guessed the prototype of this story.

It should be those elves who live in isolation. They went to the dense forest because they were suffering from dendrosis and could not bear the noise of life in the town. In the end, they turned into trees deep in the forest, but for some reason they failed to ascend to the dream world correctly.

"But this 'Forest Goddess' should also ascend to the dream world in the future."

Grace said softly: "She probably didn't sleep enough...or maybe she didn't receive enough sunlight, so she stayed in the material world for a while. She took out almost all the essence in her body and made it into a gift. , just because she is leaving.

"Because she was awakened by the sound of soft music, this is the correct way to awaken her. If she was awakened, she might lose her temper. After she loses her temper, the strength she has accumulated may not be enough."

"……No wonder."

Aiwass touched his chin: "I heard that in some places there are sacrifices to the 'tree god'. But sometimes the tree god will suddenly become ineffective, which should mean that the soul inside has ascended to the dream world."

"It should be less in recent years."

Grace shook her head: "Some people say that the blood of elves today is not so pure... But I think it is mainly because those elves who may become dryads have already ascended to the dream world. Among the remaining elves, It’s rare to have a bloodline as pure as Aya’s.”

"A return to our ancestors..."

Aiwass murmured.

He was a little afraid that Isabel would turn into a tree.

After all, Isabel and Anastasia have almost the same hair color, and they are both good at illusions.

This made Aiwass feel nervous.

After all, Isabel was originally going to become the Queen of Flowers and inherit the inheritance of flowers... This shows that she can at least awaken the blood of flowers in her body.

Maybe, this can also be regarded as a kind of atavism?

Grace obviously understood what Aiwass meant, so she nodded: "It should be. After all, tree transformation basically only happens to pure-blood elves. I have never heard of half-elves or elves born with half-elves. Tree-like routine.”

She obviously realized what Aiwass was worried about.

……That's good.

Aiwass was slightly relieved.

"Brother Aiwass," Anastasia begged, "can you tell me another story?"

The girl has obviously been lonely for too long, and it is rare to meet someone who can sit beside her and tell stories.

"Your brother Aiwass is here to do business."

Grace patted Anastasia on the shoulder, and then looked at Aiwass.

Aiwass nodded and asked softly: "Do you remember Yunus?"

"...the uncle who plays the harp?"

Anastasia's eyes lit up and she immediately guessed the rest of what Aiwass didn't finish: "Did he come to see me? Uncle Yunus came to see me!"

"But you can't go out, Aya."

Grace immediately refused: "If you come into contact with the outside world at this time, the tree transformation progress may immediately exceed the dangerous value."

"Can Mr. Yunus come here?"

Anastasia asked rhetorically.

"...I'm afraid it won't work."

Grace shook her head hesitantly: "He is too old. I'm afraid he has lost his innocence."

"Then I'm going out."

Anastasia said firmly: "Thanks to Uncle Yunus, those friends were able to get me back. He saved me, and I want to thank him face to face."

"...Even if it makes your tree transformation worse?"

Aiwass also asked.

He did not dissuade or cajole.

"That's what I'm going to do."

The girl was very stubborn: "And...I think now that maybe that's not a bad thing."

"...Aya, you are not yet a hundred years old."

Grace knelt down and hugged Anastasia's waist with some worry: "You haven't spent a complete childhood yet..."

"Mom, I know you want to be good to me, and you want me to stay longer."

Anastasia suddenly said: “But I am a phantom that cannot be retained.

"Keeping it like this...maybe a little more painful."

At that moment, Grace suddenly froze.

She even stopped breathing for a moment.

Because Grace realized something belatedly at this time - she did not pay attention to whether she would feel pain in this transformation state. Because Anastasia's life is too short, she has been trying every means to extend her life, even breaking taboos...

But maybe Anastasia is too sensible.

——She never mentioned that it would hurt.

"...Did I cause you pain, Aya?"

Grace's voice was trembling.

The girl just stretched out her hand and gently wiped away Grace's tears.

It was only then that Grace realized... that her underage daughter, who was even sent to the fairy kingdom to be "frozen" when she was half of her adult age, was already far more mature and gentle than ordinary people.

Despite her childlike innocence, despite spending all her previous life with her parents and goblins... Anastasia already had decades to live.

She is much more mature than Grace expected.

"I have a gift that I want to give to Uncle Yunus."

The girl whispered softly: "He is very fragile and very sad... I want to help him.

"I might be able to save him...save his soul."

Her gentleness is like the forest goddess in Aiwass's story.