The following morning, just as they had agreed, they were supposed to meet in the town square, right beside the gigantic tree that stood at the very heart of the city, towering over everything around it. A young boy came running toward it.
It was ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป.
"Ahh ! I'm gonna be late ! Hah... hah..."
He looked up at the tree, just as astonished as every other time.
"It's so huge..."
Even though he saw it every day, its sheer size never failed to amaze him. For a brief moment, he even forgot he was supposed to be hurrying.
"I'm really going to be late if I don't hurry !"
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป picked up the pace, carefully weaving through the crowd without bumping into anyone.
As he ran, the first thing one could notice was how ordinary everything looked. The buildings were built from wood and stone, painted in a variety of colors, while the decorative plants lining the streets were all of normal sizeโperhaps they had been intentionally kept that way.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป barely had time to take in the city's atmosphere before arriving at the meeting place right on time.
"Made it !"
As he let out a sigh of relief, his eyes landed on a brown-haired girl with turquoise eyes.
It was Anahita.
"๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ ! Over here !" he called, waving at her.
"Oh, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป !" she replied with a smile, waving back as she hurried over.
"So ? How are your arm and ankle ?"
"Much better, thanks to you !"
"No, no ! You don't have to thank me. It was nothing."
"No, really. If you hadn't been there yesterday, I'd probably be dead. Besides... what kind of person would I be if I didn't thank the one who saved my life ?"
"Well... if you insist, then I'll accept your thanks."
"Hehe. That makes me happy !"
While ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป looked around, wondering where they should go first, ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ stared at him with a disappointed look.
"Aaaah... and I went through all that effort getting ready..." she thought.
She really had dressed up for what she considered a date. She wore a lovely blue dress with elegant brown boots that made her look almost like a young noblewoman. She had even pinned her bangs to the side with a decorative hair clip.
Meanwhile, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป had shown up wearing exactly the same outfit as yesterday: brown shorts, a white shirt, and a sleeveless brown leather vest. It was certainly distinctive... but hardly the kind of outfit you'd wear on an outing like this.
"How about we go that way ? I heard there's a candy shop over there !"
"Sure... if that's what you want."
There was a hint of irritation in her voice, as if she wanted him to notice something.
Naturally...
"What's gotten wrong into her today ?"
...๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป had absolutely no idea why she seemed upset.
They began wandering through the city together, buying candy before strolling through the lively streets while enjoying the atmosphere. Around them, children their age were playfully dueling with wooden swords at speeds that would have seemed impossible in our world, yet no one paid them any attention. Perhaps, in this world, that was perfectly normal.
"I can't walk anymore. Can we sit down somewhere ?"
"Already tired ?"
"I don't have your monstrous stamina ! I'm just tired of walking."
"Then how about we sit on one of the benches in the town square ?"
"Yeees !"
"That was a quick answer."
As planned, they sat down and looked up at the enormous tree standing before them.
It was truly colossal. Even compared to the gigantic trees in the forest, this one was on an entirely different scale. Its trunk alone was so wide that fitting a small island inside it wouldn't have been difficult.
"It's still so huge..."
For the second time that day, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป found himself amazed by something he saw all the time.
"Right ? Even though we see it every single day, it's still intimidating."
"Yeah !"
"Hey."
"Hm ?"
"Do you know why it's called that ?"
"I think I've heard the story before."
"Apparently, it's so enormous that you can see it from very, very far away. It's impossible to miss, even with all the other gigantic trees around it. And with a trunk nearly three kilometers[1] wide and a height stretching for dozens of kilometers, it's considered the largest and most massive tree in the world. That's why it's called the World Tree."
She gazed up at it, completely captivated by its sheer size. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in its leaves, casting beautiful rays of light across the entire town square.
"Don't you think 'World Tree ' sounds a little over-the-top, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ?"
"I don't think it's exaggerated."
"...Now that you mention it, neither do I."
As they sat together on the bench, quietly admiring the town square, ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ suddenly turned to ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป.
"So, do you think you could climb it ?" she asked with a playful smile.
"You mean the World Tree ?"
"Of course !"
"Maybe."
"What ?! You seriously think you could climb it ?!"
His answer genuinely caught her off guard.
"Yeah."
"Do you even realize it's over twenty-three kilometers[2] tall ?"
"I do. So ?"
"You really have no idea how crazy that sounds."
"With enough training, I could do it."
"That's not the point !"
"My parents made it all the way to the top for their honeymoon."
"So it's in your genes ?!"
She was completely dumbfounded. There was clearly nothing normal about him.
"๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ."
Her attention immediately shifted to him.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป had suddenly gone quiet. The carefree expression on his face had vanished, replaced by a serious one. He leaned closer, causing ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ to instinctively lean back.
"I want to ask you something too. Is that okay ?"
"O-of course !" she replied, nervously nodding. "Why is he suddenly so serious...? What is he going to ask me?" she wondered.
Kayden leaned back again, giving her some space.
"Do you believe rumors ?"
"No... Of course not."
The question surprised herโnot only because it came out of nowhere, but because, to her, the answer was so obvious that asking it felt strange.
"Even if those rumors were saying bad things about someone ?"
"Look at these two candies."
"Answer my question first !"
"Answer mine first, and then you'll understand."
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป hesitated for a moment.
"Yeah, I see them."
"Pick one. Whichever one you choose will be the one you think I like."
"Then... this one."
He pointed at the red candy in ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ's left hand.
"The strawberry one ?"
She popped the candy in her other hand into her mouth.
"You'd probably think strawberry is my favorite... but actually, I prefer lemon. Get it now ?"
"So... your favorite is lemon...?" he answered uncertainly.
"No ! That's actually the flavor I like the least !"
"Then why did you just sayโ"
"What I'm trying to say is that you can't know the truth unless you check for yourself."
"What do you mean ?"
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป looked completely confused by her explanation.
๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ, meanwhile, was beginning to lose her patience.
"Ugh ! Never mind !"
She turned away with a pout.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป carefully thought about what she had meant through both her words and her little example.
Then, all of a suddenโ
"Oh... I get it !"
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help smiling. She was clearly happy that he had finally understood. At that moment, another idea crossed her mind.
"I'm glad you're like that," ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป said with a bright smile.
๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ blinked.
"Hm ?"
"Oh... it's nothing. Forget I said anything."
She found that a little odd, but decided not to press him.
"Come to think of it, I never asked you what your ๐๐ช๐ง๐ต is. If you don't mind me asking."
"I'm not sure I should tell you."
He suddenly looked uncomfortable.
๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ leaned toward him, mirroring what he had done earlier. Then she stepped back, stood up proudly, and faced him.
"Well, if you won't tell me yours first, then I'll tell you mine first !"
"Huh ?"
"To be honest... my ๐๐ช๐ง๐ต is pretty powerful," she declared confidently.
"My ๐๐ช๐ง๐ต is... apparently... the ability to ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฑ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐น๐บ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ."
"...Apparently ?"
Apparently ?
[1] 1.86 miles
[2] 14.3 miles