?


    I swiped a white hat and pushed it down on my face as I descended the stretch of the World Tree. The people around me ignored me like just another of their mates in this ce.


    I swiped some cigarettes and some water too, along with a bundle of cash and other things I would need to walk around. After reaching the lower sections of the world tree down the circr stairs at the periphery, I nned to ask around.


    "Hey buddy," I called out to a dwarf that was working some machinery around to a different room. "Know a man with sses."


    "Many people wear sses. Did you have too much moonshine dude? What''s his name?"


    Fuck. What now?


    "Titania, what did he look like? What was his name?"


    "He wore sses."


    She didn''t pay attention either, huh?


    The dwarf suspiciously tilted his head.


    "I think his name was sses."


    The tiny dwarf with long white beard scowled. "You take me a fool man!? You teasing me?"


    It was then, another person stepped up from behind me and ced a hand on my shoulder.


    "Bombur," the man said. "I''ll take it from here."


    The dwarf waved his hand and walked away. Adjusting my own sunsses, I turned to the side and found a young man with long red hair tied up in a ponytail. He looked at me, and then at my shoulder.


    People I had not seen when I was a demon lord were impossible for me to recognize. But folks like these…


    "Eugy… it''s."


    "I know," I cut Titania off and pulled my hat back. "Been a bit, Keith."


    Keith tapped my shoulder and urged me along, and off I set down the tree with him.


    "You''re alive," he said,ying his palm t in front of me. I gave him a low five and he dodged and did the same again.


    With a sigh, I pulled out two of the cigarettes I had swiped and ced on his hand while kept the other with myself.


    "So it seems," I said. "You are too. Nice hairdo, by the way."


    "Thanks, I thought I looked cool if I tied it up."


    "The length should be judged by how many times you getid each month. But going by that calction, you would have been bald already, huh?"


    "Excuse me? I getid almost every second day."


    "Paying for it doesn''t mean the same thing."


    Keith and I made our way down. Though we had a simple conversation, all this was enough to tell me a lot more than I needed to know.


    Being in the shadows was the best move.


    Keith guided me to the very bottom and straight toward the outside. But a guard stood there to screen everyone. It seemed they had kept the World Tree to be a very safe and secure ce. It was necessary if they were going to war.


    That Keith would take me around this quietly meant that they hadn''t managed to keep it secure enough.


    We crossed the bottom of the giant tree trunk and moved toward the gate. The guard there noticed Keith and nodded as Keith handed him a card.


    He turned my way next.


    "Ah, did you forget—"


    I tossed the guard the card I had stolen before Keith could finish. The guard widened his eyes, slightly surprised. It belonged to a vampire, a very high-ranking one. But the coat, the hat and the sunsses helped sell the disguise.


    He nodded and out we went of the World Tree. In arge circle outside, all the trees around had beenid t and room for all kinds of other facilities including storages were built along.


    Keith put a hand on my shoulder and guided me out of this encirclement too.


    It seemed no one would be listening in here.


    "Young Master, I am d you''re alive."


    "I know."


    "I really thought you died. You have no idea how shocked I am right now."


    "I know."


    "Did you meet anyone yet?"


    "A few. Lethe, Noa."


    "Your friend, Albert?"


    "Nope."


    Keith ced a hand on his head and we passed out of the main door of the ce. All around us stretched the enormous forest, but almost as if the forest itself was avoiding it, a narrow yet path stretched around like roads.


    He took me over one of them.


    "Young master, there''s a deep w in all of this."


    I nodded again. I knew that too.


    "It''s not what you think, not the thing with the traitors and turncoats, your friend and the sses are looking after it. Even the duke is now helping sses and your legion. The real problem is—"


    "A proper leader, I know."


    Keith let go of me and clenched his fist. He sighed.


    "It''s not that either, there is a monster amongst the dragonewts. He can be a good leader."


    "What is the problem?" I asked.


    Keith wiped his brow and sighed.


    "Five years and no other ce has been attacked yet. The only thing that has happened from the beginning of the alliance of every single world was us going in and attacking the Outer Gods ourselves."


    I crossed my arms and leaned back.


    "There has been no war."


    No war.


    That sounded cheerful enough. It was reason to be happy. No war, no deaths, nothing to fear.


    Except, when it was wartime.


    Then, no war was a problem.


    "That won''t be the case for long," I said. I had provoked the King of the Outer Gods with a punch after all.


    "The damage is already done," said Keith. "If war breaks out NOW. It''ll be hell, we''ll lose in moments."


    Just five years and these people had divided. No, that wasn''t the case.


    It was just five years. They hadn''t united at all.


    The thing that should have given them the incentive for unity had nevere around. To unite against war, they needed war.


    As it would stand.


    "I also have to get rid of some people."


    Keith narrowed his eyes.


    "What do you mean?"


    "We need war? I''ll give war."