Walking a little farther, the trees grew tall and elegant, their pale trunks showing no signs of age or damage. Their leaves were not common green, but shades that varied between emerald, jade, and soft gold, swaying even without any apparent wind. Between the branches, small luminous spirits moved slowly, watching, but without hostility.
"Hihihihi, they're… looking at me."
Incandis covered her mouth with her hand as she ran ahead of them. She never went very far, always stopping when she got a little too distant, since Enrico had told her not to go too far.
'I want to see more.'
The path to the lake seemed deliberate, almost intentionally laid out. Smooth stones naturally appeared underfoot, forming a trail that wound between exposed roots and flowering bushes. There was no sign of decay, not even of recent combat. It was as if that place simply refused corruption.
"She's very excited."
"Well, ever since she obtained this form a month ago, she's been like this."
The two behind looked at the place with a sense of awe, while Enrico had already seen this location more than once in the original story, when Elaris took Kai there to talk near the lake.
"You've arrived. Come see the place I found."
Elaris was sitting exactly where she had sat in the original story, near the lake, on a white rock that looked like a chair. There were others around it, and in the center, a table made of the same stone.
Behind her, Lake Thalanor revealed itself. It was wide and perfectly circular, its shores smooth as if they had never been touched by conflict. The water was incredibly clear, reflecting the sky above like a calm mirror. At the bottom, even from a distance, it was possible to see veins of blue-silver light moving slowly, like currents of pure mana.
'It looks like a sanctuary.'
Around the lake, natural pillars of white stone rose from the ground, covered in luminous mosses and ancient elven inscriptions, worn by time but still carrying power. They were not constructed structures—they were formations shaped by mana itself over countless ages.
"Dad, it's so pretty, let me swim."
"If you swim, your fire hair will go out."
"Noooo."
Incandis, who had been running toward the lake, stopped in place. If she entered, her hair would become that of a normal person, and she didn't want that, so she hesitated about entering the lake while Elaris watched her with curiosity.
'Daughter? I feel like she's actually a spirit… if he had a real daughter…'
She placed a hand on her chin as she thought. She couldn't deny that she honestly liked Enrico a little, but she didn't want to cause problems for him, since he already had many who were irritating—at least, to her. Still, when thinking about future children, she couldn't help but imagine a cute elf with hair the same color as his.
'Maybe I should change my plans.'
"So that's the part where we're going to enter, right?"
"You even know that? Impressive… I guess I really will have to change my plans about you being just a subordinate."
[Tsk.]
Both Enrico and the system already suspected the meaning behind her words. Enrico thought she was planning to give him more trouble to deal with, while the system thought yet another girl had fallen into his trap.
[How can these girls like him so much? He's just a smart idiot.]
'I heard that.'
The most important part he was talking about was the center of the lake, which seemed deeper. There, the water took on a more intense, almost celestial tone. Small ripples appeared without any apparent cause, as if something were breathing beneath the surface. Kai pointed at the lake with doubt while looking at Elaris.
"Are you sure there isn't some creature there? We're not going to get eaten if we go in, right? Or are we?"
"Relax, Kai. It'll just be a place we enter anyway. Let's prepare the materials for my weapon."
The three were left doubtful as Elaris walked toward a larger white rock near a white tree. In the original story, she had never done this, so it was a pleasant little surprise for him.
"My sister already has a special weapon made from this rock, so there's nothing better than using it to improve my ego weapon."
"So you got your ego weapon? That's good."
Valença looked at Enrico approaching Elaris with jealousy. She was sure her ego weapon was better than Elaris's—so why hadn't he congratulated her when she got hers? Could it be that he—
"Your ego weapon was incredible when I saw it, Valença."
"Thank you, Enrico."
Valença's face relaxed, faint red traces appearing on her cheeks as Enrico smiled at her. As he began approaching the rock, he felt his day getting better. The moment Enrico praised Elaris, he immediately noticed Valença's jealousy and acted in a way that would keep him safe.
[Sometimes your cleverness scares me.]
'It's just my gift.'
[That line was pretty arrogant, but it's deserved for how quickly you handled the jealousy.]
The white rock surrounding Lake Thalanor was no ordinary stone, without a doubt. Among the elves, it was known as Lúmen'Thyr, which in the ancient language meant "bone of the living earth." According to the oldest records, this rock was not created—it was born together with the Elf Dimension, formed when primordial mana first solidified around the World Tree.
"Enrico, you said you can create or improve things just with your ability, right?"
"Yes. I may have some flaws, but I can do it."
Enrico had already made a ring, a necklace, and even healing with his abilities. Of course, he followed some things from the story, but others he created through many tests, so he had a certain level of confidence.
'Looks like I'll go back to making items instead of magical techniques for now.'
"Great. Then before we enter, I want you to improve everyone's weapons here."
"Wait. Don't you think that might take a while?"
"Calm down. You'll have help from our Alchemist."
Hearing a small noise behind them, the three turned around. A girl wearing glasses and an academy uniform appeared in front of them—Serzenta, classified as the best in alchemy. She had purple hair and looked at Enrico with a smile, holding several letters.
"Wait… you."
"You really thought I wouldn't look for the benefactor who sends me so many letters with wonderful ideas?"
With a sigh, Enrico scratched his head. This was the alchemist he had been sending letters to about alchemy, and who had appeared in the original story.
'This is going to be troublesome.'