"Who are you?"

When I heard her speak in human language, I was shocked. Her voice actually sounded young, compared to her fully clothed attire. I didn’t feel any threat from her, but it didn’t mean I would let my guard down.

"We are visitors from outside," I replied, remembering a plot where a girl was caged alone, living with everything but not a person to talk to, waiting for her lover to take her away from that prison.

"Outside..." Hearing my words, she instantly paused at the word ’outside’.

Her reaction gave me the feeling that the plot might come true here, but I still remain vigilant, having Emi behind my back.

"Three of you are from outside." She asked again, her voice was filled with doubt. I was not worried about her sensing Mink hidden behind the flowers. It’s not like I was relying on him with this battle; he was there just for aesthetic purposes, same as Emi.

"Yes," I nodded without hesitation. I looked straight into her dark gold eyes.

"Why are you here?" She asked after some thought.

"We were just passing by, looking for the way out, but the beautiful garden outside felt endless..." I replied. These answers were pretty easy for me, and her voice was pleasant to hear.

"There is no way to leave this place... but I might be able to help you." She said, after a slight hesitation.

"Follow me," she said in a low voice.

I somehow was able to feel the sorrow in her voice, but I didn’t care about it much, glancing at Emi and calling Mink, we followed behind her.

She took us into the inner palace, a place grander than I imagined. I looked at surrounding every single thing was a piece of art, and the material of decoration felt so royal that I doubt anyone on earth could afford it.

Every single inch of the palace was carved with details, beyond mundane limits. We followed her through the hall, not knowing where she was taking us.

But according to my sixth sense, it wasn’t anything dangerous. I had the feeling that everything was good since I saw her.

She led us into a room, and as we stepped inside, what we saw shocked us to the core.

Inside, there was a giant tree standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by golden water. The tree was as big as an entire castle. It was hard to imagine how it could grow inside the castle.

I was shocked, and happy at the same time, as my eyes spotted a small keyhole-sized structure in a tree trunk. If my guess wasn’t wrong, then that was our way to leave this place.

"This tree had been here since I was born. It had always been this tall," her voice woke me up from my imagination.

I turned to look at her, finding her expression hidden behind the veil unreadable.

All I wanted was just to get out of here, then deal with that demon outside, and go home.

"Since you were born... You were born in this place." While my thoughts were wandering around, Emi asked some decent questions to her.

"I was born here, my mother left when I was 5. She promised me that she would come to take me back with her, but a long time had passed, and she didn’t come back." She answered, telling a typical story, which I had read thousands of times. Yet, I listened to her because if everything follows the plot, she might become a great help in future.

"Oh, did you try to leave this place?" Emi asked again, but this time I couldn’t praise. It was a pure dumbass question.

"I did, but couldn’t leave the garden; it just never ends." She replied, as I already knew her answer. This was way too typical.

"Well, let’s forget the past. Can you tell what golden water is? Is it safe to step on?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied without much hesitation.

"Well, now let us take leave," I gave her a little farewell bow, and pulled Emi with me.

I controlled the golden water with my new water element to pave a solid path for us. We step on the water, crossing it easily.

"You can control water?" Emi was confused. After all, it was her first time seeing me use anything other than hellfire.

"Control Water? Didn’t I tell you that I am the most amazing person in the world?" I said, puffing my chest with pride. But internally, I was depressed that I didn’t have a good line to say at this moment. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Once we arrived at the front of the tree. I saw that girl in a golden robe also walking above the water casually. She came here and stood beside us.

"My mother told me, this tree has been standing here for thousands of years. Its fruits are also delicious." She said, staring at high above where the tiny golden fruits were growing.

Of course, as soon as Mink saw, he was gone. Climbing the tree with his lightning-fast speed. He began plucking the fruits.

I ordered him to throw three fruits, while he could enjoy his fill. I used my wind element to control the falling fruits, easily handing them to everyone. As usual, the first bite was mine; there was nothing that could be trusted here. To my surprise, something strange happened.

[Congratulations, Host, consuming a sacred fruit.]

[Upper Tier → Top Tier]

[Physique: 81/100]

That was something unique, I had just a few hours ago got to know about tier, and now I have already gotten a tier upgrade. I didn’t have a word to praise my luck.

"Why aren’t you eating?" I looked at the golden-robed girl, and she was still carrying the fruit in her hand, making me doubt if it was poisonous or something.

"Hm..." She hesitated for a second and turned her back to us, as I heard a munching sound. If she was trying to play some cheap trick, then she was really bad at it.