At the foot of the World Tree in the Seuri Forest, Kousuke was performing the final checks.
If the crucial magic circle had been incorrect, everything he had painstakingly set up within the forest would have been for naught.
As Kousuke confirmed the intricately drawn patterns and the placement of materials, Shiomara watched him with an anxious expression.
“Are you truly… going to be alright?”
Kousuke, focused on his work, didn’t notice her murmur, but Shurein, who was also observing the task, certainly did.
“Are you worried?”
“…Are you not concerned about whether such a complex and enormous magic circle will actually function?”
Shiomara’s gaze remained fixed on the magic circle, unmoving.
Just considering its sheer size, and with the myriad of elements packed into it, it shouldn’t work under normal circumstances.
This was common sense, but Shurein laughed as if to blow away that very notion.
“Well, I can understand that concern.”
As a Vampire, Shurein had considerable confidence in magic circles.
However, even Shurein couldn’t match Kousuke’s knowledge, his power to activate it, and, above all, his ingenuity in creating magic circles that could actually be used.
This had been the case even before Kousuke became an Avatar.
From Shurein’s perspective, it was entirely reasonable that Kousuke was recognized as a god in that field.
“Well, just watch closely. You’ll get a glimpse of why Kousuke became an Avatar through this work.”
Shurein said this, squinting as he gazed at Kousuke, who continued his work.
After completing a set of tasks, Kousuke nodded once and then called out to Yutta.
“Yutta, excuse me for a moment?”
“Yes, yes. What is it?”
Without being surprised by Yutta’s prompt appearance before him, Kousuke pointed to a specific spot on the magic circle.
“Could you stand over there for a moment?”
“That’s fine, but I’m not the main body, you know?”
Sensing Kousuke’s intentions, Yutta said this.
Yutta was a powerful fairy, but the true source of power was the World Tree itself.
This time, Kousuke intended to incorporate the World Tree’s power into the magic circle.
Under normal circumstances, the World Tree itself would have to be integrated into the magic circle.
It was with this thought that Yutta spoke, but Kousuke simply shook his head.
“That’s true, but Yutta is also like one of the branches connected to the World Tree. Even so, there’s a way to do it.”
“Is that so?”
Yutta, showing a surprised expression as if involuntarily, nodded once.
“Well, I only realized it because Esena was here.”
Kousuke added that he wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been there. Yutta let out a sigh, as if exasperated.
“Normally, even if you know that, I don’t think you’d be able to do it… For now, let’s see a glimpse of your abilities as a magic circle god.”
“Whoa. Pressure.”
Kousuke smiled in response to Yutta’s teasing words.
After finishing all the work, Kousuke stepped away from the magic circle to perform an overall check.
Once he confirmed there were no mistakes, he turned his gaze to Yutta.
“Then, shall we begin? Is that alright?”
“Is it okay for me to just stand here?”
“Yes. There’s nothing in particular you need to do. Ah, when the magic circle is activated, your power will be drained, but it shouldn’t be too much.”
Yutta nodded at Kousuke’s explanation.
“Understood.”
“Then, I will begin.”
Kousuke declared this and began chanting spells in a low voice.
If it were a magic circle he had used many times, he wouldn’t need to chant, but this was the first time, and various special elements were mixed in.
He couldn’t possibly forgo the incantation.
As the attention of the other individuals was drawn to him, Kousuke’s right hand began to glow.
Then, as Kousuke finished chanting and placed his right hand on the edge of the magic circle, the magic circle, which had been glowing on the ground, split into two, with one rising directly upwards.
“Kya!?”
Simultaneously, Yutta let out a short scream.
She was surprised by the drain of power, which was greater than expected.
However, having been briefed by Kousuke beforehand, she didn’t collapse.
The glowing magic circle eventually floated up to the far reaches of the sky. Upon reaching the same height as the World Tree, it moved to align its center with the World Tree’s apex.
At the moment the World Tree’s apex and the magic circle’s center aligned, the magic circle collapsed, becoming a single large mass of light, which then broke into several smaller masses of light.
These small clusters of light did not remain in place but immediately dispersed to various locations within the Seuri Forest.
After the small clusters of light departed, the residual light of the magic circle seemed to pour down onto the World Tree.
To an observer, it was a truly mystical sight.
Kousuke, who had watched all these processes, nodded with satisfaction.
“Alright, alright. Did it go well? Yutta, how is it?”
“Uhh… Please wait a moment. I’ll check now… Ah, it seems alright.”
Yutta closed her eyes and confirmed the state of the entire forest. Satisfied that it was going well, she nodded broadly.
She now understood that this would function sufficiently until the original barrier was established.
At the foot of the World Tree, the magic circle Kousuke had been working on was still shining.
Now, all that was left was to maintain this magic circle so it wouldn’t break.
“That’s a relief. So, Shiomara, I’ll be leaving the maintenance to you, okay?”
“Eh!? Ah, y-yes!”
Shiomara hastily replied to Kousuke’s confirmation.
Kousuke tilted his head at her reaction and proceeded to examine the magic circle.
Shiomara, who had been staring blankly at Kousuke, noticed a chuckle.
The laughter belonged to Shurein.
“I told you so, didn’t I?”
“But that was….”
“For Kousuke, a magic circle of this magnitude is nothing. That’s what it means to become an Avatar, you see.”
Shurein said this, and Shiomara fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.
“…Was my perception too naive?”
“Who knows? I don’t know how perceptive you were.”
With nothing more to say, Shurein turned his gaze back to Kousuke.
***
The small miracle Kousuke had wrought could also be seen in the village where the Elves resided.
The first to notice was, fittingly for an Elf, the sight of the World Tree.
The Elf who first noticed it pointed to the World Tree and exclaimed, “Hey, look!” and others soon followed suit.
Among those who saw it, some even knelt.
Even the elders in the village had never seen the World Tree in its true form.
The Elves were overwhelmed by the colossal tree that pierced the heavens.
And simultaneously with the appearance of the World Tree, something equally eye-catching emerged.
Of course, it was the magic circle created by Kousuke.
The sight of the magic circle floating up, eventually turning into light and scattering around the World Tree, was nothing short of a miracle to the Elves.
At the same time, they understood that the matter that had been the talk of the village for the past few days had been resolved safely.
Romana, watching the smiles spread among the Elves, eventually looked back towards the World Tree, which had vanished as it had before, and murmured,
“An Avatar, huh.”
However, in the clamor of the village enveloped in joy, no one picked up on her whisper.
