Makoto sensed the various changes that had occurred within the sub-dimension.
"Tomoe, Mio, it seems we no longer need to worry about the Goddess detecting our existence," Makoto said cheerfully as he looked at them.
"What kind of changes happened in the sub-dimension that made you this happy, Waka?" Tomoe asked curiously.
"You'll definitely be surprised," Makoto replied with a smile. "The sub-dimension has now transformed into a new world with complete laws."
"Before this, no matter how much I trained my archery, the sub-dimension couldn't grow beyond thirty million cubic kilometers. I could feel that it was incomplete, but I didn't know what it was lacking," Makoto said as he looked at the World Tree shoot.
"When the World Tree seed grew into a shoot, I realized what the sub-dimension was missing. At the same time, once the seed took root and grew, the previously incomplete sub-dimension became whole. You could say it has become a fully formed new world," Makoto said with a happy expression.
"A new world!?" Tomoe exclaimed in shock.
"That's right—a newly born world. From what I can sense, this new world has an area of about three hundred million cubic kilometers," Makoto said.
"Three hundred million cubic kilometers!?" Tomoe and Mio exclaimed at the same time.
"And that's not all. You know how the sub-dimension was previously connected to the Goddess's world, which made us worry that she might discover it someday," Makoto said seriously.
"Now that the sub-dimension has become a new world, it is no longer connected to the Goddess's world," Makoto continued.
"But Waka-sama, is that really alright? If this new world has cut ties with the Goddess's world, wouldn't that make it easier for her to detect it?" Mio asked with some concern.
"You don't need to worry," Makoto replied confidently. "Before it grew into a shoot, the World Tree seed had already enveloped the entire sub-dimension, making it undetectable to the Goddess. She couldn't sense it at all. And now that the seed has grown into a shoot, its abilities are even stronger."
After giving Tomoe and Mio some time to process the information, Makoto continued, "As for the abilities of the World Tree shoot, most of them remain the same. However, because the soul bond between me and the shoot has grown closer, things are different now. Back when it was still a seed, I couldn't do this—but now I can freely use the shoot's abilities without relying on it directly."
As he spoke, Makoto activated his camouflage ability, suppressing his power until his aura resembled that of an ordinary human. Tomoe was left speechless when she saw Makoto masking his presence so completely that he seemed a weak human.
"As for other abilities, like storing magical power, they're still the same. But now I can channel my magic from a distance without having to touch the World Tree shoot. The energy I send helps the shoot grow faster, and if I need additional magic, the shoot will supply it to me," Makoto explained.
"As for traveling to other worlds, that ability hasn't changed either—except now I can use it more freely on my own. The difference is that now the shoot and I can mark a world and sense that mark, allowing me to travel back and forth without getting lost," Makoto said with a smile.
"However, I can only travel to other worlds by myself for now. I still can't bring anyone else with me," Makoto added as he looked at Tomoe and Mio.
Hearing this, Tomoe and Mio were slightly surprised, but they didn't dwell on it. Makoto had already told them before that he would only travel to other worlds once he could take them with him.
"There's one last thing I need to tell you," Makoto said in a serious tone as he looked at them.
"What is it, Waka-sama?" Mio asked, noticing his expression.
"Yes, Waka—what do you want to tell us?" Tomoe asked, nodding.
"Because of my soul bond with the World Tree shoot, when the seed grew into a shoot, this new world simultaneously became its territory. As a result, I now hold the position of ruler of this new world," Makoto said solemnly.
"But wasn't Waka-sama already the ruler of the sub-dimension before?" Mio asked in confusion.
"That's different, Mio," Tomoe explained. "Even though the sub-dimension was created through Waka's contract with me, Waka wasn't actually its ruler. You could say that Waka and I only held limited access to it."
"Tomoe is right," Makoto said. "Before, I was like someone who only held the keys to enter and leave a house. Now, that house truly belongs to me, and I can do whatever I want without worrying that someone might take it away someday. I can also grant and revoke temporary access—like lending a key to someone I trust."
"I can also sense large-scale things now, such as the shape and size of this new world, without using Sakai. I can feel strong auras like yours throughout the world. While I don't sense anything as powerful as you two, I do sense presences strong enough to threaten the city's residents—deep in forests, atop the highest mountains, within lakes, and scattered across the seas, each with its own territory," Makoto explained.
"So, what should we do now, Waka-sama?" Mio asked while looking at him.
"Are we going to fight those powerful beings?" Tomoe asked, resting her hand on the katana at her waist.
"We can deal with those powerful creatures later," Makoto said calmly. "For now, I want to try channeling as much of my magical energy as possible and see how much I can accelerate the World Tree shoot's growth."
Standing before the World Tree shoot, Makoto raised his hand and poured his magical energy into it.
The shoot, which had initially been small with only three leaves, began to grow slowly. First, the number of leaves increased, then the stem gradually grew taller.
As Makoto focused on channeling his magic, he felt his immense magical reserves steadily diminishing. Even though his magical energy far surpassed that of the Goddess, after expending nearly half of it, the World Tree shoot had only grown by a few dozen centimeters. Despite the abundance of new leaves, using half of his magic had only made it grow about half a meter.
Tomoe and Mio, standing beside Makoto, were shocked. They could sense an overwhelming amount of magical energy—far beyond anything they had imagined. What shocked them even more was that such an enormous amount of power had only turned the shoot into a small tree less than half a meter tall.
Curious about how tall the World Tree could grow after absorbing nearly all of his magic, Makoto continued. Time passed as his magical energy was almost completely drained. After exhausting nearly all of it, Makoto managed to grow the World Tree shoot into a small tree about one meter tall, with lush foliage.
From a distance, the World Tree looked like a piece of art crafted by nature itself. Makoto, Tomoe, and Mio could all feel the stronger aura radiating from it. Sensing the changes around the tree, Makoto smiled with joy. Although he felt extremely tired after channeling so much magic to accelerate its growth, he spoke again.
"Tomoe, send a telepathic message to Ema. Tell her to dismiss the residents and conduct inspections in and around the city to see what changes have occurred," Makoto said.
"Alright, Waka. Leave it to me," Tomoe replied confidently.
"Waka-sama, how about resting for a while?" Mio asked when she saw how exhausted Makoto looked.
"That sounds like a good idea," Makoto said after taking one last look at the World Tree.
Makoto then lay down, using Mio's thighs as a pillow, and rested for a bit. Surrounded by the peaceful aura emitted by the World Tree, he began to feel drowsy. Overcome by exhaustion, Makoto soon fell into a deep sleep.
Mio smiled gently as she watched Makoto sleeping, while Tomoe—after giving instructions to Ema—returned and saw Makoto resting in Mio's lap. At a loss for words, Tomoe could only sigh before approaching and sitting beside Mio.
Unbeknownst to Makoto as he slept, his body was undergoing drastic changes. Over time, it grew stronger and brimming with vitality, and the speed at which his magical energy recovered became far faster than before. After the World Tree grew into a small tree, new abilities emerged—ones that would prove extremely useful to Makoto and the city's residents. However, Makoto was still unaware of just how great these future changes would be.
Bathed in the light of the setting sun and accompanied by a gentle breeze, Makoto slept peacefully, watched over by his two followers, as the world around them settled into profound tranquility.