Becoming the Wasteland Overlord With My Harem System!-Chapter 210: Side - Green Hand?

"Huh?!"

Axel rose from the bed, glancing around the room.

He had just woken up and, for some reason, felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if something unexpected was happening.

Checking the system’s time, he realized that after being "drained" by the girls, he had slept past noon. Even now, he still felt weak.

To fully wake himself up, he decided to take a short bath before heading to his office.

His late night escapade had left a considerable amount of work piled up.

"You’re finally here, Sir Axel," Beatrix said, regarding him with a thin smile. "We have a lot of work to do, so please don’t waste any more time."

He understood the underlying meaning of her words: she was reminding him not to sneak out and check on Eve’s team without informing anyone again.

"Yes, yes, I learned my lesson. I won’t..." He sighed and sat down.

The reports he received primarily detailed the kingdom’s current state. They included information on workshop production, state of the knight order’s training, the number of sick residents, requests for additional construction, and the condition of the farms.

Finally, various reports came in about residents getting into petty disputes with one another.

While listening to Beatrix’s explanation and skimming through the files, he noticed something strange.

"Wait... The World Tree saplings are dying?!"

This report shocked him.

After all, just the day before, he had seen them growing normally, even reaching about waist-height already!

"Beatrix, what does this mean?" he asked.

Since he had skipped over a few reports, the diligent office lady had to sift through her summaries to find the correct file and provide an explanation.

"Apparently, the farmers discovered this morning that the saplings are dying one after another. It has been happening so quickly that they are puzzled as to why."

"This morning?" Axel gasped. "Then why didn’t you report it to me earlier?!"

He quickly stood up, slamming his hands on the table, and walked toward the door. "Follow me; we’re checking it on-site!"

The World Tree seeds had come from that "error" crafting recipe. He wasn’t even sure if he could craft more World Tree seeds or if that batch was the last he would have.

In short, he couldn’t afford to let all the plants die without a fight!

Upon arriving at the farm, which was designated for the orchard, Axel observed the saplings planted at regular intervals. They had been spaced sufficiently to allow for growth, even if they doubled in size of a normal adult tree.

However...

"It’s true. They’re all dried up now..." Axel whispered as he knelt before one of the saplings.

Just the day before, he had seen it with lively green leaves and a healthy brownish-green stem. Now, however, it resembled a stick, with dried leaves barely clinging on.

It wasn’t just one or two; all of them were in the same state.

"Navi," Axel whispered, "any ideas why this is happening?"

[You called?]

In the next moment, the little penguin appeared.

Though he should have been with Eve’s team—or rather, with Mimir—he could still hear Axel’s voice through the system, as he was connected to it.

[Oh, the dying saplings, right?] Navi quickly assessed the situation. [Despite the soil being well-watered, the saplings were still drying up... Probably a lack of nutrients?]

"...Oh."

Axel’s mind began to race.

"Right... The World Tree is supposed to be a massive tree that spans entire worlds. There’s no way we can provide it with enough nutrients by planting them normally..." he whispered.

After all, there was only one Yggdrasil across all dimensions. If it was easy to rear a world tree, then it wouldn’t have been the only one!

The fact that he could plant multiple saplings at once was the anomaly.

Given the circumstances, all he could do was watch the plants die slowly but surely... or not.

"I just need fertilizer that can bring them back to life!" he suddenly roared.

The plants were "dying," not "already dead"; in short, he still had time to save them!

Without delay, he rushed to the shop and searched for fertilizer recipes. He guessed that any commercially available fertilizer wouldn’t work. He could only rely on the fertilizer he made himself, as items he crafted always turned out better than normal!

He spared no expense and bought the most expensive recipe, which cost him 1 Quadrillion Colts, instantly cutting 10% of his liquid funds. Then, he upgraded the recipe using one of the three remaining upgrade tickets.

Thereafter, he rushed to the Concoction Laboratory to begin its manufacture.

It was a race against time.

Would the saplings survive long enough for him to complete the fertilizer? Nobody could tell.

The recipe wasn’t complicated. It simply involved mixing various herbs and other items, including liquids, into a single pot and then boiling it until the mixture became homogeneous.

Simple, but time-consuming.

As seconds ticked by, Axel felt increasingly rushed.

However, he couldn’t just boil it instantly, going against the recipe. All he could do was pray that he would finish in time.

An hour later, he completed one vial.

He quickly checked the auto-crafting system and set it up, allowing it to handle the heavy lifting from then on.

Without wasting a moment, he rushed back to the World Tree orchard and poured the vial’s contents onto one of the plants.

"Please work...!" he prayed.

However, nothing happened.

"Damn... Did it fail?" he cursed, lamenting his failure to act in time.

"No, Sir," the farmer quickly interjected, kneeling before the plant. "It was dying so fast that it was visible to the naked eye before. But now... it has stopped."

"Huh?"

Axel paused and observed the plant, then the ones nearby, realizing the farmer was right. This plant had indeed stopped dying! But that was all—it had merely halted its decline without showing signs of recovery. Meaning...

"It’s still lacking in fertilizer! I need more!"

With that, he dashed back to the laboratory, manually crafting another set while the auto-crafting system worked. After another hour, he had four vials of fertilizer ready!

To ensure even distribution to the plant’s roots, he mixed all the vials into a bucket of water, and with the farmer’s help, gently poured it around the plant’s base. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

He had spent five vials on a single plant!

After that, he and the farmer could only watch with bated breath.

They weren’t sure if it was enough or if they needed more, but something changed.

"W-Woah?!"

The plant they focused on began to emit a bright light.

A moment later, the other ninety-nine dying plants also glowed. They transformed into particles of light, which were then absorbed by the one to which Axel had applied fertilizer. Now, only one tree remained in the orchard, making Axel feel a pang in his heart—but that feeling didn’t last long.

The World Tree sapling continued to shine and began to grow. In just a few seconds, it rose from waist-height to the same height as Axel before the light gradually faded.

"This is...!" Axel exclaimed with a smile.

Now, the plant was unmistakably alive, boasting vibrant green leaves and healthy brown bark.

Somehow, he had managed to keep the World Tree alive!