Ch.139139. Liere’s Affection Level

Gathering around to grill eel over charcoal together really gave off that genuine campfire feeling, which was nice.

We even decided to have an actual campfire and lit some firewood nearby.

I guess that’s why I deliberately made the front yard a bit spacious.

“Ugh. It’s hot.”

“Oppa. It’s about the romance, the romance.”

We ended up putting out the fire in less than 10 minutes since having a campfire seemed a bit excessive, especially now that we were entering the fifth day with the sweltering tropical nights beginning to set in.

Whether they were ancient dwarves or elf queens, they all seemed to feel the heat the same way, sweating profusely while heartily devouring the blood eel meat.

“Talk a bit while you eat.”

“It’s delicious.”

“Tasty.”

“I never thought I’d get to eat such eel in my lifetime. Thank you so much. When you come to my tavern, I’ll be sure to repay you, so please visit.”

I hadn’t exactly invited them expecting warm, jovial conversations between farm village neighbors, but I found it comfortable that everyone seemed to have a similar personality to mine.

Unsociable and doing things their own way.

Friends who only know how to devour the meat being grilled for them.

“I’m good at grilling, aren’t I, unni?”

“Yes. It’s delicious. Now let me grill some so you can eat too, Sujung.”

“No, it’s fine. I guess this is what a mother’s heart feels like. Just watching others eat makes me feel full.”

“You’re eating the most while grilling.”

“It is tasty though.”

Kim Sujung diligently grilled the eel, putting pieces into her mouth with tongs and taking bites of her heaping mound of rice to fill her stomach.

The alcohol was going down smoothly too.

“Wow. This beer. The one you brought from your dimension is quite delicious.”

“Is this ‘soju’ really made from dew?”

“That’s what I’m saying. The name itself means ‘pure dew.’ It’s literally dew.”

“How can there be a plant that puts alcohol in dew?”

“What kind of elf doesn’t know something like this?”

“…”

And teasing these different species was quite entertaining.

Kim Sujung and Lee Jihyun seemed to find it amusing too, trying to hold back their laughter while giggling.

As the atmosphere loosened up, we started talking about various things.

Thanks to that, I was able to hear about how these NPCs ended up here.

“I don’t really know how I got here either. I just died and met a god-like being. I came because they said if I helped the master of the Rift Dimension, they would grant one wish in my dimension.”

“Same for me.”

“Me too.”

It was fascinating.

Do gods really exist?

Well, I suppose the being who sent me letters in the Farming World could be considered a god in some way.

So the NPCs that appear from turning cards are likely to be famous entities from some dimension.

It was quite interesting information.

Though it might seem trivial, it could be quite important for managing the farm going forward.

Whether the NPCs were simply dragged here or if they received something in return and are willing to work hard makes a big difference in their attitude and effort.

As these sincere conversations continued, I naturally started talking about what I’ve been doing lately.

Especially about the Naru tribe, the village of half-elves—I couldn’t help but mention it to Liere.

“Oh right. Did you know there are elves here?”

“…There are elves?”

“Yeah. Not 100% pure-blooded elves, but half-elves—half human. They were driven out of the elven village and formed their own community through breeding. You wouldn’t know, but just so you’re aware. They’re in a bit of danger lately, so I’ve been helping them.”

“I never thought there would be elves in this dimension too.”

Liere listened impassively.

She seemed rather uninterested.

Naturally, being an elf queen doesn’t mean she loves and cherishes all elves.

Especially since these are half-human elves.

If they were driven out by elves of the same bloodline, there’s no reason she would feel sympathy for elves from a completely different dimension who just happen to share the same name.

Just like how I don’t feel any special emotion toward humans from the same planet, let alone humans I meet in the Rift Dimension.

But that was just my misconception.

“I died fighting dark elves in my dimension.”

“…Huh?”

Liere suddenly spoke while downing a shot of soju and picking up a piece of eel.

“The dark elves were all children of the Mother at first. But at some point, elves began to reject blackness. I was no exception. Mother remained silent, and the conflict between elves and dark elves grew worse. Then war broke out.”

“Were the elves weaklings? Seems like it since you died.”

Liere smiled bitterly.

“My daughter shot an arrow at me. I couldn’t bring myself to dodge it.”

“What? Why?”

“Because my daughter was also a dark elf.”

“…”

What kind of messed-up family tree is this?

I glanced at Liere.

Liere was the very image of a pure, noble elf queen that anyone could recognize.

It’s immediately obvious why her species is ‘Elf Queen’ just by looking at her.

How could a black-skinned elf come from such a queen?

“Talking about being black makes me think of humans.”

“Oppa. That kind of joke would get edited out immediately on YouTube.”

“There aren’t any black people here anyway.”

“…”

Liere paused before speaking.

“I loved a dark elf.”

It was just that kind of makjang story.

She secretly had a child with a dark elf, the father took the daughter, and naturally, if discovered, the elves would try to kill the queen’s child, so she pretended not to know and even drove them away harshly for their safety, sending them far away.

So it wasn’t strange that her daughter’s arrow of hatred found its mark.

“Even with different blood flowing, an elf is still an elf. I realized it when I saw that the World Tree’s protection didn’t activate that day.”

Liere bitterly took another drink.

Kim Sujung, with uncanny timing, refilled her glass as soon as it was empty.

“Such a sad story… Unni, drink and forget. This is We The World, free from racial discrimination.”

“Still, being the same species as a black person is—mmph.”

“Have some more eel, brother.”

Having composed herself, Liere made a request of me.

“Can you help them?”

“What? Me?”

“Yes. You said you’re already helping them.”

“I am helping them, sure. Want to make up for the regrets you couldn’t fulfill back then?”

To me, it seems like a meaningless emotion.

Liere is already dead, and helping other elves won’t change anything.

Even if she alone helps the half-elves, it won’t allow them to return to the elven village.

Above all, I won’t make that happen.

These natives were hard to find—if I send them back to the elven village, who will work on our farm?

But Liere found meaning in this seemingly meaningless act.

“Save them. And help them live safely. If you do, I will give you everything I have.”

[Hidden Quest]

[Farm Shop – Liere]

[Liere, who met her death after forgetting the essence due to hatred of ‘difference,’ has found an opportunity to wash away her regret. Although they are elves from a different world and dimension, she does not want her mistake to be repeated by other elves here. Help save the Naru tribe and help them settle safely to help Liere cleanse her regret.]

[Reward: 20 Farming Ability Points, Seed of the World Tree (SS), Liere’s Affection 100%]

Her solemn gaze meets mine.

In the eyes of one who was once a queen of an entire species, there is not a trace of hesitation or frivolity.

She’s serious.

Something in my heart twinges.

“By everything… you don’t mean… what I’m thinking, right?”

“…”

“Okay. It was a heart-stirring request. Actually, what’s important in a request isn’t the story. It’s how sincere and desperate you are.”

The reward was desperate enough.

Just like how Kukum desperately wanted permanent hair loss medicine from me.

I glanced at Kukum.

Compared to Kukum’s hidden quest and 100% affection difficulty, this is relatively challenging.

In the end, the final destination of this quest is to clean up all the corrupted areas of the Level 1 biome and settle the Naru tribe in a safe place.

Well, looking at the reward, it’s something I’d be doing anyway, so it’s not like extra work, but I can’t help comparing it to Kukum’s quest.

“By the way, if I plant the World Tree seed, what happens if there’s already another World Tree here?”

A World Tree of SS rank.

If I could plant it around my farm, it would establish the foundation for turning this farm into a truly top-tier farm.

Something that was impossible even in my Farming World 1 that I nurtured for 10 years.

That’s what a World Tree is.

A mythical resource.

A living resource.

Meaning it’s a resource that can only exist once on a map.

“…I don’t know. In my world, the World Tree leaves seeds and withers, and elves plant new seeds to grow new World Trees. I’ve never heard of two World Trees coexisting.”

“I guess we’ll find out when we try.”

Well, just because a World Tree is growing in one place doesn’t mean another World Tree elsewhere will wither.

Even if that were the case, morally it would be right to save the newly planted young World Tree.

I decided to think about that later.

It was a problem that would be resolved soon enough as I slaughtered all the eels anyway.

“I’ll resolve this soon and bring the Naru tribe, so hang in there in that lonely village.”

For some reason, I felt like meddling today.

And that meddling brought me a hidden quest.