Ch.144Chapter 144 – The Saint is Secretly Obsessive

To be honest, I’ve only heard about spirits; I’ve never actually seen one with my own eyes.

After all, the world I used to live in didn’t have magic, martial arts, or spirits.

But even after coming to this world that could be called fantasy, I still haven’t seen a spirit even once.

The reason I hadn’t seen spirits was simple.

Species other than elves completely lack the ability to communicate with spirits.

On top of that, elves rarely come out into the open, so even high-ranking officials might get the chance to see a spirit once in their lifetime, if at all.

‘And now I’m moving toward the World Tree with the help of spirits.’

Right now, I’m with Shreka and the elves escorting her.

“It’s my first time seeing spirits!”

And along with Etherna, my reliable escort, I was moving toward the roots of the World Tree with the help of spirits.

“What did you say the name of the spirit helping us move is?”

“It’s Terrenum, a high-rank earth spirit.”

A high-rank spirit…

So here too, they’re divided into ranks like low, middle, high, supreme, and spirit king?

I asked Shreka about the ranking of spirits.

“Oh my? How did you know about that?”

…So I was right.

Here too, spirits are divided into ranks.

“You mentioned that our friend helping us move is a high-rank spirit, so I assumed there must be ranks above and below that, right?”

“As expected… someone who received power from the Great Goddess is different.”

…?

How did she make that connection?

I’m happy to receive the compliment, but something feels a bit off.

Anyway, we’re now about 4,000 meters below the surface, heading toward the land where the World Tree is located.

The reason we’re moving this way is because the land where the World Tree stands is surrounded by an ocean with a maximum depth of 3,000 meters.

So we’re traveling through the earth, deeper than the deepest part of the sea.

“Where are we passing through right now?”

“Just a moment. Terrenum, where are we passing through now?”

[Above. Ocean. World Tree’s energy. Still far.]

So we’re still passing under the ocean, and it will take quite some time before we reach the World Tree.

Hmm, now that I think about it, I’m feeling pretty sleepy. Maybe I’ll take a short nap.

“I’m going to take a quick nap, so please wake me when we arrive.”

“Yes, rest well.”

‘With Etherna around, I should be fine.’

As a former sergeant in the Republic of Korea Army Reserve, I can sleep just fine on dirt ground.

I lay down on the floor, closed my eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

As Patos fell asleep, Etherna, who was guarding him, looked at Shreka.

“It’s amazing that the High Elf Grand Elder came all this way to find Lord Patos.”

Etherna seemed very excited, probably because she was seeing elves with her own eyes for the first time, when previously she had only read about them in texts.

“That’s because this matter is so time-sensitive. The Sun Order’s Sa—”

“Chief Inquisitor.”

Etherna preemptively cut off Shreka to prevent any careless words from coming out of her mouth.

Clearly, what was about to come out of Shreka’s mouth wasn’t “Chief Inquisitor” but “Saint.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Shreka said with a smile.

“I’d appreciate it if you could be careful about such sensitive matters.”

Etherna looked at Shreka with a slightly furrowed brow.

‘Hehe, this is interesting. It seems the Sun Order’s Saint has developed feelings of affection for Count Severio…’

‘What’s this? Why are there suddenly so many competitors? I might understand if it were a human, but an elf is absolutely unacceptable.’

The gazes of the smiling Shreka and frowning Etherna met.

The two stared at each other for quite some time before eventually returning to expressionless faces.

‘Hmm, I’ve witnessed something interesting. I wonder what would happen if the Sun Order’s Saint were to be with an Imperial Count?’

Shreka found this situation quite amusing and intriguing.

From what she remembered, most religious orders didn’t prohibit marriage.

However, most individuals who attained the position of Saint lived their entire lives single.

There were cases where they married warriors directly appointed by the Great Goddess, but no warrior had appeared in the last few hundred years.

That’s why she became even more interested in Etherna’s behavior.

As she aged with little to do, she naturally studied the doctrines of this world’s religious orders.

From what she knew, for saints like Etherna to marry, it had to be with someone of saint-level status who served a higher deity.

And Shreka thought that Patos was exactly the kind of person Etherna was looking for.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for that stern-looking saint to cling to such an ordinary-looking man.

A saint’s marriage wasn’t something that could happen just because a man had good abilities.

This was precisely what Shreka found interesting.

Etherna, a saint of the Sun Order, showing interest in Patos?

That meant Patos was either recognized as at least a saint or apostle of the Great Goddess Order, or had the potential to be one.

‘If I build a good relationship with the Sun Order’s Saint, perhaps she’ll invite me to the wedding? That could be an opportunity for us elves to gradually build steps toward interaction with the outside world.’

Shreka had no intention of interfering in the relationship between Etherna and Patos.

What she wanted was to create an opportunity for the reclusive, shut-in elves to experience the outside world.

Of course, this might take not 10 or 20 years, but 100 or 200 years—though from the perspective of long-lived elves, 100 or 200 years wasn’t particularly long.

‘I will never hand Lord Patos over to an elf. Besides, my chest is bigger! It’s an unchanging truth that men prefer women with large breasts!’

However, Etherna misunderstood, thinking that Shreka was interested in Patos.

She didn’t want another person bidding for her future husband whom she had already set her sights on.

Especially if he were to become the partner of the High Elf Grand Elder…

Patos would enter elven society, and she would never see him again.

Etherna didn’t want to live alone for a long time like other saints.

She wanted to date, marry, have children, and live a cozy life like everyone else.

‘If it comes to it… I’ll create a fait accompli. I don’t know about concubines, but I’m definitely the first! The legal wife!’

Etherna began to burn with determination against Shreka.

She was resolved not to give up the man she had her eye on to anyone else.

Of course, how Patos felt about Etherna was another matter entirely…

Patos’s preference was for mature and embracing types like Etherna and Regina, so at least he wouldn’t fall for Shreka, who was less embracing.

But Etherna, who didn’t know much about relationships or Patos’s preferences, saw Shreka as a rival.

‘Hehe, I hope those two get together soon.’

‘I will never hand him over to someone like you!’

As their mutual misunderstandings about Shreka deepened, they continued to move toward the World Tree.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

At the only passage leading to the roots of the World Tree.

An elf appeared before the elven knights guarding this place.

“Lady Telio? What brings you here?”

The identity of this elf was Telio.

She was the elf who had met Eldran, the first demon, on the land across from the Archipelago Alliance.

“I’m on my way to measure the level of contamination in the roots, as ordered by the Grand Elder.”

“Ah, is that so? Did she ask for measurements again today?”

The knights didn’t question Telio’s presence here.

They simply thought she was someone who had come before and was now returning.

“Yes. As you all know, the Grand Elder has left to find someone who can resolve this situation.”

“Understood. You may enter.”

“Thank you.”

The elven knights let Telio in without any suspicion.

If they had known what she was thinking, they would have risked their lives to stop her.

However, Telio, who was now approaching the roots of the World Tree, appeared no different from the other elves here on the surface.

After following the spiral staircase for quite some time, Telio finally reached the roots of the World Tree.

As she approached the roots, she took out an ascension stone from her bosom.

‘Great Lord Eldran. May his will be done on this land.’

After taking out the ascension stone, Telio raised her hand high.

Then, a sticky, dark energy from the ascension stone began to slowly flow into Telio’s body.

This was the ascension ritual to become a demon.

The reason she came here was simple.

To ascend as a demon, contaminate the roots of the World Tree, and then escape.

However, there was something Telio didn’t know…

[Dangerous entity detected. Sending danger signal to guardian. Presence of adversary confirmed.]

The World Tree sensed the demonic energy contained in the ascension stone and alerted its guardian that its adversary had appeared.

“This is terrible! It seems a dangerous entity has appeared near the World Tree!”

And Shreka detected the danger signal sent by the World Tree.

“What?”

“Terrenum! Move as fast as you can toward the roots of the World Tree!”

[Understood. Hold tight.]

Following Shreka’s request, Terrenum began to rush toward the World Tree at a much faster pace than before.

Etherna and Patos, who had just woken up, could only blink their eyes, not knowing what was happening.