Ch.172Chapter 172 – Rich Quest (2)

“Why are they targeting the World Tree?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question.

The World Tree is sacred to Alfheim.

Targeting such a tree is essentially the same as turning all the elves of Alfheim into enemies.

Judging by Pine’s suddenly serious expression, it seemed like he was ready to rush out and beat up the demon folk right away.

‘From the demon folk’s perspective, elves would be enemies anyway.’

Still, there didn’t seem to be any benefit in revealing themselves first.

However, Lich seemed to have a guess.

“First of all, targeting the World Tree would be essentially a gamble from their perspective too.”

“Then why target it at all?”

At Sera’s question, Lich fell into thought for a moment.

But it wasn’t long before he spoke.

“Let me give you a little lecture here. Do you know what role the World Tree plays in Alfheim?”

“Isn’t it just an object of worship?”

At Christina’s question, Lich clicked his tongue and wagged his finger.

Judging by his expression, that was the response he wanted.

“That’s not wrong. There are actually two reasons… First, you can think of all magic in Alfheim as being filtered through the World Tree.”

“Filtered?”

“Yes. Like an air purifier… Ah, you probably don’t know what that is. Actually, I don’t really know either; it’s just an analogy I heard long ago. Anyway, you can think of the World Tree as continuously converting all the magic in Alfheim’s atmosphere into pure magic.”

After saying this, Lich spread his hands.

“If we go back in history, we’d have to go all the way back to the Demon War and the founding of Alfheim.”

“Keep it brief.”

Lich nodded and spread his hands as he spoke.

This time, small soldiers fighting appeared above his hand.

“Alfheim was once one of the places where demon gates appeared. It was one of their main strongholds. And because they fought almost daily with the elves who originally lived in this area, it became one of the major battlegrounds.”

Horned soldiers and pointy-eared soldiers were fighting vigorously against each other.

After a while, the pointy-eared soldiers were celebrating as if they had won.

“One day, when a hero succeeded in killing the Demon Lord, the demons’ morale plummeted dramatically. In the end, all the demons who invaded this place were annihilated without being able to return home, and the elves won.”

However, the joy of victory didn’t last long, as the elf soldiers’ expressions changed to ones of despair.

“But the elves also suffered severe losses. Most of their homes were burned down in the fierce battles, and the land was contaminated by the demons’ magic from their desperate last stands. The contaminated magic caused illness among the elves, and they too faced a crisis.”

The next moment, Lich clenched his fist, and the images of the soldiers disappeared.

“But there’s always hope. Their situation reached the ears of the hero.”

As Lich opened his hand again, figures appeared: a person in brilliant armor at the center, surrounded by a swordsman, a mage, and a cleric.

In front of them, a pointy-eared archer was kneeling.

“In the hero’s party, there was an elf who had left home to help them. When the hero’s party heard about the crisis in their comrade’s homeland, they headed straight for this land.”

The party that had appeared earlier approached the elf soldiers and began to help them.

“The hero used his power to drive away the demons’ magic. Thanks to that, the elves had a place to live and could stay in this land for a while. But it wasn’t a fundamental solution.”

“Why not?”

“That contaminated magic, whether it was created by some special method, had the property of continuously eroding other energies. Even though the hero drove it away significantly, the contamination of the land didn’t stop immediately. And the hero couldn’t stay in this land forever.”

Lich clenched and unclenched his fist again.

This time, the hero and the mage were having a meeting at a table.

“Because of this, the hero consulted with the mage. And they came up with a solution.”

In the next scene, the hero and the mage were high-fiving each other.

“The hero conceived of a massive tree using knowledge he possessed—a tree that would absorb the demons’ magic and slowly restore the land. The mage accepted this idea and, with the help of dragons, researched it.”

Soon, a person who appeared to be the mage planted something like a seed in the ground, and a tree began to grow.

Elves began to dance around the tree.

“The tree created this way periodically absorbed the demons’ magic and other magic, slowly purifying it. As the magic continued to be purified, the elves were able to live in this land.”

“That’s the World Tree.”

Lich nodded at Eve’s words.

“Now all the demons’ magic has been purified, but it still absorbs magic itself. Do you know what this means?”

Lich waved his hand once.

Soon, the shadow figures playing on his palm disappeared.

“It means that an enormous amount of magic is stored inside the World Tree.”

“Correct, magician.”

Lich nodded at Beatrice’s words.

“So they’re after that magic.”

“Yes. They need an immense amount of magic right now, and the World Tree has the magic they need.”

I had a pretty good idea.

While I couldn’t say exactly how large the elven nation was, the amount of magic collected over several years from an entire country would undoubtedly be enormous.

“Their goal is to summon the Demon Lord. They’ve decided to take a gamble to gather the magic needed for that.”

“The Demon Lord.”

“That must be prevented. And that’s why I’m asking for your help.”

I nodded at Lich’s words.

“Any questions?”

“You’ve been saying it’s a gamble they’re taking, but why? There must be safer ways to gather magic.”

At my question, Lich shrugged his shoulders again and said:

“That’s because I’ve been interfering.”

“Interfering?”

“If you thought I’ve been just playing around all this time, you’d be sad to hear it. I’ve been running all over the place with this old body to stop them.”

It seemed that Lich had been continuously preventing the demon folk from collecting artifacts or items with vast amounts of magic.

“You’re extremely hostile toward the demon folk.”

“That’s because most of my life has been spent fighting them. Though I look like this now.”

Lich took another sip of water and continued:

“Anyway, thanks to my continuous interference, they seem to have become impatient. As soon as I sensed them leading their subordinates and lurking around elven territory, I rushed here.”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“As much as you have.”

Lich said with a smile.

“But with your skills, couldn’t you stop them by yourself?”

“If it were just about protecting a single artifact, perhaps.”

Lich nodded at Beatrice’s words.

But the next moment, he spoke with a serious face:

“However, when I say they’re taking a gamble, it also means they’ll be committing all their resources. They already know about my interfering presence, and since they’re planning something in Alfheim, they’re surely anticipating interference from the elves as well.”

Lich continued as he poured more water into his now-empty cup:

“They wouldn’t move without considering such obstacles. Moreover, if they fail, it leads to the summoning of the Demon Lord. So, I’d like to have a joker in hand, just in case.”

“A joker?”

“A trump card, a hidden move. That seems to be the meaning. The hero used to say it often… I heard.”

Lich ended his sentence a bit awkwardly.

Then he looked at us again and said:

“To put it another way, stopping them here would be an irreversible major blow from the demons’ perspective.”

Lich spoke quietly.

Then he bowed his head and said:

“I ask you. Will you help me stop the demon folk?”

“Hmm…”

I pondered Lich’s words for a moment and then looked at my companions.

‘Fighting the demon folk means we could be in danger.’

According to Lich, they would be coming at us with everything they had.

If things went wrong, we could suffer significant losses, so I couldn’t just nod and agree carelessly.

After a while, Beatrice looked at me and said:

“I think we should help.”

Beatrice looked at Lich and continued:

“Since it’s related to the demon folk and we just need to get past this hurdle, I think it’s best to stop them.”

Beatrice quietly added:

“Besides, if we can reduce the demon variable here, that’s even better. They’re probably already grinding their teeth at us because of what happened in Metis County.”

“You mean the Baphomet incident.”

Though unintentional, we had interfered with their plans once before.

If we left them alone and Lich failed, they would surely come after us.

After hearing Beatrice’s opinion, I looked at Eve, who seemed a bit troubled.

“Eve.”

“…Honestly, I’d like to oppose.”

Eve looked at me and said:

“Key, looking at your physical condition, you should avoid fighting as much as possible.”

“That’s true.”

“I don’t want you to be in danger.”

Eve slightly bowed her head toward Beatrice.

Beatrice seemed to understand, quietly nodding as she listened to Eve.

“Besides, helping Lich by fighting the demon folk means everyone could be in danger. I may deserve criticism for being selfish, but I still want to oppose.”

Eve was looking at me with worried eyes.

Then Sera stepped forward and spoke:

“Me too.”

“Sera.”

“…I also don’t want Key to get seriously injured by overexerting himself.”

Finally, I looked at Christina.

She looked at me with an expression that seemed on the verge of tears.

“…As a cleric, I think we should defeat the demon folk, but…”

Christina carefully held Sera’s hand and said:

“I also don’t want our benefactor to get hurt. You nearly died, remember? If you push yourself again and it becomes irreversible…”

Christina couldn’t finish her sentence.

‘So broadly speaking, we should help, but considering just us, it’s better to back off.’

However, it was hard to say which opinion was wrong.

‘If it’s about the demon folk, it’s not unrelated to us.’

After thinking for a moment, I came to a conclusion and looked at Lich.

“Have you decided?”

“More or less.”

Looking straight at Lich, I said:

“It’s not going to be free. Offer us sufficient compensation to make it worth our while.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

Lich sighed slightly.

This was the best compromise I could think of.

Even if it was related to world peace, I couldn’t ask my companions to step into potential danger without any compensation.

From the beginning, I thought their safety was more important than any reward, but to move us somehow, we needed compensation worth taking the risk.

At my response, Lich quietly began to laugh.

“At least you’re not completely dismissing it.”

“…There are people who say we should help.”

“And those who prioritize safety.”

Lich smiled gently.

Then he held up three fingers.

“I’ll offer three things as compensation.”

Lich folded one finger.

“First, the exact location of Evgenia’s seal in Alfheim.”

Then he folded a second finger.

“Second, I’ll take a look at your physical condition to see if I can improve it.”

“That’s…”

“I know everything. Your body is in terrible shape because you recklessly used a dragon’s power, and you’ve consumed a lot of your lifespan.”

Of course, Lich added that he could improve it, not completely cure it.

Then he folded his third finger.

“Lastly, a method to restore your lifespan.”

“What…?”

I saw Eve’s eyes widen at Lich’s words.

“You can restore lifespan?”

“…It’s a hypothesis, but there are precedents, so I think it will be effective.”

Lich smiled and crossed his arms.

“What will you do?”

I stared blankly at Lich for a moment.

‘Lifespan.’

This was something that was really troubling me right now.

The mention of not just improving my condition but actually restoring my lifespan made me feel a bit numb.

And after finally catching my breath, I quietly asked:

“How can I believe it’s real?”

“If you want, I can cast a spell. Your magician companion is here too. I’ll swear by a direct contract that I won’t lie and will faithfully fulfill my obligations.”

A paper filled with text appeared in Lich’s hand.

It was a familiar contract.

“‘A contract that binds the soul’…”

It was the same contract that Asam had presented to me when I was kidnapped by Beatrice.

“With this, you can trust me, right? Here, take a look, magician.”

Lich handed the contract to Beatrice.

Beatrice’s eyes quickly scanned the contract, and she quietly said:

“…It’s real.”

Beatrice spoke quietly.

“With these terms, there’s no risk of being deceived. If anything, it seems disadvantageous to Lich…”

“I’ll sign first. Please understand that it’s in an ancient language.”

Lich immediately signed the contract.

The name section began to glow brightly.

“It’s my true name.”

“Really?”

At my question, Beatrice nodded.

“Since it’s a contract that binds the soul, when you sign your real name, it glows.”

However, Beatrice said she couldn’t decipher what the name was.

“Well, this is the best sincerity I can offer. What will you do?”

Lich spoke quietly.

The next moment, I felt a warmth gripping my arm.

When I turned around, Eve was looking at me.

“…Key.”

It seemed Eve had changed her mind after my lifespan was mentioned, despite opposing earlier.

When I gently turned my head, Sera and Christina were looking at me.

Finally, when I looked at Beatrice, I saw her nodding as well.

“…Alright.”

I was a bit happy to see that even those who had opposed changed their minds when my lifespan was at stake.

At the same time, I felt sorry.

‘Because of me…’

Quietly turning my gaze away from my companions who were willing to take risks solely for my sake, I looked at Lich.

Lich, seeming a bit apologetic, quietly said:

“I feel a bit sorry for using your lifespan as leverage.”

“It’s fine.”

I answered somewhat curtly, feeling a bit annoyed that it was ultimately going according to Lich’s plan.

“But I’ll take an advance payment. I want to hear the exact location of the holy site first.”

If we go there, Christina’s holy power could increase.

Considering that her increased holy power would improve our chances of victory and survival, it was information we needed to prioritize.

“That’s fine. I was planning to tell you anyway. There’s still time, so you should go there first.”

Lich answered with a smile.

The next moment, there was a knock at the door from outside.

When Pine opened the door, waiters came in and began setting up food, and soon they brought out an elegant bottle of wine.

Lich unhesitatingly poured the wine into his glass, then filled everyone’s glasses, saying:

“Then let’s toast to the establishment of our deal.”

Lich raised his wine glass.

After pouring the red liquid from the wine bottle into everyone’s glasses, he raised his glass and said:

“Cheers.”

At Lich’s words, I slowly raised my glass as well.

“Wait, Key, aren’t you not supposed to drink alcohol?”

“Damn it.”

I almost drank mindlessly, caught up in the atmosphere.

I quietly put down my glass, aware of the eyes around me.