Chapter 203: Escape

After finishing his business with the World Tree, Jinwoo returned and explained what had happened to everyone.

That the lifespan of this island was ending soon.

That all the inhabitants of this island had to leave this place.

And that the World Tree had fallen into eternal slumber, leaving behind only the power to depart.

There were no lies or exaggerations in his account.

Seeing Jinwoo calmly explaining, everyone was either surprised or asked questions.

Jinwoo answered everything sincerely and earnestly, to the best of his ability.

Perhaps thanks to that, by the time Jinwoo finally finished his explanation, everyone seemed to grasp the situation to some extent.

“Our homeland disappearing like this…”

Of course, accepting it didn’t mean they weren’t shocked.

This place was the home the elves had lived in their entire lives, from birth.

It was difficult to readily accept the news that their home would suddenly disappear.

But everyone knew Jinwoo wasn’t lying, at least.

The fact was clear: whether they wanted to or not, they had to leave this place.

“…Will we be able to adapt and live in the world you came from?”

Reina, who had now become the joint representative of the Elf and Dark Elf villages, spoke first.

Perhaps due to her mindset of being responsible for her people, she was quick to grasp the situation and pinpoint the core of the problem.

Moving homes was a foregone conclusion anyway.

If so, how they would adapt and live there was more important.

For Reina, the biggest concern was whether the elves would truly be alright in that place.

“If it’s about that, we will take responsibility and resolve it.”

Unexpectedly, the one who said that was Shin Seom-hwa.

Her gaze had somehow returned to that of her past, when she was a Team Leader at the company, not Jinwoo’s woman.

“Using all that we possess-our authority, power, and wealth-we will make our society accept you. They will not be able to impose any restrictions or limitations on you, and should anything happen, even if it’s just a slim chance, I swear we will fight alongside you until the very end.”

Shin Seom-hwa spoke calmly with a cold expression, her voice barely carrying any intonation.

It was a tone as if she were stating something extremely obvious.

Shin Seom-hwa, who was usually evaluated as somewhat difficult to approach even by the elves,

conversely, her demeanor made one feel a strong sense of trust precisely because of it.

“And if things go wrong, this guy will resolve it. If he managed to get women like these into his hands, he should at least do that much.”

Saying that, Shin Seom-hwa lightly kicked Jinwoo’s shin.

Shin Seom-hwa herself must surely have been included among the ‘women’ mentioned there.

If he’s a man who embraced me, he should do at least that much.

Such a meaning might have been implied.

“Yes, you will feel anxious thinking about suddenly having to move and live in another place. But I promise that I will make it possible for you to live like now, no, even better than now, by any means necessary. So you can rest assured regarding that aspect.”

As soon as those words finished, Han So-young also raised her hand.

“I’ll help make that happen! It’s not such a scary world, so don’t worry! It’s actually a place that will welcome you!”

As the three spoke consecutively like that, a slight sense of relief flowed even among the flustered elves.

Just then, Maya, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand.

“Then, what happens to the belongings or homes we had?”

“I think taking the homes themselves is unreasonable… but as for items you can carry, you can take as many as you want. Items you must take or items you consider valuable, you may take them.”

Although not many, there were jewels in the Elf village too.

Well, the elves themselves weren’t very interested in them, so they were mostly just gathering dust in a warehouse.

For now, if they take those too, they might have considerable value.

Well, wealth doesn’t hold much meaning for Jinwoo currently, who has summoning abilities through Points.

Rather, what the elves care about would be items containing ‘memories’, more than such material possessions.

“Then, when are we leaving?”

The one who asked that was Tilfh.

As she was the World Tree’s shrine maiden, she likely understood the situation to some extent.

That the island’s lifespan was not long left.

“Time is not abundant. Please finish your preparations to depart within three days.”

3 days.

It was a short period, but the elves had almost no personal belongings anyway.

Most likely, the majority would use it to say farewell to their homeland.

“When that exact time comes, please gather here again. We will move together then.”

---

Jinwoo, having finished his explanation, returned to his home.

Most belongings were stored in his inventory, but that didn’t mean items to organize were entirely absent.

The time spent in the Elf village had somehow become quite long.

Looking at it like this, a rather strong nostalgia was felt.

“…Somehow, I think I’ll miss it.”

Suddenly, the one who voiced his thoughts was Hilde, who was beside him.

She too was helping organize their belongings beside him, along with Jinwoo.

Hilde had never lived in Korea either.

But unlike the elves, who were a completely unknown territory, Hilde knew about it to some extent through knowledge.

Therefore, her anticipation was greater than fear, even for life in the place they were leaving.

But it was naturally sad if a place where she had lived for a long time were to disappear.

“It took quite a lot of time to settle here.”

“Yeah, it did.”

First summoning Hilde, surviving on the uninhabited island, meeting women, and going through many fights, they finally settled here.

Thinking about it like that, it felt like quite a long time had passed.

Honestly, when I first fell onto the uninhabited island, it felt daunting not knowing how I should live.

But now, I even miss those times.

Is this what they call ‘memories’?

“Um, the time spent here with Master was truly happy and enjoyable.”

“Why are you talking like it’s the last time? We’ll continue to be together.”

“Still, the time spent here is the last, isn’t it?”

Jinwoo hugged Hilde from behind, as if to comfort her.

The feel of her white, soft shoulders and the rich, feminine scent felt pleasant.

“I know. It’s truly a shame.”

Never did I imagine I would think like this.

Jinwoo had believed that someday he had to escape this uninhabited island.

No, looking back now, perhaps that was close to intuition.

He would definitely leave this island, even if it was in the distant future.

He seemed to have thought so unconsciously.

But even that was only imagining escaping the island by building a boat or using some means.

Even if he left, he had never envisioned anything more than a scene where he would probably return again and meet the elves living on the island.

Who could have known that an entire island would disappear?

Nevertheless, that was an unchangeable fact.

So now, he had no choice but to let go.

“Although we leave like this, the future will surely be several times more enjoyable.”

On one hand, it was slightly ironic.

The island he so wanted to leave, now that it was actually going to disappear, made him feel so regretful.

“We will be able to live well even after going there, right?”

“If it’s us, there will surely be no problem.”

On our side, we have an S-class or higher ranker, Lucy the Dragon, and furthermore, elves and orcs boasting excellent combat prowess are positioned.

If a fight breaks out, I can guarantee the loss will surely be greater for the other side.

“Even if things go wrong, I will protect you.”

At Jinwoo’s words, Hilde smiled so lovingly.

Then, she reached out, wrapped her arms around Jinwoo’s neck, and kissed his lips.

Her large, soft breasts pressed against him, pleasantly squishing.

Their alluring tongue movements soon explored each other.

The two showed their affection like that for a while before pulling apart.

They could feel each other’s heartbeats and body heat intensely.

“No matter what happens, I will make all of you happy.”

“…Yes, I believe you, Master.”

There was surely no lie in those words.

That’s why Hilde could always sincerely believe in and love him.

---

Three days later.

The elves and dark elves, and the orcs.

And Jinwoo’s party stood in the middle of the plaza.

It was a short time, but everyone seemed to have finished saying their farewells in their own way.

Now, the quiet village, where no one lived anymore, was neatly tidied up.

Even if it was an island that would soon disappear, no, precisely because of it, achieving a graceful end was somewhat important.

Perhaps thanks to that, sadness could not be found on the elves’ faces.

Although a slight hint of regret remained, everyone was accepting that they now had to go to another world.

‘The situation is the opposite of the beginning.’

Originally, Jinwoo’s party would have been the first strangers to enter this island.

But now, they had become the ones guiding the entire island’s inhabitants to the society they lived in.

That fact felt strange and made him feel slightly happy.

“…It was truly long.”

Anew, thinking like that, Jinwoo used the power the World Tree Aeha last left him.

“Wow!”

“Wh-what is this?”

A bright blue light enveloped everyone on the island.

Immediately after, their bodies floated up.

They continued to rise upwards.

Until finally, the entire island unfolded before their eyes.

The sight of the unfolded island was so beautiful and vast.

‘We were living here.’

It wasn’t just them who were enveloped in the light.

The entire island was turning into particles of light and disappearing.

Watching that surreal sight, Jinwoo sensed that the life on the uninhabited island had truly ended.

Immediately after, as the entire island truly disappeared into particles of light, their bodies too began to move.

And so, Jinwoo’s party escaped the island.