Chapter 80 : Priestess

The rumor that elves are severe vegetarians was unfortunately true, but fortunately, they did not recommend their dietary habits during

meals with others.

This is the correct form of veganism. After all, who would ever recommend that their pet eat grass, right?

In this case, the pet isn’t just any animal, it’s a pet dinosaur. If it bites you, it won’t just sting lightly.

“There are still many stubborn elders who hold on to traditions, but not everyone is like that,”

said Marcil, the high elf, who had sat down beside me. With his sophisticated thoughts, he clicked his tongue as he thought about the others

with rigid minds.

I recalled the rumors I had heard and said what I had read in fairy tales.

“I thought elves were a species that mostly made rational choices.”

“Do you know that’s a racist remark? It’s not true at all. Everyone here is the same.”

He must be dealing with a difficult issue, as he, who is high-ranking enough to represent the elves, looked troubled. His face was full of

concern, and he sighed deeply before speaking with a tone of complaint.

“Some wild Guiltirans we haven’t been able to capture might pose a danger to the ecosystem, so we must report them immediately, as per the

rules.”

“It seems that’s difficult to do?”

“Yes… Some elderly elves living alone keep feeding the Guiltirans, saying they are lives and family. No matter how much we try to persuade

them or fine them, it doesn’t work. It’s been a real headache lately.”

Oh dear. If this keeps up, he might end up with stress-induced hair loss, I thought, as I looked at the top of his head. Still, it wasn’t a problem

I should concern myself with. Whether it’s Guiltirans or hair loss, I shouldn’t be involved. The Guiltirans roaring in the wild every night was a

problem I never imagined, but it’s a big deal for someone, I guess.

Fortunately, he soon changed his expression and shifted the conversation to a lighter topic.

“I feel like I’ve been talking too much about my own problems. Do you have anything you’d like to do with the rest of your time, Trea?”

Now that the meeting had successfully concluded, we were given two days of free time.

Since the land of the elves is a difficult place to reach by conventional means, we shouldn’t waste this precious time. Luckily, I had already

planned something.

“Actually, I’d like to meet the World Tree.”

My ultimate goal was ascension, and that was information few had ever heard of, unless one had a certain level of rank. So far, the only

people who knew about it were Edwin, the hero, and Professor Aramade, the ruler of the Black Forest. Perhaps the World Tree could give me

a clue. Marcil, with a somewhat awkward expression, said,

“That… well, it’s up to the World Tree whether or not a meeting is arranged. And there have been less than five occasions where humans have

met it…”

“It’s fine. That’s something I’ll handle.”

“…I’ll guide you to the priestess. I have to meet her first to get permission.”

Even if the World Tree didn’t meet me, it didn’t matter much. The title would just change from World Tree to something like a thick-headed

firewood log.

Among the high elves, sometimes a child with the qualities of a priestess is born. It’s a unique trait of high elves, allowing them to

communicate with the gods.

The priestess, who performs the rituals for the World Tree, lived far from the village, right next to the World Tree itself.

“What’s this, Marcil oppa? What kind of person did you bring here?”

…And she was quite a little kid. With a rather rough mouth. She looked as small as, if not smaller than, my maid, Arwen.

It’s a cliché that those who play the roles of priestesses or shamans are often little kids, but seeing one in person made me lose a bit of trust in

it. How could they entrust such an important role to a tiny child?

Marcil, sweating to calm her down as I entered, tried his best to soothe the excited little one.

“Don’t do that…”

“Look at this, the spirits are actually scared. What kind of karma have you built up to make them act like this?”

“Even so, isn’t there a natural tendency for spirits to avoid certain people?”

Spirits, huh. Since coming here, I hadn’t seen any spirits, not even a glimpse of them. I wasn’t particularly close to them, though.

But aside from that, this little one was really annoying. Wouldn’t you think a little kid constantly chattering would be cute?

Not at all. The little brat, shouting “useless” and “trash,” only annoyed me. Anyone who likes that sort of thing should be locked up.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 136. Why?”

“Oh, I was just asking…”

Damn these high-elf bastards. I tried to make things right by talking about age like an old fart, but all I got in return was the fact that this

little one was actually over a hundred years old. Creepy.

It was so unreasonable to face an elf’s lifespan as a young and inexperienced person. Youth wasn’t always an advantage.

“If you’re really reluctant, couldn’t you just look into this person’s deeds directly?”

“Hmph, I was actually planning on doing that already.”

It reminded me of what he had said earlier: “Elves are just like people, the same in every way.”

From now on, if anyone shows groundless admiration or affection for the high elves, I’ll personally step in and smash their skulls. Those

cocky little brats.

The high elf priestess made me come closer, then placed her hand on top of my head. It wasn’t exactly a direct vision, but rather a technique

to look vaguely into the past or future.

Though I was slightly uneasy since it felt like a form of divination, I decided to tolerate it, thinking it was similar to the magic that Lena, the

Dark Tower mage, had shown me. The priestess muttered something, still grumbling about the spirits avoiding me.

“Hmph, probably just some swamp frog-like creature.”

A frog, huh. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen that purple frog since I stopped using summoning magic. It was kind of cute.

While I had these idle thoughts, the priestess’s expression changed repeatedly. She looked confused, and her face flushed red as though she

had seen something frightening.

After a while, she removed her hand from my head, her face now showing shock as she looked at me.

“What did you see…?”

“Well…”

Normally, results from this kind of divination are not supposed to be directly revealed. It could change the future.”

Though she spoke arrogantly, I reminded myself she was older than my deceased grandmother, and I endured it. She then slumped onto a

cushion, quickly drinking from a teapot.

She looked dehydrated just by seeing her face. What could she have seen?

She put the teapot down with a thud and looked at me with a disappointed expression.

“You… really are a slow one, aren’t you? You don’t look like it.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Go up. The World Tree is waiting for you.”

She looked like a child of about fourteen, but when she made an expression like she had seen the world, it felt like déjà vu. I decided not to

press her for more answers, as I wasn’t going to get any.

The World Tree is waiting for me? But she had just said that fewer than five people had ever met it. This kid, unexpectedly easy-going…

She pointed to a passage leading to the base of the World Tree. I gave Marcil a quick nod and went into the old tree.

“What did you see?”

After Trea left, Marcil asked the priestess. It wasn’t just Trea who was curious about her story.

High elves are mostly related by blood, so even if the other person is the priestess of the clan, it’s not unusual for family to speak casually with

each other in private.

The priestess sighed, recalling the events that had just passed. She said that, aside from the past, she had seen two possible futures for Trea:

an external one and a personal one.

“One is definitely something extraordinary. A huge event. The fate of the continent might depend on her.”

“And the other one?”

Marcil asked, but the priestess didn’t give a clear answer. Her face seemed uncertain as she tried to confirm if what she saw was really

correct. After some thought, she uttered one word, a response so unexpected that Marcil had to ask again.

“Tissue.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure, but she was wiping something with her body… Or, should I say, something was stained.”

With that, the priestess shivered, feeling disgusted by what she saw, and issued a guest-warding spell to send the visitor away.

Wiping something? What could it have been? Since Marcil hadn’t seen what she saw, he could only try to guess the cryptic words she spoke.

Only the priestess, who had seen Trea’s life and future, seemed to recoil at her personal life.