Elf’s Forest

It was a week-long journey to the north. The blizzard-swept land had now turned into a lush green meadow.

,Haru, look! The spirits have found new flower buds!”

“Ah, yes…”

“Why do you keep trying to distance yourself?”

I unconsciously tried to create some distance, but Sylvia grabbed my arm. The spirits sparkled, circling around the wildflowers.

Her usual cold, haughty demeanor was nowhere to be found, and her green eyes sparkled with excitement. Like a girl on her first date.

“Haru, your hands are getting cold.”

Sylvia held my hand even tighter.

“It’s okay. This much is…”

“I don’t want you to. Stay like this.”

I tried to pull my hand away, but her strength was considerable. It was a monstrous strength that didn’t suit her aristocratic appearance. Come to think of it, weren’t archers originally strength-based characters instead of agility-based ones?

“Or… am I so unbearable… that you hate me?”

Sylvia’s eyes started to well up.

This was a disaster. There was nothing I could do about those tearful eyes.

“No, it’s not that…”

“Really? You’re not lying, are you?”

She hugged my arm even tighter. A sweet fragrance brushed against my nose.

“Thinking that Haru hates me… it hurts my heart so much…”

She was even starting to sob. This was cheating.

“Okay, okay. I won’t move away.”

“You promise?”

“Haa…”

Her tears vanished without a trace.

Sylvia seemed to have realized that her tearful expression was her most powerful weapon.

The path to the forest was still far. But Sylvia wasn’t impatient. On the contrary, she seemed to want this journey to continue.

“The spirits like Haru too. So…”

She snuggled even closer to my arm. Her emerald hair fluttered in the wind, tickling my cheek.

“Hey, Sylvia. It’s hard to walk like this…”

“It’s okay. The spirits will guide us.”

Before she could even finish her sentence, a fire spirit took the lead. A flame in the shape of a lion melted away the remaining cold, clearing the path.

A wind spirit blew, narrowing the distance between us, and a flower spirit created a romantic atmosphere.

“See? There’s no problem now, right?”

Sylvia wore a victorious smile.

“Still, maybe we should separate a little…”

“Uuu…”

Tears welled up in Sylvia’s eyes again. Her long ears drooped.

“You still hate me because I’m an elf, right? Because I seem cold… because it’s hard to approach me… because I’m not human…”

“No, Sylvia. I like that you’re an elf. I like that noble atmosphere too…”

“Really?”

Sylvia’s eyes sparkled. Her ears perked up.

“Then hug me.”

“Huh?”

“Hug me… tightly…”

If I refused, she would cry again. Then the spirits… the forest… would…

“Okay, okay.”

I had no choice but to hug her. A sweet fragrance brushed against my nose.

“I’m… so afraid that Haru will run away again…”

Sylvia’s shoulders trembled.

“So I have to… hold on like this…”

Sylvia buried her face in my chest.

“Forever and ever…”

Her last words weighed heavily on my heart.

Once I arrived at the Elf’s Forest… I would never be able to escape.

Under the watchful eyes of the spirits, beneath the roots of the World Tree, in the name of eternal love…

“Haru?”

Sylvia looked at me with suspicious eyes. A dangerous light flickered in her eyes.

“It’s nothing.”

As the sun set, the spirits wrapped around the trees. Green magic pushed back the darkness, creating a cozy space.

“Haru, I’ll cook today.”

Sylvia said in an excited voice.

“Ah, it’s okay. Sylvia-ssi, you should rest.”

“No. I’m going to do it.”

Tears welled up in Sylvia’s eyes. Here we go again.

“O-okay.”

Her expression brightened. The spirits sparkled as if responding to her joy.

“I prepared an Elven vegetable dish and… meat for Haru!”

Sylvia took out the meat. It was admirable that she, a vegetarian, had prepared it for me, but…

The fire spirit lit a bonfire. Sylvia took out a knife and started cutting vegetables.

“I’ll help you.”

“No! I can do it myself!”

An hour later, she presented the dish with a nervous expression.

On the plate was an Elven vegetable salad and a piece of meat that was burnt black.

“Here, try it.”

The green vegetable dish was somewhat edible. But the meat…

“H-how is it?”

“It’s delicious.”

The lie scratched its way out of my throat.

“Really? I’m so glad!”

Sylvia smiled happily.

“Then would you like more? I prepared a lot…”

“Ah, this much is enough for now…”

“You don’t want it? Is it… not good after all?”

“No! I’ll eat more!”

I forced a smile while chewing on the burnt meat.

“I’ll cook for Haru every day from now on. I’ll practice hard so I can make it even more delicious!”

‘Every day?’

Cold sweat ran down my back.

“Haru…”

After the meal, Sylvia came close to my side.

“Can we… sleep together tonight?”

“That’s a bit…”

“You don’t want to?”

The tears in Sylvia’s eyes sparkled dangerously. The surrounding branches reached out towards us.

“Sylvia, can we talk for a moment?”

“Yes… what is it?”

Her long ears trembled nervously.

“How about we… go back to being party members, comrades, or at least friends, like before?”

The air froze instantly. Sylvia’s eyes shook as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“No.”

It was a firm refusal.

“But…”

“I like Haru. More than a friend… I want to be an elf only for Haru, just for Haru. The spirits… the forest… everyone wants Haru.”

Sylvia’s voice trembled.

“Perhaps… do you like the other party members more? Do you like the fat dragon? Or the Saintess? The furry cat?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Then why? Am I… am I lacking something?”

Sylvia held my hand tightly. Her hand trembled.

“I love you, Haru. From the moment I first met you until now… and forever more…”

Sylvia carefully held my hand. Neither cold nor hot, a warmth like moonlight was conveyed.

“So… please.”

Sylvia brought my hand to her ear.

“Touch me… like before…”

Her long ear gently touched my palm. Her eyes shook pitifully.

“Like then… gently…”

The sacred symbol of the elves, a place only allowed to a lifelong partner.

“Ah…”

Her sweet sigh escaped. Her shoulders trembled whenever my fingertips brushed against her earlobe.

“Sylvia, I…”

“Please… keep going… keep going…”

I moved my hand again. Her ear trembled with pleasure.

“Haru…”

Sylvia’s voice melted sweetly. Her cold green eyes shone with longing.

That gaze was frightening. The obsession to want this moment to last forever, the madness of not wanting to let me go.

The spirits circled around us. As Sylvia’s emotions deepened, their light grew even brighter.

Under the moonlight, we were dreaming different dreams.

*

After a precarious journey, we finally arrived at our destination.

The shadow of a huge tree loomed. It was the World Tree.

“We’ve finally arrived! Welcome to Sylvania Forest, the sacred ground of the elves!”

Sylvia’s voice was full of excitement. Her emerald hair fluttered in the breeze.

“Can you see that over there? That’s the World Tree.”

Where her finger pointed, a huge tree pierced the sky. Branches soaring through the clouds filtered the sun, creating a green curtain.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Sylvia held my hand even tighter.

“It will be our home from now on.”

The word ‘home’ felt like a chain.

“What you see over there is the Moonlight Tree. It emits a soft glow at night.”

Sylvia explained proudly. But to my eyes, it only looked like the bars of a cage.

“Ah! That’s the Rainbow Waterfall. The spirits have created an eternal rainbow there.”

Her explanation continued. Like a bride showing off her new home.

“Haru, our room is over there.”

“Yes?”

“The temple right next to the World Tree. It’s a space for the queen. The view is really amazing. I’ve already prepared everything.”

My heart sank. It was a declaration that she wouldn’t give me a chance to escape.

“The spirits have been waiting for Haru to come. They all say they bless our union…”

Sylvia’s cheeks turned red. The tips of her ears also flushed.

Baseurak-

The leaves reacted with every step. Green magic filled the air.

“Haru, are you okay?”

Sylvia examined my expression.

“Ah… yes.”

“Liar…”

Her eyes shone coldly.

“I can feel that Haru is anxious. The spirits tell me.”

Sylvia’s grip tightened. The surrounding trees bent towards us.

“Are you thinking of running away?”

A cold voice. The haughty Elf Queen briefly resurfaced.

“No! Not at all…”

“Then that’s a relief.”

Sylvia’s expression brightened in an instant. As if nothing had happened.

“Now, shall we go inside? I want to introduce Haru to everyone! Not as the hero Haru, but as the Haru who will become the king of the forest!”

She pulled my arm. The moment I took a step towards the World Tree, the entire forest seemed to come alive.

Branches bent towards us, flowers bloomed and withered, and spirits danced a welcoming dance.

Sylvia held my arm even tighter, filled with joy. But I was suffocating.

This wasn’t a welcome. It was a warning.

A sentence that I couldn’t escape, that I would be trapped in this forest forever.

The shadow of the World Tree grew darker and darker. This was Sylvania. The Elf’s Forest, and the place that would become my prison.

*

“Elders of the Leaves.”

Sylvia’s voice echoed in the World Tree Plaza. A tense atmosphere flowed.

“Today, I intend to declare a new future for our forest.”

In the center of the circular plaza where the elders were gathered, Sylvia stepped forward, holding my hand tightly.

“This person is Haru. The hero who saved us from the oppression of the Empire, and…”

Sylvia’s voice trembled. Her cheeks turned red.

“The partner I have chosen, and the one who will become the new king of the forest.”

The spirits rained down flowers. It was a splendid blessing ceremony, but the elders’ expressions were subtle.

From the highest point of the council seats, an elf with abundant white hair rose from his seat. A wrinkled face with layers of time accumulated, but his dignity was as solid as an ancient tree that had endured for a thousand years.

‘The head of the Dawn Branch family, he looks like the most conservative one at a glance.’

“I understand the Queen-nim’s pure feelings, but… isn’t this a very rash decision?”

“What do you mean?”

Sylvia’s voice turned cold.

“It is a moment when a thousand years of tradition crumbles in a single morning. To make a human the king…”

Following him, an elder from another faction joined in. A middle-aged elf with golden hair intricately braided, the elder of the Golden Leaf family in charge of communication between the forest and the outside world.

“It is true that we need the hero-nim’s strength. But to enthrone him as king already… isn’t it a bit hasty? Let’s establish a conditional cooperative relationship for now. We must avoid situations that are not beneficial to each other…”

“Benefit? Loss? Do you dare to see my Haru as an object of trade?”

“The Queen-nim has been outside for too long. It seems you have forgotten the laws of the forest.”

At that moment, a new voice was heard from the very bottom of the council seats. A middle-aged elf with jet-black hair braided to one side. His attire was simple, but that simplicity created an overwhelming presence.

‘The Black Thorn family, leading the warriors of the forest…’

“Pure blood must be protected. Marriage with a human? And to enthrone him as king? It is impossible.”

“Are you daring to insult Haru?”

A moment of silence flowed. Everyone held their breath, glaring at each other.

“When you are blinded by love, you cannot see the forest.”

“What did you say?”

“The Queen’s qualifications are in doubt. I oppose such emotional decisions. I will definitely stop it.”

“How will you stop it?”

Sylvia’s voice sank dangerously.

“If necessary…”

The Black Thorn Elder’s words trailed off. But the threat contained within was clear.

“Enough!”

With Sylvia’s shout, the spirits burst out as if exploding. The elders briefly stepped back before the power of the enraged queen.

“Queen-nim, I hope you will make a wise decision. Between love and duty…”

The stubborn gardener of the Dawn Branch family, the clever merchant of the Golden Leaf family, the cold-blooded general of the Black Thorn family.

For them, a human like me becoming king was something that would shake the order of a thousand years.