episode_0014

I started to feel worried.

Judging by the name ‘Ymir’s Tomb’, it was likely to be a type of royal tomb built on natural fame.

What are the characteristics of royal tombs?

It is the exclusive perception of outsiders and right-wing public power.

Even more so, a human from an enemy country? Can humans enter such a place?

“······Is this a place I can go in?”

Juul dropped me off with a nasal voice of positivity.

“Generally, they would kill humans, burn them, bury them in the ground and use them as fertilizer. But it doesn’t matter because you are my slave.”

“······It’s okay, right?”

Juul laughs, wondering what’s so funny.

The eyes were full of mischief.

“That’s right.”

‘I don’t think so.’

I can speak naturally, but I don’t know elven traditions. Their way of thinking, what they like, what they don’t like, what they need to be careful about, everything like precautions. I’m worried that I may be unknowingly making a mistake.

no. Rather than being rude, I just feel reluctant.

Isn’t this like pushing Asians into the skinhead stronghold? The more fluent you are in a foreign language, the more difficult it is to be forgiven for mistakes in etiquette.

At least I think so.

“Do you know what happens to elves after they die?”

Before I knew it, Jules was peeking this way.

It was a random question.

Aren’t all animal words the same?

“It will rot.”

Jules shook his head.

“When an elf dies, he becomes a tree.”

“······Trees?”

“When an elf dies or becomes too old, roots break out from the body. Above the neck it becomes a stem, and below the neck it becomes a root.”

Jules pretended to slit his throat.

Isn’t the idea of a tree growing from a dead body no different from Cordyceps sinensis? I suddenly got goosebumps.

“If an elf and a human mate, they can have children. If you really assimilate with us, your wife will also become an elf, so watch carefully.”

Come to think of it, the elf I saw earlier also suspected me of being a half-elf. Elves have grass growing on their scalps.

Could it be that the grass is the cotyledon of a tree?

I know a tree like that.

─Parasite order.

However, parasitic trees were plants that grew on the same tree.

I don’t know why they have long ears, but it is highly likely that elves are a similar species to humans, since they can see their children.

‘In other words, wouldn’t that tree be capable of parasitizing humans as well?’

The moment I reached the conclusion, I got goosebumps.

“······I don’t really like that village itself, do I?”

“Elves also hate male humans. Still, they are not exclusive to outsiders like humans. If we meet consistently, there will be no discrimination.”

“No, I just don’t want to go.”

“I have to stop by there.”

Jules started pulling my hand.

It was so strong that it was impossible to stand still, so I ended up having to walk on my own before I fell.

“······A dead elf becomes a tree? Doesn’t it bloom when it’s alive?”

“I’ve seen a corpse. It grew quickly using the corpse as fertilizer. But it doesn’t bloom on living people.”

Rather than turning dead bodies into trees, people are turned into fertilizer?

‘It’s a parasitic tree!’

“Never cut down the grave tree. It is extremely disrespectful for anyone other than the bereaved family to even touch it. If something happens, I can’t protect you either.”

A dead elf becomes a tree.

Elves guard the grave tree.

Could it be that elves protect their host trees like soldier ants?

······Wait a minute, grave tree?

“···You said earlier that that big tree was a grave, right?”

Jules nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Then that too…”

“Grave tree.”

“Grave tree. Can a grave tree be that big?”

“Only Ymir’s tree continues to grow, and the other grave trees do not grow to that extent.”

That seems to be some kind of variant.

Because the branches are not properly organized, the thick branches that extend into the middle of the tree are bent downward. If left like that, the tree might break, but I didn’t even prune it.

“Why are you looking so serious?”

“Do elves’ personalities change when an outsider touches the grave tree?”

“Of course. Would you feel at ease if someone sawed up your family’s corpse, fiddled with it, or broke your fingers?”

Jules’ answer was very common sense.

I laughed out loud. I tried to see the world straight, and I ended up using the stereotype of seeing straight.

‘This is a world with magic.’

“Just be careful about that. The rest doesn’t matter.”

“My father once told me about this. Dverg and the elf are enemies.”

“Those trash people cut down grave trees to make furniture. That’s also popular among you Drekkar.”

Jules spoke with a rather sharp tone.

‘Making furniture out of human corpses?’

I think I understand why my father didn’t tell me this part properly.

In general, many stories about these issues tend to be misinterpreted.

It was correct to think that the grave tree was a relic.

But cutting down the keepsakes made from the body of the deceased?

From an elf’s point of view, this is an artistic lieutenant that will make you feel even worse.

They don’t understand the language, and no human would have seen the elf living behind the Great Wall die and turn into a tree.

Moreover, that tree is the best juniper and a tough and hard ironwood.

‘My father’s bow was also made from grave wood.’

Even though it is the bow that has fed my family all my life, I have still heard people brag about how the bowstring straightens when the string is untied, to the point where it makes my ears prick. It’s a bow that takes a lifetime to tame.

Even if the truth spread, the Dverg and humans would have been blinded by profit and would have dismissed it as nonsense, and that would have put them at odds with the elves.

If the supplier is cutting down the grave tree even after knowing the fact, they have nothing to say even if they are beaten to death. My father said that elves were a closed race, but rather than being closed, they were hostile.

“Wouldn’t the village people hate me if I go?”

“Of course I hate it.”

Descendants of crazy people who take my family’s corpses and use them as furniture and decorations? The country will also be concerned.

No, it’s not something that bothers me.

A picture was drawn of a person receiving all kinds of discrimination, such as racial discrimination, and then being discovered as a cold body in a back alley somewhere.

At the end, Yoo Da-hee was smiling.

‘Oh, but I’m still young so it’ll be okay.’

······Is it okay?

It won’t work! I’m so anxious I can’t stand it!

“How do I prove that I am a slave?”

“I will wear a bracelet. With my name written on it.”

“Isn’t it a necklace?”

The wolf glances in my direction.

“Do you like the necklace?”

“No. I like the bracelet. Ah──! Damn mosquito!”

I caught a mosquito sitting on my arm.

The wolf glances at the dead mosquito, then scans my body.

“Now that I think about it. All humans wear clothes, so why are you naked?”

“I was treating an injured Terup, but since there were no bandages, I hurriedly tore off his clothes and used them.”

Jules frowns.

“I still don’t know. Why did you help the thief?”

This is because sympathy for the same disease has intensified.

But, I shouldn’t have said it.

“Because I was asked to help.”

Jules tilted his head.

Maybe that’s why it had animal ears, but it was very cute and sad. Soon, Jules shook his head and turned away.

“I think you are crazy.”

“I also have a question.”

I wanted to ask you this since yesterday, but I forgot and just remembered.

“Terup was seriously injured. Well, his leg bones were broken and all his finger and toenails were missing, and his father was starving. Are all Terup like that? It looks a little different too.”

“There is a misunderstanding, but all the scars are caused by this guy.”

Zul tapped Terub’s head, which was attached to his belt.

Are they all mountain owners?

“······Aren’t the mountain owner and Terup family?”

“The South is dangerous. Independent children generally raise their children in places with fewer risk factors. Thanks to this, our compatriots often fight among themselves over territory issues. The male also has a nasty personality, so he knocks down and maims his opponent.”

I didn’t understand, so I thought about what I was saying, and I felt like I was lost.

‘This is outrageous.’

You pulled out all the fingernails and toenails of a woman with children and broke her leg bones?

Is that a human?

I see how Jules ate that guy’s meat.

Because I feel like I can eat it now.

“That was complete trash.”

“So you are making fertilizer yourself, right?”

Juul bit into Terup’s thigh after taking it out of the net.

‘Territory fight? You can do it.’

But you’re maiming a woman with children?

“Are Terub originally such an evil race? Not only did they torture him, but he completely tore it to pieces──.”

“Enough with Terup’s cock.”

Jules stretched out his little finger.

It looked smaller than mine at 14 years old. Endlessly.

“The tearing of Terup’s stomach was done by three idiots. At least it’s like that for the injured Terup.”

So… Hosot was raping the injured Terub, and the male Terub caught him and killed him?

“Wait a minute. So, you knew everything from the beginning and knew that the group was bad?”

“That’s right.”

So why?

“Why did you target the baby Terup?”

To Jool, Sagitterub had no relationship of support.

Then there wouldn’t have been any need to aim for it, right?

“I’ve never targeted it? I had to find out why Terup went into your house, and the reason he came out was because of the smell of poison.”

“You told me to give you Terup.”

“That? You targeted me first, right? Even preparing poison. I was just joking around because I found it annoying.”

“······It was a joke?”

“Yes. It was a joke.”

Jules smiled brightly.

‘Bitch?!!!’

“Crazy──?!!!”

As soon as I said those strong words, my head went cold.

‘no. Let’s calm down. In the end, it was a good thing.’

Still, I feel cold and seething at the thought of being so deceived.

I wanted to hit him, but I held back because I felt like I would die if I did that.

Juul, who is ahead, chuckles.

“I’m glad I came. A man with such a bad temper will even kill or drive out hunters.”

“I lived there for 14 years!”

“In that case, the original owners of the mountain must have been the mother and daughter. Since we look similar, we are all subject to check from the mountain owner’s point of view.”

…If Jules said it, our family was also in danger.

Jules was the person who protected our family from danger.

At this point, I was dumbfounded.

‘What about my efforts and determination? Was it just an illusion?’

Now, even the slightest bad feelings toward Jules have disappeared.

Instead, I hated myself. If you stay still, you’ll be halfway there!

“···Terup is also the same demi-human. But why do you act so barbarically towards your own people and other subhumans?”

“They only know themselves and don’t understand others. Even among demihumans, they are unlucky. Those people are called independent people.”

Independent child. It was plausible.

Because that young Terub was also very naive.

“Lastly, I have one more question.”

“What?”

“You talked to Terup, right? You answered there. How do you know what they are saying?”

“Terub speaks the common language of Horus. I have already learned all the writing and language used there.”

Horus’ common language?

This world has no schools or internet.

It is a place where books are difficult to obtain and most people are illiterate.

In a world like this, it is truly amazing to be able to speak the language of another race or country.

In particular, speaking the language requires help from locals. I was keenly aware that Juul was the superior in all aspects of my body.

‘Isn’t it a stigma that wolves are called butchers?’

A thought suddenly occurred to me.