episode_0082

“How can you see such a friendly relationship, Briwen? Are your eyes blurry from fatigue?”

“No matter how tired you are, you still have the energy to punch me in the head. Watch your mouth, Glenn. Sir Estill Sabre? It’s been a long time.”

“Ah, uh. It’s been a while. Breewena Crowsong…”

Unlike his attitude towards Glenn, Estil treated Briwen as if she were a difficult person.

Estill was always like that. He had a hard time with women who were taller than him, especially those with developed bodies or certain parts. Glenn was full of resentment towards Estill, who only had a hard time with mature women, while he didn’t act this way with little guys like him or other men (Schwenheiser brothers, Berzef).

“I’m glad we arrived on time. Sieta-sama gave us a word. She said she’s come up with several solutions to stop the forest’s pollution… As someone with elven blood and as an adventurer, I’m truly grateful. ”

Estill showed a slightly different reaction to Briwen, who was seriously approaching him, kneeling slightly and getting down to eye level. He had a slightly awkward expression and was scratching his slightly red cheek with his left finger.

“Oh, no. I also wanted to satisfy my curiosity and inquisitiveness… Well, my intentions weren’t that pure. Well… The person I owed money to also had some family issues involved…”

Glenn didn’t know whether to praise Briwen’s womanizing attitude or to tease Estil’s weak heart that was easily swayed by an adult woman.

And at that moment, I felt a presence coming into the room.

“Everyone, refreshments are ready.”

“For our guests, we have prepared light fruits. Please enjoy them slowly.”

The sight of Sieta’s parents and the elf chieftain carrying a considerable number of plates without any help was extremely precarious. Glenn looked at him with an anxious look on his face, as if he was afraid that he would fall for a moment.

But even though her parents were carrying many plates, their daughter, Sieta, didn’t seem to be able to help even a little bit. What the heck?

“Oh, a little treat for the guests. I forgot.”

A calm voice was heard from the side. It was Estil. Luckily? Briwen was also familiar with it, and didn’t say anything else.

Glenn soon experienced with his own eyes the meaning of the word luck.

“Yep!”

“Ouch!”

“It’s dangerous!”

Whoosh, the two men threw the plates into the air.

For a moment, several people in the room looked at him with astonishment. However, those who were already in the elf’s territory only looked on with meaningful smiles.

And then Glenn could see the trick. The plate, holding the fruit, was floating in the air as if held by an invisible arm.

No, that’s not all. They began to take their places one by one at the giant circular table, rotating and moving in the air as if they were meeting each other.

Even after he settled down, it wasn’t the end. He was moving around the table silently, creating unique patterns on the table. Starting with simple triangles, squares, and circles, he went on to create stars, moons, suns, and even leaf shapes.

The plates that had been forming various shapes in an instant were soon neatly arranged and placed on the table so that people could eat one by one. It was truly a sight that could be called a stroke of luck.

“Wow…”

“Oh my…I also forgot the custom of treating guests. I need to reflect on myself…”

Briwen muttered as if she was momentarily berating herself for her surprise. Glenn had only visited the elven realm once before, and had never seen such a stroke of luck before, so he felt completely new. Milicia seemed to be the same.

“Thank you for the colorful magic. Leones…, Fulvia…, Queen.”

“Haha. Thank you for having fun. We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to do it since it’s been decades since we’ve had you as our guests… Fortunately, that’s okay.”

“Okay, everyone, please take your seats. These are the fruits that the Elf Forest is proud of.”

The group sat down. Soon, a loud noise was heard again, and three people came near the table.

“I’m back… Wow! It’s a fruit feast!”

The one who came with the loudest exclamation was, of course, Glenn’s younger sister. Alina’s tired face brightened, and she quickly grabbed a chair near her and sat down. Right next to Glenn.

“Hey, why are you suddenly choosing this place?”

Alina, who had already put a piece of fruit in her mouth, answered mumblingly.

“Woof, woof, woof…so what…woof, woof…I fell into such an unfamiliar place…since we’re family, it’s okay to take care of us a little, right? Oppa. Woof, woof…”

“Don’t talk while eating…”

Glen clicked his tongue and looked away from Alina.

“Sorry I’m late, Your Majesty. And thank you for the dinner.”

“This old man’s back is bad, so he’s been delayed. Thank you for the dinner.”

Sisters Esther and Benedict carefully bowed and sat down next to each other. They looked at the saint with a look of regret. Glenn knew why.

Meanwhile, Fulvia, the queen of the elves (she called herself), cleared her throat and gave a welcoming speech in a singing voice.

“We are truly honored to be able to host you in our home today. In this time of crisis, we have prepared to celebrate the situation in which elves and humans join hands to uncover and overcome the dark conspiracy and bring peace to the continent. Although it is a small banquet, we hope you enjoy it.”

“Goddess of the Moon, bless this place today.”

As soon as Fulvia finished speaking, Sieta quietly made a declaration befitting a priest. It seemed a bit brief, but since Glenn knew nothing about the Elven religious doctrines, he decided not to think about it further.

Leones, who had been sitting quietly, nodded to his family’s declaration and slowly opened his mouth.

“Thank you to everyone who has joined us in this place blessed by the Goddess of the Moon. I sincerely hope that the steps we take from this moment today will be steps toward a future where only hope and peace exist. So, enjoy it to your heart’s content.”

“Ah, there is moonshine wine prepared in the kitchen using a special recipe of elves. It doesn’t have a high alcohol content, so don’t worry about drinking it.”

As soon as Fulvia finished saying the words that seemed to remind them not to forget, only then did people slowly raise their hands that they had placed under the table and start moving.

Glenn watched the familiar actions of Tiller, Manny, and Grimes for a moment, then moved his own hand.

Glenn put one of the fruits, neatly cut and arranged for easy eating, into his mouth. The refreshing taste spread all at once. And it was also cool.

‘I feel like the fatigue is disappearing from my body…’

Although he was not dissatisfied with the luxurious treatment, Glenn could not help but feel regretful. This was because he was not able to sit next to the person he was supposed to protect. This was also the reason he had shared feelings with Sister Esther and the Benedict monk earlier.

Surprisingly, the ones who took the lead next to the saint were an elf mother and daughter.

“Saint, this fruit, Nimbrosia, is very good for women’s skin. Come on, eat slowly~”

The nimbrosia and fruit were red spheres cut into pieces, which were very unique. Glenn was reminded of tomatoes for a moment, but nimbrosia had no seeds inside. The saintess put a small piece in her mouth and opened her eyes wide in admiration at the flavor that spread.

“Wow…sweet and refreshing.”

“Right? Hehehe, listen to it a lot. Oh, the Amtar here is very good for recovering from fatigue. Let’s try this too…”

“Ah, yes… Ah, it has a tangy taste in my mouth. But the sweet and sour flavors are well-balanced. ”

“Right, right? ”

“Hehe, it’s a fruit that only grows in our elf forest, so eat a lot, Saintess.”

Sieta and Fulvia sat on either side of the saint, looking after her like a mother bird feeding her baby.

Come to think of it, Sieta seemed to have had some kind of personal interest in the saint ever since she first met him. She even asked about his romantic relationship… Although she was a bit upset about the part where he got involved with the warrior.

‘I think you were mumbling something when you mentioned Vidia’s name earlier… maybe…’

“You said you were the knight escort of the saint? You seem like a young guy, but you’re amazing.”

I had a brief detour, but I had no choice but to straighten up. I heard a voice.

“Oh, yes. My name is Glen. I’m twenty-six this year.”

Suddenly, the person who spoke to Glenn was none other than Leones. Despite the sudden question from the elf leader, Glenn did not panic and answered calmly.

And, although he said his age to emphasize that he was not that young, he soon regretted it. To an elf who lived for hundreds of years, aren’t all humans young, whether they were twenty or thirty?

“Hmm, twenty-six? Is that what human friends usually look like at that age? Maybe one of your ancestors has elven blood in him. ”

“Uh…”

However, Leones, as the leader of the elves for hundreds of years, spoke words of admiration based on his understanding and knowledge of humans.

Glenn hesitated whether to take this as a compliment or to be grateful. Then, someone who seemed to find it interesting intervened.

“Hehe, Mr. Leones. Glenn is just smaller than his peers and has a young face. Over there, Grimes is about the same age as him.”

It was Briwen. On the other side of Glen,

She, who had been chattering with Sister Esther and the others, joined in on Leones and Glenn’s conversation with a mischievous smile. Glenn was torn between whether he should resent Briwen for interfering at this particular moment or be thankful.

“Hey, hey, Briwen… she’s two years older than me…”

“Hmm, I see. It’s been so long since I’ve interacted with humans that I was a little worried that my common sense about them might have become outdated. Thank you, Briwena.”

“Oh, sir…you should call me Wena, right?”

“Let’s do that next time. Anyway… Glenn, you said that, right? Glenn. There’s something I want to tell you…but I’ll put it off by asking you a lighter question first. ”

huh?

Leones’ words were enough to cause confusion, so Glenn had difficulty answering this time either, so he just stared blankly at him.

Glenn thought it might be a little rude, but the other person didn’t care and seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, so he just waited.

“You… have a very unique aura. Have you ever received any special training?”

“Uh…what kind of special energy are you talking about?”

“It has various properties. Burning, cold, sharp, and even stinging… Strangely enough, I don’t think I’ve ever been formally trained in magic by you, but I definitely feel like I’m handling that energy. ”

“Wow…you’re sharp.”

Glenn couldn’t help but be impressed by Leones’ sharp wit and the insight he had gained from her so recently.

There was no point in hiding it anyway. Besides, the other party was the elf leader, so he concluded that if he built up some trust here, he might receive good support later. So, Glenn decided to reveal everything.

“I don’t know if you know, but…there’s this eccentric old man who built a training center in the western mountain range and is training successors.”

“Isn’t that guy’s name Wade Wang?”

“Oh, oh…you know the teacher’s name.”

“Hahaha…”

Since he called his master as master like other disciples, it was only by chance that he knew his name. Above all, his training ground was hidden in the barren western mountains, so not many people knew about it. So Glenn’s surprise was natural, but at the same time, Glenn realized that he had made a little mistake. The person in front of him was not a human, but an elf.

“I haven’t just spent my long life stuck in this forest. When I was young, I traveled the continent, entangled in many connections, solving cases and making friends. The man you call master, King Wade, was one of them. I accompanied him under the pretense of having the same goal. Who would have thought that the person who came to stop the threat to our forest twice was his disciple? Well, fate really is an unpredictable thing.”

“Ah, yes. There are such coincidences.”

Glenn nodded slightly, feeling a little uneasy. The reason he was uneasy was because he had only trained hard under his master and barely received any skills. The manifestation of magic was clearly his master’s work, but after that, he was the only one who had to deal with the magical power, master the attributes, develop the skills, and train.

“When did you meet our teacher?”

“I think it was about 90 years ago when I met your teacher. I’m not sure.”

“9. 90 years ago?”

No, you’ve been alive since then, Master?

Glenn hesitated whether he should believe this statement at face value. The master he had seen, even though it was 15 or 16 years ago, looked like a skinny middle-aged man at best. It was not strange to have a reasonable delusion that his master had inherited some kind of elven blood.

“Hahaha. Surprisingly, that guy had a face that looked quite old even back then. When we parted ways, I told him I was worried about his survival, and he left me with a vague comment that he would live longer than he looked. I didn’t expect much, but since I heard that he trained you, I guess he was still alive and well until recently?”

“Oh, yes. Maybe.”

Since it had been a while since he had trained, Glenn answered without confidence this time. As the questions continued, his confidence seemed to be fading. Above all, Leones seemed to have thought of this as a light question. He was having a hard time answering each question while thinking hard about it. Suddenly, he felt anxious about how much more weighty the conversation would be.

Glenn wanted to regret having ever asked such a question, because the anxiety came as soon as it occurred to him.

“Now that I know that you are that kind of man, I can ask you comfortably… Can you trust yourself and enter that dark, chilling forest without hesitation? ”

“What do you mean by forest?”

It was a strange question. A forest with a dark aura. It seemed obvious that it was referring to the strange phenomenon in the Elven Forest that the Guildmaster had mentioned. Of course, he had never heard a detailed explanation of the forest before. So, Glenn couldn’t immediately conclude. What on earth was going on there?

“Hmm… I guess it’s better to see it for yourself than to explain it in words. The moonlight is nice today… Would you follow me for a moment? I’ll show you myself.”

After saying that, Leones stood up from his seat. The sudden action caused the voices of those chattering around the table to instantly die down.

In particular, the elf mother and daughter who were talking to the saint stopped their interesting conversation and stood up from their seats. It seemed that the elves had already anticipated this development.

“Haa… Are we getting to the point already? Fun times really fly by…”

However, Sieta grumbled that it was quite unfortunate that the tea time ended so suddenly, and expressed her displeasure at this development.