episode_0096
by admin“I am the world tree. This is just an alter ego.”
“… … What?”
Dark Elf Philia.
Her face frowned in embarrassment.
It was like the face you made when you were told, ‘You look good,’ and then you suddenly heard, ‘If you want to receive the energy of your ancestors, pay 200,000 won.’
It seemed so absurd.
My introduction was that it was a world tree.
I continued the conversation without hesitation.
“I am the world tree. So I wonder what happened to the forest and how you guys turned out to be so hostile to humans.”
“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life… You’re not asking me to believe that, right?”
“It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. I can’t prove it because the main body is far away. But you also said I don’t look like a human. Trust that feeling.”
“… Sorry, the world tree doesn’t exist. There is no way I can believe in such a vain existence.”
“What happened?
“I don’t really want to say anything.”
The guy looked uncomfortable.
I thought as I looked at that.
The world tree does not exist… .
Probably dead.
I roughly understood it.
Even in the details of the ordeal, it was written that the elves were wandering after losing the World Tree.
Perhaps the elves lost their world tree to humans and changed drastically like that. The culprit would be humans, the targets of their hostility.
This makes conversation difficult.
So I changed the subject.
“I’ll ask again. I’m curious about your elf village. Can you please guide me?”
“… … Follow me.”
“Surprisingly, they guide you in an obedient manner.”
“Because he followed me wherever I went. I’m not confident I can outsmart you, so go to town and do whatever you want. However, I cannot protect your life. It would be better to give up any thoughts of being welcomed.”
guide… It’s more of a warning than a warning.
You are free to follow, but it will be dangerous.
You could die, so follow me if you are confident.
Still, it is a huge improvement.
Perhaps because I saved his life, he seemed to have let his guard down towards me.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even asked him to follow me. It’s like voluntarily informing humans of the location of the village.
“Will you follow me?”
“Eggplant.”
“… You’re making a foolish choice.”
Okay.
The guy turned towards the center of the forest.
Tup.
I also took a step.
I headed to the village with the elf.
“If you enter the village, you will die.”
“Are you saying that even after seeing my power?”
“… … … .”
“Don’t worry. Because I have no intention of killing you either.”
“No matter how strong you are, you can’t take on all of us. Go back now. If you don’t want to die.”
“If that was going to be the case, I wouldn’t have come here.”
“You’ll regret it.”
I chuckled while listening to the guy muttering.
Because it seemed like the subject was worried about me.
I followed along without hesitation.
*
Evil~
Something passed the border.
Then, a village appeared in what used to be an ordinary forest.
Surprisingly, you can see ordinary houses.
It looked like an ordinary human village rather than an elf village, and there were several workshops built with smoke coming out of the chimneys.
“Isn’t that a human?”
“Did Philia bring you here?”
I entered there with Philia.
The dark elves gathered around and looked at me with confused expressions.
They all have dark brown skin.
There were more people wearing masks like Philia than I thought, and most of them had feelings and eyes that extremely disliked humans.
Is it because of that?
“Stop!!”
A group of people blocked our path.
Elves armed with full plates.
Elves wearing leather armor, hoods, and masks.
Elves wear armor made of a reasonable mix of leather and iron.
Etc., the dark elf soldiers were better armed than expected.
“Philia! Who did you dare bring? ”
Among them, a male elf armed with iron scolded Philia. He looked like the leader of an elf soldier, but Philia refuted it without blinking an eye.
“It’s a benefactor. He said he received help from an elf and wanted to help us.”
“I told you not to trust what humans say!!”
“… This man is different.”
“Ha… Step back. Because humans must die.”
“Lewis. Look at my face. I almost died, but this man saved me and healed me. And yet you still want to kill me?”
“Of course there was an ulterior motive.”
“Lewis!!”
Philia blocked my path.
They say they can’t guarantee my life, but for some reason they are actively defending me.
But I can’t make it more difficult.
chuck.
I stepped forward, stopping Philia.
I didn’t want to drag it out for a long time.
“I am not your enemy.”
“Shut up!! Do you think we would listen to something like a human being? Even if Philia brought you here, you are dead once you set foot here.”
“I’ll return it as is. If it weren’t for Philia, your village would be dead to the humans outside. But by bringing me in, there is at least some possibility of preventing that future. Because I can stop it.”
“Huh?”
I really only told the truth.
But it must have sounded like sophistry to him.
Without hesitation, he looked over the male elf’s shoulder.
Okay.
You can see a huge tree at the end.
It was a tree that had burned, rotted, and dried out.
It was slightly larger than my main tree, and at first glance it seemed to be tens of thousands of years old.
“The World Tree is dead. How long has it been?”
“… How dare a human being so recklessly insult the World Tree!!”
Did it feel bad to mention the World Tree?
The male elf rushed towards him along with the elves who followed him with a very angry face.
“Lewis!!”
Philia tried to stop it, but I stopped her again.
This level can be easily suppressed.
Grumble!
Wow!!
The stems of clothing grew in all directions, entangling all the men running towards them.
“Ugh!? What, what is this!!… .”
“I can’t move… .”
“What is this stem? Something… .”
Clap!!!-
All put together at once.
I separated the extended stem and dropped it so that it rolled on the floor.
Even so, my stems have the elasticity and strength that even the foggy forest monster cannot break. There is no way they can solve it.
“Ugh!!”
“Stop it! This guy!!!”
“How dare this disgrace!!!”
It looks like it’s tied together by a stem and rolling around.
While admiring the sight, I spoke to Philia.
“I didn’t do anything, but they tried to kill me first. You will understand this much, right?”
“… … Don’t ask me, ask him.”
“Hmm?”
Philia pointed inside the village.
An elf was approaching here from the direction of the World Tree.
I immediately assessed him.
High elf?… .
No, it’s a dark high elf.
It felt like something was very far away, but it was clear that he was a high elf.
The author is probably the leader here.
I can feel the strongest power just by looking at it. If I talk to that guy, I might be able to find out something.
chuck.
The high elf stopped in front.
Although he was a cool and calm elf, there was no sign of hostility.
“Who are you?”
“Sirian!! You are not allowed to talk to humans!! We’ll take care of it!!”
An elf man named Lewis rolled on the floor and tried to stop the high elf. But the high elf pressed him again.
“Lewis. be quiet. This person is not an ordinary human being. How can humans handle such a sacred stem?”
“Yes?”
Okay.
The high elf called Sirian looked at me again and lowered his head.
“Sorry for the inconvenience. I feel it. You take on human form, but we feel something has been forgotten.”
It was quite surprising.
If I take on human form, even Neria won’t notice me. No one noticed me except the elves of the sacred tree.
But this guy seemed to sense some of my presence.
Are dark elves something different?
I can’t believe I’ve been forgotten… .
“Do you think you know who I am?”
“How dare I not know? You are the alter ego of the World Tree.”
“Se, the world tree!!?”
“What did you just say… .”
Murmur.
As Sirian spoke, the surroundings became noisy.
The male elf opened his mouth, and Philia, who guided me, opened her eyes wide.
“But… Something is foreign. It seems you are not our world tree.”
The guy knew exactly who I was.
But he didn’t look very happy.
This is going to be quick.
“So?”
“If you see it, you will know. We dark elves are different from ordinary elves. In order to fight against humans, he learns human things and has no hesitation in killing someone. You were probably disappointed.”
“I’m not really disappointed.”
“We have changed too much to be called elves. We can no longer even call the World Tree our Great Mother.”
that… I’m glad.
I hate the word mother.
The guy continued talking.
“We have degenerated. So please don’t expect anything from us and just come back. We are not qualified to serve the World Tree.”
He tells me to go back.
But deep down, I don’t want it.
At first glance, I felt like I could feel his anger and sadness.
I argued for a moment.
“Is it so bad to learn human things?”
“… Humans are destroyers. They destroy other people’s homes and commit all kinds of insults. And we are changing that way too.”
“I also learned things about humans.”
“Yes?”
“I was no longer an actor, so I became like a human.”
At least I can’t criticize dark elves.
This is because it grew based on humans.
The effect was also amazing.
Migna, the elf of World Tree Ataliksha, felt like a world tree that was thousands of years old.
Dark elves are no different.
Although he looks rough and vicious, he tried to learn and develop from others well.
They used evil to become self-reliant, and as you can see, they became stronger than ordinary elves.
Look.
Everyone knows how to fight.
In the village workshop, people learn human skills and make weapons.
It has developed further.
I got stronger.
I want to learn more.
I don’t see this as a regression.
“You have evolved, not degenerated. I became stronger to survive on my own. Even without the World Tree, we can protect our home on our own.”
“Evolution… yo. this?… … .”
Sirian looked quite shocked.
As a world tree, hearing these words was a special emotion.
It would be enough to talk about this.
“Can I take a look at your world tree?”
“But… … .”
“I know what you’re worried about. I have no intention of blaming or harming you. In my eyes, you are still elves. So, I want you to help me.”
“… … yes. We will guide you.”
Slurp.
The elves cleared the way.
Dark High Elf Sirian bowed his head and then led me to the World Tree.
*
“This is our world tree. It’s been about 700 years since he passed away.”
Tuk.
I pointed at a withered tree.
I can feel the emotions of the dead World Tree.
This guy was killed by humans while worrying about the elves left behind.
but… .
“What are these traces?”
I found some unusual traces.
There were countless traces of the World Tree that looked like they had been gnawed. The problem was not only the old ones, but also many signs of recent growth. The lower part of the tree looked thinner than the upper part.
“That’s… .”
Sirian lowered his head as if he was embarrassed.
It looked like a believer who had committed a sin.
“Tell me. What was being done to the World Tree?”
The beings who protect the World Tree are elves.
Until recently, only elves could do something like this. But why is a race that misses the World Tree doing something like this?
I soon heard a shocking answer.
“I ate.”
“… What?”
“We ate the World Tree.”
“… … … .”
The elf… .
You ate the World Tree?
Are these signs that everything has been eaten?
A tree that has burned and dried up like this?
why?
I feel like I was hit with a blunt object.
My head felt dizzy.
“Sorry. This is the only way… If you are going to punish us, please end it with me.”
But on the other hand, I feel it.
An elf who ate the world tree.
A world tree eaten by elves.
Both sides were filled with resentment that could not be expressed in words.
I had to do something to survive.
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