68 – End of Journey

A little time passed and the elves came to their senses. The elves who came to their senses took out daggers from their waistbands and tried to aim them, but were subdued again by Rachel.

Having subdued the elves, Rachel smiled eerily and said that they needed to be educated, and dragged them out of our sight.

That’s how the elves and Rachel got out of sight, and it wasn’t long before a clear scream was heard. The screams of the elves began vividly, then thinned out like the agony of someone who was about to run out of breath, then stopped at some point.

Chicken meat sprouted all over his body at the interrupted scream, and he felt sorry for the elves. On the other hand, I was worried.

“Princess, I need to visit the Elf Village, is that okay?”

“They’ve prepared a negotiating card they can’t refuse, so there should be no problem.”

The princess’ calm and confident words pushed away the anxiety and aroused curiosity.

“Is there anything the Elves can’t refuse? Aren’t elves stoic beings without greed?”

“Although elves are stoic, it would be a different story if they were a lost relic.”

I could understand the princess’ confidence in the word holy object. Because of the value of the holy relic, there is a history of war engulfing the entire continent, so even the elves would not be able to refuse it.

While I understood that, I couldn’t understand the fact that the princess had the holy relics lost by the elves.

As I was thinking about that question, I heard Rachel’s voice from afar.

“Brothers and sisters. The children’s education is over.”

With Rachel’s bright voice, I see her approaching with a smile that seems relieved somewhere. And behind her, I could see the figures of elves whose faces were full of darkness.

Unlike their ghastly screams and dark expressions, their wounds are invisible to the naked eye.

“I’m a bit short on time, but I’ll be quiet while we accompany you.”

Saying that, she patted the elves on the shoulders. The elves who were tapped on the shoulder by her turned pale in shock.

“right?”

“That’s right!”

Rachel’s cool words flowed out of her mouth, and voices like soldiers who had completed basic training flowed from the elves.

“Now that the problem has been resolved, let’s go. Children, take the lead.”

Rachel said that and pushed the elves’ backs. The elves made fun of them and started to walk in front of them.

I was curious about the completely changed appearance of the elves who looked at us with arrogant eyes.

“Rachel, what did you do to make them change like that?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter what I tell you. Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

I got goosebumps at the words that came with a slightly creepy smile.

“It is a mistake. forget it.”

After my words, Rachel burst into laughter. Seeing that familiar face, I felt that I had been attacked.

“just joke. It’s not a big deal, it’s just that I injected the energy of my blessing and caused pain.”

I didn’t get a good feel for her explanation.

“Can that alone change that much?”

“If you just listen to the explanation, you might not feel it. Um, how should I explain it.”

She stroked her chin, lost in thought, and then opened her mouth with a look of realization.

“It is similar to the feeling of a broken bone stabbing an organ. It probably hurts a little more this way.”

The way she smiled and spoke looked a little creepy, and the elves felt sorry for them.

“If it was an elf trained as a warrior, this would have been insufficient, but the ashes were not like that, so it was easily resolved.”

“Right.”

After that conversation, we walked for a while, listening to miscellaneous stories as usual. Time passed like that, and the time for the day to end came.

It wasn’t until that time that we settled down in a suitable place and built a bonfire. Looking at the bonfire, the elves looked a little uncomfortable, but the uncomfortable expression in Rachel’s eyes turned into an awkward smile.

Watching such a scene, and finishing a simple meal with fruits from the forest, Princess and Rachel stood up from their seats.

“I’m here now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“An elf came to look for the children.”

After her words, an elf with long scars on her eyes walked out from beyond the darkness.

“Why didn’t you come back at the summon time and stay with the Dark Elves and humans?”

“That is…”

Rachel covered the elf’s mouth as he tried to answer.

“I will answer that. Radriel.”

After Rachel’s words, the scarred elf’s expression became strange.

“The kids attacked us at random, so I overpowered them and held them. Hey, it was unthinkable when Uncle Pale was a warrior commander, but these days, guys who haven’t learned training fearlessly attack, and it’s really bad. Do you think so too?”

Rachel’s exaggerated, nerve-wracking tone filled the space, and the scarred elf’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you Rachel?”

“right. now i know I knew from the beginning I’m disappointed. When I was little, I thought I would recognize you right away because I chased after you as an older sister.”

The elf’s face was severely distorted.

“It’s still making up stories that don’t exist.”

“It’s a story that doesn’t even exist, I feel sorry for you.”

“Stop talking nonsense, get out of here. Don’t you know that this forest doesn’t welcome you?”

“You know. Seeing this will change your mind. Sister, show me what the elder gave me.”

“I will.”

A branch tinged with blue came out of the princess’ arms, and the elf’s eyes widened.

“It’s not for me to judge, so come along.”

The elf said so and guided us. Her guidance continued until darkness fell, and stopped at a pile of stones.

Stopping, she took a leaf from her bosom and placed it on a pile of stones. Green light came out from the leaves, and the pile of stones moved and became the shape of a door that contained the green light.

The elf threw himself into the light, and we followed.

I could feel the calm grass, and the scenery changed. There was a huge tree not far away that covered the sky we could see from afar, and countless elves surrounded us.

The surrounding elves glared at us with ferocious eyes.

“Everyone get out of the way.”

At the words of the scarred elf, a road was formed, but the malevolent gaze did not retract. Feeling her gaze, we followed her.

Time passed with tension in our undivided gaze, and our steps stopped in front of a house that seemed to have been made using dead trees as they were.

“The elder brought a guest.”

“Yes, come in.”

The door opened and I saw a man with his hair neatly tied back.

“It’s been a while, Uncle Pale!”

“They said it was a guest, so a mischievous kid has arrived.”

“Ah, kid. I am not old enough to be called that now.”

I was curious about the friendly conversation that didn’t seem like a conversation between an elf and a dark elf who were famous for their rivalry.

“Yeah, that’s already happened. So, why did you break the taboo and come here?”

“I came because I needed the fruit of the World Tree.”

After Rachel’s words, she felt the air grow cold.

“I can’t hear that. go back.”

“Sister, show that again.”

The princess took out a blue-colored tree branch from her bosom again. Seeing the tree branch, the man’s eyes widened, then returned to their original expression.

“You overdo it.”

“Yeah, you were a little overworked.”

The man and Rachel exchanged incomprehensible words, followed by a moment of silence.

“I still can’t hear you.”

“There are other things besides this.”

Saying that, Rachel took out a laurel crown that was tinged with light from her bag. It was clear that the man’s eyes trembled when he saw it.

“How do you do that?”

“I found it in the witch’s dwelling.”

After Rachel finished speaking, the man’s expression showed mixed emotions.

“Is he there too?”

“Yes, I brought it back.”

Rachel reached into the bag and pulled out a coffin that was much bigger than the bag. The coffin from her bag was transparent, so I could see through it.

Inside the coffin lay an elf with limbs that seemed to have been glued together, as if asleep.

The man sat down in front of the coffin and reached for it.

“Ariel-sama…”

A voice filled with remorse and deep sadness flowed out. The voice dissipated, and we gave him a little time.

After a while, he called us again.

“Rachel, thank you so much. Thanks to you, our grievance has been relieved a little bit.”

“Don’t thank me for that. I was able to find it thanks to the brother over there.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to reduce our karma. Thank you so much. You are the benefactor of our elves.”

The man grabbed my hand and gave me a burdensome thank you. When I was at a loss for what to do with the burden, Rachel intervened.

“Brother Lee needs the fruit of the World Tree because he suffered a serious mental injury. Uncle, please give it to the benefactor.”

“I can’t decide for myself, but the other elders won’t object.”

After the man’s words were finished, the princess’s wet voice was heard.

“Good thing. I’m so glad.”

“I’m glad it worked out the way you thought.”

Rachel patted the Princess and looked at me.

“Brother, I will get my memory back soon.”

“Oh, I guess.”

I know that the journey so far is all for that, and I have seen all the current situations, but I can’t believe it.

“The response isn’t very good.”

“It’s because I’m a little unrealistic.”

“Well, what could be. Anyway, be prepared when your memories come back.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will find out later.”

Rachel gave me a mischievous smile, looked away from me and looked at the man.

“Mister, can we stay here for the time being?”

“Yes, there are still rooms left, so make yourself comfortable.”

“Did you hear? Let’s go to rest soon. It’s been a while since the sun was over.”

Saying so, she led us away. As I was drawn to her, I chewed over the memories of the journey that was ending.