80 – World Tree-11

It was only after hearing Nerwen’s refusal that he felt a little relieved.

It is better for her to hate me as she has been, than to love me by the fate she felt ‘from birth’.

That way I could hate her without any hesitation.

It is better to die on a dangerous mission. In the end, if Nerwen offends me, I’d rather die at my hands.

I have the right to avenge her. If she becomes a doll that has lost everything, including her self, all my actions will become meaningless.

“I say no, what are you going to do?”

“Nerwen, think again. This is for all of us…”

“I’ve been walking in vain. I can’t change the conditions, right?”

It gets late. The journey back home has no choice but to start all over again.

“If possible, I would like to provide information to compensate for the damage I suffered as a result of that ‘error’… but if you refuse, I have no choice.”

I won’t be able to get the information I want if I fight and slaughter all the elves.

The chances of winning were slim to begin with. Fighting elves in the woods is foolish. Besides, within that world tree, there was almost no chance of winning.

If it was Farseer’s magic, it might be possible to make a way somehow, but I didn’t want to sacrifice my life for an uncertain gamble with nothing to gain.

“let’s go.”

I turned my back.

Eleanor and Celia followed me, each carrying their own sword and staff.

“what are you doing.”

As if Nerwen hadn’t come to his senses yet, he was sitting down and unable to get up. I approached her and forcibly pulled her thin arm.

“…I’m sorry. I’ll get up right away.”

He stumbled for a moment, but like an elf, he did not lose his balance.

“No. If we go back like this, we will…”

“Sadly, but it doesn’t seem to be my concern. I don’t think I can accept your request.”

I don’t want to be the perpetrator.

It is better to remain the outright victim. Although I beat Eleanor mercilessly, it was a level of violence that I could admit within myself.

But to side with the people who created Nerwen, use Nerwen to create a new life and trample on her dignity.

Even compared to what I’ve been through, it’s an act that leaves a bit of a debt in my heart. It is a method that I, an earthling, cannot accept.

“Thank you for the guidance. Enough…”

After taking a few steps, I stopped for a moment at the light sound coming from behind.

An intense sound as if skin were shaking against skin.

“what…”

When I turned to Eirin, I saw that her cheeks were flushed and her head was lowered.

She had her head down. However, the person in front of him was not me.

“stupid.”

It was an elf who slapped her on the cheek. His body was covered with scars, and his body was much larger than that of other elves.

The beauty did not fade, but the eyepatch covering one eye and the wooden prosthetic arm showed how tough she had fought through.

“Didn’t you say you could explain it in words?”

“We have to resolve it through dialogue. At least, I’m the best among the ‘external elders’ right now!”

“Since you brought him here, it is no longer outside the World Tree.”

I feel a tingling sensation all over my body.

It’s a monster. You shouldn’t be hostile to that. Any mighty monster would be like a small kitten compared to that.

There was an elf who could not even guess how many years he had lived or how strong he had become.

“…a white twig.”

Nerwen quietly opened her mouth.

“He is a legendary hero of our elves. He is said to have hunted the titans… I never thought he would be alive.”

Farseer frowned.

“He’s literally a hero that can only come out of mythology. Considering the naming method, at least he was an elf active before the empire was created. And, he doesn’t seem very favourable.”

far away

According to her, there was more to her than just the gaps in the ‘founding tale’.

Even I, who do not know much about the history and mythology of this place, could feel the weight. Other women who lived in the area would feel a weight that could not be compared to mine.

“Isn’t it enough to solve it by force? If you’re outside the World Tree, you wouldn’t know, but there’s no way to escape once you’re inside.”

The door through which we entered was already blocked by layers of tree trunks. You won’t be able to get out right away.

Of course, even if the tree trunk was strong, if it was Farseer’s magic, it could break through. If I somehow manage to pull out the sword, I’ll be able to cut it off.

But what next? Will the elves’ elevator really move for us?

No, considering her presence, even that seems overly wishful thinking. The moment Farseer raised his hand to burn down that door, it seemed like an elf’s arrow would pierce his hand.

“There’s a hero and a princess over there. If the relationship is aggravated prematurely…”

“Eirin. In the World Tree, distorting the truth and putting personal feelings into it is an unacceptable act.”

“I only spoke the truth!”

“I guess so. But, are you really judging the situation from the side of the World Tree? Are you looking at them through the eyes of an elf?”

The voice of the white branch was also beautiful like an elf, but it was mixed with something a little muddy. It could be a wound or a curse.

“Peace is useful. The empire you created and diplomacy with other countries have definitely yielded meaningful results.”

It was a little surprising to me, who thought that elves were originally a peaceful race.

However, considering the elf’s sense of time, there was nothing strange about it.

I don’t know exactly when Eirin became an elder, but considering she’s been shaping elves’ foreign policy for hundreds of years alone, that’s enough time for her eyes on elves to change.

“We no longer needed to train excessive warriors, and we could focus that energy on prosperity and research. But, aren’t you obsessed with that?”

“No. I am the most efficient…”

Eirin’s body trembled. It seemed that the words could not come out properly because of fear.

It wasn’t strange. It was difficult for us, who could feel the white branches living from afar, to stand still.

It was rather miraculous that Eirin, who was not a warrior, was enduring it in front of her eyes.

“No. Eirin. You gave up the coercion of force too easily. You were buried in the achievements you achieved and the method.”

“No…”

“I won’t say anything more. I don’t intend to touch your status. But respect my authority, at least within this World Tree. And look at the way I do things.”

Lives disappeared in an instant. But it wasn’t forgiveness or giving up.

It was just that the white twig thought it no longer needed to live. Eirin sat down as if collapsing.

And the white branch turned its head and looked in my direction.

As the name suggests, her white shiny hair swayed beautifully.

“Hero.”

“…”

“I don’t like pointless quarrels. Would you like to cooperate?”

“It looks like it will be difficult.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been a guest of the World Tree. It’s not auspicious for arrows and swords to collide inside a tree mother.”

I felt overwhelming confidence.

There is no sense of urgency as much as dust in the words. She’s not asking my doctor.

With his arms and legs pierced by arrows, he had to choose whether to forcefully cooperate, or to obediently listen to her.

“Sad.”

Moving forward step by step, the white branch shook its head.

It would be unwise for elves to stand on the frontlines. Compared to their rarity, their strength is not absolute.

Of course, elves must keep their distance from the enemy in order to demonstrate their agile and sophisticated archery.

However, as if she found such common sense ridiculous, she continued to press us.

“Selfish, immature. How corrupt the people of this age are.”

Her only remaining eye slowly burns.

“In the past, humans, dwarves, and elves took sacrifice for granted. It was taken for granted that they would die for the sake of their descendants, friends, and family who remained behind.”

“There’s a difference between taking your own death for granted and taking it for granted killing others.”

“If you had chosen to sacrifice yourself in the first place, there would have been no need to force it.”

different. The years they have lived, the depth and time of the battles they have passed through are different.

“I didn’t ask for a big sacrifice. I didn’t sell my body, and I didn’t ask him to take his own life. It just needs to be connected.”

She drew her bow. A bow with no decorations, neither smooth nor clean, as wounded as her.

“You and Nerwen both deserve to be looked at in appearance. Is hugging each other that disgusting?”

“That’s… no…”

Nerwen struggled to speak, but as their eyes met, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

“Because of that unreasonable pride, turning a blind eye to the world’s crisis and refusing to make sacrifices.”

The party members also drew their weapons one by one. But we didn’t know how effective this would be. There was such a disparity.

“It makes me skeptical. Did they go through so many wars just to protect these people? Were they these weak, selfish people who buried the titans in pits and saved them by throwing themselves into cursed flames?”

It was a wound that could not be healed even with the elves’ skills. There must have been emotions and sacrifices, stories and battles that cannot be expressed in words in each scar.

Still, I didn’t want to back down.

“Let me teach you. What kind of fight we have been fighting.”