Silleia's Tour and the Withering World Tree
My words caught in my throat, blocked by Silleia's hand. Why the hell was Silleia suddenly covering my mouth? It felt more like she'd shoved her fingers right in there.
An elf's fingers have a faintly sweet taste to them. I swallowed the thought I wouldn't have voiced anyway, even without her interference, and waited quietly.
"Kids, have some snacks."
Rune burst into the room without so much as a knock, carrying a tray of colorful fruits. Our eyes met perfectly, and we all froze like time had stopped—neither of us moving, neither speaking.
How must I have looked to her? Like some monstrous predator devouring her daughter? A few awkward seconds ticked by in that frozen atmosphere before Rune finally broke the silence.
"Oh my, my little girl's already at that age, huh? I'll make sure to knock next time, sorry~"
She averted her gaze with that look—like she'd seen something she shouldn't have—hurriedly set the fruit tray down, and backed right out of the room.
Eh? What's that about? What's so weird about how I look?
Okay, sure, Silleia's hand had made it hard to breathe, and my cheeks were a bit flushed from gasping, but otherwise, no big deal.
"No, wait—this looks totally lewd!"
Only then did the gravity of the situation hit me. Let's think from Rune's perspective, Silleia's mom. You open your daughter's door and catch her in deep skinship with her friend? A girl she's about to live with, no less? And we're talking child protection laws here—the infamous child welfare act stuff. If I were Rune, I'd feel the world crumbling.
Even in this mess, Silleia just grinned obliviously, clueless as ever.
"Seha, fruit time! This purple one's my favorite. I'll share one with you special."
She handed over just one of the five purple fruits on the tray like it was some grand gesture. Considering the misunderstandings she might face with her mom later, I could let this playfulness slide.
I took the fruit and bit into it alongside her. Damn, definitely the best fruit I'd tried so far. The flesh had a nice chew to it, and every bite released a sweet-tart juice. Kinda reminded me of that subtle sweetness from Silleia's fingers earlier.
"So, why'd you cover my mouth back there?"
"Oh, that? You can't just blab about stuff outside the forest in front of grown-ups. Especially not now—the mood's all tense!"
Probably because that World Tree blessing or whatever was weakening. And this girl knew the mood was bad but still snuck out to the forest outskirts? What an incorrigible little rascal.
"The Dark Elves from before? They're from old old stories—like elves who rejected the World Tree's blessing and ran off outside. If you meet one, they'll definitely attack, so you gotta run!"
Her explanation eased my worries. Sounded like a kid's tale to scare picky eaters about some grandpa hauling them off. Probably a folktale to keep curious elves from venturing out: scary elves lurk beyond the forest.
Maybe time for a nap?
Chatting with Silleia had polished off Rune's fruit, and the time was perfect for dozing—lazy afternoon vibes. If I'd been more diligent, I'd be grinding magic research in this mana-rich floor, but let's leave that to tomorrow's me. We'd walked forever to the Elf Village today, and bantering with her had drained my energy completely. She's basically hyperactive nonstop—unlike Yisul, who reads the room and chills out. I'd never seen Silleia's mouth actually stop moving. And here she went again.
"Seha, let's go outside!"
"Huh?"
I mumbled half-heartedly, heading for my room, so I nearly missed it. This girl who snuck to the outskirts, got scared of her parents' scolding, and ran away home—now wanting to go outside again?
"Not that outside—I meant I'd show you around the village, remember?"
"Oh."
The shock of getting busted by Silleia's mom had wiped it from my mind, but yeah, she was supposed to give me a village tour. Looked like a chill day was off the table.
"Mom, I'm heading out with Seha!"
"Have a safe trip."
And so our stroll began. Luckily, the Elf Village was tiny—30 minutes on foot to see it all. Elves coexisting with nature wouldn't sprawl out indiscriminately, after all.
"This is where our captain, Ivelin, lives. Fitting for the search team's leader, right in the massive tree at the village center."
"Ah, got it."
True to a small village, there wasn't much to "sightsee." Just who lived where or spots good for meditation. How many times did I robotically nod to her quips? Finally, something caught my eye.
"This is the library. Never been interested, so I've never gone, but the elders visit a lot."
"Wanna head in and check out some books?"
The word "books" hit her like a brick—her face fell instantly.
I figured her life had zero book vibes, but damn, this dramatic? She looked like she'd lost her country. I hurried to apologize.
"Sorry. Somewhere else?"
"Yeah! But uh, nothing much left to show."
"How about the World Tree? Can we see that?"
Come to think of it, I'd arrived in the elves' village without spotting the World Tree once. Even with all the leaf-covered trees blocking views everywhere, something that iconic should be visible from anywhere. Don't people picture World Trees as gigantic?
"Sure, let's swing by the World Tree."
Silleia's usual pep sounded a tad deflated. Noticing her reaction jogged my memory.
Right—the World Tree's weakened right now.
No matter how airheaded Silleia seemed, she was still an elf. She wouldn't want an outsider seeing its decline. Realizing my blunder, I apologized quick.
"Sorry."
"Nah, we're already at the World Tree."
Already? But this was just a slightly bigger, kinda pathetic tree compared to the others. Looking closer, the trunk was huge, but the branches and leaves above were withered and twisted.
"It wasn't like this before. When I was born, it was way bigger and greener. Then one day, leaves started falling... Anyway, let's bail quick."
Silleia cut herself off mid-sentence, grabbed my wrist, and bolted.
She did wash this hand, right? I hadn't seen her wash after shoving her fingers in my mouth earlier. But hygiene aside—after sprinting about 100 meters, she yanked me behind a tree.
"That was close. If the elders caught me bringing you to the World Tree, I'd be in deep trouble. Might even get you shipped off so we can't live together."
"That serious?"
"Yeah, the elders blame us for the World Tree weakening. Plenty hate outsiders like you. Especially now, with its energy so low—'What summoning nonsense is this?'"
Hearing the village situation from Silleia started piecing together my lingering questions. Per her, the decline began 80 years ago. Since then, tensions between the so-called boomer elves and the MZ generation elves had skyrocketed.
This village's generational clash makes Korea's look tame.
My sense that elder elves were sidelining the young ones wasn't just imagination.
"That's why I scout the outskirts despite the blessing fading—to clear our name. Find the real cause of the World Tree's withering and earn some respect."
Silleia, who I'd pegged as a brainless kid, looked different this time. Who knew this 140-year-old teen harbored worries like that?
"Shh."
Three elder elves approached from the World Tree's direction. We stayed hidden behind the tree, watching.
Like I thought before, boomer elves all look so frail—loose faces, weak bodies. The search team elves who'd escorted me were fitter from fieldwork, but regular elders were all skin and bones.
Standing before the World Tree, they just bowed repeatedly, offering prayers.
"Please, do not abandon us, Your lowliness."
"Grant us your merciful breath, we beseech you."
I lost count of how many times they prayed. More elves gathered, desperately pleading with the World Tree. Hours passed till sunset, nothing but endless prayer.
When Silleia first mentioned it, I'd dismissed it as elders dodging blame—useless adults scapegoating kids to escape reality. But seeing them pray with such unity... could I really call them cowards?
To heal this village's deep-seated rot, we'd need something more fundamental. With that thought, I watched their desperate rites.