Another World (5)
I'd already decided not to worry about what this sudden change in my flowerpot—no, in me—meant or why it had happened. What was done was done. The smart, efficient move was to adapt and figure out how to make use of it. With that mindset, I worked to calm my pounding heart.
"Ha."
Looking around, I couldn't hold back a laugh. It wasn't joy so much as sheer disbelief bubbling over. I was no longer in my house. The ground beneath me was black, soft soil, surrounded by vast plains and enormous herbs towering toward the sky, even taller than a metasequoia. Behind me stood the miniature house I'd placed there beforehand. Just like the elves I'd only watched until now, I'd shrunk down too.
Here, I was no longer some unknowable god overlooking the world. I was just another resident, living in this strange land alongside the elves. Sure, it was a world inside a flowerpot, but what could I even do with this tiny body? There was no such thing as a free lunch—in gaining a form that let me communicate directly with them, I'd lost the indirect power to influence the entire world.
It's still pretty amazing, though.
I couldn't tear my eyes from the flowerpot world's transformed state, now truly another world. On top of that, the boundary beyond the pot was shrouded in thick fog, making the outside invisible—just like how they couldn't see me. That explained it.
"..."
I glanced down at the drone controller in my hand. The screen I'd brought along showed what the drone saw right now, with her nearby. What if I flew the drone here? Would she follow, as expected? Then I'd finally meet her—and the elves—face to face.
I'd spent last night and even time at work obsessing over this, but now that it came to acting on it, my heart raced with hesitation. Part of it was not knowing how she'd react to seeing me. If she turned hostile, viewing me as some alien race, I'd have to reveal that I was the one who'd helped her all along. But if I didn't need to, I had no desire to expose my identity. It was insurance, a buffer against my fears. Even if something went wrong after we met and bonded, she'd still like and interact with the me outside the pot, just like now.
"...Let's do it."
Grinding my teeth, I made the decision soon enough. The water was already spilled. I wanted to meet her, and that meant taking action.
"--?"
I buzzed the drone right in front of her eyes. She tilted her head, eyes wide. Like beckoning her to follow, I made the drone dance an infinity loop and led the way to the rift. Glancing back, I saw her trailing it with a curious expression. When the drone headed for the spatial rift she'd discovered today, she panicked and gripped her bow tightly.
If she trusts me, she'll come.
Inside the miniature house—which resembled an empty giant warehouse—I sent the drone straight through the rift. At the same time, I stood to retrieve it as it arrived on this side and hovered in the air.
She couldn't even read text, so I doubted some miracle would let us understand each other perfectly. Still, I planned to somehow convince her I was just an ordinary person who'd ended up here like her. No way she'd attack on sight, right?
"Uh."
"Who are you!"
But the moment I reached for the drone, a beautiful woman's voice— one I'd never heard before—rang out as she emerged from the rift and nocked an arrow at me.
"Step away from that child right now."
"W-wait a second. You can understand me...? No, more importantly, this is my drone that I'm con—Eek!"
An arrow flew. It whizzed past me, maybe a warning shot, but my instincts kicked in from my hunter days, and I snatched it out of the air with my hand.
"...!"
Her eyes went wide. She clearly hadn't expected me to catch her arrow.
"Calm down and let's talk. I'm not your enemy."
"That movement... You're no ordinary human, after all."
"I need to explain too. Truth is, you're the first of your kind I've seen."
Raising my hands and stepping back, I signaled no hostility. Thankfully, it worked; her trembling eyes lowered the bow slightly.
It wasn't a total lie—I'd watched her endlessly, but I knew next to nothing about her personally.
"I'm just an ordinary human who stumbled into this world by chance. Is this your land? Have I trespassed?"
"...Probably not. I had no idea there was a place like this connected to our land."
Playing dumb and keeping a humble tone started the conversation, and she gradually opened up, her expression turning serious.
"Stumbled in by chance? That could happen. This is a completely different world from where we lived."
"Do you know what this place is?"
"A sacred land where a young World Tree grows. At the same time, it's infested with underground monsters coveting that World Tree."
"Sounds dangerous."
"But it's fine. This world has guardian spirits protecting us."
As we exchanged wary words, she smiled faintly at the mention of the spirits. I had to struggle to keep my face neutral. I knew exactly who she meant.
"That mysterious child you were about to touch is a messenger from them. It was so clever—it helped us greatly in the last battle."
"It talks, does it?"
Suppressing a laugh, I turned to the drone. A Post-it note I'd carefully attached to its underside was still there.
"'I'll help you,' it says."
"!!?"
She gawked as I read the note. As expected, this would naturally ease her guard and bring us closer.
"N-no way... It was in a script totally different from human letters. Unbelievable."
"It's true. Seems like that spirit knows me, or someone like me. Want to hear more? In exchange, tell me your story. The elves' story. We're in the same boat—no need for all this wariness, right?"
I persuaded her well amid her confusion, and she didn't deny it. Not bad for a first step.
"I'm Kim Seung-hyun."
"An unusual name. I am Serenian."
Serenian. For the first time, I learned her name. The exiled elf, chosen High Elf by the World Tree. I'd learn more in time.
"?"
"Isn't this how humans greet each other?"
Suddenly approaching, she extended her hand. Stunned that an elf would initiate a handshake, I accepted in a daze. Her hand was impossibly soft for one that crafted and drew a bow all day.
An unusual human.
Rough, massive hands. Taller than her, bigger than most humans. Soft black uniform clinging to his frame. Unthinkingly, Serenian fidgeted with his hand in hers, exploring it.
He was human, yet not like any human. His appearance, clothes, attitude toward her—all different.
Now the High Elf, representative spirit of the World Tree for one clan, she was still just past twenty in elf years—barely grown, immature by their standards. Her wariness made her sharp and cold, but inside, she brimmed with curiosity about this human from another world.
No, humans are my enemies. Why am I thinking this? Snap out of it!
"We don't usually shake hands this long."
"Hah."
He chuckled outright, looking down at her openly fiddling with his hand. She yanked hers away in shock.
"Is this your first time meeting a human?"
"...I know. One human isn't the same as a human group. Your kind is so diverse, it could be anything."
Her face flushed; she averted her eyes and bit her lip at his words.
"But I hate humans. They're the poison of the world, the evil that divided us."
Recalling the past—the reason she'd come here—her face darkened. Even now, adapting and trying to live well, the turmoil lingered.
"Can you hear me out?"
"Y-you first. Who are you, really? How can you read the spirit's script?"
"I'm not entirely sure. But that bow you're holding? Probably from the spirit. The shoes you're wearing, the fabric for your clothes—all of it."
"How do you...?"
"Maybe I'm connected to that spirit you speak of. That's all."
He gave pale-faced Serenian just enough answers. For her, it sufficed. Like her as the chosen priestess communing with the World Tree, she saw him as a special human linked to the spirit. No need for excuses—he'd misunderstood perfectly on his own, so Kim Seung-hyun sighed inwardly in relief.