Chapter 20 - Another World (10)
'It's changed a lot.'
I looked down at the flowerpot, thinking that.
The bonsai that had barely survived after nearly dying of drought, and the world that had consisted of just one elf woman building a single crumbling hut beside it— that world had changed tremendously.
[Nameless Elf Village]
The pot's name had changed from Nameless Elf Cabin to [Nameless Elf Village], proving it. Along with the World Tree growing ever greener, Serenian and the elves were growing too—small but steady, just like their tiny bodies. Perhaps because I'd been sending them things they could use freely, they were actively making use of them, gradually filling up that little world they lived in.
"What are you doing right now?"
I chuckled and spoke into the walkie-talkie in my hand.
Inside the pot, she—the one I was looking down at—fumbled around her waist as well.
"I'm installing obstacles on the barrier. Driving steel spears in so the enemies can't cling to it."
She fiddled awkwardly with the walkie-talkie and explained what she was doing. I could see everything, but I just wanted to hear her voice.
In reality, she was standing in front of the barrier she'd built, dipping toothpicks in water to soften parts of it, then jamming them deep into the wall to create a perfect fortress that ants couldn't cling to.
"---?"
"---...."
I turned my gaze. This time to where the elf children were.
The kids learning from her every day were taking on more and more tasks as time passed. Making essentials for survival, tending the World Tree, training themselves, and so on.
Right now, the boy Ren was grunting as he repaired a cart made from toothpick wood, while the girl Lea was kneading clay to shape what looked like a bowl.
"Aren't the other elves... coming?"
"To persuade them, we need greater power. For that, the still-young World Tree must grow more."
With only three of them in a pot so vast compared to their size, I casually asked about the other elves.
But she, crossing short and long sharpened toothpicks like a hammer she'd made herself and driving stakes into the clay wall, wiped the sweat from her brow and answered in a dark tone.
"Humans live anywhere and go everywhere. You, who seem to value freedom as your race's core virtue, might not understand, but telling us to leave our homeland is never a light matter. Abandoning the World Tree—our root—and escaping its dominion means losing our identity. That's why the reformists exiled me here instead of killing me like the other elves."
"But there's a World Tree here too, isn't there?"
"That's exactly why we must be more cautious. A new World Tree means a new 'tribe.' In the past, everyone might have rejoiced at this miracle and discovery. But those in power now will see it as an obstacle, obviously."
She set down her handmade hammer with a clunk, sighed, and perched on the stake she'd just driven in.
Her face looking at the walkie-talkie held a faint smile, but the worry and concern in her eyes looked familiar somehow.
The eyes of a leader bearing many burdens. Eyes that must shoulder responsibility, and that responsibility always weighs down on a leader's shoulders.
From a bystander's view, it was an expression I hated very much.
"Then let's talk about something else besides the unavoidable. You mentioned a new tribe—what's its name?"
I forcibly changed the subject. I didn't want to make her worry more.
"Ho, honestly, I don't know. I've never even imagined something like this, so I wonder if I have the right to name this land or the World Tree."
[Nameless Elf Village]
The [Nameless Elf Village] name had been bothering me, so I asked if she had any ideas, but the flustered woman shook her head.
Of course. She probably hadn't had time to think about it. Over the past few days, she'd been like a zombie, single-mindedly focused on building the barrier.
"I think it'd be nice if this place became paradise. Not a place to flee or be exiled to, but a sanctuary where you can find peace."
"Paradise... Then how about this name? It's a word from the tongue of the spirits."
Still, I'd succeeded in hearing her thoughts. To her, who was determined to fight steadfastly and survive while also yearning for peace and stability on the other hand, I tossed out a name that suddenly came to mind.
[Elf Village: Eden]
Right after Serenian accepted it, the pot's name changed.
I hoped this place could become a paradise for the elves, as she wished.
"We always receive help from the spirit. Please convey my gratitude to the spirit."
Judging today's work done, Serenian stepped on the stake, sprang up with a flip in midair, and landed lightly on the barrier more than twice her height.
At the same time, she held the walkie-talkie and asked me to pass on her greetings.
That greeting—I'd already received it well.
"Could you give that child a greeting too? It's a follow-up to what I mentioned last time."
"Does this really help the spirit?"
When I grabbed her, Serenian chuckled and turned toward the drone flying beside her.
Her beautiful face appeared clearly on the controller screen I was holding.
She nodded awkwardly toward the drone.
With the massive World Tree in the background even from afar, the scene looked pretty good.
I'd planned to use it as the ending shot for the video, and it turned out just as expected.
'It shouldn't cause any danger, right?'
After watching her return to the village and looking away from the pot, I scratched my head and sat down at the computer.
Work was already done, but I didn't close the program.
The nearly finished 9-minute video. As the first one, it was shot entirely from inside, so no one would ever guess it was inside a pot. I'd edited out anything that might raise suspicions.
To others, it would just look like a video of mysterious, beautiful people living in a mystical forest.
I added the shot of Serenian I'd just taken at the end and uploaded it to the internet as planned.
Of course, a corner of my mind still worried about suspicions or things blowing up.
It sounded absurd—other races, elves—but gates and mana beasts had been unimaginable once too.
"Hey, I need your help one more time. I'll text you, so let's meet tomorrow."
"You the guy who stormed out saying you were cutting ties? Why only contact me when you need... Hey!"
So I decided to be a bit more cautious.
Kim Dong-chun, who'd received my one-sided notice again, flew into a rage, but I just hung up.
"You, you bastard."
"It's the middle of the day. Calm down."
The next day at lunchtime, in a cafe near the company bustling with people. I approached the scowling, rough-looking man, but when he shot up from his seat, I flinched in surprise.
"You showed up right on time, so why act like this?"
"I wanna know what bullshit you're about to spout, that's why. Sit!"
His old personality intact, he ground his teeth, glanced at the people around, and sat back down.
True to form for someone whose words and actions never matched. Despite his gruff looks and speech, his heart was full of warmth—just like eight years ago.
"Spit it out. What's this about?"
"It's serious. As important as that."
I sat across from him, and he cut straight to the chase.
I wasn't there for chit-chat either, so I pulled out the laptop I'd brought.
"I'm uploading these videos, but I don't want any hassle from them. If they make money, I'll give you a cut—can you handle making sure nothing comes up?"
I couldn't do everything alone. Sometimes you need reliable allies. It was a truth I'd learned long ago.
"What the hell kind of videos make you say that? Something criminal?"
"You'll see."
I showed him the video. The one of the elves that I'd shot and edited myself.
As expected, the grumbling man fixed his eyes on the screen the moment the video started and got completely absorbed.
"Wh-what is this? Shot by your company? Foreigners?"
"You don't need to know that. What do you think?"
I chuckled at his gaping expression when Serenian's part came at the end and pressed for an answer.
He'd always had a knack for odd jobs back then. And some of those skills extended to shady stuff like money laundering, so I figured he could handle this.
Sure enough, over a decade ago when society was still chaotic, it had been an amazing time. Who'd have thought an clueless high schooler would share life-and-death with a guy like this?
"We can set up a channel under an overseas ghost corporation and upload under that. Money—we can launder it through layers."
"Good. But it only means something if the precautions are solid."
"This'll work fine, I bet? Honestly, even if that actress stripped and danced..."
"Cut the vulgar crap."
With that, the meeting ended. We got up and returned to our places—him as the hunter company's training team leader, me as the video team newbie.