Chapter 58
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Elf Ruins - Elf Kingdom
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"Mommy... Mommy... Sob... Waaah!"
Reina was clutching the letter, name tag, and pendant Rachel had left behind, sobbing her heart out.
Lee Yoo-jeong was comforting her.
I was still completely out of it.
—You know, I have no idea what kind of personality my daughter has or how she grew up. Could you tell me?
—Hey, Yoo Eun-ha. I never thought I'd be asking a girl to do this, but keep loving my daughter from now on. You can promise me that, right?
—That's good enough for now. Thank you. I'll trust only you.
Rachel's words were still echoing vividly in my ears.
Now I knew everything.
Rachel Silverluk was someone who had come to the archive and died there, her records preserved forever.
Having dragged that book containing Rachel's records all the way from deep inside, she must have grown weaker and weaker, barely able to move.
I should have paid more attention to the safety protocols stating that only one person could enter.
Those protocols were made by elves, and in the Elf Kingdom, elves were practically human. That was just normal.
And the name tag on the corpse that couldn't be read, unlike the protocol text—it was all connected.
"Fuck."
What the hell happens to my mother-daughter combo now?
The dream mother-daughter bowl I'd longed for, something straight out of comics—what am I supposed to do?
Yoo Eun-ha let out a howl. Guwaaaaaah!
No way. This can't happen. I can't abandon my goal here.
"Akashic Record. Can I re-enter that archive?"
It is possible. However, it is a space where time and space are truly tangled. The number of possible futures that could arise from the Master re-entering the archive is incalculable.
"I have to go anyway."
For now, I'll go alone later.
The important thing right now is to finish the Elf Kingdom event.
"Reina. Let's get up for now. We've entered the record repository, so what we need to do is just beginning."
"The archive... Can we go back into the archive?"
"Reina, calm down."
"Yoo Eun-ha. I want to go in."
"You can't enter. I can because my level is different, but since your blood already activated the repository, you're locked out."
The moment we entered the record repository, Reina's noble blood had powered it up. It must already recognize her as the master.
"Waaah... Uwaaah."
I gently embraced the crying Reina.
"There, there. Instead, I'll definitely save your mother for you."
"How?"
"I can enter. Once we finish the upcoming events. After that's all done, I'll take responsibility and save her."
It wasn't just for Reina, either. I had to pay back that smug bitch who toyed with me—with utter humiliation. Otherwise, my anger wouldn't subside.
"Events?"
"Over there. We have to go in there."
In the central control room of the record repository was a massive portal.
It looked nothing like the portals used in Korea—just decorative or some magical device. But it felt like a storm of time and space. Surprisingly, it was a portal leading inside the records.
As we approached the portal, a voice flowed into our minds, as if speaking directly to our brains.
"The Elf Kingdom was founded 500 years ago by the first Silverluk Queen, who defeated the Demon King alongside the hero."
"After the war, she unified the scattered elves and established the nation in the fertile southern lands. But as nations rise, they also fall. After 500 years, the emperor of the Empire—the greatest human nation— allied with the Demon King and invaded the world."
"The Elf Kingdom, seeing the Empire as an ally, collapsed helplessly. Ah, preserve that shameful era here. Noble blood of Silverluk, if you see this record, never forget the proud history of the elves. Rebuild the elven nation, crush the Empire, and save our kin oppressed by the Demon King!"
⟨ Elf Kingdom Chronicle ⟩
Whoa. Reading it in text was one thing, but hearing it like this was overwhelming. My chest swelled with grandeur.
I glanced at Reina—tears were streaming from her eyes. Elves were elves, after all. Her elven blood must be boiling.
"Let's go in for now."
"No, it's making me tear up and all, but doesn't it look suspicious at first glance?"
"Doesn't seem suspicious. It's just a type of portal."
Lee Yoo-jeong, as expected, immediately grasped the portal's true nature.
With her approval, it seemed safe for Reina too, so the three of us stepped into the portal together.
Fwaaaash!
Dazzling light enveloped our bodies, spinning us around. Was it really a time-space storm? Our whole bodies whirled for ages until my stomach nearly turned inside out—then heaven and earth split open.
Finally, a new world welcomed us.
Opening my eyes, I saw a fantasy world straight out of novels or anime.
"Hm?"
And welcoming us were elves glaring warily.
Pointed, elegant ears, signature pale skin, golden hair framing perfectly sculpted beauties. They all looked so similar—total eye candy at a glance.
But don't be fooled.
In the setting, Si-woo realized that male elves in the Elf Kingdom looked just like females and screamed in despair. Meaning, no matter how pretty, if they're dressed like men with flat chests, there's probably a dick down there.
They were all in military uniforms. Some were heavily armored like knights.
"You wanna do that now, after coming all this way?"
Reina and Lee Yoo-jeong pinched me from both sides.
Hey, a person can have urges. I've always been honest about my libido.
"Who are you?"
The elves were on high alert, swords, spears, and bows ready to strike at any moment.
First things first: calm these pissed-off elves.
"Ah, we..."
"Captain! Two humans and one elf-human half-breed!"
The story unfolded just like the original, with the elves chattering among themselves, and my excitement deflated.
"Humans and a half-breed? Empire spies? Who the hell are you?"
One elven soldier prodded us with his spear tip.
There are limits to rudeness. I was barely holding back vomit. I oughta rip his head off.
"Fuck. This sucks."
"One of the humans used the words 'fuck' and 'this sucks.'"
"So their names are Fuck, Dick, and Sucks? No country has names like that. The Empire doesn't either, and neither do those words. Who the hell are you?"
Like there's any name like that in the world.
"We came to our senses and found ourselves here. And those aren't our names."
What do they think people are?
"So you're not with the Empire?"
"We don't even know what the Empire is. Our clothes are totally different, aren't they?"
The Empire wore medieval European-style outfits reeking of that vibe—classic fantasy human gear. That's how Si-woo described the Empire soldiers in the original.
"True enough. If you're not Empire scum or monsters, then there's only one answer. Can any of you use magic or weapons?"
"Pardon? What's going on?"
"Damn Empire bastards are invading with the Demon King. Countless fortresses have already fallen, and they're almost here. I don't know how you got here, but if you're not Empire or monsters, you must be the otherworlders from the prophecy. Sounds ridiculous, but we could use your help."
Only a few days left? No time to enjoy, then. This was basically Reina's homeland.
We'd be screwed without producing golems ASAP. I couldn't solo my way to saving all the elves.
"Hm. Give us a moment to discuss among ourselves."
"Very well."
How desperate were they to grab random arrivals and immediately throw them into the fight without even holding them?
I'd thought time might have passed while I was in the archive.
"Yoo Eun-ha. What's going on here?"
"As I expected, we've arrived at the moment the Elf Kingdom is falling."
Seeing the elves rushing war preparations made it obvious.
"What do we do here?"
"Stop the kingdom's fall. Or buy time for the elves to escape."
Though stopping the fall outright seemed impossible.
"What does the Akashic Record say?"
"It says we can block them with golems. In short, we need Yoo-jeong sunbae to help."
In the original, they couldn't save the kingdom.
More precisely, Si-woo and the heroines bought time for the elves to flee to their old lands.
As a reward, the current Elf Queen gives Reina a catalyst to fully awaken as an elf.
But I had no intention of doing that.
Now that we're here, I'll save the Elf Kingdom. Gotta get better rewards.
And I'll save Rachel too. Can't give up on that mother-daughter bowl.
"What do we do?"
In the original, the capital gets attacked first.
Surrounded by Demon King and Empire forces, facing utter doom— all Si-woo and the heroines could do was maintain the barrier before fleeing.
"I'll go buy time. Yoo-jeong sunbae, make golems. And elves—could I borrow some magic stones?"
They had mana stones here too. Proof that golems could be made in this world.
"But we need them for the barrier."
"How can we trust you?"
"We need anything right now, though."
The elves who'd been wary of us moments ago were now debating whether to trust us.
They couldn't even use up all those stones before the end anyway. In the original, Si-woo blew up the mana stone warehouse for one hit on the enemy—that was it.
So why not use them?
"Then just supply Yoo-jeong sunbae with what she needs. Decide after seeing what she makes."
"That we can do."
We'd found common ground.
Lee Yoo-jeong sunbae had already mastered golem creation tech.
With the blueprints in her head, it didn't take long.
She started with small robots—mana stone-powered golems that fired mana cannons.
"Aren't they too small?"
"No, that's why we need more. If we scale them up and make a ton, even the Empire and Demon King armies would struggle."
In the original, Empire and Demon King forces were on Si-woo and heroines' level. Sunbae's golems would match mid-tier hunters, so with numbers, they'd hold their own.
"Hm. We'll need the Queen's permission first."
"Yes."
The Elf Queen. The Elf Kingdom had always been ruled by queens.
Not some matriarchy. It was tradition for the most benevolent-looking one to rule, and naturally, only women fit that bill.
No matter how kindly a man looked, he couldn't have that overwhelming voluptuousness to embrace all. No pregnancy-optimized curves.
Way back, busty dudes who looked like they'd have hypnosis apps on their old Nokias were kings, but elves valued beauty, so males protested until queens took over.
In other words:
Right now, elven soldiers were escorting us to an audience with the Queen.
"Are you the otherworlders?"
"Gasp!"
Those massive tits! Overwhelmingly thick body! Benevolent gaze! That's what a true queen looks like.
"Ol... Old hag."
It was a hag.