Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Gravel and Leaves (9)
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“……I have a favor to ask of you.”
“What is it?”
“Please grant this little one peace.”
“……”
It was too cruel and gruesome to call it a request. I silently gazed down at Grisel for a moment. His fingertips twitched. As if he wanted to live.
“Sellem, this child was merely used.”
“Sellem?”
“That’s Grisel’s true name……”
Sellem was the derogatory term elves used for dark elves, which they adopted as their own names. It meant bearing all the sins of the dark elves and seeking vengeance in their stead.
“Cough! Ack……”
With a massive cough, he spewed out a large amount of black muck. At the twitching fingertips burned a small, dark purple flame.
“Diantha.”
“Yes……”
“I’ll grant your request. Let’s give Sellem peace.”
“……Thank you.”
“But on one condition.”
“……”
“In the queen’s name, forgive the dark elves’ original sin.”
They had suffered for far too long. That’s why this tragedy had occurred.
“Grisel met you in the Dream Labyrinth. You planned to use the calamity befalling the dark elves as a stepping stone to save the elves.”
“……”
“I know the Dream Labyrinth was designed for the elves’ peace and prosperity. However……”
“……”
“Please don’t turn a blind eye to their suffering.”
“……”
“Otherwise, Grisel will keep appearing.”
“……I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you……”
Having secured the queen’s promise, I raised my bow again. I aimed the arrowhead at the center of his heart, drew back the string……
*Thud!*
And granted him peace.
Grisel’s twitching hand fell limp, and the burning flame vanished. I felt Grisel’s breath cease, and the queen depart.
The bow I held began to glow brightly once more before slowly fading. In its place lay a small bird—Pippy—collapsed. I cradled Pippy in both hands. His appearance had changed slightly. His short, stubby tail now sported long purple feathers. Probably related to that “orb.”
What exactly was Pippy’s true nature? And what was that bow?
‘Is it connected to the Origin God……?’
Were all these encounters not coincidences, but fate? I carefully tucked Pippy back into my bosom. He let out a soft snore, as if asleep.
I looked down at Grisel—no, Sellem’s corpse. It was covered in black muck. I used [Nature Purification], and the muck turned into ordinary soil. I scattered plane tree seeds over it and activated [Breath of the Forest]. The seeds sprouted immediately, their roots wrapping around Sellem’s body like an embrace. In that spot rose a massive plane tree.
I placed my hand on the towering trunk and infused it with my purification power through [Forest’s Blessing]. Now Sellem’s soul would find peace and rest within the purifying plane tree. I gazed up at the faintly glowing tree, then turned toward the village.
* * *
The village, when I returned with Isla, had been somewhat sorted out thanks to Lloyd, El, and the dark elves freed from the underground prison.
I briefly explained what had happened to my companions, then to the freed dark elves. The dark elves from the seventh village, who overheard my story, seemed deeply shocked. Especially Luisa. She burst into tears like a child.
Having convinced the dark elves, who had completely lost the will to fight upon hearing of Grisel—no, Sellem’s—death, I released them. I had freed most of them and was about to release Luisa last.
*Hiiiing!!!*
A ground-shaking hoofbeat and neigh echoed from somewhere. Looking toward the sound……
“……Elves from the capital.”
In the distance, green banners fluttered in the wind as they approached. The clanking of armored riders on horseback grew nearer. Tension rippled through the air. Just as the elves had long despised dark elves, the dark elves had come to fear elves.
‘But I spoke to the queen……’
It should be fine. I straightened my back, held my head high, and watched the elven soldiers enter the village. Their armor bore unidentified bloodstains, likely from slaying monsters on the way.
With Grisel’s death, the seventh village had no chief left. I stepped forward in place of the flustered dark elves.
“You’ve had a hard journey. Are you soldiers of House Silvanus?”
“……”
The elf leading the soldiers stared at me coldly in silence for a long while. Wait, this feels off. The atmosphere isn’t good.
“You’re that druid?”
“……Yes.”
That look, that tone, that vibe—it felt familiar. Like déjà vu from when I arrived in Lüset and was immediately seized by the Elder Council.
*Shing!*
*Clang!*
*Sching!*
The elven soldiers drew their long swords and pointed them at me. I raised my hands obediently.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I’ve already completed the Proof Ritual under the Elder Council’s supervision.”
“We know.”
“Then why is this happening?”
The elven soldier smirked.
“Would you accept it if we said additional charges have been added, druid?”
“……Let’s hear them.”
“Kidnapping Darion Silvanus.”
“That guy followed me on his own.”
“Sending a forged letter to House Silvanus.”
“Everything I wrote in that letter was the truth.”
“Attacking the dark elves’ village.”
“You saw it on the way here. Floods, earthquakes, meteors. Things a mere human like me couldn’t do.”
“Inciting the dark elves.”
“Ridiculous.”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Come on, how can “attacking the dark elves’ village” and “inciting the dark elves” be charges together? If I’d really attacked their village, would they have been incited by me?
Logic aside, the elves’ mood was far more hostile than when I’d arrived in Lüset. Like they’d cut my throat right now if I didn’t comply.
‘I used too much power. Not just me—the others too. Escaping unscathed would be tough. Can’t leave the dark elves like this……’
After racking my brain, I nodded.
‘With Sellem dead, the queen won’t be trapped in the Dream Labyrinth anymore. She’ll awaken. Then she’ll clear my name.’
That was the best option for now. No choice. I cooperated as the elven soldiers fitted me with restraints. Lloyd and El looked displeased but donned restraints alongside me.
“Isla, you stay here.”
*Whine, grr. Whine.*
“Protect the village. Luisa will look after you.”
*Whiiiine……*
Lloyd, El, and I boarded the prisoner wagons one by one. The iron-barred doors slammed shut heavily.
‘Once I meet the queen, everything will be resolved.’
I naïvely believed that.
* * *
A messenger bird landed on Blanche’s shoulder. He untied the letter from its leg and read it.
[Druid captured alive.]
Things were proceeding smoothly, as planned. He smiled in satisfaction, then tossed the letter into the fireplace. The flames licked it up like a tongue, incinerating the paper in an instant.
Lost in thought, he gazed at the dawning sky. Just as a new day needed a new sun, the new Lüset needed a new leader.
Dream Labyrinth.
Blanche and a few elders knew of the rift in the Dream Labyrinth. They also knew of the filthy traces left by a rat-like dark elf scurrying in and out.
Had too much time passed?
The queen had lingered too long. She seemed “weakened.” The World Tree withered, shadows of doom loomed across the continent, yet she sought to show mercy even to insignificant vermin. Last year, as monsters swarmed beyond the Dark Forest and the stench of ruin grew thick, she entered the Dream Labyrinth seeking answers. And met the rat.
When they learned a young dark elf, mingled with remnants of other dark elves in the Dream Labyrinth and wielding some unknown powerful force, had “seized” the queen…
Blanche and the elders took no action. They neither sought nor rescued her.
Because it was time for a new sun.
Thus, the queen slumbered, as desired. But an unforeseen problem arose. The sleeping queen grew steadily weaker, while the young dark elf, fused with those remnants, began encroaching on Lüset bit by bit.
They hadn’t touched the dark elves because they were needed to cull Dark Forest monsters. That was their atonement. But…
The one called “Grisel” chose “rebellion” over atonement.
And that wasn’t all. As Grisel grew stronger, the queen weakened further. They couldn’t let her die and slumber eternally under that name. It was precisely then.
The druid appeared.
This “druid,” who seemed utterly ordinary, not only passed the Proof Ritual brilliantly but even bloomed the Guardian Tree’s flowers. Was he truly carrying ancient elven blood, as Darion Silvanus claimed? Unclear. But one thing was certain.
With a druid possessing such pure, potent mana capable of blooming the Guardian Tree, they could put the queen to “safe,” “eternal” slumber. That was Blanche and the Elder Council’s plan.
In the dark sky, a new sun rose beyond the horizon. Filled with joy at grasping everything needed, Blanche gazed at the rising sun with a serene smile.