Elves (2)
Three bottles of Monster X, all that chaos, and the result was barely the size of a small apple tree.
The letdown hit hard. I hadn't expected anything close to the original Golden Tree, but this was ridiculous. At the very least it should have grown into a proper, thick-trunked specimen.
Rather than the Great Golden Tree, "My Little Golden Tree" suited it far better. No joke—if a dwarf planted his feet and jumped, he could touch the topmost branch.
"Ppi-ii. Ppii-ii?"
Iver came zipping over and began circling the tiny Golden Tree, her tail spinning like a propeller. She looked exactly like a country dog that had just spotted a friend.
Well, this is a mess.
I'd planted the Golden Tree, yet the bow showed no sign of unlocking. Instead, every innocent little sapling nearby shot up like weeds. One of the Golden Tree's effects: a buff-type totem that supercharged the growth of surrounding trees. A glittering golden totem.
The higher the hope, the harder the fall.
I dragged my deflated motivation along and tapped over to the building list. Disappointed or not, work still had to get done.
《Humble Tree-Stump Cabin》(NEW!)
《Lukewarm Bathhouse》(NEW!)
《Cobweb-Cornered Bow Workshop》(NEW!)
"Huh?!"
My body lurched forward as I stared holes through the screen. The bow I'd been hunting for all this time had been sitting right here! Life really did have a way of surprising you.
My fingers flew, slamming every building into construction. Structures rose in a rush across the empty clearing around the Golden Tree, and the gold displayed at the top of the screen drained just as quickly.
It stung a little, but investment always came before harvest.
This is a guaranteed return. I'll claw every coin back later.
Only three buildings had unlocked for the elves so far, but once I raised more and upgraded them, the quality of the gear they produced would climb.
"Huh? Th¿re are weird long-ears over th¿re?"
"Hey! Iver! Wh¿re'd you go! Iv¿r—!!"
"Big bro, there's a whole pile of some kind of peopl¿ over that way—what do we do?"
The dwarves had spotted the elves huddled together like chicks in a corner. They began clustering in little groups, whispering and muttering among themselves.
In fantasy, dwarves and elves were famous rivals, weren't they?
The elves still hadn't adapted and stayed tightly packed. The curious dwarves edged closer step by step.
I swallowed, slipped my earphones in, and turned the volume up a notch.
"———long-ears...!! Big bro—!! ———do?"
"Hey!! Ive—..!! ———go!!"
In the distance, a pack of short men came stomping closer, making a racket.
Alancia, Great Matriarch of the elves, rubbed her reddened, swollen forehead and slowly straightened.
An endless expanse of grassland. A sky where sun and moon shared the same heavens. A cool wind that never stopped blowing.
And, woven through the starlight and the milky way that blanketed the entire plain, a gaze. The gaze of some vast being watching ants, or a parent watching a child—warmth and curiosity mixed together.
Alancia was certain.
This place... is the Holy Land.
The land spoken of in legends older than her mother's mother, and her mother's mother before that. A sacred ground tended by the god itself, where miracles and divinity flowed.
Even the wind seemed to carry the scent of homecoming. A strange, wordless familiarity rose inside her. Perhaps their instincts and souls simply knew this was home.
"G-Great Matriarch. Over there—is this... is this really the Holy Land?"
The man kept repeating the same question, still unable to believe it or still needing confirmation. It was already the fifth time, yet Alancia answered gently without a trace of irritation.
"Yes. This does seem to be the Holy Land."
"Ah... aah... aaaah!!"
Those who had been flattened by the sudden quake began rising one by one, taking in the situation. Their reactions ran the full spectrum.
Some rubbed their eyes and blinked. Some spun in every direction, gasping in awe. Some sobbed and tried to tear up fistfuls of grass to eat—
"No, why would you try to eat that?! Somebody stop him!"
"Hwaaaang— so this... this is what Holy Land grass tastes like... munch munch... it's... it's delicious—!! Waaah!"
"Me too, me too!! Munch munch..."
Emotions must have hit their peak. The usual foolishness had dialed itself up a few notches.
If only sharp, no-nonsense Estel had been here, things would have been easier.
Haa... Estel was always so cool-headed and diligent compared to the rest of the children. She would have been a huge help.
Perhaps centuries of soft living around the Golden Tree were to blame. Even to Alancia's eyes, most of the elves were missing more than a few screws upstairs.
Charitably: free-spirited. Uncharitably: their heads were flower gardens.
Growing up as the youngest among them for a little over a hundred years, Estel's cold, sardonic personality had probably been inevitable.
"Ahem, ahem!"
"Ah."
While she had drifted into thought, the short men had closed the distance to right under her nose. Alancia hurriedly straightened her posture and faced them.
"Mm... greetings."
"...Greetings."
An awkward exchange of hellos.
In the brief moment their eyes met and each took the other's measure, the man studied Alancia and Alancia studied the man.
The first impression the men left was...
Why do all their faces look identical?
Aside from roughly three of them, every single man looked as if he had been stamped from the same mold. It wasn't that she simply couldn't tell them apart—they were twin-level identical.
Thick, burly arms. Bushy beards. Eyes full of stubborn grit. The only real difference was the small mark etched on each shoulder.
And—
Why do they feel so familiar? I'm certain I've never met them before today.
While Alancia reeled in confusion, the dwarves were thinking much the same thing.
"What's with them? Why are they so fragile-looking?"
"Big bro, that woman over there... is she eating grass?"
"...She really is. What are these guys? But little brother, am I the only one who thinks these friends look familiar? Feels like I've seen them somewhere."
"You too, big bro? Weird—same for me."
They had first assumed these were more guests guided by the Great One, the way it always happened. The moment their eyes met, however, instinct told them these were no mere guests.
What bloomed instead was a strange familiarity and a rush of welcome.
Feeling glad to see people they had never met in their lives left both dwarves and elves at a complete loss.
"Uh— ahem, ahem! I'm Opus Fallac, eldest brother of the dwarves. What's your name, miss?"
"Ah, aah! I haven't even introduced myself yet. I am Alancia, Great Matriarch of the elves."
"Alancia, Alancia..."
Opus Fallac rolled the name around in his mouth a few times, then asked her outright.
"I'm truly sorry, but have we met somewhere before? Why do I feel so glad to see your people and want to treat you well?"
"You feel it as well, Lord Opus Fallac? How surprising... I don't know why either, but I've been feeling the same familiarity and welcome."
"Ho. So it's not just us."
Opus Fallac nodded. Alancia sank into thought for a moment, then clapped her hands once.
Perhaps—just perhaps.
"Our people have a legend passed down through the generations. Though we have declined and fallen now, one day we would return to the Holy Land where sun and moon shine, to our eternal homeland... It may be connected to that."
"Sun and moon shining? You mean that sky up there? Wait—miss, your ancestors called this place home?"
"Yes."
"Hoo— strange business. Seniors who worked here long before me, then?"
When Opus Fallac, the first dwarf, said that, the other dwarves stirred. Did that mean the people standing before them were descendants of seniors who had labored on this land even earlier than they had?
The murmuring among the dwarves died quickly. Their eldest brother, Opus Fallac, had fallen silent with a grave expression.
"You must have had a reason for returning to this land. What is it?"
"Our people wish to serve the Sixth God."
Alancia answered without hesitation. Whether the god would accept them or not, the desire to work for the god was genuine.
"Is that so...?"
Opus Fallac looked the slender male elves up and down.
Arms so thin they looked half-starved, not a single muscle in sight. Waists that seemed ready to snap if kicked. Delicate, pretty faces.
By dwarf standards, elves were basically dried-out toothpicks. No solid muscle, no beards—the symbol of manhood—just a bunch of beanpoles with height and nothing else.
The only redeeming feature was those well-sculpted faces. Just that one thing.
They look like freeloading pretty boys.
Opus Fallac eyed the elves with open skepticism, then finally extended his hand. Their own judgment didn't matter. Everything would unfold according to the will of the Great One.
"Well, glad to meet you either way. If the Great One accepts you, we'll be family sharing the same pot of rice. Let's get along."
"Yes. We are the ones who hope for your kindness."
Alancia and Opus Fallac clasped hands firmly and shook.
Opus Fallac was shocked by the complete absence of calluses on Alancia's hand. Alancia was startled by a hand that felt like a thick leather glove.
"Ppii-ii—!"
"Oh? Iver! Where've you been?"
Just as a warm atmosphere began to settle between elves and dwarves after the handshake, Iver came flapping over on her tiny wings.
Something glittering was clamped in her mouth. She held it out to Opus Fallac as if showing off a prize.
"What's this now?"
A small leaf.
A tiny leaf radiating golden light, full of the fresh vitality of something newly grown. Where in a Holy Land that had nothing but grass could she have found this?
While Opus Fallac muttered about Iver bringing back weird things and turned the leaf this way and that, Alancia's shrill scream cut through the air.
"Wh-what? Whaaaat—?!"
Alancia shot forward like lightning, snatched the golden leaf, and began trembling from head to toe. Her face said she had just seen something impossible.
"Th-thiiiiis!! This—where did you get this?!"
It was the expression a child might wear if their parents, already being lowered into the grave, suddenly smashed the coffin lid open and climbed out.
Something fierce and glittering streamed from Alancia's eyes. He almost thought he could see it.
Startled by her intensity, Iver gave a timid "Ppi-ik..." and pointed her tail in one direction.
Tap-tap!
"Great Matriarch?!"
"Everyone, follow me!"
Alancia streaked across the grassland. Even in wooden clogs she moved like a wild horse racing the plains—swift and sure.
She was already running like the wind, yet her heart cracked the whip harder still. Faster. Faster!
The leaf clutched in her hand fluttered.
There's no mistake.
That unique golden leaf, overflowing with light. How could she fail to recognize it? It belonged to the Golden Tree she had just tearfully bid farewell to.
Please...!
Great expectations brought great disappointment, yet Alancia could not let go of that fragile "what if."
She ran along the grassland for a long time.
"Haa— huuup! Haaaah!"
Alancia finally stopped, gulping rough breaths. She steadied her breathing and walked forward slowly.
Shaaah—
A breeze from the edge of the plain brushed her cheek and passed on.
In time with it, golden leaves rustled.
It was a little small. Barely reaching her solar plexus? Once she had looked up and still could not see the top. Now the positions were reversed.
"...Really? Truly?"
Rustle—
The little Golden Tree gave its branches a light shake in the wind.
It was only a tree, yet somehow it looked a touch embarrassed. Perhaps it had never expected their reunion to come so soon.
"U-uup—!!"
Large tears welled in Alancia's wide eyes. She dropped to her knees and carefully, carefully stroked the small Golden Tree.
How, why, for what reason...
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that they had met again, here, like this.
"...I missed... khup. you..."
The little Golden Tree swayed its leaves in greeting.
Glad to see you again. I missed you too.
...Though of course, it had never expected to see her quite this soon.