What? Such an effect existed?
Belianus and the cook couple who had been chatting vigorously turned their heads just then.
They were startled.
In the brief moment when their minds were captivated by the hero of old, how could the child end up holding the alcohol?
It was far more serious than simply touching the ingredients in embarrassment.
"Oh dear, you mustn't touch it carelessly, little one! The ingredients for our meals are strictly managed by my husband and me."
Even the wine Rune brought was the century-old royal wine that only nobility could drink.
It was understandable for a young boy who had no idea what he was doing to have picked it up.
But this wine was not for Rune to drink.
"I wasn't going to drink it. It was brought because it's necessary for treating the elves."
Rune shook his head slightly.
His wife, Jeffrey's wife, blinked with her sleepy eyes and looked at Rune.
"Is that possible? How are you supposed to use alcohol as medicine?"
"Heh, heh. Elin."
"?"
The slender-haired cook placed a hand on his wife's hip and signaled her with a look.
Their mouths and eyes darted back and forth quickly.
Elin, the elf with a gentle face, finally understood something and changed her expression.
"Oh my, were these the children His Lordship Belianus brought? If there's anything you need, just tell me. Hohoho!"
Her eyes crinkled as she covered her mouth with a hand, laughing, and her round face was so lively and playful.
Despite her plump appearance that looked playful, her fair skin and cute features made her irresistibly charming.
Compared to them, Belianus, who was taller and slimmer, bowed his head slightly and spoke gently.
"We were startled to have you enter so suddenly. It's true that we returned to resume our duties after the long vacation. However, the children who came here with me are here to help our elves. Though they look young, they are remarkably just and wise, so I hope you all trust them as I do."
"These human children...?"
She had glanced at Rune and his companions, but her eyes showed disbelief.
Yet she soon brushed off the flour-dusted hands onto her apron and reached out.
"I'm Elin. The chubby elf over there is my husband Jeffrey. We work as cooks here, eating and sleeping while we cook!"
"You can call me Rune. This is Heungmi, and my older brother Perdition."
Afterward, Heungmi greeted them brightly, and Perdition nodded in agreement with the introduction.
Jeffrey twirled his mustache with his index finger and thumb, looking down at the group.
"Even in this chaotic and gloomy time... how unfortunate."
His tone was brusque, yet his eyes held worry and concern.
Jeffrey glanced at little Rune for a moment before shifting his gaze to Belianus.
"Lord Belianus. What exactly can these children do?"
"Jeffrey, I said Elin."
A calm boy's voice.
Jeffrey and Elin turned their eyes to Rune.
Then Rune looked at them and spoke.
"Not only do you store and manage the most precious ingredients for the king, but... don't you eat them too?"
It was a purely innocent question.
Yet Jeffrey was someone who had often heard unpleasant stories about that privilege.
He frowned slightly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but answered honestly.
"Well, yes. As head chef, it's allowed, so there's no problem."
The eyes that asked why he was asking looked at Rune.
As if answering, Rune opened his mouth.
"The grapes you eat and drink are made from the water of the World Tree and the Seal of the Forest. In a time when the land was fertile, blessed by both."
What does that mean?
Tap.
Rune, who had been looking at the wine bottle, gave it a slight nudge.
"It means that the World Tree's aura is fully contained in this wine. And probably, for a few years, there were ingredients that absorbed the World Tree's power."
Nature, strangely, flows naturally even without anyone touching it.
The great World Tree provides mysterious water mixed with sap, and that water fills the fields, forests, and wells.
That water nurtures elves and livestock, grapes and herbs, fruits and beautiful flowers.
'Thinking about it, the ingredients I handled with Christina the most were also these plants and animals living in this land.
I never imagined that this experience would be so helpful, so Rune smiled inwardly.
Elin, who had heard Rune's story, was amazed by the new understanding and exclaimed in wonder.
"Then... so in the meals we prepared, there was an effect that could resist magic? Like that?"
"Exactly. But the fresh vegetables and meat might have been contaminated. Elin, among the dishes we made today, was there any such cooking?"
"Ah, I did add some fresh vegetables to this soup, but not too many... hmm."
"Wait, I'll check."
Elin hurriedly stepped aside.
Rune went over and examined the soup. He confirmed that a small amount of magic was mixed into it.
'This is something I can fix right away.'
Rune absorbed a few small grains of magic from the soup into his palm.
"Now it's fine. Instead, mix in this medicinal water when making it."
Jeffrey, who received the transparent potion bottles from Rune's spatial pocket, alternated between Rune and the bottle in his hand.
Then he asked in a tone that was clearly difficult to hold back.
"How did you find out about that fact?"
All eyes of the group gathered on Rune.
They were curious, just like him.
Rune glanced at the blue parrot sitting quietly on his shoulder and spoke.
"I found out when I went to wake up my friend Rand. He was drinking dozens of bottles of wine and was completely drunk."
The blue parrot looked up at Rune with a sideways glance.
The successor of darkness continued without avoiding the bird's gaze.
"I saw some spilled on the floor while he was drinking, and I had a weird feeling. After entering the village, there was always just a hazy feeling of dust everywhere, but it was clear and sharp."
The power of attraction that couldn't be ignored just because it was dense wine.
Rune couldn't just pass it by and examined the empty bottles in detail before he was certain that the wine was infused with power.
To know exactly what it was, he had even brought one bottle of wine to show Christina.
'That means the power of the World Tree is truly immense.'
Since he had used various magical cooking ingredients in the Light Realm, he could instinctively feel it.
This wine possessed a superb power rivaling other magical cooking ingredients.
The reason Rune had never known about this wine was because he had never seen it before.
It was because Christina had not yet had the temperament to offer him wine when he was still a child.
'The World Tree's sap diluted in the water, big grapes. Thanks to this superb fruit, the elves did not immediately succumb to magic and endured for a long time.'
Not only grapes.
Honey, cheese, apples.
Various foods grew by absorbing the water from the World Tree.
The ordinary meals obtained from this blessed land were exactly what had protected the elves until now.
But at the same time, there was an unfortunate fact.
"The problem is that in recent meals, the power of the World Tree is hardly felt. Even the food eaten at Belianus's table was like that. It had been purified by the spiritist's power, but it didn't feel as special as this wine."
For some reason or another, the World Tree had not completely eliminated the magic recently.
And the ominous aura had spread through the World Tree.
Eventually, it slowly spread to the village, causing epidemics, and it spread to livestock and plants as well.
Belianus, who had heard the explanation, noticed something and let out a light exclamation.
"Now that I think about it, the rapid spread of the epidemic was a recent event."
Although the elves could cure the disease with their abilities, it only lasted for the moment.
The magic that had entered the recent crops and meals mixed into the table and sank into the elves' bodies.
Elves who consumed a minute amount of magic every day would not have been able to overcome the epidemic.
'Only the children at Belianus's mansion who were old enough to drink wine were affected by the magic. At the very least, Aquir, who came to purify the water in the house, was the one who made it that bad.'
Even the village ruled by Belianus only had skin diseases; there were no corpses burned or those who turned into demon beasts.
The only one who had turned into a demon beast was Aquir, who had gone to the reservoir with mixed magic for purification.
If he had not constantly purified the water with the spirit's power, Belianus's village would have suffered far more serious damage.
Jeffrey and Elin, who had heard the story, exchanged surprised glances.
Elin spoke first.
"Until now, so many elves have complained of stomachaches and headaches after eating our food. Then what was the reason?"
"Um. Yeah. It seems that making it with fresh ingredients actually caused the problem."
Jeffrey answered while rubbing his chin.
"But recently, when we gave them wine, they threw up... heh."
Perdition answered Jeffrey's mumble.
"Of course. Those already addicted to magic would have been in agony from the World Tree's power, wanting to reject it."
"Oh my, heavens!"
Elin exclaimed and shook her hands wildly, mixed with astonishment and regret.
"Now that I think about it, I heard some rumors. Honey, wasn't this the exact story you told me?"
"Heh! Yes. When the war ended, the demon beast's severed arm and sword were stuck into the World Tree, right? It was said that a curse was placed on it and it couldn't be pulled out, maybe."
"Such a thing happened?"
Belianus asked in surprise.
Jeffrey nodded.
"Yes, Lord Belianus. This was not something I saw myself, but a guard who was just passing by and passing on rumors. There were many strange rumors scattered around... I was also the type who secretly heard the guards talking, so I thought it wasn't necessary to say anything."
The group, who felt the clue was caught, had Rune speak.
"Then, the blood that corrupted the World Tree must come from the severed demon beast arm."
!
Demon beast blood.
Even a single drop is a poison that kills living beings or turns them into demon beasts.
Blood is a part of the demon beast, and the stronger the individual, the greater the spread.
Seeing how serious the situation had become, it must have been a high-level demon beast.
"This is bad..."
Rune muttered with a troubled expression.
"Why are you doing this, Rune."
Perdition's serious tone made Rune let out a small sigh.
"In conclusion, I think the elf king with the Seal of the Forest may have gone over to the demon beast side."
The black-haired boy's words caused Perdition's face to wrinkle in displeasure as he urged.
"...Tell me in detail, Rune."
"Even if it's the blood that came from the severed demon beast arm, so much time has passed. The blood left on the arm is limited, so it should have stopped by now. But recently, the epidemic and demon beastification started even worse. What does that mean?"
"That's... it means the blood of the demon beast is flowing more densely?"
Perdition asked with disgust.
At that moment.
Belianus, whose face had lost all color, moved his dry lips.
"That prediction is probably correct. The Seal of the Forest and the World Tree were occupied by Lepanon, that damned demon beast."
Rune nodded his head.