Chapter 191: It’s a Mess Here Too (2)
Chapter 191: It’s a Mess Here Too (2)
Originally, the Elves were a race that lived in basic clan units.
Though they were now gathered in a sanctuary called Evergreen out of necessity, they were once a people who lived quietly in small groups of no more than a hundred.
The shift in the Elves' lifestyle began when their conflict with humans intensified.
While humans had a few exceptional individuals, on average, they were not superior to Elves. However, humans were a race that possessed overwhelming numerical superiority and a terrifying destructive power when they utilized their individual specialties in a group.
Realizing they could no longer remain scattered, the Elves united. They joined forces and established their home in the northern forest of the continent, where the World Tree resided.
That home was the current Evergreen.
Once they settled, the representatives of each clan formed a leadership body to discuss the future of the Elven race. This was the Council of Elders.
However, there was one serious problem with this Council. And that was…
"Humans cannot be trusted!"
"Did not Elione, an Elven Knight, personally vouch for his identity?"
"Even so, does it make sense to entrust the World Tree to a human?"
"But is it not a fact that he made a flower bloom on a branch of the World Tree?"
"It is better to trust that human than to just sit back and watch without doing anything!"
"Do you have another alternative?"
"Just because we don't have one doesn't mean we should hand the precious World Tree over to a human! I would rather face extinction than do that!"
"That is utter nonsense!"
"Think of the pride of the Elven race!"
This was the Council of Elders, where the Elven elders gathered to discuss the major affairs of their race. And in this Council, no fewer than 300 elders were gathered, shouting at the top of their lungs.
Now, do you see what the problem was?
There were too many of them.
That was the issue.
Even the Tower of Truth only had seven leaders. Because of that, there was often friction and noise when opinions didn't align—but here, there were 300.
Furthermore, it was a place where all 300 elders held equal authority, with no distinction of rank.
Could they ever reach a consensus here? With this many people, they would struggle even to decide what to eat for lunch.
This was the Elven race's fatal weakness: a lack of decision-making power caused by the fragmentation of authority.
And the result was this absolute circus.
"Sigh… if only the World Tree hadn't fallen into its slumber…"
One of the elders muttered with a sigh, looking as if he had a massive headache.
What kind of Council of Elders was this? It was just a mess.
Originally, the Council hadn't been this chaotic. If they couldn't reach a decision, they would seek guidance from the World Tree and lead the race accordingly. In other words, there was an absolute decision-maker above the Council: the World Tree.
To the Elves, the World Tree was a god. Naturally, no Elf would disagree with its answers, and as a result, the Council functioned smoothly.
But things were different now. As the World Tree slowly died, its communication with the Elves was severed. Consequently, the Council was wasting time, pointlessly raising their voices.
Into this chaotic meeting…
"Elders. I have brought Patrick Schneider."
The man of the hour, Patrick Schneider, made his appearance.
* * *
Patrick looked around.
Hearing the murmurs and feeling the gazes pouring toward him, Patrick gave a thin smile.
He thought to himself, 'Wow… it’s a mess here too.'
In fact, he had anticipated the situation even before entering the Council. He could hear them shouting at each other from a long way off. And now that he was inside and saw the reality…
‘Tsk, tsk. What a disaster.’
Even though they were the ones who had sent for him, they were all just glancing at each other, hesitating over who should speak first. Every single one of the 300-plus elders.
There was no way a unified opinion would emerge in this environment. They would just exhaust their emotions in an eternal, circular argument.
Ultimately, Patrick decided to step forward first.
"I am Patrick Schneider of the Atronia Kingdom. I have come at your invitation."
It was a polite greeting, accompanied by a slight bow.
In response to Patrick’s greeting, not a single elder replied directly. Instead, they showed a variety of reactions.
"He’s younger than I thought."
"I heard he hasn't even turned twenty yet."
"Didn't they say he won the Arcana?"
"I heard he’s a 7-Star Aura Master."
"Don't humans produce an absurd monster like that once or twice every thousand years?"
"That may be true, but…"
Amidst the mixture of hospitality and wariness, Patrick frowned.
‘This is even more of a mess than I thought.’
The way they exchanged opinions as if they were appraising him, despite having invited him as a guest, rubbed Patrick the wrong way.
However, in that short time, Patrick was also appraising them.
A body where hundreds of individuals gathered to decide the future of a race. Reaching a consensus would be extremely difficult. However…
‘Even so, there’s no way all several hundred of them are completely split.’
Whether human or Elf, politics isn't something you do alone. If there are those who disagree, there are bound to be those who agree. When such people gather to raise their voices and join forces, factions are inevitably formed. Over time, it becomes like the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families—nominally part of the same Orthodox Faction but subtly opposed to one another.
So, Patrick carefully observed the Elves who were busily chattering about him. He scrutinized who said what, who took whose side, and even how they were seated.
‘Is it roughly split into three?’
It wasn't perfect, but he thought he understood the general power structure.
First, the faction that was wary of and hostile toward him. They were shouting that Patrick shouldn't even be allowed near the World Tree.
Then, there was the faction that wanted to give Patrick a chance. Their logic was that the World Tree was going to die anyway, so shouldn't they try everything they could before that happened?
The former prioritized the principles and pride of the Elven race, while the latter wanted to do whatever it took to overcome the realistic crisis.
And then there was the neutral faction, hovering between the two in a shade of gray.
Among these, the largest faction was…
‘The faction hostile to me is the biggest. Sigh… Why is nothing ever easy?’
Patrick let out a sigh.
"Patrick Schneider. I wish to ask you something."
Finally, one of the elders spoke to Patrick. It seemed they couldn't find an answer by arguing amongst themselves and wanted to draw him in.
"Go ahead," Patrick replied casually.
The elder asked point-blank, "Can you truly revive the World Tree?"
Even the noisy elders fell silent at that moment. In truth, wasn't this the most important point of contention? Could Patrick save the dying World Tree or not? Ultimately, this was what mattered most.
And to this direct question, Patrick said…
"Who knows?"
Patrick’s answer was incredibly blunt. As he felt the eyes of every Elf on him, he continued.
"I’ve never even seen the World Tree, so how should I know? I’ll have to try it first to find out."
"Mmm…"
The elder who had asked the question swallowed a groan. This probably wasn't the answer he had been hoping for.
Seizing the moment, an elder from the opposing side stood up and spoke.
"See? Even he says he cannot do it!"
"Do not distort his words so recklessly. How does 'I don't know' become 'I cannot'?"
"It’s the same thing!"
"How is that the same thing?!"
"Who do you think you're talking down to?!"
"You're doing it too!"
It turned into a madhouse again. Patrick shook his head at the sight and spoke up.
"Excuse me."
Patrick raised his hand and continued.
"May I say one important thing as well?"
One of the elders replied, "Ahem, if there is something you wish to say, go ahead."
"Thank you."
Amidst the Elves who were arguing on the principle that the loudest voice wins, Patrick managed to secure the floor. He addressed the elders.
"You all want to entrust the treatment of the World Tree to me, right? That’s why you called me here?"
"That is correct."
"Yes. I understand. But here’s the thing."
Patrick looked at the Elves with a disinterested expression and continued.
"Why should I do it?"
"…Huh?"
"Wait, what…?"
The elders who had been arguing to let Patrick try the treatment fell into a momentary panic. His words sounded as if he had no intention of doing it.
"What do you mean by that?"
One of the elders jumped up and shouted in an angry voice. He spoke with undisguised hostility toward Patrick.
"Are you saying now that you will not treat the World Tree?"
He was genuinely furious. He and the other elders around him were trembling, glaring at Patrick as if they wanted to tear him apart.
‘Those people were the ones arguing to let me treat the World Tree, weren't they?’
In other words, they were the faction that was supposedly cooperative. Yet, at this moment, they were showing the strongest animosity toward him.
Patrick chuckled at the sight.
‘I guess there are some big shots here. This is quite thrilling.’
Patrick wasn't fazed at all, even as he felt their killing intent against his skin. Instead, he gave a long yawn with a bored expression.
"No, isn't it strange? I know you called me to treat the World Tree… but when did I ever say I would?"
"Well, that’s…"
"I just came because you told me to come. So why are you all talking as if it’s a given that I’ll treat the World Tree?"
The elders began to murmur. Of course, Patrick had never explicitly said he would treat the World Tree. He had merely shown the possibility of treating it, and Elione, having seen that, had invited him here.
Then, one of the elders from the opposing faction spoke up.
"Fine then. If you have no confidence in treating the World Tree, you can just go back."
He was one of the elders who believed Patrick should not be allowed to touch the tree. Patrick gave him a smirk.
"Well, it’s not that I lack confidence…"
"So you have it?"
"I can't give you a guarantee. Regardless, I have to see its condition first to know, don't I? Isn't that right?"
"……."
"How can I know without seeing it?"
Logically, there was no flaw in Patrick’s words. However…
"The World Tree is more sacred and precious to us than anything else. We cannot show it to a human for no reason."
Right. That was the core argument of the opposition. They had a severe aversion to the very act of entrusting the World Tree to a human.
To that, Patrick said, "Well, if that’s how it is, I guess it can't be helped."
"It can't be helped?"
"Am I wrong? You’re the ones who are desperate, not me. Is there any reason why I must treat the World Tree?"
"……."
There wasn't. There couldn't be.
Looking at the silent elders, Patrick bowed politely, just as he had when he first arrived.
"I’ll just rest quietly for a few days and then leave. Well then…"
Leaving those words behind, Patrick walked out of the meeting hall. And as soon as he left…
"What shall we do? Are we really going to let him leave like this?"
"Didn't he say himself that he wasn't sure?"
"Still, we must try!"
"Does it make sense to expose the World Tree to a human?"
"Because of those outdated principles…!"
Hearing the noisy voices behind him, Patrick smirked.
‘Yeah. Go ahead and fight all you want.’
An answer was never going to come out of that mess anyway. Now that he had cast the bait, he just had to wait for them to bite.
* * *
Patrick stayed with his companions in the lodging the Elves had prepared.
Originally, the Elves were a closed-off race, so they had no facilities for outsiders. Elione had told Patrick to stay at her house, but…
[Absolutely not, Sister!]
Her younger brother, Kilios, had objected in horror. He then offered to vacate his own house for the guests.
In other words, the house where Patrick and his party were currently staying was originally Kilios’s home.
There, Patrick was…
"Mmm… this really hits the spot."
"I’m glad you like it, Lord Patrick."
"Yeah. Honestly, I was looking forward to this the most when I came to Evergreen."
"Please, have some more."
Elven liquor—a rare delicacy that even royalty and high-ranking nobles in the human world only drank on special occasions. Empty bottles of it were rolling around Patrick’s feet.
And Elione, standing beside him, was personally pouring the liquor into his glass.
A legendary liquor poured by a beautiful Elven woman. This was a luxury that even the Emperor of the Holy Empire would find hard to enjoy.
Patrick’s companions could only sigh at the sight.
"Why? Why does it always end up like this?"
"It’s logically infuriating. Are Double Dragons usually this popular with women?"
"Mmm. Looking at the results… yes. Very."
"Illogical."
"I agree."
Matthew and Riman were envious of Patrick. Why was it that no matter where they went, only that guy got the royal treatment and had beautiful women sticking to him?
The Princess, April, and now even this Elf.
Why? Just why?
Why for this personality-deficient incarnation of evil? The world was deeply flawed.
And the two who were even more annoyed than those two were…
"Excuse me? Could you step back a bit?"
"Serving the Young Master is my role."
Isabella and April. Both of them were extremely wary of Elione, who was being blatantly forward with Patrick.
But Elione didn't back down an inch. She wiped away the warm smile she had for Patrick, looked at the two with a cold expression, and said, "This is the territory of our Elven race, and this gentleman is an honored guest of our people."
"And?"
"As an Elven Knight, I have a duty to serve our guest with the utmost sincerity."
"Since when did the duty of an Elven Knight change to pouring drinks?"
"Since today."
"Back off!"
"I don't want to."
"Princess. Shall I cut this woman down?"
The women bickered, clashing sharply. Amidst it all, Patrick sipped his drink with an expression that said, 'This has nothing to do with me, so I’m just going to ignore it.'
Still, this much was fine. It was relatively peaceful. At least compared to this person.
"My sister… my sister is… ugh… uuuugh…"
The man who was radiating undisguised killing intent toward Patrick, looking as if he wanted to tear him limb from limb.
It was Kilios.