Chapter 227
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: The Elves' Pledge
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"All the elves of our Mother Forest swear before the World Tree."
Triana finally stepped forward and spoke before me.
"That Leon Cascadia is the friend and benefactor of every elf in our Mother Forest. And should that benefactor face any hardship, every elf of the Mother Forest will roll up their sleeves to repay the debt."
She dropped to one knee and pressed her lips to the back of my hand.
You might expect surprise at the World Tree's proxy acting this way, but the family heads—including high elves of elder rank—and all the other elves showed their respect as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without a word of protest.
In this atmosphere, where it seemed they expected something from me, I finally spoke up.
"Many lost their lives in this incident. There must be plenty grieving. But make one thing clear: you survived. Mourning the departed is fine, of course. But isn't it good to simply rejoice in your survival, too?"
Rejoicing in their survival, more than just lamenting the dead—that had to be their role as well.
With the elves' goodwill surrounding us, Luna and I took the sleeping Isna and stepped into the teleport gate.
The elves looked like they wanted me to stay longer, but getting Isna to Mielephon right away was the priority.
And there was some good news on that front.
The Mother Forest—the elves' city—apparently had a teleport gate of its own.
It had been broken for ages and out of commission, but I'd given it a simple reboot and fixed it, creating an instant travel route between Cascadia and the Mother Forest.
Naturally, the elves didn't hide their joy at having the teleport gate repaired.
Especially since they desperately needed supplies—the gate would make transporting goods a huge help.
As we set off from the elves' city, the Mother Forest, I received various gifts from them.
Romila's family head gave me some incredibly rare spirit herbs, and the Trigrad house presented a precious ornament made from fairy wood.
They tried to give me even more, but I accepted just enough and politely declined the rest.
What mattered most was the millennium fruit the World Tree had given me, anyway.
Even the elves of the Mother Forest said they'd never actually seen a millennium fruit before.
After the funeral ended and a festival celebrating survival began, I showed the fruit at a meeting with the elders and family heads, and I saw their eyes light up.
They showed intense desire upon seeing the millennium fruit but backed off quickly, not wanting to bother their benefactor—me.
"That's a fruit infused with divine power."
"Should I just eat it?"
"Eating it won't hurt. But other spirit herbs won't mean much."
Things like the return pills from the Cheonryeong and Hwaryeong siblings of the Sachon family, or the spirit herbs from Romila house this time—they wouldn't have much effect on me, so I set them aside.
If the gains were negligible, better to use them where they'd make a real difference.
But the millennium fruit was an extraordinary elixir even by my standards.
"Immortality..."
The blessing of longevity wasn't all that rare, but the immortality blessing was a bit exaggerated.
The elf elders said the "immortality" likely meant it protected the consumer's life once from any death besides natural lifespan.
They admitted this was just based on ancient texts—they had no idea what it actually did.
It granted salvation from non-natural death just once.
The fact that it lasted until the moment of that death alone made it an incredible item.
It probably extended the user's natural lifespan enormously, too.
Luna's lips puffed out—she clearly didn't like me carrying the sleeping Isna on my back—but she didn't complain much.
"Y-You're here... You're really something else."
Melissa, who'd come out to greet me upon hearing of my return, flinched at the sight of Isna asleep on my back.
"I never imagined you'd find her so quickly."
"Yeah. Neither did I."
"Even Mielephon's intel unit couldn't track her down. Where the hell did you find her?"
"Where else? The elf forest. Anyway, let's head inside. I'll lay this girl down and give you the full report."
Melissa said nothing more and led the way to her office.
Afterward, I told her everything from the elf forest—minus a few key details.
"Don't you ever get a single peaceful day?"
"Tell me about it. I had some idea it'd go down like this, but I didn't expect the scale to be this massive."
In the end, earning the elves' goodwill was a fortunate outcome.
"Here, take this."
I handed her the spirit herbs Romila's family head had given me.
"What's this?"
"These, plus the return pills from those Sachon siblings. Eat them all."
She tilted her head at my words.
"You're not taking them?"
"They won't do much for me. And how long are you planning to stay this frail? Don't you think it's time to break through to a higher realm?"
Luna and I had drilled her relentlessly, night and day—leaving her stuck at expert intermediate level felt like an insult.
"Eat up and push to advanced or peak expert already. How long are you gonna linger at intermediate?"
"It's insane for someone not even in their twenties to reach that realm... Sigh. Never mind. After seeing you, that all feels pointless anyway."
She let out a deep sigh and eyed the spirit herbs.
I could sense her burning desire to grow stronger, but it seemed she was hung up on all the work she still had to do.
"Busy?"
"Nah. Most of the complicated stuff's wrapped up. Gotta head to the academy, though."
"Perfect. Come with me, then."
I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and dragged her out like luggage.
At the training grounds, the Hwaryeong and Cheonryeong siblings were already sparring.
Kaang! Kang!!!!
No matter the process, both were solid expert intermediate-level fighters.
Word was, Cheonryeong had recently taken an interest in sculpture and was tinkering with all sorts of creations.
Meanwhile, his younger sister Hwaryeong had grown fascinated with paradise artifacts and was experimenting with the tools I'd set up for her.
Like how Luna had once used a paradise artifact to recreate the forest cabin where Hwaryeong lived.
Apparently, the quality of her work was no joke.
"Ah, Young Master. You've arrived."
At our entrance, the two sheathed their weapons and caught their breath.
"I didn't interrupt, did I?"
"Not at all. It was about time to call it anyway."
Hwaryeong smiled prettily as she replied.
Cheonryeong looked like he agreed.
"Is there anything you need?"
At my question, Cheonryeong gave a faint smile.
"Nothing in particular. Your hospitality is more than enough."
At his response, Melissa—who'd been dragged here like baggage—cleared her throat awkwardly and shot to her feet.
"Ahem. Fairy wood imports from the elf forest should start soon anyway. I'll set aside a good stock for your sculptures."
"My thanks for your consideration, milady. That said... Young Master Leon..."
"Something wrong?"
"No, nothing. Your aura just feels a bit different."
Oh? So he noticed that much?
No need to explain in detail, though.
"I'm not sure if I'm right, but... congratulations."
"Thanks. Hey, giant squid—up you go."
I shoved Melissa onto the training grounds, and the siblings retreated to a safe distance before sitting on nearby chairs to watch.
I opened my subs.p.a.ce, pulled out a sturdy sword, and tossed it to Melissa.
Then I picked up a wooden practice sword.
"Come at me."
"Hah. You have no idea how hard I've worked. Prepare to be shocked."
Brimming with confidence, Melissa drew her sword and unleashed her aura explosively.
The power pressed down oppressively on the surroundings, yet it felt endlessly soft.
It was the form of the Heavenly Demon Sword I'd taught her.
She looked far more stable than before, so she clearly hadn't been slacking.
Suddenly, she stomped forward powerfully, lunging at me like a bullet.
Paaang!!
The tip of her thrusting blade tore through the air toward me.
I casually turned my head to dodge and closely observed her condition.
The goal of this spar wasn't just to win. Unlike our usual chaotic "practical training" excuses, this was to gauge her growth—so I raised my level appropriately to test her aura control.
Pang!!! Pang!!!
Compared to when Melissa first learned the Heavenly Demon Sword, this was a monumental improvement.
"My goodness... Lady Melissa's skill is truly impressive..."
"Was she holding back during our previous spars?"
"Seems like it. But Young Master Leon blocking that fierce onslaught so effortlessly... I can't even fathom it. He's beyond measure."
The siblings, born warriors, seemed to gain much from watching our duel.
Despite the relentless attacks, Melissa stayed calm, preparing her next move and channeling her aura swiftly and precisely.
Swordsmanship wasn't the real focus here.
Her fundamentals were solid; given time, it'd mature on its own.
Aura control, though, tied directly to her realm—so I watched it closely.
"Still a ways to go."
"Unbelievable."
I flicked her blade with my finger, twisting its path, and she gritted her teeth, pushing back.
Her basic control followed the orthodox path perfectly.
So, how would she handle variables?
I locked my eyes on her sword, mixing feints and real strikes in an unending barrage.
Then, with a light swing of my wooden sword, I struck her blade where the aura flowed strongest, disrupting the flow.
"Kuh?!"
Her sword nearly flew from her grip as she staggered wildly—I could see the panic in her eyes.
But thanks to our battle-like training sessions, she quickly widened the distance and moved to readjust her aura.