Elves' Distorted Sense of Time
3 a.m. Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan.
In the end, they couldn't catch the scheduled evening flight.
The reason was simple. Beef, abalone stuffed to the brim down his throat, topped with a merciless mountain of fruits.
Stretching out in an airplane seat would spell disaster, so he notified the old man and pushed the flight to the dead of night.
Anyway, no one could start the operation without him, so no one complained.
"Entry at 1 p.m. Please complete preparations by noon and stand by."
Inside the darkened limousine, a Japanese official in the passenger seat rattled off the briefing.
He just nodded instead of replying. The food was still tap-dancing in his gut.
Opening his mouth felt like it'd spew stomach acid.
Negotiations between nations, share ratios, future directions.
The explanations droned on like a lullaby, and before he knew it, they arrived at the VIP hotel in the controlled zone.
He dragged his heavy body to the plush bed and collapsed.
He didn't even have the energy to reply. He tossed his smartphone aside and passed out without taking off his outer clothes.
-Ring ring ring!
A blaring alarm jolted his eyes open.
He sat up in bed. He felt light.
After hours of deep sleep, his battered stomach finally found peace.
"Phew. Now I can breathe."
As he opened the door, a waiting government agent bowed deeply.
Following the agent's guidance toward the heart of the control base, the air grew noticeably heavier.
"Kid, you little punk. You snuck off alone."
A familiar voice. Park So-jin approached, looking far more aged than the last time he'd seen her.
Saying "Sis, why do you look so old?" out loud would get a fireball to his crown, so he swallowed his words.
"Haha... Been well, sis?"
"Sigh. Can't even see my daughter's face—what's the point? Already sick of these stuck-up noses strutting around."
"Causing trouble?"
"Outright ignoring us. They came with their necks in braces, bragging they're their country's top force. Total lack of control."
"Should've come to Korea with me back then, sis."
Park So-jin narrowed her eyes and stepped closer.
Her hands seized his cheeks mercilessly and stretched them wide to the sides.
His soft cheeks stretched like glutinous rice cake. He endured her grip with a blank expression.
His speech slurred from the pull, so he held his tongue.
"Only a brute like you pulls that crap. Come on. Everyone's waiting."
Park So-jin added "Go whip 'em into shape" as she reluctantly released his cheeks.
The underground conference room of the control base.
He pushed open the heavy door and entered.
"Oh, c'mon. Are you kidding me?"
A burly white hunter snorted right as the door opened.
"That tiny silver-haired kid's supposed to be Earth's rep?"
Dozens of eyes snapped to him.
The room's air was thick.
Wary. Suspicious. Displeased.
Is that little kid really Earth's strongest? Just exaggerated rumors?
Raw hostility and distrust radiated from all sides. Meanwhile, the East Asian hunters who'd witnessed his power firsthand hurriedly glued their eyes to the floor.
What a stupid sight.
Fools who only believed what they'd seen with their own eyes.
They'd surely been warned countless times before coming, yet here they were, spewing killing intent to test his real strength.
Handling idiots like this was simple.
Just show them the overwhelming gap in power.
"Hey, kid. If you're lost, go back to mommy's arms..."
"Haha."
With a short laugh, he drew up his mana.
He slammed it down mercilessly over the entire conference room.
-Boom!
Invisible gravity poured down like a waterfall.
The burly hunter who'd been sneering with his head held high slammed face-first into the floor.
"Guhk!"
"F... Fuc... Hngh, guh...!"
Hunters writhed with faces crushed to the ground.
Joints twisted, veins bulged like they might burst.
The East Asian hunters who'd bowed their heads early were unscathed.
They trembled pale, watching foreign hunters flail like frogs on the floor.
A time when even breathing required permission.
The room filled with beastly gasps. Only then did he slowly withdraw his mana.
He strolled leisurely through the sprawled bodies to the central podium.
Looking down with dull red eyes, he parted his lips.
"Let's do this right."
The white hunter, bleeding from his face on the floor, nodded his trembling head like a beast, panting raggedly.
No need for long explanations.
That one short phrase would sink into their bones.
12:45 p.m.
With only 15 minutes to gate entry, a strange tension flowed among the group.
Some thrilled at the unknown otherworld, others eyed greedily for gains to take home.
None of his business, of course. He killed time at the gate's front bantering idly with the old man.
"Heard you wrecked the briefing room earlier?"
"Wrecked? Just a light greeting."
"One greeting cracked the US rep's ribs, you punk."
The old man tsked, but a grin tugged at his lips he couldn't hide.
Clearly pleased the stuck-up noses got humbled.
"Don't cause trouble inside."
"When have I ever?"
-Gate access approved as of now.
The announcement echoed base-wide.
He stepped into the massive vortex.
Second entry. Vision flashed white, and when his eyes opened, the dazzling green otherworld forest stretched before him again.
Confirming the group had entered, he pulled out the magic stone communicator from the Elf Captain. He slipped mana into the stone on his palm.
-Hum hum.
The stone glowed blue and vibrated.
Ignoring the foreign hunters gawking and exclaiming around him, he stared into the forest depths.
Moments later, rustling leaves heralded the elves' appearance.
"Elves!"
"It's real! Hey, pics! Take 'em quick!"
Government officials and hunters clamored, whipping out smartphones and cameras in a frenzy.
One excited fool broke from the line.
-Smack.
His outstretched hand lightly blocked the guy.
A narrow-eyed glare silenced the marketplace chaos instantly.
Camera hands dropped stealthily.
That's when it happened. A small lump hiding behind the Elf Captain's shoulder popped out.
He'd forgotten. About this one's existence.
The spirit shot like an arrow and splat stuck to his face.
Annoyance overtook any fondness, but it ignored him, planting kiss after kiss on his cheek.
"..."
To peel off the soft sensation on his cheek, he grabbed the spirit's nape and lifted.
Beyond the flailing spirit in midair, the Elf Captain sighed, hand on his head.
"Uh... a bit. Sorry."
The spirit huffed and yelled.
For a split second, the spirit's face twisted oddly.
Like a sleazy uncle with dirty thoughts.
It slipped his earlobe again and stuck to his cheek.
At the mana addict reaction, the Elf Captain finally approached and snatched it away.
Ignoring the spirit's final protests, the Elf Captain spoke gravely.
He furrowed his brow at the captain's question via the spirit.
"? We thought this was already late."
"Ask how long you elves thought it'd take."
At his question, the Elf Captain pointed to a forest leaf and answered flatly.
"Leaves...?"
The spirit spun in circles, pondering, then replied.
"What...?"
He let out an incredulous chuckle.
With lifespans in millennia, their sense of time was utterly shattered.
These pointy-ears thought he'd spend years in fierce national unification battles before returning.
One thing clear: their alliance was mismatched from the start.
The Elf Captain cleared his throat awkwardly and turned toward the forest depths, leading.
Guarding elf soldiers moved in unison, opening the path.
Giant trees twisted branches like living things, revealing a hidden wide entryway.
"Let's go, everyone."
He led the hesitant foreign hunters and officials, following the elves.
Passing the dense forest path, vision cleared—and the elves' capital embracing the massive World Tree unfolded like a flood.
"Oh, my God..."
"Insane, all built from trees?"
"No way..."
The trailing hunters and officials froze in place.
Mouths agape like idiots, jaws slack.
The sky-piercing World Tree, white buildings intricately layered along its roots and branches.
A blindingly grand high fantasy empire's splendor.
But the Earth delegation's freeze wasn't just from the city's beauty.
Elf children laughed innocently playing tag in the central plaza, sweet fruit scents wafted peacefully from stalls.
Elves strolling the streets brimmed with elegant leisure, no desperation or fear.
Hunters who'd written dramatic wills pre-departure, expecting imminent monster doom, had eyes shaking wildly.
No tension of a world on the brink anywhere.
"..."
He glanced between the dazed humans and the gracefully smiling Elf Captain leading ahead, muttering softly.
"These bastards weren't in any rush at all."
Pre-departure's half-baked resolve shattered completely.
The curtain rose on interspecies diplomacy devoid of any tension.