Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: On the Way to Sampoh (7)
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***
Despite his terrifying reputation, Demerond Ip Marx, whom she met face-to-face, gave off the vibe of a laid-back uncle somewhere.
The way he sipped his wine reminded her of a site foreman at a bar, but Yeomyeong couldn't relax.
Most of the few elves she'd met were lunatics, and the one before her was at the pinnacle of those lunatics.
"No need to be so tense. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."
As if telling her to loosen up, Demerond spoke in a gentle voice. Yeomyeong subtly drew up her mana as she replied.
"...Did you come to find me?"
"In a way, yes. In a way, no."
As Yeomyeong narrowed her eyes, Demerond added,
"Would you believe me if I said I was passing by and sensed the World Tree's mana?"
"...."
"Mana detectable from kilometers away—any elf would have to come check it out."
Dreytorial had Pinel; this time, Demerond.
As Yeomyeong realized the unexpected drawback of the World Tree Crystal and swallowed a sigh, Demerond drained his glass and said,
"Now, it's my turn to ask questions. If you haven't done anything wrong, there won't be any blood between us."
The implication being that if there was a problem, there would be blood.
Yeomyeong loosely clenched her fist. Ready to pull a weapon from her inventory at any moment.
"You seem to have come up from Dreytorial. Ever met an elf named Pinel?"
Was he on his way to meet Pinel? As Yeomyeong nodded, Demerond gave her a strange look.
"Did you kill him?"
Instead of saying, 'No, I just cut off his arm,' Yeomyeong pulled Pinel's letter from her bosom.
"What's that?"
"Something Pinel asked me to deliver when we parted. He said it was a report for you."
She hadn't expected to deliver it in just one day, directly to him no less.
Anyway, Demerond took the letter without hesitation and tore open the seal.
Inside was just a single small sheet of paper. Demerond read it in an instant, crumpled it up, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Cheon Yeomyeong... So you're that Cheon Yeomyeong. No wonder he's with a dragon... How did you get from Lord Howe Academy all the way here?"
The elf's gaze swept over Yeomyeong, now mixed with surprise and curiosity unlike before.
"Personal circumstances."
"Circumstances? Circumstances big enough to cross a dimensional gate and stop a nuke? I'm dying to know what they are. Did the gods give you a revelation or something?"
His tone was like someone who had known about the nuclear launch in advance.
The next moment, a small realization flashed through Yeomyeong's mind.
The sudden encounter, the communist, the nuclear weapon, and fate...
He didn't hesitate to speak.
"...You're heading to Dreytorial."
"...."
"To find out why the fate of a nuke wiping out the imperial capital changed."
Demerond didn't answer. No denial, no surprise.
He simply looked at Yeomyeong quietly.
His green eyes, so like Miridis's, locked with Yeomyeong's golden ones.
Eyes are the windows to the soul, or so they say?
Yeomyeong could read his thoughts beyond those eyes.
Embarrassment, suspicion, and... anticipation.
***
Before Yeomyeong could say anything, Demerond suddenly held out his wine glass.
"Mind pouring me one?"
"...."
"I swear on Mother World Tree—no blood will be shed tonight."
The elf said this while nodding toward the wine bottle.
A vow on the World Tree? Yeomyeong grabbed the bottle as requested and poured into his glass.
For a moment, a strange tension built as the wine gurgled in.
Demerond shattered it with a soft voice.
"How's my daughter doing in school?"
"...."
Suddenly? As Yeomyeong made a dumbfounded face, Seti beside her answered instead.
"She's doing well."
She took a small sip from her own glass, as if to overcome her tension, then continued.
"Her grades are good, she gets along with friends, and her identity hasn't been exposed."
"...And you?"
"I'm her roommate, Hong Seti."
Demerond wasn't surprised. His life had been too long for him to get excited over such coincidences.
Instead, Neti, who had been quietly cowering, was shocked enough for him.
"Unnie's an elf?! The elf princess from the news?!"
No sooner had she spoken than three pairs of eyes turned to her.
Realizing her mistake, Neti quickly shut her mouth and bowed her head.
It could have felt rude, but the elf just chuckled.
Not at anything else, but at his daughter's fake name.
"Shoemiri? Shoemiri... Why 'Shoe' of all surnames?"
Puzzled, he rolled the word "shoe" around in his mouth for a bit before looking at Yeomyeong and Seti.
"By any chance, is there a student at the academy with the surname Shoe?"
Neti blinked, not understanding, but Seti clamped her mouth shut.
Likewise, Yeomyeong averted her eyes from the elf.
Sensing they were hiding something, Demerond brushed back his snow-white hair.
"There is, huh. So, is that guy my daughter's boyfriend?"
"No."
Instant reply. Demerond asked again.
"Then, does my daughter like anyone?"
Seti glanced at Yeomyeong. The elf looked at him too and said,
"Not this friend. Among the other students."
"...Lots of guys have crushes on Miri, but as far as I know, there's no one she's shown interest in."
Excluding Yeomyeong, Seti deliberately swallowed the rest.
"I see. Too bad."
He said that, but no disappointment showed on the elf's face.
If anything, he looked accustomed to it. Strange attitude for talking about his daughter's love life.
Anyway, moments later, Demerond suddenly clapped his hands.
"Ah, what about a girl then?"
"...Pardon?"
"Girls dating her or showing interest. Homosexuality, was it? I hear it's trending among Earthlings lately."
"...."
Seti couldn't hide her flustered expression. What was this elf saying?
And interpreting her fluster as a 'no,' Demerond stroked his chin regretfully.
"The notes are off-key, but the player's seat is still empty. What a twist."
Muttering cryptically, the elf sipped his drink, then met Yeomyeong's eyes.
A 'could it be?' expression crossed his scar-covered face.
"Hmm... Cheon Yeomyeong?"
"Yes."
"By any chance, have you slept with my daughter?"
Reactions to the out-of-nowhere question varied.
Neti, sneaking sips of wine behind unnie's back, spat it out with a 'pffft,' Seti turned away to hide her face, and Yeomyeong openly frowned.
"What gives you the right to ask that?"
"A fresh acorn just fallen needs all sorts of coincidences to become a tree, but one that's already sprouted just needs water."
"...."
"Your reaction tells me it hasn't sprouted. Forget I said that."
As if she could. Thirsty, Yeomyeong downed her wine.
With drinks flowing, the mood should have loosened, but Demerond and Yeomyeong just silently drank.
Then, after opening the next bottle, Demerond spoke.
"Things being what they are, let me make a proposal... no, two proposals."
"...Proposals?"
"First: We part ways here quietly, nothing exchanged. Of course, leave the tab."
The elf pulled a gold coin from his poncho and placed it on the table, continuing,
"Second: Do me one favor, and in return, get my advice and teachings. What do you say?"
It was an offer out of nowhere, but hard to dismiss outright.
Because Demerond's gaze was so earnest.
As Yeomyeong pondered, he refilled her glass and added,
"Either choice is yours. I only made these offers to respect the World Tree's choice. Remember that."
"...."
She didn't deliberate long.
Amid the merchants' chatter and Neti's sipping sounds ringing in her ears.
Yeomyeong chose.
"I'll take the second proposal."
***
She chose the second for several reasons, but above all, Demerond's level was decisive.
One of the top ten strongest across the dimensional gate and Earth.
Even his fighting style was top secret, existing only as urban legend—what teachings would he impart?
If she could receive them, enduring even a somewhat burdensome favor was worth it...
As such thoughts crossed Yeomyeong's mind, Demerond offered advice instead of teachings.
"Send the dragon home."
As Neti looked up in surprise, he began explaining.
"If you keep traveling with it, you'll keep drawing in dragon hunters. A human with Kahal Magdu's dragon bones and a real dragon? To poachers, that's a walking lottery ticket."
"...We can beat any poachers."
Seti objected, but the elf shook his head.
"That's exactly why I'm advising you. After beating poachers? Is that the end? No, the real problem comes after."
"...After?"
"Even criminals are citizens, and Earth governments love intervening under the guise of protecting them. Right?"
His tone was like someone who'd been through it. Seti, knowing elf and American history, couldn't rebut.
Meanwhile, Yeomyeong unwittingly recalled Kahal Magdu's warning right before death.
That those coveting the dragon's corpse would hunt her.
Plus, hadn't she already witnessed the ugliness over the dragon's ribs in Manchuria?
"Still, being with the party is safer than alone..."
Neti said reluctantly, but the elf countered immediately.
"The Dragon Scale Mountains are a natural fortress. Unless someone like Stalin bombs it with poison gas and rolls in armored divisions, I guarantee nowhere's safer for a dragon."
"...."
Having heard that much, Yeomyeong turned to take in the dragon.
The red dragon was roasting a huge slab of beef with its breath beside the campsite, surrounded by curious merchants and workers from the caravan watching in awe.
It was a heartwarming sight, but that only made her heart heavier.
If the dragon died helping her, how could she face the dwarf king who'd handed over the seal?
Deliberation was short; the choice quick.
"...I'll follow your advice."
Surprised that Yeomyeong accepted without excuses, a glint crossed the elf's face.
"You see it as a real companion, not a pet. Are you really an Earthling?"
"...."
"...One more bit of advice: Keep that mindset forever. Dragons don't forget human sincerity."
Demerond said this and stood, brushing off his clothes.
"Now, let's see your skills."
Yeomyeong didn't refuse. She squeezed Seti's hand under the table reassuringly, then rose and followed the elf's back out of the campsite.
The crunch of grass underfoot, Korbus's laughter, clinking glasses, and the dragon munching beef faded.
Demerond spoke.
"This should do."
They'd arrived at a small clearing not far from the campsite.
Demerond pulled out a wine bottle from who-knows-where and plopped down on the ground.
"Just to check: You took the second offer without knowing what favor I'd ask?"
"I believed you wouldn't ask for anything outrageous."
Confident answer. Demerond blew a raspberry with a sulky face.
"Not belief—certainty. What, because you're the World Tree's chosen, you think I'll go easy?"
Yeomyeong smiled wryly instead of answering. Silent affirmation.
Demerond neither denied nor scolded.
He just chuckled and muttered, 'Clever—I like that.'
Anyway, only after downing half the bottle did the elf begin the teachings.
"Show me all the martial arts you know, right here."
In a way slightly different from Yeomyeong's imagination.
"But without using a drop of mana."
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