Episode 178. For the new trust
swordsman, arms were not just for holding and wielding weapons.
It’s obvious, but if you don’t have one arm, your body is out of balance, and your life as a prosecutor could be seen as almost over.
Even more so, Hougen was a swordsman who used twin swords.
‘Is it worse than telling me to die?’
It was a terrible punishment to tear off one of the arms of an elf swordsman who could live hundreds of years from now.
“Such nonsense!”
“The elder said he made a mistake because he was excited, but that’s….”
A violent reaction erupted from the surroundings.
However, after hearing the story, Hougen was calm.
He seemed to ponder for a moment, then winked at Hoir.
Then… ….
“Huh.”
wickedness!
Took… ….
He cut off his left arm in an instant.
“Huh!”
“Come on, Elder!”
Everyone was surprised by his bold decision.
I was even surprised.
When Hoir saw Hougen, his eyes shook and he hurriedly approached to help stop the bleeding.
“Why the hell did you do that?”
“This was the best way to save everyone.”
“Save everyone?”
Then, he turned his gaze to Maximin.
His eyes were shaking as if confused, but soon calmed down.
It was a great equanimity.
“It seems that he is an acquaintance of Hougen. More than that, Adrias Cromwell, this is our fault, so let’s apologize first.”
He stopped helping Hougen stop the bleeding, got up, and bowed to me.
I don’t know if it was because of Maximin or if he really wanted to apologize.
It was the same that I didn’t want to lose the elf and Chuck anyway.
But it was deliberately quiet.
While Maximin is here, we have to tear off anything that can be torn off.
“You seem to be quite old, so you are good at grasping the subject.”
I don’t know if Maximin knew what I was thinking, but he spoke on my behalf.
Then he spoke to Hugen, who was still bleeding on his arm.
“As I said, cutting off your arm is the basic condition. As you know, the negotiation target is all the elves here. If you want to save it, you’ll have to set plausible conditions.”
Seeing Maximin openly threatening them, Hougen and Hoire hardened their complexions.
Hoir tried to say something to him, but Hougen tried hard to stop him.
“Elder, I will solve it.”
“…Are you saying the author is that strong? Or is it your stubbornness?”
“I’m sorry for making you look ugly. To be honest, I would have had a hard time dealing with him even in his normal state.”
“Huh….”
At Hougen’s words, Hoir let out an inexplicable exclamation.
Leaving Hoir behind, Hougen, who was sweating cold from the pain, stepped forward.
“Tell me what you want.”
“Can you listen to me?”
“Since then, he has the status of an elder. High is high, but never low.”
It felt a little ironic that Hougen, who gave in to Maximin’s force and gave up his arm at once, said something apart from it.
After hearing Hugen’s words, Maximin glanced around for a moment, then finally turned his gaze to me.
“Do whatever you want.”
He crossed his arms and stepped back as if his role had ended.
…dog is cool
For now, I decided to accept Maximin’s favor.
If you think about it, it was me who gave grace in the first place, and it was me who suffered losses, so it was the reward I deserved.
By the way, my body was a little damaged from the battle a little while ago, so I’m not listening.
The ground suddenly shook as the aches were sore here and there that it was difficult to stand.
Deuk Deuk.
“The world tree moves again!”
I looked up at someone’s cry and saw that light powder was being scattered from the sky.
“This….”
“What is this….”
It was as if they knew this powder.
There were even elves who shed tears as if they were moved, but their heads couldn’t keep up with the sudden incident.
Saaa.
“What is this?”
When the light powder touched his body, the visible wounds healed in an instant.
Not only that, but the tired body also began to overflow with vitality.
[Blessed name ‘Seed of God’s Death’ has collected traces of a god.]
[Collecting 2 more traces will cause a change.]
Oh? suddenly here?
“Is this the power left by God? It is worthy of worship by dwarves.”
As Maximin said, this was a miraculous power beyond magic.
Until now, I thought it was a stupid tree that was only a little mysterious and couldn’t deal with the parasites attached to its body, but the effect and scenery were enough to correct my judgment.
“Blessings of the World Tree!”
“How much? Isn’t it the first blessing in almost 100 years?”
“We have to open a festival!”
Are these bastards missing a screw in their head now?
What are you talking about even though the conversation with me isn’t over yet?
Both the world capital and the elves seemed to lack something one by one.
I must say that it is different from the first impression.
“really…Is it really because of that person?”
“I guess so. He said he received the fruit.”
“What the hell happened to the World Tree? What did that person do… ….”
Soon, the stream of thought reached me, and all the elves looked at me.
At the end of that burdensome gaze, Hoir also existed.
“This is all because of you.”
Hoir bowed his head at me.
But is he crying right now?
“Thank you very much. You are the benefactor of the World Tree and the savior of the elves of Rastilia. You weren’t wrong.”
“Is this so great that it brings tears?”
“Then don’t be great. It has already been 126 years since the last time the World Tree gave its blessing. It’s a long time even for us. Before that, blessings had been sent down every thirteen years, and it had been a long time since I stopped knowing why.”
Did the offspring of gluttony start parasitizing around that time?
In any case, thanks to the world tree, the atmosphere was relaxed.
While everyone was watching, the light powder from the World Tree was scattered, and the powder was so large that it spread throughout Rastilia.
After staring blankly for a moment, Hougen moved.
He walked over to me and then knelt down.
“Everyone in Rastilia must be watching this.”
It’s out of the blue to say you’re on your knees.
“Human, you are right. It’s late, but I apologize.”
“Aren’t you angry?”
I winked at his fully healed arm.
Then he smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“Everything I brought on myself. Although regrets may remain, responsibility cannot be avoided. No matter what, it doesn’t change the fact that I tried to take your life.”
“Did you think that saying things like that after you’ve done everything you wanted to do would make me feel better?”
“If you want to swear, do it as much as you want. I don’t care what insults you give me. I am a wicked person who tried to kill my benefactor.”
Rather, I don’t like it because it comes out like this.
I’d rather be a bad guy to the end.
I ignored him and spoke to Hoir.
“Let’s go back to Rastilia and finish the story.”
“If you want to do it, do it. I want to hear exactly what happened.”
His gaze landed on my long hair.
Something unexpected happened inside the World Tree.
“I promise you an ample reward even with all my powers. I really don’t know what you want.”
Hoir’s words echoed faintly among the scattering light powder.
* * *
Returning with everyone, Rastilia was in a festive mood.
As expected, the blessing of the World Tree spread to this place, and everyone was dancing and playing musical instruments on the streets.
My stomach was twisted in contrast to the hardships I had been through, but I didn’t bother to show it off.
‘I’m not good at dealing with people either.’
I didn’t even want to be a mess, but I laughed bitterly.
“uh? It’s the World Tree Expedition!”
“Hey! You did it! Thanks to all of you, blessings are given again, right?”
“thank you!”
The elves who spotted us approached us with cheers.
However, all those receiving the hospitality were not happy, scratching their heads or averting their gaze to the ground.
“What are the reactions like?”
“uh? Elder Hugen? Where are you hurt?”
Hougen’s body was covered with a thick cloak, except for the top of his neck, so one arm was not visible.
However, his pale complexion, which could not be covered by the blessing of the World Tree, was clearly visible.
“Everyone is tired, so please step back. After the elders meeting, I will announce to everyone about the blessings, so enjoy yourself for now.”
Hoir stepped out appropriately and bit the elves.
As the road burst open and we moved forward again, we saw an elf riding a griffin from afar.
“ah! Elder Hugen, Elder Hoir!”
“What is going on?”
The elf, who seemed to have come in a hurry, looked around us and then glanced at me.
what else is it
“A little while ago, an oracle was given to the temple.”
“An oracle?”
At the word oracle, the surroundings became agitated.
“An oracle again?”
“It must have something to do with the blessing of the World Tree, right?”
“The case doesn’t end after that human enters the Great Forest.”
“But is that guy next to you human too? When were you invited?”
Hearing the whispers of the elves, we immediately set our destination.
The place I visited was the Tapio Temple in Rastilia.
At the entrance there were already several elves who looked quite old.
“It’s just fine. Long time no see Hoir.”
“Nice to meet you all. More than that, what about an oracle?”
Everyone looked young on the outside, but their age and seniority were revealed in their gestures and facial expressions.
It’s like looking at an old tree.
Hoir and Hagrieu were already old on the outside, so there was no awkwardness, but the appearance was something awkward because they were young people.
“We haven’t even heard of the contents of the oracle yet. The High Priestess is suffering from a fever due to the aftereffects of the oracle, so she will probably be able to hear it in a few hours.”
Someone told me as a representative.
Looking closely, it was Rignir.
As the chairman of the entire meeting, he was an NPC often encountered in the elven main quest.
Perhaps because of his position as chairman, he was one of the elves with a more flexible mindset and was quite friendly towards humans.
His gaze had been on me all along.
“Are you the human who participated in this expedition? I don’t know if it’s thanks to you yet, but if the oracle wasn’t wrong, maybe the blessing of this world tree… ….”
Rignir paused for a moment and smiled happily.
“It must be because of you.”
“yes. Thanks to me.”
And I just said it without humility.
He didn’t need empty words.
‘Amir’s grandfather. It’s an evolved version of Aymir with highly developed intuition.’
His intuition is almost mind-reading.
Rather, it is surprising that even with such an ability, it can be friendly to humans.
As a human being, it’s a bit hard for me to say this, but if you can read the inside of your heart, you’re a human being that can never get better.
But when you think about it, it’s rather surprising that even with such abilities, the traitors weren’t noticed.
In the game, it was mind-reading to the point where I thought it was a setting error.
“Adrias Cromwell. do you know me?”
“yes.”
When I said it obediently, Rignir smiled.
“You are quick to judge. Have you been able to overcome the adversity so far with that judgment?”
Although the elf was obviously friendly to humans, he exercised his right to remain silent because he did not want to talk to him any more.
It’s not even necessary to talk.
“You are clever.”
Even if you praise it like that, nothing comes out.
Then, an elf dressed as a priest came out of the temple.
“The high priest has awakened. Everyone, please enter.”
“already? That’s fast.”
“for a moment. Anyway, shouldn’t these humans wait for a while? Unless an oracle has anything to do with them… ….”
When someone pointed at me and Maximin, everyone looked troubled with troubled expressions.
But it was a needless worry.
“Come out.”
Maximin said quietly.
Then, as he said, the high priest whom he had seen before came out supported.
“Ambassador. It’s okay if you didn’t overdo it and said it inside… ….”
“no. Important guests have also arrived, so I have to step in.”
Looking at us with the word “important guest,” we must be the important guest Hegriu is talking about, right?
“I will deliver the trust.”
She took a breath and said.
“Treat the guests who enter the forest. Future blessings will follow with their visit.”
It was short.
But it was simple and easy to understand.
however….
“for a moment. Can you guess the meaning of the last sentence?”
I immediately asked if someone had the same question I had in mind.
Then Hegriu said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
“It is literally. The blessings of the next 13-year cycle are said to exist without the visits of guests.”
Does that mean there is no blessing of the World Tree without us?
As if driving a wedge into my thoughts, Hagrieu continued.
“Now, they are precious people we elves must protect.”
