Episode 596:
Under the vast branches of the World Tree.
Elves were gathered in small groups, chatting or drinking sweet-smelling drinks.
“Hmm…”
Raon rubbed the back of his neck as he watched the elves’ small banquet.
‘The mood is bright.’
I heard that they were holding a banquet to comfort the dead elves, so I participated, and the elves were drinking fruit wine and smiling softly.
Since I had been thinking about the funeral, I was a little embarrassed by this light atmosphere.
-Don’t worry about unnecessary things!
Lars landed on his shoulder and quickly rolled his eyes.
-The priority is to eat the food before it gets cold!
He pointed to a table where food was placed, saying that we should eat quickly.
‘Wait a moment.’
-Why on earth do you have such no appetite? You have to eat a lot to grow taller!
‘Are you my mother?…’
Raon shook his head while listening to Lars’ complaints.
-Isn’t King Bon taking care of you instead of your mother?
‘okay. okay.’
Lars also helped me with this task, so I put a well-baked pie into my mouth.
The slightly hard but savory bread and the fleshy raspberries harmonized well and filled my mouth.
Perhaps because the ingredients were so good, I was able to feel a luxurious and nostalgic taste at the same time.
-Keuuu! It’s sweet!
Lars clenched his fists and let out an exclamation.
-This is it! This is what you live for!
The guy danced on his shoulders with a happy expression for the first time in a long time.
-That one this time! I crave food that tastes like fruit dipped in honey!
‘anyway.’
Raon smiled and ate the food Lars wanted. Since he wanted to eat so many things, he was somewhat full even though he only ate one piece at a time.
‘Where is the fruit wine?’
As I turned my head to look for something to drink, I heard the voices of Rimmer and the young elves from under the tree in the right corner.
‘What are you doing with the kids?’
Raon tilted his head and approached the tree where Rimmer was.
“Five cards of the same suit like this are called a flush. “If it leads to a number, it’s called a straight flush.”
Rimer grinned as he showed the children the genealogy of Poker.
“The odds of a flush are less than 0.2 percent and the odds of a straight flush are 0.01 percent. But when you actually sit down at the plate, it floats better than you think. “That’s the beauty of poker.”
“….”
Raon swallowed dry saliva as he watched Rimmer teaching poker to the children.
‘Really, these ear piercings….’
It was so pathetic that the word ‘ear piercings’ came out by itself like Lass.
‘Still, it seems like they only tell it through play.’
If he had taught it through gambling, he would have kicked it out right away, but Rimmer seemed to teach poker to children only as a game.
“Then shall we all take it out?”
Rimmer gave some more genealogy information and then snapped his fingers.
“yes.”
The children nodded and took out small gold items or jewels from their arms.
“okay! This game needs these shiny things. Let’s try it with my brother first…”
“Hey, you human!”
Raon couldn’t bear it anymore and kicked Rimmer’s back.
“Kku…”
He couldn’t overcome the sudden shock and put his face on the ground.
“who is this!”
Rimmer jumped up with a lot of dirt on his face.
“Who dared hit the spirit king summoner’s teacher!”
“I am the summoner of the Spirit King.”
Raon showed a cold look as if he would pull out his sword.
“Ahahahaha.”
Rimmer smiled awkwardly and came up to me and grabbed my shoulder.
“Are you here?”
“What are you doing now?”
Raon sighed as he looked at Rimmer’s pale face.
“Usually, kids get bored when adults are alone. “I wanted to have some fun…”
Rimmer shook his head, saying it was no big deal.
“Then what are these gold items?”
Raon frowned, pointing to the gold and jewels in the children’s hands.
“As you know, elves do not value gems or gold. Because it’s something you won’t use anyway. What I use because I know its value…”
-Ugh! Getting sick of it is a pain in the ear!
Even Lars sighed, saying it was absurd. It resonated even more because it was said by a guy who was getting sick of someone who was getting sick of it.
“Because that guy is a mean person. “You can never trust it.”
Raon made eye contact with the children and waved his hand.
“Put the gold and jewels back where they belong.”
“yes!”
“all right!”
The elf children nodded with their eyes sparkling, perhaps because they knew me as the summoner of the Spirit King.
“Keuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu too…”
As he watched the children returning to their parents, Rimer let out a groan as if he were in pain.
“It was right in front of me.”
“Thank goodness I stopped it. “If the Guardian had seen it, he would have been stabbed by an arrow.”
“Hmm, that might be true…”
Rimmer nodded, shaking his shoulders.
“But the atmosphere at the funeral is brighter than I expected.”
Raon watched the funeral again and took a quick bite.
“Oh, that’s…”
“Because elves become one with nature through death.”
The answer to that came not from the lips of Rimmer, but from Rayran, who approached from the left. She stood next to Rimmer holding two round drinking glasses.
“Becoming one with nature through death?”
“The death of the elves is not the end, but a new beginning. “It melts into nature and returns to a new life.”
Leiran told me that this banquet was not a funeral to comfort someone in death, but a farewell ceremony to send off a precious person.
“That’s right.”
Rimmer smiled slightly and nodded.
“Elves do not simply accept the death of their kin with sadness.”
Contrary to his statement that he does not accept death with sadness, he revealed a bitter look in his eyes.
“okay.”
Raon nodded slightly. This light atmosphere seemed to be created at the funeral due to the differences between the races of humans and elves.
“You too, enjoy your food. “Here, it’s about comforting the dead.”
Rimmer said those words and stretched out his hand to Rayran.
“You brought that to give to me, right? Thank you….”
“No.”
Rayran passed by Rimmer and offered a glass to Raon.
“This is a fruit wine made by the Cotton tribe. “It tastes good, but it will help your body recover from fatigue.”
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the clear liquor sloshing around in the glass. A clean scent, whether it was Rayran’s scent or the scent of alcohol, touched the tip of my nose.
“thank you.”
Raon bowed his head and accepted the drink.
“That precious thing is going to someone who doesn’t know how to drink!”
Rimmer licked his appetite as if he felt regretful.
“Is it a precious drink?”
“okay. “The Cotton tribe’s fruit wine is a treasure that not even Seifia’s elves can eat.”
He motioned for me to eat it quickly, saying I would be impressed.
“Hmm…”
Raon tasted the fruit wine, which was as clear as water. As I listened to Rimmer’s words, my saliva started to water.
I drank the fruit wine slowly, just like I drink wine.
– Big! The incense is crazy!
‘Oh…’
The taste and scent of sweet and cool fruit penetrates my tongue and nose. It felt like my entire mouth, which had been feeling soggy from eating a lot of food, was completely cleaned.
What followed was the pungent, pungent taste unique to fruit wine.
My tongue felt a little tingly, but it was amazing. The spicy finish was more satisfying than the sweet taste of fruit.
-Wow!
However, Lars stumbled while holding his neck, as if the ending was not good.
-surgery! I hate alcohol!
The guy who was laughing at how sweet and delicious it was, started wiping his tongue with his palm.
I felt it during the collapse, but Lars doesn’t seem to be able to drink alcohol. It was the kids’ taste itself.
“Raon.”
When Raon sighed while looking at Lars, Rayran came forward and put his hands together.
“sorry. And thank you.”
She got down on both knees and bowed her head as if she were a human and not an elf.
“yes?”
Raon widened his eyes in confusion at the sudden situation.
“What is this…”
“I want to apologize for saying that on the day of Eden’s attack, when Raon asked me to go scouting because he wasn’t feeling well, I refused, saying it was nonsense.”
Leiran said he was sorry and bowed his head.
“There is no need to be sorry.”
Raon smiled softly and helped Rayran up.
“Because anyone would have done that.”
After standing guard without sleep for two days, I asked the guardians, who were about to eat for the first time, to go out on reconnaissance just because I felt bad, so I couldn’t get a positive response.
It’s amazing that Erian trusted him. There was absolutely no need for Leiran to apologize like this. It is pathetic to even say anything about something like this.
“….”
Rayran bit her lip as she looked at Raon holding her arm and helping her up.
‘It’s completely different from the humans I’ve seen so far.’
People try to take advantage of every little thing, but Raon had none of that.
Even after accomplishing the feat of saving the World Tree and Seifia, he did not promote himself or boast about it. I was embarrassed because it seemed different from the humans I had known until now.
“It tastes good. You drank well.”
Raon smiled at Rayran and returned the empty glass.
“Oh, because there are plenty. Come and eat.”
Rayran nodded, saying he could give her as much alcohol as he wanted.
Raon bowed his head to Rayran and stabbed Rimmer in the waist with his elbow.
“My lord. “Please come with me for a while.”
“Where?”
“I will understand if you follow me.”
I dragged him and approached Sterin, who was sitting at the bottom of the World Tree as if guarding it.
“Are you here?”
Stelin lifted his chin while holding a small glass of wine.
“How about a banquet? Unlike human events, it will be boring.”
“I don’t usually enjoy banquets, so it’s okay.”
“Right.”
He smiled slightly as if he liked it.
“But why did you bring that drop?”
Sterin tilted his head as he looked at Rimmer, who was standing blankly.
“You’re shaking at your grandson! “That’s too harsh!”
“You’re going to be nervous, aren’t you? All you have to do is break it. “Don’t try to ruin it for your kids either!”
He hit Rimmer on the forehead with the back of his hand as if he had been watching.
“Keck!”
Rimmer fell to the floor holding his drink.
“Ha…”
Raon sighed and took a step closer to Sterin.
“There is something I would like to ask you.”
“Tell me.”
“Could you possibly receive a branch from the World Tree?”
Raon quenched his appetite while looking up at the World Tree, which looked like it had stars hanging from its branches.
“Branches of the World Tree?”
“yes.”
I nodded and looked at Rimmer.
“When making the great lord’s prosthetic arm, it is said that the more familiar the material that will support the skeleton is to mana, the better. “If you can possibly bring me a branch or root of the World Tree, I asked you to bring it with you.”
“Hmm…”
Stelin frowned as he looked at Rimmer.
“Isn’t it better for you to just live as a one-armed person? “Do you think there will be fewer accidents that way?”
“Is that what grandpa would say?”
Rimmer screamed.
“Kuhum.”
Stelin cleared his throat and turned his gaze to Raon.
“It is Seifia’s rule not to hand over not even a branch or even a leaf of the world tree to humans. But…”
He smiled softly, unlike when he saw Rimmer.
“It is not that difficult to give a branch to someone who has already received the fruit.”
As soon as Sterin said those words, a branch of the World Tree, which was shining transparently as if illuminating the night, naturally fell and was caught in Raon’s hands.
“This is…”
Raon widened his eyes as he looked at the branch of the World Tree in his hand.
“I guess I didn’t have to answer.”
Sterin laughed, saying that not even among the High Elves had the World Tree cared for them like this.
“thanks. “I’ll put it to good use.”
-Good place?
Lars frowned, asking if that was true.
‘It’s not a bad place…’
Raon changed his words a little and patted the world tree.
Woo woo woo woo!
The World Tree spread its branches as if it were happy. Leaves covered in moonlight fluttered and a spectacular view of the Milky Way was revealed.
“I thought he came back with his personality, personality, and skills ruined…”
Sterin looked at that and turned his attention to Rimmer.
“You brought enough disciples to make up for all the damage.”
“If you get too lucky and go to a gambling place, you lose money.”
Rimmer shook the dirt off his hands and clicked his tongue briefly.
“You said you came to return that sword, right?”
Sterin quenched his appetite while looking at the sword still hanging on Rimmer’s waist.
“Yes.”
Rimmer nodded and was about to untie the sword from his waist when Sterin waved his hand.
“There is no need to give it.”
“yes?”
“Didn’t you say that you fought the Red Flame Demon along with Raon?”
“That’s right…”
“I haven’t given up on holding the sword yet, but there’s no need to let go of it. “It looks like that sword doesn’t want to leave your hand yet.”
Stelin shook his head, looking at the slightly trembling sword body.
“Whether I hold the sword with my left hand, return with a prosthetic hand, or put down the sword.”
Stelin held Rimmer’s right shoulder and smiled softly.
“Make a decision after examining yourself properly.”
He turned his back, saying he would leave the sword with him until then.
“Huh…”
Rimmer sighed deeply and nodded.
“all right.”
“And…”
Sterin calmed his gaze as he looked at the sword that had returned to Rimmer’s waist.
“I have someone to take with you when you return to Sieghardt.”
“As for taking him with me….”
“Since the elders have given permission, I would like to have a little interaction with Sieghart.”
“Well thought out!”
Rimmer smiled broadly and hit his knee.
“Now Sieghart is almost returning to his prime. There will be absolutely no loss!”
He raised his hand saying it was a good choice.
“Emissaries are important, but who will you send?”
“That has already been decided.”
Stelin looked at Raon again and smiled faintly.
* * *
The next evening.
Raon received a call from Stelin and headed back to the world tree.
Contrary to expectations that he would be alone, Grand Elder Limer Siyan was waiting with him under the World Tree.
“You came on time.”
Stelin nodded as if he was happy to come.
“It will be different from everyone else.”
The Grand Elder rolled his eyes at Rimmer.
“Oh, it’s a bit late and it’s really annoying.”
Rimmer scratched the back of his head and looked away.
“La Raon. “Hello…”
Siyan lowered her head, covering her face with her hair.
“Why are you all here…”
Raon tilted his head as he looked at the four people.
“Shouldn’t we eat the fruit of the World Tree now? “The space where the fruit can be absorbed most efficiently is under the World Tree.”
“Ah….”
“The four of us will stand guard, so don’t worry and just focus on your training.”
“You all protect the law?”
“Just in case you don’t know.”
Stelin smiled slightly and nodded.
“I wonder if it’s too much….”
“It’s not too much. “What you have done for us is more than that.”
The elder waved his hand, telling me to stop talking nonsense and get to the point quickly.
“okay. “Let’s get started right away.”
Rimmer tapped Raon on the shoulder.
“I will protect you even if it means risking my life!”
Blue eyes flashed through Siyan’s blonde hair. He was truly ready to sacrifice his life.
“Then please do me a favor.”
Raon smiled slightly and sat down at the base of the World Tree. Normally, I would have been shy, but because of Lars’ words, I decided to accept everyone’s favor.
– Finally!
Ras looked at the fruit of the World Tree with eyes filled with joy.
-I can finally taste that sweet juice!
The guy sniffed, saying it was a good thing he stuck around even though he was mistreated.
As Raon took out the fruit of the World Tree, Rimmer curled the corners of his mouth.
“It will be delicious for you.”
“yes?”
“no.”
He grinned as if telling him to eat quickly.
‘I feel uneasy about something.’
It felt a little strange to hear Rimmer say that.
-What is there to be anxious about?
Lars shook his head.
-Can’t you feel that sweet scent emanating from the fruit? It will definitely be delicious!
The guy waved his chubby hand, saying, “Let’s eat quickly.”
‘okay.’
After calming down, Raon took a bite of the fruit of the World Tree. Even before I could feel the crunchy texture of an apple, I began to taste the fruit on the tip of my tongue.
-Daldal… Huh?
Lars, who tasted it first, widened his eyes.
-Kwaeeek! What the hell! Why does the fruit of the World Tree taste like Nadine bread!
‘It’s true…’
Raon blinked as he bit into the fruit of the World Tree again. Contrary to its sweet scent, the fruit of the World Tree was exactly like Nadine bread, full of the taste of rubber.
‘No, it’s more than that.’
The taste of rubber was much stronger than that of Nadine bread. It felt like there was rubber all over my mouth.
When I widened my eyes thinking it was strange, Rimmer laughed and pointed at Siyan.
“The taste of Nadin bread is based on the taste of the fruit of the World Tree. In fact, the species of world tree is the rubber tree.”
“Are you okay?”
Siyan blinked and asked if he was okay.
“…it’s okay.”
Raon nodded. I was quite used to the taste of Nadine bread, so there was no problem.
However, there was one demon lord who was not like that.
-Kill me…
Lars stumbled and fell to the floor.
-Better kill me! Isn’t this too expensive? Why does the fruit of the World Tree taste like rubber? Spit it out quickly…
I tried to tell Raon to spit it out quickly, but he had already chewed and swallowed all the fruit of the world tree and was in a trance. Now the only person who can taste the rubber is himself.
-Ouch!
Lars’ lips trembled as he stretched out his hand toward the World Tree.
-Bonwang! This king will definitely burn it! Everything!
