Ch 229
Rapita decided to postpone the conversation with the Sylph she had so eagerly awaited.
There weren’t many things more urgent than that, but it seemed like such a thing had just happened.
“P-please, follow me…!”
Lisir.
Why was the Half-Spirit’s protector, whom she had left in the Human City, here?
She took Lisir’s hand and hastily left the place.
“J-just in case I’m asking, are you a figment of my imagination!?”
“Yes?”
“You, who should be in Bondales, why are you here!? That too, appearing just when I was in danger and helping me… No matter how much I think about it, unless I’m crazy and seeing hallucinations, it doesn’t make sense!”
“…!”
Lisir was shocked.
‘I accidentally entered a Dungeon, accidentally used an Ancient Artifact I obtained, accidentally met Forest Night, accidentally discovered that person was her Master’s Master, accidentally learned Nature Magic, accidentally received help from a High Elf, and accidentally ended up in the Elf City-… This is far more realistic!?’
For a moment, he was convinced by her logical（?） statement.
“As the Princess says… I might just be a figment of Your Highness’s imagination…!”
“…!”
“L-Lisir! What are you saying━”
“Ah. I’m joking, Sir Gondola. Your Highness’s words were so logical that━”
“Gondola!”
The Elf Princess finally called out to her escort.
“W-what on earth is going on!? A-am I going crazy and seeing things!?”
“No. This is not an illusion━”
In the middle of speaking.
Gondola looked at Lisir.
He too, upon reflection, thought the Princess’s words made sense.
“…Lisir, are you perhaps an illusion I created?”
“W-what to do…! Because of this person, both of your minds are!!!”
Ratsil the Elf was restless at the sight of the two people genuinely confused.
Lisir felt a sense of guilt for some reason.
“…Ah! I don’t know!!! Just follow me!!!”
Anyway.
The Elf Princess’s expression, which had been fading, began to regain its vitality.
✦✦✦
Lisir went to Rapita’s private room with her and explained the circumstances that led to the situation just now.
Rapita fell into thought for a moment, then burst into a chuckle.
There were a few tears in the corners of her eyes.
“So that’s how it was… I… for a moment, I really thought I was going crazy from extreme stress and seeing things…”
Lisir tried to understand Rapita’s state of mind by putting himself in her situation.
‘If I’m having problems I can’t handle in Illathein, and suddenly Pien and Rona from Bondales appear and solve it in a snap…’
His head nodded involuntarily.
‘Definitely. I would doubt my own sanity.’
At the sight of Lisir, Rapita let out a burst of laughter and was about to continue the story.
“Huh?”
She widened her eyes and showed the necklace she had hidden in her clothes.
“Ah…”
Rapita’s green eyes shone even brighter.
The emerald of the necklace.
The jewel that had lost its light when the High-Rank Spirit left had regained its brilliance.
This meant that the Sylph had returned to her embrace.
“W-what is this…”
Rapita chuckled.
The High-Rank Spirit’s mind, which had not even flinched despite all her efforts, had returned at a human’s words.
She was confused whether it was right for her, as an Elf, to be honestly happy about this situation.
Of course.
No matter how great that confusion was, it was not greater than her joy.
“Sylph…”
Rapita looked at the necklace and called out the name longingly.
“Now that I think about it, I think I know how foolish I looked in front of you back then.”
She recalled the memory of that time, which was the beginning of all this.
Her beloved Half-Spirit-
Her shameful self, who could not accept the fact that Perin followed humans more than her and tried to impose her will with the Sylph’s power.
“…”
Lisir was surprised.
Was this mature woman really the reckless Elf Princess he had met then?
-Has she forgotten about that Half-Spirit child now?
The High-Rank Spirit seemed to have the same impression, and turned its attention from Lisir to her.
“Sylph…!”
A voice filled with emotion.
The Elf Princess smiled brightly and began to pour out the words and emotions she had been holding back.
Their conversation began.
“…”
Lisir felt a new excitement watching the two of them.
‘I didn’t know when I saw them before… but now that I see them again, it was amazing.’
A High-Rank Spirit reigning as the ruler of all of nature.
An existence that even wealthy and powerful groups like the Yellow Tower were anxious to gain the attention of.
‘To make a contract with such a High-Rank Spirit as an equal…’
As Lisir was sincerely admiring this, a familiar voice came from his Inner World.
-Master!!! Such Pointy-Eared ones are nothing before Master!!! Doesn’t Master have a great Spirit like me!!! Think about it!!! Can that little thing burn the forest like me!?
‘No, that friend is a Wind Spirit to begin with.’
-That’s because it’s a baseless, common Spirit!!!
‘…Are you the right one to talk about the origins of Spirits?’
Lisir naturally continued his conversation with Dangaleon.
Was it because he was concentrating on his Inner World during this process?
“Huh?”
Lisir suddenly felt a sense of incongruity.
From a certain point, he could no longer hear the conversation between the Elf Princess and the High-Rank Spirit.
The fact that he could not even sense their presence indicated that it was not simply the end of their conversation.
Lisir hurriedly looked in the direction where the Elf Princess had been sitting.
“Lady Rapita?”
The Elf Princess was nowhere to be seen.
“Ms. Ratsil? Sir Gondola?”
Even the escort knight and the Watcher of the forest.
The sense of incongruity Lisir felt reached its peak.
He looked around in confusion.
“This is…”
He was no longer in the Princess’s private room, but in a different space.
✦✦✦
『Title: Guys, this World Tree’s Selection Destiny Quest』
Content: Who is the best Heir to choose?
-: Lasnian is the most delicious
-『Author』: Oh, it seems the rewards are different for each Heir
Is the Prince’s reward the sweetest?
-: What? I thought the rewards were all the same.
-『Author』: ?
Then what did you mean when you said Lasnian is the most delicious?
-: （Nunchi… emoticon）
-: （Emoticon with a shadow on the face）
-『Author』: Ugh, f
Tell me properly, someone who knows
-: But Lasnian is really the best choice
You raise one Elf’s Merit Points to get the World Tree’s Selection
Then you proceed with the quest together
Lasnian’s personality is the least annoying
-『Author』: So choosing only based on personality is the best?
Ratsil< This girl is a bit prickly, but she's kind
What about bringing her to the Verdant Council?
-: Ratsil?
Ah, that Watcher
You can’t choose her, right?
-『Author』: Why?
-: She dies later
-『Author』: Don’t spoil it, you a hole
-: You asked me;;;
-『Author』: Warn me about spoilers first, you b
-: But
Ratsil’s death isn’t the problem
You can’t even fill the Merit Points unless it’s a High Elf
-『Author』: What are Merit Points, you nerd?
-: It’s roughly expressed as Merit Points in the system
In reality, it’s something like influence as an Elf?
Purity of energy?
Anyway, it’s about how elven you are
-: Then shouldn’t I choose Yulin?
That crazy woman is the real definition of a derogatory term for Elf
-『Author』: In the end, Lasnian is the best choice
Ugh, f
Choosing a man is a bit much
-: But you don’t have to worry too much about that ㅇㅇ
-『Author』: What else is there?
-: （Spoiler warning） No matter who you choose, you die in the middle ㅇㅇ
-『Author』: You’re kidding me again
-: I did warn you properly ㅇㅇ;;
-: If your internet speed was good, you would have pressed the back button after seeing the beginning ㅇㅇ;
-: Ah, I don’t want to get old
-: Anyway, once your Merit Points go above a certain level, whoever the Heir is will talk to you, they make a big fuss about it
That’s when it starts ㅇㅇ
✦✦✦
『The target’s Merit Points have been met.』
『The event is activated.』
✦✦✦
Lisir looked around.
It was a space that looked like a forest expressed in light.
“…!”
Lisir stood up in surprise.
“Lisir!?”
“Huh?”
Then, the familiar scenery unfolded again.
It was the Princess’s private room again.
“What’s wrong!? Are you okay!? Is it a seizure!? Your face looks a little pale, is it because you’re human?! Your eyes look a little dull… is that because you’re human too!? Oh dear, I don’t know anything about how to check a human’s condition!!! Lisir!!! It’s a big deal!!! If there’s anything uncomfortable, you have to tell me directly━”
“W-wait a minute…! Ms. Ratsil, calm down━”
Lisir’s embarrassment at Ratsil’s barrage of worried questions vanished instantly.
He forgot about being bewildered by the strange phenomenon he had just experienced and calmed Ratsil down.
“I-I just saw a hallucination for a moment.”
“Hallucination…? Lisir, are you also━”
“…Lady Rapita? What do you mean━”
Lisir and Rapita exchanged meaningful glances.
Knock, knock.
A knock came from outside the door.
When Rapita went to open the door, she saw-
“Yulin? Lasnian?”
Two people who could be called competitors and heirs.
Their gazes did not immediately go to Rapita.
Their heads tilted slightly.
Their gazes went past Rapita and into the room.
To a mysterious man with his hood pulled low.
“…”
Rapita moved to block their view.
As if hiding her treasure from impure gazes.
Only then did the gazes of the two heirs turn to Rapita.
“What do you want?”
Yulin replied in a blunt tone.
“I don’t have anything to do with you. I’m here for that man.”
“…”
Rapita smiled wryly.
Should she call it amazing efficiency?
Rapita shook her head wearily at the sight of the two people who, after confirming Lisir’s value through his recent actions, immediately came to take the talent.
“Even so, isn’t that a bit too rude? I’m right here, and you’re trying to take my person.”
“Isn’t that something the person concerned should decide?”
“…What do you mean, Lasnian?”
“From his point of view, the best situation is for the person he follows to receive the World Tree’s Selection. In that sense, Rapita, you’re a bit lacking as an ideal employer━ or colleague?”
“…”
Rapita gritted her teeth in anger.
As he said, at this point, her chances of being selected by the World Tree were significantly lower compared to the two of them.
At this point, she was nothing without Lisir.
“You there!”
Taking advantage of that distraction, Yulin slipped into the room.
“Won’t you come with us? I think we can tell you a story that will pique your interest. Oh! By the way━”
She spread her palm and pointed to herself elegantly and confidently.
“I can confidently say that if you help me, I will definitely receive the World Tree’s Selection and promise you the maximum reward. As a fellow Elf, you’ll understand what I’m saying, right?”
“Yulin. I’m sorry, but I can say that too. No, I should say it.”
The atmosphere of the place became chaotic at the sudden victory declaration of the heirs.
“…”
In that atmosphere, Rapita could only cautiously observe Lisir’s reaction.
She desperately wanted to stop them-
But the pain of the mistakes she had made in the past when she tried to force his actions was holding her back.
Yulin checked Rapita’s condition and took action.
“Instead of doing this here, shall we change locations? This place seems a little shabby for an important conversation.”
Yulin gestured to Lisir with a polite attitude, quite different from the way she treated Rapita.
Then.
Her suggestion to change locations was immediately carried out.
“Huh?”
Yulin looked around in surprise.
The others reacted the same way.
They were no longer in Rapita’s private room, but in a different space.
It was a space that looked like a forest expressed in light.
-Descendant of the World Tree.
Someone spoke to them from the other side of that space.
Lisir and everyone else were startled by the profound energy in that voice and straightened up.
“This is…!”
Their thoughts turned to one possibility.
The World Tree’s Selection.
-I have a request for you. Only you, the most truthful and pure Elf, the descendant of the World Tree, can do it.
Their expectations turned into conviction at the following statement.
The being speaking to them was the proxy of the great World Tree-
And at this moment, the Elf who would receive the World Tree’s Selection would be decided through him.
The most noble and truthful being as an Elf!
This would have a significant influence on deciding the ruler of the Elves, a position that had been vacant for a long time.
There wasn’t a single breath of sound in the place.
They all held their breath, focusing on its next action.
-Descendant of the World Tree.
A leafy branch suddenly poked out from the other side of the space and began to stretch out.
As if extending a hand.
-The most truthful and pure Elf.
The branch pointed to one person among the many Elves present.
-And, the great master of the wind.
“””…!”””
It was a decisive statement.
The sound of someone inhaling echoed throughout the place.
“W-wait a moment…!”
They were almost there!
They looked at Lisir once, then blocked Rapita’s way.
“Representative of the World Tree━ please reconsider…!”
“This person did not become the great master of the wind by his own power!”
Regardless.
The branch stretched out without hesitation towards its target.
-Will you act as the World Tree’s will?
“…”
The branch extended like a handshake.
It remained motionless in place.
Because even after waiting, the other party did not grab the branch.
Then the target spoke.
“I-I’m human?”
Lisir held his hands far behind him, afraid that they might touch the branch.
-…
The branch shook.
✦✦✦
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