Chapter 21: The Weeping World Tree

What kind of beings are the Blood Elfirians!

They’re a race that feeds on blood, with all sorts of rumors flying around that they even drink human blood.

And their physical abilities are simply outstanding.

No matter how great a hero of the age, as long as they’re human, they simply can’t match the senses and nimble bodies of these creatures—or so I’ve heard.

On top of that, they sometimes display mysterious abilities, making them nothing short of extraordinary.

“It looks like the Dwarves decided to throw us to the Blood Elfirians as their next meal, instead of simply chopping off our heads……”

Dmico murmured blankly.

“I wonder.”

Rohan quietly stared at the Blood Elfirians.

Without a sound, in the blink of an eye, she drew close to their group.

“Hm, this human smells especially fresh.”

She sniffed at Martin’s front.

“But here… there’s a rather nasty odor.”

She wrinkled her nose before Dmico, whose face turned beet red.

“And as for this human……”

At last, her eyes narrowed as she stood before Rohan.

“……You, what are you?”

A brief flicker of her gaze.

She suddenly leapt back, her face wary.

“What in the world is this…….”

It was then.

“Retina. So you’re here, eh?”

Thump, thump, thump.

Graham entered the room, heavy footsteps echoing.

“Sir Graham. It’s been a while.”

The Blood Elfiran called Retina gave a light gesture of respect.

Rohan watched their behavior and conversation closely.

“What brings you here without notice? I didn’t receive any word from Silvaren, you know.”

Silvaren.

The name of the city where the Elfirians dwell.

“I wasn’t able to attend the recent birthday banquet, so I’ve come late like this.”

“My, such effort.”

Listening to their conversation, it was clear Retina wasn’t just an ordinary Blood Elfiran.

“And……”

She paused briefly, then continued.

“I also came because of Lady Arabelin’s prophecy.”

At her words, Graham’s eyebrows shot up.

“Prophecy?”

“I don’t think this is the place to discuss it. I’ll tell you more in due time.”

Retina glanced briefly at Rohan and his companions, then shrugged.

“Anyway. What’s with the trio of humans here in Loktercia? Don’t tell me you’ve prepared them for me?”

Retina licked her lips as she spoke, making Dmico shudder.

“Hahaha!”

Graham laughed heartily.

“Not quite. I brought these trespassing humans here because there are some things I need to confirm.”

“To confirm?”

At her questioning, Graham pointed at Rohan and said,

“Well, that human there claims to be the ‘Apostle of God’ and says he’ll reveal the location of mithril.”

“……Excuse me?”

Retina’s eyelids twitched.

“He said Lokteum sent him. Can you believe it? I suspect he’s just bluffing to save his skin……”

Graham chuckled, while Retina’s face grew pale.

“Sir Graham.”

“Yes?”

“May I be present as well when you confirm if what he said is true?”

“You?”

Graham stroked his beard and then nodded.

“Well, no harm in it. It’s not just anyone, you’re a Silvarenian after all. In fact, could I ask you to watch over these humans while you’re at it?”

At Graham’s words, Rohan’s eyebrow twitched.

That woman is a Silvarenian?

Already possessing knowledge of the various races, Rohan quickly guessed her true identity.

‘So, she’s of the purest bloodline among the Elfirians.’

Those who have inherited the purest blood among the Elfirians.

Though the meaning is a bit different, by human standards, one could call her royalty among the Elfirians.

From what he’d heard, there were only about thirty Silvarenian Elfirians.

‘To think I’d meet such a rare person like this.’

The reason Silvarenians were so special.

That was because of their unique abilities.

Mysterious and incredible powers that couldn’t be explained by any knowledge.

The ‘Arabelin’ Retina had mentioned earlier was also one of the Silvarenians Rohan knew.

And as far as Rohan knew, her unique ability was ‘prophecy of the future.’

But……

‘I’ve never heard the name Retina before.’

Yet, he had never heard the name of the Silvarenian standing before him.

“Of course.”

Retina nodded with a smile.

“Now then, you lot.”

He strode back over to stand before Rohan and his companions.

“You do realize your words must be tested for truth, yes?”

At Graham’s question, Rohan nodded.

“Of course. And that I’ll die if I fail to prove them.”

“Glad you understand, eh?”

Graham gestured to the dwarves who had accompanied him.

“Untie them.”

“Huh? But……”

“One’s a sickly runt, the other reeks of coal and looks feeble. And the last… well, he seems to handle a sword, but…”

Schwing!

Graham drew the sword from Martin’s waist.

“What could you possibly do with such a worthless sword?”

Crunch!

Graham grabbed the sword with both hands and broke it in two.

“……!”

Martin’s body jerked violently.

“You scoundrel! Do you even know what sword that was?! How dare you—!”

Always calm, Martin now couldn’t hide his agitation at seeing his sword broken so easily.

“How dare I?”

Graham snorted.

“If you made such a sword in Loktercia, you’d be living in shame for generations.”

“……!”

Martin’s face hardened, and he snapped his ropes.

“You’ll pay for that……!”

“You’re hardly in a position to make threats.”

But Martin couldn’t move forward any further.

“……”

A small curved blade flashed with sharp light at Martin’s throat.

Blood Elfiran, Retina.

Before anyone knew it, she’d slipped over in utter silence and was holding her blade to Martin’s neck.

“And as you can see, we have Retina here. Hahaha! The test will be tomorrow, so you lot will spend the night here.”

With that, Graham left, saying he’d leave them in Retina’s care.

The dwarves cut Rohan and Dmico’s ropes, then left the house as well.

Dmico, his strength gone, collapsed to the floor, while the freed Rohan dusted off his arms and spoke up.

“Hey, Elfiran. You can put away the sword now, can’t you?”

At Rohan’s words, Retina shrugged and withdrew her blade.

Even as she sheathed it, the sword was barely visible, her movements utterly precise and without wasted motion.

“Best not try anything foolish, human. Next time, I really might pierce your throat.”

At her cool, yet deadly warning, Rohan patted Martin’s back.

“I’ll get you another sword. A good one.”

“……”

Martin’s hand clenched silently.

“I… apologize for losing my temper.”

“It’s fine. Nothing happened, in the end, right?”

Rohan smiled lightly and walked over to Retina.

“Still, I never imagined I’d see a Silvarenian here.”

“Don’t come any closer.”

Retina stepped back accordingly.

She scrunched her nose in obvious distaste.

“You… what are you, really?”

“I’m Rohan, Prince of the Shubert Empire.”

“……That’s not what I’m asking, is it?”

“Then what is it you want to know?”

At Rohan’s reply, Retina turned her gaze aside.

“……Forget it. Doesn’t matter.”

“……?”

If not his title or name, what was she so curious about?

Rohan wondered, but could only hold his tongue.

“Anyway, don’t try anything foolish. Even if you can’t see me, I’m always watching!”

With nimble movements, she had already hopped up to the window sill and vanished.

It was an astonishing sight, even to witness.

“……Seriously, why use the window when there’s a perfectly good door?”

No matter the age, it was always hard to understand the thinking of other races.

At that moment.

Clack!

The front door burst open, and a burly dwarf woman entered.

“Oh my! Where’d Retina go?”

Long braided hair, garishly pink lips.

The first female dwarf they’d seen since coming to Loktercia.

“If you mean the Blood Elfiran, she went that way.”

Rohan pointed at the window with his thumb, and the female dwarf pouted.

“Honestly, these Elfirians! Why the window when the door is right there?!”

“……”

Maybe it’s not other races, but the Elfirians in particular whose thinking is impossible to grasp.

“Hm, so you must be the humans who arrived today? You really do look odd! My name’s Bramia!”

She strode up to them, holding a massive ladle.

“Sorry, it’s just, I’ve never met a human before! Did you see that big, red-bearded dwarf earlier? That’s my husband! He said I should feed you, so here I am. Hohoho!”

Ah, so she’s Graham’s wife—and with quite the overbearing personality, at that.

“Heave-ho!”

Bramia brought in something like a huge jar from outside the door.

“What’s that?”

Rohan asked, and Bramia smiled as she held up the ladle.

“What do you think? Food, of course.”

She began to ladle out a hearty soup, filling large bowls with steaming helpings.

The soup was full of chunks, and it smelled savory.

“Is this… Tantura, by any chance?”

At Rohan’s words, Bramia’s eyes grew wide with surprise.

“What! A human knows Tantura? How?”

“I’ve always been interested in the Prana Federation, especially here in Loktercia.”

……A complete lie—he’d actually eaten it in a previous life when he’d visited Loktercia.

But that little white lie seemed to make Bramia all the more fond of him.

“Really? Not easy for a human to care about dwarves! There’s not much information about us out there.”

“I’m royalty, so I sometimes get access to information normal people wouldn’t.”

“Oh my! Royalty, you say?”

She clasped her thick fingers together, blowing through her nose in delight.

“Truth is, I’ve always been curious about humans too! Especially how royals and nobles live!”

“If you’re Sir Graham’s wife, aren’t you royalty in Loktercia as well, Lady Bramia?”

Ten dazzling rings sparkled on her clasped fingers.

Here, the elder holds the highest seat—so that’s as good as being emperor.

As the elder’s wife, she was nothing less than an empress.

“Well, unlike with humans, there’s no special treatment for the elder’s wife here. Humans support those above them, don’t they?”

Culture really was different.

And so Rohan ate the Tantura Bramia brought, and soon found himself deep in conversation with her.

Martin listened quietly, though clearly interested, while Dmico watched Rohan in amazement.

What he learned from talking with Bramia was that, unlike the other dwarves, she didn’t have much hostility or prejudice against humans.

In other words, she was quite open-minded.

“I need to check on the children, so I can’t talk any longer. What a shame, just as we were getting started.”

And she was quite the chatterbox, too.

“I’ll come by again tonight! I really enjoyed talking, Rohan!”

Bramia left, waving cheerfully, and only then did Dmico breathe easily.

“My ears feel like they’re bleeding.”

She’d chattered non-stop for almost an hour, and her voice was booming—no wonder he felt that way.

“Ha, finally some peace.”

“Whoa! You startled me!”

Dmico, picking at his ear, suddenly fell over at the voice beside him.

But regardless.

Once again, Retina had appeared in utter silence and was looking straight at Rohan.

“Hey, human. You… do you know anything about the ‘World Tree’?”

Her sharp gaze shone as if piercing right through Rohan.