The road to Elysium.
Jinsu asked with an expression full of excitement.
“Sister, when we go to Elysium, is everyone as beautiful as you?”
‘Of course, they are all handsome and beautiful. Why do you ask?’
‘Perhaps my soulmate might be there! Hehe.’
Kasia frowned.
‘It is a pity, Jinsu, but you do not fit the elves’ standards of beauty.’
“What? Even to elves? Where on earth do I actually appeal to people? The Merfolk…? No… they were handsome too.”
With a dejected expression, Jinsu pulled out his smartphone to look at his reflection.
“What about Brother Minho? There isn’t much difference between us, right?”
Kasia closed her eyes, seemingly picturing an image in her mind, and a slight smile played on her lips.
‘Minho is on the better-looking side. He is also loved by nature.’
“What is that supposed to mean…?”
It seemed to be quite a blow to Jinsu, as he wore a sulky expression throughout the rest of the journey.
‘There, that is Elysium.’
“Whoa! I can’t believe it! Is this really the same mountain in Korea that I know?!”
When Minho first handed the mountain over to the elves, it was no different from any other mountain in Korea. However, as the elves decorated it to their liking and made it resemble Ellya, the landscape changed 180 degrees.
Huge trees towered as if to pierce the sky.
High above, nestled between the trunks and branches of these giant trees, were beautiful treehouses.
Lanterns emitting a soft glow hung from the branches, looking as if stars had descended upon the forest.
‘It really does resemble Ellya. The elves must have worked quite hard.’
“But unlike Ellya, the houses are up high?”
In Ellya, the trees had doors built into them. Upon moving to Elysium, they had moved their homes to higher ground.
‘It was likely unavoidable. The trees in Ellya had Ancient Magic applied to them.’
“Ancient Magic?”
‘Yes. It is magic that expands and reconstructs the interior of a tree. It creates a space where we can live without harming the tree itself. We cannot use it now, however.’
Ancient Magic.
It was a form of magic that was now lost but could be used in ancient times.
‘Lady Kasia is here!’
‘She brought a new man with her?’
‘Is he the second husband candidate?’
‘Compared to Minho, he seems quite lacking for that, doesn’t he?’
‘Surely he can’t understand us, right?’
‘But what is that in his hands?’
The atmosphere among the elves heated up as they spotted the group.
The elves lived only among themselves in both Ellya and Elysium.
Therefore, seeing an outsider like Jinsu made them approach him out of curiosity.
Furthermore, they were curious about the containers he was carrying like a bundle of gifts.
“I already heard it from you, Sister… but hearing it from the mouths of other elves is a bit shocking.”
‘I do not tell lies. And since it is the truth, there is nothing to be done.’
Jinsu had heard some rude comments upon their first meeting, but he decided not to pay them much mind.
As Minho had requested, they would be seeing each other often in the future. They likely said those things without knowing he could understand them.
“Hello. My name is Jinsu Bae, and I live with Brother Minho and Sister Kasia.”
‘He is a powerful man, one of the top Hunters in Korea. Everyone, be careful if you do not want to be scolded severely.’
Kasia gave the elves a warning so they would not be rude to Jinsu again. She wasn’t sure if it would work, though.
‘This is your first time visiting since the houses were built, right? The Chieftain is over there.’
Following an elf’s guidance, they walked deeper into the forest.
‘That tree must be where my father is. Thank you for the guidance.’
‘It was nothing.’
The Chieftain had always preferred large trees. He claimed that a Chieftain should naturally show his authority through the size of his house. Thanks to that, it was easy to spot.
“Sister, but how do we get up there? I can climb it, but I don’t know how the elves get up. I don’t see any stairs.”
‘It is easy to ascend with the Spirit of Air.’
Kasia lightly waved her hand. A gentle breeze wrapped around their bodies and lifted them into the air.
“Wow, I guess all elves can handle the Spirit of Air.”
‘That is not the case. Hmm, I do not know how other elves climb, either. They might make the earth rise or create a pillar of water.’
Kasia gestured once more. Their bodies rose higher and higher until they stopped in front of the door of the treehouse. Kasia opened the door and stepped inside first.
‘Father! I am here. Oh?’
The Chieftain was not alone in the house.
‘Yes, did you have a safe trip?’
‘Kasia, was everything alright? I am glad.’
He was drinking tea with Elder Crea.
‘Elder. What brings you here?’
Kasia’s expression brightened. Elder Crea spoke with a gentle smile.
‘I was worried after you left for Ellya, so I have been waiting and drinking tea with the Chieftain every day.’
‘Where is Minho, and who is the human behind you?’
Elder Crea had been unable to stop Kasia and Minho from going to Ellya, which was expected to be dangerous. So, she had informed the Chieftain, and they had waited together in shared concern.
“Hello! I’m Jinsu Bae, and I’m staying at Brother Minho’s house!”
‘Ah. I see. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am the Elf Chieftain.’
The Chieftain reached out and shook Jinsu’s hand. Kasia, being his daughter after all, began to chatter away about everything that had happened — the events in Ellya and even the stories of their visit to the Dragon Palace.
‘So many things happened. Our Kasia, you have worked hard.’
‘It is good that you returned safely. But what is that in your hands?’
Perhaps it was because he knew they had returned safely, but the Chieftain seemed more curious about the items they were holding than worried.
‘This is Fresh Kimchi. It is a new dish Minho and I made together, so I brought some. I wanted to share it with our tribesmen.’
‘Fresh Kimchi? Ho. Let us try it.’
Kasia opened one of the kimchi containers and took out a piece of Fresh Kimchi. Then, she placed one piece each into the mouths of the Chieftain and Elder Crea.
“Keeh, Sister. You really know how it’s done, feeding them by hand. The ‘hand-taste’ is important for kimchi. It’s a shame one thing is missing, though.”
‘Missing? Have you not tried it? It is delicious.’
“Kimchi’s taste is doubled when you take a whole head of cabbage and tear it apart with your hands.”
Kasia tilted her head, wondering if it wasn’t all just the same kimchi anyway. Just then, the Chieftain and Elder Crea, who had swallowed the Fresh Kimchi, let out exclamations.
‘It is delicious! You call this Fresh Kimchi.’
‘I tried kimchi during the banquet, and while this is similar, it is different. Did you make it differently?’
A cook’s reward is the happiness of the person eating the food.
Seeing them enjoy it, Kasia smiled brightly and explained the process of making the Fresh Kimchi.
‘I am becoming interested in the food of Earth. Kasia, would it be possible to obtain related literature?’
Elder Crea enjoyed exploring knowledge.
Since she did not keep that knowledge to herself but shared it with the elven tribesmen, she was a fine scholar and teacher.
‘I will ask Minho when I return!’
‘Indeed. Now, let us share this with the elves.’
When they went outside, the elves had already gathered. It seemed like every elf in Elysium had assembled, filling the ground below.
‘Oh! They’re out!’
When one elf shouted, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Kasia and Jinsu.
“Oh. This is a bit overwhelming. Why are they gathered like this?”
‘They were likely curious about what we were holding.’
A gift brought by a human? In the elves’ memory, that meant delicious food. It was because Minho often visited with beef. It was a natural reaction born from repeated experience.
‘Is it beef?!’
‘No! It’s red, but it looks soft!’
‘Then is it tasteless beef? If you look closely, it looks a bit white.’
They were imagining the food in the containers amongst themselves.
Just as they had ascended slowly on the wind, they descended slowly to the ground the same way.
The Chieftain and Elder Crea followed, but they did not rely on Spirit Power.
“Ah! There were stairs behind the tree.”
The stairs had been hidden by the lush trees, but they were connected from the back of the treehouse all the way to the ground.
‘Elves. Kasia and Minho have sent food for us elves. It tastes excellent, so line up to receive some.’
‘Chieftain, you should also mention young Jinsu, who came along to help deliver it.’
‘Ah, hmph. As you saw earlier, a human named Jinsu Bae worked hard for this, so remember that.’
*Waaaah!*
The elves let out a shout that seemed loud enough to leave the forest. If it was food sent by Minho, it was bound to be delicious.
They lined up in an orderly fashion with their plates.
‘Understand that because there are many of us, we will be distributing small portions.’
Kasia kindly explained to each and every elf as she served the Fresh Kimchi.
The elves who received their portions first could not wait and tasted the Fresh Kimchi immediately. Their reviews followed.
‘This is a new taste!’
‘It’s similar to the one we had with beef, but different!’
‘I think I like this one more! It feels fresh!’
Everyone was full of admiration, as it seemed to suit all their palates.
‘Lady Kasia! How do you make this?’
When one elf asked a question, other elves also pestered her to tell them as if they had been waiting.
Since Kasia had participated in making the Fresh Kimchi, she briefly explained the recipe.
‘It seems like everyone has mostly eaten. Minho asked me to deliver a message once everyone was finished.’
‘Minho did?’
This was news to the Chieftain as well. He certainly hadn’t mentioned it at the house earlier. Kasia unfolded a crumpled slip of paper from her pouch and read it.
‘Elves, if you enjoyed the fresh kimchi, it is time to work. Come learn farming!’
‘Hahaha. Right, we did agree to learn farming. We even finished selecting the people.’
During the meeting to name their new home, Elysium, Minho had made a request.
He asked them to select and send elves to learn farming.
They had made the selection at the time, but they had been so busy building houses that it had slipped their minds.
‘When was it?’
“It is tomorrow.”
‘Ah, yes. Kari Nu, you were the one who agreed to lead them, right? You did not forget.’
‘Yes, that is correct.’
‘Good. Eventually, all elves will farm, so go and learn well first.’
‘Yes.’
Kasia tidied up the empty containers left after distributing the fresh kimchi.
‘Are you returning right away? Without looking around? You have a guest, too.’
The Chieftain seemed inwardly disappointed. It felt like a daughter who had moved out was visiting her childhood home for the first time in a while, only to leave after a few hours.
‘I will bring Minho next time so we can look around together. Jinsu will come too.’
‘Mm, I understand. Return safely. Make sure to come together next time.’
It was disappointing, but what could be done? That was just how parents were.
Since holding onto her would only make Kasia feel uncomfortable… he had no choice but to let her go.
However, he could not hide his desire to see her for just a little longer.
‘Come back again soon…!’
“Brother~ We’re back!”
I could hear Jinsu’s voice from afar. Seeing that the kimchi containers were empty, it seemed they had finished distributing the Fresh Kimchi and were returning.
“Good job. How was the reaction?”
I asked in a voice full of expectation.
“Everyone was making a huge fuss about how delicious it was!”
“Really?”
The corners of my mouth curled up on their own. There is nothing more joyful than other people enjoying my food.
‘My father was looking for you. He said you must come together next time.’
“Is that so? Of course, we should go together~”
‘Oh, and Lady Crea asked me to obtain some literature.’
“Literature? What kind of literature?”
What kind of literature would an elf want to read from Earth? Jinsu chimed in.
“Cookbooks. She said Earth’s food is delicious and was curious about it.”
“Ah… she must have liked the Fresh Kimchi. That’s a relief.”
Finding them wouldn’t be hard. In the civilized world of Earth, records were everywhere.
“Brother, but Elysium was incredible. It was incomparably cooler than all the various mountains and dungeons I’ve been to.”
“Really? It was just a mountain before.”
When I last went to Elysium, it didn’t seem much different from the beginning. But for Jinsu, who had even been to Ellya, to say it was incredible?
“The trees were thick as if they were hundreds or thousands of years old, and they built houses on top of them. Wow, it was as beautiful as the Dragon Palace.”
Jinsu explained with an expression of pure awe.
“I see. I should have gone with you.”
‘Let us all go together next time.’
“Let’s do that. I’m curious to see how much it’s changed.”
While I had sent them to deliver the fresh kimchi to Elysium, I hadn’t just been resting.
I had been struggling quite a bit to mend the relationships that had been strained in the meantime.