50. A Noble Soul (7)
Namuhwaran’s Orchard was originally a tourist destination, and though the vacation season had long passed and it was now the off-season, it was still a place crowded with people simply because it was such a major city.
But they could not possibly have known.
That at the Third World Tree they had come to in search of an ordinary moment of leisure… they would somehow end up meeting Kkotseorin, the Elf King, the being who ruled over all spirits, divine spirits, divine beasts, fairies, and elves.
Namuhwaran, Central Plaza.
It was not the highest place in the orchard, but because it had the form of a flat-cut basin and offered a view over the surrounding scenery, it was the place tourists visited most often, and today even more people than usual were swarming there.
Murmur, murmur.
“What is this?”
“Is there some kind of event going on?”
“Shh, what event? They say the Elf King personally came here.”
“Seriously? No, why would someone who never showed themselves in public suddenly come here?”
To ordinary people, the Elf King Kkotseorin was something close to a mysterious being hidden behind a veil.
According to rumor, they were so beautiful that anyone who saw their face would fall in love at once, so they deliberately kept it hidden… but there was no way to know the truth, since they did not reveal themselves to the world at all, let alone show their face.
And yet today, having suddenly appeared at Namuhwaran’s Orchard of the Third World Tree,
she summoned into the central plaza the altar said to be used only when elves performed special rites, and mounted it alone.
She was still wrapped from head to toe in a black dress and wore a white mask, so it was impossible to confirm the Elf King’s appearance,
but perhaps because of that, people felt something strange instead.
Even though her entire body was covered… why was it that the Elf King still felt so beautiful?
No one would know that this was due to the ability of [Body That Draws In Affection] faintly wafting from her.
‘Hoo….’
Letting out a small sigh, Kkotseorin steadied her trembling throat.
Thanks to the curse having weakened considerably, it was fine for her to show herself like this as long as her face was covered, but perhaps because she had lived in hiding for so long, receiving the attention of such a large crowd still felt like a considerable burden.
But she had to do it.
Unless she spoke directly to the World Tree, there was no way to find the cause of the dark-mana corrosion.
Saaa…
As the leaves of the World Tree rustled and a green aurora slowly began to blanket the sky, the murmuring people shut their mouths tight and lifted their heads blankly.
“Wow….”
The people who had come to Namuhwaran simply to enjoy the scenery of nature found themselves looking at something even more beautiful, and felt as though their hearts were being healed.
But unlike the onlookers, Kkotseorin knitted her brow and bit her lip hard.
— It hurts.
— Go back.
— H… ah….
— …I’m sorry.
— It hurts.
The childlike voice circling in her head was unmistakably Namuhwaran’s scream, yet Kkotseorin could not properly speak to it at all.
Namuhwaran was not in its right mind, and so communication itself was impossible.
“Ugh…!”
Even when she bit her lips until they bled and tried to focus with all her might, Namuhwaran kept screaming, and Kkotseorin could do nothing.
‘Please, get a hold of yourself! You have to tell me where it hurts…!’
Crash—!!
“Kh…!”
She had forced herself to concentrate and had barely succeeded in conveying her will, but at that instant Namuhwaran shook off Kkotseorin’s consciousness.
Unable to endure the extreme agony, it had simply shut off its own mind.
Thump!
As Kkotseorin collapsed to the floor, panting, the knights swiftly rushed up onto the altar and supported her.
“Your Majesty, are you all right?”
“Ah…”
Unable even to answer, she slowly raised her head and looked at the fading green aurora.
Proof that the World Tree was struggling, refusing even conversation.
“It’s beautiful….”
“Woooow!”
And yet the fact that to the people, even that looked beautiful made Kkotseorin’s heart ache all the more.
She clenched her fists tightly and lowered her head.
If only she could hear an answer from the World Tree, she might somehow be able to heal it—and yet even that was impossible.
“Your Majesty….”
“I’ll have to find it myself and treat it directly.”
That did not mean she intended to sit still.
Staggering to her feet, Kkotseorin strode down from the altar and spoke.
“Gather the knights and order them to find the cause contaminating the roots. I’ll investigate separately.”
“We receive your command.”
The moment Kkotseorin gave the order, the knights sent signals with their hands, and the knights waiting nearby understood the signs and scattered in all directions to command their respective orders.
The World Tree was vast, magnificent, and complex.
There was no way to even estimate how long it would take to search this giant tree from top to bottom, but perhaps if they spread their senses as far as possible, something could be done.
‘First of all…’
The highest place in the World Tree.
Kkotseorin had been planning to begin searching there and gradually work her way down, when she made eye contact with Baek Yuseol, who had been waiting for her below the altar.
Only then did she belatedly remember that she had promised to meet Iphanel with him, and she gave a bitter smile.
She had been looking forward to doing it together.
But enjoyable time would have to be postponed for now. Right now, the World Tree had to be saved.
“I’m sorry. Would you wait just a little while? I’ll resolve this quickly.”
“No. Let’s move together.”
“You don’t need to do that just because of me—”
“That’s not why. I think I’ve found the cause.”
“What?”
It was hard to believe. The incident had only just begun, and he had not done anything yet, and yet he was already saying he had found the cause.
As Kkotseorin widened her eyes in disbelief, Baek Yuseol jerked his head toward the back.
“…If that’s all right with you, would you come with me for a moment? To Iphanel’s garden.”
If Baek Yuseol’s guess was right, there would probably already be a barrier around that place by now.
It was impossible to enter alone anyway. If this had been around the second semester of second year or the beginning of third year, he might have had the items and abilities needed to break through the barrier, but right now he was far too weak.
‘Rather… this worked out because Kkotseorin is here.’
Back in the original episode, the protagonist had to solve it entirely alone.
That was why the difficulty had felt excessively high, but now, was Kkotseorin not right beside him, able to bring out power comparable even to that of a 9-Class mage?
The episode had been brought forward far too much, but with a cheat key accompanying him, there was nothing to fear.
‘Still, if there’s one thing I’m worried about…’
He was a little afraid that the “Divine Spirit Slayer” might appear before Iphanel.
Among players, the number of people who had ever faced the Divine Spirit Slayer could be counted on one hand, and that was because it had been such a terrible episode.
‘Just in case, I should be careful.’
Since the things he always thought would never happen had always happened in the end, there was no harm in being careful this time too.
Thinking that, Baek Yuseol led Kkotseorin toward Iphanel’s garden.
Hoping, desperately, that the corruption had not advanced too far.
At Stella Academy, the proportion of nobles among the students was fairly high.
The children of noble families sometimes had no choice but to miss classes due to family events, and if there was a legitimate reason, they could be granted attendance credit for up to four days.
In other words, they could miss an entire week, counting the weekend.
Of course, it was rare for a student to take the maximum four-day leave. Few noble houses held events on such a large scale.
But who was Hong Biyeon?
Was she not a princess of the Adolevit royal family?
Having boldly secured four days of leave including the weekend, she left Arcanium aboard the royal family’s private airship. Looking out at the clouds drifting beyond the window, she sank into thought.
‘The Duke said he approved it. He said that, as a member of the royal family as well, Your Highness naturally has the right to participate in the Purification Rite.’
The Purification Rite of Morfran Forest had to be one of Hong Si-hwa’s fatal weaknesses.
Hong Biyeon’s interference there would surely create an unfavorable situation for her,
and yet Duke Orkan had accepted it all too easily.
Did he have some other scheme?
Hong Biyeon slowly turned her head and looked at Sayeran Orkan, seated some distance away from her.
A girl with black eyes from which one could never tell what she was thinking.
She was only two years older than Hong Biyeon, but she was skilled at hiding her emotions, glib in speech, and well-versed in politics.
In terms of pure magic alone, she did not feel so distant, but as a human being…
Hong Biyeon did think there was quite a lot she could learn from her.
But that was all.
Sayeran was a political enemy, someone who would one day have to be eliminated.
‘If I am to become Queen… then I suppose I must find things worth learning even from my enemies.’
A saying she had once read in a book came to mind. If there is something to learn, you should know how to bow your head even to a beggar.
Who was it that had said that?
Surely, Isaac… Morf….
“Hm.”
Then suddenly Eizel’s annoyingly gentle, peaceful face sprang into her mind, and she shook her head to dispel it.
“Princess, would you like some dessert?”
A royal attendant asked her, but without even replying she shook her head.
Dessert, really.
It was not as if she could taste it anyway…
“…No. Bring me cake and sweet cocoa.”
Then she recalled that recently, if she focused on the sensation in her tongue, she could faintly, very faintly, sense something that might be called “taste.”
It really was incredibly faint, and by an ordinary person’s standards it might be dismissed not as taste at all but merely as the feeling of something touching the tongue…
but she was certain.
The sensation in her tongue was slowly returning to what it once had been.
Ever since the day she lost her sense of taste, she had been desperate to taste something again.
Was this the result of all the countless attempts she had made to somehow recover that blissful sensation of food touching her tongue?
“It’s here.”
When the attendant set down a sweet chocolate cake and cocoa, she stabbed the cake deeply with a fork and brought it to her lips.
What on earth was this, that it could make her tense up like this?
She put the cake in her mouth and carefully concentrated, trying to taste it.
‘…I can’t tell.’
But she could not feel any taste at all.
Rather than taste, the disgusting, mushy texture alone made nausea rise in her throat.
What was worse, she had not completely lost her sense of taste so much as had her senses twisted, and that revolting texture flooded her entire mouth.
“Ugh…”
In the end, she rushed to the restroom and spat out the cake, then wiped away her cold sweat.
“Haah, damn it….”
Since she could not taste anything anyway, she should have avoided strongly stimulating foods like cake, but the problem was that, just because she had sensed the faintest hint of taste, she had challenged something too bold from the start.
‘Why this time…?’
She had definitely felt some taste before.
What had been different then? Why had she been able to taste it that time?
And then, suddenly, she remembered who she had been dining with the last time she had felt “taste” after such a long while.
A hollow laugh slipped out.
That her sense of taste might change depending on the person she was eating with.
‘That… doesn’t make sense.’
She forcibly shook off the thought.
To be having pointless distractions like this. Lately, she felt she had changed far too much, and it only made her feel awkward in her own skin.
“Princess, are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’m coming out.”
When she stepped out of the restroom, Sayeran was standing there waiting for her with those same impassive eyes.
Pretending nothing was wrong, Hong Biyeon returned to her seat and sat down, and Sayeran watched her for a moment.
‘…Taste, hm.’
A certain thought briefly crossed Sayeran’s mind, but she did not bother saying it aloud.
Princess Hong Biyeon was a political enemy, after all. There was no need to help her.
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