Chapter 596

Raon closed his eyes, feeling like the fruit itself was melting into mana.

‘Is this the world tree’s fruit? It’s such a great and noble flow. Just like the flowing river, or even the tide of a vast ocean.’

He didn’t even need to guide it in the mana circuits with the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation or Glacier. The fruit’s energy was moving on its own, breathing like a living creature.

The first place the energy seeped into was the burn left by the Crimson Flame Demon. The external and internal injuries Raon had gotten from his flames were completely removed, like they were being washed away by water.

‘How surprising…’

He was so shocked that he almost moved his body, which would’ve made him leave his trance. He’d never guessed that it would heal all of his internal and external injuries in an instant.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a divine relic instead of an elixir.

‘I never needed to worry about it.’

He’d thought the fruit might have spoiled because of the intense taste of Nadine bread, but it must’ve been normal to have that rubber taste, just like Rimmer had explained.

Whir!

After treating all his injuries, the energy of the world tree’s fruit created a huge flow and spread to the mana circuits throughout his body, as if it were announcing that the main event was about to happen.

‘It doesn’t have any of the four main attributes. It’s the very essence of pure mana.’

No, pure wasn’t enough to describe the energy dwelling inside the fruit. With the refreshing feeling of nature itself, it was the definition of mana, devoid of any foreign substances.

The energy of the fruit transformed into the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s heat and Glacier’s coldness upon entering his lower energy center, and then it rose through the mana circuits in his abdomen to expand his middle energy center.

Raon could feel that the weight gained in his middle energy center was protecting the balance of his body and mind.

However, the fruit’s energy still had more power left. It rose all the way to his upper energy center and added its refreshing energy to his mental world.

Raon could feel that his lower energy center, which was what nurtured aura, his upper energy center, which supported his mind, and his middle energy center, which kept the balance, had all achieved growth.

Raon went even deeper into his trance even though the fruit’s energy was getting weaker and weaker.

* * *

Raon didn’t open his eyes even after he woke up from the trance. He sensed the change inside him along with quiet breathing.

‘It’s not just my energy centers. Even my mana circuits have expanded.’

The circumference of his mana circuits had increased, allowing him to move more energy even faster in the future.

‘This is a huge gain.’

Since the battles between extremely powerful warriors were decided in a split second, being able to move his aura a bit faster directly translated to his prowess.

‘Moreover, I can naturally sense the presences around me.’

Even though he hadn’t even spread any aura perception, he could sense the presence of the elves around the world tree. He could even sense what they were doing, on top of their existence.

He originally needed to spread his aura to the surroundings in order to feel their presence, but that concept itself became pointless. Raon could guess that he could extend his senses even further by using mana.

Raon slowly opened his eyes, feeling satisfied with his growth.

“Haa…”

He briefly caught his breath, and Rimmer walked up to him with a slightly pale face.

“Why did you take so long when you enter trances as often as eating?!”

Rimmer picked his ear and showed his annoyance.

“How long did it take?”

Raon looked up to the sky. He couldn’t figure out at all how long it took because the sun was in the middle of the sky, just like when he’d started the cultivation.

“Three days.”

Rimmer raised three fingers.

“I thought I was going to die from guarding you without even sleeping!”

He shook his arm, telling him to learn some moderation.

“Three days…”

Raon gasped.

‘Have they been keeping up with that level of alert all along?’

Rimmer, Sterin, and Siyan were guarding him so tightly that it was no exaggeration to call it an ironclad defense.

He could understand Rimmer’s pain since he must’ve been keeping it up for three whole days.

“I’m sorry for the delay.”

“There’s no reason to apologize.”

Raon was going to bow, but Sterin walked up to them while shaking his head.

“Why are you apologizing when we were the ones who made the suggestion?”

Sterin furrowed his brow and smacked Rimmer’s forehead.

“Ack!”

Rimmer covered his forehead and stepped backward.

“Why did you hit me?!”

“You should be glad I didn’t hit your mouth.”

“Haa, I get beaten up both here and Zieghart. What is life…?”

He complained and withdrew with swaggering steps.

“You look like you’ve absorbed it properly.”

Sterin smiled faintly, proud of the fact that Raon had properly absorbed the energy of the world tree’s fruit.

“Indeed, I can feel the difference.”

The head elder examined Raon and nodded his head.

“Your mana’s purity was already high, but it’s even cleaner now. Even the high elves should be no match anymore.”

He gasped in disbelief.

“S-Sir Raon.”

Siyan lowered her head, carrying a crow-tit seemingly made of water on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but you seem to be struggling, Lady Siyan.”

Her face was even paler than Rimmer’s, and her forehead was drenched in cold sweat, making her look sickly.

“Ah, I’m perfectly fine.”

“You aren’t fine at all.”

Rimmer narrowed his eyes at Siyan.

“She kept a highest-tier spirit summoned for three days straight. It’s a madness that even Grandpa can’t perform.”

He rubbed his temple in circles with his finger, implying she was insane.

“I-I’m really fine.”

Siyan unsummoned the highest-tier spirit right away, showing that she was at her limit despite her words. Her complexion finally started to return to normal.

“Hmm…”

Raon sighed briefly and lowered his head towards the four elves.

“Thank you.”

Guarding someone for three days straight without even sleeping was a difficult task, even between close friends. Raon sincerely expressed his gratitude.

“I already told you, you don’t need to thank us like that.”

The head elder shook his head.

“Yes, you care too much about courtesy.”

Rimmer wrinkled his nose while looking at Raon.

“I would’ve cut off the world tree and taken half of it if I were you.”

“Wh-why would you cut off the world tree?!”

“Because you are the one who protected it and allowed it to remain whole. It’s fine to claim that half of the world tree is yours, isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

Raon dropped his jaw because his claim was far too ridiculous.

“You seriously deserve your treatment.”

Sterin sighed while looking at Rimmer.

“S-Sir Raon. I have a similar opinion. The world tree is pretty much yours, Sir Raon!”

Siyan clenched her fists and nodded. The saying about siblings being similar was true.

‘But it’s not unpleasant. It actually makes me happy.’

The fact that their bond has gotten strong enough to sincerely care for each other despite being from different races was even more satisfying than getting stronger.

He felt like he was really becoming a human being.

I-it makes you happy?

Wrath appeared with a disconnected voice. His skinny and pale cheeks made him look like he was going to faint at any moment.

Are you seriously happy right now after you buried the King of Essence in rubber?

‘I’ve never buried you in rubber, though…’

The world tree’s fruit! That terrible taste isn’t fading away!

Wrath shouted, almost screaming.

Do you realize how much the King of Essence suffered to get rid of that rubber taste?! It tasted like rubber just from breathing, with nose and mouth alike! The rubber! The rubber wouldn’t disappear! He even tasted rubber in his dreams!

He ranted that he was almost buried to death by rubber with teary eyes.

It could’ve been different if you had some other food, but the rubber taste still… Sniff…

‘Wow…’

Raon swallowed nervously, watching Wrath rub his eyes with the back of his hand.

‘I-I’ll have some food as soon as we return. I’ll get something delicious.’

He would’ve normally ignored him, but Wrath seemed to be in so much pain that he unconsciously talked about eating.

Sniff.

Wrath stopped trembling and raised his head once he heard about the food.

What’s the menu?

‘......’

Raon fell speechless because he wasn’t expecting him to ask about the menu in that situation.

“We’ll have to go back now since it’s all over.”

Rimmer smiled faintly, weakly caressing the world tree.

“Yes, we do.”

It was time to return since they’d achieved their initial goal even though they ended up straying far away from it.

“That idiot must’ve told you, but we’ve got someone to go with you on your journey back to Zieghart.”

Sterin stepped aside and raised his hand.

“Ah, it must be about the envoy.”

“Yes, it’s her.”

He pushed Siyan, who was swaying sleepily, forward.

“Kyah!”

Siyan was surprised and jolted like a rabbit.

“I was originally planning to visit Zieghart to complain about how Rimmer had fallen so low, but it changed into an envoy to express our gratitude thanks to you. I should normally be the one to go, but we are sending Siyan instead because the barrier isn’t settled yet,” Sterin explained and pushed Siyan another step further.

“There’s also going to be a diplomatic discussion in addition to the expression of gratitude, so it’d be nice if you could help her accordingly.”

He nodded, saying that Seipia and Zieghart might be able to form a temporary alliance if everything went nicely.

Raon looked at Siyan after hearing that from Sterin.

“Uhh…”

Her shoulders were still trembling, her face covered by her thin blond hair.

‘I believe she will do just fine when it comes down to it, despite how she looks.’

Raon wasn’t exactly worried about her because he’d seen how well Siyan could perform.

Raon smiled faintly, meeting Sterin’s worried gaze.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, I’ll be counting on you.”

He accepted Sterin’s hand, and the world tree spread its branches as if it were blessing the future of Zieghart and Seipia.

Raon laughed bitterly while looking up at the world tree.

‘Now that I look at those branches, I understand why the world tree is a rubber tree.’

He was curious about how the tree was spreading and folding its branches as it pleased, and it was because it was a rubber tree.

R-rubber! Where’s the rubber?!

Wrath was having a heart attack just from hearing about rubber.

“Let’s eat for now and think about the rest later. I’m so hungry.”

Rimmer gestured with his chin, urging him to return.

“Since you didn’t eat anything for three days, do you want some Nadine bread so that it won’t agitate your stomach?”

He bobbed his finger, saying that he’d already asked the other elves to prepare it.

Na-Nadine… Grr…

Wrath started to shout Nadine bread and fell unconscious while foaming at the mouth. The self-proclaimed monarch of Wrath must’ve gained a trauma.

Raon sighed and shook his head.

“I’ll have something normal today…”

* * *

Two days later.

Raon finished his preparation to leave Seipia and left his room.

Hell yeah…

Wrath raised his fists towards the blue sky.

We are finally leaving! We are getting out of this hell that stinks of rubber all day long!

He shook his head, saying that he was never going to set foot in Seipia ever again.

‘Didn’t you say you wanted to burn it up a few days ago?’

It’s not even worth burning or freezing!

Wrath ground his teeth, saying that Seipia was the worst place he had visited so far.

‘I liked it though.’

He’d gained some battle experience by fighting the Crimson Flame Demon, became stronger by eating the world tree’s fruit, and even gained a nice relationship with the elves in Seipia.

Since everything was beneficial for him, he felt nice and cozy at Seipia, unlike Wrath.

‘The food was pretty good, too.’

The only reason you are saying that the food was pretty good is because your tongue is broken! Everything was rubber!

Wrath’s shoulders trembled, saying that he still had the rubber taste lingering on his tongue.

‘Well, you can eat everything you want after we return.’

Then let’s go back already!

‘So how about having Nadine bread on the way back so we can return even faster?’

Haa!

He froze like a white plaster figure as soon as Raon mentioned the Nadine bread.

We need to eat Nadine bread to go back home faster, but Nadine bread tastes like rubber. But still, it’s better to eat Nadine bread to get rid of this taste lingering on his tongue… Huaah!

Wrath kept murmuring about Nadine bread over and over, his eyes practically flipped over. Raon kept walking while making fun of him, and he was at Seipia’s entrance before he knew it.

“Hmm?”

Raon widened his eyes.

‘Why are there so many people?’

He’d thought that only the people he knew would come out to send him off, but the entrance was completely full, as if every single elf in Seipia had gathered.

“You are finally here!”

Erian cheerfully raised his hand while looking at him. He was acting like he was facing his best friend.

Though, since he was a trustworthy person, Raon thought that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to really become his friend.

“Are you trying to be the protagonist who always arrives late?”

Rimmer furrowed his brow while looking at Raon.

“But you’ve just arrived as well, division leader.”

Yua blinked while looking at Rimmer.

“Yua, you don’t need to say something like that.”

Rimmer shook his head while giving Yua a slightly strong head pat.

“Welcome.”

Dorian grinned, eating a snack that he took out of his belly pocket.

“Are you ready to leave?”

“We are ready, but…”

He looked to the right without finishing his sentence.

“We are also ready.”

Leiran nodded, pointing at Siyan and the five guardians in charge of protecting her.

“Ah, hello.”

Siyan lowered her head, her face hidden in a robe. It looked like her long ears were trembling slightly in her robe.

“I’m looking forward to your cooperation.”

“Yes, I’ll also do my best to make it successful!”

“Successful? Ah, yes, it should be successful indeed.”

Raon nodded, thinking that she was motivated about the diplomacy between Seipia and Zieghart.

“Yes, I’ll make it happen.”

Siyan raised her small fists, saying that she was definitely going to achieve it.

“Lady Leiran.”

Raon called Leiran, who was sticking right next to Siyan.

“What about the thing I requested?”

“We’ve prepared it.”

She nodded, saying that he didn’t need to worry about it.

“Thank you.”

Sterin appeared among the elves and walked towards Raon while he was thanking Leiran.

“It looks like everyone is gathered.”

Sterin started by going in front of Rimmer and furrowed his brow.

“You need to come back to your senses.”

“I didn’t drink in broad daylight today though.”

“That’s the issue!”

Sterin smacked Rimmer’s head and stepped aside.

“Siyan.”

“Yes…”

“You are heading to Zieghart as Seipia’s representative. You should be always mindful of the weight behind your words.”

“Don’t worry about it!”

Siyan nodded confidently, unlike when she was talking to Raon.

“Leiran, she will be in your care.”

“I’ll serve Lady Siyan with my life on the line.”

Leiran nodded heavily, contrasting with Siyan’s response.

Sterin nodded his chin in satisfaction and stood in front of Yua.

“Was it fun to learn about singing?”

“It was! Playing music with a bow was also fun!”

“You can come back whenever you want to.”

“Yes!”

Yua answered energetically, and he patted her head before he looked at Dorian.

“The trade with the Sephia company that you mentioned is being considered positively. We will talk in more detail once their personnel arrive here.”

“Th-thank you!”

Dorian lowered his head at Sterin. Raon had thought that Dorian wasn’t doing anything as Sephia’s successor, but he was apparently working on the business as he should.

“Seipia won’t forget your help.”

Sterin went past Dorian and finally faced Raon.

“Tell me whenever you need our help. Everyone, including myself, will come to your aid.”

“Thank you.”

“However, we will be helping for Raon, not for Zieghart.”

“What?”

“I’m saying that the entirety of Seipia will be moving to solely assist you.”

His eyes showed that he was serious about it. The other elves behind him, including the head elder, elders, and Erian, had the same look in their eyes.

“The elven race repays favors twice and vengeance tenfold. I’ll be looking forward to your call.”

Sterin gently patted his head and withdrew.

Raon silently bowed at him, sensing the sincerity behind his words.

“Let’s go.”

He was about to turn around to leave Seipia.

"May fortune smile upon the journey of our benefactors!"

Along with Erian’s silvery voice, the elves placed their left hand on their right shoulder and showed the elven courtesy.

“I’ll come back later!”

Raon smiled, responding with a sword salute.

The King of Essence won’t be coming back!

But Wrath didn’t want to.

* * *

Raon entered a human village after five days of travel.

He wanted to spend nights outside until they reached Zieghart because the mysterious atmosphere around the elves, especially Siyan, stood out too much. However, he had to reluctantly enter a pub inside a human village because Rimmer kept throwing a tantrum.

“See? Isn’t it nice to be in human civilization?”

Rimmer smiled happily, sitting on a chair in the pub.

“I’m sick and tired of cooking grass in a field! I love meat and beds!”

Raon started to wonder if he was really hearing that from an elf, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue about it.

He ignored Rimmer and examined the pub.

Most people weren’t really paying attention to them because it wasn’t exactly unusual to see people wearing robes, but a few of them seemed intrigued.

Even Rimmer was covering himself in a robe, but they still managed to notice that they were elves.

‘What’s happening?’

Their gazes were especially fixated on Siyan and Leiran, and they didn’t seem to have good intentions at all, since they were darting their tongues in and out.

Raon chose the dish from the menu while feigning ignorance, and a noble-looking young man walked towards them.

“Are you the owner?”

“What?”

“You are heading to the marine market, right?”

The young man licked his lips while pointing at Siyan.

“Give her to me instead of the market. I’ll pay you even more than the auction since she looks pretty.”

He bobbed his finger, believing that Siyan was a slave.

“What are you doing—”

“Wait.”

Leiran was about to angrily stand up, but Raon stopped her and narrowed his eyes.

“Market? Owner?”

He wasn’t just trying to sexually harass her. He was definitely thinking that the elves were slaves.

‘Now that I think about it…’

Sterin and Erian had mentioned that there were lots of elves whose corpses couldn’t be found after the attack. Raon had the feeling that they might have been sold to the slave market.

Raon stood up and smiled nicely.

“How much are you paying?”

“How much do you want—cough!”

Raon grabbed his face with his hand and picked him up into the air.

“Wh-what…?”

“We need to talk.”

Is this how humans hold a conversation?

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]