Chapter 230 – Labyrinth and Records (Four)

The winding passageways within the giant tree.

Grine, carrying a wooden tray laden with fruits and vegetables, was walking briskly.

‘Ray-nim, by now he should have recovered some of his stamina.’

After escaping the labyrinth, Ray was greatly exhausted and had returned to his room to rest.

“Our Ray needs to rest first! Look at him, soaked in sweat!”

“Well, we were just running.”

“Oh my! His body is burning up too!”

“People naturally get hot when they run.”

“He needs to rest!”

No one could oppose Veronica’s fiery will.

Not even Ray, who held the strongest influence among them.

It was naturally decided that the events in the labyrinth would be shared after he had rested.

Tap— tap— tap—

But Grine was an Elf with an interest in history second to none.

Therefore, unable to suppress her curiosity, she was on her way to Ray’s room to check on the situation.

‘If it’s Ray-nim, he surely succeeded in exploring a new place. He must have discovered the archive that was previously unreachable….’

Just then, Grine’s long ears perked up.

─Is it really okay to touch it?

─Go ahead. It’s incredibly soft.

“……?”

From the room at the end of the passageway, the faint voices of Veronica and Ray drifted out.

─Ha, but it’s scary.

─No need to be afraid. The first time is hard, but it gets easier after that.

It was a very suspicious conversation.

Her mind naturally pictured what might be happening in the room, and simultaneously her face flushed bright red.

She knew the boy and girl had a special relationship, and of course, bearing the fruit of their love was something to be blessed.

‘But you two are still so young…! Are humans, a race that burns through their short lives like a flame, naturally fast-paced? No, even so….’

Grine, age 224.

By Elf standards, she was still quite young, but by human standards, she could be considered quite an adult.

Feeling a heavy sense of responsibility, Grine strode over and opened the door.

Slam!

“What are you two doing right now…!”

“Ah! Grine-nim! You’re here!”

“You came at just the right time.”

Grine made a deflated face at the scene unfolding before her.

Ray and Veronica were stroking the soft fur of the shrews on the table with their fingers, feeding them pieces of jerky one by one.

“Your Vessel is filled with quite a bit of disappointment. Did something happen outside?”

“…No. Somehow, being with Ray-nim seems to make me feel many emotions. I’m not originally an Elf with such wide emotional swings.”

Grine, who had sat down beside them, plucked the piece of jerky from Veronica’s hand and naturally put it in her own mouth.

While Veronica was experiencing pupil-quaking shock, the conversation continued.

“Mother is worried. She says the children are rejecting her touch.”

“They won’t go back even if we try to send them. Are they perhaps Spirits she made a Contract with?”

“That’s not it. They’re children she’s cared for for a long time, so I think she’s hurt.”

Gwendel had separate Spirits she had Contracted with.

“Spirits?”

“If the Mana supply is sufficient, multiple Contracts are possible. However, it’s not easy. Spirits generally have a strong desire for exclusivity over their contractor’s Mana.”

Grine’s hand reaching for another piece of jerky was blocked by Veronica’s hand.

Grine, not particularly bothered, asked Ray.

“How is your body?”

“Earlier, I had too many thoughts and felt a bit dizzy, but I’m fine now.”

As Ray waved his hand in the air, a sketchbook flew over and was caught.

“You took a sketchbook into the labyrinth. What you saw there must be drawn inside, right?”

“Correct.”

Confirming Grine’s Vessel brimming with curiosity, Ray immediately flipped open the cover.

“This is… a mural. I can tell right away what you drew.”

“Wow, it’s like a photo, not a drawing.”

“I can almost perfectly copy what I see. I’m still unskilled at imagining and drawing something, though.”

Flap— flap—

With each turn of the page, Grine and Veronica’s emotions surged.

Closing the cover, Ray also talked about the vision he had seen.

“To summarize… the vision is highly likely a memory of the past shown by the World Tree, and the Last Forest has a history of being invaded by the Red Citadel led by a person named Redran. Since all other forests burned down and this was the last one remaining, it came to be called the Last Forest, right? And the woman with the purple gemstone, presumably a Guardian, entered the labyrinth’s depths and carved characters and pictures onto stone tablets and walls.”

Then Veronica, with a look of realization, spoke up loudly.

“Could the murals in the underground Ruins have been carved by that woman too? She might have deliberately scattered them for fear the Red Guardian would destroy them!”

Gazes focused on Veronica.

The ensuing silence made the girl flustered.

“Ah, is that not it?”

“That makes sense.”

“It makes sense.”

Ray and Grine said simultaneously.

Ray and Veronica stayed in the Last Forest for several more days.

The labyrinth had completely returned to its original structure and was no longer moving. Ray, guided by Grine, toured the archives located on the labyrinth’s outer perimeter.

“I expected records to be written on something like paper.”

Ray said, looking at the vines forming characters suspended in mid-air.

He touched them with his finger, but they didn’t budge, as if taxidermied.

“Elves don’t use paper. It’s because it harms trees. When there’s something to record, they instead ask the World Tree, or other long-lived plants.”

“To form characters like this?”

“Correct.”

“That seems like abuse.”

“Huh?”

“If you compare it to humans or Elves, it’s like being forced to maintain a single posture. And for a lifetime at that.”

Grine smiled faintly.

“That’s not so. The perspectives of animals and plants are distinctly different. For a plant rooted in place, holding a posture isn’t that difficult. The downside, however, is that the content can be disturbed by external factors.”

“If it’s a safe place like the labyrinth, it might be okay.”

Ray read the Ancient Script drawn by the vines.

The information mainly consisted of the culture and landscapes of ancient races.

“…Humans were the race among all races that most honestly revealed their emotions.”

“You read that accurately. I still don’t know how you can read it without having learned Ancient Script.”

“This content seems like a lie.”

“In what way?”

“Humans aren’t honest at all. They’re rather desperate to hide things.”

“Hmm, is that so? The Ray-nim and Veronica-nim I’ve seen are people very honest with their emotions. Well, standards can differ for each person.”

“The Spirits seem the most honest, I think.”

Ray, making a disagreeing face, changed the subject and asked.

“Didn’t you say there are also stone tablets in the archive?”

“There are.”

Grine bent over, pulled out an object that was being used to level a table leg, and with effort lifted it into her arms.

…It was a stone tablet.

“Elves treasure history, you said.”

“Of course. Don’t misunderstand. It’s just that the stone tablet is sturdy, so it was used as a support.”

Ray brushed the dust off the tablet and read the Ancient Script written on it.

He could tell it was text carved by the woman who ran into the depths from where purple Mana pooled—that is, the person presumed to be the Purple Guardian.

[This letter first began in the 13th Purple City and traveled the continent for 21 years, bringing luck to its recipients. You who have received this letter must, within 4 days, send a letter with the same content to 7 people in need of luck. If you do not do so, 10 years of misfortune will…….]

What did I just read?

Ray squinted his eyes.

At first, he thought it might be a cipher, but no matter how he looked, it was merely a superstitious phrase.

“Quite a playful content, right? I think it might be a fake made to trick the Red Guardian who discovered the stone tablet.”

“That possibility seems high.”

Ray memorized the letter’s contents in full to transcribe later.

Afterwards, he visited archive after archive, but couldn’t obtain any significantly helpful information from anywhere.

Somehow, he began to think.

Wouldn’t truly important information be hidden in secret places like the labyrinth depths or the underground Ruins?

“This is the last archive. Well, look around and come out then.”

After Grine left and he was alone, Ray wandered thoughtfully among the vines.

Then, he suddenly reached a wall.

Tap.

He placed his palm against it.

‘What do you think?’

The Elves, including Grine, still didn’t know the fact that the World Tree had deliberately remained silent to be disliked.

If he revealed the truth, there was a high probability they would harbor ill feelings towards the World Tree.

Perhaps it might greatly influence the Elves to break their stubbornness and migrate to a new Settlement.

‘Then it would be a great help to Grine, who wants to leave the Last Forest with all the Elves of the village.’

Looking purely at efficiency, telling the truth immediately would be correct… but thinking of the World Tree, which would be blamed, he didn’t want to do that.

Just as his thoughts were leaning towards the option of asking about the truth.

[Please tell them the truth. So that the children of the forest can leave me without regret and without hesitation.]

The World Tree’s will was conveyed.

‘Tell them the truth?’

He asked back immediately, but no answer came.

As if that was its final request, squeezed out with its remaining strength.

Ray stood in place for a long while before leaving the room.

The Elves, having heard the truth from Ray, fell into confusion.

“…I’d appreciate it if you could decide as soon as possible whether to leave the Last Forest. Veronica and I can’t just stay here indefinitely either.”

“First of all, it’s a very perplexing story… but we will take it into consideration. We’ve been holding meetings continuously anyway, so we will coordinate opinions and reach a decision by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

Many emotions showed on Gant’s wrinkled face.

He seemed angry.

He seemed sad.

He seemed relieved.

It was an expression a boy with few rings in his life’s tree couldn’t gauge.

That day, one could feel a confused and busy atmosphere throughout the village.

Veronica whispered.

“Opinions seem very divided. Those who want to stay in the forest, and those who want to leave for a new home.”

“…For now, it seems those who want to stay are more numerous.”

The Elves’ emotions changed moment by moment, making it impossible to know what conclusion would be reached.

It wasn’t just the village.

The entire forest was like that.

The animals made bustling cries, and the plants rustled their leaves.

It was as if a festival of sound had unfolded throughout the entire forest.

And on the day of decision, morning.

────.

The noisy forest had become startlingly quiet.

Ray and Veronica, having stepped outside the giant tree, could see numerous Elves and animals gathered in the village square.

Gant approached, and Ray asked.

“Have you reached a decision?”

“We have decided to leave.”

So that’s how it turned out.

Nodding in acceptance, Ray noticed that Gant’s Vessel held no feelings of hatred towards the World Tree at all.

The Elves and animals in the square were all the same.

“Are you leaving out of resentment towards the World Tree?”

“Resentment. No, that’s not it. Many thoughts came to mind… but where are there children who can truly hate their parents? The decision to migrate is simply a matter of efficiency.”

Gant continued in a low voice.

Considering the possibility that the invader named Obsess might return, migrating to a new home was the right choice.

Anyway, the World Tree’s lifespan was running out, so if they didn’t move, they would just stagnate and wither away here.

“I understand. So, are all the Elves and animals gathered in the square moving? The numbers are large, so the design of the Teleportation Magic Circle will need to be careful─.”

“Not all are moving. Only the young beings with many days of life left are leaving the Last Forest.”

“…What does that mean?”

“It means that aged beings like me, with not many days left to live, have all decided to remain in the forest. That way, when the World Tree breathes its last in the near future, we can stay by its side so it won’t be lonely.”

The young beings, holding potential, depart for a new home.

The aged beings, having exhausted their potential, remain in the old home.

For a boy who had always lived making definitive decisions, this was a completely unexpected situation.

He couldn’t fully understand it, but he respected the choice.

The installation of the Teleportation Magic Circle was accomplished in a flash.

“The arrival coordinates should be designed as 412, 1, 31.”

The relatively short travel distance, the participation of nearly 300 Elves in the installation work, and the abundant available Mana in the forest all contributed.

Elves belonging to the relatively younger group entered the completed Magic Circle.

About 150 individuals.

The forest animals also entered the Magic Circle in pairs of 1-2 per species.

All young individuals, about 500 animals.

Just before departure, Gwendel approached the edge of the Magic Circle, handed Grine a large bag containing thousands of Seeds, and kissed her forehead.

“You must live well. My lovely child, whom I wouldn’t feel pain even if you were in my eye.”

“Pfft, why are you speaking as if we’re parting forever?”

At that moment, Ray and Gant were having their final conversation nearby.

“If you don’t leave, as you said, you’ll stagnate and wither away in the forest, won’t you?”

“It’s fine. Children who share our appearance will take root in new land and sprout the buds of life. In the end, we die, but it’s as if we don’t die.”

They die but do not die.

Ray recalled the emotion he had realized in the Last Forest.

‘…A sense of belonging, or bonds.’

Whoosh!

The Green Mana distributed throughout the area swirled violently and was sucked into Ray’s hand.

An amount of Mana, incomparable to before, was gathered easily and in great quantity.

Just then, Gant handed Ray a green gemstone.

“The Life Stone is a treasure passed down through generations among Elves. I think it would be good for Ray-nim to take custody of it.”

The moment the green gemstone touched Ray’s hand, the Radiance it emitted became even clearer.

“If it’s an Elven treasure, wouldn’t it be better for Grine to manage it?”

“To explain the reason─.”

It was then that the Magic Circle beneath their feet began to activate.

Whoom!

Light scattering in all directions.

Vision turning white.

Ray sensed all bodily sensations fading as if he were being sucked somewhere.

An undelivered voice faintly wrapped around his eardrums.

According to… the story… you told… you are… probably… the same…….

Flash!

At that moment, the boy’s body completely vanished from the village square.