—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Eris unknowingly smiled with satisfaction, and seeing her like that, I found myself wearing the same expression.
The dish wasn’t labor-intensive, but because Eris’s palate required a generous use of seasoning, it wasn’t something I could make often.
‘*Now that it’s come to this, I should have made it more frequently.’*
Well, at least I can start making it more often from now on.
Rin and Hayun seemed to not quite enjoy the food at the elf restaurant, and even my cooking tailored for Eris wasn’t to their liking, so they quickly set their forks down after eating only a little.
After finishing the meal, Eris tried to recapture the relaxed atmosphere with a cough, but the authoritative presence she had during our first meeting had vanished.
While casually touring Yggdrasil, Rin and Hayun appeared fascinated, but personally, it just felt like a village under a big tree to me.
‘Probably from having lived in the forest for so long.’
After spending ten years in the forest, it felt natural.
Continuing our walk, we eventually moved towards the city center where the Elf Queen resided.
I was here at Eris’s invitation, but the other two came with an introduction letter from the close acquaintance of the Elf Queen, Professor Veritio, so a greeting was in order.
Entering a structure that seemed almost embedded within the roots of Yggdrasil, we were greeted by a white-haired but beautiful elf brewing tea.
“I’ve been expecting you.”
“We were a bit late because I was showing them around.”
The Elf Queen offered us tea, which, while hot, had a refreshingly cool sensation similar to mint candy.
“Wow?”
Hayun, intrigued by the tea, sipped it several times, prompting the Elf Queen to pour her more, pleased with the reaction.
‘It seems the older elves don’t have much animosity towards other races.’
I had assumed the opposite, but it appeared the younger elves held more prejudice against humans, judging by the stares we received on our way here.
“The play you performed with Veritio? His first play in Yggdrasil was quite shocking.”
Laughing, the Queen began a conversation about the play. Hayun focused on the props, while Rin and I discussed the story and roles.
After a casual exchange, I decided to ask frankly.
“What exactly is ‘the chosen one of Helios’?”
Both the Elf Queen and Eris shifted their attention to me. I casually sipped my tea before adding,
“Is it possible to know if other gods have chosen someone as well?”
Looking briefly at Rin, I wondered if she, too, might have something divine within her.
“No, we don’t know about others chosen by different gods.”
“How did you know about Ares and Helios, then?”
Expecting a simple answer, I was surprised when the Elf Queen gently stroked Yggdrasil’s wall behind her, saying,
“Yggdrasil is closely connected to the sun god, who informed us. Beyond that, we don’t know.”
‘The tree supporting the continent and the sun god.’
It made sense they would be closely linked.
“Eris believed he might misuse his power and suggested preemptive action, but being chosen by Helios after centuries is not something we can hastily decide on.”
Eris turned away, visibly displeased, but didn’t voice her complaints.
“By the way, Eris is also chosen by a god.”
The moon, hunting, and chastity god, Artemis.
Knowing her eyes bore the mark, I wasn’t surprised.
“Can you detect divine presence in others?”
“We cannot. But the individuals themselves will know, as they bear marks on their bodies.”
“Is that so…”
While I didn’t explicitly look at Rin, it seemed necessary to check later.
The Elf Queen, who had kindly answered my questions, then asked about the identity of the monsters at the festival.
“They are creatures from ancient times from the depths of the Demon Forest.”
The mention of the Demon Forest surprised everyone, a place deemed deadly for anyone who enters.
The Elf Queen met my gaze, but I didn’t look away.
“You have strong principles, as Eris mentioned.”
Rather than probing further, the Queen evaluated me and smiled softly.
“How long do you plan to stay in Yggdrasil? We’ll prepare accommodations, but you can’t stay too long.”
“For about three days?”
“That’s reasonable.”
The Queen smiled, instructing Eris to lead us out. But then,
The city bells rang.
Confused, we hesitated, but Eris almost instinctively ran out, managing a forced smile.
“Beasts from the forest sometimes attack. It seems that’s the case now. The vigilantes will handle it, so let’s move on.”
“Let’s help. Just in case.”
“Are you sure? But you’re guests…”
“It’s the least we can do!”
“We’re also curious about elf swordsmanship,” Rin and Hayun added, and Eris thanked us, leading the way towards the source of the alarm.
“Thank you,” Eris whispered, grateful for my suggestion to help, even as we hurried.
“You can’t stand things like this.”
“…”
Knowing that Eris, despite holding a high position, always chooses to stand with the less privileged to minimize harm, it was an expected behavior.
***
Late at night.
Perhaps due to sleeping too much on the carriage ride, I woke up early on my first night in Yggdrasil.
“Ugh.”
Curious about the night scenery, I wandered outside my room and came across an unexpected sight: a woman practicing swordsmanship.
It was Hayun.
She was sweating profusely, swinging her sword in the dawn light, utilizing a technique markedly different from the Eastern swordsmanship she usually practiced.
“Elf swordsmanship?”
Recalling the vigilante’s techniques observed during today’s beast hunt, Hayun noticed my presence upon my murmuring.
Raising my hand to signal it was me, she slowly sheathed her sword and approached, draping a towel over her shoulder.
“Did you wake up too because you slept a lot in the carriage?”
“Yeah, and I wanted to see how it felt to swing my sword in such a beautiful place.”
“…It is pretty.”
The sight of hundreds of trees radiating from a central giant tree was indeed a rare spectacle.
The darkness of the night brought back strange memories of the Demon Forest, making me feel oddly nostalgic.
“Do you like Eris?”
Hayun’s sudden question caught me off guard.
“Wh-what?”
“Your behavior towards other girls is different. You seem to really care about her. You know her tastes well.”
“…”
Glancing at Hayun, her usual cold expression made it hard to guess her thoughts.
“Yes, I do like her.”
Deciding to be honest, Hayun smiled slightly and crossed her arms.
“I guess I’ve developed a sense for these things.”
“Are you bragging about that?”
“No, it’s not that…”
After a moment of hesitation, Hayun made a proposition.
“Shall I help you?”
“With what?”
Her offer was unexpected, but Hayun continued.
“You helped me confess to Ares. Now, I’ll help you. With confessing to Eris.”
“Are you serious?”
“What else would I be?”
Indeed, there was no reason for her to lie.
“And I’m a senior in confessing.”
“That’s… true.”
Though the confession had led to rejection, it was still an attempt.
“We have two days left. I’ll help you make the most of it.”
“I was planning to confess when we part ways in two days anyway.”
Mumbling my response, Hayun rolled her eyes, sighed, and expressed frustration.
“Is a confession some kind of finishing move? If it lands, will nonexistent feelings suddenly emerge? Daniel, you foolish man, a confession is for confirmation, not a gamble. A rash confession won’t do any good.”
“…”
What?
Why does she sound like an expert?
Is this the difference between experience and inexperience?
“It’ll just make things awkward if you confess out of the blue.”
“Ah…!”
That makes sense.
It would become incredibly awkward.
I’ve learned this the hard way from people who kept approaching despite clear rejections.
“Hayun! Then, what should we do?”
Asking as if pleading, Hayun confidently advised me to trust her.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. You’ve been hitting Eris’s tastes well, whether through sense or intuition. Keep marking your presence and move forward one step at a time.”
“Okay, got it.”
Feeling a spark of hope, I considered our current track record.
Daniel McLean
Confession record: 0 wins, 0 losses, 0 draws
Hayun
Confession record: 0 wins, 1 loss
‘Can we really judge anything with this record?’
Feeling doubtful yet intrigued by Hayun’s expertise, I probed further.
“Where did you learn all this? You’re not usually interested in such things.”
Hayun dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
“I picked it up listening to Tana and Eve talk about romance novels while you were preparing for the play. They said this kind of stuff there?”
“…”
“Why, why!”
She learned romance from books?
“Sigh, I’ll trust you for now.”
My faith might have waned, but gratitude was due for her willingness to help.
Turning to go back to sleep, Hayun, dissatisfied with my reaction, followed me.
“No, really, the theory is sound!”
Defending herself, Hayun suddenly stopped.
Watching him walk away, she felt a strange ache in her heart.
A sense of unease mixed with slight pain.
But it was a different kind of pain, not physical.
“What’s this?”
Wondering if it was just her imagination but unable to ignore the lingering discomfort, Hayun chased after him, determined to clarify her feelings.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Deleted.