My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 81
#81
Elven Kingdom (1)
A dreamy atmosphere continued..
Cecily is surrounded by the falling fruit of the World Tree, entangled by countless wind spirits, and all kinds of brightly shining spirits..
The surroundings of her were crazy: the rushing wind, the twinkling lights, the shaking earth, and the fast-growing buds..
An enormous natural force was concentrated around that place, so the people who were close to her naturally had no choice but to retreat further..
Harris, who kept the distance like that, could tell..
Before I knew it, countless elves were surrounding the area and looking in this direction..
‘Well, I said that the High Elves' eye opening ritual is not easy to see. They say it's been a long time since Cecily's appearance this time..’
And as he felt the storm of natural force swirling in her direction, he suddenly realized one more thing..
‘what? Come to think of it, this is not the time to just sit back and watch.?’
Harris concentrated his mind and took a deep breath..
The fresh air seeped deep into my lungs..
Very nutritious air full of natural power and spirit energy..
It was truly the perfect environment for training..
‘I can't miss this opportunity!’
This time, perhaps because the avatar's potential and growth speed increased further by strengthening the unique skills, it was much easier to handle energy than before..
“Hehehehehe···.”
Deep breathing continued..
As I watched Cecily's eye opening ceremony with my eyes, my nerves focused on drawing the energy overflowing around me into my body..
Laforie, who had been watching her bring the fruit to her mouth, looked back as if he sensed something strange, but Harris, who was intoxicated with an aura of density he had never felt before, had no time to worry about such trivial things..
The moment Cecily completely collected the fruit of the World Tree.
《The entity has achieved enlightenment by achieving the condition. Acquire the skill “Nature Friendship”.》
Harris was also able to achieve some success..
“Phew···.”
Feeling satisfied, I looked at Cecily and saw that she had already lost consciousness and was being carefully carried inside by a group of elves..
A fresh branch of the world tree with fruit hanging from it was tightly held in her hand..
“This is the High Elf Bodyguard. Since your eyes have just opened, we need to keep you in a safe place until you come to your senses..”
Lafori quietly approached him and added,.
“Cecily will continue to sleep for some time. Because I need time to stabilize my rapidly increased energy..”
“okay. Well, it's only natural since I was in the middle of such an enormous flow of energy..”
“Harris is also great. I think I understand why the World Tree is paying attention..”
He also seemed to realize what Harris was doing..
“Ah, it just seems like a good opportunity..”
“How long has it been since you learned it that you can control your energy to that level??”
He, who was continuously pouring out words of praise, suddenly stopped talking and looked at something behind Harris' back..
He looked quite surprised as if he had seen something..
‘I didn't feel anything?’
I was in a state of heightened sensitivity because I was absorbing the energy to the fullest, but I couldn't feel anything with my senses..
The moment Harris, who was momentarily horrified by Laforie's reaction, quickly turned around... was able to face it head on..
A tree branch floating in the air.
“······?”
It was a very fresh tree branch with lush green leaves hanging from it..
“Huh, it looks like the World Tree is definitely interested in Mr. Harris. You even gave me a separate gift like this..”
‘gift?’
When I looked closely, I felt that it was filled with natural power, like the branch that was lifted out by Cecily's hand earlier..
The difference is that this branch did not bear fruit from the beginning..
“The branches given directly by the World Tree are special. Usually, it is given only to the person involved when there is a special event, such as an eye opening ceremony.···.”
And it is said to be processed into weapons or accessories and perform as well as a kind of holy object..
As such, it seemed like it was a rare item that even high elves could not easily obtain..
Harris carefully grabbed a branch floating in front of him..
Then I felt the energy inherent there more clearly..
‘This is why I didn't feel any presence..’
A feeling of naturally assimilating into the environment, as if holding on to nature itself..
As the concentration of natural forces was already high in the surrounding area due to the aftermath of the ritual, it was difficult to notice..
But suddenly a curiosity arose..
“So, Lafori, did you also receive branches like this from the World Tree when you opened your eyes??”
“Of course. I compressed that energy and made it into a pair of accessories..”
As I looked at that emotional face, I felt uncomfortable for a moment..
Harris glanced at the bracelet on his wrist and cautiously opened his mouth..
“I'm sure it's not this bracelet.?”
“Haha, not really. I made it into a ring and used it to propose..”
Instead of feeling less burdened, I felt a subtle sense of regret..
But when I thought about it, it meant that the equipment made from branches in my hand would be more than just a bracelet, so there was nothing bad about it..
“You are also married..”
“Oh, didn't I tell you? It's been quite a while.”
“But you're not wearing a ring right now.···.”
“I passed my ring on to my daughter. Now it will be more helpful to that delicate child than to me..”
As Lapori said that, he smiled softly with the expression of a father who loves his family..
‘···It looks good.’
As I watched him smile happily while thinking of his family, I smiled bitterly without realizing it..
“Mr. Harris, thank you for your hard work to get here. Seeing you being recognized by the World Tree as soon as you arrive makes me feel good because I feel like I did something worthwhile for the last time..”
“It's the last time?”
“I'm also getting close to retirement age. This trip to the Aeon continent was my last official itinerary..”
Harris stared blankly at his face..
No matter how you look at it, he was a beautiful young man in his early 30s with smooth skin..
“Oh, of course, I won't be leaving right away since I'm short on manpower. However, there will no longer be any need to lead the work from the front..”
Perhaps he misunderstood Harris's gaze, and he said something strange..
“Just then a new high elf was born, so I was relieved..”
“okay. I'm so glad.”
Of course, I didn't explicitly point it out..
Because now he was also one of the baby-faced elves..
***
The Enamel Continent where the Elven Kingdom is located is less than a fifth of the Ion Continent they came across..
However, in Outerica, the Ion Continent was excessively large, and the Enamel Continent was by no means small..
And located to the northwest was the Elven Kingdom, the country of the elves..
‘It feels different than what I thought..’
Perhaps due to the influence of Earth media, elves were often associated with forest fairies..
There was a stereotype that vegetarians lived on trees, enjoying nature as their friend.···.
‘I mean, civilization is quite developed here too. There are many street performances and such..’
Of course, as in the first image, there were quite a few wooden buildings built on trees, but there were just as many stone buildings built on the ground..
‘It's amazing that they all have nature-friendly architectural styles..’
As I first set foot in the Elven Kingdom and came here, I definitely realized that there were many particularly sophisticated buildings here..
‘Is it natural since it’s the capital?.’
It was only natural that this place was the capital of the Elven Kingdom, ‘Drasha’..
The city formed around the large World Tree, where forests and civilization come together, gave off a strangely exotic atmosphere..
And Harris was now inside a large building..
Although it cannot be compared to the World Tree, it was a building that was combined with trees of a gigantic size that could not even be imagined on Earth..
From the wide stone building surrounding the roots to the wooden building climbing up the naturally formed trunk..
This building is like a work of art.···.
“You said Mr. Harris, right? I heard that this time he came from the Aeon Continent with Cecily. Is that true??”
“They say it's no place to live. This time, Cecily was also in a very dangerous situation.···.”
“Oh, I heard that too. They say if Laforie hadn't gone, we would have been in big trouble..”
Next to me, young elves chattered non-stop..
This was Drasha Academy, one of the educational institutions in the Elven Kingdom..
‘Although they are all older than me, they are probably younger by elf standards..’
Their appearances ranged from their mid-teens to their early twenties, and Drasha Academy was a place where promising Elven Kingdom talents who had passed their childhood gathered..
A place where those who will grow up to become the mainstay of the country are educated..
Harris was truly on the verge of an elite course..
“Ahaha... Yes, yes. sure···. Oh, I was fine. I had a lot of good colleagues. yes.”
Now I just felt burdened by the excessive attention..
Since they had only encountered the outside world through books and stories, their curiosity was completely understandable..
Someone who didn't just come from another region, but crossed the ocean from a completely different continent, suddenly appeared, so you might want to ask them something..
Moreover, aren't they now the same trainees?.
“I was working as a mercenary. At that time, he didn't even know how to control spirits, so he mainly used his body to fight.···.”
It was a break right after theory education was over, and it was a moment when Harris tried to tell an appropriate episode to promote smooth interpersonal relationships..
bang—!
Everyone's eyes turned to the noise that was heard for a moment..
A blue-haired woman stood up, hitting the desk with both hands, and was not intimidated by the gaze focused on her. She lifted her chin haughtily and glared at me..
“It's so noisy that I can't concentrate. Could you please be quiet??”
Her words were addressed to everyone gathered around Harris, but those blue eyes were looking straight at him..
No matter how I looked at it, it was a look that never looked favorable..
‘What is that woman? Why are you looking at me like that??’
Even if he didn't like the fuss made because of him, his reaction was a bit excessive..
When he was thinking for a moment why he should be looked at like that by someone he was meeting for the first time..
“Oh, I guess we talked too much.···.”
“Hmm... sorry for being noisy.”
“Well, Mr. Harris, please talk to me later..”
Meanwhile, the people gathered next to Harris carefully dispersed to their respective seats, keeping an eye on her..
It was definitely more comfortable now, but I was very embarrassed by the sudden turn of events..
‘That woman seems quite influential..’
I turned my gaze again and looked at the woman who made the atmosphere cold..
Long blue hair that looks like it was carefully groomed, sharp raised eyes, and an expression that goes beyond haughtiness to one that feels arrogant..
‘Well, no matter how you look at it, you are the daughter of a precious family..’
She was also a noble lady who looked quite picky..
Most of the elves I've met so far were gentle-natured people, so it felt very refreshing..
And right after the training is over.
“Hehehe—”
As she passed in front of Harris, she stopped for a moment and turned her head to look him up and down..
Her eyes lingered on the bracelet on his wrist for a moment, but she soon snorted and walked out of the classroom with a noble step, accompanied by a few of her friends..
‘what?’
While he was feeling dazed, he heard stories about her from people around him..
Her name is Shapiron Silvesti.
As expected, he came from a fairly prestigious family..
Except for the high elves, there were no differences in status among the elves, but the influence of old families was bound to grow as their history increased..
Wouldn't it be even more amazing if it was a family that played a part in establishing the Elven Kingdom from the time of the great migration to the Enamel Continent?.
However, among the information about her, there was one fact that Harris found surprising and unexpected..
‘This is really unexpected.’
Because that girl is.
Because she was the only daughter of the high elf ‘Laforie Granwood’, who was also somewhat acquainted with him..
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