## Chapter 1126 – Elven Forest

The day of departure arrived.

After preparing various things until today, I bid farewell to them, almost in tears, wiped away the manly tears that streamed down, and left the house.

“Uwaaaaaah!!!”

I packed everything I needed.

I also took the king’s edict that I had received the day before.

To be honest, I was curious about what the hell was written in it, but the edict was carefully stored in a box, so I couldn’t read it. It’s a bit rude to send me as an envoy without even telling me the contents of the letter.

Anyway, I have to keep this safe until I hand it over to the Elf Queen, and there can be no loss. That’s obvious. Delivering this is my mission.

Of course, I also took good care of the leaf.

From now on, I have to go to the border with the elven diplomat. I was told that there would be a lot of escorts, but I refused them all. Escorts or whatever, the key was to get there quickly. The diplomat agreed to this as well.

Anyway, I went to the diplomat’s residence and met her.

But.

“A unicorn?”

The diplomat, who had finished preparing for departure, was waiting for me in front of a unicorn-like creature.

“If you classify it, you could say it’s a unicorn.”
“Is it a different species?”
“Yes, it is.”

According to her explanation, this unicorn-like creature with greenish-yellow skin is a breed created by artificially crossbreeding unicorns and pouring in some elven technology.

The creature was a horse with a horn on its forehead that seemed to have no other purpose than killing people, and the fact that its skin was greenish-yellow was very unusual.

“It has feathers.”

Even more, green feathers like a male lion’s mane grew around its neck, making it look quite large. It’s just that it’s damn big in the first place. It’s a monster full of muscles all over its body. If such a monster went on a rampage trying to deflower a virgin, even decent warriors would not be able to stop it.

“What’s its name?”
“I think you can call it an Elven Unicorn.”

Elven Unicorn, huh.

“Do these tattoos have some magical meaning?”
“You have a lot of questions. Yes, they do.”
“Hmm… Thanks for letting me know.”

It had various tattoos all over its body, and whatever it was, it was a truly destructive mount. Can elves even make things like this? At least there was nothing like this in the human kingdom. Feeling such a culture shock, I headed towards the castle gate with the elven diplomat riding the Elven Unicorn.

* * *

After leaving the castle gate, we just ran like hell. With an escort, the speed would inevitably slow down a lot. It’s faster to just run on foot like this.

ㅡThump, thump, thump!

I ran at the same speed as the Elven Unicorn galloping beside me.

“My goodness… To be able to run like an Elven Unicorn.”

As we ran side by side, the diplomat sitting on it said.

“The Elven Unicorn is a breed created for long-distance high-speed travel… Are you alright?”

She spoke as if she was worried, but I was just frustrated that I couldn’t go faster. Anyway, is it just livestock in the end? It was quite fast and had great stamina, but it was not comparable to me.

“I think it would be better to go faster.”
“This is the top speed. You’re really amazing.”
“Hehehe, this is not even close to amazing.”

ㅡThwack!

At that moment, the Elven Unicorn seemed to feel competitive and started running even faster, but it was just funny. I used the footwork of the Heavenly Demon Marathon to tease it. I am a superhuman marathoner now. I won’t lose to anyone in running.

“How much further can you run?”
“If we run at this speed, we’ll have to rest in between, but it will be faster than humans changing horses and running.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. Well, keep running at this speed. I’ll keep up.”

We ran like that for a long time and took a break in a suitable place.

I ate the food I had brought and replenished my energy.
It’s not hard, but if I run like this, I have to eat in between.

“To not show any signs of fatigue even after running like that… You seem to have the stamina of our elven guardian warriors.”

Guardian warriors?

“I’m a bit special. But, can the guardian warriors run like that Elven Unicorn too?”
“Yes. They are the elite warriors of the Elven Forest. I think they are probably at a similar level to paladins.”

The diplomat spoke as if she was praising me, but there’s no way I’m similar to those guys.

I’m stronger.

“I want to see their skills properly. But, do elves use those Elven Unicorns publicly?”
“That’s not the case. They are quite rare breeds… The number is not large.”

Is it like a high-end sports car?
Well, I guess a diplomat would use a top-class vehicle.

In any case, by repeating sprints and minimizing rest time in that way, we were able to reach the border area faster than expected.

Nevertheless, I was a bit dissatisfied with the speed. That Elven Unicorn ran poorly as time went on. If I had come here at full speed alone, I could have shortened the time even more.

Anyway, this is the place where that otherworldy palace appeared back then.

The place where the borders of the Karga Kingdom, Mirkesha, and the Elven Forest meet.

“Another world…”

The crown from that time has not yet been clearly revealed. After encountering the Titan last time, I thought it might be related to those guys, but now he’s just staying at home.

“Haa… You arrived earlier than I thought. To run all the way here without a mount… You really have amazing stamina.”
“Hehehe, someone like me has to do paladin work.”
“First of all, there. You can see the Elven Forest. Would you like to rest here?”
“No. I think it’s better to go right away.”
“Then.”

From here, there was no need to sprint, so we walked towards the Elven Forest at a moderate pace.

It’s my first time going in there.

* * *

Soon, we were able to arrive in front of the Elven Forest.

From here, I decided to follow behind the diplomat. I raised my vigilance and prepared to pull out at any time.

I came fully armed.

I came with full combat readiness, almost as if I was going to carry out a professional infiltration operation where a series of murders were expected.

If the elves suddenly change their attitude and try to kill me, I plan to slaughter all the elves on the spot and immediately run away at full speed.

Elven guardian warriors?
I don’t think those guys are stronger than me.

I had already simulated and trained for this with them at home. Preparing for unexpected situations is something I always do.

“Isn’t the air nice?”
“Oh. It seems quite good.”

I reflexively answered the diplomat’s words.

Air, huh.

ㅡHoo.

I took a deep breath in and out… Indeed. Is this what they call the Elven Forest? Even the air was different. It was quite clean air, and it felt as clear as smelling Arie’s scent.

Arie is an Alraune, so maybe the area around her purifies the air, but I feel refreshed when I’m around her.

“Even though it’s almost winter, the forest seems very lush.”

It doesn’t even feel like autumn.
It’s still lush with greenery.

“It rarely snows in the Elven Forest. So it’s like this all year round.”
“The scenery is so beautiful that it would be great for mental healing.”

It would be quite nice to gather mentally ill people and have them draw the scenery here to conduct art therapy.

ㅡRustle, rustle.

As I walked, something began to be caught in my sensitive senses. It’s probably elves. Currently, a large number of elves are approaching this way at high speed.

“The warriors have arrived.”
“They’re already welcoming us.”

ㅡSwish!
ㅡSwish!
ㅡSwish!

In an instant, from the trees. And from both sides. From the front. Elves wearing the same ceremonial armor that I saw when I fought the otherworldy monarch popped out.

“Serphina-nim!”
“Serphina-nim!”
“Serphina-nim!”

The elven warriors who approached saluted Serphina. Is it because she’s a diplomat? She seemed to be quite high-ranking.

“You’ve arrived. This is Paladin Kim Kat, who came as an envoy. Paladin-nim. Please, the World Tree’s leaf…”
“I understand.”

As soon as I took out the box from my arms and showed the leaf, the elven warrior at the very front greeted me.

“Nice to meet you. I welcome your visit, human.”

Is this guy a squad leader or something?

But why the hell are you greeting me like a savage?
Elves seem to be able to speak normally too.

“Yeah. Nice to meet you too. How have you been?”
“Of course. Forest life is always enjoyable.”
“It must be enjoyable in such a beautiful place.”

As we exchanged words, Serphina said to me.

“…Were you acquainted?”
“No. It’s our first time meeting today.”
“But?”
“I just greeted him because he seemed to have good sociability. So where are we going now?”
“Ah.”

Serphina immediately ordered something to the warriors, and we immediately started moving, following them. It seems that we are going to an elven village nearby because we have been on a long journey. But I felt like we were going to walk, so I quickly asked Serphina to go quickly.

ㅡSwoosh!

Thus, we ran through the forest again.

The elves were fast, but from my point of view, they were just so-so. I ran while matching their speed.

How long did we run?

ㅡWhoosh!

Suddenly, the procession stopped.

“You’re late, Serphina.”

A green-haired elf approached.
She was armed.

I realized she was a woman because of her figure. She was a very shapely elf, but the atmosphere she exuded was that of a warrior, so I instinctively measured her combat power.

This looks quite strong.

“Ah, yes. Sentinel Guardian Warrior-nim.”

Guardian Warrior?

“Sentinel-nim!”

The elves saluted again.
Looking at the atmosphere, she’s higher-ranking than the diplomat.

“Is that the human paladin who came as an envoy?”
“Yes. He is the human who possesses our World Tree’s leaf.”
“I’ve already heard that story. Anyway, I’ll guide you from now on.”
“I understand.”

Her attitude is very soldier-like.

Sentinel Guardian Warrior looked at me.

“Nice to meet you. I am Paladin Kim Kat.”
“…Sentinel Guardian Warrior.”

Sentinel, who answered like that, stared at me intently with an unusual look and approached me. She approached and slowly circled around me, as if observing me.

“…You’re more skilled than I imagined. Amazing.”

She praised my skills.

This woman… is an elf who knows something.

“Hehehe, thanks for the compliment.”
“How strong are you among humans?”
“Damn. No. I’m confident that I’m quite strong. But I don’t know exactly.”
“I see. Anyway, I welcome your visit. You’re probably the first to be formally invited like this. This is a memorable event.”
“I’m personally commemorating it too.”
“Hoo. You seem to have a very good personality. Good. I’ll show you around the village right away. If you have any questions, you can ask me. I also have a few questions, so let’s get to know each other while talking.”
“I appreciate that.”

She seemed to have a good personality too.

So I followed the elves to their village.

* * *

The first thing I felt was the question of why these guys live so well.

“What the hell is all this?”

Honestly, I thought that the elves living in the lush forest would build some kind of treehouse and live like forest idiots.

But that wasn’t the case.

The elven village that unfolded before my eyes was a futuristic natural village where nature, aesthetics, and practicality were very well combined.

The houses built with pure white stone had beautiful flowers and plants attached to them, creating a next-generation eco-friendly housing atmosphere, and the flat stones laid on the floor properly showed that they were civilized people who valued roads.

And most of all, what was surprising was.

“Aren’t those dryads?”

The fact that the elves were using dryads like servants.

“That’s right. They are our slave race.”

What the hell is this crazy talk?