NOVEL NEXT Chapter 128: (1)
“It can’t be. We’ve only been here for 40 years.”
The fact that the elf elder remembered it as an event from 40 years ago indicated that one of them was mistaken.
“Either that event was hidden, or there’s a problem with the elf elder’s memory.”
Kaiyan carefully observed the elder’s expression as he spoke, knowing his question might come off as quite rude to the elf.
“I apologize for the question, but… I’ve heard that after the World Tree burned down and the spirits disappeared, the elves gradually vanished as well. Is that true?”
“Hmm… It’s true. But why do you ask?”
The elder frowned, seemingly perturbed by Kaiyan’s question.
“…So, is it also true that this happened 200 years ago? According to what’s written in the books, the World Tree burned due to a mistake by the elves while trying to summon a fire spirit…”
This was exactly what Kaiyan had read in a book during his childhood.
“What? Who dares utter such nonsense?!”
Rumble!
“Ugh…!”
As the elf elder shouted in anger, the roots of the tree they were standing on vibrated wildly as if about to break apart, creating a tremendous sound.
[Ahh!! Kaiyan!]
“Squeak!”
“Windy! Take Rieka and go up!”
Kaiyan quickly lifted Windy and Rieka into the air and looked back at the still-furious elder.
‘…I only spoke about what was written in the book.’
He felt slightly aggrieved looking at the elder.
He had tried to be as polite as possible when asking about the World Tree’s burning, which was a sensitive issue for the elves. Yet, the response was so intense.
Rumble!
“Please, calm down… I was only mentioning what’s recorded in the history books.”
Struggling to maintain his balance on the shaking tree root, Kaiyan gestured for the elder to calm down. Eventually, the elder seemed to regain his composure and sighed, sitting back down.
“This is… a mistake. I reacted so angrily because I heard such absurd stories.”
“…Please be more careful.”
Originally, Kaiyan had thought the elder was an elf without any special abilities, given the weak aura he had sensed from him initially. But now, witnessing such power was surprising.
Eyeing the elder, who seemed calmer, Kaiyan carefully sat on a wooden chair that the elder had created.
“Phew… So, that is what is written in the books seen by humans?”
“Yes… That’s why I asked. I was wondering if there might be a difference in our memories.”
“Hmm, strange. How could it be unknown that the World Tree on the Eunasia continent burned due to the Baryon War? The Grand Mage was there too.”
Once again, the elder mentioned Baryon.
‘It seems… there’s some secret that people are unaware of.’
What had started as a simple quest to find a way out of Havnheimhad become quite complicated.
“So, Elder, are you saying the World Tree burned because of the Baryon War?”
“That’s right. It was definitely not because of an elf’s mistake. Can you imagine the World Tree, the source of all spirits, burning because of them?”
“Well… I don’t really know… But this confirms it. Your story and the people of the Eunasia continent’s story are different.”
That was the crucial point now.
Not only did people, including Kaiyan, not know about the Baryon War, but they also didn’t know the true reason why the World Tree burned.
If the elves weren’t lying, there must be a reason for the distorted memories.
‘The Baryon War… what exactly… Wait!’
Kaiyan paused as he mulled over their conversation, realizing something odd.
“Elder.”
“What is it?”
“…Didn’t you say the Baryon War happened 40 years ago?”
“Hmm? Yes, that’s right.”
“Was the Baryon War ongoing since 200 years ago then?”
“What are you talking about? If the war had lasted 160 years, all humans and elves would have died. The Baryon War lasted only one year.”
Kaiyan’s eyes widened in shock, and his mouth fell open.
“What’s the matter? Are you ill?”
“…Elder.”
“Go on, speak.”
“In the Eunasia continent, it’s recorded that the World Tree burned 200 years ago.”
The disparity Kaiyan felt while talking to the elder became clear.
Their sense of time was different. The elder spoke of events from 40 years ago, but to Kaiyan, the burning of the World Tree was definitely 200 years ago.
“What…?”
“Are you truly saying you entered Havnheim only 40 years ago? It doesn’t make any sense…”
Even if the history books on the Eunasia continent were flawed, if something had happened only 40 years ago, there should be people who knew about it. But nobody did, which suggested the elder was mistaken.
“We… we definitely entered Havnheim 40 years ago to keep a promise with the Grand Mage… But 200 years ago…?”
The elder seemed to realize something was wrong, his eyes wide and stuttering.
“…It seems there might be a problem. We need to talk more.”
While Kaiyan could have just asked about a way to leave Havnheim, the disparity between 200 years and 40 years was too significant to overlook.
Moreover, why had they entered Havnheim from the Eunasia continent after making a promise with the Grand Mage?
“It’s curious how the tree grows like this.”
[Yeah! It almost feels like it’s artificially made.]
After over three hours of discussion, Kaiyan finally entered a resting space assigned by the elder.
The room assigned by the elder was an underground space beneath a massive tree root. What was unique was that the walls of the space were made of wood.
“This glowing leaf is also fascinating.”
“Squeak!”
A glowing leaf hung in the middle of the room.
Windy seemed to like the leaf as it fluttered its small wings and flew around it.
“Phew… It’s been a while since my head hurt like this. I just wanted to deal with the Kuma, but how did it turn into this?”
[But it wasn’t a bad outcome. Thanks to that, we met the elves!]
As Kaiyan sat in a wooden chair and closed his eyes, the conversations he had with the elder came back to him.
‘The King of Monsters, Baryon… and the Grand Mage, the hero of the Eunasia continent.’
Summarizing the elder’s words, Baryon, the owner of Havnheim and king of monsters, had invaded the Eunasia continent with his twelve minions 200 years ago, and to stop them, humans and various races had united to wage a great war.
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