NOVEL NEXT Chapter 54
‘Just ceremonial compliance. I had my suspicions, but I didn’t think they’d expose their base so thoroughly.’
The elf Marcela stroked her green hair, tied up in a ponytail, and let out a faint chuckle. For some reason, her scalp felt hot.
“Still, they do make tea well.”
Out of sheer boredom, she took a few sips of the lemon tea. The sweet and tangy flavor suited her taste perfectly.
But since it wasn’t the time to enjoy tea, she put the cup down after drinking just half.
She was the chief warrior of the Udrina Clan.
One of the five honored clans with the right to live closest to the Mother World Tree.
Marcela was the most exceptional warrior, not just in her clan but across the entire Great Forest. This was due to her diligent practice of martial arts day and night since she was a child. She didn’t just casually train; she trained desperately.
Because of this, she was once considered an unusual elf by her own kin, even her family.
“Marcela. Today, the elder told me something unpleasant. He says your behavior resembles humans. Honestly, I think so, too. Frantically practicing from morning to night is something short-lived races might do, don’t you think?”
Advice she once received from her father.
Elves of a similar age even spread the revolting rumor that her maternal grandmother was a half-elf with human blood. Though she did show them their mistake, it only worsened her reputation. They even said her violence was human-like.
‘Back then, I thought I was the odd one out.’
An honored yet estranged elf—that was Marcela.
The years of humiliation ended when humans…
More precisely, when the conflict with the Britannia Empire began.
In the dispute where the Empire dared to lay claims on the resources of the Great Forest by invading, Marcela emerged as the central figure whose solo efforts shone brightly.
If she hadn’t led the young elves to keep the Empire’s forces in check, the Empire might have already set its sights on even the World Tree. Though they claimed they were after minerals and timber, what they truly sought was the World Tree, without a doubt.
She was now at the center of the Great Forest.
While the elders may still look down on her, those old men would all eventually die or retire in 100 or 200 years.
The withdrawal of the Imperial Army this time was undoubtedly due to Marcela’s efforts.
She should be happy, but something felt off.
‘There’s no way humans would retreat so easily.’
This retreat was surely a bluff, and there was bound to be a hidden agenda. But so far, she couldn’t even sense what their real intentions were.
What could it be?
“Lady Marcela. There’s still half of the lemon tea left?”
The question from one of her subordinates interrupted her thoughts. Marcela only gave a hollow laugh in return.
‘Does tea matter right now?’
The first priority was figuring out the true intentions of Alan Medoff, the arrogant human who belittled the elves.
“Aren’t you going to drink it? It’s extremely good, believe me.”
“Just be quiet for a moment.”
“Why don’t you know? Seriously, why don’t you know? There’s still half left. Leaving that much means it’s not really good, right?”
“……?”
Why was his tone odd? Sensing the uneasiness, Marcela looked up and slowly turned her gaze toward her subordinates.
The carefully selected elite group of ten, prepared for any situation.
Warriors she had brought, ready to fight to the death if necessary, should not have been relaxed in the least. They should be more vigilant than usual.
That’s what they should have been doing.
But strangely, they were all quite at ease.
“The Mother World Tree hugged me…”
An elven woman with an ecstatic expression swayed her body and giggled. She clutched the small teacup containing lemon tea with intense affection, muttering “World Tree, World Tree…”
And there was another who seemed even more relaxed.
“Lady Marcela, to tell the truth, I didn’t want to come here…? Humans try to kill us by blowing up gunpowder all the time, but you somehow survive, while we get injured or die. But now that I’m here, I ate lemon tea cake and drank tea, so I think coming here was a good idea. Actually… I didn’t want to smear poison on traps back in the day, but now I see it was right. …By the way, Lady Marcela, did I really not want to come here…?”
There was even an elf revealing sensitive information that shouldn’t be told in front of Alan, speaking freely with his hands in his pockets and leaning against the wall.
At least, these two were still somewhat coherent.
“Hmn…”
The other eight were sprawled about carelessly.
Unusually small pupils,
a vacant smile with a slightly glazed look,
and even one elf with clear nose drool.
Could it be that they fell into this state because of just one cup of lemon tea? This was an extraordinary effect. Just how potent must it have been to cause such happiness…
‘No, that’s not what I meant to compliment.’
Marcela felt the strangeness as she stared at the half-empty teacup.
The lemon tea made with dried lemon and honey. Little pieces of lemon gently settled at the bottom.
Perhaps it was because the lemon was so appealing, and her worries about Alan Medoff began to fade.
‘Is it nothing serious…?’
In fact, the humans’ plots weren’t worth worrying about. That was because she was magnificent and strong, able to overcome anything.
The humans must have given her this rare tea to curry favor. Otherwise, they would have served some other inferior tea.
“Yes, it’s fine. I’m alright.”
However, she didn’t feel like drinking the remaining tea. If she drank it all, the happiness might become overwhelming.
“Not drinking it? I went through the trouble of preparing it.”
She declined Alan Medoff’s insistence.
But her restraint didn’t last long.
In less than 10 minutes, she ended up gulping down the tea—not out of happiness—but because her throat felt dry.
‘Quenching thirst is important.’
Alan Medoff watched her intently.
***
Right now, eleven elves lay sprawled around me in bliss.
An elf rolling on the carpet, another elf staring vacantly at me with tears streaming down their face, and yet another licking the rim of the teacup with a regretful look—all of them. The last one was slightly shocking, but it wasn’t unusual considering their current condition.
By now, they were likely experiencing the greatest happiness of their lives. After witnessing how heroin affects humans, I could confidently infer the same was happening to them.
‘This must be the pleasure you can’t feel just by gazing at the World Tree, right?’
My decision to lace the tea with heroin wasn’t for nothing.
Certainly, morphine also induces a sense of intoxication in addition to pain relief, but the pleasure it provides is only twice that of normal happiness. It wasn’t potent enough to make one drift away from just one dose, and it didn’t lead to addiction if one endured the withdrawal symptoms.
‘However, heroin is difficult to resist.’
I calmly waited as the elves thrashed around in their bliss.
“Human…!”
An hour later, Marcela looked at me with slightly glazed eyes. Although tears welled in her eyes, she seemed more composed compared to the others.
“This isn’t just tea. Why does it feel so good?”
Her question was somewhat reasonable.
If I’m going to spread heroin among the elves, this moment is crucial. As I stared at Marcela, I nodded.
“It has to be good. I added heroin. That’s the name I gave it.”
“Hero…in…?”
“I’m both a knight and an apothecary. And frankly, heroin was specifically created for your race. I wanted to gift it to the soldiers who will return home in triumph after the Empire subjugates your race.”
“For soldiers?”
“You must understand now, right? Isn’t this drug perfectly suited for soldiers? The scars of battle vanish, replaced by a sense of happiness and relief. But… because of the higher-ups’ unexpected decision to retreat, its purpose disappeared.”
“Scars…”
From Marcela’s expression, I could tell she understood what I meant. After assessing the situation, I sighed dramatically.
“To think that I’d offer the meticulously crafted drug to such a barbaric race! It’s so disheartening.”
“Human! What did you just say?”
“I just heard what you were saying to each other. You were proud of smearing traps with poison, right? Is that really something worth boasting about in front of an envoy?”
“…”
“One of my friends lost a leg because of those traps. He underwent amputation surgery and is still living in despair even now… While battlefield injuries are common, do you really need me to explain how it feels to entertain the perpetrators of such actions?”
Having said that, I sighed dramatically, feigning helplessness.
Lamenting over the fact that I had to serve a drug made for heroes to those who harmed my friend, those I had to entertain with grandeur. Of course, I didn’t have any friend who lost a leg, but they couldn’t possibly know that.
By now, the atmosphere among the elves grew serious. The one licking the teacup stopped out of embarrassment.
“Human, I never asked you to give me such an honor. In fact, you provided it without consultation.”
“Yes. It was a gift I provided out of my own wish to win your favor. Had I known you were from such a hardline clan, I wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble, but it’s already been consumed. I won’t ask you to spit it out; I was foolish.”
“…”
“However, I do have one request.”
“Request?”
Instead of answering, I signaled for a Gwanryo (official) from the diplomatic department to bring a pre-prepared gift.
A rather ornate box.
Inside, there was a small porcelain vial containing 30 grams of heroin, measuring tools, 10 exclusive pipes, and a kind and easy-to-understand guide on how to consume it.
“It’s heroin. I would like you to present it as a gift to your elders. But please don’t touch it yourself. This is not for those who publicly humiliated the envoy.”
“…”
“It is for the elders. Please, don’t touch it if you have any sense of honor. This is the product of my lifelong endeavor.”
Saying this, I politely asked Marcela and the elves to leave.
The elves, perhaps due to the effects of the drug, moved slowly as they left the negotiation hall.
Still, they didn’t forget to take the gift box containing the heroin with them.
It didn’t matter whether they consumed it themselves or presented it to their elders. The important thing was that I had given heroin to the elves who had already experienced its taste. I even provided pipes that improved absorption and facilitated its spread.
The diffusion was only a matter of time.