Chapter 65 (2/2)
“They are”
I am well aware how cute they are
The eldest mother continued to speak
“You were lonely?”
“…?!”
I suddenly feel like I’ve been punched in the heart
“You will have lived a lonely life up to now I am sure you must have wanted comfort from someone”
“That’s…”
My voice was shaking and I could not go on speaking Many thoughts cross s buried under a deep sleep, awoke
The lonely days I spent for years while I studied for the civil exam
One by one, getting jobs, getting married, the friends that disappeared from my side for one reason or another…
That was all met with a sudden death
Exam
Arena
My destiny of having to fight to live
I returned to the harbor of ony
I have to fight alone
‘Is that why Sylph came to me?’
I look to Sylph The eldesther, handed her to me
“Here, she is yours”
“Ah…”
“She is a dear friend that came to you to comfort you”
Sylph jumped into my lap
She caht shoulder and rubbed her face into my cheek
-Bark, bark!
Kasa quickly jued his tail and does his aegyo
The hed
‘So that was it’
You guys came to me in your forms to comfort me
… I had been lonely Fro time before
Ely, tears came to me
The eldest mother looked at me with a benevolent smile
I a of the spirits, this precious truth I want to thank her somehow Not because of the exam, but from my heart
‘There is no coincidence’
It was no accident that I got the spirit suot Sylph and Kasa
Then, nothing so far has been an accident for me
At the end of hts, I spoke
“ExcuseI wish to ask you”
“Go on”
“What problem has arisen with the tree of life? Is the tree of life ill?”
If that is the case, all the skills I have are not by chance, but an arrangement of the Gods
The faces of the mothers that had looks at me and my spirits in happiness, all turn dark
The eldest mother nodded her head
“Yes, your guess is correct For decades, the tree of life’s health has been deteriorating We did not want to believe it, and as long as it didn’t wither on the outside, there was no definite way to tell, so we tried our best to deny it But the ti weaker”
The sadness is evident on the mothers’ faces
A few of the tears It is because the tree of life is a very important existence to them
“I do not know anything about the tree of life I know neither what it means to all of your nor ill happen if it disappears”
“The tree of life is the foundation that maintains nature To us elves that love and live with nature, is it like a parent”
“…”
“Even if the tree of life disappears, us elves can still live But ill have lost a great y of the spirits will become weaker”
She continues
“The tree of life is the great basis of nature, and as a great life force, it gives strength to the nature surrounding it It is the same for spirits If the tree of life disappears, the spirits will get weaker”
Listening to it all, the tree of life is to the elves that live in nature, their very identity
I ask
“When that tree of life withers at the end, is there no other way?”
I orried it was a rude question, but she is undisturbed by it
“That isn’t the case We can find a new tree of life and nourish it”
“So the seed to a tree of life exists somewhere?”
“It is so a tree of life”
“Excuse me?”
The eldest reat tree of life a little ay
“What tree does that look to you?”
“U the tree of life…”
“It is called a zelkova tree”
I am shocked
A zelkova tree grew this great and large as a building?
It is unbelievable
There are tons of zelkova trees on Earth too!
The eldest mother smiles and speaks
“Of course, not all zelkova trees grow that large and becorow into a tree of life are very few”
“Then we have to find a tree that has the potential to grow into a tree of life”
“Finding it is not hard They are few but we can find them On this brown mountain, there are a couple that we have found”
“Then can you not grow those into them?”
“We already are The young men scout the east and north but our husbands care for those trees every day in the east and south”
The eldest hs
“But because they have potential does not mean they will become a tree of life We can put our heart and soul into nurturing the a tree of life”
According to the continuing story, 30 years ago, a pine tree that almost became the tree of life withered and died
60 years ago, and even 200 years ago in her youth, the sa happened
‘This is it!’
This is the real exam!
If I hadn’t found this and even if I cleared the exam, I would have only received a very small amount of karma
I smile
At my smile, the eldest mother looked at me doubtfully
Hearing a regrettable story and then s, of course it’s weird
“I am not sure if this will help Would you look?”
Then, I oes crazy for, the flame of life