The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 33



Only Noblemtl

Episode 33. The Pointy Eared Aristocrat

After three days, I headed to the Draxia Mercenary Corps.

The Draxia Mercenary Group was located on Fifth Avenue, District 3, along with Cromwell’s brokerage office.

The interior felt more like a studio apartment with a homey feel than a human resources office.

Waver was sleeping on the sofa like a bum, and trash that no one knew was littering the floor was rolling around.

“Isn’t it a bit messy? All the humans here are like that.”

Hela said sheepishly, pushing the trash into a corner with her hoof.

Waver, who had just woken up, pointed out with a chuckle.

“Junior, you’re usually the same, so why do you pretend not to know?”

“Who said no? I’m from here too.”

“Then I have nothing to say.”

Hela sighed as Waver crossed his legs again and laid down.

“Are you going to keep lying down? You might end up working with a guy like that, so it would be better if you cleaned up a bit and showed a good side of yourself.”

“If you’re a guest, you don’t know, but if you’re going to be my junior, shouldn’t you behave like you usually do? If you get caught later, you’ll just feel betrayed.”

“Don’t lose a single word. I’ll sew that mouth shut or something.”

“Eek.”

Waver hid his body, shivering.

The unsteady gait was awkward, as if showing off that he was injured.

Hela explained.

“He’s like that because he doesn’t want to work. He says that once he works, he has to rest for a month. He says it’s a luxury strategy.”

Rather than delve into the bizarre logic, I pointed out the reality.

“Where does the money for food and entertainment come from?”

“I don’t know, I see him going out sometimes, so I guess he’s working as a housekeeper or something.”

Hela waved her hand as if she didn’t want to talk any more and headed inside.

“You’re here.”

The office of the mercenary captain.

Guns and swords adorned the walls instead of paintings and ceramics, and unlike the messy exterior, the interior was spotlessly clean.

Draxia was looking at the papers through his monocle.

He had an intelligent appearance that didn’t match his huge size and cramped chair.

“I think you said you wanted to see my skills… … .”

The light reflected from the window was as blinding to the eyes as the light from a sword.

He looked straight at me with his sharp eyes, unchanging even behind his glasses.

“They say that those lacking things are actually indebted to me.”

“Ahem.”

As the displeased gaze turned towards me, Hela scratched her cheek and turned her head away.

“This is what happened during the request process.”

“It was Kel’zid’s revenge. You had no reason to raise a hand against him.”

“If you think so.”

“Mercenaries are different from contractors. They don’t forget favors or grudges. If there’s something you want, just tell me.”

There was no need to suffer any loss by refusing a gift that was insisted on.

Draxia suggested in a quiet voice.

“I can help you revise the contract to your advantage during the contract process.”

“That’s fine.”

Are you trying to sneakily get your nose pierced somewhere?

I firmly refused and continued speaking.

“Will Kelzid’s body be recovered from the Tower?”

“A dedicated handling team will come.”

“You’re not a wizard.”

The funeral of a magician belonging to the Magic Tower is held at the Magic Tower.

Since even their bodies were property of the tower, there was a dedicated processing team to recover them.

Usually they will retrieve it, but sometimes a sorcerer with a connection will come and collect the body himself.

It was a pity that this was what was aimed for.

“Would you like to contact the wizard of the magic tower?”

“It’s okay, I was just asking.”

Contact with the magician belonging to the Magic Tower was not an urgent matter.

If you really want to know, all you have to do is go to a reclusive magician I know.

If there were any requests to the Draxia office, it was decided from the beginning.

“Please arrange a meeting with this client.”

“… … That is quite an unusual request.”

Draxia stroked his chin with an unreadable expression.

“No, hey. Is that really okay?”

Hela tapped my shoulder and asked.

“I was going to ask you even if it weren’t for Draxia’s favor.”

“Wow, this is really something special.”

Hela beat her chest in frustration and started to chatter.

“Is that really okay? Our grandfather may be a toothless tiger now, but he was doing well when he was young. Don’t do something you’ll regret later just to save face, and do it now… … .”

“Hela, don’t be so reckless.”

“Don’t be so ignorant, sir, you’re just trying to push through because you think you won’t suffer any losses. Your intentions are obvious.”

“You are not yet a family member, but a guest. Show respect for your superiors.”

“evil!”

When Draxia struck her with a club, Hela was unable to overcome the shock and folded in half.

‘… … It sounds like a sandbag being hit.’

Hela’s forehead was red and swollen as she raised her head.

Draxia, who had easily silenced his frivolous subordinate, continued speaking to me.

“It’s not that difficult, so I’d like to listen to you if possible, but please understand that I can’t introduce you to such a desolate neighborhood without asking or inquiring.”

“Of course.”

“Is this a grudge relationship?”

“There is neither friendship nor resentment.”

“It’s not like we’re blood relatives who were separated when we were young… … .”

“The name of the client I confirmed with the broker is Greenwood. I would like to contact them personally to ask them some questions.”

“Greenwood… … .”

“… … ?”

Draxia responded to the name Greenwood.

There seemed to be something bothering him as he rolled his tongue around in his mouth as if he was ruminating.

“… … Indeed, he was not an ordinary person.”

“Why are you doing that?”

Draxia let out a deep breath as if he was gasping for breath.

“What comes to mind when you hear the name Greenwood?”

“As far as I know, it’s the name of an environmental group.”

“Environmental groups, that makes sense. They’re not unrelated.”

Every word that followed was suspicious.

There was something unusual going on, from the request to provide information on the World Tree to the Mata Database, the highest information exchange organization, to the Spirit’s Cocoon.

Hela raised her voice instead of me, who was curious but couldn’t rush it.

“Sir, if you know anything, tell me quickly. Why are you taking so long?”

“You should just go out.”

“Let me hear it too. A girl from a noble family always comes to hang out in the beggarly neighborhoods of District 7. If I had just endured it without asking until now, I would have endured it for a long time.”

“Earth 7?”

This is the first commission I’ve ever done.

There, he dealt with a horde of goblins and completed the spirit cocoon.

‘A Greenwood official was hanging around there all the time?’

It was proof that the request regarding the spirit’s kochi was not a coincidence.

Clearly, I figured him out and entrusted him with it.

“I’ll try to find out the doctor first. But if they refuse, then there’s nothing I can do.”

“All right.”

“Before that, I’ll tell you one thing I can guess. I think you probably already know that information since you’re at my level.”

Draxia’s pupils were blurry as he stared into space.

It was typical behavior of someone who reminisces about the past.

“I am a former mercenary. I have served long enough to receive a medal from the city government for my service. I have even eaten from the same pot as the nobles who settled in District 1 and did not move easily.”

The medal is not awarded to just anyone.

The standards were especially strict for mercenaries who were contractually employed rather than soldiers who were the armies of the city government.

It may sound like bragging at first, but it was proof that what I’m about to say is information that is not easily accessible.

“Greenwood is the royal family’s inherited castle among them.”

“The royal family must have disappeared.”

There will be no nobility, but there will be no royalty.

FP was different from the usual fantasy worldview.

The king’s power was divided between the mayor and the city government, and the nobles formed the majority of the city government council.

“There is one exception even among the traditional aristocratic class that advocates pure blood.”

“……no way.”

“I guess you can guess. People call them the nobles of the pointy ears to distinguish them.”

Knowledge of the World Tree and spirits, information power that pursues the core technologies of large corporations, and activities with the purpose of being an environmental group.

There was a keyword that connected them all.

“Elf, their royalty.”

***

It was a bright full moon night.

A figure wearing a long cloak over his head stepped on the wall.

It is a mansion so large that you can’t see the end.

The walls were covered in all sorts of protective magic, and the surveillance cameras installed densely filmed the surrounding area without leaving any gaps.

If there is a suspicious approach, it is a structure that cannot help but be known internally.

Hana Inyoung’s movements were unstoppable.

Swish!

The dry branches that covered the wall swayed.

She created a foothold in advance where her feet would touch, and disrupted the perception of the barrier with blue light.

It was only a matter of seconds before Inyoung reached the second floor window of the mansion.

Not only was his skill in exploiting security vulnerabilities impressive, but his movements were also familiar, as if he had the building’s blueprints engraved in his head.

Click!

Inyoung opened the window and sneaked in.

The only blemish on the perfect, silent landing was that the mansion’s servants had been patrolling the night before.

“… …Where have you been wandering around again, Miss?”

“… … !”

My hat fluttered at the sound of a voice coming from behind me.

It was immediately after that that the body that had been bent over as if stealing straightened up.

“… … You’re still not asleep?”

“Because the person I was serving didn’t come back.”

“It was just a personal walk. Don’t worry about it.”

“If it happened once or twice, I would pretend not to notice, but if you go out every other day, how could I not notice?”

The calm tone of voice that recited the words rather than the scolding tone pricked my conscience.

The cloaked woman spoke, tapping the floor with her toes.

“I did that because I was curious about the outside.”

“If you really want to go for a walk, I can adjust the schedule.”

“If it’s an official move, I can’t go where I want.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Everywhere except District 1 and District 2.”

“That is not right.”

The maid bowed.

The pointed earlobes were revealed through the hair that fell forward.

“Please realize that you are the only royal.”

“Don’t think of me as royalty. What kind of troublemaker is that who broke a branch of the Mother World Tree and was sealed away while saying he was going to leave home?”

The princess answered coolly.

In contrast to his blunt tone of speech, his voice was gloomy and full of self-mockery.

“In the past, the World Tree dried up and all the royal family died together, right? The royal family disappeared at that time.”

“miss…….”

The princess stared blankly out the window.

“It’s a very different scenery from what I remember.”

It was the middle of the night, but instead of the quiet darkness, there were bright flashes of bright lights.

The soft rustle of insects was drowned out by the roar of car engines, and the tranquility of flowers blooming at night was replaced by a bleak mass of machinery.

“I was wondering if there might be some scenes from my old memories that still remain.”

“I can confidently say that there will be no such thing.”

“I know, the World Tree is dead.”

The World Tree is dead and most of the spirits have disappeared.

Elves, who were supposedly the guardians of nature, abandoned their duties and joined the developing civilization.

The lush greenery she remembered had long since disappeared into the back alleys of history.

‘But there was hope.’

A landscape discovered on Earth 7.

The world tree that was my source and its messenger, the spirit, disappeared, and the rotting plants regained their vitality.

I couldn’t figure out what kind of harmony caused it to be like that.

However, she realized that her hope of regaining the old scenery was not so vain.

‘It’s not some childish tantrum.’

The supervisor is only a part of it.

What she pursued was a cause.

The significance of the World Tree’s existence was not limited to simply representing the totality of nature.

It is a breakwater that blocks the dangers of the ‘outside world’, which is divided into extreme lands beyond the small world called the city.

“This is the last time I will make excuses to the elders. Please refrain from doing so for a while.”

“… … Okay, I understand. Go and rest.”

As the maid said, outdoor activities will be impossible for a while.

Fortunately, I was able to avoid feeling alone because I had some success.

‘I heard the news that the request was successful.’

Will this commission really bring about changes like those in District 7?

I decided to put my curiosity aside.

‘This request must have been successfully completed by the same contractor.’

The Draxia Mercenaries were insurance to help him.

If something like the 7th district happened again, he was someone I absolutely had to meet.

‘It might not be easy to meet, though.’

The difference in status is too overwhelming to just meet.

It was different with the Draxia Mercenaries.

Even the elders who tolerated overseas travel would not allow it, and above all, for a while, they were forced to live on pension.

‘Since you’re obsessed with Greenwood, I guess you’ll have to come find me.’

Amelia Greenwood, the elven princess, had been waiting eagerly for that moment.