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A man with long, tied-up black hair, a rare sight in this world, landed lightly in front of us. From behind, one might mistake him for a woman, but his build and the thick hands gripping a twig clearly indicated he was a man.

“Sigh… Gideon. How many times do I have to tell you not to swing your sword near the seal?”

Gideon. The appearance of an S-Rank Adventurer and Weapon Master, one of only three on the continent. His looks were surprisingly youthful, much like Lucia, yet his attire was nothing but loose cloth pants and a simple tunic, utterly unbefitting of his prestigious rank.

“Haha, sorry about that. If I don’t move my body for a day, I start to feel restless.”

“Your sword could accidentally break the seal, which is the problem here.”

“That’s why I didn’t use my sword, right?”

True to his word, his sword was still hanging at his waist, and he was wielding nothing but a gnarled twig. It seemed he had just used that to cleave a monkey that had been in the tree above.

“Impressive…”

“A twig…”

Following the awed comments from the two of them, I looked at the tree where the monkey had been. Unlike the neatly cut monkey’s head, there were no traces left on the branch or tree the other monkeys had been on.

In that brief moment, he had precisely beheaded nearly fifty monkeys from a distance, a feat impossible for anyone below S-Rank.

I mean, I could only imagine tossing a bomb and rolling for a strike, but something like that was beyond my capability. I was, to begin with, far from delicate.

“By the way, who are those people behind you? They seem like humans I haven’t seen in a while.”

At that moment, Gideon looked at us with a friendly expression. Having spent so much time in Alvheim, where he had presumably only seen elves, I could understand his longing for a human face. The elves answered his question instead.

“They are guests invited by Lord Yggdrasil.”

One by one, they introduced themselves, which conveniently spared me the trouble of introducing myself. But calling it an invitation when one was being worked like a servant seemed a stretch.

“Oh… that old hag?”

“You’re probably the only one in the world who dares to address Lord Yggdrasil like that.”

“What’s the difference, eh? The old hag isn’t bothered, and as long as they’re happy, isn’t that what matters?”

“Sigh…”

Gideon extended his hand past the elves toward me. As I met his hand with mine, he greeted me with a friendly smile.

“Nice to meet you. I can’t remember the last time I saw a human. I am Gideon.”

Hearing those lines directly in reality from a character I had read about was fascinating. I waved my hand lightly, just as he did, prompting Gideon to scrutinize his hand for some reason, opening and closing it thoughtfully. What was that about?

“Hmm… I see. Are you an adventurer, by chance?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your rank?”

“B-Rank.”

“…You?”

“Yes.”

Gideon blinked repeatedly in disbelief. Frankly, I was surprised myself to find that I was only B-Rank, but what could I do about the circumstances?

I was certain that by the end of this episode, I would reach A-Rank. After all, having defeated S-Rank Monsters, it would be absurd not to promote me.

“Has the average rank of adventurers risen while I was away?”

He muttered to himself, but given the close proximity, I heard every word.

‘Does this guy possess an ability to gauge one’s capabilities just by shaking hands?’

What a somewhat unsettling ability. After completing that awkward handshake, Gideon looked a bit disappointed.

“It was nice meeting you. I’d love to spar at least, but I do have some matters to attend to.”

With that, he briefly acknowledged his companions with a nod before turning back to the elves, seemingly engaged in an important conversation. I overheard them discussing something about the seal.

“Gideon, has there been any trouble with the seal lately?”

“Recently, there have been many signs of it breaking. For instance, the unusual number of monsters appearing around here is one such sign.”

“Is that so… Perhaps it’s time to deploy some watchmen.”

“I’m fine morning and afternoon, but we should prepare for the evening and dawn hours.”

Not a particularly enriching conversation, so I decided to step away from them and take a stroll around the seal area.

“He’s more like a laid-back neighbor than I expected.”

“That means he’s glad to see us.”

A guy who had always roamed freely, cooped up for years in the forest with elves, would certainly miss seeing humans after such a long time.

“Still, he was quite the extraordinary individual.”

“What are you saying now?”

While we were often together, it seemed easy to forget that the academy dean was also an S-Rank adventurer. It was just a matter of whether one was common or rare. Besides, we had to stay here for at least a week, so I figured it was a good opportunity.

“Luna, why don’t you seize the chance and learn a technique from him?”

“Are you talking about him?”

“Yeah. I’m talking about you.”

I could confidently assert that my growth had no rivals. Even if we hunted the same monsters, the benefits from my status window would allow me to grow much faster.

That meant the others would need to make up for their inadequate growth with skills. In that regard, an S-Rank adventurer who could use daggers was an educational asset in itself.

After all that effort in developing my skills, it would be a shame for them to go to waste. If I grew useless, I certainly wouldn’t want to discard what I had cultivated. Since we were here, it was only reasonable to maximize its worth until nothing was left.

“And what about you, Luke?”

“What could I possibly learn?”

There were no skills associated with the greatsword. Just lifting such a heavy weapon was no small feat. Performing acrobatics with a hefty sword was something reserved for games, and even that was just superficial flair. The techniques associated with a greatsword consisted purely of blocking and swinging, so there was nothing to learn.

“But you seem particularly tame today.”

“What do you mean?”

“I would’ve thought you’d want to break the seal right away to gain experience.”

“What do you take me for?”

Luna, do you still not understand even though you’ve seen me like this? I’m not some arrogant noble fool who throws themselves recklessly into danger. Nobles tend to think they’re the strongest in the world and act without caution.

As I’ve said multiple times, it’s just foolishness. I’m a manly man who makes wise choices.

“I don’t fight unless I can win.”

What would happen if I broke the seal right now? Well, I would guess it would mean certain doom. Better to target spawn kills than to destructively break the seal.

I hunt based on fights I can win and thorough preparation.

“Anyway, since I need some supplies, I was planning to rest for a few days and then head out somewhere in four days.”

“What? Where to?”

“That, you’ll find out when I return.”

Let’s keep that a surprise, shall we?

*

That evening.

When we arrived in Alvheim after spending quite some time at the seal, the moon was already high in the sky.

Before being guided to our lodging, I gladly accepted the elf’s suggestion to stop by a restaurant for a meal first. Even if I’d be sleeping afterward, I’d still need to eat.

The elf restaurant was uniquely designed, with no ceiling. I had no idea why they built it this way, but it was surprisingly luxurious to be able to eat while gazing at the stars.

By the way, all meals were served at the same time. When we entered the building behind the elves, the toilet had already taken a seat.

The toilet had been struggling to find a way to return Riche to the academy, resembling a wind mage keeping a runaway ninja in check. Not that it would lead to any results.

As for me, I couldn’t help but splutter out loud.

“What the hell! How can there be no meat on the table?!”

At the elf’s table, which primarily consisted of plants, not a single piece of meat could be found. The spread before us was a vegetarian feast, and even the tiny piece of meat on the salad was just bean curd from ground beans.

“This is heresy…”

I pulled out some meat from my inventory. A stash of A++ grade meat I had saved and refrained from eating from the Behemoth event long ago.

The moment the elves nearby saw it, they gasped in astonishment.

“How can someone not be a barbarian…?”

“How could you be so cruel…?”

I had no idea why they were crying out when they were also cultivating plants for food. Ignoring them, I poured some water on the floor. I did that because wet wood doesn’t burn well.

Considering how the elves were all about nature, with everything made of wood, if I made a bonfire now, the entire village or even forest could catch fire. While I would survive the blaze, I still needed to be careful about burning the food.

After setting up some firewood for the bonfire, I called for Riche.

“Riche. Can you light the fire here?”

“Huh? Okay, got it.”

Then I placed a steel plate over the bonfire and started grilling the meat. Truly, a gourmet should prepare to eat anywhere, anytime.

-Sizzle.

It was a satisfying sound just to hear. But conversely, the elves were caught in a frenzy of horror.

“Stop it, human! Don’t waft that nasty smell in front of us!”

“You poor soul who knows nothing of the beauty of carnivorous delights.”

I greedily examined the glossy brown meat.

“Yum.”

“W-What?!”

What an honest flavor it was indeed. However, the elves were genuinely shocked at my munching. So, I showcased my talent once more with a singular, entranced tongue performance.

“Rerololololololololololol—”

With my tongue flicking at a speed of 200 rpm, the elves again appeared horrified. Still, they had no choice but to watch.

Even if I spat nonsense, we were considered honored guests invited by the World Tree, and news had spread across the village. How could they defy someone invited by the god himself? Even if they dared to, I would win anyway.

So, reveling in teasing these little ear folk, after the dining hour ended, our guide led us to our lodging. The place looked less like an inn and more like an abandoned house because Alvheim was not a tourist spot, and lacked human visitors.

Naturally, the toilet crew was in the same building, just in separate rooms. As we typically would, we tried entering a large room together.

“Wait! Why are you all going into the same room?!”

“To sleep.”

Upon seeing us all entering the same room, the toilet appeared shocked. From the looks of her, she seemed to have never shared a room before, but that was her own problem, not ours.

In Korea, even if it was someone you just met, after a drinking party, it would be completely fine to head to a motel and celebrate together.

“What do I do with you sleeping with Luke?”

“…”

With Riche’s straightforward comment, the toilet was left speechless. Even if her intention was to become a heroine, she wasn’t one now, and we weren’t in a relationship either.

‘Is this what the World Tree meant by being cautious?’

Was she planning to make a scene or something ridiculous? And even after sorting out the hierarchy, it seemed she still lacked any learning ability.

The moment I reached into my inventory, the toilet went limp and returned to her own room. Luckily, no annoying troubles arose.

We, too, simply went into our room. On the nightstand inside, a small plant was sitting to serve as a fragrance, alongside a large bed and a small bed.

Without even changing my clothes, I flopped onto the big bed. Then, after a moment’s contemplation, I wondered how I could get back at the toilet.

‘Now that I think about it…’

I remembered some novel I read somewhere, about getting struck by a tree and transported to another world.

“Hmm…”

Clearing my throat, I sprang up from the bed. I had nothing to lose; if I failed, it would be no big deal, but if I succeeded, it could be a good opportunity for the toilet to join me.

“Where are you going, Luke?”

“I’m going to take care of a little business.”

 

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