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The pumpkin stone of Eramenia is a very precious and sacred gem that is directly bestowed by the Great King of the kingdom upon the birth of a new elf.

This stone not only serves as a pass for entering Eramenia but also functions as a magical stone that allows for instant teleportation to the Eramenia forest when one’s concentration is focused. It performs a role that even the rarest magical stones cannot achieve—it serves as a wondrous pass that can facilitate teleportation without being destroyed, made solely from the tree sap of Eramenia.

Elves who venture into battle must not lose their pumpkin stones. One of the reasons the fairies, who fight on the front lines, hardly ever die, barring unforeseen ambushes, is that when faced with life-threatening situations, they can quickly use this stone to return home, regroup, and then rejoin the battle.

Of course, if one is unable to concentrate the required mental power for teleportation or is wounded without knowing where the attack came from, it is only natural for the fairies to engage in high-risk combat. However, since this gem is the lifeline of the elves, who rely on the magic of Eramenia, it is only right that such a valuable item is not easily exported outside.

Even the famous Walter Hellhound only holds the authority to enter Eramenia but has not received the elves’ pumpkin stone as a gift. Therefore, it was only natural for Jeongjae, who had just completed the retrieval of Count Harker’s corpse, to be met with astonished reactions from the elven guards when he suddenly appeared on the outskirts of the Eramenia forest through teleportation after hearing Jenis’s shocking prophecy.

“Is this jewel really… yours?”

The principle is that gem holders do not question and simply let people in. However, during wartime, it is not possible to apply every principle as it stands.

It’s a world where thousands of fairies go to war wielding weapons. The pumpkin stone held by the elf is interconnected with that elf’s life force and therefore is not easily captured. However, at such a time, we cannot rule out the possibility that some evil opposing forces might use some magical means to acquire the Eramenian gems and attempt an invasion.

Understanding the concern of the Eramenian soldiers, Jeongjae accepted and understood the elves’ measures to not let him in despite seeing the pass. The elven guard guided Jeongjae to a black obsidian chair placed among trees.

“If I am not mistaken, you are a guest… right? You are called the ‘gift from another world’…”

“Y-yes, that might be it. To be honest, I think that nickname is a bit embarrassing.”

Jeongjae nodded as he accepted the teacup brought by the elven soldier. The elven guard knelt on the opposite side, grinning broadly.

“Then the pumpkin stone has not been stolen or pillaged. Did the Great King personally bestow it?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. I had a brief encounter beyond the mountain recently…”

“That must be when the Vampire Lord invaded Eramenia’s borders with magic. But to hand over the gem as well, I wonder what you were thinking. Did you perhaps achieve some significant merit for Eramenia?”

“While I did fight alongside the princess for three years, I think I benefited more than I provided help…”

Just as Jeongjae stumbled on how to explain the delicate relationship between him and Margaret, an elven soldier, appearing after being directly confirmed by King Richard, sprang out from among the trees and bowed his head towards Jeongjae.

“I apologize. The Great King has personally confirmed that the baron has been granted entry permission to Eramenia as a distinguished guest. I shall escort you to the royal palace immediately, where the princess is also waiting.”

“Ah, yes, thank you for the quick confirmation.”

Jeongjae awkwardly stood up from the black obsidian bench and followed the elven soldier. Following the guard on the way to the royal road of Eramenia, Jeongjae personally realized why the forest kingdom is viewed as an impregnable and absolute sanctuary.

The forest here was alive. Although there isn’t a forest in the world that is not alive, this forest twitched and moved as if it was a single living organism rather than a mere collection of biological entities. Paths were obstructed by the will of the forest and revealed shortcuts. According to what Margaret had informed him, the royal road of Eramenia is quite far from the forest boundaries when simply measured by physical location.

It’s a distance that would be hundreds of kilometers just in terms of distance. But the guard had just taken the time for a sip of tea and quickly met the Great King to get confirmation, and even at this moment, he was skillfully navigating the woods to clear a path.

Only the fairies know how to traverse this forest. They don’t just know; they can move freely. It would take humans an entire day or two to travel from one city to another if they tried to navigate these forest sections using human methods. With the dense foliage obstructing their way, even taking a carriage would require a lot of time.

However, under the assumption that one is in the Eramenia forest, it takes the fairies less than an hour to move from the royal road to the outskirts and again to Margaret’s castle. The forest naturally clears paths for them. Since no one other than the authorized fairies can perform such feats, for a long time, many humans have ignored the fact that elves possess a far more advanced civilization than they do, often deluding themselves into believing that the elves are merely a nomadic people living in harmony with the forest.

As he hastily chased after the elven soldier, the magnificent image of the grand palace soon came into view. It was a colossal dome structure more splendid than any building humans have ever constructed, comparable only to the towers of wizards.

Jeongjae exclaimed as he burst out from between the trees and stood in awe, gazing up at the abode of the elven king. A dome of a scale one could only see on modern Earth welcomed him.

However, one thing that cannot be recreated even on modern Earth is the profusion of golden decorations covering the enormous dome, larger than the biggest soccer stadium. As Jeongjae looked over at the elven soldier observing the golden facade like it was lavishly poured over like chocolate on a cream cake, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Is that… gold?”

“Indeed, it is gold. Gold is a common metal, while iron is a rare metal. It’s only natural to choose gold when asking which one to use for decoration.”

Considering the current wartime context, it might not be wrong to say that iron is more valuable than gold. However, saying ‘gold is common’ while staring at piles of gold like that…

“Enough with the show-off, soldier.”

A familiar voice pierced Jeongjae’s ears. Upon spotting Margaret walking over, the elven guard stiffened and saluted the Princess of Eramenia with both legs straightened.

“Oh, Your Highness the Princess!”

“Skip the salute. Aren’t you in the middle of welcoming a guest? I understand you want to flaunt Eramenia’s wealth in front of foreigners, but sometimes it’s better to show it subtly rather than make a big show of it.”

At Margaret’s words, the soldier bowed his head and stepped back. The elven princess affectionately hugged Jeongjae and pointed towards the palace.

“Ah, Margaret. Have you been well? You seem to be doing okay despite that injury.”

Jeongjae nodded upon noticing that Margaret’s arm was not wrapped in bandages. A faint scar remained on the elf princess’s arm.

“Isn’t it too luxurious? It sparkles too much. I heard there were plans to sprinkle jewels all over the top there before. It might have turned out like a cake topped with powder. Isn’t that right?”

“It already looks a bit like a cake…”

Jeongjae’s comment elicited a pleasant chuckle from Margaret. As she signaled that she would guide him from now on, the guards stepped back and disappeared among the trees. Jeongjae, still unable to take his eyes off the palace, turned to Margaret.

“Is gold so common in your country that you can just use it casually for decoration on the palace? After all, you don’t often receive outside guests. There shouldn’t be a need to lavishly decorate for the purpose of showing off to outsiders.”

“It is true that gold is common. However, that’s because its use cases are not as clear compared to its reserves.”

“And what’s the reason for the reserves?”

“Because it is useful in trade with humans. Any goods with exchange value are useful if hoarded.”

Jeongjae nodded in agreement with her practical yet wise reasoning. After all, if the output of gold was high compared to its usages, you couldn’t call it wasteful to pile it on top of the holy palace like that.

“Oh, and I know there is a reason behind the peculiar appearance of that castle.”

“A reason? You mean there’s a reason behind dumping gold on the dome?”

“Because dragons like gold.”

At Margaret’s words, Jeongjae flinched. Dragons. They were related to the very reason he hurriedly rushed to Eramenia. Jeongjae, who didn’t want to deliver bad news bluntly, casually asked.

“Dragons like gold, so you paint gold on top of the palace?”

“From the sky, it would look like the largest chunk of gold in the world. No dragon would be bold enough to raid Eramenia directly. But if there is a dragon foolish and daring enough to do so, it would instinctively be drawn to the palace of the royal road. Legends say that the elves who first designed that castle thousands of years ago created it specifically to lure dragons to the royal road.”

“And what do you do with that dragon once lured?”

“Drop it. Although our country may not seem secure at a glance, we are the best in the world at taking down aerial foes. Under the forest’s protection, a single elf legion’s hail of arrows could easily bring down even a dragon. Within this forest, not even the Dragon Lord could inflict a single wound on us.”

There was immense confidence in Margaret’s voice. She was not the type to be blindly optimistic. If Margaret said it was safe, it usually was. Meticulous and careful, she did not acknowledge complacency or unfounded optimism.

Jeongjae breathed a sigh of relief and subtly threw out a token inquiry to Margaret.

“Is it okay if there are a lot of dragons?”

“A lot? How many are we talking about?”

“For example… about ten or so…”

At those words, Margaret’s expression stiffened. She was quite perceptive and clever. Seeing Jeongjae’s cautious demeanor, she realized that the number ‘ten’ he presented was not just a whimsical guess or assumption.

Stopping in her tracks, Margaret turned to Jeongjae with a piercing gaze radiating with malice.

“Whose information is this? Or is it a prophecy? When? Where? For what purpose? Is it a certain fact, or merely a possibility?”

“Calm down, Margaret. Let go. It hurts!”

As Margaret unexpectedly gripped Jeongjae’s shoulder, he—the weakling—had no choice but to let out a pained scream. The elven princess quickly released her grip and bowed her head in apology.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away. It’s just… there are some sensitive circumstances. Walter Hellhound’s attitude has also seemed off, and recently the borders of the forest have been afflicted by dark lightning. It feels like something is approaching. However, the elders are far too complacent. They may be fighting, but arguing in the council isn’t resolved as simply as fighting with weapons.”

“It’s the same pain Walter is experiencing.”

Jeongjae thought of the hero who always showed up exhausted after attending the Imperial Assembly and shrugged his shoulders. Recently, Walter surely had been relieved that he could avoid attending the council under the pretext of the northern campaign despite still suffering from the arduous workload.

“Indeed, war is always brought about by political strife. If you cannot convince your own forces before defeating the enemy, you cannot win the battle. Sometimes I can’t even tell if I’m fighting to gather Eramenia’s opinions or to deepen the conflicts.”

Jeongjae had nothing to respond to on that matter. He only knew roughly about the political situation in Eramenia and was not knowledgeable enough to offer Margaret any advice or consolation.

Seeing the fairy lord quietly listening to her words, Margaret smiled sweetly.

 

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