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“I’m sorry, but… would him joining the expedition team only be a hindrance to them?”

The words of the head of the Ianette family doused the atmosphere in the barracks like a bucket of cold water.

While the other elves might secretly think the same, I am one of the heroes chosen by the World Tree. I never expected such an unnecessarily provocative and rude remark aimed at me.

However, rather than getting angry over such a childish taunt, I wanted to understand why this pointy-eared brat was behaving this way.

‘…What’s her intent?’

It couldn’t be that someone with the wisdom of dozens, if not hundreds of years, accumulated by a wise elder would speak such a brutal statement without a reason.

Before entering the barracks, I recalled Eunice Kalia’s words.

‘She said there’s a cunning and selfish side.’

I took a deep breath to cool my head and met the gaze of the orange-haired ear girl, refusing to back down.

In the meantime, it was only natural for Fletta Arielte, who had been expressing her opinions freely, to suddenly fall silent.

Her complexion, which had originally held a decadent beauty, began to frown as she stared at Ianette. The atmosphere in the already tense barracks plummeted even further.

At that moment, all eyes in the barracks were focused on Ianette, representing both her family and the Kalia Marquis family.

Fletta calmly opened her mouth again.

“Elder, Aina. What do you mean by saying such things?”

“As I said—”

The elder, who had been quietly watching me, momentarily closed her eyes.

When her eyelids lifted, her pupils were directed at Fletta.

“The eastern forest is quite chaotic and rugged, isn’t it?”

The head of the Ianette family, Aina, began her remarks.

“Even if the World Tree deems him a hero, shouldn’t we think of it from a rational perspective?”

“To hunt the Half-Demon, the expedition must head east toward the Great Forest. As elves who consider the forest our home, we can’t be too careless in the eastern woods either.”

“The uneven terrain filled with tall weeds can trip you up, and the thick trees that block sunlight create areas where visibility is poor.”

The eastern part of the Great Forest is untouched nature where even elves hardly tread.

A forest that even they hesitate to enter must have its reasons.

“Moreover, from the wild mountain beasts to the pollution of magic in the monsters now dwelling in the woods, it’s common for assaults to occur regularly, as everyone gathered here knows.”

At Aina’s words, the head of Chelness quietly nodded.

As a response to the head’s gesture, those from Chelness and a few knights from Kalia Marquis family began to show subtle agreement with Aina’s statements.

“Of course, such treacherous and dangerous woods are not very suitable for weak men. Strong women like warriors may fare better, but unfortunately, men… have their limits. Differences in stamina due to mana and more.”

It is a common truth that men in this world are weaker than women.

Typical men of this continent can hardly bear a grueling march and dislike the feeling of calluses forming from wielding spears and swords.

Moreover, among them, even if a few mercenaries have chosen to earn a living with spear and sword, if they haven’t been chosen by mana, capturing monsters—or even wild mountain beasts—poses considerable risk.

“For that reason… since our objective is to exterminate those wicked Half-Demons, even if he is a hero spoken of by the World Tree, it doesn’t seem like a wise choice to include him in the expedition team.”

A normal man would likely echo Aina’s words.

Though her first words may have been provocative, what followed was certainly reasonable.

The problem lies in—

“Moreover, he isn’t even one of our elven men—he’s a human, isn’t he? Such a forest would certainly be troublesome for him… and the expedition team as well.”

Aina’s indifferent expression, and her once-again disinterested gaze toward me.

I could distinctly feel how she looked at humans.

I moved my hand hidden beneath the round table. Grasping the cold steel hilt of my sword, I quietly traced the engraved patterns with my fingertips, calming my mind.

“……”

Then I listened closely.

What more would this pointy-eared girl have to say?

Let’s hear her out.

“And so, I believe it would be better to place him in a different unit where the risks would be lower, should he join at all… perhaps a cleanup squad in the south or the north would be good. What do you think?”

Fletta had mentioned that if Ianette and Chelness were to allocate most forces to the east, they should disperse their troops from Ianette’s army in the south and north.

Maybe they wanted to keep me in the south or north where their influence is weaker than in the east, where they have a greater reach with their eyes, hands, and feet.

Or could there be another reason entirely?

Cunning and selfish. Remembering those two words, I thought about piercing through her true intentions.

Just then—

“No—”

Fletta shook her head.

“I don’t think so.”

With that, Fletta lightly removed her glasses.

At that moment, her previously disinterested eyes sharpened like a well-honed blade, exuding a cold atmosphere.

“On the contrary, I don’t think he’s lacking and believe he possesses the capability to stay with our forest guardians comfortably.”

Fletta’s remarks began to garner attention from Chelness’s head.

“I’ve heard a few things, not just the whispers from the Kalia Marquis family but also from my daughter.”

“Elder Fletta, could you elaborate a bit more?”

“Certainly.”

Fletta folded one arm of her glasses.

Tap.

She placed the glasses on the round table map.

Pointing with her finger at the remaining arm of the glasses aimed skyward.

“First of all, he has a record of killing a low-level demon with a single arrow from the castle wall.”

Tap.

Her finger struck the arm of the glasses.

Then the arm fell limply, just like a demon that had crumbled lifelessly after being hit by my arrow.

Fletta then looked up from her glasses and scanned the assembly with her sharp gaze, continuing.

“Secondly, he has a notable achievement of single-handedly slaying the Half-Demon that was wielding magic. That’s one of the main reasons.”

Fletta turned halfway to glance behind her.

Her pupils captured Friel and everyone from the Count’s House.

“Besides that, he has numerous accomplishments behind him, so could you summarize them briefly?”

The one who answered was Diolia, who had been silently observing the situation.

After giving a light nod to Fletta, she stepped forward and spoke clearly.

“Recently, the Count’s family has been engaged in war against cultists and demons. During that conflict, Ray, the proud knight of Shianella, has reportedly slain hundreds of monsters all by himself from the castle wall…”

Everyone’s attention was riveted solely to my accomplishments recounted by Diolia.

The number of demons I’ve killed. The number of monsters, and the soldiers, knights, and townsfolk I’ve saved.

The path I’ve walked as an outstanding warrior through sword and bow forced everyone to acknowledge my prowess.

Even the elves and those from the Kalia Marquis family were looking at me with shining eyes.

“…Impressive.”

In response to the small exclamation of the head of Chelness, Fletta replied.

“Impressive, yes. But that’s not all there is to him.”

By now, she had put her glasses back on, a sly grin forming on her lips.

“He has formed a contract with a Supreme Spirit.”

“What…?”

Finally, Aina’s composure shattered.

“Outside the World Tree, he will take the form of an upper-tier, of course. However, you could easily notice his supreme-level quality through the energy the spirit exudes. Well… it’s far better to see once than to hear a hundred times. Can you show us?”

At Fletta’s words, I readily nodded.

“Of course.”

I took a moment to center myself, preparing to summon Tania after awakening the slumbering heart within me.

Since I was away from the divine tree, Tania’s grade here would not be the supreme level, but an upper-tier. However, since summoning an upper-tier spirit is still quite taxing, I must minimize mana loss as much as possible.

I began controlling the flow of mana that would awaken in tune with my heartbeat.

Whoosh─

A weak flame began to radiate from around me.

“Ooh…”

“Hmm…”

Varying reactions from Chelness and Ianette.

They were inhaling the aroma emanating from me, the fragrance of the spirit.

Whuurrr!

A small flame was born.

The small flame grew in size, beautifully igniting. Occasionally, the sparks would scatter like beautiful shooting stars before eventually concentrating in one place, a rich flame focusing together.

Compressed, condensed. Once the mass of flames gathered to its limit, it erupted in a burst of white light.

“Wow…”

I heard Shione’s small gasp of admiration.

─Myaaa…?

The Cotton Puff that had been peacefully napping above my head stirred due to the commotion.

“Wow…”

I could see Diolia shaking her head, bewildered at when I had gained such abilities.

As the dispersing flames twirled beautifully before fading into ashes, I momentarily shook my head, feeling the pinch from the drained mana and stamina.

‘Huh?’

[…@, *※# is intervening…….]

「Qualification Certificate」

「Prove your abilities to the Ianette family and the elves in the barracks. If you possess the appropriate qualifications, the elves,,,will…※※…#*…….」

「Reward: Mana efficiency improvement, total mana increase, temporary…magic*#…….」

‘…What?’

Suddenly, a status window… no, a quest appeared like a frantic wave.

Whooosh!!!

Even after the flow of mana had ceased, amidst a dance of flames swirling at the center of a round table.

“Park Shin-woo, I’m here!”

…For some reason, Tania, who possesses a supreme-level appearance, appeared.

 

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