Chapter 34 - A Visit To The Forest (2)

 

…

 

"How did you get to know of the Sacred Place where the Sacred Beings reside?!"

 

Maiton Aelfis was extremely alarmed, but the two with him were confused as they had not heard of these terms before.

 

It was evident that Maiton Aelfis had a significantly higher ranking in their elven tribe.

 

"B-Big Brother Maiton, what are you talking about…? Sacred Place and Sacred Beings? Are you in a cult?! We only worship the Nature Goddess Cal Cal, even though you're the successor… This is blasphemy!"

 

Tomiya Arun had been taught since young to worship the Nature Goddess, Cal Cal.

 

An incomparably beautiful divine elf goddess that protects their tribe from dangers in the Amizonya Danger Zone.

 

It had been ingrained in the elves ever since they were young that the Nature Goddess was the divine figure they should worship for protection and abundance in harvests, not some Sacred Beings.

 

The Nature Goddess' name, Cal Cal, could be translated in the elven language to 'The Lady of Faith'.

 

It was a simple name that humans would probably name their pets, but in the elven tribe located in the Amizonya Danger Zone, it was sacred!

 

"Tomiya, you don't have the authority to know about it, just know that I'm not in whatever cult you have mentioned. Esteemed Ascended Li Qu, this is not the place to talk, please follow me. I will guide you to our tribe and meet our leader, it is not within my jurisdiction to talk about this either."

 

Maiton Aelfis disregarded Tomiya Arun's accusation of his blasphemous remark and turned to Li Qu to invite him to where their tribe lived.

 

He turned to face Li Qu and saw him smiling out of extreme interest.

 

'Hooh, I just casually mentioned it and he really seems to know about this term, interesting.'

 

…

 

Beneath the World Tree, there were countless of houses made of wood and leaves, a crop field was carved out not too far away from the houses with plants ready to be harvested.

 

The hunting squad and Li Qu reached the entrance of the tribe, where the gate had words in the elven language that wrote 'Amizonyan Cal Cal Tribe' in what were supposed to be organic dyes made from plants.

 

They then proceeded to enter it to a somewhat bustling scene of elves bartering food and items like a normal village would, but not many children could be seen as elves had an exceptionally low birth-rate.

 

This was as expected because they had a long lifespan, an average elf with no powers could even live for up to 500 years. Much less the ones that were powerful, therefore sacrificing their birth rate, as heavens had ordained.

 

The elves in the villages were not as surprised as one would expect when a human visited their village, they only took a quick glance in interest but soon went back to what they were doing.

 

There was one thing to note, and that was when Maiton Aelfis passed by everyone, they would give a small nod of respect towards him, it was very subtle and hard to notice if one did not pay close attention.

 

Soon, they reached their destination, outside an inconspicuous dried grass hut with leather doors that flapped from the top like a curtain.

 

"Tomiya and Elise, I will bring the Esteemed Ascended Li Qu to visit our leader, your duty ends here, I'll see you two later."

 

Maiton Aelfis said gracefully as he dismissed both of them from their duty.

 

The elves were a harmonious and united bunch, there were basically no elves that were idle, as they were always on the move to contribute to the tribe so they could prosper.

 

"We understand, Big Brother Maiton. Then, we'll take our leave."

 

The two excused themselves as Maiton Aelfis asked Li Qu politely to wait outside the grass hut while he informed his leader of Li Qu's arrival.

 

"Mother, your son is here to report something of urgence."

 

"Ahh, Maiton, my child. What is so urgent? Is it about the Giant Rats problem?"

 

The leader gave a kindly wide smile towards her son and asked.

 

"No, mother. We have a human guest, he seems to know Elvis Myel, but…"

 

"Son, But what? We have a collaborative agreement with the humans and Elvis was sent as a diplomat, you need to be more firm! You are the future successor of the tribe."

 

"Mother, I understand, but that human knows of the Sacred Place where our Sacred Beings reside. Green. Heaven. Realm."

 

Maiton Aelfis had pronounced the words at the end of his sentence clearly with a pause in between and emphasized, as it was a pretty serious issue.

 

Was there someone divulging sensitive information to the humans? But it could not be as the people privy to this information were only the elders or above in terms of seniority.

 

How did Li Qu even get a hold of this information?

 

The tribe leader's kindly smile was gone as she turned solemn and spoke with caution.

 

"Are you sure? If so, this matter is not simple. Invite him in, my child. I will see what he wants."

 

The tribe leader and Maiton Aelfis then exchanged a little more information, he soon acknowledged her orders and went out of the hut.

 

"I apologize for the wait, Esteemed Ascended Li Qu, my mo- our tribe leader invites you in."

 

Li Qu gave Maiton Aelfis a knowing smile, giving the elf an illusion that he could see through him, but Li Qu just entered the hut.

 

"Welcome to our humble Cal Cal Tribe, Esteemed Ascended Li Qu, I apologize for the reception, I am the tribe leader, Melian Aelfis. Would you fancy a goblet of our signature grape wine?"

 

The surname, Aelfis. It seemed like the culture of elves on Earth were to take on their maternal surnames, rather than the father's.

 

Melian Aelfis smiled kindly as she introduced herself and offered Li Qu their local specialty.

 

Li Qu looked at the elf in front of him that looked like she was in her beautiful prime of the early thirties.

 

It was a stark contrast compared to her son, Maiton Aelfis, who could pass off as a monk instead, provided that one would ignore his long ears.

 

"Let us get straight to the point. I am in a bit of a rush, you see. Bring me to your 'true' leader."

 

Li Qu cut the conversation short as he remembered that he still had a waitress in the mini pocket realm, he could not predict accurately when she would be out, although the System would inform him.

 

Melian Aelfis' countenance got as grave as it could be, her kindly smile dropped as she questioned the human in front of her.

 

The tribe leader discreetly got ready for a scuffle as she eyed the wooden staff standing beside her.

 

"What are you talking about? I am the true leader of the tribe, with my child, Maiton Aelfis as the next successor in line."

 

"Little elf, you are a million years too young to even deceive me. On top of your World Tree, unlock it and bring me into that spatial zone."

 

At this point, it was apparent that Li Qu knew too much. He even knew that Melian Aelfis had a special method to unlock the spatial zone.

 

"H-How do you know about that?! You know too much! It's not possible that humans would know of it, who are you?!"

 

…