I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

65 – 65. The Deep Rooted Race

“Tsk tsk, I don’t know why all the children who are said to have been chosen always return to the difficult path.”

Shion clicks his tongue and shakes his head.

I think it was because Arcel’s reaction was too heroic.

Humans won’t even think of Arcel as a warrior anymore anyway, but she’s willing to shoulder the heavy burden alone, so that’s understandable.

“Okay. Then, what should I do, starting with my granddaughter who has become angry? If she had known it would be like this, would she have at least lied?”

“Yeah, start with that dwarf- wait, what?”

Then Alfred asked, terribly perplexed.

Suddenly, what are you talking about, granddaughter?

Can’t you see Stella and call her granddaughter?

“Isn’t there a granddaughter of mine who just ran away? Of course, you and your mother are different.”

Alfred was so surprised that he couldn’t stand the sudden change of situation and his expression stiffened.

“Uh…?”

I was surprised that Arcel was the same.

Come to think of it, Shion and Stella share the same last name.

Zion Magus.

Stella Magus.

They both had the same surname, ‘Magus’.

I knew the real names of the two elves a long time ago, but why did I just come up with these?

Or maybe it’s because we didn’t have much contact with each other until now.

“So that dwarf is my cousin?!”

Alfred was shocked with a very loud voice.

Arsel had never seen Alfred so shocked in his life.

“Somehow, my ears are in the wrong shape. However, my body is so comfortable that if there is a problem, if I take out that body part and regenerate it, it will be fine. But are you still there? After all, should I pull my hair out at a time like this?”

“Stop it, this is not a problem with your body, it is defined as reality.”

The last time he was attacked by Clen at the auction house, it wasn’t that far, but now Alfred’s pupils are shaking and he says his body is wrong.

Even if it was terrible, they would pull out the original ear and regenerate it again.

Arcel stopped her from pulling her hair out.

Thanks to that, Alfred seemed to have regained his composure for a while…

“I see, if you follow the genealogy, she is your maternal cousin.”

There was a decisive finish for Zion.

“…God. Why is this great ordeal for me-“

Puff!

“Alfred?!”

The shock was so great that Alfred passed out while calling on God.

“This is amazing, it is the first time in my life that I have seen my grandson fall down. It’s something no one has been able to do until now, so I never thought I’d collapse with something like this…”

If you look at Alfred’s usual hatred of elves, that could have been enough.

Of course, there was no real blood connection, so there was nothing to be shocked about.

Still, it must have been a big psychological shock to Alfred.

In the first place, I wonder what’s wrong with my cousin being an elf in the genealogy, since my grandmother is also an elf.

“…Now that it’s like this, I have no choice but to deal with her grandmother. If only her grandmother was removed, there would be no relation to that crow in terms of genealogy.”

“Why don’t you wait a minute?! Isn’t that going too far?!”

“It’s okay, as long as I’m happy, that’s fine.”

Alfred, who quickly came to his senses, tied Shion’s body in an instant and tried to hang him on the stake.

The flames soared as if the stake had already been prepared.

“It’s hot! Even that fire is the one my daughter made! She says if she sticks in the wrong place, she dies!”

“Because she is a grandmother, sacrifice that much for her one and only precious grandchild.”

“Isn’t it okay to be my one and only precious grandma?!”

Although Zion was struggling, his arms were already hanging from the stake.

Even the fire on the stake was made from the magic created by the witch of ash.

I don’t think I’ll ever see anything good.

“Wait Alfred! He hasn’t heard the story yet! There’s Stella’s business, and you didn’t tell me how to lift the curse!”

“It’s okay! This is more important than that!”

Perhaps this family would have ended harmoniously if Arcel had not desperately stopped it.

Arsel, who managed to get Alfred off, saw Shion, whose whole body was covered in sweat.

“…Are you okay?”

“Still, compared to her mother, she’s on the quiet side, so shouldn’t this be seen as a cute prank for her grandson?”

Compared to the horse, Shion’s legs are shaking.

She almost got roasted alive, so it’s a natural reaction.

“I guess the only way is to get rid of her grandmother…”

“That doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change the fact that you already have an elf in your family. It will change to what was there instead, but…”

“Even the baby is saying quite scary things.”

“No, few people know that I am a grandmother and her family. If only the witnesses were gone, the world would not know.”

“…But I know that too. Do you think you want to get rid of me too?”

Arsel said with a slightly sad expression.

“Ah, that’s what I heard.”

Only then did Alfred put the torch and pitchfork in his hands.

Anyone who sees her will mistake her for witch hunting.

“Then it’s okay, you have to accept it. But she won’t stay still then, as she told the ear man. One of the two dwarves here knows how to tie it there.”

“…”

Arsel looked at the stake Alfred pointed at.

Somehow, it seemed as if the stakes were winking that they would burn them whenever they wanted.

Of course, it can’t actually happen, so ignore it.

“So first give me more information about the curse. Despite her age, her memory is still intact, which is her strength.”

“The talking squirrel looks just like a goby swimming, okay. I will tell you the location along with a simple map, so have a good trip. The rest is up to you to figure out.”

Shion told Arcel the location of the necessary books.

The only thing left now is a guide to guide you there.

An Elf who knows the land of the Elves well and can meet the people who will wait there.

†††

That’s an old, yet relatively recent story.

Stella’s father was an elder who led the tribe of the few remaining roots, and her mother passed away giving birth to me because of illness, so I don’t even know her face.

Anyway, the tribe of roots was the same position as the progenitor of the elves, who once led the elves.

It’s actually the same as the benefactor of the elves.

The history of the lack of roots is quite long to explain.

It is said that in the distant past, the ancestors of the elves could not leave their own people alone in a dangerous world where various races, including demons and humans, were in conflict.

In particular, the story of the demon king and the hero contains the same fate as the widely known fate regardless of race.

The demon king who wants to rule the world and the warrior who opposes him.

The repertoire of stories is still alive thousands of years later.

It was only then that they did not know when the world would perish or suffer similar damage, and in the end, the elves of the founder left to find a safe world to protect their people.

In this process, I happened to know about beings similar to elves called ‘nymphs’, and also found out that their origins were a second world connected to a certain divine creature.

In other words, there is a world of dreams that is peaceful and prosperous, rather than this chaotic world.

Then an elf found such a world.

A clean world without any outside interference.

An unknown meteorite fell from the high sky. In the valley left by the meteorite, there was a passage connected to another world made of black matter.

After passing through the passage, the scenery of a wide and green forest unfolded.

This is the scenery before the meteorite fell, and the forest blown away by the huge meteorite fell existed in the passage.

It was quiet because no other intelligent beings lived in the land, and even water and food were plentiful, so it was like a dream world.

‘Perhaps this may save our species from destruction.’

The elf who first discovered the meteorite must have thought so.

In this place, there was no risk of getting caught up in a conflict with other inferior races, and there was no need to go through unnecessary conflicts with them over goods.

No matter how you look at it, if it’s better than before, it’s better, nothing worse.

In the end, the elves entered the passage in the meteorite and welcomed a new world, and the elves who found this world were recognized for their achievements and became the highest elders.

In principle, a tree needs roots to grow.

The tree was able to grow because it had roots.

The current elf was able to exist because of the Supreme Elder.

For that reason, the descendants of the elves who discovered this world came to be called the root tribe, and took over the position of elders and ruled the elves.

Boasting thousands of years of history, we constantly study magic that has been handed down from previous generations and seek the truth.

The Elves of the time entered a golden age incomparable to any other race, and especially the magic of the Elves created by their ancestors had the power to use the world itself as a weapon.

Although the number was small compared to humans and demons, it was possible to erase either humans or demons if desired.

Until that day comes.

An elf who grew up hearing that he is from the root tribe and is a genius wizard comparable to the highest elder.

Until the elf one day suddenly exterminated all of the root tribe except the children.

He brutally murdered every single person, even his own spouse.

“…I thought you would at least feel guilty.”

Even so, she didn’t feel guilty at all.

-I don’t care what happens to the remaining elves. I wasn’t even like an elder?-

On the contrary, he showed such a reaction as if he was recalling a forgotten memory.

He remained calm even after killing hundreds of elves.

It’s certainly an old story from thousands of years ago, but in fact, for an elf the size of Stella, that time was just a story that her parents’ generation went through.

In particular, Stella’s father, the chieftain of the Root tribe, was the only one she left behind.

Did I just throw it away?

At the time, he was only less than 100 years old, and as a human, he was less than 10 years old.

In other words, when her father was less than 10 years old, her mother committed a terrible murder and suddenly disappeared.

How much pain I suffered because of it.

Even after that, the elves walked the path of downfall…

-Is that elf the traitor’s child?-

It was she who committed the crime, not her father, but her father as well as Stella herself continued to live under the watchful eye of other elves.

Because she couldn’t guarantee that an elf like her wouldn’t appear again.

Perhaps he would have been openly discriminated against and looked down upon if his father had not risen to the position of chieftain.

Of course, that was the story when the elves were fine.

It’s a meaningless story now that it’s my hometown and only a handful of elves barely survived.

Among the elves alive today, none of them still had feelings for the past.

That’s because those elves have already died in their hometown.

Rather than that, the question is how to survive until tomorrow.

Humans are looking for elves, capturing or slaughtering them, and the elves who remained outside of their hometown must still be playing hide-and-seek to avoid the humans.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t condemn humans with your own hands.

Even if you do, you must not know that you are an elf.

In addition, we must annihilate all humans.

If there are any humans left alive or if they fail, they will use the attack as an excuse to find and slaughter the elves on a larger scale.

Right now, only the kingdom of Hermod is committing such atrocities, but in some cases even small countries on the periphery will want to completely reject the elves.

In fact, they are excluded by humans more than demons.

And if you do that, the child will surely resent himself.

Feeling helpless to have no choice but to watch this situation, and feeling guilty that only that choice was left to me.

I could be sure since we’ve been together for quite a long time by human standards.

“Stella.”

Just then, the child came to visit Stella.

Along with the voice from behind, a hero who still shines a light in the darkness appeared.

“…How did you know I was here?”

Asked Stella, her face buried in her lap.

I was quietly holding my breath, hoping that he wouldn’t be found, but I wonder how he found it.

“Alfred told me. They say that this place is narrow anyway, and that there is only one place you can go to.”

“Ah, that damn demon…”

I think that demon did it.

It’s understandable that Arcel relies on Alfred because he has an ominous, evil, and insidious subject, and an unidentified half-blooded demon with excessively excellent abilities.

If she hadn’t been so good with her own eyes, to be honest, Stella might have put her mind at least to Alfred.

Something unknown that I feel every time I see Alfred.

It is an infinitely wide space of darkness that cannot be fully recognized with the capacity of one intelligent body.

I don’t know where that place is, but I see such a strange place every time I see Alfred.

Sometimes my body trembles.

“You don’t have to worry. Alfred is not here, so he is now his maternal uncle… No. Um, come to think of it, did you know?”

“What do you know?”

“No, if you don’t know, that’s fine. Anyway, it’s not that important right now. It just went well.”

Strangely, Arcel evaded her words.

Is there something that you don’t want to know about? If so, there’s no reason to dig in and find out.

If Arcel doesn’t want to be known, she must have a good reason.

“Then let’s chat together for a bit, since we’ve hardly been alone since we met again.”

Arsel said, sitting next to Stella.

Did she suddenly come to find herself who had run away like this to have a conversation?

“…Yes.”

First, I decided to listen to the story in silence.