I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

80. The meaning of existence

“We planned to use human babies as sacrifices by making them contain a lot of magic power little by little.”

Shion looked at the wine and said with a bitter expression.

“The elders willingly and casually injected their magical powers into human babies purchased at the market, and most of the babies died as a result.”

It was also a plan to possess a god in the body of a human child.

If they injected their magic power into the body, they could control the body naturally, so if they did well, they planned to make the gods at their mercy.

The elves’ plan seemed to be going smoothly.

In reality, it was a method that was close to perfect in theory.

“Were you just watching that?”

“How can I stop it? They are elf elders. “And they are all elders with a combination of experience, skills, and even talent.”

“But I heard that all the elf elders were killed by the same elder.”

“Things with long ears usually have thin ears, but they are monsters that could seal away even the demon lord of the time if they combined their strength. “If you declare war head on, you have no chance of winning.”

“Then why on earth did all the elders who were so powerful die?”

“Well, I don’t know the details, but…”

Shion looked at the cheese on the plate.

The overall size is large enough to be difficult to fit into one bite, but if divided into 12 pieces, it is easily accommodated.

Eat them one by one and serve them as a side dish with wine.

“Ah, the demon cheese has a good flavor.”

“Is that what you meant?”

The Word of Zion is a story about when all 12 elders join forces.

Before, there was no division between them as there was a supreme elder who was their center, but after the supreme elder disappeared, they were divided into pieces like this.

Then who took the cheese piece by piece?

In the end, I ate all the cheese.

It is said that Sion personally invited someone to eat it.

“But there is still something I don’t understand.”

“What do you say? “To the Queen of Vampires.”

“Why did you elves summon God?”

In the end, God is the being who brought about the destruction of the elves themselves.

Why did you bring about such destruction yourself?

“Well…”

After hearing the question, Shion sipped a little wine and answered with a red face.

The face was smiling, but the inside was never smiling.

At that moment, it was nothing short of crazy, to the point where Shion’s murderous intent soared.

After hearing the answer, Clen frowns her eyes and comments.

“…They are crazy people.”

“Do you finally know that?”

Clen put down her wine, saying she had lost the taste for alcohol.

It seems that this kind of story was not something to be shared at a drinking party.

†††

“…How did this all happen?”

About 100 years have passed.

100 Years is not a short time for elves, but it is not an extremely long time either.

Zion returned after investigating the human ecology over the past 100 years and fully understanding the extent of changes that occur over a century.

Once you become an elder, you have more work to do and the obligation to protect the elves, which often means you are unable to have personal time.

100 Years was a grace period for such new elders.

Lastly, it is the same as enjoying one’s life and then continuing to live a sacrificial life for the elves.

However, when Zion, who had observed the entire world for the elves who had no future as an elder of the roots, returned, a landscape that was so pathetic that it was truly mind-boggling unfolded.

“Ah… Are you the elder of the roots? Welcome. Did you enjoy playing outside?”

“I heard that today is a meeting time. “Why is there only the Leaf Elder?”

There was only one elf in the conference room, which was always kept clean and where the elders discussed the future of the elves.

A leaf elder who was always sincere in everything he did.

The elder was just lying face down at his desk, so exhausted that his entire hair turned white.

“…It was about 90 years ago that all the elders gathered for a meeting. Still, until 10 years ago, there were one or two people left besides me, but now there is no one else. hahahaha.”

A leaf elder scratching his head and smiling shamelessly.

While I was away for a while, things got really messy.

“But you still received information about the meeting from outside. “What happened to that?”

“The few remaining elders put their heads together as much as possible and delivered the materials to the root elder. “Thanks to your reply, we have been able to at least maintain the status quo.”

“…For now, Elder Leaf, please go and rest. “Are you sure you slept well?”

“The last time I slept was about a month ago, so it’s bearable.”

When I came back, I thought it was okay because there was almost no difference from before, but when I thought about it, it was like the elves had made no progress for 100 years.

“…Why don’t you go and sleep before I knock you out and force you to sleep?”

“Okay, then I’ll just leave.”

Humans have changed a lot in 100 years.

There were differences in civilization between continents and regions, but in the end, everyone achieved great progress over time.

In areas where in the past people wore cloth that was too rough to be used as a rag or monster leather as clothing, there were people who now wore soft and fine cloth or dresses.

Also, in some areas, magic was only at the level of children, but after 100 years, there were people who could be called prosperous wizards.

Shion looked around the elf village in detail once more.

“Oh, my ancestor, my God…”

And when I compared myself to humans, I became very discouraged.

Even the biggest change is the development of weapons.

According to records, humans used to fight by throwing stones, but now they process strong, high-quality metal to make swords, arrows, and protective gear such as armor.

In comparison, the elves had nothing to call weapons.

At most, I can only use bows as a hobby.

Weapons are important as they are a means of protecting oneself from external enemies.

But the elves had nothing like that.

Even though there is magic, not all elves can use magic.

Don’t humans make good alcohol, bake cakes, and other dishes even when they are not necessary for eating?

Honestly, except for magic, elves were no better than humans.

At most, it’s about lifespan.

“Are elves still eating this?”

Something hard made by baking flour.

All you can eat is a little bit of honey or fruit.

Other than that, tea made by boiling leaves or soup made by decocting fruit are the only options.

“I already miss the food outside…”

Honestly, this can be said to be closer to a preserved food that one eats to survive rather than a food.

Of course, the taste is not good.

What’s even more serious is that the elves have been eating these foods 1,000 years ago, and they have been passed down the same way.

“Why on earth hasn’t anything changed?”

From Noble mtl dot com

If I wanted to change, I could have easily changed.

It is understandable if there is a lack of resources or space on this land, but the soil here is so rich that a tree planted today may grow into a huge tree tomorrow.

The forest itself is very large, and since the number of elves is small to begin with, the remaining land is full and overflowing.

Furthermore, the water flowing from the World Tree is clean and rich in magic, so much so that it is called the universal water of life. It made no sense for there to be no change in such a perfect paradise.

‘Something is wrong.’

Elves have not changed at all since their ancestors settled in this land.

It neither developed nor declined.

It was just about missing the days of our ancestors and continuing to maintain those days.

‘The race called elves.’

If it is simply an environmental factor, that is not the case.

This was the same for our compatriots who lived outside.

The only difference was the degree to which they interacted with other races and accepted their culture, but other than that, in the end, all elves were there.

It felt as if the elf race itself was wrong from the beginning.

“Ah, Elder of Roots. “Are you back?”

“Yes, I just arrived.”

Shion returned to the room and met the attendant.

As expected from an elf, there was no change in appearance even after 100 years.

“Young Master misses you so much-“

“That’s not important right now. Do you know where the other elders are? Especially those like the stem elders or the branch elders.”

“Ah…”

The stem elders and branch elders are the elders who were in a position next to the highest elder.

If they had continued to participate in the meeting, other elders would have come to the meeting out of curiosity.

However, the branch elders were the first to miss the meeting, and after that, the stem elders, who were the most senior, also left the meeting, and one by one, they stopped showing their faces even at the meetings.

Elves who value history and tradition miss the Elder Council, which is the most important ceremony?

It was such a funny thing.

“I’ve seen them working in the underground lab a few times. He said he was conducting some important research… Ah, now that I think about it, the elder of the stem asked me to deliver this book about 50 years ago…”

“What book?”

The servant took out an old-looking book from the bookshelf.

The characters in the book looked like ancient characters that were said to have been used by our ancestors before they even came to this land, and fortunately, she was able to read it because it was Zion, which she had learned from her grandfather.

However, the contents of the book were unusual.

“…What on earth is this?”

A ritual to bring down a god.

The first thing I saw was a title that wasn’t funny.

“The elder of the stem asked you to deliver this to me? “Have you or anyone else read this book?”

“I don’t know. Since it was written in such an old script, I just kept it on the bookshelf…”

“Okay, that’s enough. “This book is like a scary ghost story.”

“Really?! “Why did the elder of the stem write such a book-“

It could be seen as a kind of ghost story.

“…So, why did the stem elder ask me to hand him this book?”

He was originally a man whose true nature was unknown, but the fact that he was suddenly given a book like this only made him even more suspicious.

I heard that he was a disciple of my grandfather, who was the highest elder in the past, and that he was a favorite student because he had outstanding talent for magic and was good at manipulating people.

And there is only one way to know the truth.

“Did you go underground today?”

“Oh, no. “I didn’t see him go in, but I haven’t seen him come out since he went in a month ago.”

“I see, I didn’t go out anywhere, I just skipped it because of research and all…”

This side has been wandering the dangerous outside world for 100 years.

Even so, rather than relaxing in a comfortable place, he traveled around the world, risking various risks, to investigate the ecology of foreign lands.

I followed the people called heroes to find out how much power they had, and secretly hid under the Demon King to find out what kind of life the Demons live.

If you organize them all, the book could easily be hundreds of volumes long.

Even if I used magic, I had to write for a full year.

We have researched and organized in detail the magic known from abroad and the ancient magic of the elves, and we have also neatly classified all the problems and areas for improvement of the current elves.

‘I tried to throw it away and tell him to do some work, but he ended up doing something fake for 100 years…’

It almost makes me want to punch myself in the face.

I went down to the basement with the mindset that I had to say something even if I couldn’t do it.

“…?”

But I didn’t know it would be like this.

“Are these children all human?”

In the basement where I went down to meet the elder of the stem, there were countless children trapped behind bars.

Among them, there was one child who particularly stood out.

She looked thin and thin, but she was a girl with bright pink hair and a cinderblock.

Not only that child, but all the children trapped inside the bars were looking at Zion.

“Ah, are you back, Elder of Roots? “What was life like outside for 100 years?”

And the culprit behind all this also revealed himself.

“…It’s been a while since I saw you. Elder of the stem.”

Her hair was much whiter than before, and now the elder of the stem could be seen as a complete High Elf.

In the past, an elder who was respected second only to the highest elder.

But for some reason, the only thing I felt from him now was ominousness.