I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

81. When singing hope

“What on earth is that book? How to call God? “Aren’t there no gods for us elves other than our ancestors?”

“I guess you saw that book. Of course, to us elves, God is our ancestor. “But only in a religious sense.”

Religious meaning.

This means that there is only one god that elves have faith in.

“The God spoken of in that book refers to an extraterrestrial being. “It’s something that has been observing this world for a very long time.”

So what does that mean?

It is not a god, but it can be called a god, and it has been observing this world for a long time.

“When you say extraterrestrial life, do you mean the world beyond the sky?”

“Yes, it means the place where the stars look down on us.”

A world where starlight whispers above the clouds and further away.

“That’s ridiculous. “It has already been proven through past failures and sacrifices that it is impossible to go there.”

“It might be different if it were the other way around.”

It is said that in the past, elves tried to go there, but they frequently failed even with magic, so they eventually gave up.

Still, I knew that there could be no living life in the world where the stars live, and I said I had gained something in my way…

“Yes, I understand. It’s not my concern that elders waste their time doing useless things. But why aren’t you participating in the meeting?”

That wasn’t particularly important to Zion.

More than that, I did not like the fact that the stem elder did not attend the meeting and only focused on such useless things.

Because Myeongsaek was the greatest disciple of the highest elder.

At least I wanted to hear the reason.

“He is also one of the elders of each branch. Thanks to you, other elders also-“

“Why should I waste my time on such nonsense?”

“…Yes?”

But the answer that came back was not what I expected.

“A smart root elder would know, right? Even if such meetings were held for hundreds of years, nothing would change.”

All that came back was the truth.

What Sion himself realized a long time ago but did not admit was that no matter how much he wrapped his head around doubts and worries, the situation of the elves would not change.

“But isn’t it necessary to make at least the minimum effort to find a way to overcome the situation?”

“In the end, it is just wishful thinking. No one can guarantee that. As you said, the past thousands of years have guaranteed it.”

It will get better tomorrow.

It will get better next year.

As I continued to think like that, 100 years passed, then 1000 years passed.

But instead of getting better, the situation only got worse.

“The meeting just needs to proceed to the point where the status quo is maintained. The Leaf Elder is capable, so he could probably do it on his own.”

“I was about to collapse! No matter how long an elf’s lifespan is, if you just roll around like that, your life will be short!”

“Why are you accusing me of that? I handed over most of my authority to him. “If other elders do not attend meetings, it is purely their choice.”

“Well, you, the funniest adult!”

Zion tried to raise her voice but ended up failing.

The children trapped behind bars were shaking.

Anyway, the human children had nothing to do with him, and he usually felt like animals that he could never sympathize with, but now he was somehow concerned about the children’s reactions.

Why?

Zion couldn’t figure out the reason.

“…That’s it. “The stem elder must have a reason for doing so.”

In the end, I lowered my voice with a sigh.

I didn’t expect to get anything from the conversation here anyway.

“But I cannot allow such barbaric acts to occur. “I heard that in order to summon a god, you need a huge amount of magic power and the soul of a living being. Are you really planning on sacrificing elves?”

But the reason I came here was because of anxiety.

Invoking God requires a huge sacrifice.

The sacrifice required for that sacrifice had to be the souls of all the elves or hundreds of thousands of humans living in this land.

This was an unacceptable act for either party.

“Of course not. “We shouldn’t have to sacrifice more elves, who are already so few in number.”

“Then do you plan to go outside and slaughter humans?”

“No, if you do something like that, you will be criticized by your compatriots outside.”

“Then how on earth…”

“Aren’t you already seeing it with your own eyes?”

“!”

After hearing those words, Shion looked at his surroundings more closely.

“If a burdensome amount of sacrifice is needed, you can prepare a high-quality offering even if the number is small.”

Now I see that the children trapped behind the bars all contained an unbelievable amount of magical power within their bodies.

Originally, most human magical power was insignificant to elves, but the children here had magical power comparable to that of elders beyond elves.

“I wonder what you were doing here-“

“Yes, I was making an offering. “There was a lot of trial and error at first, but now we are close to completion.”

“Isn’t it dangerous? “If those kids rebelled against us…”

“There is no need to worry about that. I’m sure the magic power I have is enormous, but I won’t be able to use it. “We have already prepared all such safety measures in advance.”

Even so, there are still unresolved questions.

Where on earth did they get that enormous amount of magical power?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear the answer.

“Well, it’s about time. I will go back. And from now on, entering the underground without permission is prohibited, so please follow the master’s wishes and ask the elves to do it.”

“Wait a minute! “What I haven’t asked yet is-“

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“If we elves are destroyed, it must be God’s will. “If I survive, it will also be God’s will.”

The stem elder sent Zion outside, saying it was time, and even blocked the entrance.

All he left behind were riddle-like words.

“…”

Shion bit his lip and clenched his fists.

He said there was nothing he could do now.

No matter how much she is a genius and the granddaughter of the highest elder, she is still young and is far below the elders in both skill and position.

“…It is God’s will.”

Honestly, I still don’t think there is a God.

But if there is a God, he would have a truly mischievous personality.

‘But I couldn’t offer a counterargument.’

Furthermore, if you think about it, what the stem elder said made sense.

In the beginning, the stem elder helped his grandfather establish the discipline of the other elders, and rarely participated in meetings and expressed opinions.

Honestly, didn’t the elder of the leaf do most of the work?

So perhaps the status quo was maintained.

However, because there were no workers, only the elder leaves turned into fallen leaves and were on the verge of falling to the ground.

‘I need to look for other elders.’

Zion hurriedly took his steps.

Do we know whether God’s will is one way or another?

He just quietly does what he can.

†††

A few months later.

“Elder of the roots, what is this…”

The elder of the leaves blinked her eyes in surprise and asked.

“Well, whatever. “We are starting meetings that have been delayed for a while.”

“But how come there are other elders in the conference room? “No matter how many times I called them, everyone ignored them and didn’t even show their faces?”

The reason the Leaf Elder was so surprised was because most of the elders were present in the conference room.

Although two seats were still vacant, it was an incredible sight to see that if you include those for the Leaf Elder and Zion, as many as ten seats were filled.

“I brought them into submission by force. “Everyone was joking around or having fun outside.”

“…Oh my God, my ancestor.”

It’s all thanks to Zion’s efforts.

Go directly to the elders who do not attend the meeting and try to appease them with words. If they do not appease you, use your fists to appease them.

Of course, all the elders resisted, but with the exception of the stem elders, there was no one for Zion to fear.

Even after going to the human world, he never neglected his training, and with his unique extreme personality, we can confidently say that he is the best among elves when it comes to combat magic.

“Wasn’t that a little harsh?”

Is that why?

Most of the elders were in the conference room with bandages or splints on one part of their body.

At least one person was not seriously injured, but his body had swelled to the point where it was noticeable.

This is probably because he was so enamored with human food that he devoted himself to eating for 100 years.

“This is the result of their own choices. “If you want to blame yourself, blame your past self.”

“Well, that should be it. But, as expected, neither the stem elder nor the branch elder were present?”

It was a happy event, but I also felt sad at the same time.

The stem elder, who was still the most senior among the elders, did not appear, and the branch elder who was in the next position was also absent.

“Elder Stem said he would step down and focus on his task. And the elder of the branch… I couldn’t find him.”

“Isn’t it true that you suffered a misfortune? “During this meeting, the safety of the elder of Gazi must be given priority…”

The stem elder was said to be underground, but the branch elder could not be found until the end.

If anything, even if the tribes of the branch are not official elders, they elect separate elders to manage their own tribes.

In fact, he was basically missing, so I eventually gave up.

No trace of her could be found on this land or in the outside world.

In fact, calling in other elders was completed in a week, but finding the branch elders took the most time.

“There is no need for that. Elder Gaji is the most powerful among our elders. “You can’t mess with the demon lords and warriors outside.”

The only threats that pose a threat are the elves of the same race.

“I guess so. Whether he is the Supreme Elder or the Stem Elder, he always holds on tightly to the reins.”

Perhaps the reason the stem elders do not attend the meeting is because the branch elders have disappeared.

At this point, without her supreme elder, the only thing that could control her was the elder of her stem, and in fact, the elder of her stem was always stopping her rampage during her meetings.

Honestly, that’s all the elder of the stem did.

In other words, it means that you are no longer needed.

“First of all, I am relieved that this much has gathered and the meeting begins. “First, we quickly handle the backlogged work.”

“Yes, let’s do it! “I was worried about what would happen to the elves after the Supreme Elder passed away… but I guess I’m lucky that the Root Elder is here!”

“…What. “Compared to his previous grandfather, he is still far behind.”

There was a hint of laughter at the words of the leaf elder.

There was still something about Shion that felt uncomfortable and bothered her, but she couldn’t figure out why, so for now she had no choice but to focus on the task in front of her.

After all, there is nothing more important and important than the future of the elves.

“Then let’s start the meeting! “There is a lot of work that has been overdue for 100 years, so let’s all do our best to sort it out!”

The leaf elder smiled brightly, but the other elders did not.

This is because a huge amount of work that had been put off until now was welcomed.

In fact, Zion, who was on vacation, had the least amount of work.

Compared to Zion, who organized things little by little from the outside and delivered them, the other elders seem to have completely let go.

‘Is maintaining the status quo the best…’

But Shion vaguely realized that he still couldn’t go any further than this.

No matter how hard the other elders worked together and dreamed of the future, the reality was not so easy.

‘If that’s the case, I’ll do my best.’

For this reason, I will do my best to maintain the status quo.

Even though we may not be able to rise above, we will never allow the elves to fall into the abyss.

That was Zion’s resolve.

And surprisingly, maintaining the status quo was going smoothly.

In addition, as a result of introducing the human culture brought in from outside little by little, the birth rate increased slightly and there was a change in the elf culture.

Of course, there were side effects, but they were worth enduring in order to move forward.

Maybe there is a future for the elves.

I almost had that thought.

It was like that for about 50 years after Zion returned.

“The meeting will begin. “All elders are ordered to attend this event.”

Until the underground door that had been closed for a long time opened.