CHAPTER 39
039 - Heading to New York
Morning dawned. The White Tower was welcoming a guest first thing in the morning.
The queen's handmaiden greeted the guest politely at the tower's main entrance.
"Welcome, Lady Garcia."
"I'm not late, am I?"
"You are earlier than the appointed time, so it is fine. Her Majesty has been waiting for quite some time, however."
"Ah!"
The one summoned to the tower by the queen was Rona Garcia. A knight of the royal palace and one of the few 5th Floor knights in the entire Delphinia Kingdom.
Hearing that the queen was waiting, Rona quickened her pace.
It was quite common for her to be summoned like this, usually to serve as the queen's conversation partner.
'I'm the only one her age in the palace.'
The High Elves who managed state affairs in the royal palace were mostly over 400 years old, and it was common to find Elves over 800.
The queen was 151, which was not just young but practically a child compared to them.
With such a large age gap and the heavy responsibility of being the queen and the Priestess of the World Tree, no one treated her casually.
Rona, who had entered the palace at a young age, was the queen's closest knight and friend.
"Your Majesty. I have brought Lady Garcia."
"Rona!"
The queen, who had been staring blankly at the ground in the greenhouse garden on the tower's terrace, broke into a wide smile and ran over upon seeing Rona.
Her innocent, puppy-like demeanor warmed Rona's heart. For Rona, who also found the palace stifling, meeting with the queen, who was her peer, was a time she could relax.
"The tea and refreshments have been set up over here. Please enjoy your time."
The handmaiden, Shere, set down a perfectly arranged tea set and departed with a polite bow.
Her every movement was overflowing with grace, as she was by no means of humble birth. She too was a High Elf, the daughter of an elder from the council.
"Come, come, sit here, Rona."
"Yes."
With Shere gone, the queen became even more relaxed. She had Rona sit across from her and personally poured her tea.
"What is the occasion today?"
"Mm. I wanted to hear more stories about the outside world."
As expected. That was the only reason the queen would summon her.
The queen, born from the noblest flower of the World Tree, was a priestess chosen by the World Tree from birth.
She had never left this tower and was destined to spend her entire life here until she died.
Compared to Rona, who traveled through the Gates, encountering and clashing with all sorts of beings, her life could be called extremely constrained.
Trying not to let her pity show, Rona rested her chin on her fingers.
"I see… Shall I continue with the story of the 5th Floor from last time?"
"Mmm~ It's true that there are almost no other knights who can tell me about the 5th Floor besides you, but…"
The reason Rona, at the young age of 200, could become a royal knight and even have private audiences with the queen was because she was one of the few 5th Floor knights in the kingdom.
A 5th Floor knight, as the name implies, was a being capable of operating on the 5th Floor of the Gate.
There were only a handful of such individuals in the entire kingdom, and not a single one was as young as Rona. It was safe to say that Rona was the only one who could tell the queen stories of the 5th Floor in a friendly manner.
"If the 5th Floor isn't to your liking, how about a battle on the 3rd Floor? The faction wars on the 3rd Floor are fought in a very unique way, so there are many interesting episodes."
"Rather than that, um, well…"
"?"
The queen's behavior was strange. Seeing her fidget, Rona quickly understood the reason.
The queen already had something she wanted to ask. But for some reason, she was hesitant to ask it.
She could speak comfortably with her, so why was she hesitating?
"Your Majesty. Whatever question you ask, I will answer it with all sincerity. And of course, I will keep it an absolute secret from those stuffy elders."
"R-Really? You'll really keep it a secret?"
"I have never told the elders a single story we have shared, Your Majesty."
Rona's words were 100% sincere.
Beyond a simple relationship of loyalty between a queen and her knight, she treated the queen with even greater devotion.
If her stories could add even a little color to the queen's white-only life, forever confined to the White Tower…
As a knight, or as a friend, there would be nothing more rewarding.
Thus, she coaxed the hesitant queen, and finally got her to speak.

However.
"I-It's because there's a man I'm interested in…!!"
"...Pardon?"
"Actually, I saw a human man yesterday…"
Rona wore a dumbfounded expression.
Did I hear that right? The words "human man" coming from the queen's mouth.
"I don't know his name or face, but I saw his soul for a moment. Mother World Tree showed me."
"Ah, I-I see. You can tell if someone is a human or an Elf, and even their gender, just by looking at their soul?"
"Yes. Seeing souls is my job, after all."
The World Tree's greatest role was to use souls as nutrients to blossom new life.
For the priestess who had tended to the World Tree her entire life, seeing souls was an ordinary task.
"Why would Mother World Tree show you the soul of a human man?"
"I don't know either. But I've been thinking about it since yesterday… So, Rona, do you have any stories involving humans? Preferably with a man, if possible."
"I can't say I don't… but that's…"
Rona swallowed dryly and averted her gaze.
She hadn't told any of her fellow Elves about her encounter with Jinwoo.
To Elves, especially those who frequented the Gates, humans were nothing more than a source of souls to be offered to the World Tree.
Beings to be harvested without a second thought upon meeting.
Therefore, talking about humans among Elves would only stir up trouble and lectures. She hadn't told anyone until now and had no intention of doing so in the future.
"You do! Please, you have to tell me. I'll just use it as a reference."
"A reference for what?"
"You know, like what humans like and dislike, that sort of thing."
But she couldn't push away the young queen who was leaning in with eyes full of curiosity.

Jinwoo stayed in Vellen, Mari's village, for three more days.
Of course, since the village itself was completely destroyed, all he did for those three days was watch the reconstruction work.
Still, he occasionally helped carry materials, served as a conversation partner for the young Elves who were curious about humans, and was dragged around here and there by Mari and the other young Elves.
They were enjoyable days in their own way, and he felt he had blended into the village a little.
After three days had passed, the Gate opened.
'It's time to go back.'
He told everyone he was leaving. Since they already knew he was a human who would eventually leave, the villagers saw him off without any fuss.
Only Mari clung to Jinwoo's leg, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't go, don't gooo."
"I have to go, Mari. I'll come back again."
"Again? When again?"
Jinwoo was at a loss for words. Usually, in situations like this, you'd say something like, "I'll be back after ten nights' sleep."
But that was a promise he couldn't keep. He intended to come back someday, but he had no plans to do so in the near future.
"Mari, you mustn't be so stubborn."
"Mommy…"
In the end, Mari's mother came and took the crying child. Jinwoo gave her a grateful nod.
"Well then, Elder. I'll be on my way."
"Yes, feel free to visit anytime. The village of Vellen will always welcome you."
After exchanging final goodbyes and saying farewell to Mari one more time, Jinwoo entered the Gate.
[1st Floor: Primitive Forest]
[Find the Blue Portal. If you wish to return home.]
Since he had entered the Gate from the Elves' world, he naturally arrived in the Primitive Forest.
Now, all he had to do was find the blue portal here and enter it again. But this time, he had to keep his wits about him and not let the Ego Sword drag him away.
"You're not going to do that again, are you?"
"Kii, kiiing…"
The Ego Sword let out a dejected sound, as if it couldn't be sure. Then again, it wasn't as if the Ego Sword controlled the pull within the portal, so what was the point in blaming it?
Jinwoo's steps were incredibly light and swift as he searched for the blue portal.
He had learned as much as he could from watching Mari's movements and had mastered the Elven gait. Of course, he couldn't imitate it perfectly, but he could mimic it well enough.
As a result, his search speed had increased significantly, and he was able to find the blue portal in less than a day.
Next to it was the red portal leading to the 2nd Floor.
'I'll go back to the 2nd Floor later.'
For now, the blue portal was the priority. As he walked towards the blue one, Jinwoo glanced briefly at the red one.
'Later, I'll have to find the Altar of the Moonlight Forest on the 2nd Floor.'
Combining the records of the Elf world he heard from the elder, the information he himself possessed, and the information about the 2nd Floor, he came to the conclusion that the God of the Moonlight Forest was the World Tree.

And at the same time, the conclusion that it was a Lord of Erosion.
It was just a record passed down through the ages, and even that wasn't a written document but something he had heard orally from the elder, so none of it was certain. But it was worth investigating.
'How do I confirm that the God of the Moonlight Forest is the World Tree and a Lord of Erosion?'
He couldn't think of a way right now. Maybe something would come to him if he just went to the altar.
In any case, that was a matter for later. He had been away from home for too long.
Cheon Juhyeok was probably going crazy over his disappearance.
"Let's go."
"Kiing."
With the Ego Sword, Jinwoo jumped into the blue portal. This time, instead of being pulled by the sword, he gripped it tightly and let his own soul guide the way.
When he next opened his eyes, he saw a familiar ceiling.

"Phew."
As soon as he returned home, a sigh of relief escaped him. A breath carrying long-accumulated fatigue flowed out from the depths of his lungs.
'Wow, I was so tired.'
So many things had happened. There had never been a Gate expedition where so much had occurred.
It had been a lot of trouble, but he had also gained a lot.
Feeling a satisfying exhaustion, Jinwoo opened the refrigerator, took out a can of coffee, and drank it. Then, he checked his phone for the first time in a long while.
'All hell broke loose.'
As expected, his phone was flooded with all sorts of missed messages. When he opened his messenger app, it belatedly connected to the internet, and a flood of messages poured in.
"Looks like everyone thought I was dead."
Many of the messages were checking on his well-being, and later on, it seemed they had mostly concluded he was dead.
Jinwoo could understand why. He had fought an S-class Hunter and then disappeared, so it was natural to assume he was dead.
Cheon Juhyeok probably thought he had seen a ghost or a hallucination. Or maybe he thought Johann had been controlling Jinwoo's corpse.
As he checked their messages one by one, a message from Chartia caught his eye.
- Chartia: Jinwoo, where are you? I don't believe you would fall to someone as evil as Johann.
Her message was waiting for his safe return.
He couldn't tell from the text alone whether it was self-comfort to overcome her grief or if she was being sincere.
- Chartia: You're hiding and building up your strength to get some spectacular revenge on Johann, right? Please tell me that's what you're doing. Will you contact me when you return? I'll become your strength so we can screw over that bastard Johann.
In the last sentence, at least, he could feel a tremendous amount of anger from the text. He had never seen her speak so strongly before…
'I should call her right away.'
Jinwoo pressed the call button and found Chartia's number.
Trrr… Trrrr…
The phone rang. Twice, three times, four times. It kept ringing, but no one answered.
Eventually, a message played saying the person was unavailable, and Jinwoo ended the call.
"She must be busy."
She was probably in the middle of some important work. As an S-class Hunter, it wouldn't be strange for her schedule to be packed.
With no other choice, he called Ma Doo-sik instead. He was also a very busy person, so he thought he might not pick up, but…
—H-Hello?
The call connected.
"Yes, Mayor. It seems there's been some misunderstanding while I was away, so I'm calling to clear things up."
—Hunter Kang Jinwoo? Is that really Hunter Kang Jinwoo?
"Of course. Have you forgotten my voice already?"
The thought of the massive Ma Doo-sik with his round eyes wide in surprise was somehow amusing.
It was understandable that he wouldn't believe it. Who in the world would have guessed? That an E-class Hunter would fight an S-class Hunter and return alive and well.
However.
—Shoo! If you're a ghost, be gone!
Ma Doo-sik's trembling voice came through the phone. Jinwoo had to force himself to hold back a laugh. It seemed it would take some time to clear up this misunderstanding.
A short while later.
—It's really you! You really came back alive!
"That's what I've been saying. The one who died wasn't me, it was Johann. Did something happen because of that?"
—It wasn't just 'something'... Ah, no. That's not what's important right now! New York is in big trouble!
"Big trouble?"
Ma Doo-sik explained in an extremely urgent voice. His explanation was very short and concise, and in just three minutes, Jinwoo understood the entire situation.
'A minion of Erosion in New York?'
For the first time on this Earth, a minion of Erosion had appeared.
The fact that it happened to be in New York didn't matter to Jinwoo. He held a grudge against Johann and David, but the citizens of New York were completely innocent.

"Could you contact the Bureau and prepare a private jet for me? Destination: New York."
He had been home for only a short while, but it seemed there was no time to rest.