CHAPTER 82
082 What Should I Do?
At first, Rona showed hostility. She must have sensed an unknown presence watching her.
But as soon as she recognized Jinwoo, her hostility melted away like snow.
She vanished from the view of his binoculars. In a single leap, she kicked off the ground and landed on the branch where Jinwoo was perched.
"Jinwoo!"
"It's been a while, Rona."
Her wide smile was filled with undisguised delight. Jinwoo, too, relaxed and greeted her. He was just as happy to see her.
"What happened? Why are you here?"
"It's a bit of a long story... Did you come to this village alone?"
"Yes. I was staying with the Elea family on some business, and I heard news that Dark Elves had appeared in this village."
The Elea family was the line of the lord to whom the village chief had sent the spirit.
Rona, who had been staying there as a guest, heard the news about the Dark Elves and volunteered to deliver the lord's message.
She said she felt she should at least run an errand like this after receiving such excellent treatment.
"And to think you were in that village, Jinwoo! It really pays to live diligently."
Her beaming smile was exactly the same as when they had last parted. Seeing it reminded him of their days in the waterfall cave.
Every day had been tough with the sword training, but they were also days filled with memories and a sense of accomplishment.
"Well, let's head back to the village for now."
"Is that okay?"
"It's fine. I know everyone in the village."
Rona's expression grew even more puzzled. It was strange enough that Jinwoo was in this world, but he was already acquainted with the village Elves?
Still, they couldn't keep talking on a tree branch, so she descended to the ground and returned to the village with Jinwoo.
When the two of them returned together, the village chief wore a bewildered expression.
"What is going on?"
"We know each other. We met in a Gate a long time ago."
The village chief said, "Ah," in understanding. Although she had never entered a Gate herself, she knew well what kind of place it was.
It was a place where one could befriend beings from other worlds. Conversely, it was also a place where one could make enemies.
"I was in the middle of introducing myself. I am Rona Garcia, a knight of the Royal Palace. I was indebted to the House of Elea for a matter and came to deliver the lord's message after hearing about this incident."
"A-A Royal Knight."
At Rona's unexpectedly high status, the chief flinched and became even more cautious.
To commoners like them, even being a knight of a noble High Elf family was a station to be looked up to. A knight belonging not to a family but to the Royal Palace was, by that fact alone, no different from a noble.
In fact, it was common for a Royal Knight to be treated with more respect than some lower-ranking, incompetent noble.
Faced with someone of a much higher station than he'd expected, the chief glanced around, unsure of what to do. He tried his best to hide it, his age giving him some composure, but he couldn't conceal the tremor in his voice.
'It seems status is more important in Elven society than I thought.'
Until now, he had only met Rona or the Elves of Velen Village, so he hadn't realized it. But seeing these two Elves interact, he could sense the weight of status in their society.
At this rate, there was likely a gap between a High Elf of a truly great family and a commoner so wide they couldn't even make eye contact.
'Is it because they are truly born different?'
In Earth's history, nobles and commoners were born the same. But Elves and High Elves were genuinely different from birth.
Where on the World Tree, and from which flower, they were born. And how many nutrients they received as they blossomed.
Those born as beings different from ordinary Elves were the High Elves, called nobles.
"The Lord has said that he cannot protect this village."
"What!? Did he really say that?"
At the cold reply, the chief's face fell as if his world was collapsing. Rona quickly waved her hands and spoke.
"Wait, there's more. He said that the Dark Elves' provocations have been frequent lately, and with limited troops, he cannot protect every location. Therefore, the Lord wishes for you all to move further inland."
"Inland, into the forest? Is that really alright?"
"Of course. He said he cannot stand by when not only your lives but also your souls are at stake."
"To make such a grand decision..."
The chief's eyes trembled. It wasn't a tremor of sorrow at having to abandon the village he had lived in. It was closer to being deeply moved.
Jinwoo was curious as to why, but he didn't want to interrupt the conversation, so he didn't ask. But Rona, as if she had uncannily read his mind, whispered to him.
"The deeper you go into this Fairy Forest, the purer and denser the mana becomes. That's why they don't let just anyone in."
He hadn't been deep into the forest, so he didn't know that. If so, was the Royal Palace built at the center of the forest?
'I thought Elves lived freely. They have more restrictions than I expected.'
Their statuses were strictly divided, and their living areas were separated. It seemed to be a more rigid society than he had imagined.
"It's stifling, isn't it?"
"Huh? No, well..."
Noticing Jinwoo's thoughts, Rona spoke with a self-deprecating smile. Jinwoo couldn't just openly agree with her question, so he just trailed off.
But even that was an answer. Rona shrugged and continued her conversation with the chief.
"It won't be an easy decision to abandon a home you've lived in for so long. Please discuss it thoroughly with the villagers and decide."
"If we decide to go..."
"I will escort you to your new settlement. There might be another Dark Elf attack on the way."
Hearing those words, the chief clutched his chest in relief. He then asked for their understanding and left to consult with the villagers.
"Jinwoo. You'll come with us, right?"
"I'll have to. I don't have anywhere else to go."
In truth, he did have a place to go. His goal was to infiltrate the Royal Palace and sneak into the White Tower.
But for that, he needed information, and more importantly...
'I need to find a chance to talk to Rona.'
He couldn't act separately from Rona, a Royal Knight.
Whether she knew his thoughts or not, Rona was simply happy to be traveling with Jinwoo again.

It seemed there were quite a few different opinions among the village Elves.
How can we just abandon our village? There's no guarantee the new place will be better than this one, and so on.
But in the end, they narrowed their opinions down to moving. They couldn't ignore the threat of the Dark Elves, and besides, there would be no other opportunity to build a nest deep inside the forest.
Ultimately, they packed what they could and began their journey deeper into the woods.
'They're not as slow as I thought.'
Even with young children in the procession, their pace wasn't particularly slow. It made sense, as Elves were a race where even five-year-olds were used to running and playing in the forest.
Of course, they didn't just run recklessly, as they couldn't afford to have stragglers or accidents.
"My spirits are watching over them, so you don't have to worry, Jinwoo."
Rona said this upon seeing Jinwoo looking over the procession.
Several white lights were floating around the villagers, who were moving through the forest in a long, single file. They were all spirits commanded by Rona.
"They're certainly reassuring."
"Right?"
He remembered when he had obtained the Ego Sword's spirit while fighting Johann. It was more like he had been able to handle it for a short time than truly obtaining it, but it had been more impressive than he'd expected back then.
With the spirit, he had been able to map out all the passages of the underground labyrinth, which made the battle against Johann much easier.
It was a bit ambiguous as a direct means of attack, but for surveillance and various other purposes, there was nothing better.
"By the way, you can tell me now, can't you? How are you here?"
The villagers were already on the move, and she was thoroughly protecting them using her spirits.
Thanks to that, they finally had enough time. Enough time to hear a long story.
"Thanks to this guy."
Viiing—
When Jinwoo showed her the Ego Sword, Rona looked at it curiously, but her eyes soon turned serious.
"This is a sword containing one of our souls, isn't it?"
"I got it when I first entered the 2nd Floor. There was a warlock named Johann..."
Jinwoo slowly recounted the events of that time.
How he came to fight Johann, how the man had an Ego Sword containing an Elf's soul, and how, after all that, he came out of a blue portal not to Earth, but to this Fairy Forest.
"At first, I was planning to hide in the forest and wait for the next Gate to open, but a servant of Erosion attacked the village. I ended up revealing myself while saving them and, one way or another, came to be treated as a benefactor."
Jinwoo explained everything, except for one detail: seeing the Eroded World Tree after defeating the Black Knight.
Even Permu hadn't taken that story seriously. Telling Rona would only plant unnecessary suspicion.
"I see..."
Rona closed her eyes as if she had just heard a very impressive story. Then she opened them slightly and smiled at Jinwoo.
"Thank you. For protecting them."
There was no need for more thanks. He had heard enough of that from the chief and the other Elves.
Having finished his story, Jinwoo turned the topic to her.
"More importantly, how have you been? You went to the 5th Floor, I heard."
"Yes. I went to the Dragon Star Realm recently, and there was this ill-tempered dragon... huh?"
She stopped mid-sentence, looking puzzled.
"But how do you know that?"
"Know what?"
"That I went to the 5th Floor. It's something only a few people in the Royal Palace know."
"Didn't you hear from Permu?"
At Jinwoo's question, Rona tilted her head.
"Permu? Who's... huh?"
Then, as if she'd heard something she shouldn't have, her eyes and hands began to tremble.
"P-Permu... you don't mean the Permu...-nim I know, do you? You don't, right?"
It wasn't a question for confirmation. It was a question hoping for a denial. But Jinwoo nodded, almost cruelly.
"That's right. Your Quee—mph!"
"Shh. Shush!"
Just as he was about to say Queen, Rona rushed at him with a terrifying look and clamped a hand over his mouth. She then frantically looked around.
Fortunately, there was no one else besides the Elves walking in a single file, and no one was paying attention to their conversation.
"Phew..."
"I guess you're not supposed to say that name freely."
"Of course! If those words came from a human, not even another Elf, what do you think they would think!"
It was a reasonable point, so Jinwoo said he understood. Rona then controlled the surrounding mana to prevent sound from leaking out and whispered to Jinwoo.
"What happened? How do you know Her Majesty's name?"
Even though she had blocked the sound, she did her best to avoid the direct word 'Queen'. Jinwoo answered, likewise avoiding direct mention.
"Because I met her."
"Met her!? How?"
"I met her in the tower. That's when I heard you two were friends. I thought you would have heard my story from her."
It seemed Permu either hadn't told her about their meeting, or couldn't.
There was also the possibility that she hadn't been able to tell her because they hadn't met recently. Rona had apparently been on the 5th Floor until relatively recently.
"How could you, Jinwoo, with Her—... ah, could it be? Are you the human soul she said she met once?"
"That was me."
"My goodness!"
It was a truly unbelievable story, and Rona was astonished. From what she had heard, the Queen's meeting with the human soul was something the Mother World Tree had shown her.
That meant the human soul, Jinwoo, had some kind of relationship with the Mother World Tree...
'But Jinwoo isn't an Elf, so why?'
She couldn't even begin to guess what relationship he, a human, had with the Mother World Tree. And she didn't know for what purpose the Mother World Tree had arranged a meeting between him, a human, and the Queen.
It was all a series of unknowns. And yet, Rona felt a sense of familiarity.
'Come to think of it, it's been like this since I first met him.'
When she first saw Jinwoo, an inexplicable whim had come over her. That whim had saved him, forged a connection with him, and now, here she was, walking with him in the Fairy Forest.
Throughout that entire process, there wasn't a single thing Rona could understand.
"In that case, could it be that you are here to..."
"I came to meet Permu. I have something to ask the World Tree."
He had planned to tell her when the time was right, but there seemed to be no better time than now.
Jinwoo stated the plain, unvarnished truth, and upon hearing it, Rona had no idea what to do.