Chapter 509

Chapter 509

A low stone wall traced the gentle curve of the valley, marking a boundary as it followed the road. Beyond it, trees rose at regular intervals, spaced appropriately. They all looked like fruit trees.

"Quite the scale," Ian murmured, proceeding along the road in the middle of it all. He had put the wine bottle away in his pocket dimension and was holding only a cigarette between his fingers.

"It's thanks to the blessing of the Tree of Life," answered Diana, walking alongside him. She took a deep breath as if savoring the fresh air.

"There must be a Tree of Life nearby."

"If you go straight west, you'll find a forest. It's somewhere in there. Only the elder and a few guardians can set foot in it," Diana answered, tilting her head forward.

So that's why it's particularly green around here.

Ian brought the cigarette to his lips again, leisurely looking around.

Different kinds of trees lined both sides of the road. Between the branches, he spotted unripe fruit that looked a bit like plums. Farther off, the occasional wooden building, likely storehouses or distilleries, peeked through the trees.

"No matter how I look at it, it seems more efficient to grow things like wheat rather than fruit," said Ian.

She held a bluish, unripe fruit in one hand, something between a plum and a peach.

"Of course, that goes the same for the fruits harvested here."

"So everyone has their role."

"It's not written into law or anything. Honestly, wheat isn't exactly beautiful. It has its season, sure, but it's short."

So it was just a typical fairy-like reason.

Ian, who let out a soft laugh while exhaling smoke, glanced at Diana as she took a bite of the fruit. "In any case, if you fairies had planted Trees of Life all over the Empire long ago, I don't think anyone would have starved to death, at least."

Diana frowned slightly, as if the fruit was bitter, then looked up at him.

Ian tilted his head in response to her silent gaze. "Why?"

"Because it seems you didn't listen to anything I said before at all. Even though I talked for so long."

Ian, who paused for a moment, turned his gaze away. "Lucy listens diligently instead."

She always summarized the important parts when necessary. And Ian had plenty of more pressing things to think about.

Diana, who took the cigarette Ian held out without another word, smacked her lips briefly and added, "Raising a Tree of Life is not an easy task. It needs constant management, and even then, only the elder can do it."

Bringing the cigarette to her lips, she inhaled the smoke for a moment. Then, tossing the half-eaten fruit to the side, she said, "Besides, it takes hundreds of years to grow it to the point where it can sustain itself. Even if it does, I hear its growth stops if you don't keep managing it."

"Aha..." Ian recalled the Twisted Ancient Tree he had encountered on the frontier in the past. It had long been left unattended, but it had grown large enough to survive on its own.

If only the fairies had found it before it became corrupted…

It might have become a new source of hope for them. The surrounding land would've become much more fertile, too.

Of course, instead, a power centered around the fairies would have established itself nearby. There was no need to think deeply about how much the pointy-ears would look down on the people of the frontier.

"In any case, there's a Tree of Life in the capital. The families there manage it. I don't know the exact location. They're probably doing a good job on their own."

Ian nodded at Diana's words. That made sense. There were forests all over the central region.

"Besides, what you said isn't entirely wrong either. In the days when the great Tree of Life was still intact, I hear there were many families that raised saplings separately. They were probably trying to raise them well and find a new home."

Exhaling cigarette smoke, Diana continued, "Though not long after the great one burned, all but a few died. I hear the Tree of Life our family was raising died then, too."

"What happened?" Ian asked. He wasn't particularly curious—it just felt like she wanted to talk.

"I don't know either. All the records from that time were erased. Except for the oldest elders, there probably isn't a fairy who knows the exact details now. It happened long before I was born. Which means it was probably something deeply shameful. Just my guess, though."

Diana, exhaling a puff of smoke, added, "I wouldn't be surprised if the fairy families fought each other since the Tree of Life had become synonymous with power."

"If they erased all the records for that reason, that's also a very fairy-like thing to do," Ian answered, chuckling.

Diana didn't take offense in the slightest. In fact, she gave a short laugh of agreement.

Ian added, "That's how your family ended up being driven to the South, huh?"

"I hear they were in a pretty miserable state. They pledged allegiance to another family and barely got a branch of the Tree of Life to graft. Still, it's not like we lost everything."

She tapped the mask resting on top of her head. "My mask is made from the remains of the Tree of Life that died. There are a few more besides this one."

"So that's where you got the piece of Tree of Life…" Ian trailed off, then looked at her again as she took another drag from the cigarette. "So I guess you were pretty highly regarded in your family."

It was a thought he'd never had before. He hadn't cared enough to wonder.

As Diana looked up slightly instead of answering, Ian added, "An Aynas fellow said so before. That they didn't know the deep stories related to the Tree of Life or the family. That only the elder or the elder's successors would know."

"I won't deny it. But there's a lie mixed in what that fellow said. If you take just a little interest in the family's internal affairs, you can find out most things," said Diana.

So they were lying nonstop even right before they died.

Ian scoffed dryly, recalling the fairy he'd once killed.

Diana flicked the ash from her cigarette and said, "Well, thanks to that, I was born and raised in this backwater. Listening to the laments of the old folks who longed for the capital."

"Calling this place a backwater is rude to someone from the frontier."

"Maybe so. But it was like that for me, anyway. From the looks of it..." Taking another drag of the cigarette, Diana looked straight ahead. "It doesn't seem to have changed now, either."

Ian also looked ahead. Beyond, a city surrounded by low castle walls was getting closer. Ivy vines covered the castle walls in places, and lush trees could be seen beyond them.

"I had high hopes since that free city was so prosperous, but this place doesn't look like it's changed much. It's a little bigger, maybe, but that's about it. Still quiet and boring."

Contrary to her words, there was a smile on Diana's lips as she held the cigarette. She was taking in the sight of the people coming and going through the wide-open castle gate.

They were all dressed neatly in Imperial fashion, moving calmly and quietly. It felt like a different world from Ahram.

"Well, that's not bad news."

A smile was spreading on Ian's lips as well.

"It means my friend didn't completely ruin your family."

The image of a silver-haired, gaunt elder fairy flashed through his mind. To be honest, he couldn't even imagine how she was doing now. Time had passed far more quickly than it felt.

"With the head of the house still alive, she probably didn't have much choice, even if she wanted to. In fact, it probably prospered even more, now that the house has two elders."

With a smile on her lips, Diana continued. "As I said, the elders of each family take turns managing the Tree of Life periodically. Of course, there's a reward for fulfilling the duty, too."

"So the burden is less, and the reward greater."

A setup practically designed to keep power in the elders' hands.

As Ian added this inwardly, Diana nodded, looking at the approaching castle gate. "So as long as there's no problem with the Tree of Life, the family will continue to prosper."

"It might become more than that as time passes. As I said before, your family's new elder might become the last elder. Though who knows? The fall of the Black Wall might've marked the end of the twilight of magic." Ian cast a glance at the guards stationed on either side of the gate and gave a light shrug.

He wasn't sure. Since the Black Wall fell, he hadn't once used up a large amount of magic power. Still, he was quietly hoping.

Even if his magic recovered just as quickly as it had back in the Black Lands, things would become a lot easier going forward.

Of course, the possibility of being tainted by madness would also increase, but that was a side effect that didn't apply to Ian at all.

"Well, maybe even if that twilight of magic has ended, not much will change. I was quite surprised when I first heard that story from you. But come to think of it, there were signs even before that," said Diana.

She paused, then gave a slight nod in greeting to the guards. She didn't even bother removing the cigarette from her mouth.

The guards, while tilting their heads slightly, did not stop her and Ian. They were unfamiliar faces, but they must have thought there was no need to check the identity of a fairy who walked in smoking a cigarette.

Besides, both of them carried themselves too confidently to be ordinary travelers. As they passed through the gate, Diana said, "Even before I left for the battlefield, I had heard that the growth rate of the Tree of Life was slowing down to a strange degree."

"Even before the Black Wall rose?" Ian asked without much interest, taking in the city where trees rose lushly on the roadside.

The dense, dark clouds in the sky didn't seem to have any particular negative effect on the plants in this area.

Diana nodded. "Yes. It might be the aftermath of the great tree's death, or because the magic became murky due to the continuous wars. The elders probably didn't know the exact reason either. Even if they did, I wouldn't have known."

Letting out a strange, dry laugh, she took another drag of the cigarette and added, "Back then, I wasn't very interested in that problem. I was only thinking about moving to the capital."

Scanning the city, Ian shrugged one shoulder. "Must've been disappointing, then. You never got what you wanted."

"Not at all. It's better this way. If I had, I wouldn't have been able to be free from what will happen in the capital from now on."

At Diana's words as she shook her head, one corner of Ian's mouth curled up on its own. She already knew what was going to unfold between the Emperor and the Dark Prince.

Diana continued, "It was an overambitious ambition in the first place. I paid the price for it. Now, I just want to spend the rest of my life quietly."

"Seems like a good place for that. Quiet and peaceful."

Most of the people on the streets were human. Aside from a few fairies, there weren't any other races—no orcs, no beastfolk. Everyone looked well-fed and well-groomed, their expressions calm, almost solemn.

"Maybe too peaceful. Then again, I guess that's what happens when you live in a city run by fairies," said Ian.

Diana let out a low snort. "The one who oversees the city is a human noble from the capital. The two fairy families that have settled in the city decide on matters big and small together. Well, I don't know if it's still like that now."

"As long as the Empire hasn't fallen, things like that wouldn't have changed. So..." Ian, who had looked at the trees rising like streetlights on the roadside, finally asked, "How much further to our destination?"

"It's soon now. We're almost there."

"Really?" Ian jumped down from the saddle. "Then get on."

"Huh? Suddenly? Why?" Diana tilted her head and looked at him.

"You've returned after decades, it wouldn't look good to arrive on foot. You should at least be on a horse."

Diana only blinked.

Ian, who looked at her for a moment, asked, "Why, you don't like it because the horse is too small?"

"N-No! Of course not. I was just surprised, that's all—it caught me off guard. You have a knack for surprising me in the most unexpected ways," Diana added, finally shaking her head in fluster as she brushed away the drifting ash with her hand.

"Just get on. And get rid of those flowers you have in your hair and on your ear."

"Uh, right." With a sheepish smile, Diana fixed her hair and climbed up behind him, tossing the last of her cigarette onto the ground. The passersby didn't give the scene so much as a glance, clearly used to fairies behaving like that.

"Let me know when I need to change direction." Ian, holding the reins, started walking.

She hadn't meant for it to happen, but they had crossed countless brushes with death together. Letting her keep a bit of dignity was no trouble at all.

"Just go straight this way. If you turn left at the end, you'll see a high wall," Diana said in a much softer voice.

She looked down at Ian's back and added, "When we arrive, you just stand still, Ian. I'll take care of the rest. Let's give your friend a surprise."

"Well, that would be fun, too." Ian chuckled softly, though he couldn't help but wonder if things would really go the way she hoped.

They rode down the main road, and before long, Ian turned off toward the outskirts of the city.

A faint smile tugged at his lips a few minutes later.

"There it is."

A high, grayish-white wall was blocking the way ahead. Beyond it, only the roof of an Imperial-style mansion was faintly visible.

No one stood guard near the heavy wooden gate. It was understandable—no one in this city would be foolish enough to attack a fairy house.

"It hasn't changed at all," said Diana.

Ian glanced at her. Contrary to her tone, the smile was disappearing from Diana's face. In its place, a flicker of fairy pride lit her eyes as she lifted her chin slightly.

Well, I guess it suits her.

Letting out a hollow laugh, Ian finally stood in front of the closed main gate.

Diana added softly. "Would you knock on the door, Ian?"

"No reason not to," Ian, who answered readily and approached the door, knocked on the metal ring in the center.

Creak—

It was only a few seconds later that one side of the main gate opened slightly.

Through it, a young fairy wearing a steel helmet and holding a spear walked out.

"State your identity and the purpose of your visit," he said, looking up at Diana.

He looked up at Diana and spoke, ignoring Ian entirely, clearly assuming he was a servant.

"Diana. Diana Erenos."

At the immediate answer, the fairy guard's brow furrowed slightly.

Looking down into his eyes, Diana added, "The farthest-seeing guardian of the deep forest. The daughter of Aela has returned, so open the gate at once, little one."