“I’m freaking hot, seriously.”
“Just bear with it a little longer.”
“Quick, use some healing already.”
“First, we need to disinfect.”
I was receiving treatment for the gash on my left eye from Lucian in the infirmary.
After the disinfection, Yerim’s healing ability followed.
Of course, it only sped up the natural recovery process.
Still, it was nice not having to get my eye stitched.
“You really cut deep. I can’t get rid of the scar.”
“It’s okay. The scar on my left eye is a symbol of my pride.”
“Why not just get a prosthetic arm too?”
A scar and a prosthetic?
If I were a man, I couldn’t accept that.
“How far would I have to cut my arm to get that?”
“This is just insane.”
As soon as I left the infirmary, I headed to the sparring ground where Hyeji was taking her test.
Luckily, I wasn’t late.
They were still in a standoff.
Fortunately, Kyoukyou was nearby, so I sat down next to her.
“Oh, it’s Maneki-neko-chan!”
“Have you made a lot of money?”
“I’m going to Mars now, wwwwww.”
“Too bad you can’t do it with Dogecoin, so keep that in mind.”
“Huh? Really? A Shiba Inu is deceiving me?????”
That coin won’t do. F*ck.
I bought in at 600, you dog bastards.
“How about contributing to the school tuition instead of that worthless coin?”
“Then I’m going to art school, wwww.”
It was chilly.
Suddenly, someone came to mind.
“Kyoukyou? Even if you fail art school, don’t think too extreme, okay?”
“Shinwoo-chan is always weird, www I won’t commit seppuku even if I fail, wwww.”
Well, seppuku is fine.
But being a dictator? No way.
If World War III breaks out, I’d get dragged into it.
“Kyoukyou, if you become a dictator, recognize me and Hyeji as honorary Aryans.”
“I have no idea what that means, www But I’ll take responsibility for Shinwoo-chan and Hyeji-chan, www.”
Thank goodness.
At that moment, Hyeji’s fight with Jeong Ahyeon started.
Previously, Hyeji’s main combat means were bullets, hammers, and pure physical force.
But now it’s different.
She was just a monster.
With a “screw the weapons prohibition treaty” attitude, Hyeji unleashed a variety of chemical weapons that no one had ever seen or heard of, starting from white phosphorus grenades.
UN would be in real trouble if they came to see this, Hyeji.
No matter how you look at it, this is a violation of international law.
Of course, Jeong Ahyeon had also developed to some extent.
As seen earlier, instead of a simple numbers game, she gradually began to pressurize with a certain number of summoned beasts.
Restricting the movement paths, she summoned a slime for the decisive blow.
However, her opponent was unfortunate.
By chance, she had to face off against the overly strong Hyeji.
Explosion. Gunpowder. Biochemical.
Armed with insane weapons reflecting the brutality of humanity, Hyeji couldn’t be stopped.
“Allahu Akbar!!!”
Chiiying!!!!
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
Pewww!
Slime or whatever, in the face of overwhelming violence, it’s just trash.
Indeed, only lead and gunpowder can grant us peace.
The result was perhaps obvious.
It concluded with Hyeji’s one-sided victory.
Seeing that, Kyoukyou cackled and chimed in.
“That’s just Nisse Martial Artist, wwww.”
Jeong Ahyeon, stuck in her seat, finally crumpled down, as if she overheard Kyoukyou.
But it indeed was strange.
While her outfit and speech seemed to mimic a martial artist…
’But looking at her actions, she’s just a one-trick spellcaster.’
The application of her abilities was far from that.
Before long, Hyeji was seen coming towards us.
So Kyoukyou and I proudly welcomed Hyeji’s ‘return in glory’.
It seems excessive to call it ‘hero’s return’ after defeating a trash opponent.
As soon as she arrived, Hyeji pointed at my eye.
“Shinwoo, why is your eye such an idiot?”
“Only my eye is an idiot.”
“???”
“???”
“Your whole face is an idiot, wwwww.”
While exchanging sharp comeback banter, Kyoukyou suddenly landed a critical blow.
Not liking the look of it, I smacked Kyoukyou’s head.
“Shinwoo-chan! You shouldn’t hit girls!!!!”
“Equal rights. Deadpool taught me to do this.”
Kyoukyou was fussing over her head.
Seeing her act so dramatized even though I didn’t hit her that hard, I contemplated whether to smack her again.
Meanwhile, Hyeji spoke to me.
“So, Shinwoo, what are you planning now?”
“Hyeji, do you remember the vow I made with that Ear Goblin?”
Hyeji’s expression suddenly hardened.
A chilling gaze followed.
“That doesn’t mean I’m banned from approaching you. I’m not interested.”
“No, this is for the big picture; please just take a look at it once.”
“I don’t care. Just go away.”
“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”
It didn’t feel like she would listen to me at all.
Adding the final nail to the coffin.
“You always do this.”
“F*ck.”
Hyeji shot back at me sharply.
She was definitely all hyped up when she fought Jeong Ahyeon, but now she was treating me so coldly.
Suddenly looking like she was in a bad mood.
No matter how many times I tried to soothe her, it didn’t seem to do much, leaving me frustrated.
‘What’s going on? I’m really scared.’
Anyway, I returned to the dormitory.
I had to prepare for Lucian’s grim future.
*
As mentioned before, there was to be a vote to elect a representative for the World Tree’s welcome, held at the Academy this time.
Given it was taking place in an external dimension, it was rather unusual.
You might not know this.
That’s perfectly understandable.
I often forget it myself.
In such cases, just reread Chapter 20 for a bit.
I’ll read it too.
Anyway.
The election period starts after midterms, from the time each candidate gives their representative speech.
A two-week promotional period for the election.
And on the final day, a vote will be held to select the representative for the World Tree.
Given its significance to the Elves, many elves come to observe, disregarding the place.
Regardless of age or tribe, they come, and that applies equally to the Academy where the vote is taking place.
Thanks to that, elves began arriving one by one a few days before the candidates’ speeches.
Of course, since the Academy has some reclusive characteristics, access control is pretty strict.
If outsiders don’t fill out the application with accurate information, they won’t issue temporary access passes.
Thus, conflict between the access control department and visiting elves is somewhat inevitable.
“Sir, please write your address in road name. Saying ‘the fourth house on the right of the big ash tree’ won’t reveal your exact residence.”
“How dare you insult the expression of elven homes!!!”
“Madam! You need to write down your occupation! You can’t just say ‘the second daughter-in-law of the Red Stump Tribe’!”
“The High Elf tribe’s family relations can count as a job! You ignorant ones!”
It’s the usual troubles caused by common elven thick-headedness.
The younger elves aren’t as extreme as them.
“You wrote your age as 15, is that correct?”
“I came alone because I couldn’t find my sister, I thought I’d register first.”
“You wrote ‘Spirit Master’ in the occupation box; please change it to unemployed. Currently, that occupation isn’t registered in the system.”
“…..Can I write freelancer instead?”
There were definitely issues, but overall, the clash of opinions between the access control department and the elves continued to escalate.
The access control department had a very simple and solid reason for not letting unknown individuals in.
On the other hand, elves encountered few cases of elves directly coming from external dimensions, so they didn’t think about such stringent processes.
Also, due to their pride in being long-lived, they often pushed their way through.
From this, it seems reasonable to side with the Academy’s access control department.
However, the world doesn’t always operate rationally.
At the point where even High Elves were pushing through, the higher-ups of the Academy gave orders for all elves to have free passage.
As a result, any elf could just walk in.
There’s nothing to be done.
No matter how thorough the Academy is, when a higher-ups say, “Proceed,” you follow silently.
Of course, when issues arise, the responsibility falls on the one who let them in.
It’s the innocent many who suffer due to the foolish decisions of the higher-ups.
Such is the intensely Korean and idiotic nature of the Academy.
*
Lucian was currently waiting for Kim Shinwoo.
Tomorrow is the day for the World Tree’s welcome representative candidate speeches.
A very important and meaningful day for Lucian, who is running for office this time.
However, what currently occupied Lucian’s mind wasn’t that.
“How did he gain such power?”
He clearly received information that he was an ability user.
Even though his combat skills were quite high, there was no special ability.
He was done for, Kim Shinwoo.
He should have been finished with that.
But for some reason, at the last moment, Kim Shinwoo suddenly began to fight back.
“He must have used some trick. I’ll uncover it without fail.”
A breeze blew through the barren land left behind, void of his brilliant blonde hair.
A brief chill washed over me, and my heart began to ache.
Covering it would usually look better, but the last remaining pride of a High Elf wouldn’t allow it.
As I gently ran my fingers through my hair, the brilliant blonde was no longer felt.
Suddenly, memories of my wives came to mind.
Recalling the no-approach order until my hair grew back, my heart sank once again.
After a moment.
Finally, Kim Shinwoo arrived.
Without any pleasantries, he handed over a folded piece of paper.
“What’s this, short-lived race?”
“It’s time to honor our vow, ear goblin.”
“What’s this scrap of paper even worth?”
“It’s what you’ll say during your candidate speech tomorrow.”
I couldn’t believe it.
Was he willing to fight so hard for just this?
I couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
“This is a joke! You challenged me for this garbage?”
“Just make sure to open the paper and read it accurately during your speech tomorrow.”
“Are you taking orders from another elf to make me say this?”
“No, I’m doing this because you’re a pain. If you don’t comply, your head will roll per the vow.”
It was laughable.
There’s no way a few words could overturn the results.
Whatever I say, it won’t change the fact that I’m becoming the representative for the World Tree.
“This is amusing! No matter what you do, I’ll still be the representative!”
“Fine. I’m leaving, ear goblin.”
“Just get lost!”
Kim Shinwoo rushed through, only saying what he needed to.
There was nothing further to discuss outside, so Lucian returned to the dormitory.
And he thought about the other candidates that came to mind.
‘No matter what, it’s impossible for that mutt to become the representative!’
It was a shame not obtaining Hyeji, but in the end, the title of the World Tree’s representative would be his.
That was a concrete belief he held.
Unaware of how things would unfold.
*
The day of the World Tree’s welcome representative candidate speeches.
But this day was also like a festival for the students.
No wonder, as all classes were canceled that day.
Of course, there’s no such thing as free liberty without payback.
However, it was a relatively cheap price to pay.
To receive a promised break, everyone had to attend the morning candidate speech.
And currently.
The speech venue was buzzing with numerous students and elves.
At this point, while an incident could easily occur, it wasn’t necessarily so.
For students, it was a time to fulfill that promised break.
For the elves, it was a precious moment, somewhat commemorative.
Ultimately, regardless of purpose, both groups valued this time dearly.
There was no reason for significant conflict.
Meanwhile, Hyeji, Kyoukyou, and I had already taken the front row seats.
It wasn’t out of interest.
It was merely to confirm whether the vow was being executed properly.
“Shinwoo-chan, why’d you move to the front with those magical beings!!!”
“Shinwoo, is there a reason to be up front? And what’s with that chainsaw?”
“I need to make sure my vow is being upheld. This is insurance.”
If anyone tried to escape, I’d be the one personally to cut their head off.
That was my resolve at the moment.
Just then, through the microphone, a loud voice began to echo.
“From now on, we will begin the candidate speeches!!!!”
After the host finished speaking, the room plunged into darkness.
In the blink of an eye, darkness enveloped us.
As the darkness continued, everyone’s voices gradually quieted.
In that moment where no light could be seen, a spotlight illuminated the candidate’s stage.
“The first candidate speech is for candidate number 1! The eldest son of the Pond Leaf Tribe! Lucianer!!!”
As the host’s voice rang out, Lucian stepped forward slowly.
Though his lack of a head made an awkward appearance, his strides were vastly different.
That alone briefly illustrated what a High Elf represented.
Finally arriving at the podium, Lucian glanced around, his confidence grew, and a smug look appeared on his face.
He probably thought he had already won.
But as he unfolded the paper I had given him,
Lucian’s expression just died.
His pupils swirled, unable to focus.
Despite not being hot, he suddenly started to sweat.
His breath became irregular due to the shock.
Lucian stood there, unable to utter a word, trembling his lips until our eyes met.
I grinned ominously while raising the chainsaw with my left hand.
Simultaneously, I mimicked the act of slicing my neck with my right hand.
That was my silent message.
【Your neck will roll.】
Meanwhile, questions began to arise among the crowd.
Earlier, Lucian had appeared confident, but now he stood silently like a malfunctioning robot.
With no time to delay, the host urged him again.
“Candidate Lucian! Please proceed with your representative speech!”
“Ah, understood.”
Lucian had no other choice.
Shakily, he grabbed the paper I had given him.
Then, Lucian’s mouth slowly began to open.
“Dear everyone, what I will say right now is just one thing.
On behalf of the Pond Leaf Tribe. No, on behalf of all elves, I convey.
This statement represents the common opinion of all elves.”
At that moment, a voice rang out.
“That’s right! Lucian’s statement is the opinion of every elf here!”
“””That’s right!!!”””
“Hey! Be quiet!”
It seemed to be elves supporting Lucian.
A brief commotion passed, and once again everyone waited for Lucian’s statement.
Lucian looked like he was going to burst into tears.
In his eyes, regret for his ambitions lingered.
However, a vow is a vow.
Someone has to uphold it.
After a long silence, finally, Lucian’s lips parted once more.
“The, World Tree is… just a big tree.”
As soon as his words ended, Lucian fled the podium, almost as if escaping.
The outrageous shock statement was followed not by cheers but by a profound silence.
The silence didn’t last long.
In no time, the elves’ loud outcry began to shatter the quiet.
Of course, this was the spectacle I had been expecting all along.
You dog goblins.
To you, this isn’t a festival but a funeral.
You bastards.
