At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 290
Helka smiled gently and pulled Jiwoo into his arms.
“Seo Jiwoo, you’re awake. We must have made quite a commotion.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Jiwoo checked the others who had gone out with Helka to make sure they had returned safely as well.
They were indeed coming back unharmed.
Marron, Night, and…
Wait. And?
Jiwoo’s eyes widened in surprise.
There was another man with them, one who resembled Marron and Night.
He stood between the two of them, his face twisted into a fierce scowl that was visible even from a distance. He stepped into the village as though every part of him resented being there.
A child of Ellandos with dark blue skin, one who had absorbed the poison of the tree’s roots and adapted to living underground, steeped in darkness.
That was… He was unmistakably from below.
“You can’t bring someone like that here!”
Especially not bound from head to toe in vines!
Helka patted the anxious Jiwoo soothingly before explaining in his usual deep voice.
“After hearing the circumstances, I judged that this may be a case requiring our intervention.”
“Then why did you bring him here… like that?”
“…”
Helkainis folded his arms and lifted only his eyes, offering no answer.
Jiwoo knew Helka tended to take some time before responding in situations like this, so she left him alone and turned toward Marron and Night instead.
They answered with bright smiles.
“Just because.”
“He annoyed us!”
“…”
What was she supposed to do with this?
Jiwoo had been told that it was an unspoken rule not to interfere in situations like this. Their trees had collided over something neither side could willingly surrender.
The first clash had already happened, and there was nothing to be done about that. Jiwoo had planned to endure the inconvenience quietly and avoid making matters worse.
But this looked as though they had dragged in a convicted criminal.
Even while bound, the stranger held his head arrogantly high. Then he noticed Jiwoo’s uneasy expression.
His lips twisted.
“Ha!”
It was an unmistakable sneer.
“Oh, so that is your El?”
Thump! Smack! Marron and Night each struck him on the head.
Even with his head forced downward, he strained to lift it again and glared at Jiwoo. The vivid red eyes visible through his coarse white hair were unsettling.
***
Jiwoo first moved everyone farther inside.
They sat around a single table. This was neither the kind of relationship nor the sort of situation in which tea and refreshments seemed appropriate.
Helka stood behind Jiwoo like a guard, while Marron and Night remained on either side of the prisoner like watchmen.
“Shaen.”
Smack! The moment he said it, Night struck the back of his head.
“Show some respect.”
Shaen gave a derisive snort, but obediently corrected his tone.
“My name is Shaen.”
“I’m Seo Jiwoo.”
Shaen had the dark blue skin characteristic of those born from the roots, sharply raised eyes, and irises as red as flowing blood. His attitude was anything but cooperative, yet his manner of speaking was refined.
“What… brought you here?”
“You seem to think I walked in here willingly.”
Jiwoo shook her head at Marron and Night, signaling for them to calm down. Shaen merely scoffed at her behavior before explaining his purpose.
“You already know something is wrong with the roots, so I won’t waste time explaining that. I’ll tell you what caused it, and then you’ll have to deal with it.”
The way he demanded that they deal with it made him sound like an innocent victim entitled to compensation.
Lugarmel had said the problem likely originated on the other side, but Jiwoo had also wondered whether their Tree’s movement had somehow caused the territories to overlap.
“A dimensional distortion appeared near our Tree, and we were caught in it. We tried to avoid it, which caused our territory to overlap with yours. If this continues, the roots of both Trees will become entangled and rot together. Come resolve it before the hollow expands any farther.”
“…What?”
“Do you never understand anything the first time?”
Shaen snapped irritably, then explained again.
A massive dimensional fracture had suddenly appeared in the territory originally governed by their tree, damaging part of it. The weakened tree had spread outward in an attempt to survive, and its territory had consequently overlapped with Jiwoo’s tree.
This was not a natural migration between trees. It had been caused by a newly formed dimensional void, which meant they could not simply wait for the territories to readjust as they normally would.
Because the event had happened so abruptly, the boundaries had never been properly established. The roots had tangled in haste, and if nothing was done, both trees would eventually rot.
Worse, the damaged region created by the twisted dimensions was far too vast for the Children of Ellandos to handle on their own.
The land itself had been compromised. Unless the underlying problem was resolved, healing only the weakened tree with the Akarna’s power would be nothing more than a temporary measure.
No one knew what would happen once the Akarna’s power faded again with time.
Jiwoo had not asked him to repeat himself because she failed to understand the situation. It was his attitude that confused her.
Based on everything he had said, Jiwoo’s side at least possessed a way to recover, even if it was only temporary.
His side was clearly in far greater danger.
“Wait, are you asking us for help?”
“Asking for help?”
Shaen frowned as though she had said something absurd.