Chapter 137 : Chapter 137

Chapter 137. I'm So Jealous (1)

“I have no choice.”

As suspicion was cast upon her, Elione took something out from her bosom.

At that, people's expressions changed again.

“Huh?”

“Ooh….”

It was a small branch the size of a baby's palm.

People who identified the small branch that was faintly emitting light were astonished.

There weren't many branches that the elven race would cherish and carry in their bosoms.

The identity of that was….

“It is a branch of the World Tree.”

As soon as Elione spoke, gasps of admiration erupted.

“As expected….”

“I’ve seen it for the first time.”

“Of course. Where else would you see this?”

“I can boast about this until I die. That I saw something amazing.”

The group looked at the branch of the World Tree as if they were seeing the most mysterious object in the world.

They didn't dare to reach out and touch it.

If even a speck of it broke, they would have no grounds for complaint even if they were torn to shreds and killed by the elven race.

The branch of the World Tree.

This was an object that only a very few elves who had received the blessing of the World Tree could possess.

It was a treasure of the elven race that increased one's communion with spirits just by possessing it.

Patrick also looked at it with interest.

‘The natural energy is incredible. Even the ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng wasn't this much.’

In his previous life, the most valuable spiritual herb Patrick had seen with his own eyes was the ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng.

The energy of that spiritual herb, in which a vast amount of energy was condensed, was also great, but the energy of that small branch was even greater.

The size of the energy might be smaller than the ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng, but it was the first time Patrick had felt such pure natural energy.

It seemed that if he cultivated his energy next to it, the efficiency would be several times better.

‘I want it.’

But unfortunately, Elione put the branch back in her bosom.

“I would like to use this as proof of my identity, would that be alright?”

“Well, for now.”

It was a precious object that could sufficiently guarantee her identity.

In the first place, being allowed to possess a branch of the World Tree was a great thing in itself.

Having completely cleared up the misunderstanding, she spoke once more.

“I will make a formal request. Please follow me and visit Evergreen.”

“First, I'll ask for the reason. Why? For what purpose are you inviting me?”

“There is something we need to ask of you, sir.”

“Yes, there must be. You wouldn't be calling me just to look at my handsome face, so there must be a request.”

At Patrick's indifferent reaction, his companions behind him whispered.

“Did that bastard just say he's handsome?”

“In front of the elves, no less.”

“He has no conscience.”

“He never had one, did he?”

“Ah… right.”

Patrick glared at his companions and then spoke to Elione again.

“I'll ask again. ‘Why?’ should I go? What are you trying to make me do?”

“……”

Elione couldn't speak, looking troubled.

After contemplating, she said….

“I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you that. It is a very important secret for our clan.”

“So you can't tell me the reason, but you want me to come anyway. Is that it?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“Then it’s easy to answer.”

“Thank….”

“I’m not going.”

Was it a rejection?

Patrick shrugged and said.

“Do you have anything else to say? If not, please leave.”

“Is there no way at all?”

Elione said desperately.

Her voice alone was seductive enough to melt a man's heart.

However….

“Yes. There is no way at all.”

It worked on some people, but not on others.

Patrick said in a nonchalant voice.

“You won’t reveal the reason, but you want me to just come? I cannot accept such a suspicious offer.”

“We elves, unlike humans, do not devise cunning schemes or traps. We simply need your help in all sincerity.”

“You say that in a way that offends the human listening.”

Elione hesitated for a moment and then said again.

“If you wish, we will pay a price.”

“A price? What kind of price?”

As Patrick showed interest, Elione said.

“I am aware that the silk, elven wine, and bows we make are traded at high prices among humans.”

“That's right.”

Silk was a bit of a tricky subject from Patrick's perspective, but it was a precious treasure nonetheless.

“We will periodically give you as much as you desire. Would you please grant my request?”

“In other words, you will give me the right to trade with the elven race?”

“That is correct.”

“That is quite tempting.”

In fact, it was very tempting.

The goods produced by the elven race were treated as precious by humans.

There was a story that a single bottle of elven wine was sold at an auction for a price exceeding the annual budget of a small fiefdom.

So it was tempting, but….

“I will still refuse.”

At that, screams of astonishment erupted.

“Heok?”

“No way?”

“Unbelievable.”

For the record, this was not said by the elves.

It was said by Patrick's companions.

They whispered with disbelieving expressions.

“Did that guy just refuse a money-making offer?”

“What? What did I just see?”

“This is more surprising than him winning the Arcana.”

“Am I dreaming?”

Even Isabella was pinching her own cheek to check if it was real.

‘I’m going to just whack these guys….’

Patrick sighed at his companions' reactions.

Yes, Patrick liked money.

No, it was no exaggeration to say that he loved it.

As a reaction to having lived in poverty in his previous life, he developed a habit of going crazy for money.

However….

‘No matter what, this is too suspicious.’

The reason cannot be revealed.

It is a very important matter.

We will pay any price.

‘It has all three elements of suspicion.’

Patrick was someone who had experienced all sorts of things in the martial world of Murim, where conspiracies and schemes were rampant.

To survive in the martial world, one must constantly doubt and doubt again, and never carelessly step into anything suspicious.

Even the Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon, who solved most of the world's problems by beating them up, knew that much.

What reason was there to deliberately step into a trap that was so obviously suspicious?

The elven race is different from humans?

What does he know about that?

They weren't some transcendent immortals, and you never know what would happen if a really urgent problem arose.

Patrick looked straight into the other's eyes and said.

“I refuse the offer. If you have no other business, please leave.”

A firm refusal.

At that refusal, which gave no room for negotiation, the other party was silent for a moment.

And then….

Seueuk.

She reached out and took off the mask that covered her face.

And then….

“Aah….”

“…Waaah”

“My goodness….”

It was hard to suppress the gasps of admiration.

Golden hair, smoother than the finest silk, flowed down over skin whiter than marble.

Her perfectly sculpted features were so beautiful that it was impossible to look away, captivating one's gaze.

And the moment she opened her eyes, her light green pupils added an enchanting color, as if the most beautiful gems in the world had been set there.

A race blessed with beauty.

It seemed they now understood why the elven race received such an evaluation.

I want to have her.

I want to possess her.

I want to make her mine.

These were people who had diligently trained and polished their minds and bodies to be chosen as representatives of their country, but the moment they saw the beauty of the elven race, an impulsive desire welled up.

And Elione, revealing her beauty, said.

“If you come, I can give you myself.”

At that moment, the others almost pushed Patrick's back and told him to go.

The effect of the elven race's beauty was so strong that they felt an intense temptation even though she wasn't offering to become theirs.

And Patrick….

“You're looking down on me.”

“Ah….”

“Stop your cheap tricks and get lost.”

He showed not a single point of wavering.

“Ah….”

For a moment, it was Elione who was surprised.

She knew how intense a human's desire for a beautiful person of the opposite sex was.

An ordinary human, regardless of good or evil, would have their heart shaken upon seeing her appearance.

But Patrick showed not a speck of wavering.

Patrick, in her eyes, was like a calm and settled lake.

‘How can a human be like that?’

In her flustered mind, a piece of knowledge momentarily flashed by….

“Are you perhaps a saint?”

“Huh?”

This time, it was Patrick who was flustered.

A saint?

Me?

Even the great Patrick was flustered by an evaluation he had never heard before in his past and present lives combined.

And Elione said.

“Most humans are strong in greed and desire, but I have heard that there are rare exceptions of noble individuals who have transcended desire, live a desireless life, and only practice good deeds.”

“Uh… there are. Such people….”

‘I call them suckers.’

Elione looked at Patrick without hiding her surprise and said.

“Are you, perhaps, also such a person?”

“It’s a bit… for me to say it myself.”

“Ah, as I thought….”

Elione's face brightened.

That appearance of humbly lowering himself without exalting himself.

Indeed, this person must be a saint who rarely appears among humans.

If so….

“I will tell you the secret of my clan. Please listen to the circumstances and then help us.”

“Keuheum, well, listening is possible.”

“Understood. Then, please have those around you leave. Only you, Saint, must hear my words.”

“Understood. Everyone, please leave…. What? What's with that rotten expression?”

Wouldn't you have one too if you were me?

* * *

Patrick and Elione were left to have a private meeting.

And as they were left alone, Patrick thought.

‘She's really pretty. So pretty it's almost too much. Is it okay to be that pretty? Shouldn't it be illegal?’

Patrick was busy observing Elione's beauty.

In fact, he thought he was quite used to beautiful women.

His wife in his previous life was called the number one beauty of Sichuan.

April, who served him by his side, was also a beauty who could ruin a country or two.

Even his mother, Ava, was a great beauty.

But Elione's beauty was different.

If human beauty was a splendid and vibrant beauty, elven beauty was so pure it was dreamlike.

A fleeting beauty that seemed as if it would disappear like an illusion if touched was right before his eyes.

If he stared blankly, he would be bewitched.

It was a beauty that stimulated the desire to possess the more he looked at it.

‘If I weren't a martial arts master, I would have been embarrassed.’

Patrick had been circulating his internal energy and straightening his mind since the beginning of this negotiation.

This was a habit from his previous life, for the purpose of managing his expression and maintaining composure during negotiations.

And when a master of Patrick's level circulates his internal energy to straighten his mind, he is not easily shaken by trivial matters.

However, that was when he was circulating his energy….

‘She's really crazy beautiful. I want to look at her again and again. Would Diaochan have been this beautiful if she were alive?’

“What is it?”

“Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu had a reason to fight over her.”

“…Yes?”

“No, it's nothing.”

Patrick cleared his throat and circulated his internal energy again.

The negotiation was not over yet.

Once they were alone in the private room, Elione said with a serious expression.

“You must keep what I'm about to say an absolute secret.”

“I will do so.”

Even after receiving confirmation, Elione bit her lower lip and hesitated.

What she was about to say was a top secret among the clan's top secrets.

Normally, it was something she should not tell an outsider, even if he was presumed to be a saint.

However….

‘There's no other way.’

Right now, the elven race was in a state of desperation, willing to clutch at straws.

In the end, she closed her eyes tightly and said.

“The lifespan of the World Tree is coming to an end.”

“The lifespan of the World Tree…. wait a minute. The World Tree? Are you talking about the World Tree that I know?”

“…That is correct.”

“What kind of nonsense is this? Isn't the World Tree a being with divinity? But a lifespan?”

The World Tree.

It was an object of faith for the elves, a being with clear divinity.

Just like the goddess of harmony, Yupinel, or the god of destruction, Kallaron, the World Tree also existed as an object of faith for the elves.

There was no way a god could have a lifespan, so what kind of nonsense was this?

Elione sighed and said.

“We don’t know the reason either. But the World Tree has already stopped blooming, and its leaves are withering.”

“Hmm….”

“We have investigated and researched in various ways, but we cannot find the reason. It only shows the typical appearance of a tree whose lifespan is coming to an end.”

Patrick grabbed the back of his stiffening neck.

‘This is a much more troublesome problem than I thought.’

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