The mountain, made of steel itself, embraced the dwarves, and the lake, vast as the sea, cradled the beastfolk.
The wide, expansive land became the home of the most numerous race, the humans, allowing them to claim it as their own for eternity.
And finally, the Great Forest took in the most beautiful race of all.
Each had its reasons.
In the process, there were undoubtedly moments of regret and sorrow.
If the dwarves were disappointed with their greed, the beastmen with their desire for reproduction, and humans with their conflicts, the reason the great forest was disappointed with the elves was none other than their inherent arrogance.
Arrogance.
Yes, one could concede that.
They were a race more than deserving of it.
Beautiful.
Strong.
Among the beings living on the continent, they lived the longest.
Blessed with mana from birth, they excelled in magic and had a high affinity with nature, making them close to spirits.
If a race born with such a destiny were not arrogant, it would be even more strange.
Thus, the Great Forest—Mother Forest—did not heavily blame the children she had nurtured.
She regarded the deviance of a few, or their occasional childish acts, as nothing to worry about.
After all, there were far more who lived quietly than those who displayed wrongful words and actions.
She believed there was nothing worse than blaming the majority for the mistakes of a few.
They will improve someday.
Even if they didn’t, they wouldn’t get worse.
They were such children.
Though arrogant, their nature wasn’t particularly cruel.
They were arrogant, but they had the right to be, so perhaps it was acceptable to a small extent.
But she had miscalculated.
She hadn’t anticipated that this arrogance would extend beyond the forest.
Among themselves, since they were all elves, their arrogance didn’t cross the line.
After all, if the other party was also an elf, how could one act superior alone?
If anyone dared to cross that line, the other elves would quickly band together to put them in their place.
But outside the forest—beyond its borders—such rules didn’t apply.
There were no other elves out there, and few races surpassed them.
The dwarves lived far away, so encounters were rare, and the same went for the beastfolk.
In the end, the only race the elves encountered were the humans, who, objectively speaking, were clearly lacking in many aspects compared to the elves.
That was likely the reason.
The elves excessively pushed the humans around.
Strangely, those who were fine in the forest, those who weren’t particularly arrogant, would become desperate to flaunt their greatness as soon as they stepped outside.
It was then that the forest sensed something was wrong. This couldn’t go on.
The more exceptional, the more beautiful, the more remarkable they were, the greater the magnanimity they should have shown.
But instead, her children were practically salivating at the chance to devour the humans.
[Don’t you know why? Look around you. Front, back, sides. Everywhere you look, they’re surrounded by their own kind, their unique arrogance tightly sealed within. And now they’ve found the perfect outlet for it.]
The Wind King, who had been quietly observing the situation, interjected with a casual remark.
The forest bit her lip for a moment before trying to intervene once more.
[Tyreal! That’s enough, stop right there! Please listen to me, your aunt!!]
[If you tell me to listen, I’ll listen. You might as well call me grandma at this point.]
[You, shut your mouth!]
[It’s frustrating, that’s all. Frustrating. Why are you stopping them? I’d even say they’re doing well and should be praised.]
Just when it seemed things had quieted down, it happened again.
Once more, the elves caused trouble.
To be fair, it wasn’t anything too severe. They hadn’t harmed any humans.
But the timing was the problem.
Recently, relations between elves and humans have been improving.
And at the center of it was an elf whom both Mother Forest and the Wind King had acknowledged not long ago.
Tyreal.
An elf who didn’t quite fit the mold of the forest’s kin, yet loved his people more than anyone.
With the determination to restore the elves to greatness, he had left the forest and was making remarkable strides.
In fact, all the recent changes were due to his efforts.
Thus, both the forest and the kings were quietly keeping a close eye on Tyreal.
Perhaps things could really change.
Maybe that arrogance could disappear.
If not immediately, then eventually.
Even if some remained unchanged.
In the end, they would become relics of the past, while Tyreal represented the future.
[If my nephew had been my contractor, I would have used even my power to beat some sense into those brats.]
[What are you talking about?! Those children are your nephews too!]
[I wouldn’t want such ill-mannered nephews. That’s why I told my children not to contract with those who lack manners.]
Of course, unfortunately, that wasn’t well adhered to.
It was precisely because the elves had such a high affinity with nature that spirits found it difficult to refuse them.
At least the highest-ranking spirits, including the kings, were relatively free, so that was something to be grateful for.
“Waaah!”
“Ahhh!”
And so, watching those brats receive Tyreal’s merciless beating was quite satisfying.
It wasn’t just me. My friends too—no, surely they felt the same.
They probably even clapped and cheered.
Laughed heartily, urging him to hit them harder.
[Tyreal!]
Unable to bear it any longer, the forest, barely manifesting through divine power, intervened.
This time, perhaps sensing the earnest call, Tyreal’s hand, which had been swinging his bow, abruptly stopped.
…Auntie?
[That’s enough, Tyreal. Please stop now.]
[It’s not enough. This is just the beginning. If I stop now, they’ll think this is just the foolish behavior of young kin.]
[Even so, no more. You can fight among yourselves, but shedding blood is unacceptable. Do you know why I gave a part of myself to my children? It was because they promised not to shed each other’s blood—]
[But that doesn’t mean they can disregard the blood of other races, does it?]
At that sudden remark, the forest was too stunned to respond.
She hadn’t even realized that a young elf, barely a few decades old, had interrupted her.
[Among kin, we don’t harm each other, so we’re noble. Among elves, we keep the line, so we’re beautiful. No. This is nothing but hypocrisy and pretense, maintained only because of the competitive spirit among kin.]
[That’s…]
[If, for some reason, the standards of elven society were to fall below this, I guarantee you, these damned brats in front of me would trample over their own kin without a second thought.]
At Tyreal’s words, the forest should have replied, “That’s impossible.”
But the reason the words didn’t come was perhaps because, deep down, she too thought it might be possible.
[Hahaha. Well, well. I had a feeling, but I never thought it would come to this.]
[Stop laughing. Don’t interfere. This is between me and Tyreal.]
[Fine. But you did acknowledge it, didn’t you? I am that child’s uncle, and he is my nephew. Therefore, I too have some right to speak, don’t I?]
She was at a loss for words.
It sounded strange, but upon closer inspection, it made sense.
After all, the spirits shared an incredibly close relationship with the elves.
So, for a king to speak up was, in a way, only natural.
[Nephew, go on.]
[Thank you, Uncle.]
This was bad.
It was hard enough dealing with Tyreal one-on-one, but now it was two against one.
What made it worse was that there were still many kings who hadn’t yet stepped forward.
[Isn’t that right, Auntie? There’s a saying: A leaky bucket inside will leak outside too. Conversely, a bucket that leaks outside will also leak inside.]
[There are cases where that’s not true.]
[Yes, you’re right. But the fact that you say that suggests that even you acknowledge such cases are rare.]
The Great Forest, born with the world itself, had existed for eons.
Thus, she knew. Throughout that long history, how many mistakes the elven race had made.
She had tried to believe it was fine, but that was only because the targets weren’t her own kin.
Their simple arrogance had become a sharp blade wielded against humans.
Yet she had turned a blind eye, thinking that at least among themselves, it would be fine.
In the end, what the forest loved were the elves who cherished the forest.
The humans, who constantly cleared the land, had treated the forest carelessly.
[Auntie, you too must acknowledge it. Our kin are increasingly crossing the line.]
[…]
[If we don’t correct this now, the blade of arrogance will surely pierce even our own kin. No, perhaps it already has.]
[Already has? Tyreal, what do you mean?]
[Their bodies may be unharmed, but their hearts are already wounded. That’s why, when I stepped forward, so many young kin followed me, wasn’t it?]
Yes.
That was true.
Tyreal hadn’t used any hypnotic magic, yet so many had joined him.
At first, she thought it was mere curiosity, the reckless defiance of the young, but it wasn’t.
[…]
After a moment of silence, the forest spoke to the young elf waiting before her.
[Tyreal. What you desire is…]
[To restore the elves to greatness.]
[And is there no other meaning behind it?]
[The current situation leaves no room for any other intentions.]
Sigh.
The forest let out a deep breath.
She felt regret for burdening this young one, sorrow for the state of the elves, and above all, remorse for her own inaction.
[Tyreal.]
[Yes, Auntie.]
[Still, Make sure it doesn’t hinder your life.]
[I am an elf too. I won’t harm my kin.]
With the guardian’s consent now obtained, Tyreal tightly gripped his bow once more.
The brats, relieved by the sudden halt in the beating, were in for a rude awakening.
After all, what usually followed the guardian’s consent was a major reckoning.