“What… what is this!”
I was startled by the sudden change in the scenery around me. But whether I was panicking or not, the female elf who brought me here was grinning from ear to ear. I struggled and shouted.
“Let… let me go!”
“Ah! Yes, World Tree-nim!”
When I screamed to be let go, the female elf gently placed me on the ground. I quickly tried to run past the gate, but the gate we had come through had already disappeared. That meant I couldn’t return to my original home.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Would I never see Bora, Haru, and Maru again…? I suddenly felt sad. To be kidnapped like this. It was ridiculous! I started to sulk and tear up. The female elf seemed flustered by my reaction. She flailed her arms up and down, looking at me.
“World Tree-nim! Calm down!”
“How can I calm down! Send me back home!”
At my words, the female elf fell silent. Could it be that she had no intention of sending me back? This female elf was a very bad person! But seeing me like this, she seemed to make a decision and spoke with a serious expression.
“World Tree-nim. Could you stay here for a week… no, a month? After a month, I’ll send you back to your original dimension! I have no intention of disrupting your fun, World Tree-nim!”
“A… a month?”
“Yes. I swear on my name that I’ll send you back to your original dimension after a month!”
A month wasn’t that long of a time. I looked at the female elf with doubtful eyes. A new world… I was a bit curious. And she didn’t seem to be lying. Since I was already here, there were no other options.
“Alright. So you’ll send me back after a month?”
“Yes!”
“And my name isn’t World Tree, it’s Hana!”
“Okay, got it, Hana-nim!”
And so, my strange cohabitation with this female elf began.
—
Linea was grinning as she brought Hana into her home. Since this place was off-limits to ordinary people, she could have Hana all to herself. Fortunately, the day she disappeared coincided with the cleaning day of the World Tree sanctuary, so no one noticed Linea was gone.
‘But I’m sure it’s been over a week…?’
Even though she had been in another dimension for over a week, only 2-3 days seemed to have passed in this dimension.
Since time flows differently between dimensions, Linea just brushed it off. Normally, cleaning such a vast area alone would be impossible, but Linea was different. With the combined power of spirits and magic, she could easily clean even a city-sized area by herself.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s start today too!”
Linea clapped her hands and gave orders to the spirits. With her extreme affinity for spirits, asking them for help was an easy task for Linea. At the sound of her clapping, the spirits scattered and began their work.
Thus, Linea started the day’s big cleaning and headed home. It was time to explain this world to Hana. Meeting a pure Hana, who had no memories of past lives, was a unique experience.
Linea began explaining the world and the lifestyle of the elves to Hana. Hana listened intently. Since she had to live here for a month, it was better to be cooperative. And listening to Linea talk about the elves’ lifestyle was surprisingly fun.
“So… like this!”
Linea used her whole body to explain things to Hana. It was a bit confusing, but Hana could somewhat understand. This was a different dimension, a world where humans and other races coexisted. And it was a world with magic and spirits, something she had only seen in movies. And the part about her being the soul of the World Tree… that seemed like a lie. She was clearly a man who had lived in Korea.
—
*Flicker!*
Linea opened her eyes on the bed. She turned her head and looked to the side. Next to her, Hana was sleeping with her mouth wide open. Linea grinned as she examined Hana’s face. To think this was the body of the World Tree… She had truly hit the jackpot by finding the World Tree against all odds. Linea resisted the urge to pinch Hana’s cheeks and went about her business.
The place where the World Tree was located was the sanctuary of the elves. Every ten years…
Visiting the holy site once in a while was a ritual for the Elves. But since there were so many Elves, tens of thousands of them came every day to make a pilgrimage to the holy site. Linea didn’t know, but for Hana, it was easier to think of it like the Islamic holy site, Mecca.
Elves scattered all over the world would come here to see the only World Tree that existed. And they didn’t just come once in their lifetime—they came often. The number of Elves in this world was enormous. At least tens of millions, if not more.
Their lifespans were incredibly long, stretching over a thousand years. However, their birth rate was low. Still, the number of Elves kept rising endlessly. They firmly followed the World Tree’s words to love one another. What would the World Tree say now? If they found out that the World Tree’s Avatar was at Linea’s house, it would be complete chaos.
In Christian terms, it would be like Jesus appearing in real life. And not just some imagined depiction from paintings or media, but the actual body the World Tree had chosen. It would be like seeing the face of God directly.
Linea, grinning from ear to ear, prepared to open the holy site. She wasn’t managing it alone. Handling the pilgrimage of tens of thousands of Elves by herself was physically impossible. The government here sent Elves to help manage the pilgrims.
“Hello, ma’am! Uncle!”
“Hello, Linea! You seem especially happy today?”
Seeing a couple visiting the holy site for the 30th time, Linea spoke. Her memory was excellent, so she remembered the faces of the Elves who came to the holy site. Of course, she couldn’t remember the faces of all tens of millions of Elves.
The World Tree was enormous, stretching high into the sky, making it incredibly majestic. Its thickness alone was about the size of a soccer field. Located right in the center of the capital, it was very accessible. Like New York, there was a park set aside within the city. There, a spot was prepared for the World Tree.
And around it were various shops selling souvenirs. With such a large flow of people, it was like a festival ground with plenty of food and entertainment.
“Here’s a souvenir modeled after the World Tree! Take one home!”
“This is a grass ring made from the World Tree’s leaves! It’s much sturdier than any ordinary ring!”
Souvenir shop owners were out on the streets, calling out to customers. Carvings modeled after the World Tree were so popular that every Elf’s home had at least one. Not just Elves, but humans and other races also came out of curiosity, making them sell even better. For other races, it was a fascinating sight. They bought these carvings as souvenirs.
—————————————————————
“Ugh…”
I woke up shielding my eyes from the pouring sunlight. Unlike the building I slept in before, there were no curtains to block the sun, so I had no choice but to wake up when the sun rose. The blinding sunlight hit my face directly, making it impossible to stay asleep. It was like the sunlight was slapping my cheeks, telling me to wake up.
“Ugh…”
Without even opening my eyes, I moved to a corner to escape the sunlight. But no matter where I moved on the bed, I couldn’t avoid it. In the end, I had no choice but to get up.
Getting out of bed and looking around, it seemed Linea had already woken up and started her work. Last night, after talking a lot with Linea, I had managed to calm down a bit. It felt like the world had suddenly expanded, like something out of an SF movie. Of course, the appearance of a Gate in the modern world was already SF. I heard there were no Gates before, but if kids born now heard that, they’d probably give a confused look and think it was weird.
