“If this bow and arrow comes from a tree that bears fruit, it shouldn’t be too burdensome for you guys to handle.”
It’s already a situation where the fruits provided by Yggdrasil are our main food source. If the bows and arrows grow like fruit, there shouldn’t be any issues, right?
Surely they won’t say they dislike even this. If they reject this too, how do they expect to eat Yggdrasil’s fruits?
“Ho… How could someone plant an item made of wood to grow a tree…”
“Who exactly are you…?”
Hmm. Though I did it myself, it seems my actions were indeed extraordinary.
And they truly were extraordinary!
“I merely wish for you all to use this bow.”
Upon hearing my words, the humans all knelt down and began bowing deeply.
“Great one…!”
“Tch, not quite like that.”
「These children have sharp eyes, don’t they?」
While casually ignoring Yggdrasil’s unnecessary interjection, I used magical power to lift the prostrated humans.
“I’m just a passerby. I have no intention of revealing my name to you all. So there’s no need to worry about it.”
“Such… No, Great One, you must have your reasons. Understood. If you wish to remain anonymous, we shall honor that.”
I gave a small nod in response to their words.
“In return, I shall bestow another gift upon you all.”
I summoned magical energy around the humans and began altering their bodies.
They can no longer be called ‘human.’
I enhance their sight and hearing to make them sharper. Tampering with other senses might interfere, so I leave them as they are.
Finally, I elongate their ears into long shapes resembling leaves.
The result is exactly what I imagine elves to look like.
“This… This is… Incredible…”
“I’ve enhanced your eyes and ears. Now you can see farther and hear even the faintest sounds. With these abilities, you will become natural-born hunters.”
The humans are confused by their suddenly altered senses. Of course, changing perception would be disorienting.
To put it simply… It’s like getting new glasses? Only much more intense.
“While adjusting your hearing, I accidentally made your ears longer… But oddly, their shape resembles Yggdrasil’s leaves, so it could serve as proof of being Yggdrasil’s children.”
「Mom?! What have you done to these children?! Their ears grew?!」
“And now that you resemble Yggdrasil, I shall give you a name for your race. As Yggdrasil’s children, you shall henceforth be known as elves. These long ears will be your proof.”
「Mom?! Mom?! Please don’t ignore me?!」
“From now on, you shall live as guardians of Yggdrasil and protect this peaceful forest.”
「Mom?! Mom?!?!」
Thus, the elves were born on this land.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
In ancient times long past.
When Yggdrasil created the elves, the god of hunting gifted them bows and arrows.
But those weapons were made of wood. To the elves, who closely communicate with trees and consider them family…
They couldn’t bring themselves to hold wooden bows in their hands.
But how could they discard such precious gifts from a deity? Afraid of divine wrath, the elves tried forcing themselves to wield the wooden weapons but ended up crying helplessly, unable to do so.
It was then that Yggdrasil extended a helping hand.
Yggdrasil planted the bow and arrows in the ground, causing a tree to grow.
This tree began bearing bows and arrows as fruit, allowing the elves to harvest them with the tree’s permission.
Since then, these fruit-bearing trees have become treasured possessions of the elves, carefully managed and protected.
Even now, when young elves come of age, receiving their lifetime bow from a tree remains a highlight of the elven coming-of-age ceremony.
……
Far in the future, legend says that when the elves face extinction, one chosen by Yggdrasil will draw the bow and arrows from the roots of this tree to save both the elves and Yggdrasil.
– Encyclopedia of Legendary Weapons.
1) While the records don’t specify the deity’s name, the most prevalent theory among scholars is that the bow-and-arrow-gifting deity was the god of hunting, due to the symbolic nature of these weapons.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Mother! That was excessive. Extending the children’s ears so much…”
“But don’t they look good?”
「That may be true…」
Compared to when they were simply tall, attractive humans, they now clearly belong to a different race.
This impression mainly comes from the long ears I extended, a fact even Yggdrasil agrees with.
“In the future, various races will appear on this land. Your children need a clear way to distinguish themselves from others.”
Complete lie. I just wanted to see elves with long ears.
But since they seem to like it, there’s no problem, right?
「Since the children seem to like it, I’ll let it slide… But what about future humans who want to live near me? Should I transform them like this too?」
“Hmm… Are there many new arrivals?”
「Not many, but some do come occasionally. A few every now and then.」
Hearing this, I nodded. If there were none, it wouldn’t be an issue, but with some arriving, we can’t just leave them be.
“Transforming new arrivals into elves like the others will take a long time, so we should accelerate the process.”
「True. These children transformed over centuries, but newcomers wouldn’t have that kind of time.」
“Hmm… Manually transforming each element of outsiders would be quite troublesome.”
Rather than modifying each individual aspect, we should create a magic that copies racial traits… Hmm… Such magic doesn’t exist, but why not just create it?
First, select the target to copy traits from – Target 1. Then select the target to apply the traits to – Target 2.
Compare the racial traits of both targets and overwrite Target 2 with Target 1’s traits. This process only affects racial characteristics.
Carefully ensure physical appearance and mental aspects aren’t altered during conversion. Roughly, this should work.
Thus, I created a magic to copy and paste racial traits.
A magic that only copies racial traits, requiring an enormous amount of magical power that even dragons would find difficult to use.
But Yggdrasil, having endured countless ages, should be able to use it.
“I’ll teach you a magic I just created. It should solve your problems.”
「Did you prepare this beforehand?!」
“Nonsense! I just made it now. Right now! It’s not optimized, so it consumes tremendous magical power, even for dragons.”
Yggdrasil sounded exasperated.
「What’s the point of such magic?」
“At least it has meaning for you. You can use it to transform newcomers into elves.”
Simply refusing entry would be easiest, but Yggdrasil, being strangely kind-hearted, can’t bear to turn people away.
If you can’t drive them off, you must accept them. With this magic, newcomers can join the elven ranks.
「Honestly, watching you create magic is baffling. How do you manipulate mana so effortlessly like it’s your own limb?」
“How? Just do it, isn’t it?”
「Normally, that’s impossible! Creating magic requires utmost caution! I really don’t understand.」
Hmm, is it that difficult? I didn’t realize since I do it so naturally.
Ahem. Anyway.
“Take care of that newly grown tree.”
「Of course. I never intended to neglect it. The elf children will likely depend on it heavily. I’ll protect it with my roots.」
As expected from Yggdrasil, the ultimate expert when it comes to trees.
「But is it alright hiding your existence from the children?」
“Perfectly fine.”
Now, while this simple primitive society allows my interference without consequence…
As time passes and society grows more complex with politics and power structures… I shouldn’t meddle recklessly.
One doesn’t step into a meticulously crafted model garden with muddy feet, do they?
When that time comes, I’ll simply hide away and quietly observe this world.
Though if a crisis beyond this world’s capacity arises, I might have to intervene.
Most likely, by then I’ll grow tired of everything and retreat to a corner.
Currently, my sense of responsibility outweighs my laziness… My responsibility for creating life in this world.
