Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Back when mankind hadn’t come across the existence of elves, even in those days, elves were already a familiar existence found in numerous materials.

Novels, comics, movies, animations, etc…

And for me in particular, it was from an RPG game whose character was iconic and hard to forget…

The characteristics of elves in such materials were as follows.

1. Pointy ears and beautiful appearance.

2. Pacifists who love forests and animals.

3. Symbol of longevity with the lifespan of a tree.

4. Friends of spirits who protect mother nature.

Like their name, they could be said to be the epitome of a fairy.

But…

The elves that appeared on Earth were quite far from what mankind had imagined.

Instead of having the mysterious air of living on dew for the rest of their lives, they usually enjoyed eating pork belly and drinking alcohol.

Stories of their beautiful appearances also deviated quite a bit between elves, as can be seen from Kwak Chungsik’s face.

If there are some similarities…it’s that they have pointed ears and have a longer lifespan than humans.

In the end, the elves that mankind dreamed of don’t exist in this world.

But even so, it was difficult to dismiss these fantasies as just false.

Because in fact, there are past records of ancient elves with such characteristics.

Fantasy elements such as sharing warm communication with plants, or being revered in a large number of worlds.

I didn’t know it was this kind of skill…I looked at the flowers blooming in the garden.

And as I focused all my attention, the faint sound of a conversation began to trickle into my ears.

— Hehe, I’ll sprinkle you with a lot of seeds.

— Honey~ put your pollen into me!

“…”

The conversations between plants weren’t as mysterious or beautiful as I had imagined.

As a result of continuing to watch the garden, I realized that the only thing on these primitive creatures’ minds was to breed…

Was it because of this fanatic obsession that weeds grew between asphalts?

While agonizing over the providence of nature, a little child and a nursery teacher walking in the garden caught my eye.

Among the three groups I arbitrarily labeled, this child belonged to the ‘flower’ group.

“Wow! What’s the name of this flower?”

The little child asked, pointing to the bright red flowers blooming in the garden. The nursery teacher smiled and answered kindly.

“Haha, this is a flower called Sarubi.”

“So pretty! Does this flower have a meaning?”

“Let’s see…When I looked it up, Sarubi is called the flower of hot passion.”

– Breed! Breed! Breed! Breed!

“Ah! That’s why it’s red!”

“Right, and have you noticed? There is another secret hidden in this flower besides the meaning of its name.”

– Breed! Breed! Breed some more!

“Really? What is it?”

“In fact, Sarubi is full of honey, so you can eat it as a snack when you are hungry like this.”

The teacher picked a flower.

Snap–!

– Breed! Breed! Bree…Keuaaak!

– H-honey noooo!!!

The Sarubi flowers screamed. For reference, the pistil of a flower contains its reproductive organ.

The teacher put the flower in his mouth and happily ate it.

“Hmm~ The honey water is so sweet.”

“Wow~ Teacher, me too!”

I looked at the terrible scene and turned my head.

As expected, this is a trash skill. I’m afraid this was a failed pick.

I got a special A-grade skill, but I can’t believe it’s more useless than a D-grade skill.

“Haa…”

I sigh without realizing it.

For the time being, I thought I should study how to use this skill a little.

By the way…What was that then?

I recalled the moment when I first gained this elf ability.

– By some chance…Can you hear me?

A sudden unidentified voice.

If I think about it now, it’s clear that the voice also came from a plant, but as far as I can remember, there were no plants around and only the cold cement.

The fellow had spoken words that were incomprehensible to me.

— Please help me!

— If this continues, everyone will die!

— We don’t have much time left!

There was desperation in its voice.

And at that moment, a new message came to mind in front of my eyes.

[Challenge – Flower of Shadow (Chain Quest).]

Condition: Find ‘Elf Garden.’

Period: 3 months.

Reward: 1x Random Box (Medium).

It was a new Challenge.

However, I really don’t know anything about this place called ‘Elf Garden.’

I thought the voice would tell me if I waited a little longer, but unfortunately, I haven’t heard the voice since then.

So I had no choice but to return to the nursery empty handed.

For now, it seems like an exploration quest…

In fact, I don’t really like this kind of Challenge of having to find something.

Not only does it take a lot of time, but if there is no clue as it is now, even the beginning wasn’t easy.

In the end, I have no choice but to wait for luck.

I want the medium-grade box, but…I guess I should give up on it for now.

There was no point to it unless a clue appeared in front of me. At this point, it would be foolish to invest time and have nothing to show for it.

While I was organizing my thoughts, a broadcast came out of a speaker in the garden.

[Ahem, as we have announced the other day, this morning’s assembly will be held in the auditorium. Everyone, please don’t forget to arrive on time.]

Looking around, I could see the children heading to the auditorium in twos and threes.

Well, I don’t need a medium-grade box right now anyway, so there’s nothing particularly disappointing about it.

After neatly emptying my lingering feelings about the Challenge, I followed the other children to the auditorium.

* * *

Most of the children were already gathered when I arrived at the auditorium.

On normal days they would have been as late as possible and barely gathered just before the assembly began, but strangely, their behavior was quick today.

In addition, they were looking around with an excited expression, as if expecting something.

I guess something is happening today.

As soon as I thought that, a middle-aged man walked up to the podium.

It was the chief teacher who held the highest authority at ‘House of Flowers,’ Bae Dalsu.

After testing the microphone for a while, he opened his mouth.

“Ahem, the reason why we are having the assembly in the auditorium today is to make an important announcement to our friends.”

“I’m sure some people may already know this, but a ‘periodic sponsorship’ will be held next Saturday.”

At the end of Bae Dalsu’s words, smiles bloomed on the children’s faces. I was also happy.

An opportunity has finally arrived.

In fact, it was to participate in this event that I have been holding my breath in the nursery.

In general, when it comes to sponsorship at a nursery, I’m sure it’s the same concept as a talent show or a school arts festival to express gratitude in front of the guests invited from outside…

However, the purpose was different in this city.

A fact I had learned while investigating information related to nurseries, the word sponsorship here at the nurseries in Neo Pyongyang had a slightly special meaning.

It was a time for the children to promote themselves to the sponsors.

Like a kind of exhibition event where the children are the products.

People attending this event were either parents of ordinary families or scouts from prestigious families of heroes who wanted special races or excellent children.

As Neo Pyongyang is the city where the largest number of superhumans resided, the sponsors who visit here would also be very special.

“And one final announcement. This sponsorship will be held as a joint event with other nurseries.”

“So it’s really unfortunate, but in this sponsorship, there is no choice but to limit the number of participants.”

While those in the flower group smiled, other children couldn’t hide their disappointment.

It was a natural reaction. It was obvious that everyone has endured a terrible life all for the hope of this event.

I could hear buzzing sighs here and there.

On normal days Bae Dalsu would have yelled at them to be quiet, but he only raised one corner of his mouth when he saw it.

Then he spoke.

“But I think all the friends here would like to go to the sponsorship event. So the teachers had a meeting and came up with one method in the end.”

Bae Dalsu took out a red sticker. The sticker was engraved with the words ‘good job.’

“I’ll take the friends who earn this good job sticker here to the event.”

“So, it’s important to be a good child who listens to the teacher well, right?”

The children’s eyes lit up.

The children in the flower group were still relaxed, but the children in other groups had a bloodthirsty look as if they would kill for one.

“We’ll end today’s assembly with this. Everyone, go back and have a great day today. Now~ Attention, bow.”

“Thank you!”

The children’s voices resonated louder than ever in the auditorium. They rushed out and started cleaning the surroundings with brooms.

As I watched, I thought to myself.

Hmm…This development isn’t much fun.

I might not be able to attend the sponsorship event. If so, there was no need to remain here.

Should I reveal my abilities now?

If I did that, I might be able to join the flower group and attend the sponsorship event.

However, it could be said that revealing my cards with only this much work would do more harm than good.

On top of that, I don’t think they’ll particularly like the abilities I have.

For example, the ability to turn my body into liquid.

It felt very insignificant compared to the ability to emit fire from your hands or fly in the sky.

Should I just kill everyone and start over?

Rather than competing with such children, I thought it would be the better option.

As soon as I started to have such thoughts, someone spoke to me.

“Hmm. Aren’t you the new friend who had just joined the nursery? Your name is Choi Noah, right?”

When I looked up, Bae Dalsu who was standing on the podium a while ago was looking at me. What’s going on all of a sudden? I’ve never talked to him before.

As I found it strange, he said with a kind smile.

“Haha, Noah. Do you have time right now?”

“What’s the matter?”

“As a teacher, I’ve been watching you, and in my opinion, Noah seems to be a good enough child to attend the sponsorship.”

That’s right.

Considering that I’ve been holding it in and staying calm, even a whole box of stickers wouldn’t be enough for me.

I guess I was worried for no reason.

Nodding my head, I reached out.

“Well, give me a sticker.”

“Uh, h-hear me out. I gave a sticker to another friend earlier, so I don’t have any on me. Speaking of which…Do you want to come with teacher to get a sticker?”

“Hmm…It’s a bit of a hassle. But okay.”

“R-right…Thank you.”

It would be difficult if this guy suddenly changed his mind and said no, so I thought it would be better to accept it.

I followed him out of the auditorium.

* * *

Bae Dalsu nervously turned the steering wheel. Due to his reckless driving, vehicles in the other lanes were honking.

‘Fuck…Why am I the one who has to do this?’

He was currently in a very bad mood.

Originally, this should have been done by the trash in charge of chores, but the situation suddenly became complicated.

‘Tsk, those punks are useless in the end.’

Bae Dalsu recalled Kwak Chungsik who had died a while ago and the half-elf twins who ran away.

It wouldn’t have mattered much if they disappeared, but the problem was that there was no experiment to send to the director at the moment.

‘Damn! I didn’t want to get involved in this kind of thing myself.’

He was extremely reluctant to tarnish his career.

So he would use one of the children whenever he did something illegal.

But for now, there was no time to select a new person to proceed with the work.

In the end, he had no choice but to do it himself.

‘I’m glad this guy was here.’

He looked at Noah in the back seat through the rear mirror.

One day out of the blue he came to the nursery on his own accord.

Bae Dalsu couldn’t understand what was so good outside the window that made Noah smile.

‘Unknown origin and it hasn’t been long since he came here…I’ll be able to dodge this bullet somehow.’

In the worst case, he can say that the child ran away on his own, but in that case, an investigation into welfare costs might start because he would have to knowingly report the wrong number of children.

‘As expected, it’s better to erase the traces of him being here in the first place.’

Fortunately, he has never received a subsidy in this child’s name, so as long as the other children keep their mouths shut, he’ll be able to move on without difficulty.

‘Damn! I have a lot of work to do. I’ll have to deliver him as soon as possible.’

The force stepping on the accelerator increased. The vehicle began to leave the city at a high speed.

As the number of buildings outside the window gradually decreased, he finally arrived at an unknown mansion located in the suburbs.

There were high fences around the mansion, and a red sign indicating that this is a private property was attached in front.

Bae Dalsu clicked his tongue at the ominous words.

‘Tsk, it’s creepy every time I come here.’

When he recalled what was beyond that barbed wire, he began to feel nauseous. Turning off the engine, he got out of the car.

“We’re here. Get out.”

“Here? What about my sticker?”

Noah looked at Bae Dalsu with a puzzled look. Looking at the innocent look on Noah’s face, Bae Dalsu was overwhelmed with disgust.

‘Is he still pretending not to know?’

As a result of taking care of children through the years, he had come to realize that they were keener than what adults gave them credit for.

Therefore, most would start to notice that the situation had gone weird at this point. And the reaction was generally divided into two.

Either cry and cling to him, or deny reality by pretending not to know.

Bae Dalsu hated the appearance of such children to the point he felt terrible disgust.

“Shut up and get out of the car!”

“…”

Noah looked at Bae Dalsu for a moment before getting out of the car.

Then, Bae Dalsu beckoned Noah towards the entrance of the mansion.

“Do you see that fence over there? Go ahead and ring the doorbell and wait. Soon the door will open. Then you can go in.”

“Over there? It’s annoying, so can you just bring the sticker to me?”

Noah pretended not to know until the end. At the desperate appearance, Bae Dalsu briefly gave a vain laugh.

“Oh, my. It’s disgusting, so stop acting because it won’t work.”

“What do you mean? You said you’d give me a sticker.”

“Haven’t you already figured it out? How can I give up a sponsorship seat for a trash like you? Think about how much that would cost.”

“…So teacher lied to me, right?”

“When did I say I would? Maybe because I’m getting older, I don’t remember haha.”

The smiling boy’s expression hardened. It seems that it was only now that he was starting to accept reality.

Bae Dalsu liked children who showed such an expression.

The moment when those little ones, who only think about themselves, finally realize reality and become frustrated.

He felt like his stress was relieved to some extent.

“No one knows that you and I are here anyway, so don’t think about it and hurry up and go into that mansion.”

“Huu…That’s good.”

The boy’s stiff expression began to turn into a smile again.

‘Is he trying to bluff now?’

“What do you mean?”

“It means it’s okay for me to kill teacher now.”

“What? Hahaha! Crazy punk.”

For a while, he laughed out loud.

Sometimes there were guys like that. Children who believe that they are special beings like they’re chosen in this world.

When he was young, he also thought that he would someday awaken an ability and become a special being like the heroes in the cartoons.

But it’s all just an illusion. He was just an ordinary extra without even a name.

‘How many years did it take before I realized that?’

So he hated children who were obsessed with such vain delusions.

“Teacher has one last thing to teach you.”

He wanted to see this delusional child crying and begging for forgiveness.

Fortunately, the director didn’t have strict conditions for the supplied experiment.

‘He’ll be used as an experiment anyway, so he just needs to be alive.’

Bae Dalsu took off his watch and approached Noah. At that moment, Noah spoke.

“If you hand over the sticker, I’ll shoot you less painfully.”

“?!”

Suddenly, when he came to his senses, there was a gun in Noah’s hand that he had never seen before. And the end of the gun was pointing at him.

He was shocked by the sudden appearance of the gun, but he thought it was probably a toy.

‘Is this his last ditch effort?’

“Oh, my. What are you going to do with that toy…?’

Clank–!

As Noah loaded the gun, an ominous sound came as if the metal was interlocking.

‘Do toys sound so realistic these days?’

“I-it’s a toy, right?”

Then with a meaningful smile, Noah spoke.

“I don’t know. But won’t we find out once I pull the trigger?”

Bang–!

Bang–!

“Kueaak!!”

Both his thighs were penetrated. The terrible pain felt as if iron skewers made of fire had pushed in.

Unknowingly, he collapsed on the spot with yellow lines running down his pants.

Unlike what he saw in movies, the pain he felt went far beyond his imagination.

He couldn’t suppress his scream. At that moment, the sight of a gun appeared in front of him and touched his forehead.

Clank–

“It’s noisy, so stop shouting.”

“Aah…you crazy…”

Like a lie, he was able to swallow his scream. In a trembling voice he begged.

“P-please spare me. I’ll forget everything about today. And when we go back, I’ll make sure to put your name on the sponsorship event. So please…”

“Before that, give me a sticker.”

Bae Dalsu hurriedly took out a bunch of stickers and handed them over. The words ‘good job’ were scattered all over the ground.

“H-here. I-I gave it to you, so hurry and call an ambulance. I’ll bleed out like this…”

Without paying any attention to Bae Dalsu, Noah grabbed one of the stickers.

Then he stuck it on Bae Dalsu’s forehead and read the words.

“Good job.”

“Ah…ah…H-hold on!”

Bang–!

Bae Dalsu died without even the time to scream.

* * *

“Keuh…this is the taste.”

Perhaps because it’s been a while since I used a gun, I felt like I had relieved some of the stress I’ve been holding back.

The smell of gunpowder lingered in the air. I had forgotten about this fun because I’ve been quiet lately.

I placed Bae Dalsu’s body in my inventory and packed the stickers that fell on the ground.

“I can’t believe I came all the way here for these stickers.”

In fact, from the time he took me to the parking lot and not his office, I had some idea that this would happen.

However, there was no other way for me to do it cleanly.

“Thanks to him, I can participate in the sponsorship.”

Bae Dalsu is dead, but it’ll be okay if I show the stickers to the other teachers.

This guy never came to the nursery often anyway, and it was mainly up to other teachers to prepare for the event.

And by the time they feel something is strange, I’ll be out of there.

Now, if I attend the sponsorship and catch the eyes of at least one decent person, I’ll have a normal identity.

“Huu…I should secretly head back now.”

Since it was about an hour away from the city, even if I walked, I thought I could arrive back by dinner time.

Today’s dinner was probably pork cutlet?

It was a decent meal after playing outside for a long time. I shouldn’t buy food outside and just eat home-cooked meals today.

As soon as I thought that, a message window popped up in front of me.

Ding–!

[Condition for the Challenge – Flower of Shadow (Chain Quest) has been met.]

[Find Elf Garden (Completed).]

[Challenge updated.]

[Challenge – Flower of Shadow (Chain Quest).]

Condition: Find the ‘Flower of Shadow.’

Period: 3 months.

Reward: 1x Random Box (Medium).

“Huh?”

The Challenge was suddenly updated.

Why the fuck did it happen? I didn’t do anything.

There was only a large mansion in front of me.

Ah, is this Elf Garden?

High towering fences and bare thorn trees surrounding all sides. It was too gloomy to be called Elf Garden…

To be honest, I didn’t have any clue, so I was going to let go of my lingering affection…

The story will change again. There was no reason to refuse the reward in front of me.

This has cleared things up.

As expected, this world was a game of luck.

And fortunately, I had a decent justification to go over that tall fence.

I rang the doorbell hanging in front of the mansion.

Ding, dong–

Soon after, a gruffy old voice came from inside.

— Who is it?

“I’m from House of Flowers. Teacher told me to come here.”

— …

And in a little bit. Possibly an electronic device of some kind, a small door next to the huge main gate slid and opened automatically.

Does it mean to go inside?

In any case, I was just grateful. Thanks to this, I can carry out the Challenge comfortably.

I thought it would be difficult to grow for the time being, but maybe I’ll be able to pick another good item or skill before leaving the nursery.

“Let’s finish it quickly and go eat dinner.”

I pushed open the door and went inside.

== Translator’s Note ==

1. Please report any typos, grammatical/spelling errors, sentences you find weird, and other etc…in the comment section.