Chapter 217 – Elixir
#217.
That evening. Gaon took the elixir and went to the second prince’s residence.
“Come on. See you in a week. Both of us have been very busy.”
“It wasn’t too difficult considering I just took a walk. Your Highness must have been tired because he had to meet the powerful people of each family.”
“Yes. I honestly thought that all high elves had good personalities like the head of the Sabrina family, but it wasn’t. On the contrary, there are a lot of old people who are just too old and picky. I almost died of boredom.”
This is inside the world tree where Ariel Sabrina lives. Of course, there was even a possibility that he was listening to everything he was saying, but the second prince didn’t care and chewed the high elves hard.
‘Well, I can’t say anything outright.’
The 2nd Prince is always a guest of the Empire. The fact that she was secretly spying on such a guest is a secret that should never be found out.
Knowing that, they act more provocatively. It would be beneficial if we could gain a diplomatic advantage over this.
“More than that, Your Highness. Isn’t there a request I gave you last time?”
“Okay. You mean a request to be able to have a private meeting with Ariel Sabrina? Can you tell me why now?”
“Yes. This is why I want to meet Ariel Sabrina.”
Gaon took out the elixir from his bosom.
Thanks to Chorin, the completed elixir emits a very brilliant light. When I first saw it, I couldn’t find the imperfection.
“Hoo… This is an elixir. And that’s a lot. That’s great. It’s also in the Empire, but only in a few drops.”
Elixir is rare enough to be called a legend, and it is true that it is an elixir with great effects, but it is not impossible to find at all.
Even in the Pentra Empire, the elixir that the first emperor was bestowed by the god of light from a long time ago was handed down, and the same was true for each other country.
“But what does this mean? Surely you didn’t mean to bring the elixir to Ariel Sabrina?”
“No. That’s right. A trade, to be exact. Right now, the Republic of Elbrancia will desperately need this.”
The second prince’s eyes narrowed at his confident words.
“Tell me in detail.”
“… A thousand years ago, a rift opened beneath the Elbrancia Republic. At that time, the summoned venomous dragon injected poison into the root of the World Tree. Thanks to that, the divinity is getting more and more polluted. Even now, the damage has not been completely remedied. If you have the elixir, you should be able to solve that.”
“Hmm… Poisonous dragon Once you know what that means. They must be giving the elixir and gaining full support in return. But that’s it. Don’t you think I’d be greedy for that?”
The second prince’s eyes shot sharply.
Elixir is a legendary elixir that can heal any disease as long as it is alive, even with just one drop. Naturally, its value was immeasurably high.
Of course, as the second prince, it was something that had to be obtained somehow. Even if it meant killing the man in front of her eyes.
Gaon made eye contact with the second prince in silence for a moment before pulling out a journal from his bosom.
“Do you know what this is?”
“It’s a research journal… Could it be that I think?”
“Yes. A journal containing the recipe for Elixir. By the way, the ingredients include the fruit of the World Tree. The cooperation of the high elves is essential.”
Of course, it was impossible to take the fruit of the World Tree without the knowledge of the high elves. In that case, it would have been wiser to receive a stable supply of Elixir instead of taking a small portion of it.
After completing the same calculation, the 2nd prince relaxed his eyes and let out a long sigh as he lowered his head.
“I’m sorry. For a moment I was blinded by greed. Forgive me.”
“Of course. Because I need your support too. Then would you arrange a table with Ariel Sabrina?”
“Don’t do that. I will make an appointment for tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you. Rather, I am benefiting from you. See you later.”
Although it is Gaon who supplies the elixir, the contribution of the second prince who connected him to him does not disappear.
Of course, there will be significant political and diplomatic benefits, and that will be passed on to the emperor as it is, giving him a more favorable position for the succession to the throne.
As he has solidified his position through the magic stone supply contract and the ancient relic rental business, if this matter is resolved, he will probably be able to overtake the first prince and stand tall as the most influential successor to the throne.
Gaon exchanged greetings with the second prince and returned to his residence.
***
“Hello. My name is Hyuugaon.”
“This is Ariel Sabrina. Prince Adelio heard that you came with an important matter. May I ask what your business is?”
Even though it was a sudden request, Ariel asked the matter in a relaxed atmosphere instead of applying pressure, perhaps thanks to her good character.
Not even a speck of darkness could be found in her smile, who was sharing the pain as the sanctity of the world tree was now contaminated.
It is noble and noble, yet beautiful.
‘That’s why they’ve endured until now.’
In fact, even if she wasn’t an elixir, if she opened her hand to the healing church, she might at least be able to stop the poison from spreading and getting worse.
Even so, the reason I haven’t done so until now is probably because I know that the foundation of the country can be shaken if too much power is given to the church.
Of course, in her previous life, she ended up collaborating with the Order to manufacture the elixir.
What Gaon is doing now is to prepare a number that can expand his power and at the same time reduce the influence of the church.
He took the elixir from his bosom.
“I want to hand this over to the Sabrina family.”
“… That.”
“It’s an elixir. It can restore the sanctity of the World Tree.”
Ariel’s eyes flashed with astonishment.
“Uh, how did you…”
“That’s not important, is it?”
The important thing is that the elixir is in front of you right now, and with this, you can solve the problem that has been bothering the Sabrina family for so long.
She looked at the elixir with an anxious gaze and bit her lip.
“Giving this must mean that you want something else, right?”
“It’s nothing. You just need to allow me to do business here. Oh, I wish I could buy the fruit of the World Tree.”
“… Can that really be it? Anything else?”
Although Gaon’s request was a bit embarrassing, it was something he could accept without hesitation, provided it was properly tuned.
Giving an elixir in exchange for him was something she couldn’t understand, even with her common sense.
Gaon smiled at her and pointed at her straight gaze as if to tell her the truth about what she was up to.
“It would be nice to buy your favor as well.”
“… Yes? Me?”
“Yes. There is nothing more than that.”
Ariel was taken aback by the completely unexpected answer, then cleared her throat slightly.
“Greatness! First of all, I understand your intentions. … I heard that you are a knight, but can I call you like this?”
“Yes, call me whatever you want.”
As soon as the permission was given, Ariel bowed his head deeply in a yes.
“Gaon-gyeong. I sincerely appreciate the decision for me and the Sabrina family, and for the Republic as a whole. I will pay this debt over the course of my life. I swear on my honor.”
“Of course. That’s what I was hoping for in return. So let’s go straight to the epicenter of the pollution. Shouldn’t the world tree be cured first?”
Ariel also smiled at Gaon’s kind consideration, who told her not to put too much pressure on her, but not like a snobbish person.
“… Yes. Then go right away.”
The center where the root of the World Tree is located is closed to the outside. Ariel drew on his magic to open the passage.
The green magic, clear enough to be seen by her eyes, rippled as she gestured, and then she began to draw a transparent mirror in the air.
The mirror formed a passage leading to the World Tree as soon as it absorbed her densely gathered magic power.
“That’s great.”
“You are overrated. Please follow me.”
This magic now is different from the teleportation gate he used in her mage tower.
The teleport gate is a magical action, and if you go through a very dangerous process of memorizing the information of the body and reassembling it at another coordinate, this door is a type that reduces the risk extremely by connecting space to space and directly connecting it. .
Of course, the latter is more difficult, and since it was unfolded in an instant, even as a non-incantation, it shows how high her level is.
Gaon laughed as if it was not a big deal and shook her head as she watched Ariel lead her.
‘As expected, it’s still a long way off.’
Later, disasters that even Ariel cannot handle will rain down on the entire Union. She had quite a bit of time left until then, but it wasn’t the time for her to relax.
Though she thought she had tried her best, she smiled bitterly at the thought that she was still weak and followed her.
With a subtle sense of resistance to pass through something like a transparent membrane, Gaon crossed the mirror and arrived at the root of the world tree in an instant.
“It’s amazing.”
My first impression was that it was spacious.
When she first saw Ariel’s room at the top of the world tree, she thought it was another world, but compared to this place, it was nothing more than a firefly in front of the sun.
Did astronomers commit suicide after witnessing the vastness of the universe? Just like that, when she witnessed the true form of the World Tree, the existence of humans seemed infinitely small in front of it.
However, Gaon did not despair or fall into frustration about it.
He had gone through even more despair and frustration long ago. He never felt fear even when faced with a Dimension Eater, so there’s no way he panicked to this extent.
Seeing her warming up like that, Ariel felt a sense of relief along with her surprise.
“Gaon-gyeong. Do you see it over there?”
Looking in the direction Ariel pointed, she saw a single darkened root in a place full of green.
Even though they were far away, they were wrestling with the divine power of the World Tree with a menacing aura that gave goosebumps to their skin.
“It is really nasty. Poison that gnaws away even the divinity.”
If it was left unattended, it would have taken a very long time, but one day the sacredness of the World Tree would have dried up and eventually been engulfed in poison and contaminated.
As Ariel got closer to the depths of the World Tree and her assimilation rate rose, Ariel frowned at the pain that was transmitted more intensely, then activated her magic to block the poisonous dragon’s energy.
“Hurry up. I want to return the World Tree as soon as possible.”
“All right.”
Gaon, who had approached the contaminated root with Ariel, immediately took out the elixir.
‘But how much should I pour?’
It is an elixir that can make a dying person normal with just one drop. There’s a beaker full of such things, so it’s not a waste to just pour it out.
However, Ariel’s eyes eagerly watching from the side of her bothered her to pour it out little by little.
‘I don’t know!’
Gaon, who had been thinking about what anyone in the world would do for a short time to be called a jjomsaeng, sprayed the elixir roughly with the idea of just going out hot.
Chow!
As soon as the brilliant golden liquid left the beaker and touched the blackened roots, it instantly regained its original color and began to push away the venomous dragon’s energy.
The light that burst out so brightly that I couldn’t see ahead stopped only after a few tens of seconds.
“It surprised me.”
“I am also surprised. Such a deep divine power… It’s been a thousand years.”
Ariel laughed as she watched the roots of the World Tree fully return to her original form, her eyes welling up with tears.
Perhaps because of the power of the elixir, not only was the poison purged, but also the sanctity that had been consumed was restored, exuding more vivid vitality than ever before.
Gaon happily nodded and looked at the scene, but Ariel turned to face him.
Then he took a step closer, took his hand, and opened his mouth.
“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, I am no longer in pain. Is there anything else you want? I’ll listen to anything.”
“You mean anything?”
“Yes, anything. Entire.”
At the words that came out of her petal-like light pink lips, Gaon immediately opened his mouth.
