54 – 54. Happiness
‘Eating and drinking. I suspected it, but never thought it would come to this.’
Elf Marcella chuckled as she stroked her green hair tied in a ponytail. Somehow, her scalp felt hot.
“Still, they make good tea.”
A few sips of lemon tea, taken out of boredom. Its tangy sweetness was perfect for her taste.
However, it wasn’t the time to enjoy tea, so she drank only half and set it aside.
She was a warrior of the Woodrina clan.
Woodrina, one of the five noble clans with the right to live closest to the World Tree, the mother of all.
Among the Woodrina, Marcella was the most exceptional warrior, not just within her clan but throughout the entire ancient forest. Thanks to her unwavering dedication to martial arts from a young age, she had honed her skills tirelessly, not just superficially, but with fervent practice.
So, at times, she was treated as an odd elf by her kin, even by her own family.
“Marcella, today I heard unpleasant words from the elders. They say your behavior resembles that of humans. Honestly, I share the same opinion. Isn’t obsessively practicing day and night not something fitting for an elf of our kind?”
Advice she once received from her father.
Similar-aged elves spread rumors about Marcella, claiming her adoptive mother was a repulsive half-elf with human blood. Though she demonstrated her true heritage, it only tarnished her reputation. Even her supposed aggression was compared to that of humans.
“I thought I was strange back then too.”
A noble elf with a common exterior – that was Marcella.
The disgraceful years ended with humans…
More precisely, they began with the conflict with the Britannia Empire.
In the struggle against the Empire, which dared to covet the resources of the ancient forest, Marcella stood out with remarkable feats. If she hadn’t led the young elves to resist the imperial forces, the Empire might have extended its reach to the World Tree by now. Surface-level demands for minerals and lumber were just a facade; what the Empire truly sought was the World Tree.
Now, she was the heart of the ancient forest.
The elders still revered her, but those old folks would either die or retire in a century or two.
The recent withdrawal of the imperial forces was undeniably Marcella’s achievement.
It should have been a moment of joy, but her mood was peculiar.
‘Humans don’t withdraw so easily.’
Cheolsu is just boasting; there must be some sinister plan. But so far, the true intentions of them have not been discerned.
What could it be? Really.
“Marcella, there’s still half of the lemon tea left, isn’t there?”
The subordinate’s words reached Marcella, who was pondering. Marcella let out a hollow laugh.
‘Is tea important right now?’
Alan Medof. Understanding the thoughts of the human who arrogantly belittled elves was a priority.
“Don’t you want some? It’s really good, even though it’s quite expensive.”
“For now, be quiet.”
“It’s really good, why don’t you know? No… why don’t you know this? There’s still half left. The fact that there’s still half is not a good thing.”
“…?”
Why is the tone like this? Marcella, feeling discomfort, raised her head.
And slowly looked around at the subordinates.
Thoroughly selected elite 10 for contingency situations.
There’s no reason to relax, as they are warriors brought in with determination until the last battle. They must be on edge, more than usual, guarding their surroundings.
But for some reason, the kids were scattered.
“Mother of the World Tree embraced me…!”
A female elf, shaking her body with a ecstatic expression.
She was hugging a small teacup that had contained lemon tea very preciously. Whispering, “World Tree, World Tree,” as she mumbled.
And there were those who became more relaxed.
“Marcella, I honestly didn’t want to come here… If humans set off explosives to kill us, you might survive, but we would either die or get hurt. But now that I’m here, having lemon tea and even eating lemon wedges, I think it was a good decision to follow. Actually… I didn’t even want to poison traps in the old days, but now I see that it was a good choice. …That aside, Marcella, I honestly didn’t want to come here…”
There was an elf who revealed sensitive information that shouldn’t be spoken in front of Alan. He even had his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall.
At least these two were in a state where conversation was possible.
“Hmm….”
The remaining eight were scattered without any particular order.
Pupils that had shrunk strangely,
Faces with vacant expressions, reminiscing about a faint smile,
Even an elf with clear nasal mucus dripping.
All this because of a mere cup of lemon tea. Isn’t this too amazing? How effective could it be to make them this happy…
‘No, I wasn’t trying to praise it.’
Marcella looked at the half-empty teacup with a sense of discomfort creeping in.
Lemon tea brewed with ginger and honey. Lemon pieces were floating here and there.
Perhaps it was because lemons were beautiful, her body kept feeling lighter, and worries about Alan Meadow began to fade little by little.
‘Is it nothing serious…?’
Actually, those humans scheming evil wouldn’t amount to anything.
She was magnificent and strong, able to overcome anything.
Humans knew that, so they probably gave her this precious lemon tea to win her favor. If not, they would have given her some other trivial tea, right?
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
However, the thought of wanting to drink the remaining tea didn’t cross her mind. It seemed that if she drank this much, she would become unbearably happy.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Are you not drinking? I went through all the trouble to prepare it.”
Alan Medoff’s suggestion was ignored.
But the patience she had exerted didn’t last long.
In the end, she couldn’t hold out for more than 10 minutes and gulped down the lemon tea. Not because she wanted to be happy, but simply because her throat was a bit dry.
‘Quenching thirst is important.’
Alan Medoff gazed at her in that state.
**
In front of me now, eleven elves were spreading happiness in various ways.
An elf slouching on the carpet, an elf staring blankly with tears streaming down, and even an elf clicking the edge of a teacup with his tongue with a regretful expression. The last one was slightly shocking, but it wasn’t strange at all.
By now, they must be tasting the greatest joy of their lives. Seeing the mechanism of action being similar to humans, I could be completely sure.
‘Probably a pleasure you can’t feel just by looking at the World Tree.’
I didn’t load heroin for nothing.
Of course, morphine also provides a sense of euphoria along with pain relief, but that pleasure was about twice as much as everyday happiness.
It wasn’t an overwhelming pleasure with just one dose. If I endured withdrawal symptoms, I could avoid falling into morphine addiction.
‘But resisting heroin is difficult.’
I patiently waited for the elves to wriggle in joy within their happiness.
“Human…!”
An hour later, Marcella looked at me with slightly blurry eyes. She was more composed than the others, with moisture in her eyes.
“This isn’t just tea. Why is it so good?”
The question was somewhat sensible.
To spread heroin throughout the elven realm, the present moment is crucial. I nodded at Marcela, gazing at her intently.
“It’s inevitable. We’ve added heroin. That’s the name I gave it.”
“Heroin…?”
“I am a knight and a pharmacist simultaneously. Moreover, heroin is a medicine created honestly for your kind. Someday, when the imperial forces suppress and improve your elves with pride, I wanted to present it as a gift to the soldiers who established order.”
“…”
“Try it, and you’ll understand. What other medicine suits warriors on the battlefield as well? The scars vanish, replaced by feelings of happiness and security. However, due to a sudden decision to withdraw from higher-ups, its usefulness disappeared.”
“Scars.”
Judging by Marcela’s expression, she understood the words. After deciding that I needed to show a bit more sincerity, I sighed.
“To offer such a meticulously crafted medicine to a race that doesn’t care, even if we smash it with a club, is quite pathetic. Can it get any more futile?”
“Human…! What did you just say?”
“I heard what you were saying just now. You poisoned the trap, right? Is that something to proudly boast about in front of an envoy?”
“…”
“In fact, one of my friends lost a leg because of that trap. He underwent an amputation surgery and is still living in despair. …Injuries during battles are common, but I don’t need to explain how it feels to provide the best treatment to the perpetrator.”
After saying this, I sighed as if feeling empty.
Lamenting the reality of having to offer medicine made for heroes to the enemy for entertainment, and the reality of treating those who harmed my friend with respect. Of course, I didn’t have any friends who lost their legs, but they wouldn’t know that anyway.
By this point, the atmosphere on the elven side had also become somewhat awkward. An elf licking a teacup stopped the awkward gesture.
“Human. I never demanded such courtesy from you. Rather, without consultation.”
“Yeah. It’s a gift I provided on my own to win your favor. If I knew you were from the hardliner faction, I wouldn’t have gone this far, but I won’t demand you spit out the heroin you’ve already taken. I was just being foolish.”
“…”
“I only ask for one thing, though.”
“May I ask?”
Instead of answering, he gestured to the diplomatic official to bring the gift he had prepared in advance.
A rather splendid box.
Inside, there was a small ceramic jar containing 30 grams of heroin and measuring tools. And neatly arranged inside were 10 dedicated pipes. Of course, there was also a kind and easy-to-understand usage guide.
“It’s heroin. I want to give this as a gift to your elders. However, I hope none of you lay a hand on it. This gift was not prepared to be given to those who have mercilessly killed someone who came as an envoy.”
“……”
“Go back to the forest and… I’ll say it again, if you have any dignity, don’t touch the heroin. It’s something I made with my life’s effort.”
Saying this, he requested that Marcela and the other elves leave.
The elves slowly left the negotiation tent, perhaps due to the effects of the dru*g.
But they didn’t forget to take the gift box containing the heroin.
Whether they used it themselves or offered it to the elders, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that they gave heroin to the elves who had already tasted its addictive flavor. They even added pipes that had better absorption and easier transmission.
The spread was only a matter of time.