The place where elves live, the Elven Forest.
This forest does not exist in any fixed location on the continent.
Because it does not exist in reality, but rather within a far more peculiar space.
Even within the game, entering the Elven Forest is extremely complicated.
Only elves can freely travel between the Elven Forest and the real world.
Because elves are free. As long as they "want" to, they can create a passage that connects the Elven Forest and the real world.
So...
"If you want to enter the Elven Forest, it's actually very simple. You just need to communicate with the spirits of nature."
Cocotte sat on a cloud, patting the cloud beneath her as she spoke calmly and confidently, "But almost no humans can do it."
Communicating with nature spirits is an ability exclusive to elves.
To elves, nature spirits are like a powerful, tolerant, and benevolent mother.
Once an elf encounters danger, or is threatened or harmed, the spirits of nature will take the initiative to act, punishing those who harm or attempt to harm elves.
Aside from that, nature spirits refuse to communicate with any race other than elves.
Viktor sat on a chair with his hands in his pockets, one leg crossed over the other, quietly listening to Cocotte.
She wasn't saying all this for any other reason.
She simply wanted to make him give up the idea of entering the Elven Forest.
Of course, Viktor himself was very clear about it as well, the Elven Forest was indeed not a place one could enter casually.
At this stage, there was simply no way for him to enter it relying on himself.
The entire Elven Forest consisted of seven separated landmasses. At the very center of the forest stood the Yard Divine Tree.
The mother tree that gave birth to the elves tirelessly provided them with energy.
The other landmasses were divided into six domains, each corresponding to a different natural element.
To directly reach the Elven Forest and touch the Yard Divine Tree was almost impossible.
Just the six different natural domains alone were enough to block all outsiders.
If the Elven Forest were really that easy to enter, the Razer family wouldn't have spent so many years collecting only a few hundred elves to work for them.
The vast Elven Forest was home to millions of elves.
"You really dislike the Yard Divine Tree, don't you?" Viktor said calmly.
Cocotte looked at him quietly and sighed helplessly, "I don't dislike the Yard Divine Tree."
The Yard Divine Tree was the birthplace of all elves, like their mother.
Yet in Cocotte's eyes, there was a trace of melancholy.
"I just don't like the way the Yard Divine Tree does things."
Every elf is given a surname and a different mission by the divine tree from the moment they are born.
But the divine tree assigns a single mission and surname to elves in such a crude and forceful way, without even asking whether the elf herself is willing.
All of these bestowals are acts of extreme coercion.
Cocotte found this behavior deeply repulsive.
Because it seriously violated everything elves originally stood for.
That was, "freedom."
That was why she wanted to abandon everything and distance herself from the identity of "Elf Queen."
She fled the Elven Forest, all for the sake of living freely.
Even if it was just freely sleeping.
Viktor slowly raised his eyebrows and said lightly, "Do elves without surnames ever appear in the Yard Divine Tree?"
Cocotte froze for a moment and raised her head.
"This… before I left, I had never seen an elf without a surname."
"If such an elf really did appear, it could only be a mistake by the Yard Divine Tree."
But the divine tree does not make mistakes.
Cocotte was confused, even puzzled.
How could there be an elf without a surname?
Viktor stood up, hands still in his pockets, and walked over to Cocotte.
A broad hand landed on her shoulder.
Her delicate body trembled slightly as she stared blankly at Viktor.
Viktor radiated a powerful and confident presence from head to toe, making Cocotte unconsciously stare at him in a daze.
Viktor's eyes locked firmly onto her.
"I have always believed that the divine tree is nothing more than an external thing."
"Even without the divine tree, you are still the queen among elves."
The strongest elf, Cocotte.
No one ever questioned Cocotte's strength, even though she had become so lazy that she didn't even want to move.
But there was no denying that she truly was the most powerful elf the elven race had seen in thousands of years.
Cocotte stared blankly at Viktor.
Before she could understand what Viktor was trying to say, he suddenly spoke again, "Come on. I'll take you to see an elf."
"After you see her, you'll understand what I mean."
———
[Braeston]
This was the second most prosperous city in the entire empire.
All kinds of shops were neatly lined up on both sides, almost completely filling the buildings along the streets.
Carriages moved slowly along the roads, wheels rolling over smooth stone bricks with crisp sounds. People walked shoulder to shoulder, smiles on their faces.
From time to time, someone squeezed out of the crowd and entered a shop on either side.
Henny followed behind Liya, while Leon stood on Liya's other side, wearing a hood that hid her face as they moved through the crowd.
Leon stayed by Liya's side at all times. This was her duty as a guard.
When Henny came to Braeston for the first time, her eyes went wide.
This place was just as bustling as the capital, but to Henny, it felt incredibly fresh.
Although she had lived in the capital for a long time, she had never wandered around so freely like this.
Braeston was different from the capital.
In the capital, large numbers of nobles came and went every day, and nobles were a common sight on the streets.
Braeston, by comparison, was a bit more subdued. You wouldn't see many big figures here.
The wealthy merchants and local magnates who settled in Braeston often traveled elsewhere for trade.
And it was also rare to see nobles with titles here.
Because this was Clavenna territory.
Even if someone important came here, no one would outrank Liya and Viktor.
Liya looked at Henny and asked with a smile, "How does it feel? Do you feel like settling down in Braeston?"
Compared to the fast-paced life of the capital, the people of Braeston lived much more slowly and comfortably.
Henny nodded, then shook her head, "This place is great. I really like it, but…"
Although this was Professor Viktor's hometown, he himself wouldn't stay in Braeston for long.
Henny knew that Professor Viktor was like a spinning top that never stopped, always incredibly busy.
So…
"I probably wouldn't be suited to living here."
She would rather follow Professor Viktor than live an ordinary life in one place, accomplishing nothing.
If it had been before meeting Viktor, she probably would have thought this place was wonderful.
"Is that so."
Liya nodded as if she understood.
But at that moment, the crystal ball at her waist began to grow slightly warm.
As if realizing something, Liya turned to Leon beside her.
"Leon, go back first."
Leon frowned slightly in confusion, her tone tinged with worry.
"Miss Liya, then you…"
"There's someone you need to go back and see."
"And also."
Liya pulled Henny over in one motion, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and said with a smile, "Don't worry. I've still got a genuine mage here with me."
'Actually, there's also Mr. Crocodile.'
Henny thought shyly to herself, lowering her head and not daring to say anything.
———
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A figure sped rapidly across the city.
The sound of wind continuously exploded in Leon's ears as she swiftly moved through the air above Braeston's buildings.
It was getting late. By the time Leon returned to the old estate, the moon was already hanging in the night sky, casting its pale light over the land.
She ran at full speed from Braeston's urban area to the front of the Clavenna old estate and came to a stop.
Her face wasn't flushed, and she wasn't out of breath.
When the guards at the gate saw Leon, they saluted her respectfully and said, "Lady Leon, the lord of the house is waiting for you in the backyard."
'The lord of the house? Viktor!?' Leon was truly confused now.
She had never had any direct contact with Viktor, and she had never even revealed her identity as an elf in front of him.
Although she understood that Viktor must have known she was an elf long ago.
Thinking back to the last time Viktor casually spoke her name in front of her made Leon feel nervous.
This time, with an uneasy heart, Leon walked toward the backyard of the Clavenna estate.
The backyard of the old Clavenna estate was incredibly vast, stretching beyond what the eye could see, like an enormous grassland.
Viktor stood in the middle of the plain with his hands in his pockets.
The night wind was loud, blowing his coat so that the black fabric danced continuously under the moonlight.
Sensing someone's arrival, Viktor turned his head and looked at Leon.
A crow stood on his shoulder, its single eye seeming to glint with an eerie light.
"You're here." Viktor's cold voice rang out.
Leon didn't know how to speak alone with Viktor. Her hands had nowhere to go.
In the end, as if completely giving up resistance, she brought her hands together and bowed to Viktor.
"Lord of the house."
"What are your orders?"
Viktor stood on the grassland, his gaze lowered slightly. He reached out and gently patted the crow's small, jet-black head.
"An elf once told me that all nature elves possess surnames."
"But her words made me feel confused."
His deep eyes looked toward Leon as his voice sounded calmly.
"Tell me, Leon."
"What is your surname?"