The divine tree, shimmering like flowing gold, stood majestically atop a small hill piled high with withered branches and fallen leaves, swaying gently in the breeze.
Brilliant sunlight passed through the thick golden trunk, spilling dazzling rays across the land.
The dense canopy covered the sky itself, as though draping a golden robe over the azure heavens.
Following the heavy, expansive clouds, it stretched for thousands of miles.
Beneath the hill, the lush and thriving forest whispered with the wind.
The rustling collision of green leaves sounded like the melody of the forest. Though chaotic, it never disturbed the surrounding tranquility.
Vigorous life force spilled forth with every sway, lingering over the boundless woodland.
The elves stood atop the roofs of their homes, gazing around them.
As though they were drawing every trace of nature's vibrant energy deep into their lungs.
Today, the elves living in the backyard territory of the Clavenna estate had been fortunate enough to gain a rich and flourishing forest.
Joy slowly appeared across their faces. The endless greenery before their eyes gave them an incomparable sense of release.
For a fleeting moment, they even mistakenly believed they had already returned to the Forest of Elves.
The name Yard was no longer merely a title granted by the divine tree. It had already surpassed its old meaning.
Cocotte, who inherited the name of Yard, had already transcended the role of an elven queen.
Now, she truly was the Yard Divine Tree.
———
[Clavenna Estate, Conference Hall]
The floor was covered with thick animal-fur carpets, while the walls were adorned with antique bone decorations.
Long dark-wood-colored curtains hung from both sides, and the tea tables and dining tables made from golden nanmu wood were flawless in craftsmanship.
The fire dancing within the fireplace resembled lively spirits, filling the mansion with cheerful warmth.
Two rows of sofas sat across from each other on opposite sides of the room, illuminated by the firelight and appearing even more solemn.
Meanwhile, Cocotte, seated in the middle of one of the sofas, looked unbearably smug, proudly tilting her chin so high it nearly reached the ceiling.
Opposite her, Vinia held a long curved wooden staff in her arms, covering her face with one hand, looking utterly unwilling.
She reluctantly turned her head and looked at Cocotte.
How did she actually manage to pull this off?
Now Cocotte truly carried the bearing of an elven queen.
That emerald comet-like spell had caused a dense forest to spring up throughout the Clavenna backyard in the blink of an eye.
It made the elves respect Cocotte even more and further solidified her lofty position in their hearts.
Even if she was still an idle queen who did absolutely nothing.
However, as the elven priestess, Vinia also understood that gaining more power would only benefit the elven race.
After all, their queen still needed to find a future path for the elves.
With Cocotte now a fifth-tier mage, the elves would also gain greater influence when establishing diplomatic relations with other nations.
At the very least, after leaving the Forest of Elves, they would no longer be looked down upon by outsiders.
Once the elves lost nature's protection, they were basically nothing.
'Wait?'
As Vinia thought this through, she suddenly realized something and turned toward Cocotte again.
"You absorbed all the divine tree's power."
"Which means... you now possess all of the divine tree's abilities."
Hearing the question, Cocotte didn't find it strange at all and proudly nodded.
"Then... does that mean you can directly give birth to elves now?"
"...?"
This time, Cocotte fell silent.
At its core, the elves returned the power of nature to the Yard Divine Tree so that it could nurture new elven life.
But now Cocotte had absorbed the essence of the divine tree and transformed into Yard itself.
She had bypassed the fate of life reaching its end, bypassed the destination of consciousness fading away, and directly became a living, walking Yard Divine Tree.
Therefore, she should theoretically possess the ability to nurture new elf offspring.
Only...
Cocotte was panicking now, cold sweat all over her face, completely drenched.
"I think... I probably... can't?"
"That makes sense."
Vinia nodded, finding that more reasonable.
Although Cocotte had now become the divine tree, she wasn't truly the tree itself in essence.
Her size was far smaller than the real tree, so naturally she couldn't produce that many descendants at once.
Vinia looked Cocotte up and down.
Cocotte's pale body was wrapped in a green robe, vaguely outlining her figure.
The lower hem covered her thighs, while the decorative lines around the waist accentuated her slender frame.
At that moment, Vinia's gaze accidentally landed on Cocotte's chest.
After carefully comparing them, she lowered her head and glanced at her own.
Mm. Bigger than hers.
All in all, she truly couldn't imagine how someone as petite as Cocotte could possibly produce elves larger than herself.
For some reason, Cocotte could always sense an invisible feeling of intrusion in Vinia's gaze.
The two stared at each other when suddenly the conference room door was gently pushed open.
Accompanied by the creaking sound of the door, Liya lazily walked into the room.
Yawning, she dragged her exhausted body through the doorway.
She looked up and saw Vinia and Cocotte sitting on opposite sofas staring at each other.
"Hah, I just finished sending someone off. What happened here?"
The person Liya had sent away was naturally Zora.
She had already arranged for Zora to stay at the best hotel under the Clavenna family's name.
Of course, the other party still had to pay for the room herself.
Although she had originally agreed to take her to tour the firearms factory...
Well, now that the contract was signed, when they actually went was entirely up to her.
Speaking of which, Liya really did owe Cocotte some thanks.
That comet-like fifth-tier spell, along with the dragon, had nearly scared the merchant guild's young lady out of her mind.
"Looks like you two were discussing something?"
Hearing Liya's question, Vinia nodded and answered, "Miss Liya, we do have a question."
"How do you humans have children?"
"Ah..."
Liya froze.
That question was awfully direct.
Because honestly, she had no experience either.
While she knew a little about it, she'd never actually experienced it herself, so she didn't dare talk nonsense.
She could only answer vaguely, "Well... probably by getting married first?"
"If you were that child, then after your parents got married, they'd probably do something, um... and then you'd crawl out of your mother's body..."
By the time she got to that point, even she could barely continue speaking.
Cocotte wore a teasing expression and gave a disdainful laugh.
"My, my. So Liya doesn't understand either."
Hearing that, Liya raised an eyebrow, sensing something wrong.
Although Cocotte was an elf hundreds of years old, Liya, as a human, had never lacked interactions with elves before.
And a lazy bum like Cocotte was practically incapable of interacting much with outsiders.
The only male she had extensive contact with...
The smile on Liya's face gradually turned somewhat chilling.
"So you understand it very well, huh?"
"Of course I do~"
Even though Cocotte had never experienced it herself.
She had read plenty of books.
Whenever she grew tired, she would sleep deeply.
And once awake, she would devote herself wholeheartedly to reading those risque novels.
This was one of the few bright spots in Cocotte's unbearably dull life.
But Liya knew none of this. She merely maintained her smile while staring stiffly at Cocotte.
She hadn't noticed it before.
This lazy elf in front of her was actually the most scheming one of them all.
Meanwhile, after hearing Liya's words, Vinia's mind began racing.
Strictly speaking, the divine tree was the mother of every elf.
No matter an elf's origin or genetics...
In the end, all of them required the divine tree to nurture a seed before a new elf could be born.
And now Cocotte had become the divine tree and inherited its power.
'Which meant...'
At this thought, Vinia suddenly raised her head.
The current Cocotte was not only the elven queen, but also the mother of every elf?
'Huh?'
'Cocotte became my mom?'
"N-no, no, no, no, that's not right."
Vinia held her head with one hand and sat blankly on the sofa, absentmindedly muttering to herself.
Watching Vinia's conflicted expression, Liya and Cocotte exchanged confused glances.
What just happened?
Suddenly, Vinia straightened up and stared directly at Cocotte before asking without hesitation,
"When are you and Viktor getting married?"
"Pffft!"
Cocotte had just picked up her water cup to drink when she instantly sprayed it everywhere.
———
A man wearing a black trench coat moved through the dense forest accompanied by a faint breeze.
When he pushed aside the flourishing branches ahead of him, golden sunlight poured through, revealing the figure of a catgirl.
She wore a black beret marking her demi-human identity, dressed in sharp and capable gear that made her appear dignified and imposing.
A resolute light shone in her determined eyes, captivating like a vigilant leopard seriously watching for threats lurking nearby.
The moment she sensed someone approaching, the catgirl's eyes sharpened like arrows toward the forest entrance.
The figure that entered her sight was Viktor.
Her pupils widened, and she respectfully bowed deeply toward him.
"Lord Patriarch, I have already received the notice."
"Please follow me."
Viktor nodded and followed behind the catgirl instructor.
Passing through layer after layer of forest, they entered a towering structure.
The building was constructed from massive hardened stones, its surface covered in lush moss, while thick ivy concealed the sturdy walls.
It blended perfectly with the surrounding environment.
Gentle sunlight bathed the stone structure, so peaceful that even the lizards clinging to the walls remained motionless.
This place was the demi-humans' sanctuary, cleverly hidden within the dense forest.
Inside, many demi-humans could be seen tirelessly tempering their bodies with precise and synchronized movements.
As the catgirl instructor brought Viktor inside, their gazes couldn't help drifting curiously toward him.
Meanwhile, the catgirl instructor in black uniform led Viktor through the stone tunnels all the way into the depths of the sanctuary.
The crimson lights burning along the walls were faint, yet enough to bathe the surrounding stone in a warm yellow glow.
The catgirl instructor turned toward Viktor, respect flashing through her eyes.
"We've arrived, Lord Viktor."
"You've worked hard."
Viktor extended his hand and rubbed the catgirl instructor's ears.
At first, the small black catgirl instinctively resisted when she saw his hand.
But once Viktor's fingers touched her ears...
As he continued stroking them, she unexpectedly found it rather comfortable.
Soon, the pleasant sensation caused her eyes to narrow unconsciously, and a soft purring sound escaped her throat.
"Mmm... Lord Viktor, I still have... tasks I need to complete.", She muttered quietly.
Viktor stopped petting her, then calmly gave another instruction.
"Go bring Hailnason here. Bring along that demi-human he recently trained as well."
"Understood."
The catgirl instructor bowed gently, lingering traces of redness still on her face as she reluctantly turned and left.
Once a cat has been petted by someone truly skilled at it, they never forget that feeling for the rest of their life.
Viktor's gaze deepened as he stepped into the mysterious cave.
He moved farther inward step by step, the surrounding darkness so thick it was nearly impossible to see his own hand before him.
Only the clear echoes of his footsteps striking the stone, along with the dripping sound of water falling onto rock, reverberated through the silence.
Suddenly, a sharp slicing gust tore through the darkness.
Viktor didn't turn around. He merely waved one hand lightly behind him.
In an instant, wooden vines materialized around his arm, and a metallic clang rang out.
Sparks flew everywhere.
For a brief moment, the pitch-black cave was illuminated by the figure that had appeared.
Viktor lowered his hand, and the vines slowly retracted.
"It's been a long time."
Viktor's low, calm voice slowly echoed out.
He turned through the darkness to look at the other person, staring into those emerald eyes resembling a serpent's pupils.
"Saphiroth."