I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 130

CHAPTER 130

“Kaaaah!”

A scream echoed in my ears.

Before my eyes, fierce flames surged, engulfing a massive tree.

People ran around in panic, crying out in agony.

It was a scene I’d witnessed before.

“Run!”

“Honey, where are you? Honey!!”

I was reliving the scene exactly as I saw it after helping Elam and Shu in the spirit realm.

And there I was again.

“Uh, ah.”

I sank to the ground, watching the burning house.

“Baby!”

My mother rushed over and lifted me, comforting me against her chest.

“There, there, you’re okay. mother’s here.”

“Uh, m-mother. M-mother…”

“There, there, our good girl.”

“M-mother…”

In the familiar embrace, I blinked my eyes slowly. I wanted to see Mother’s face, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up.

‘Is everything just replaying exactly as it was then?’

Still, I seemed to have the freedom to think.

With that thought in mind, I blinked slowly.

‘Still.’

It was a bit disappointing not to see Mother’s face, but what could I do?

I should just feel the warmth in this embrace and move on.

If my memory served me right, I would wake up soon.

“…”

But it wasn’t happening. Something murmured, and Mother shifted.

‘What’s wrong?’

Wasn’t she supposed to wake me up with something like, ‘Mother will protect you no matter what’?

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

She kept patting my back, murmuring words I couldn’t quite make out to someone.

Mother pushed through the fleeing crowd.

She arrived in front of the World Tree.

“Hurry, everyone, run!”

“They’re coming through!!”

“We did what…!”

The conversation was interrupted intermittently. Did my ears hurt from the loud noise earlier?

“Where’s the leader!”

In front of the World Tree stood a temple-like structure.

High elves were pouring out from there too.

It seemed like the last fleeing procession.

“Ah!”

“…!!”

As someone stumbled, a few high elves who were fleeing stopped in their tracks.

“Can you run?”

Instead of running away, they supported the injured high elf and started fleeing outside the temple again.

‘They have fewer numbers than the elves, yet they are a smaller, more closed society.’

It seems high elves have a deep sense of solidarity among themselves.

But why?

‘Why isn’t anyone helping Mother and me?’

Not even helping, but…

“Ouch!”

Instead, they forcefully pushed Mother, who was carrying me, trying to get into the temple.

“Waaah!”

Mother staggered heavily on the stairs.

She barely held onto the railing, but she couldn’t put one foot down properly due to her twisted ankle.

I burst into tears in her embrace.

‘Are they crazy!’

Even while crying, I glared at the high elf who pushed Mother.

Why, huh?

“…Eik.”

Whether Mother got hurt or I cried.

The high elf was staring at us with malicious eyes.

“Hey.”

Another elf carrying a book in her arms stopped the man.

“No time for that! Come on!”

“But if that hadn’t been there, this wouldn’t have happened!”

The one caught at the man’s fingertips was me.

I looked up at the man from my mother’s arms, trembling.

‘Huh? Me? Why me!’

Even in the palace, I was ridiculed as dirty blood, and now even in the elf village, is it the same?

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Suddenly, a low, dark voice came from above, as if grounding the man.

“If you blabber nonsense to Lottie, I’ll cut out your tongue from your mouth.”

“…”

Gulp, the man’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.

He seemed to want to say something, but when my mother glared at him again, he began to backtrack.

“Damn it, if only this situation hadn’t happened!”

Wow, it doesn’t look like it.

I watched the retreating figure of the man, then reached out towards my mother.

“Mother…”

“Uh-huh, there, there. Were you very scared?”

It’s okay, my mother, patting my back again, whispered in my ear.

“You’ll be safe soon, it’ll be over soon. Our good girl. Mother will protect you, Lottie.”

I could be sure of this.

It was a promise to herself.

Mother was promising herself that she would take her daughter, her child, to a safe place.

I stared intently at my Mother’s face as she climbed the high steps.

‘I was loved like this.’

It was a love I had only recently experienced a little bit of. Somehow, it made my chest itch.

“Ouch.”

Was it because of that jerk from earlier that Mother hurt her ankle? She groaned softly as she climbed the stairs.

“Mother!”

“Uh-huh, Mother’s okay.”

Mother, holding onto the railing again, slowly climbed the stairs.

‘If I take care of her, she’ll get better soon!’

If I tightly wrapped it with bandages, it would be easier to walk. 

I could do it. I could protect Mother too.

It was frustrating that despite having the knowledge and ability, I couldn’t take care of Mother.

Suddenly, as I sniffled in my sorrow, Mother stopped in her tracks.

Someone was standing on the stairs.

“Ronen.”

It was a high elf with thick brown hair down to his waist.

“Ayal.”

“I knew you’d come this way.”

‘Are they acquaintances?’

I blinked from my mother’s embrace.

In the meantime, the elf called Ayal turned his gaze towards me.

“So Lottie came too.”

“Yeah.”

Mother tightened her arms around me.

“I’ll save my daughter. So, move.”

“Ugh.”

Ayal sighed heavily before gesturing.

“Follow me. Since there’s no one else here, now is probably better.”

As Ayal reached out his hand, a stream of water gushed out.

‘Oh, that.’

I fixed my gaze on the stream of water.

That, that! That’s Elam’s power, right?

“Hurry, Elam’s water alone can’t completely extinguish this fire.”

‘Right!’

While I blinked, Mother quickly followed Ayal, holding me tightly in her arms.

“I know why you came here.”

As Ayal quelled the approaching flames and blocked part of the collapsing temple with a stream of water, he moved forward.

“You probably know that running away with the villagers won’t guarantee protection.”

“…”

“The temple is the safest place in the village, so you had to come here.”

“Why are you still here?”

Mother, lips tightly pressed together, asked.

“If you’re the revered guardian of the World Tree, I thought others would have taken you away by now.”

“Well.”

Ayal stopped walking. He turned his head slightly to look at Mother and me.

“You’re still here.”

“…”

“Hey, Ronen.”

As if he had something to say, Ayal turned completely and faced me and Mother.

“How about sending Lottie to the humans at this opportunity?”

“What?”

“The highest branch of the World Tree touches the divine realm, and its roots lead to the human realm.”

Ayal’s finger pointed to the sky, and then his other palm pointed to the ground.

“And now… They’re attacking, creating a gap between the roots of the World Tree.”

Here we go again.

I thought my ears had just temporarily gone deaf from the loud noise earlier. But that wasn’t it.

Only certain information was coming through vaguely.

‘By the way, the highest branch of the World Tree touches the divine realm.’

I thought the only way to cross from the human realm to the divine realm was through the gods.

‘There’s also a way through the World Tree.’

It was new information.

Meanwhile, Ayal continued speaking.

“Right now, with Lottie’s power, we can send her to the human realm.”

“Are you insane?”

Mother protested.

She emitted a more rough and menacing aura than when she was angry at the man who pushed her earlier.

“How dare you suggest sending my daughter away?”

“We have to send her away!”

As if frustrated, Ayal pounded his chest, then stepped forward toward Mother and me.

“Listen, brave future leader Ronen. You, who are branded as a traitor and whining Ronen!”

Ayal reached out his hand and forcefully grabbed my face, nestled in Mother’s arms.

Then, as if to show, he pressed me towards Mother.

“Look! Face reality!! Your daughter doesn’t have much time left!”

Ah.

Only then could I see myself.

More accurately, it was my reflection in Mother’s large pupils.

My face was covered in blood.

What I thought were ordinary tears were tears of blood, and my skin was oozing thick pus.

My cheeks were sunken, and there were dark shadows under my eyes.

Even if I died suddenly, or stopped breathing right now.

It wouldn’t be strange at all.

“It’s okay!”

Mother hurriedly covered my face with her sleeve.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Our daughter. Our daughter will be fine.”

As if saying that everything would be better once cleaned up, Mother wiped my face with her sleeve while crying.

Looking down at Mother with pity, Ayal spoke up.

“The power of the World Tree is too strong for a half-elf to withstand.”

“…”

“It’s better to give up the protection of the World Tree and choose the human side.”

“…Then she’ll forever belong to the human realm.”

Mother lowered her head, holding me tightly as if she couldn’t bear to lose me.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Ayal nodded.

“But she’ll live.”

I could sense sympathy and pity in his voice.

“Though her body may weaken to the point of seeming like she’ll die any Motherent from the pain, your daughter will survive.”

“…”

“You, too, were considering it, Ronen.”

Mother didn’t answer. She just crumbled slowly, holding me in her arms.

“I knew why you kept coming to the temple despite facing criticism every time.”

Ayal took a deep breath, then grabbed Mother’s falling hand.

Mother lifted her head. Her beautiful face was stained with tears and despair.

“I’ll open the door.”

“But, if you do that, then you…”

“Yeah, I know.”

Ayal’s lips formed a gentle curve. His eyes betrayed an undeniable affection.

“You’ll be greatly hurt. But…”

Ayal, holding Mother’s hand tightly with both of his, lifted Mother and me.

“You’ll take the position of the leader.”

That’s the condition.