CH 11

Elven Forest (3)

Essentially, the elven spring’s guards were brainwashed elves. Not even I knew of the squad when they were always guarding the elven spring within its vicinity. Working at the source of elves’ mana wasn’t a nice job, it seemed. Of course, I didn’t rule out the possibility that Vyvyan or her father brainwashed them to make them loyal to Vyvyan alone… Actually, they were a terrifying squad that was only loyal to the ruling elf.

I looked at every single one of their faces while Mommy Vyvyan followed alongside me. They wore straight faces. The weapons they held were similar to statues. All I could feel was the flow of mana; I hypothesised the mana was intended to protect them as a form of amour. I might not have been a match for them if I didn’t have more pure and powerful mana. They couldn’t hurt me with their spears, but I was also aware their weapons were enhanced with mana.

“These teams… have always protected our tribe; however, Mommy has never told you about them, as Mommy didn’t want to let you know about them. These elves no longer have a conscious. Strictly speaking, they’re soldiers composed of nothing but mana. They’re soldiers Mommy created using the mana-infused spring water. Basically, Mommy revives them with the spring water after killing the most outstanding ones. You shouldn’t know about this, Son. You shouldn’t.”

Mom gently grabbed my hand. We went closer and closer to the sound of running water. Mom and I continued forward on the grass and shrubs. The elven spring was underneath the imperial palace. Underneath the palace was a forest with everything, including the sun and clear air. Everything was the exact same as the forest outside.

I once heard of the myth of Northern Europe in humanity’s lands. The Valkyries took the souls of fallen warriors. They supposedly fought there and drank as they waited for the world to end to take to the battlefield. That was how I would illustrate underground place. After Mom brought them in, they sparred with each other in the forest until the elven monarch summoned them, which would also be when the end of the world was coming for the elves, also known as, when the elven spring was threatened.

The two of us headed to the spring located in the centre of the forest.  I had never seen the spring before. It provided us with life and elves, who were a magical species, with mana. In the past, Mommy Vyvyan didn’t plan to let me see it because, as she said, it wasn’t necessary for me to know about it. I shouldn’t have needed to accept the darkness of the Galadriel tribe. From Moms’ standpoint, I was the purest member of the Galadriel Tribe. That was good enough for me.

Mom looked quite solemn. She tightly held my hand as we walked over to the spring where the water flowed. It was located on a tall hill. Therefore, we essentially had to hike up a mountain. Lucia didn’t have the right to come to the area despite being my wife. Access to the spring was exclusive to the Galadriel Tribe.

The sound of the running water gradually amplified. The violently running water created ripples in every direction. I could feel the immense mana dispersed all around, but the mana didn’t give me a soothing feeling. To the contrary, I felt an immense pressure that made it hard to breathe. Mommy Vyvyan, on the other hand, remained her usual self. I noticed Mom’s mana bore a semblance to the mana from the spring.

Mommy Vyvyan lived up to her reputation as the woman who slayed god. To be fair, it was a surprise attack on her part, but, given that God was unable to retaliate, it went to show how perfect Mom’s control of mana was and how powerful she was.

“We’re here,” reported Mommy Vyvyan, as she stopped me.

To be honest, I never thought the legendary spring would be such a small spring when it was supposed to be the elves’ lifeline. I could’ve congested it with one foot. It barely qualified as a spring. I’d argue it was just a gap in a hot spring. I examined the spring: “This is the elven spring?”

“Correct. This is the source of mana. You can feel it, right, the pressure of the mana, that is?”

I nodded: “Mom, does the white deer’s issue have something to do with this spring? Is there a problem with the source, leading to the mana problem? Logically speaking, the white deer aren’t carnivores. If it’s due to their food, it would be the grass growing on the ground that’s the cause of the problem, right?”

“I don’t think it is. If the problem stems from here, then the entirety of our elven lands would have a problem, whereas we can only detect a problem in the eastern forest. Hence, if you want to investigate it, we should head over there.”

“So, was there some purpose in you bringing me here?”

Mommy Vyvyan smiled: “Mommy doesn’t want to hide anything from you anymore. In the past, Mommy didn’t want to let you know about these things, for the reason that you shouldn’t be worrying about these things. Mommy wanted you to be an ordinary child, but this happened. Our tribe has committed so many dirty deeds next to this spring that you don’t need to know of. Now, though, you’ve found out… So, Mommy intends to show you. All of this should’ve been yours in the first place.

The original plan was for Mommy to come here and maintain this place for you when you succeeded the throne so that you’d never have to worry about it. Mommy is now telling you about all of this and the location of the elven spring because Mommy knows you don’t want to be lied to. Mommy won’t lie to you anymore.”

I gently ran my finger through the running water then straightened up: “Mom, I won’t say anything about this incident. I’m also grateful for what you’ve done in the past. I can understand what you did for this tribe. But nonetheless, I’m no longer a child, and I’ve experienced many dirty deeds. None of this is a big deal to me anymore. With that said, I hope you won’t hide things from me when there are problems. Mom, I’m your son. I’m already happy that I get to be together with you, so if you ask for my help, I’d be happy to help.”

Mom gently touched my face with her hand. She quavered, “Okay, okay, Son… I’ll go with you… I’ll go with you to the Eastern forest. Let’s go looking into the white deer’s matter together.”