The Stupid Devil’s Slave’s Travelogue

Chapter 14. Lee Soo 5

An uneasy feeling struck me first.

Given the name “Ymir’s Tomb,” it was likely a sort of royal mausoleum clinging to the prestige of nature.

What characterizes a royal tomb?

An exclusive attitude toward outsiders and right-wing authority.

Let alone a human from an enemy nation? Is it even permissible for a human to enter such a place?

“…Am I really allowed to go in there?”

Jwyul let out a low affirmative hum and set me down.

“Normally, they’d catch a human, kill them, burn them, and bury them to use as fertilizer. But you’re my slave, so it doesn’t matter.”

“…Are you sure it’s fine?”

For some reason, Jwyul chuckled.

Her eyes were filled with mischief.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

‘Doesn’t seem like it, though.’

While I could naturally converse with her, I didn’t know much about elven traditions. Their mindset, likes, dislikes, and what to be careful of—all the necessary precautions—I was worried I might unknowingly commit a faux pas.

No, more than committing a faux pas, I just felt uncomfortable.

Wasn’t it like throwing an Asian into the den of skinheads? The better your command of the foreign language, the harder it is to be forgiven for cultural missteps.

At least that’s what I thought.

“Do you know what happens to an elf after they die?”

Jwyul had been observing me quietly.

It was an unexpected question.

A dead animal’s fate is the same, isn’t it?

“They decay, right?”

Jwyul shook her head.

“When elves die, they become trees.”

“…Trees?”

“When an elf dies or grows too old, roots burst from their body. Their head becomes the trunk, and everything below the neck turns into roots.”

Jwyul made a slashing motion across her throat.

Trees sprouting from a corpse sounded no different from a parasitic fungus, and I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

“If an elf and a human pair up, they can have children. If you truly assimilate with us, your wife would also become an elf, so pay close attention.”

Come to think of it, the elf I met earlier had mistaken me for a half-elf. Elves grow grass from their scalps.

Could that grass be the seed leaves of the tree?

I was somewhat familiar with such a tree.

─A parasitic tree.

But parasitic trees usually grow on the same kind of plant.

I didn’t know why their ears were long, but given that they could have offspring with humans, elves were likely a close species.

‘So, does that mean this tree could also parasitize humans?’

As I reached that conclusion, goosebumps prickled my skin.

“…I really don’t like that village.”

“Elves don’t like human males, either. But they’re not as hostile toward outsiders as humans are. If you keep meeting them, they won’t discriminate agBeaskfolkst you.”

“No, I just don’t want to go.”

“I need to stop by there.”

Jwyul started dragging me by the hand.

She was so strong that resisting was impossible, and eventually, I had to walk on my own before I fell.

“…So, elves only turn into trees after they die? It doesn’t happen while they’re alive?”

“I’ve seen the bodies. The corpses act as fertilizer, and trees grow rapidly from them. But it doesn’t happen to living ones.”

It wasn’t the body turning into a tree but rather using it as fertilizer?

‘That’s definitely a parasitic tree!’

“Never cut down a grave tree. Even touching it is a severe offense unless you’re the bereaved family. If something happens, not even I can protect you.”

Dead elves turn into trees.

Elves guard the grave trees.

Are elves like soldier ants protecting their host trees?

…Wait, grave trees?

“…You called that big tree a tomb earlier, right?”

Jwyul nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Then that one too…?”

“A grave tree.”

“A grave tree. Can a grave tree grow that big?”

“Only Ymir’s tree keeps growing; other grave trees don’t get that large.”

It seemed to be a kind of mutant.

Its thick branches sprawled haphazardly, unpruned and hanging low. If left that way, the tree might snap, but they hadn’t even bothered trimming it.

“Why do you look so serious?”

“When an outsider touches a grave tree, do elves have a personality shift or anything like that?”

“Of course. How would you feel if someone started sawing your family’s corpse, fiddling with it, and snapping its fingers?”

Jwyul’s answer was entirely sensible.

A dry laugh escaped me. I had tried to see the world clearly, only to realize that clarity was a fixed perception in itself.

‘This is a world of magic, after all.’

“Just be careful of that. Nothing else matters.”

“My father once told me that Dvergr and elves are enemies.”

“Those scumbags chop down grave trees to make furniture. That stuff’s quite popular among your Drakkar, too.”

Jwyul spoke sharply.

‘Furniture made from people’s corpses?’

Now I understood why my father hadn’t told me the full story.

Usually, when topics were so fraught, rumors were bound to be twisted.

Seeing grave trees as sarira was probably the most accurate view.

But taking mementos made from the deceased’s bodies? To elves, that would be an artistic desecration of the dead.

There was no mutual language, and humans likely never saw an elf turn into a tree behind the Great Wall.

Plus, the tree was the highest quality aromatic wood, also known as ironwood—tough and resilient.

‘Even my father’s bow was made of grave wood.’

It was the bow that had fed our family for years. I had heard endless boasts about how it would straighten out when the string was released and how it was a bow you tamed for life.

Even if the truth got out, Dvergr and humans blinded by profit would dismiss it as nonsense, leading to the inevitable feud with the elves.

If the suppliers knew and continued harvesting grave trees, they’d deserve to be beaten to death. My father said the elves were a reclusive race, but they weren’t just reclusive; they were hostile.

“Won’t the villagers hate me if I go?”

“Of course they’ll hate you.”

The descendant of madmen who desecrate their family’s corpses to make furniture and decorations? I’d be wary, too.

Actually, wary was putting it mildly.

I could already imagine facing every kind of discrimination, like racial prejudice, and ending up dead in some back alley.

At the end of it, Lady Yudahi would be smiling.

‘Nah, I’m still young, so it’ll be fine.’

…Will it really be fine?

No! I can’t stand the anxiety!

“How do I prove I’m a slave?”

“You’ll wear a bracelet with my name on it.”

“A bracelet, not necklace?”

The wolf glanced at me.

“Would you prefer a necklace?”

“No, I’d rather have a bracelet. Aah──! Damn mosquito!”

I slapped a mosquito that landed on my arm.

The wolf glanced at the squashed mosquito, then looked me over.

“Now that you mention it, all humans wear clothes, so why are you naked?”

“I was treating an injured Terup, and since there were no bandages, I used my clothes in a pinch.”

Jwyul frowned.

“I still don’t get it. Why did you help that thief?”

Because I felt a sudden rush of shared misfortune.

But I couldn’t say that.

“Because I was asked for help.”

Jwyul tilted her head in confusion.

The animal ears must be the reason, but they made her look quite cute and sly. Jwyul soon shook her head and turned away.

“You really seem crazy.”

“I have a question too.”

I had wanted to ask since yesterday but had forgotten until just now.

“Terup was seriously injured. Her leg bones were broken, and all her claws were gone, but that guy, Avi, even starved the kid. Is that typical of Terup? He looked a bit different, too.”

“There’s something you’re mistaken about. Those injuries were all inflicted by this guy.”

Jwyul tapped the head of Terup hanging from her belt.

The Mountain Lord did all that?

“…Weren’t the Mountain Lord and Terup family?”

“The South is dangerous. Independent Beastfolks usually raise their children in relatively safe places. Because of this, they often fight among themselves over territory. Males are nasty enough to beat each other up and cripple their rivals.”

I chewed over her words, trying to understand, but felt a hollow sense of disbelief.

‘This is absurd.’

He broke the leg bones and pulled out the claws of a woman with a child?

Is that even human?

I could understand why Jwyul had eaten her meat.

Right now, I felt like I could eat it too.

“That’s a complete piece of garbage.”

“That’s why I’m personally turning him into fertilizer.”

Jwyul pulled Terup’s thigh from his bag and bit into it.

‘Territorial fights? Sure, that’s possible.’

But does that justify crippling a woman with a child?

“Is Terup inherently such an evil species? Not only did they torture, but they completely tore things apart──.”

“A Terup’s penis is this big.”

Jwyul showed her pinky finger.

It looked smaller than mine at fourteen. Pathetic.

“The Terup’s torn genitals were the work of three foolish guys. They must have done that to an already wounded Terup.”

So… Hosottes tried to rape the injured Terup and then got caught and killed by the male Terup?

“Wait. So you knew all the details from the start and knew that the Terup was bad?”

“Of course.”

Then why?

“Why did you target the Terup cub?”

Jwyul had no grudges agBeaskfolkst the young Terup.

So there was no particular reason to target it.

“I didn’t target it. I needed to find out why Terup entered your house in the first place, and it came out because of the scent of poison.”

“You told me to hand over the Terup.”

“That? You went after me first, didn’t you? You even prepared poison. I was annoyed, so I decided to mess with you a little.”

“…It was a joke?”

“Yeah, just a joke.”

Jwyul smiled innocently.

‘This damn beast!!!’

“Are you insane──?!”

As I finally shouted harsh words, my head cooled down instantly.

‘No, calm down. It all worked out in the end.’

Still, thinking that I’d been completely duped made my blood boil coldly.

I wanted to hit her, but I held back, fearing I’d end up dead.

Jwyul walked ahead, giggling.

“You should be thankful I came. Males with tempers that foul kill or chase off hunters, you know.”

“I’ve lived there for 14 years!”

“Then the original Mountain Lords must have been that mother and daughter. We all look alike, so to the Mountain Lord, we were all potential threats.”

…If Jwyul’s words were true, it meant my family had also been at risk.

Jwyul had actually protected my family from danger.

By this point, I felt utterly dumbfounded.

‘All my efforts and determination? They were just a misunderstanding?’

Any lingering resentment toward Jwyul vanished.

Instead, I started to resent myself. If I’d done nothing, it would have been fine!

“…Terup is an Beaskfolk too. So why do they act so barbarically toward their own kind or other Beaskfolks?”

“They only care about themselves and can’t understand others. They’re the most detestable of Beaskfolks. Those are what we call Independent Beaskfolks.”

Independent Beaskfolks. It made sense.

Even the young Terup had been quite unpleasant.

“There’s one last thing I’m curious about.”

“What?”

“You spoke with Terup, and you answered her. How do you know their language?”

“Terup uses Horus’s common language. I’ve already learned the writing and language used there.”

Horus’s common language?

This world has no schools or internet.

Books are hard to find, and most people can’t even read.

In such a world, mastering another species’ or nation’s language is a tremendous feat.

Especially since mastering a language usually requires the help of a native speaker. Jwyul’s prowess in all these aspects reinforced the fact that she was on a different level.

‘Could it be that the reputation of wolves as butchers is undeserved?’

The thought suddenly crossed my mind.