Chapter 1312: The Elves

Aera froze as she noticed a human head floating silently in front of them.

Its translucent face flickered faintly as it hovered in the air, and from its expression, Asad could already tell that it had discovered something important.

"What is it?" Asad asked.

The ghost immediately lowered its head.

"Master, I’ve discovered something concerning the Elves."

Asad’s expression changed... He had certainly ordered them to observe the elves.

Aera also noticed the sudden seriousness in his eyes and quietly listened.

"What happened?"

"One of the Elves has been leaving the shelter regularly. She travels beyond the territory and returns several hours later."

Asad frowned.

"Where?"

"Northwest. Several dozen kilometers from the nearest shelter."

"Did you follow her?"

"Yes."

The ghost’s expression became slightly more serious.

"She wasn’t alone when she arrived."

Asad’s eyes narrowed.

"Who was with her?"

"Other Elves."

Aera’s eyes widened.

"Other Elves?"

The ghost nodded.

"Other scouts counted more than twenty, although there may have been others hidden deeper in the forest. They were gathered around a single Elf."

Asad remained silent for a moment.

"What were they doing?"

"They were kneeling to someone... "

The answer immediately caught Asad’s attention.

"Kneeling?"

"Yes... All of them. They were kneeling before the same woman."

Aera instinctively looked at Asad.

"Is it the Elven Queen?"

"That’s what I thought at first," the ghost replied. "But there was something else. They were calling her... Mother."

Asad’s expression became noticeably more serious.

Aera also fell silent.

Mother.

That single word explained far too much.

For the past few months, Asad had been secretly observing the Elves alongside Fiona. Fiona had used her rats to watch them from within the shelters, while Asad had relied on his ghosts to observe places that even the rats couldn’t reach.

They had noticed the same strange behavior repeatedly.

The Elves would suddenly stop whatever they were doing and stare toward empty spaces. Some would gather around the World Trees for hours, while others seemed to whisper to something that nobody else could hear.

At first, Asad had simply considered it strange behavior.

After hearing the otherss report, however, everything had begun to make sense.

The Elves weren’t behaving strangely for no reason.

They had been listening to something.

And now, it seemed that they had finally found the source.

"Did you identify her?" Asad asked.

"No. My scouts couldn’t get close enough without being discovered."

"Did you hear anything else?"

"They mentioned the World Tree several times. I also heard them speaking about a Queen, but most of what they said was difficult to understand."

Asad nodded slowly. That was enough information.

He already had a strong idea of what was happening.

There was an important distinction between the Fairy Queen and the Elven Queen.

The Fairy Queen wasn’t simply the ruler of the Elves. She was the overseer of the entire Fairy Realm, a realm inhabited by Elves, Centaurs, Druids, Fairies, and many other races.

The Elven Queen was a different existence entirely.

She was the supreme figure of the Elven race.

And among the Elves, she was often regarded as their Mother.

If the creature his ghost had discovered was truly the Elven Queen, then the strange behavior of the Elves over the past few months suddenly made perfect sense.

But there was still one problem.

"How did she get here?"

The ghost remained silent.

Aera frowned.

"Wasn’t Lord Shane the only person capable of bringing Elves into this world?"

"That’s what we thought."

Asad looked toward the young World Tree.

The first Elves in their world had come through Shane’s special Elf Recruitment Stones. As far as anyone knew, there had been no other method of bringing them from the Fairy Realm into their world.

But that had been before the boundaries between the realms began collapsing.

The Zombie Apocalypse had already changed everything.

Vampires had appeared. The Dragons also entered their world.

Even Demons had crossed through portals.

It was no longer surprising that other strange creatures had begun appearing in places where they had never existed before.

The barrier separating their world from the other realms was no longer as stable as it had once been.

"So the Elves can cross over on their own now."

"That appears to be the case."

Aera looked at the ghost.

"Then this means the Elven Queen didn’t come here because of Shane?"

"No. I don’t think so..."

Asad shook his head.

"She probably came here because the barrier finally became weak enough for her to cross."

The implications were enormous.

If the Elven Queen had entered their world, then she might not be the only one.

There could be countless other Elves waiting on the other side.

And if the Fairy Realm had begun interacting with their world, there was no telling what other races might eventually appear.

Asad rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Continue observing them."

"Understood."

"Don’t approach the Queen. I don’t want her to know we’re watching her yet."

The ghost nodded.

"I understand."

It slowly began fading into the air.

"Wait."

The ghost stopped.

Asad looked at it.

"If you hear the Elves mention anything about the Fairy Realm, the World Tree, or why their Mother came here, report it to me immediately."

"Yes, Master Asad."

The ghost disappeared completely.

Silence returned to the courtyard.

Aera looked at Asad.

"So... we’re really going to have an Elven Queen in our world?"

"Apparently."

"Is that a good thing?"

Asad thought about it for a moment.

"I don’t know."

His gaze drifted toward the young World Tree.

"But if she’s really the Mother of the Elves, then she’s probably going to become important."

Aera nodded slowly.

Then she looked down at the pale red egg in her hands.

"Does that mean we should postpone hatching my pet?"

Asad turned toward her.

For a moment, he simply stared.

"We came all the way here for your pet."

Aera smiled.

"T-that’s true..."

Asad couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Then let’s hatch it first."

Aera’s expression immediately brightened.

"Really?"

"Yes. Whatever is happening with the Elves can wait for a little while."