Chapter 149: Food

"Isn’t this Walter?" A towering figure appeared before the group, a Minotaur, several times the size of an elf.

Seeing him, the guards Elara had brought immediately gripped their weapons in nervous tension, they could sense a powerful aura radiating from this Minotaur, one far beyond what the Minotaurs in the outside world possessed.

Seeing them acting as if facing a mortal enemy, the Minotaur tilted his head in confusion. "You even brought elves... They must be here to see Ethan, right? And who are you?"

"They’re also merchants, here to do business with Ethan," Walter explained.

"Oh? Visitors for my friend Ethan? Then let me introduce myself, my name is Draugor, and I’m Ethan’s good friend." He thrust out a massive hand, revealing a broad, friendly smile.

Elara flinched, but she gathered her courage and shook it. "I-it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Elara Voss."

"Since you’re merchants, what good things did you bring? Anything we could use?"

"I’m sorry — our goods this time mainly consist of seasonings, spices, and other items Mr. Ethan requested, there isn’t anything suitable for you."

"Is that so? That’s truly a pity, but it doesn’t matter — whatever we need, Ethan makes for us."

"Mr. Ethan’s craftsmanship is indeed beyond reproach."

"By the way, where are you headed?"

"I’m going hunting, quite a few magical beasts have appeared nearby recently — ones that have woken from hibernation now that spring arrived, if we don’t clear them out, they’ll cause plenty of trouble for the surrounding area." Draugor hoisted his giant axe onto his shoulder as he spoke.

After saying goodbye to everyone, he turned and walked into the forest, not long after he left, terrifying roars echoed from deep within the trees, he was clearly fighting some powerful magical beast already.

Witnessing this, Elara broke out in yet another cold sweat. "Are there no ordinary people in the Great Forest? How come everyone we meet is some unbelievably powerful creature...?"

"It’s very difficult for the weak to survive here, which is probably why it’s like this, let’s go, it’s time for us to move on as well." Leon led the still-shaken Elara and her guards onward.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered some magical beasts and wild animals, but they easily dispatched them all.

After walking for a short while, a vast expanse of fields appeared before their eyes.

"Wow..." Although Elara had seen naturally growing crops before, this was her first time seeing cultivated farmland of such massive scale, with such diverse varieties side by side, as a breeze rolled through the wheat, the green stalks rippled like waves. Elara stared in dumbfounded amazement.

"Who are you?" A young girl wearing a straw hat and sporting short green hair walked out from the wheat field, her expression was a bit flat, but she was undeniably adorable.

"Wow, so cute!!" Elara blurted.

"Thank you." The girl answered without changing expression and flashed a V-sign with her fingers.

Elara was utterly charmed, she couldn’t help but walk up and ask, "What is your name?"

"My name is Liora, are you here to see Ethan?"

"Yes, where is Mr. Ethan?"

"He went to the greenhouse, I’m helping out here..."

"Liora, Ethan is calling you, meow~"

"Then I’ll be going now, bye~" Liora waved and darted off into the wheat field.

Elara watched the direction Liora had left, reluctant to look away, she turned and asked Leon, "Leon, is that girl also a resident of the Great Forest?"

"I... this is my first time seeing her too." Leon was also puzzled by Liora’s appearance, however, knowing that Ethan was here was enough, he led the group forward toward the cabin.

They arrived at the cabin, Ethan and Pearl came out to meet them. "You’re here."

"Mr. Ethan, it’s been so long, how have you been?!"

Ethan was holding a basket filled with various fresh fruits. "Perfect timing — I just picked some fruit, come have a taste."

He distributed the fruit to everyone with a gentle smile.

Seeing him, Elara finally let out a sigh of relief, she picked up a piece of fruit and said, "The journey to the Great Forest really opened my eyes, now that I see you, Mr. Ethan, I finally feel at ease, there shouldn’t be any more strange things happening now, right?"

"Haha, was it really that bad? Don’t worry, everything will be fine."

"By the way, Mr. Ethan — who is that girl?" Leon pointed at the expressionless Liora standing beside Ethan.

"She is the World Tree," Ethan said calmly.

Elara, mid-bite, choked, this was the biggest shock of the day by far.

Although she had heard that Ethan was nurturing the World Tree, she had never expected he had actually succeeded, and the result was standing right in front of her, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes, curiously observing Liora from head to toe.

Liora seemed completely oblivious to everyone’s gazes, she simply held onto the hem of Ethan’s shirt, her face the picture of innocence.

"First time seeing the World Tree?" Ethan asked with a smile.

Elara nodded honestly, she’d only ever heard of it in legends, and she never would have guessed the legendary divine tree would take the form of such an adorable little girl.

"Why does the World Tree have a human form?" she couldn’t help but ask.

"Well..." Ethan didn’t quite know how to explain it either.

Seeing him struggle, Leon smiled wryly. "If the elves knew that Mr. Ethan had actually nurtured the World Tree, it would cause quite a commotion."

"Why is that?"

"Because Marquis Karloitz’s recent actions have been very unusual."

"Let’s put that aside for now," Zharok cut in.

"Why don’t we chat while we eat? It’s almost time for lunch."

Prompted by his reminder, everyone realized it was already noon, they couldn’t serve only fruit to guests who had traveled from afar.

Ethan nodded. "You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll go prepare right now."

"Right — we brought some meat with us," Leon said, as if just remembering.

"Mutton?"

"Yes, and spices that pair well with it... please feel free to use them."

"There’s other meat too." Elara added.

Ethan inspected the ingredients they’d brought and nodded in satisfaction, plenty for everyone to eat their fill. "Then let’s start with roasting, Zharok, come help."

"You got it." Together they loaded charcoal into the grill and started roasting, Liora and Pearl ran out to the fields, picked fresh vegetables, and brought them back to wash.

Leon and Elara watched the seamless coordination and wanted to help, but Ethan politely waved them off.

Before long, a lavish lunch was spread across the table, freshly picked vegetable salad, fragrant roasted honey sweet potatoes, fried potatoes, a fish soup made from yesterday’s catch, sizzling roasted meat...

Looking at the feast filling the table, nobody could hold back the stir in their stomachs.

Having eaten nothing but dry rations on the journey here, they had long been craving a proper meal.

"Here, try this." Ethan walked over carrying a plate of food.

"What is this?" Elara asked curiously.

"Rolled omelets."

Several thick slices sat on the plate, each as big as a brick, stuffed with chopped bacon and vegetables, the sight alone looked incredibly tempting.