Yuel's eyes were fixed on the frozen Savana.

"Did you enjoy your walk?"

Yuel closed the documents she had been reviewing and opened her lips with a subtle smile.

"Ms. Savana?"

Seeing Yuel's cold smile, Savana awkwardly closed the door carefully.

"Did you know I went out?"

"Of course."

Nodding as if it were obvious, Yuel exhaled softly and addressed Savana.

"Even if the trial results were positive, the responsibility is still mine."

"..."

"Even though I might seem uninterested, I'm always paying attention."

"..."

"You're still under protection period, so going out on your own is problematic, Ms. Savana."

Savana bowed her head at Yuel's smiling admonishment.

"I apologize, Elder."

"..."

"I felt suffocated, so I went for a walk."

"Please be more careful next time. And make sure to tell me before you go out."

"I'll definitely do that from now on."

With a generous smile, Yuel stood up and moved to the teapot, asking if they could have a brief tea time.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes... thank you."

"What kind of tea do you prefer?"

Yuel continued her questions while looking at the porcelain containers filled with tea leaves.

"Chamomile, which is good for insomnia."

"..."

"Lavender tea to calm your anxiety about the new environment."

"..."

"There's also green tea, which is good for fatigue. And..."

Trailing off, Yuel closed the lid of the porcelain container and smiled.

"There's also mandrake tea, which is good for anti-aging."

Savana awkwardly glanced at Yuel before answering.

"Then I'll have the mandrake tea."

"Is that a tea you drink often?"

"Yes, it's bitter, but it brings peace to my mind and body..."

"I see."

The smile on Yuel's lips slowly began to fade.

"Please wait a moment."

With a cold expression, Yuel examined the cupboard and then disappointedly shook her head.

"Ah... we're out of tea leaves."

"That's alright."

"It's a difficult tea to obtain, so I've been saving it... but it seems we've run out."

"Then I'll have green tea, please."

As Yuel boiled the water, she continued the conversation in a somewhat cynical voice, different from their first meeting.

"Come to think of it..."

"Yes?"

"I never asked how you ended up drifting into the human realm."

"..."

"It's a formality, so please feel free to speak comfortably. I don't want to ask about such sad stories in detail either... but I have to follow procedure... haha."

"It's just as I said at the trial. When war broke out with the Holy Nation, I was at the front line and was captured by humans..."

"What happened after that?"

Yuel closed the lid of the teapot and tilted it.

"How did you live in the human realm?"

As the hot water filled the empty teacup, white steam rose, spreading the rich aroma of green tea.

"I'm not doubting you, but that's the procedure."

Savana clenched her fist, awkwardly bowed her head with a strained expression.

"Those memories... I don't want to revisit them."

"...I see."

"The humans tried to kill me... tried to do terrible things to me."

"..."

"Just imagining it makes me so disgusted and angry that I can't sleep..."

Yuel nodded with a sympathetic smile.

"We're similar in that regard."

"..."

"I can't sleep either when I think about humans."

"..."

"Just living in the same world as them makes me disgusted and angry... it drives me crazy."

Yuel removed the tea leaves and looked at Savana with a smile.

"That's why I created this place. A sanctuary where we can kill humans with peace of mind and take revenge."

"..."

"Everyone here has been hurt by humans, and some members are returnees who barely survived their encounters with humans."

"Did you help me... give me a chance because of this, Elder?"

Yuel offered the teacup with a subtle smile.

"It's because I really love elves."

Yuel's eyes, consumed by madness, stared directly into Savana's.

"The wisdom of the ancestors who lived for countless years as a long-lived race is incomparably beautiful and noble."

"..."

"And their appearance is so exquisite that ugly humans could never match it."

"..."

"I believe there is nothing in this world as beautiful as elves."

"..."

"I'm extremely angry that the precious lives of elves, more noble than humans, disappear in the game of war."

"..."

"If by chance..."

Yuel posed a question to Savana.

"If you harbor strange intentions..."

"..."

"You should know that my heart would be deeply hurt."

Savana swallowed hard and awkwardly shook her head.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Yuel smiled gently as she looked at the guards busily moving outside the window.

"There was a fire."

"..."

"A fire broke out in Elheim for the first time in 10 years, something that should never happen."

"..."

"It seems too strange to be a coincidence... so I was wondering."

Seeing Savana frozen, Yuel smiled.

"I'm not doubting you, just concerned... so I hope you won't be offended."

For a brief moment, Savana lowered her head and hurriedly tried to hide the soot-stained edge of her sleeve.

Worried that Yuel might have noticed, she watched carefully, and just as Yuel was about to turn her head, Savana fell to her knees with a thud and spoke desperately.

"Elder!"

"Why are you suddenly kneeling, Ms. Savana?"

"...I..."

"What is it? Is there something you want to tell me now?"

"I am prepared to do anything if it means I can kill humans."

Yuel, quite surprised by Savana's behavior as she stared with bloodshot eyes, erased the suspicion in her eyes and closed her lips.

"If you wish... no, if it means I can kill more humans, I am prepared to do anything."

"..."

"If you order me, I can even carve magic circles into my body and jump into human settlements! I think there would be no greater honor!"

Savana's words, spoken with conviction, began to grow stronger, consuming Yuel's rising madness.

Madness meeting madness.

"I want the extinction of humans."

"..."

"If I can't dream of that, I'd rather die."

"..."

"If I have to be entangled with them, I'd rather live in dreams...!"

In the battle between two madnesses, Savana was the victor.

Seeing Savana draw a dagger and inflict wounds on herself as if about to carve magic circles into her body, Yuel waved her hand and closed her lips.

"Put that down!"

"..."

"My body is already defiled. The World Tree won't guide me to heaven anyway."

"..."

"I want to roam Elheim as the wind, but how can I move this body that has been defiled by humans?"

Yuel bit her lip.

"I'm sorry."

Though her suspicion hadn't completely disappeared...

"My thinking was narrow."

The madness Savana displayed felt genuine.

·

·

·

After Savana had left.

"Hah..."

Yuel bit her lip as she looked at the untouched teacup.

"She said she enjoyed drinking mandrake tea..."

Mandrake tea was a luxury even for humans.

*

"Hmm..."

Day 3 of the special class.

I smiled as I watched the students who were busily chatting in their assigned groups.

"How is the research coming along?"

Ruin, with dark circles under his eyes, sighed as if he wanted to throw everything away and remained silent.

"What?"

"I asked how it's going, Mr. Green Algae."

"Do you think it would be going well if you were in my place?"

"Hmm?"

"You should give us assignments we can actually do, you bastard."

"Ah... double the work?"

"Sorry."

Ruin roughly slammed the table as he filled thick stacks of paper with content about the assignment.

[Analysis of Elheim's Military Power]

1. The World Tree

2. Combat Level of Elves

3. Elheim's Strategy

"How the hell am I supposed to know this?"

Despite his complaints, I shrugged my shoulders at the sight of Ruin diligently filling in detailed research for each topic. It was nice to see him working hard even while complaining.

"I went out to investigate yesterday and almost died from an arrow!"

"...Oh my."

"Can't you do it?"

I smiled gently and said:

"Unfortunately, my face has been known for a long time, so external activities are impossible for me."

"You're just looking for an errand boy, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"You bastard..."

For this special class, I assigned special tasks to each individual.

Tasks designed not to develop individual combat strength, but to cultivate the ability to judge and act independently.

I assigned Ruin to research "Elheim's Military Power."

"Why am I even doing this?"

"Be quiet. The green algae's research is already full of holes."

"That..."

I assigned Hannah to research "Methods to Attack Elheim."

No matter how strong an individual's combat power might be, wars are often lost due to hidden trump cards, and tragedies of losing precious stars frequently occur due to lack of information.

Among them, Yuria, who was in charge of the most important part of the Elheim issue, shook her head with an awkward smile.

"We should get along nicely instead of fighting."

"...Yes."

"If Yuria says so."

[Yuria: Methods for Elves and Humans to Establish Friendly Relations]

Yuria closed her eyes and lowered her head.

"There's no answer for me..."

Unable to refute Yuria's words, Ruin sighed and laughed hollowly as he looked at those racking their brains at a distant table.

He thought that no matter how bad their situation was, it was better than those guys.

"Still, we're better off than those guys."

Mikhail and Vailin were sitting with hardened expressions, swallowing their silence.

[Mikhail: Military Power of the Holy Nation]

[Vailin: Investigation of High-Ranking Figures in the Holy Nation]

When you think about it, those two were practically risking their lives.

Thinking that neither side was safe, but relieved not to be involved with the Holy Nation where even bodies couldn't be found, Ruin smiled as he looked at Mikhail racking his brain and Vailin sitting with a blank expression.

"I'll show you what I've compiled so far."

Thick documents began to pile up on the desk.

Hannah's materials.

Ruin's materials.

And Yuria's materials.

Of course, all of this was done under my protection, but I knew that the accumulating documents contained no trivial information, given their efforts.

Ruin opened his lips with a confident smile toward Hannah.

"First, the materials I've compiled are about the weapons and magic that elves used in the war between Elheim and the Holy Nation five years ago."

"Is it reliable?"

"100%."

Ruin smiled confidently at Hannah.

"I asked my grandfather for a favor."

"That's cheating!"

"Using connections is also a skill, kiddo."

"Ha."

Hannah also placed her compiled documents on the desk.

"I researched why Elheim lost to the Holy Nation."

"Oh..."

"Although Elheim has superior individual combat power, the Holy Nation exploited Elheim's weaknesses well."

"You didn't just make this up, did you?"

"Do you think I'm green algae?"

Hannah also answered with a smile.

"I anticipated this and asked my brother for a favor. He bought information from a money-loving elf working at Forest Friends."

"Crazy..."

"And... I saw it with my own eyes too."

Hannah looked at the massive World Tree visible through the curtain and smiled bitterly.

"Elves don't know how to use their greatest weapon."

While the two were showing confidence in their findings...

-Thud.

Ruin and Hannah fell silent as someone walked past behind them.

"What..."

"Is he giving up?"

"But..."

Ruin shuddered as he watched Vailin's retreating figure walking weakly.

"I thought it was a ghost."

Vailin, holding a stack of documents, looked at me and said in a dejected voice:

"Um... Teacher."

"...Yes?"

"Well..."

I thought the assignment might be too difficult, but seeing Vailin's dejected appearance, whom I had been most hopeful about, I awkwardly smiled and reached out my hand.

Regardless of the result, a word of appreciation seemed desperately needed...

"I finished it."

"What?"

"I didn't go to the places you told me not to go... and the others went too far..."

"No..."

I hurriedly flipped through the documents Vailin gave me and laughed in disbelief.

"Wow..."

[Location of the Five Fingers and...]

"You're amazing."

[Existence of the Hero.]