The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 207

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 207. The Neighboring Elf (1)
Allerion, the guild master of the Greenleaf Trading Company.
The moment he stepped into the outskirts of Whitewolf Territory, a landscape of snow-covered mountains unfolded before his eyes.
The ground lay frozen and hardened as if locked in eternal ice.
A biting frost that seemed to tear at one’s very lungs.
The narrow path carved to one side made it nearly impossible to discern direction.
Everything within sight lay buried beneath snow.
“People actually live in a place like this….”
Allerion climbed the mountain range with a mixture of doubt and determination.
How long had he been walking?
Beyond the peak, smoke from chimneys came into view.
The moment Allerion crested the summit.
“…!!”
His footsteps halted at the sight that unfolded before him.
Steam rising from dozens of chimneys.
Structures finished with sturdy stone and timber.
Paved roads crisscrossing everywhere like an intricate spider’s web, densely weaving together the town and its facilities.
Silent carriages moved busily back and forth between them.
“This, this is….”
This was not the desolate territory Allerion had imagined.
It differed from his expectations, and equally from the rumors.
No territory on the Continent—not even the capital of any kingdom—could compare to Whitewolf Territory.
Allerion could not hide his astonishment.
And as he entered the outskirts of the territory, his astonishment transformed into shock.
An unmistakably alien presence visible at the territory’s entrance.
A stature that was remarkably short.
A build that was rugged and muscular.
‘A Dwarf…?’
It was indeed a Dwarf.
But Dwarves did not interact with humans.
Of course, Dwarves were not as insular as elves.
Yet their very origin was still elven.
That is, the tendencies inscribed in their genetic instincts were not significantly different.
Their refusal to interact with humans stemmed not merely from genetic instinct, but from historical experience and painful lessons carved by repeated betrayals.
Even when they did interact, it was only in the most limited capacity.
They would certainly never visit a human’s territory.
“Hey, Brams! Thanks to that axe you made last time, logging went incredibly smoothly!”
“So?”
“Haha! Today I’ll treat you to some dark ale—how about a drink after work?”
“Kahahaha! I’ve been waiting to hear that!”
He doesn’t open up and laugh freely with humans like that.
‘But how…?’
Allerion’s eyes widened involuntarily.
Right then.
“Guild Master.”
A subordinate’s voice suddenly reached his ears.
Allerion hastily averted his gaze from the Dwarf.
Lest his expression be revealed.
He pulled his hood down deeply and quickened his pace.
The deeper he ventured into Whitewolf Territory, the more bustling the scenery became.
The laughter of children echoing through every alley.
A residential district filled with the laughter of children.
A commercial district brimming with the haggling voices of merchants.
An Industrial District resonating with steam and the clanging of hammers.
A military district where soldiers’ commands and training sounds never ceased.
“My, my goodness….”
It was a sight that drew admiration unbidden.
All these districts radiated outward from Count Whitewolf’s Castle at the center.
The very heart of Whitewolf Territory.
The castle coordinated the entire Territory from here, boasting an imposing scale and sophistication incomparable to any other building or district.
Overwhelmed by that vista—
Someone from within the castle came to greet Allerion.
A man with slicked-back hair, dressed in an immaculate suit.
“Welcome. I am Bernard, the head butler of House Whitewolf.”
His movements and bearing were flawless.
The refined dignity of a human noble emanated from him.
“Adrian is waiting for you. This way, please.”
Allerion followed Bernard’s guidance into the heart of Whitewolf Territory.
* * *
Knock, knock.
The sound of knuckles rapping against the Reception Room door.
-Your guest has arrived, sir.
“Show them in.”
At my permission, Bernard opened the Reception Room door.
And with Bernard came a single man.
His face was obscured by the hood pulled low over his head.
But from his build, I could discern he was male.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable and speak freely.”
Bernard tactfully excused himself.
Once Bernard had left the Reception Room, the man who had been standing silently for some time carefully removed his hood.
Hair as white as bleached bone cascaded over her shoulders, so pale I wondered if any color remained to strip away.
Her eyes gleamed as though they held captured light itself.
Her skin was smooth as porcelain.
Not only was it flawless, but so translucent that veins seemed ready to show through.
And.
Her ears were rounded.
In other words, entirely human.
This wasn’t a transformation like Polymorph or Transmogrify that merely altered appearance.
The form before me was Allerion’s true nature.
Human.
Yet that beauty, so divorced from reality, possessed a singular aesthetic entirely its own—something no human could truly claim.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Allerion, proprietor of the Greenleaf Trading Company.”
“A pleasure. I am Adrian Whitewolf, head of the Predator Merchant Company. Please, have a seat.”
Allerion inclined her head slightly and settled onto the sofa across from me.
Once I confirmed she was seated, I began.
“I’ve already heard from our director about your situation.”
I moved straight to the matter at hand.
“You require substantial capital.”
“That is correct.”
“Might I inquire as to the reason?”
Allerion lowered her gaze.
She closed her eyes briefly, as though gathering her breath.
Then, slowly, Allerion opened her mouth.
“The Greenleaf Trading Company is a small merchant house engaged in cultivating and selling crops.”
* * *
Having opened the discussion, Allerion paused.
She swallowed quietly, studying Adrian.
He had the appearance of a noble’s son.
His unblemished skin resembled a hothouse flower that had never known hardship—pristine and sheltered.
But there was something else.
An aura, perhaps.
Gulp.
She found herself swallowing involuntarily, her shoulders shrinking inward.
Allerion steadied herself with a deep breath and continued her account.
“Each season, we harvest seasonal crops and trade with nearby villages and cities.”
With those profits, we purchased necessary materials.
Though modest, we managed to sustain ourselves as a small merchant house—until recently.
“Lately, the land has begun to wither.”
Even when rain fell, the soil could not retain moisture.
The seeds we planted failed to sprout properly.
“At first, I thought it was simply a poor harvest. I assumed it was just the natural order of things.”
“But the fact that you’re saying this now means the situation isn’t so simple, is it?”
“That’s correct.”
Allerion fell silent for a moment before continuing.
“Even as the seasons changed, the land showed no improvement. If anything… it grew worse.”
“Worse, you say?”
“Despite providing adequate water and sunlight, and despite the absence of pests, the seeds refuse to sprout and have begun to rot.”
It was as if the land itself rejected the crops.
“Before, even if it took time, things would eventually grow. But now….”
Allerion’s voice trailed off as his gaze fell.
“So, what we need now is a way to reverse this situation.”
“Hmm.”
Adrian paused thoughtfully before speaking.
“So you need the funds to purchase different land and cultivate crops there instead?”
Allerion shook his head slowly.
“No. What we want isn’t to abandon the land, but to restore it to life.”
“Have you identified the cause?”
“…Not the exact cause, not yet.”
Allerion chose his words carefully, avoiding Adrian’s gaze.
A brief silence fell between them.
Adrian spoke quietly.
“You’re saying you want to pour substantial funds into a phenomenon whose cause you don’t even understand?”
“….”
“Wouldn’t it be better to purchase different land and cultivate crops there instead?”
Allerion bit his lower lip firmly before answering.
“This land is… not merely a place for growing crops.”
“…?”
“There are people who have lived on that land for generations.”
“Then we could support their relocation elsewhere.”
“Relocation, you say?”
“Yes.”
Adrian’s eyes brightened as he continued.
“If you wish, we can support their settlement in our Whitewolf Territory.”
Allerion was momentarily at a loss for words.
Setting aside the question of why Adrian would go so far for him,
the landscape of Whitewolf Territory he’d witnessed on the way here
made it clear that life here would certainly guarantee them a better future.
“Your offer is deeply appreciated….”
Yet Allerion slowly shook his head.
“To them, that land is their life, their family, their memories.”
“Hmm.”
“Asking them to relocate elsewhere is tantamount to demanding they uproot themselves.”
“From my perspective, it strikes me as nothing more than dwarven stubbornness.”
“….”
I had nothing to say.
“In essence, you’re asking me to produce tens of millions of gold to reverse a phenomenon whose cause remains unknown. Isn’t that what you’re saying?”
“….”
Truly, I was at a loss for words.
Allerion fell silent.
Adrian’s crimson eyes flickered for a fleeting moment.
* * *
In the distant past.
There existed beings that dwelled in darkness, growing stronger by coveting human dreams and desires.
Nightmares.
The female form of Nightmare—the Succubus.
The male form of Nightmare—the Incubus.
Yet Nightmares possessed no corporeal form, and thus could not conceive children of their own.
So the Nightmare would transform into a Succubus and extract the vital essence from human males.
Then, transforming back into an Incubus, it would use that extracted essence to impregnate human females.
Though the genetic material of the conceived child belonged to humans alone, the Nightmare’s influence intertwined in the process, birthing an entirely new race—.
The Cambion.
Bastards born of Nightmare and humanity.
And from those Cambions who refused to be shackled by greed and desire emerged the Elves.
This was the origin of the Elf race as it exists today.
However.
Hidden within this genesis lay a rather ‘inconvenient truth.’
-The birth of Nightmares actually originated from the lies of monks.
The monks of the early Holy Kingdom.
These monks had made the suppression of desire their sacred duty.
But desire is not something so easily mastered.
Some monks secretly indulged their carnal urges.
As a result, they did not experience nocturnal emissions, and people began to suspect.
-The monks could not admit they had secretly consorted with women.
They had their standing as monks to consider.
So, searching for an excuse to deflect—.
A demon seduced me in my dreams!
-Thus was born the Nightmare.
A demon that existed only in dreams and imagination.
Naturally, it neither existed nor could exist in reality.
Yet they possessed something.
A power called Auror—one that drags forth the mere imaginings of individuals and forcibly manifests them into reality.
-To be precise, through divine power, nightmares became capable of existing in the physical world as well.
The ultimate Auror, divine power itself.
That collective’s faith brought forth not only Gods, but Devils into reality.
-The rest of the story is exactly as you know it.
Nightmares lurked in the darkness, coveting human dreams and desires.
Unable to bear children of their own, they transformed into succubi and incubi, birthing bastards.
A new race was born—Cambions.
Some Cambions became the race known as Elves.
And among those Elves, some became Dwarves.
In short.
-Cambions, Elves, and Dwarves are all races that evolved from humanity.
Mutants.
Genetic individuals bearing new traits absent from their ancestors’ lineages.
Cambions, Elves, Dwarves.
These three races were human variants.
Simultaneously classified as subspecies.
The term ‘Ain’ was merely used to distinguish them from animals.
Humans, Cambions, Elves, Dwarves.
The genetic distance between these four races was not so great.
In other words, they could marry one another and produce offspring.
The guild master of the Greenleaf Trading Company, Allerion.
He was a half-blood of Elf and human.
==【Character Information】==
Name: Allerion
Classification: Mammalia, Hominoidea and Elviz
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Trait: Danger Detection [G]
An Elviz.
In other words, he was virtually the only human capable of communicating with Elves.
◆Hidden Quest, [Dwarves Over the Hill, Elves Next Door!] has begun.
==[Dwarves Over the Hill, Elves Next Door!]==
[Objective] – Investigate the phenomenon occurring in Sylvandir Forest
[Reward] – ※Error※
[Failure] – ※Error※
‘Error?’
My head tilted involuntarily in confusion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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