The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 281
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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 281. A Man’s Confession
Silmarien froze solid.
The cheerful laughter from moments before had vanished without a trace.
The reason was simple.
It was my question: “Where is Adlern?”
“I don’t know.”
Silmarien answered with a dejected sigh.
Unlike Rielin, there was no hint of embarrassment or shyness in her expression.
‘Did she not confess?’
…Well, that’s debatable.
Silmarien’s expression was peculiar.
It was bitter and forlorn.
In other words, something had definitely happened between them.
“What happened?”
At my question, Silmarien’s expression grew even more dejected.
“It seems Adlern dislikes me.”
“…?”
What kind of nonsense was that?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Silmarien pulled something from her bosom.
A necklace and a ring.
Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and more.
They were expensive ornaments crafted from the finest precious metals.
“Adlern gave these to me.”
Silmarien carefully held up the necklace.
The diamond reflected the sunlight, glittering brilliantly.
It was clearly no counterfeit.
Yet Silmarien’s expression remained deeply dejected.
“He gives me this garbage.”
“…??”
Garbage? That?
These ornaments were worth at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
“It’s cold, tasteless, and smells strange.”
Silmarien now caressed the ring.
The sapphire’s glow cast a blue light across her face.
“And to make these, the earth suffered and the trees wept.”
“Ah.”
Now I understood.
Simply put, it was a difference in perspective.
To humans, these ornaments held tremendous value.
But to the Elves?
It was merely an insensate lump of metal.
Worse still, it was literal “garbage”—something that had scarred the earth itself through relentless excavation.
To the Elves, a timber scrap with only three growth rings held far greater worth.
A pebble that shifted through four different hues.
A leaf dampened by morning dew.
Such things—the very essence of nature itself—possessed infinitely more value and beauty.
In that sense.
“It seems Adlern despises Silmarien so thoroughly that he’d gift her garbage.”
…I appeared to have a way to help Adlern after all.
* * *
Adlern had suffered a truly devastating shock.
Silmarien despised precious metals.
I had just heard this unbelievable truth directly from Adrian.
“Is… is that truly the case?!”
“Yes.”
Adrian’s resolute answer.
In that same instant, a gold bracelet and emerald earrings tumbled from Adlern’s hands.
All of them treasured ornaments he had painstakingly selected with genuine affection as gifts for Silmarien.
“The Elves don’t care for such things.”
“…I had no idea whatsoever.”
I truly hadn’t known.
Lacking the courage to confess outright, I had instead attempted to pour my heart into these objects.
Yet Silmarien had deemed them “garbage.”
I never could have imagined it.
And worse, I had presented such garbage as a gift.
“Rather, Adlern, she believes you hate her.”
Adlern’s face drained of all color.
“That can’t be…! Schönne never meant it that way!”
“I know. I’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, so don’t worry yourself too much.”
“Is… is that truly so?!”
“Yes.”
Adlern exhaled a long breath of relief.
Then he bowed deeply toward Adrian.
“Thank you so much! Truly… I shall never forget this kindness for as long as I live!!”
Adlern swore and swore again, pledging eternal loyalty to Adrian alone.
As I lifted my head once more.
Adrian was gazing into empty space.
And oddly enough, his expression seemed peculiar.
Soon Adrian waved his hand dismissively as though exasperated, then turned his gaze back to Adlern.
“…In any case. If you’re going to give a gift, choose something the Elves would actually appreciate.”
“Then what do the Elves prefer…?”
“Among nature’s creations, there exist things both rare and extraordinary. For instance—.”
A tree branch struck by lightning yet unbroken.
Autumn leaves fallen in late season, their colors still vivid and unfaded.
Flower buds that bloomed one last time before winter’s arrival.
“If nothing else, even leaves from Yggdrasil would suffice.”
“Do the Elves truly value such things more highly?”
Adlern found himself utterly unable to comprehend.
Objects devoid of any monetary worth.
Worthless trinkets that could never be sold in any marketplace, yet somehow deemed more precious than ornaments worth hundreds of thousands of gold—how could such a thing be?
“You cannot understand the Elves through human logic.”
“….”
“To the Elves, monetary value holds no meaning whatsoever.”
“….”
“Adlern, you’ve witnessed it yourself, have you not? The Elves labor without accepting gold coins.”
“That is true, but….”
Adlern trailed off momentarily before speaking again.
“Was it truly because they despise gold coins?”
“More precisely, they consider it ‘worthless.'”
Adrian spoke with measured calm.
And Adlern nodded quietly in response.
Not entirely, but gradually, understanding began to crystallize within Adlern’s mind.
* * *
After receiving Adrian’s counsel.
Adlern made thorough preparations and set out immediately for Whitewolf Territory 2.
With singular determination to find Silmarien, he combed through every corner of Whitewolf Territory 2.
At every crossroads.
Along every forest edge.
He searched relentlessly, turning over every stone.
And then.
He beheld an Elf standing amid the Wheat Field, silhouetted against the sunlight.
Hair the color of verdant nature.
A flawless, graceful form.
Pointed ears.
Skin that gleamed with crystalline transparency, like morning dew.
Without question, it was Silmarien—the most beautiful, the most adorable in all the world.
Silmarien sat with her back to the sunlight, scraping at the earth with her hands.
Adlern approached with utmost care.
And came to a halt several paces away.
“…There.”
Silmarien turned around at last.
Large, gleaming cyan eyes.
They reflected the innocent spirit of nature itself—serene, without malice, and utterly beautiful.
“Oh! It’s Adlern! Hello!”
Silmarien’s face as she greeted him was, without question, lovely… or rather, acceptable.
Definitely.
Adrian had apparently cleared up the misunderstanding quite well.
Adlern renewed his deep sense of loyalty toward Adrian once more.
“Were you practicing Schimza?”
“No, I was doing Odogo.”
…Odogo?
The meaning eluded me.
But I didn’t bother asking.
Because even if I did, she would surely answer, “Odogo is Odogo!”
Still, I opened my mouth on the off chance.
“What is Odogo?”
“Well, Odogo exists.”
Silmarien, her buttocks planted firmly on the ground, scooped up a handful of soil.
The clump of earth crumbled between her palms.
She watched it quietly for a moment, then answered with utmost seriousness.
“This is Odogo.”
…What had I expected?
Adlern simply accepted it as something of that nature.
“Um, Silmarien?”
“Yes?”
“About last time when I thoughtlessly gave you that trash.”
“Hm? Oh, it’s fine.”
Silmarien continued with a bright smile.
“The Forest Elder explained everything to me.”
Adlern renewed his deep sense of loyalty toward Adrian once more.
“So I’ve prepared a gift as an apology.”
“An apology? What’s that?”
Silmarien paused her Odogo and tilted her head curiously.
This was Adlern’s moment!
He produced the bouquet he’d hidden behind his back.
It was an arrangement of pristine white calla lilies and large sunflowers in perfect harmony.
And it was far more than a simple bouquet.
The calla lily’s flower language meant eternal love.
The sunflower’s flower language meant I see only you.
In other words, the meaning contained within this bouquet was.
[Even if I were to witness a thousand springs, I would gaze only upon you.]
It was a confession bearing that meaning.
Adlern presented the bouquet as though proposing.
And then.
“…!!!”
Silmarien covered her mouth with both hands.
Her large teal eyes widened.
Within them, clear, transparent tears welled up and trembled.
She seemed… moved.
In other words, it was a success!
Adlern inwardly cheered—
“How could you do this?!”
“…Huh?”
“How could you kill flowers and give them to Silmarien?!”
…What?
What…?
“These flowers can’t drink water, they have no roots, no soil…! They were so beautiful! They were alive like this…!!”
Finally, Silmarien’s tears burst forth.
“I hate you, Adlern!”
“No, that’s not what I meant—”
“I really, really hate you, Adlern!!”
Silmarien fled beyond the Wheat Field as though she couldn’t bear to look at him.
* * *
“Schönne, what should I do now…”
Adlern’s voice trembled as he finished his tale.
His expression was utterly devastated.
It was certainly a situation warranting such despair.
‘Why did I have to give flowers of all things.’
Adlern still hadn’t escaped human conventions.
Then again, it was only natural to think like a human when born as one.
“Now she won’t even see me.”
Adlern clung to my pant leg.
“Please, help me with Schönne!”
His face was streaked with tears and snot.
…He truly adored Silmarien.
But then.
‘How should I handle this situation.’
Even searching through memories of my past life left me uncertain.
The Elves as a race were entirely unpredictable.
For instance, to a nonsensical riddle like “What creature eats 3 in the morning, 2 at noon, and 3 in the evening?”
-What? There’s no way a creature like that exists.
His response was firm in dismissing the nonsense.
-You shouldn’t touch rodents like rats carelessly. The bacteria-.
-Why? Did you plant a bomb in your house?
-No, rodent doesn’t mean that kind of installation.
Sometimes I wonder if he’s just being foolish.
Or perhaps he’s genuinely innocent.
-The alcohol in drinks actually has no wound-disinfecting effect.
-Then I should only use it to disinfect the wounds of the heart.
At times, he would speak with such poetic eloquence it was almost admirable.
-Elves, why don’t you say it’s wrong that we hunt and eat animals?
-Why would that be wrong?
-Because it’s an evil act—one life taking another life.
-If you call the act of taking a life to eat an evil, then what would you call starving yourself to death by refusing to eat?
-….
-We do not judge any life lightly.
-….
-We merely condemn the act of taking unnecessary lives for pleasure.
Occasionally, he displayed wisdom that rivaled even the greatest sages.
To summarize all of this in one phrase:
‘I have no idea.’
I had no clue how to soothe an upset Silmarien.
Besides, I was busy right now.
I needed to hurry and spar with Kai.
“Adlern, there’s only one way.”
“W-what is it…?”
“Go and confess your feelings openly.”
Adlern’s teary eyes widened.
“C-confess…?!”
“Yes. All this trouble arose because you’ve been dancing around expressing your feelings indirectly, didn’t it?”
“B-but Silmarien can’t even bear to look at Schönne’s face right now.”
“Then confess even more.”
“Huh…?!”
“Don’t bother with gifts. Use your words. Pour out all your emotions, without a shred of falsehood.”
-….
“Elves prefer that approach.”
I gave Adlern’s back and shoulders a few encouraging pats.
* * *
Late afternoon, as the sun began to set.
Beneath the crimson sky, Adlern drew in a deep, steadying breath.
Before Adlern’s eyes.
Following the wind, there was Silmarien.
As the sunlight faded, Silmarien didn’t even spare Adlern a glance.
That indifference pierced straight through Adlern’s heart.
Yet Adlern did not back down.
His heart pounded fiercely.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
His lips pressed tight.
Still, he squeezed his eyes shut!
Courage in his legs!
Sincerity in his posture!
His voice overflowing with love!
“I love you!!!”
In that instant.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
The earth trembled and thunderous roars cascaded down relentlessly.
And.
-Ahhhhhhh!! Everyone run!!
From somewhere, the piercing screams of Dwarves rang out.
-We’re fighting by destroying the very ground itself!!
-This madness!! A single punch brought down the entire structure?!?
-No no no! There it goes again!! Another building is flying away!!
Screams erupted from all directions.
Yggdrasil’s branches extended in every direction as if an emergency had been declared.
-Someone please stop Gwesuau and Wolfaou!!
The entire Whitewolf Territory descended into absolute chaos.
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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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