Chapter 230
Chapter 230: So It Was a Stepmother All Along
"Hahaha! I'm finally back!"
Cocotte swept out through a massive green doorway, riding on her soft, fluffy cloud with her head held high.
She sat on the cloud, tilted her head back, opened her mouth, and breathed in the air with outrageous arrogance.
Leon followed closely behind, stepping out after Cocotte.
The green Teleportation Formation passageway faded away. Leon looked around, feeling that something was off.
She turned her head and looked back at Cocotte, asking:
"Did you... miscalibrate the coordinates?"
"Huh?"
Only then did Cocotte register what was around her, noticing that the wild grass nearby had grown almost to Leon's knees.
Lush, tall flowers bloomed all around, radiating vitality.
An enormously thick bronze-colored ancient tree stood in the middle of the grassland, rising up directly behind Cocotte.
She turned around, stared at the great tree, and her face filled with puzzlement and blank confusion.
"???"
Hadn't they come back from the Elven Forest?
Why was there a tree like this here?
Leon looked the Divine Tree up and down, then turned back to face forward, spotting the Clavena Manor in the distance.
It was still the familiar sight she knew.
"It's fine."
"We've arrived at the right place."
With that, Leon pulled up her hood, drew up her face covering, and hid her face—leaving only a pair of gemstone-green eyes exposed.
"Then, I'll excuse myself first."
After returning from the Elven Forest, she had so many things she wanted to say to Leah.
Leon leaped forward and headed nimbly off toward the Manor.
Cocotte watched her retreating figure, opened her mouth—but before she could even manage to call out to her, Leon was already gone.
"Hey, young Elves these days are so impulsive."
The reason she had kept Leon in the Elven Forest as well was to see if there was any way to resolve the problem of Leon being unable to draw on Natural Energy.
But the result was that nothing worked.
No matter how Leon touched the Divine Tree, or even after pouring in a few mouthfuls of Moon Sacred Spring water, no Natural Energy could form within her body.
As an Elf, she seemed to be repelling Natural Energy entirely.
No wonder the old Divine Tree Yadh hadn't recognized her.
Even so, Cocotte was still trying her best to think of something.
As she sat on her cloud thinking, a familiar voice reached her from behind:
"You seem to be in good spirits."
Cocotte turned around. Viktor was standing right behind her, watching her.
His gaze was unfathomably deep—as though it could see through everything about her.
Cocotte didn't seem surprised. She just sat cross-legged on the cloud, rested both hands behind the back of her head, and laughed with a hehe:
"Oh, just a bit of luck, accidentally got ahead of a whole bunch of people...hey, wait, what are you doing, don't—don't touch me like that..."
All of a sudden, Viktor reached out a hand and grabbed Cocotte's arm.
The instant they made contact, Viktor looked intently at the top of her head.
Lv50—
5th-Tier Mage.
Viktor was not surprised.
For Cocotte, becoming a 5th-Tier Mage was no coincidence.
She had originally been one of the very best among 4th-Tier Mages, and had long since had 1 foot already stepping into the 5th-Tier ranks.
The only thing missing was a catalyst.
After the Divine Tree Yadh's death, an enormous outpouring of Natural Energy had surged toward Cocotte like a gift, sending a portion her way.
And that portion was Cocotte's catalyst.
She had already been right at the threshold—one push away. With this surge of energy striking her, breaking through that barrier was entirely natural.
After confirming Cocotte's level, Viktor released her hand and said:
"Congratulations."
Hearing those words, Cocotte understood immediately.
Viktor must have seen her breakthrough through some means.
She didn't find this strange at all.
Besides, Cocotte had been planning to tell Viktor about this herself—she just hadn't expected him to spot it first.
Thinking about it that way, Cocotte seemed to feel even more proud.
"Hmph, you'd better show me some respect from now on—I'm your... no, I'm the one and only 5th-Tier Mage in the entire Empire right now!"
This was entirely accurate. Apart from the City of Mages, which placed extreme emphasis on cultivating Mages, most countries didn't pay much attention to Mages at all.
Because cultivating a powerful high-tier Mage cost far, far too much money.
And on top of that, a Mage like that wasn't guaranteed to listen to you.
The more powerful a Mage was, the wider and more extensive their knowledge became.
People like that were very difficult to control.
Even across the entire Kingdom of Carencia, the number of publicly known 4th-Tier Mages was at most around a dozen or so.
After all, with that kind of money, you were better off cultivating the same number of Warriors or Knights.
They could reach the same high tier, and they were obedient to boot.
Knights especially.
Those who adhered to the Code of Chivalry would almost never refuse the commands of their leader.
Of course, even within the City of Mages, Cocotte had at this stage become the highest-ranking 5th-Tier Mage in Endymion.
As for why she wasn't the strongest?
Sorry, friend—there was still Viktor, that completely unreasonable entity, sitting above her.
Cocotte had enough self-awareness for that.
Viktor had already grown so powerful that he could no longer be measured by the standards of a normal Mage.
At that moment, Viktor put both hands in his pockets, looked at her, and gave a nod as though in agreement.
"You are the Elven race's one and only Queen. Without the matching strength to back it up, it would be difficult to command respect."
When the Elven race set out to expand beyond their borders, it meant that the Elven Forest would no longer be merely a spiritual domain.
But a complete nation.
A nation that commanded recognition must inevitably have a supreme combat strength to protect it.
Although the Elven race did indeed have the shelter of nature—and others would not dare rashly provoke them and invite trouble upon themselves—having a weak population in terms of raw strength would invite mockery and derision.
It would make people feel that they were nothing more than a group of frail little Elves hiding behind nature's protection.
After all, insulting someone didn't trigger retribution from the Nature Spirit.
So Cocotte at 5th Tier was the most fitting choice.
Cocotte floated on her cloud and opened her mouth with a mildly resigned air, saying to Viktor:
"Oh, right."
"Vinia wants to establish diplomatic relations with the Empire—she's thinking of starting with trade first."
The Elven race had been flourishing beautifully within the Elven Forest for thousands of years, but they were by no means short of fine things.
Like the fruit wine brewed through the treading of Elven maidens' feet.
And the dew collected within the Elven Forest, saturated with rich Natural Energy—it could even be used as a casting material called a Blessing Agent, greatly improving the quality of weapons and armor.
There were also some naturally occurring spirit fruits, which, when consumed, could extend the lifespan of humans.
All of these could be exported for trade.
"But you know, this is our first time engaging in diplomatic relations as a nation."
Cocotte spread her hands, closed her eyes, and let out a sigh.
The Elves venturing into foreign trade for the first time would naturally have a great many rough edges.
Someone needed to personally lead and guide them through it.
Viktor, who had a considerable relationship with the Elven Queen, was their best option.
"So, your employee is in trouble—don't you have to lend a hand?"
As she spoke, Cocotte cracked open 1 eye and snuck a glance at Viktor.
She saw him standing there with both hands in his pockets, as though he had seen this coming, and he slowly spoke:
"20%."
"Huh?"
Cocotte froze on the spot, her face completely blank.
It seemed she had absolutely no idea what Viktor meant.
Then Viktor's voice continued:
"I can take responsibility for opening up the market for you, and guarantee you make a substantial profit."
"But on 1 condition—out of the earnings made, I take a 20% cut."
Cocotte was thoroughly confused. She didn't understand any of this business logic, though her mind was still churning it over.
20%, was that a lot?
It sounded like it wasn't actually that much.
The more she thought, the more muddled she became—so she simply gave up and threw herself back on the cloud, stopping all thought.
Fine, Viktor was the boss anyway, and leaving the decision to him was no problem.
After her mental storm, Cocotte nodded.
"Deal! I agree!"
Viktor's expression remained blank.
It was a good thing Cocotte was the Elven race's Living Mascot and also the powerhouse who kept them credible through sheer force.
If she were ever put in charge, she'd be talked into selling her entire race out—and then counting the money for the buyer on top of it.
Viktor raised 1 more finger.
"Second—remember what I mentioned before."
Cocotte blinked, listening as Viktor reminded her:
"Don't forget—I need Elves."
"Oh, that."
Cocotte suddenly understood. She hadn't forgotten this matter at all.
The reason Viktor had wanted to personally visit the Elven Forest in the first place.
At its root, it was simply to bring some Elves back to the Clavena Manor to work.
Though calling it work was essentially just a cover for enjoyment.
Because all they needed was the Natural Energy that the Elves produced through happiness.
"......"
Wait a moment!
Only now did Cocotte suddenly realize.
At the very beginning, Viktor had only wanted a few Elves to provide Natural Energy—that was all correct...
But how did things end up with the Divine Tree Yadh being burned down?
Just to recruit a few Elves as employees, and in the process he had incidentally liberated the entire Elven race's thinking?
This...
While Cocotte was still in a daze, Viktor put both hands in his pockets and looked at the Divine Tree standing where it was.
Its tender green branches swayed in the sunlight, illuminated until they showed a trace of translucence.
The thick trunk was wrapped in slender vines, and green moss clung silently to the base of the trunk, drawing in the moist, cool air.
The great Divine Tree soared into the clouds, piercing into the azure sky above.
Speckles of silver stardust were steadily shaken loose from the branches, drifting down toward the ground.
Viktor looked at the Divine Tree and said evenly:
"The Elves' dwelling place—I've already prepared it."
"That tree?"
Cocotte's gaze was drawn over as well. The more she looked at the great tree before her, the more familiar it seemed.
It was similar to the Divine Tree in the Elven Forest—only considerably smaller.
And yet the dense, distinct Natural Energy within the Divine Tree gave her a feeling of extraordinary comfort.
This was indeed a place suited for Elves to live.
Even Cocotte, when gazing at the Divine Tree, almost couldn't stop herself from slipping inside for a cozy sleep.
She suppressed the urge and opened her mouth to ask:
"How did you manage this?"
Viktor didn't look at her. His gaze seemed to hold only this towering Divine Tree.
Then his voice suddenly sounded:
"Doesn't it feel familiar to you?"
Cocotte shook her head blankly.
Viktor let out a faint laugh, and in Cocotte's watching gaze, softly called out the Divine Tree's name.
"Yadh."
The Divine Tree seemed to sense something. Its branches, carrying silver stardust, slowly lowered themselves—as though bowing gently toward Viktor.
Its enormous body blocked out the sun entirely, and a vast shadow fell over the land.
Cocotte stared at the gently bowing Divine Tree and opened her mouth:
"...Huh?"