Game of the World Tree

▪️ NIGHTINGALE SHADE

The elves all looked relatively young…at least, if judged by human aesthetics alone that is.

The biggest one looked like a twelve or thirteen-year-old teenage human, whereas the smallest one looked just like a child around five to six years old.

Of course based on his previous experience, Boxlunch knew that even the smallest elf might actually be old enough to be his big brother similar to Aél Moonlight.

However, the one thing that he particularly noticed was that the hair and eye colors of all these elven younglings varied from each other, and even differed in comparison to the thief girl’s appearance.

There were blondes, redhead, auburn, and even green-haired ones, but none had the same dark grey hair as him and the older elven girl.

According to the players’ understanding of the games’ lore, the elven race in ElvKing are divided into various clans, and the best way to distinguish them amongst each other is to look particularly at the color of their hair and eye pupils.

The varying hair colors most likely meant that these younglings were not from the same clan as the older ashen haired girl.

All the captive elves huddled in a corner, and some of the younger ones have already fallen asleep in the arms of their older companions. Faint traces of unwiped tears could still be discerned upon their faces.

The older ones who were still awake are vigilantly watching the outside of the cell with each of their faces pale and etched in anxiety. Even when they tried to appear calm, they still couldn’t hide the fear and confusion lingering deep within their eyes as they think about the uncertainties of their future.

When Boxlunch and his thieving companion were finally escorted in, they instantly attracted the attention of the captive younglings, particularly their eyes locked onto the latter as if they couldn’t believe what their seeing.

Looking at the tied-up older woman, a male elf who appears to be the oldest within the group rushed to the front of the cell, grabs the railing and shouted, “Nightingale…Sister Nightingale! How…how did you get caught too?!”

His teenage voice was clear and tender laden with surprise and worry within his tone.

“Elder sister? Sister Nightingale was caught too?”

His voice caught the attention of the other younglings as well.

Soon, everyone crowded into the forefront of the cell, looking at the older woman with myriad of emotions such as affection, concern, and sadness deep within their eyes.

“Sister Nightingale! It really is sister Nightingale!”

“Sis, did they do anything to you!?”

“Elder sister, are you injured?”

“Sister Nightingale…why are you here as well?”

Looking at those young faces, the elven woman called Nightingale suddenly felt relieved, and a hint of tenderness appeared upon her face.

She nodded at the younglings, giving them a comforting look to show that everything was okay.

“Get in there! Stop shouting!”

Seeing the young elves flocked to the cell door all at once, the two guards cursed and whipped the cell railings, causing a scream to rise up from one of the captives.

It wasn’t until the younglings timidly retreated to the back of the prison that the human guards finally stopped, feeling satisfied.

“Hmph!”

Upon witnessing the guard’s vulgar behavior, Nightingale widened her eyes and glared at the human brandishing the whip. Instinctively, she attempted to break free from the ropes but was soon lightly kicked to the shin by Boxlunch.

Nightingale turned around angrily, but upon seeing his calm eyes, her anger gradually subsided.

She understood the underlying message of his pointed gaze—

—Remain calm.

Rather than imprisoning him and Nightingale together in the young elves’ cell, the guards had taken them to another prison specifically made for skilled practitioners instead.

This prison appeared to be even more solid and secluded compared to the rest.

The guards instantly left after throwing and securing the two into the cell.

Once they were certain the human guards had left, the thief girl known as Nightingale stood up at once. She instantly broke free of the ropes tied on her body and ripped the cloth off her mouth, then immediately went up to the cell door and started picking the lock.

Her lockpicking techniques were quite skillful, and the heavy lock was easily pried open within just a minute of her tinkering with it. Nightingale’s mood instantly soared upon unlocking the door, but then she heard Boxlunch’s crisp voice from behind her just as she was about to rush out of the cell.

“Do you want to die?”

Like being drenched in cold water, Nightingale suddenly calmed down. Her movements paused slightly, and her voice trembled as she spoke,

“They…are my younger brothers and sisters. I have to go save them!”

Boxlunch remained silent for a moment before responding,

“Wait for my backup.”

After speaking, he then pointed upwards and held up two fingers whilst shaking his head.

“Two silvers.”

Upon hearing his words, Nightingale turned back and grabbed Boxlunch’s shoulder with her voice trembling in anxiety.

“I know there are two silver-rank experts up there, one of them is even a mage! But… but…”

Her voice was tinged with a hint of sobbing.

“Trust me.”

Boxlunch’s voice was deep and certain.

Upon hearing his words, Nightingale’s grip on his shoulders gradually loosened and she looked visibly deflated as her body fall and knelt down on the ground.

“C-Can I really trust you? Seeing the frightened looks of my siblings is worrying me so much…they’re all just children you know? Kids who can’t even have a proper childhood!”

As she spoke, Nightingale began to sob softly as tears slowly ran down her cheeks.

Boxlunch said nothing at first. He hesitated for a moment but finally reached out and put his hand onto the young girl’s shoulder as a sign of comfort.

Nightingale silently cried for a while before gradually subsiding and regaining some semblance of composure.

She instinctively wiped her reddened eyes and began to tell her story…

“I hate humans…They destroyed my home.”

“After the heavenly war a thousand years ago, the Darkshade Clan split into several factions, and our group decided to infiltrate the human society about a hundred years ago to live alongside humankind in seclusion…”

“As the saying goes, the most dangerous place can also become the safest one under certain circumstances.”

“In fact, our clan is skilled at concealing ourselves, hiding our identities and moving to a new location every now and then. Although it’s an unstable lifestyle, it has also kept us alive…”

“My mother gave me the name Nightingale, which symbolizes beauty and freedom in elvish language. She also hoped that I could live my life freely just like the nightingale birds in the skies…”

“The name Nightingale Shade is indeed a good metaphor, but alas, how could such a life be possible for us?” She said in a self-deprecating tone before adding, “A life of wandering is inherently full of risks.”

Nightingale sighed and paused for a couple of seconds before continuing her tale.

“Later on, out of sympathy and kindness, the elders of our clan rescued an injured human knight, but unfortunately as expected, he eventually discovered our real identity…”

“This knight initially promised with great conviction that he was grateful for our help and wouldn’t reveal our secret…”

“He did behaved well and his words sounded sincere. Hardworking, humble, kind and loyal… he almost met all the expectations that we elves have for a knight…”

“So… the elders easily trusted him.”

“But…I am very much against it, I don’t trust any humans at all, and I think that anyone who discovered our secrets should be silenced, no matter who the other person is….”

“Alas, the elders scolded me for my opinion. They firmly and naively believed that the knight would abide by the code of chivalry and not expose the secret of his benefactors to anyone…”

At this point, Nightingale laughed mockingly.

“How is that possible? Such naive fools…the elders had completely forgotten that he’s a human after all!”

“After that knight left, he soon returned with a group of mercenaries along with him…”

“What loyalty? What kindness? Hah! What a load of bullshit…When it comes to personal interests, as I expected, everything this human did was fake!”

“Did you know? The price of a young female elf is enough to make an ordinary person live a life of luxury for the rest of his life. How could such greedy humans not be tempted?”

Silence.

“Our clan perished because of such blind naivety. I personally witnessed my father being killed by humans when he resisted, and my mother…my poor mother was violated by them… in the end, even I was captured by slave traders.”

“At that time, I was already feeling hopeless, but I was saved by someone who was also hiding within human society.”

“She wasn’t an elf, but she was sympathetic to our kind. She opened an orphanage, but in reality, it only sheltered elves she rescued from the hands of humans…”

“Including me… and my brothers and sisters.”

“My siblings weren’t from the Darkshade clan, but they were all just as unfortunate children like me, who was also persecuted by humans…”

“We hid our identities and took refuge in the orphanage, under the protection of our savior, who gave us a second home…”

“Although we had to hide and conceal our identities, at least we managed to survive once again.”

“I am the oldest and that benefactor of ours have taught me a lot of things in life. I have also followed her into infiltrating human caravans to save many of our companions. My younger brothers and sisters call me their sister even though were not related. They are very close to me, and I love them very much…”

“Later on, our savior…she passed away due to an accident.”

“As the eldest sister within our group, I wanted to fulfill my savior’s last wishes, that is to continue maintaining the entire orphanage and saving any elves that fell into human hands, but her death aroused the suspicion of the city’s governor, and they eventually discovered our secret.”

“My younger brothers and sisters were all captured while I was away on a mission.”

“I chased after them all the way here, hoping to rescue each and every one of them… but alas, I didn’t expect to be so powerless…”

Silence.

“I…truly failed as their eldest sister…”

Nightingale looked at Boxlunch with tears, full of sadness.

“Is it true that there is no shelter for us elves in this world?”

“Are we just mere commodities for other races to become their plaything? A slave for some rich bastard’s sick amusement?”

“Why? What did we do wrong!?”

“Is kindness really a sin? Does mercy really only bring misfortune upon us?”

“If that’s the case, I would rather fall into darkness!”

“…is there any hope for our future…?”

Boxlunch remained silent while listening to Nightingale’s outburst.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and resolutely said,

“There is.”

Silence.

“…Really?”

Nightingale’s shoulders lightly shooked and she looked at him with her tear soaked face for a minute before looking down again while muttering in a defeated tone,

“Even if we are truly saved this time, the life ahead of us would still be another cycle of hiding and being pursued…”

“We have lost our race’s powerful abilities, and all that is left is this damn beautiful appearance and desirable lifespan and unique physique that draws people to us…”

“Do we really have a future like this?”

Nightingale held onto Boxlunch’s clothes tightly and rhetorically asked with a miserable self-deprecating smile.

Boxlunch looked down at her.

His expression was still calm, but his gaze had softened significantly.

“There is.”

Boxlunch repeated again but his time, his voice was much gentler than usual.

“The shelter and our future, both of them exist.”

As if on cue, right after he was finished speaking, the entire cell suddenly shook, stirring up a cloud of dust on the ceiling as the dust particles slowly drifts down into the ground.

Then a faint high-pitched dragon’s roar came from above followed by alarm signals and noises of crowd that sounded utterly stricken with panic.

Boxlunch took a deep breath and grabbed the hand of Nightingale in order to help her stand up.

“It’s okay.”

He finally released his aura and it began rising while his eyes gradually became sharp as he pulled out a hidden dagger from the sole of his shoe.

Boxlunch then looked at her entirely shocked face and for the first since he met her, showed a small confident lopsided smile.

“Reinforcements have arrived.”