Chapter 2328: Afraid of Elves
While Adrian was dealing with the whole fiasco with the merchant guild, his friend arrived at the Northern Continent. Frey with Levin Cloud and Peridot easily got transported to the nearby village where the food is becoming scarce. As soon as they arrived, Levin Cloud and Peridot could already see that the people here were starving. They came with some wood elves as Frey requested as they needed to restore abundance to the soil that was ruined.
"It is cold here, but it is not to the point that it is freezing." Peridot stated.
"This place is blessed by divinity after all. They are praying to the gods of life, and those gods use all of their faith and transformed this place to a quaint village that can grow food that is normally impossible in the northern continent." Levin Cloud stated as he could feel the divine power seeping into the soil and even in the air.
"Levin Cloud is correct. This village prays to the Vanir Gods that help in agriculture. Their blessings became more apparent when they arrived here in the main world. Previously as they were basically trapped in Asgard, the blessings barely reach the people of the north even with their devotion. Now, it is a different matter because the Vanir gods could directly aid them even if they are still weakened right now." Frey stated as the small kids in the village greeted her.
The kids and even some adults were all flocking towards them with interest. Some of the adults are a bit scared though when they saw the ears of the people that Frey brought. Some even entered their houses but still opened their windows slightly to check on what is happening.
"Is there a problem?" Levin Cloud asked.
"You see… elves are not the best of people according to some legends told by the northern people. They are usually depicted as pompous and arrogant. Often times, they are told as villains but that is just stories of old that is not really verified. Even the Goddess Freyja told me that those stories were not given by them but is a product of what the people created due to their ignorance." Frey stated.
"If the people are wary of us then that might make the job easier. We can just fix the fields and be done with this, but they do know that I am not an elf, right?" Levin Cloud asked.
"They might actually fear you more because you have longer ears. The legends say that the longer the ears then the fiercer and nastier they are." Frey stated.
"I am not an elf though. I am a Leshy." Levin Cloud pointed out as if he was offended being labeled as an elf.
"You have the form of a high elf though but the hair as vines and leaves do give it away. Still, they might think that you are just a crazier elf in the legends. You should be glad that not all of them are afraid because some kids are still trying to interact with you." Frey stated as if that will cheer up Levin Cloud.
"Just make sure that they do not suddenly attack us. I do not want to use the power of nature to trample on believers of the gods and goddesses of life. Please lead us to the fields." Levin Cloud stated.
"Follow me then." Frey stated as the Levin Cloud, Peridot, and the wood elves followed her.
Frey pointed them to the fields which could be seen just outside the village. The blessings of the Vanir Gods still extended to this area, but it is not as abundant compared to the center of the village. Still, Levin Cloud could see that snow does not pile up in this area which meant that they could grow crops here.
"Strange." Levin Cloud immediately stated as the wood elves that came with them also sensed it.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" Frey asked.
"Do all of you feel it as well?" Levin Cloud asked the wood elves as he noticed them murmuring to each other.
"Yes, honored one. Parts of this place has been robbed of its vitality." One of the wood elves stated.
"Just call me Envoy Levin Cloud as being called the honored one is making me cringe." Levin Cloud stated.
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"As the honored one commands. We shall call you Envoy Levin Cloud instead. As the envoy has observed, a tainted entity has taken the vitality and parts of the blessing of this land. This is the reason why the crops are now unable to sustain themselves despite this place being blessed heavily." The wood elf representative stated.
"Can you translate for us?" Peridot asked as she did not understand what the wood elf said.
"What he meant is that this place is missing core parts of its natural energy. The land has been stripped of its natural energy by something but that should be impossible just from normal monster attacks. Losing natural energy for soil will kill it and make it unable to grow life." Levin Cloud stated.
"The only problem that did have are the monster raids that steal from their storage at first. When the storage was depleted, those monsters started ransacking even the fields. The odd thing is that they would often do it when the village is already asleep or when the guards are few. Does that mean that there is a special monster that can even take away natural energy?" Frey stated.
"I do not think it was a monster but monsters. If it was a monster, then there should only be one area that lost their natural energy, but it is incredibly random. It was as if the monsters that raided this place have all been able to steal the natural energy of the soil when they dug the crops up. They also did it unintentionally because if they did know then they would have headed to the center of the village where natural energy is denser." Levin Cloud stated.