"Hmm... Elven Race isn't good either?" Elena added as she knew that Elysia could not transform into such a tiny fairy.
"Not good. Although the Elven Race and Fairy Race lived side by side and worshiped the same Goddess, they have not gotten along well in the last hundred years." Nell thought for a moment after saying that.
"Well... In that case, my disciple and I will be in invisible magic. You didn't get any information from them before. This time, we need to know more about this dead city and this mysterious domain from local residents first. Let's go." Elena immediately decided and took Elysia's hand. They flew away towards the east.
"Ugh, fine. But those villagers are just ordinary fairies. What do they know from the events of a hundred thousand years ago?" Nell followed suit.
"We won't know until we try to find out. The fairies in that small village may not know anything, but there must be a clue. If it's futile, we just need to return to this area tomorrow morning to find a way in." Elena rolled her eyes.
Right after that, Elysia used her invisible magic, and Elena fled to enter the Soul Realm. Nell was left alone in the twilight sky.
"Elysia? Grandgodmaster? Are you still around? Don't leave me suddenly like that." Nell felt a little lost and lonely.
'We're still around, Nell. Henceforth, we will only exchange words via telepathy. Please guide the way to the nearest small village, and we will follow you from behind.' Elysia comforted the lonely heart with tender words.
'Okay.' Nell tried to sense Elysia's presence through their spirit connections. She immediately sped towards the opposite direction of the sunset.
It was a quiet and peaceful village, deep in the forest and near a valley. The sun slowly began to disappear, and simple lighting began to be installed around the tree houses.
Before approaching the small village, Nell camouflaged her face a little with disguise magic.
'Elysia, how do I look now? Can you still recognize me from my outward appearance?' Nell asked for his opinion and looked up into the empty air beside him. She knew Elysia was there based on their spirit connection.
'Disguise magic? In my eyes, you are still the same, Nell, but with a little makeup on your face. Please forgive me, but it looks like my eyes are a little different.' Elysia scanned Nell several times with just her eyesight, and she didn't find much difference from Nell's appearance.
'Well, my disguise magic isn't working in your eyes? Your purplish-blue eyes are special too, hmm... Never mind, let's go down to that little village. You can go around looking for clues, but don't get caught. Understand?' Nell warned as she floated down to the tallest treehouse.
'Okay.' Elysia responded and slowly lowered the altitude by maintaining a distance. She also didn't forget to give a gentle reminder to Vanessa.
"Village Chief Shelly! I'm coming to visit again." Nell waved her hand with a big smile to greet the old fairy who lived in the tallest treehouse.
"Oh, it turns out to be you, Len. Did you get lost again and ended up here?" Shelly looked up and smiled wryly to welcome this unique fairy.
"Hehe, I just wanted to visit. Isn't that okay?" Nell chuckled and landed near the old fairy.
"That's fine. You are a good fairy. You've helped us a lot, even though you only spend one night in this small village. Please have a seat." Shelly invited the guest to sit down too.
"I brought some souvenirs as I said before. Various berries that you may like, Village Chief Shelly. Please accept this." Nell took out a leaf pouch that contained a lot of fruit inside.
"Oh dear, you like to play magic in front of this old fairy, hmm. But, thank you for the souvenirs, Len." Shelly received the gift with magic and placed it into the house. "Shiny, Shiny! Len came to visit again. Don't you want to see her?"
Right after the old fairy called out, the rustling sound could be heard from inside the house. Then, a greenish yellow-haired fairy immediately approached.
The excited fairy flapped her semi-transparent green wings as if she wanted to arrive sooner.
"Len! You came to visit again. It's nice to see you. How was your trip? Are you lost again? Have you reached the capital city? What does that place look like? Ahh, your wings are white and have soft fur. Stroking, stroking." Shiny immediately shook Nell's hand, flew around, and also stroked Nell's white wings.
Nell was instantly overwhelmed by this lively and cheerful fairy. However, he had to immediately divert Shiny's attention. "Ah, Hello, Shiny. How are you? Did you see the leaf pouch just now? It's a gift with lots of berries in it. Would you like to try some of the various flavors that are rarely found?"
"Is that the souvenir you said two weeks ago, Len? Thank you! Let me wash them first, and I'll serve them right away. Please wait a moment." Shiny flew back into the house and unpacked the leaf pouch for the berries.
While Shiny was busy taking care of the berries, Shelly sat back down near Nell. "Len, you didn't come near the tree of life, did you? Did you not heed my warning?"
"Sorry, Village Chief Shelly. I need to go to the tree of life and find out what really happened." Nell turned her head towards the giant tree that pierced the sky in the distance.
"Sigh... You stubborn young fairy. You can get a curse just because you want to satisfy your curiosity. That area is declared dangerous for a reason." Shelly sighed and leaned back in her chair. She looked at the tree of life in the distance with a hint of sadness.
"In that case, please tell me about it, Village Chief Shelly. Is it so secret?" Nell continued while staring at the old fairy. Maybe she could get a little extra information this time.
"Hmm, it's not a secret either. It happened a long time ago, after a bright light shone and ended the chaos. A deadly curse began to envelop the area around the tree of life. Nobody knows what really happened. History slowly fades with age." Shelly glanced up and closed her eyes as if she was reminiscing about something.
"There's one thing I don't understand." Nell nodded once and looked at the nearby settlement.
"And what is it?" Shelly opened her eyes a little.
"I mean, this village. It's so close to the tree of life. Why did you and the eighty-seven other fairies choose to live here? You said the place around the tree of life is dangerous, but this village doesn't live up to what you said. What kind of mission did all these fairies of Brinevein Village bear?" Nell blatantly pointed out the oddities that she noticed.
"Ho-ho-ho, you seem to have noticed that, Len. I will forgive you for your impudence and impoliteness." Shelly rose from her chair and turned her back to Nell. "I will only tell you this once. I am Shelly, the chief of the 199th generation of the Guardian Clan. My clan has several tasks that have been passed down from generation to generation."
Right after that, Shiny returned with a large bowl filled with lots of berries. "These are fresh and delicious berries! I've tasted them, and the taste is superb. Grandma, you will definitely like it."
"Haha-ha, is that so? Then I'll taste some." Shelly sat back down and ate the berries as if the previous tense conversation had never happened.
Then, Shiny approached Nell and chirped cheerfully. Meanwhile, Elysia and Elena were only watching from a tree several tens of meters in the distance.
'So, these villagers are the Guardian Clan. They protect the tree of life? But, from what? It seems many things about the tree of life are being kept as classified information.' Elysia put her hand on her chin while making some assumptions in mind.
"Our little Goddess has no intention of hypnotizing the villagers in this village because they are friendly and hospitable. Looks like we have no other choice but to try some experiments tomorrow morning, Ely.' Elena put her hands behind her head as she laid down lazily.
'En, we'll try a few things tomorrow. However, isn't this small village a bit strange?' Elysia felt little goosebumps for some inexplicable reason.
'Yes, it's weird if we rely on our hunches. Oh my, Ely, look down there using your advanced perception and your sacred vision. You will know something.' Elena covered her mouth as she checked all the oddities within a 200-meter radius. Something underground took her by surprise.
Elysia's eyes glowed purplish-blue, and she immediately used her ability to see tens of meters underground. A gigantic greenish rune was installed down there.
'Sister Elena, it doesn't just exist under this village. Just look at the surrounding area. These giant runes spread out and seem to surround the tree of life.' Elysia glanced around, and her astonishment grew even more.
'You're right, Ely. This giant rune seemed to have a radius of 20 kilometers with the tree of life as its center. What can this rune do? Now, I no longer think of this small village as a safe place to stay.' Elena squinted her eyes when she realized that. The rune glowed, and it was quickly known with just Elysia's sacred vision.
'Then, where are we going to spend the night?' Elysia tilted her head slightly. She could find no other strange thing besides the gigantic rune.
'We need to find a safe tree in a harmless forest because we're going camping, Ely. Fret not! I'll hug you to sleep.' Elena puffed out her chest a little as she put her hand on her upper chest.
'All right.' Elysia didn't mind that as she had the experience of spending days in the wilderness.