The Player Hides His Past Chapter 251 - If you need brotherly love

Hidden piece.

 

Rumors about it had been rampant since the days Arcana was a game. Even though it was unclear whether it even existed, some people chose the explorer class with the sole goal of finding hidden pieces.

 

The reason was simple.

 

Hidden piece.

 

Just from the name itself, it looked like a huge reward would follow, right?

 

But after the Cataclysm.

 

After AAU shared Arcana information with players.

 

Hidden Piece became a futile joke.

 

– Why was I looking for a reward that hasn’t even been implemented yetㅋㅋㅋ

 

-ㄹㅇ No one asked you to look for it in the first place

 

– I feel like I’m going to lose my mind just looking for itㅋㅋㅋ

 

Before the Cataclysm.

 

Hidden Piece was not a content that would appear at the time.

 

To put it simply, it was an unimplemented content that would be used later.

 

Therefore, AAU also didn’t know about the reward or its existence.

 

‘That’s natural.’

 

I went through a lot of trouble ahead of other players…

 

I skipped the middle step and had a significant experience.

 

But even for me, this was my first time discovering a hidden piece like this.

 

[Hidden Piece, Ice Dragon’s Snowy Mountain]

 

[Hidden Piece, Dragon Temple]

 

In fact, it made sense just by looking at the name attached to it.

 

To put it simply, Hidden Piece lived up to its name.

 

First of all, the difficulty of entering it was beyond imagination.

 

‘Even the Ice Dragon’s Snow Mountain.’

 

There was a condition that I had to meet the Ice Dragon Prosnax in the gap of dimensions. Well, the Dragon Temple was even worse than that. You wouldn’t even be able to approach it unless you were a dragon.

 

‘I don’t want to admit it, but…’

 

…I was an exception because I was the Dark Dragon.

 

Anyway, Hidden Piece was such a grand place. But the garden of Yusra Kingdom, which only grew bi-herb at best, was given the moniker Hidden Piece…!

 

There was only one possibility I could think of.

 

For 15 days while I was gone.

 

Something happened to the garden.

 

Elsidore.

 

I activated the Hierarchy of Blessing.

 

“!”

 

Because of this, I could tell by looking at Elsidore’s face as he took a step back.

 

It was obvious that something was bothering him.

 

Truthfully, I wanted to grab Elsidore and ask him about it.

 

I had the hierarchy anyway.

 

Even if he had something he wanted to hide from me, he wouldn’t be able to hide it.

 

But who was Grandfel?

 

A person with excessively noble pride.

 

Due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

I couldn’t visit the garden for 15 days.

 

He had an annoying personality that made him think it was a burden he had to bear.

 

‘There’s no way I can interrogate Elsidore.’

 

So I had no choice but to judge with my own eyes.

 

First of all, what Elsidore was blocking was the bi-herb.

 

But, wait a minute…

 

Why did it look so unusual?

 

The petals were extremely wide and in full bloom.

 

Also, the large fruits stood out the most.

 

I spoke calmly.

 

“Is it because the harvest season has passed?”

 

I didn’t really mean anything by that.

 

“Gasp…”

 

I heard Elsidore startle.

 

What’s with the overreaction?

 

Anyone who saw that would think he was really being enslaved.

 

If you thought about it, the reason why I missed the harvest time was because I couldn’t go to the garden.

 

There was no way Grandfel could blame other people.

 

Elsidore didn’t have to worry.

 

I wanted to say something generous, but I couldn’t.

 

“You’ve grown up odd.”

 

Indeed.

 

The fruit I saw in front of me was truly ‘odd’.

 

I couldn’t even recognize its identity.

 

The demon king’s loot, [Pentagram of Pure Knowledge].

 

Thanks to that effect, I was able to understand information about all the plants and minerals that existed in Arcana. But even with that knowledge, I had no information about this fruit.

 

What it meant was simple.

 

That fruit was not only ‘odd’ in appearance.

 

It was literally [『oddity』].

 

Perhaps because I thought like that…

 

I could also understand why the garden of bi-herb had a grand moniker called Hidden Piece. If this was the garden where oddity grew up, it probably deserved to be called Hidden Piece.

 

‘So the important thing is.’

 

How did the odd fruits grow in the garden?

 

I asked Elsidore, looking at the fruit.

 

“Has anyone other than you visited the garden?”

 

“…None.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes. I never left my seat even for a moment.”

 

I was the one who asked, but was it a dumb question?

 

Elsidore’s temperament.

 

It had been widely known since he first appeared.

 

Now, he couldn’t say much because of the hierarchy.

 

But he despised humans and everything else except the elves themselves.

 

I had no expectation that his temperament would be cured.

 

‘Elsidore has his guard all up.’

 

Who would dare to stop by the garden?

 

Then again, there was only one possibility.

 

As Elsidore had said.

 

Thanks to taking care of the bi-herb without leaving the room even for a moment.

 

The bi-herb grew [『odd』].

 

Oddity.

 

A combination of two completely different concepts.

 

In addition to the nature of bi-herb.

 

What kind of influence did Elsidore have?

 

I didn’t know if he influenced the oddity.

 

But one thing was certain.

 

First of all, I couldn’t tell the effect just by looking at it.

 

In order to know the effect…

 

“I’ll have to try it.”

 

Of course, I had no intention of going crazy and swallowing the fruit in the reality.

 

Even when I took an elixir that had known effects.

 

I dropped my teacup and fainted from the side effect…!

 

‘On the Arcana Continent.’

 

Well, it might hurt.

 

But even if I died there, I wouldn’t die.

 

Anyway, well done, Elsidore.

 

Thanks to you, I don’t know what this is, but I got an unusual fruit.

 

I opened my mouth.

 

“Your pride has come to fruition.”

 

Your pride has come to fruition, what is that expression…

 

Grandfel’s style of speaking was so hard to understand even for me who spat it out.

 

But somehow, the meaning seemed to be conveyed.

 

“Is that so? Haha…”

 

Elsidore’s face suddenly turned bright.

 

Had Elsidore also become serious about growing bi-herbs?

 

Was being a farmer a good fit for an elf?

 

I contemplated for a moment.

 

Oh, I almost forgot.

 

‘Come to think of it, I had something to ask.’

 

– Enter Sisley, the land of the elves. (In Progress)

 

The class quest that I had gotten for the first time in a while.

 

The World Tree and the Fruit of Good and Evil.

 

And what happened between the demons.

 

Enter Sisley to chase the clue…

 

“!”

 

No, wait a second.

 

For a moment, like being electrocuted.

 

I felt stung.

 

Fruit of Good and Evil.

 

The fruit I saw before my eyes.

 

Sisley, the home of the elves.

 

The Garden of Dignity, where the elf Elsidore resided.

 

The Fruit of Good and Evil, where good and evil coexisted completely differently.

 

A fruit that contained two completely different properties, oddity.

 

…These were not common points that I could just brush off, right?

 

*

 

Golden Palace.

 

However, this was not the annex building where he stayed.

 

At this moment, Elsidore felt extremely anxious.

 

‘What is this about?’

 

He couldn’t help it.

 

– “Your pride has come to fruition.”

 

Regardless of the process, he definitely heard those words at the end.

 

So he was relieved.

 

He had no expectation to get Mother’s blessing back, but.

 

He was spared the reprimand for being negligent in maintaining the garden.

 

But why did this happen so suddenly?

 

“Follow me.”

 

Tap tap–

 

Before he knew it, he was following in Hoyeol’s footsteps.

 

Elsidore reflected on his actions.

 

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t think of an act that went against Hoyeol’s will…

 

‘…? No way?’

 

As expected, did he get caught?

 

From the moment when he was trying to uproot it?

 

If he thought about it like that, he was guilty of many things.

 

He had tried to cover the flowers and fruits with his body, and he even backed away when he heard the sound… Therefore, Elsidore couldn’t help but hesitate as he entered Hoyeol’s office.

 

Slam–

 

“Ugh.”

 

The moment the door closed.

 

He recalled a terrible memory.

 

The time when he couldn’t say anything to Hoyeol because of the hierarchy and just answered him obediently. Perhaps because of that experience. Elsidore didn’t make unnecessary remarks.

 

‘It’s no use rebelling.’

 

In the first place, if he could go against the hierarchy.

 

He wouldn’t have been treated like this.

 

So he opened his mouth voluntarily first.

 

“I’ll answer what you ask me.”

 

Then he received a calm answer.

 

“Then this conversation will be quick.”

 

Elsidore bit his lips.

 

‘Do I really have to tell everything…!’

 

The 15 days when Hoyeol was away.

 

Elsidore looked back on his mistakes.

 

As expected, the thing that bothered him the most was the constant muttering to himself.

 

– “Look. Isn’t the water I give you better?”

 

– “Haha, now I don’t know who owns the garden.”

 

– “This is dignity, this is the garden of dignity.”

 

…All of that?

 

For a moment, Elsidore fell into agony.

 

Hoyeol continued to Elsidore.

 

The question was completely unexpected.

 

“Elsidore.”

 

“…I’m listening.”

 

“How did you do in Sisley?”

 

…Sisley?

 

He couldn’t even imagine it.

 

He never thought Hoyeol would suddenly ask him about something from the past.

 

Didn’t he mean to interrogate him?

 

As Elsidore was suspicious until the end.

 

A merciful offer followed.

 

“We should sit down and talk.”

 

“…!”

 

“Maybe the conversation will get longer.”

 

Really.

 

Was Hoyeol curious about how he had been?

 

“…”

 

This was the first time he’d ever get this question.

 

Furthermore, it wasn’t the kind of question he was worried about.

 

Elsidore was able to answer indifferently.

 

There really wasn’t much to say about his routine at Sisley.

 

“My kin and I enjoyed eternity in Sisley, communing with nature. If I had to compare it… It was similar to the life I have now. Of course, at Sisley, it grew on its own without any effort. I didn’t have to put in a lot of effort like I do now.”

 

“Does that include the World Tree?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Beyond the obvious.

 

It was their mission to protect the World Tree.

 

Of course, the object of communion also included Mother.

 

“…Can I drink?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Elsidore took the teacup Hoyeol gave him and tilted it.

 

‘Green water?’

 

It didn’t matter that it had a bitter taste.

 

The warmth was enough for him to talk about the past.

 

Elsidore had nothing to be desired.

 

The moment he continued to talk about his life in Sisley.

 

A question followed again.

 

“Then the World Tree could also bear fruit.”

 

“I guess so.”

 

“If you took care of her.”

 

Indeed, he had an aesthetic sense that was inhumane.

 

He recognized their greatness right away.

 

Elsidore puffed up.

 

“Even though it’s the lizards’ role to sow seeds. If we don’t take care of her, she can’t even bear seeds. So the responsibility for this situation lies with the lizards, not us.”

 

The ones who went against her wishes first were the lizards, the dragons.

 

That was why he and his kin didn’t fulfill their responsibilities.

 

The fact that Mother died without producing proper fruits.

 

The fact that the dragons sowed the seeds without knowing that.

 

It was not their fault.

 

As he was thinking about that.

 

Clink–

 

He heard the sound of a teacup being put down.

 

“I knew it.”

 

The voice that was confident as always continued.

 

Just like before.

 

Another unexpected remark followed.

 

“It was all because of the lack of pride of the brothers.”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

For now, one thing was certain.

 

Grandfel, you’re addicted to green tea.

 

Perhaps because of the caffeine in green tea.

 

‘I feel like my brain stops spinning.’

 

Therefore.

 

The moment I listened to Elsidore, the tangled clues were unraveled.

 

I noticed where the misunderstanding started.

 

‘The dragons and the elves each had a mission.’

 

If the dragons had a mission to sow seeds.

 

For elves, their mission was to make the seeds bear fruit.

 

But Elsidore said it clearly.

 

He and his kin didn’t fulfill their responsibilities.

 

Then the fruit of the World Tree.

 

The Fruit of Good and Evil didn’t grow properly in the first place.

 

The same was true for the dragons.

 

The dragon’s job was simply to sow the seeds.

 

They didn’t have to sacrifice their life to sprout the seeds.

 

That meant they were fooled by ‘someone’ from the beginning.

 

“It was all because of the lack of pride of the brothers.”

 

The pride of the brothers.

 

If I were to interpret Grandfel’s language, it would mean brotherly love.

 

As he said, if they didn’t lack brotherly love.

 

If they had talked to each other.

 

If they had cleared up the misunderstanding.

 

If they had found the root cause of the incident.

 

The current situation wouldn’t have happened.

 

‘This is why families should be harmonious.’

 

Even if I regretted it, it couldn’t be helped.

 

There was no word regret in Grandfel’s dictionary.

 

I just moved on when it was time to regret it.

 

“But that also needs to be corrected.”

 

“…?”

 

In that regard.

 

I had one more thing to do at Sisley.

 

Of course, I would do the class quest.

 

“Through guidance and education.”

 

“?!”

 

The dragons and the elves.

 

I even had to restore their brotherly relationship.

 

What’s wrong with this family…

 

Why does the youngest have to do everything by himself!?

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Click clack.

 

Fingers danced on the keyboard.

 

New posts were uploaded in the community.

 

[Title: But that Dark Dragon or something]

 

[Author: ㅇㅇ]

 

[Content: I don’t think it’s Hoyeol-nim…?]