The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 206

Crack!

“Huh?”

Hearing the quite loud snapping sound, Polyxene flinched in surprise and turned around. There, a branch of the World Tree that had been extending along the black brick wall was lifting its end high up like a morning glory that had lost its support. Toward her. Since the brown branch was twisted and extended straight without a single leaf attached, her gaze kept being drawn to it. She hadn’t seen such a thing earlier, had she?

“What… is this.”

While respect for the World Tree was natural for any elf of Jupiter, Polyxene was simply bewildered. She had never before witnessed the World Tree approaching her first, no matter where she was or what she was doing. However, the snapping sound she had heard earlier gave her goosebumps throughout her body and bothered her.

She bent her knees to examine the branch that had no leaves whatsoever.

“…It’s not withering away, is it?”

That couldn’t be the case. The World Tree was a tree that would remain strong forever, and above all, the current king Cassis was the World Tree’s reliable guardian, so absolutely not. Unlike that mysterious nymph who would be excited to meet her kinfolk. That tree…

‘Hmm, when I came here, wasn’t it said that it had been dying but suddenly improved in condition?’

From what she had heard, the king had taken the lead in bold pruning and came up with several ingenious measures, but Polyxene had no talent for either gardening or magic, so she was completely ignorant in those areas. Therefore, even if she looked, there was no prospect of discovering anything.

Standing here and pondering deeply wouldn’t change anything. While Polyxene didn’t reflect on how she had nearly acted wildly, she had lost her enthusiasm and didn’t want to stay any longer.

After she left, the World Tree’s branch that had extended from the wall slowly moved and settled back into its original position. Below it were the broken remains of withered fallen leaves, fine ash powder that might amount to just a single leaf if gathered together.

Nike, who had just returned from Macriss, smiled brightly the moment she saw Evelyn who had come out to greet her inside the castle gates. It was a radiant smile resembling a sunflower, with not a trace of childish playfulness.

“Evelyn!”

“You must have had a difficult journey, Lady Nike.”

“Good to see you. Do you have time? Let’s go to my house and talk for a moment.”

Nike seemed to have completely forgotten about the heavy bundle she was carrying and the fact that she had traveled a long distance, as she hurriedly gestured and quickly took her to the house where she lived.

This marked the second time Evelyn had been invited to someone’s home since arriving at Jupiter. Evelyn sat obediently on the sofa, trying not to examine the interior of the house too thoroughly out of curiosity.

“Thank you for inviting me…”

Thud!

Nike, having set down the bundle she had carried on her shoulder, sat across from her and immediately extended her left hand.

“Look at this. What do you think this is?”

“It’s a ring… isn’t it? Oh my, surely not…!”

“Hehe. That’s right.”

At this completely unexpected major event, Evelyn gasped in surprise and covered her mouth with both hands. The opal necklace around her neck, resembling a red sunset, felt as though it was warming up in place of her body temperature.

“Which gentleman did this happen with? Oh, let me ask again. What aspect of him captured Lady Nike’s heart?”

The male elves she knew within the castle were extremely few. Cassis, Lord Iel and Lord Laocon, Brax who had left this place, and Patz the guard who had informed them of Nike’s return. Those five were practically all of them.

Could it possibly be one of them? From her current position of speculation, it was truly fascinating. Since nymphs were only female, they could only be united with males of other species! Therefore, even though it was someone else’s love story, she could not help but feel her heart beating with excitement.

Nike grinned as she lightly scratched the bottom part of the ring. The gem that sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight filtering through the window resembled pale milk containing rainbow colors.

“I never thought I would end up firmly bound to just one person in my entire life. I told you before, didn’t I? Nymphs naturally look around here and there…”

“No, you can’t! Now that you’ve decided on someone to share your lifetime with, you must put aside such… such licentious words!”

Evelyn hurriedly stopped her, horrified that grand words like “jar of desires” or “promiscuous lifestyle” might burst from Nike’s mouth. Nike laughed heartily while narrowing her eyes and wearing a slight smile. Despite having worked hard in Macriss, the mischievous, rascal-like playfulness of the past had considerably faded from her white face.

“Hahaha! Hmm, that’s right. You’re correct, but it’s fine—he knows all about how I am. We know each other too well and have known each other for so long that there’s nothing to hide. If I tried to act like a refined lady for days, it would be awkward, so he’d tell me to stop.”

However, as she continued speaking, Nike’s tone became rapidly calmer. It was proof that she had felt at least some emotion from Evelyn’s words.