Chapter 35: Eternal Forest IV
"Still far, huh?" Elara muttered to herself, aware that there was no one to answer her question at the moment.
Nearly fifteen minutes had passed since Elara entered this dense forest. Thanks to the assistance of the unique root creatures, or more precisely, the intelligent roots, Elara managed to avoid the risk of getting lost in this notoriously dangerous forest.
"Speaking of which, I forgot to inquire about the cottage I saw in the meadow with the roots earlier... Well, I can ask about it some other time," Elara casually murmured.
Contemplating someone living in the Eternal Forest sent shivers down Elara's spine, but fortunately, due to all the strange occurrences she experienced today, it didn't make her overly afraid.
'Not my concern, don't dwell on it! No, I don't need to inquire about that anymore. Let's forget it! I never saw that cottage at all!' Elara thought, steadying her resolve.
Swoosh~
Elara held her hair, tousled by the gentle breeze, once again. At times, even the ends of her hair entered her mouth due to the force of the wind.
She gazed at the group of winds that would normally be invisible to the naked eye but were now vividly revealed to Elara's eyes. These winds gathered and moved freely as if dancing gracefully in the air.
However, these winds were busy blowing around Elara, giving her a slight impact from their gusts.
'I want to tell them to stop, but it feels impolite to scold the winds that have willingly guided me home....'
Elara swallowed her saliva. 'Moreover, I'm afraid of hurting their feelings and causing them to turn into a strong wind out of anger....'
'Patience... Just a gentle breeze. Think of it as a natural air conditioner!' Elara tried to calm herself.
Swooooooosh!~
"..."
Elara's long brown hair touched her waist, becoming disheveled due to the sudden gust of wind, covering her entire face and preventing her from seeing what was in front.
'Hold on Elara...! I must not get angry at the creatures who have kindly helped me!'
It's because of the presence of the guiding winds by her side that Elara can breathe calmly, free from the worry of getting lost in the notoriously dangerous Eternal Forest!
If it were someone else, they would probably have resigned themselves to being lost in the middle of the forest, slowly succumbing to hunger, waiting for a kind soul passing by to be willing to rescue them and lead them out of this woodland maze!
As Elara tried to calm her emotions and fix her tousled hair, another gust of wind swept towards her. Fortunately, this time, the wind lent its assistance, magically restoring her hair to its neat arrangement.
'Are all nature beings fond of playing like this?' Elara wondered, recalling the helpful behavior of the roots that aided her earlier.
She vividly remembered the inhabitants of Galatea being notoriously unfriendly, typically avoiding or ignoring humans unless someone managed to capture their attention. Some could be mischievous, disturbing, and frightening humans who dared enter the Eternal Forest, though without causing harm, leaving the humans traumatized.
But now, instead of being ignored or bothered, these nature beings seemed remarkably friendly towards her, as if inviting Elara to play with them.
"No, am I being pranked by them without realizing it?" Elara murmured, causing the surrounding winds to blow stronger, seemingly contradicting what Elara was saying.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Elara stared emotionlessly at the reactions of the winds, wondering if they, too, had evolved into intelligent beings.
'Crazy, are they also evolving into intelligent beings like the roots before?' Elara panicked inwardly, though she appeared calm on the surface.
'What should I do? Is this normal? Ah, I might go crazy if this continues....!'
Elara continued walking straight, following the guidance of the winds with a calm expression, not revealing the chaotic thoughts in her mind.
'Did I mess something up in the forest when I entered earlier or maybe four years ago...? What if the powerful beings called Elemental Wings come for me and punish me for damaging the forest?!'
Imagining that scenario made Elara want to cry, and howl hysterically that whatever happened while she was in the forest was not of her own will.
'I'm not guilty! I'm just an innocent child who knows nothing about this world!'
Swooooosh!
Other winds began to come, somehow feeling very different from the winds that had been with her from the beginning and continued to blow towards her.
Swooooooooosh-swoosh~~
These winds felt cool and refreshing. Especially when they touched her skin, her entire body felt invigorated, as if all the worrying thoughts in her mind and the intangible burden on her shoulders had been taken away, carried far away by these mysterious winds.
Even Elara almost thought this group of strange winds could take her flying far away if they wanted. Fortunately, these unfamiliar winds merely continued to breeze toward her repeatedly, circling her entire body as if inspecting something and refraining from any other peculiar actions.
This continued for a few minutes before the group of unfamiliar winds finally distanced themselves, as if they had completed their task and were now preparing to fly back to their original place.
"... Crazy," Elara couldn't help but mutter.
In the end, Elara closed her eyes. Fortunately, thanks to the power of the mysterious winds that had calmed her restless mind, Elara could breathe relief.
'Forget it, don't think about it. Let's focus on getting out of this dense forest first,' Elara decided to be indifferent for now.
Even so, Elara took a moment to glance at the group of mysterious winds and gave a small smile, whispering a quiet thank you before continuing her journey, following another wind that was still busy guiding her homeward.
'If I were to tell what I'm experiencing right now to the merchants who love gossiping and gathering information, they would surely be very excited,' Elara swallowed her saliva.
Of course, Elara would never tell them. She didn't want to attract attention again. She had had enough of all the rumors circulating just because she kept creating delicious bread, as well as being hailed as a genius child of all time.
'If I were to tell that I most likely have an affinity with all six elemental spirits, there would be many jealous and malicious people wanting to harm me, like Becca.'
'And surely, the scale would be much larger and terrifying... considering that someone with all six affinities is like finding a needle in a haystack. Therefore, I would undoubtedly become the target of many people, either to be exploited by the nobles....'
Considering Elara is just a commoner, her safety would undoubtedly be compromised when facing aristocrats in a world governed by a monarchy system, where the nobility easily tramples upon the ordinary people. Elara can't rely solely on the protection of the local villagers, as they might also face repercussions from the aristocrats if they dare to shield her.
Setting aside the merchants who only act if there's a profit, Elara can only depend on herself to ensure her and her mother's safety.
'Of course, if someday 'my father', often mentioned in absurd rumors, is indeed a noble and comes to seek me out, I will try to make a deal with him to protect me until adulthood if there's no other option.'
Certainly, Elara remained in the dark about whether she was genuinely a noble's child, pondering the possibility of either being illegitimate or hailing from pure noble lineage. To add to the complexity, there was the looming chance of various nobles audaciously claiming to be her father solely for their ulterior motives.
'Ah, why must my life be entangled in such intricacies? All I wished for was an ordinary, mundane existence, sobs!'
Elara's thoughts suddenly halted at that point. She even stopped in her tracks, confusing the winds that were guiding her, circling her as if questioning why she suddenly halted.
"...." Elara almost whispered with a nearly lost voice, but in reality, only silence prevailed, accompanied by a gentle breeze by her side.
She was unaware of how and why, but her surroundings had undergone a drastic change in the blink of an eye! It felt like she was no longer in the same forest she had been traversing all this time.
'Why is this happening again? Can't I just go home peacefully?' Elara thought wearily.
Despite grumbling in her mind, Elara, strangely calm despite her racing heart, quickly looked around, only to find an expansive empty area.
As Elara wondered what was happening, suddenly, a clicking sound, like a switch, could be heard not far from her.
Elara immediately turned to locate the source of the clicking sound and froze in place at the sight before her.
In front of her were two unique trees standing side by side, their trunks entwining, encircling a large painting placed in the middle of these two trees. The painting seemed to float in the air if not for the tree trunks surrounding it, merging into a beautiful natural frame.
It felt as if Elara had stepped into an art exhibition amid the forest, making the atmosphere even more refreshing and simultaneously mysterious.
Disregarding all these sensations, the round, brown eyes of Elara focused on the only large painting in this peculiar place.
It was like a close-up intentionally painted to showcase the beauty of a woman in a green dress. Unfortunately, the painter's skill didn't seem to be top-notch, turning what should have depicted the woman's beauty into what appeared to be mere abstract art.
As if summoned by the painting, Elara's previously halted feet moved again, stepping closer to the artwork in front of her. Tears streamed down her face as she took a step or two towards the painting.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone