The three days passed with unexpected smoothness before the two of them finally arrived at Blumod.
Unlike Nektar and the cities Leo had seen before, Blumod possessed an entirely different atmosphere. The city felt rigid, disciplined, almost suffocatingly orderly. Soldiers patrolled every street in organized formations, while imperial knights stood stationed at nearly every visible corner, their armor gleaming beneath the daylight like silent warnings to anyone who entered.
It did not feel like an ordinary city.
It felt like a living fortress.
As a border city, Blumod stood at the point where the interests of the Heinlein Empire intersected with the domain of the Elven Forest. Because of that, it had become both an irreplaceable strategic stronghold and one of the empire's most important commercial centers—a place that served as the very face of the Heinlein Empire to outsiders.
From there, Leo and Eliaria headed directly toward the massive gate leading into the forest.
The closer they drew to it, the more obvious Eliaria's tension became.
Her footsteps slowed unconsciously, and her gaze wandered restlessly, as though she were returning to a place whose reception she could neither predict nor trust.
Leo noticed it immediately.
Without thinking much about it, he reached out and lightly patted her head before speaking in his usual half-mocking tone.
"It's fine… my foolish disciple."
Though his words carried sarcasm, the intention behind them was clear.
He was trying to calm her.
Eliaria froze for a brief moment.
Then, little by little, the tension in her eyes began to fade, as though those simple words had anchored her back to reality.
In the end, his mere presence alone was enough to steady her emotions.
But just as the two were about to cross the gate, the guards abruptly stopped them.
"Entry into the forest is forbidden."
Leo did not respond immediately. Instead, he calmly took out the card he had received from Noctra Vane.
The moment one of the guards saw it, his expression changed completely.
The man's face stiffened with visible shock before he quickly stepped aside, lowering his head and allowing them passage without another word.
Leo glanced briefly at the card in his hand before muttering inwardly,
"So the Lotus House is even more influential than I thought…"
Then, for a fleeting instant, an entirely unrelated thought crossed his mind.
Today marked his thirteenth birthday according to the body he inhabited.
And yet…
He felt absolutely nothing about it.
It was as though the number belonged to someone else entirely.
Now, the two of them stood at the threshold of the Elven Forest.
The true beginning of Leo's journey.
The first real step toward the goal he had planned from the very start.
Yet one question still lingered silently in the air.
Would this journey truly unfold as he expected?
Or did the forest conceal something far beyond a simple path?
These were Leo's first steps within the forest itself.
At first, he had viewed this journey merely as a means to quickly complete the elixir he sought. Nothing more than a destination tied to a specific objective.
But somewhere along the way, his perspective had begun to change.
Through the experiences he accumulated and the encounters he faced, Leo gradually started discovering value in things he once would not have spared a second glance toward.
Small moments.
Fleeting emotions.
trivial moments now seemed strangely important.
He felt that something had changed
It felt as though his horizons themselves were slowly expanding.
And rather than viewing his journey into the forest as a mere objective, he had unconsciously begun to see it as something else entirely—
An adventure capable of broadening his understanding of this new era.
The moment Leo crossed the boundaries of the forest…
The air changed.
The leaves of the trees trembled softly, not as though moved by the wind, but as though something sleeping deep within them had suddenly awakened.
The grass beneath his feet rapidly regained its vivid green color at a speed visible to the naked eye. Withered branches slowly stretched outward once more, while fresh buds bloomed upon them despite the season not yet being suitable for such growth.
The entire forest seemed…
Happy.
Deep within the forest, the trees themselves began swaying in strange harmony, as though the entire woodland had started dancing to a rhythm no human ears could hear.
Eliaria suddenly stopped walking.
Her eyes widened in complete disbelief.
"W-What… is happening?"
But before Leo could answer—
"Stop right there!"
Elven knights appeared instantly from between the trees.
Dozens of bows were raised directly toward Leo.
Their gazes were sharp, tense… openly hostile.
One of them shouted furiously,
"Stay away from the princess!"
Another muttered with visible unease,
"The mana… the forest is reacting abnormally…"
"This isn't natural."
As for the captain, he stared at Leo as though he were looking at a walking catastrophe disguised as a human being.
Leo himself could not understand the source of the unease rising within the elves.
Then suddenly, Eliaria stepped in front of him protectively.
"Don't hurt Master!" she shouted toward the soldiers.
One of the elven knights looked utterly stunned.
"What are you saying, Princess?! How can you stand on the side of a human?!"
At that moment, the captain narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and the atmosphere between both sides instantly grew heavier.
Tension thickened in the air like an invisible storm moments away from erupting.
And just as the elven soldiers prepared themselves to attack—
Leo quietly prepared himself to fight as well.
Then…
At that exact moment…
One of the gigantic ancient trees behind Leo slowly bent downward.
Pure white blossoms drifted from its branches, falling around him like rain.
Silence descended.
Every elf froze where they stood.
Because what had just happened…
Was not magic.
It was acknowledgment.
An acknowledgment granted by the forest itself.
At that point, the soldiers no longer had any choice except to lower their heads before the one chosen by the forest.
Leo himself did not understand what had just occurred.
Nor did he understand why their attitudes had shifted so suddenly.
But he did realize one thing.
Something abnormal was happening.
And somehow…
It was deeply connected to the strange reactions of the forest itself.
After a brief discussion among the soldiers, the elves ultimately decided to escort Leo and Eliaria back to the village.
Yet even as they moved deeper into the forest, one question remained unanswered.
Would Leo truly remain safe in a land where humans were hated simply for existing?
And what exactly was the reason behind the bizarre phenomena occurring throughout the forest?