After fixing the clearing, we returned to Cleric's house, and he welcomed us warmly. We didn't sleep and instead talked about why we were in Elf Village.
I left the explanation to Alesia. She managed to make it short that I was here to seek the elder's help to find something.
"Oh, so you went to see the elder? Is he okay? I saw the light turned off a few seconds earlier." Cleric asked with a worried tone.
"He's sleeping," Alesia answered shortly. "And I am sleepy too. Is there an empty room inside
"There should be one at the end of the corridor. It's the guest room." Cleric answered Alesia and pointed inside.
The headmistress nodded and retreated back. She had explained enough, and we didn't mind if she left first.
Cleric smiled wryly at what she did, "Alesia is always like that." He said, smiling wryly. Then he looked at me with a weird smile on his face as he tapped his hand against the table.
"But, thank you. The balance doesn't need to be maintained that much by the World Tree with the new Paladin born. Thankfully, you stopped by here, or we won't know anything until the future, and the elder won't get his deserved rest. This place is really cut out from the outside."
"I can see that," I said, looking back at him. "The Elf Village is hovering between the edge of the waterfall near the magical border Goddess created, no? I can hear the sound clearly when we visit the elder."
The magical border disturbed communication and almost every magic item. It also killed a person slowly and caused pain if they had no [Moon Stone] with them.
Not to mention, the place where this Elf Village was located probably was a large floating island located right beside the World-End waterfall. Normal people would die from the monster first before they could reach this place.
The only reason why this place was safe was thanks to the barrier covering the island that drew the power directly from the world tree. It wasn't just a normal tree that was just big and old. No… It was some kind of monster, too, but it wasn't hostile and had an instinct to stabilize the world.
Cleric laughed in amusement, "You're right, son-in-law. Only people strong enough or those who have <Space Magic> skills could pinpoint this location. Only a few people in the world had that, including me, Alesia, and the elder. Even my wife isn't talented with <Space Magic>."
"I can't use it either." I smiled wryly. "I only focused on my <Swordsmanship> and <Holy Magic> and can't use any other kind of magic. But that alone is enough for me to protect myself and my loved ones."
"True. Being specialized in one thing often gives the best result."
"Indeed." I nodded in agreement. "Talking about a specialty, may I ask about something?" My tone turned serious as I kept my friendly smile.
It was the best time to ask this because he mentioned specialization.
There were many questions I wanted to ask Cleric about. Thankfully, Alesia had retreated so it could stay between us if he asked me back about something equivalent to his answer.
Cleric didn't look like someone who would ask back, but I better have told him one or two about me if his answer satisfied me. Of course, I wouldn't tell him anything if he didn't ask about it.
I wasn't that stupid and that kind to share my secret without the other party asking it or giving something equivalent in return.
My new father-in-law let out a sigh. Did I ask for too much?
"Why were you so formal? Just ask me anything. I know you're curious about what happened in the past or the first Paladin's specialization, right? It's normal! Many people have asked me various questions about that. Hahaha."
It seemed like that wasn't the case. He just misunderstood my question.
"It's not about that. I was curious why you were able to look young even though you are a human. Is it due to <Time Magic> or a magic item? I am sorry if the question is too personal. You can just ig–"
"Ah, it's about that." Cleric nodded and crossed his arms, "I don't mind. It's truly strange, no? I understand that you're more curious about that too. Do you want to know? It will be a long story, hahaha."
"Please, if you don't mind. I have another question about the world, but I will save it for later. Feel free to ask me anything too, father-in-law."
"Sure sure… First, about my appearance, huh? Your guess is right. I have some magic items to make me look young. However, this item's effect is so effective that it actually regresses my appearance. Right now, I look like my 15-year-old self. I took off the magic item to make me regain my age before putting it on again."
"That's one strong magic item," I exclaimed, surprised by the effect.
To think it actually made him look younger and regressed his age… What kind of magic item was it?
I never knew something like that existed. Was it something similar to the Scylla's flute? The exclusive item that only existed in this world.
But… This was dangerous. I might be able to get affected by this magic item too.
"It's strong." Cleric nodded in agreement, "That's why whenever I don't use it, we need to seal it to make sure it doesn't affect the surroundings. Hahaha. That would be a disaster!"
"I am curious about that magic item, but I guess I should hold my curiosity." I laughed with him. "And I think it's better if fewer people know that magic item's location, especially when Hell begins to manifest in the world."
At my words, Cleric suddenly stopped, and his jaw dropped. I realized that he didn't know about this yet.
Of course, how could he know? This place was separated from the outside world.
"This is what I wanted to stop. To do that, I need information." I continued as if nothing was wrong, "Do you know what lies beyond the World-End Waterfall?"
The atmosphere became serious as soon as I brought up Hell's encroachment. But Cleric calmed down slightly when he heard that I could and wanted to stop it.
"You almost made me get a heart attack." He smiled wryly, looking as if he was holding a pain from bad memories.
"I thought the encroachment had begun. Something like this also happened 300 years ago. People said the first Paladin accompanied the Goddess, but that's wrong. He used his body to stop the encroachment of Hell."
Just as I expected, mentioning something that was only known by a few people was the correct choice.
History was often twisted, and only a few people knew a real one.
When I heard about Cleric saying he was the first Paladin's brother, I had always thought he would know the truth about it, as it didn't interest me.
But… his knowledge was important.
"As for your question. Yes, I do know that there is 'something' beyond the waterfall. However, I don't know the details. Maybe my brother knows. But as you can see… He's gone 300 years ago."
"I see…"
That was a shame. I thought I would be able to get a clue about it. The Goddess thoroughly hid the world's edges and what lay beyond them from the mortals.
"However… I do remember something." Cleric rubbed his chin as he rolled his eyes, trying to dig into his memories. "When my brother returned from checking all the world's edges. He looked rather… sad and relieved. I can't describe it, but it is as if a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders."
'A heavy burden lifted from his shoulders, huh?'
This was a good hint. At least I knew there was indeed something hidden in those world edges.
The first Paladin had visited all four edges in the past and found something. Based on what I heard and what I accumulated so far, maybe there was a connection between that and the encroachment of Hell.
Paladin and Hell. Then, Adam's title as the [Child of Hell]. All of them were related in one way or another. Purple Eye's existence also made me sure Hell was opening in some locations already. I could use its master as a source of information.
'It's safe to assume that even if I finish my current Quest, the encroachment of Hell maybe won't stop.'
But that didn't mean I should stay silent.
'My question for the elder of the Elves has been decided then.'
I smiled softly and nodded. This was the best choice I could make with the current information I had.
"Does it help you?" He asked curiously with a kind smile.
"Yes, thank you. Feel free to ask me anything, father-in-law. I will answer it to the best of my ability."
"Good, then. How about we talk about my daughter? What is she like in the outside world?"
"Milea?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "She's quite good at cooking. Sometimes, she appears to be cheeky…"
I began to tell Cleric about Milea, how she always tried to seduce me and acted cheekily. We shared a good laugh throughout the night.
Both of us noticed that Mafula was eavesdropping and Alesia wasn't actually sleeping, but we continued nonetheless.
When the morning arrived, Alesia appeared from inside and told me it was time to visit the elder. He said he would visit the outside world soon to visit his daughter. I gave him the [Teleportation Gem] he could use to teleport to my mansion after leaving Elven Forest.
After that, Alesia and I bid Cleric farewell and went to the elder.
