Whether You Call Me a Guardian Dragon or Not, I’m Going to Sleep

Chapter 28: Subrace (3)

"If there's a tree that bears bows and arrows like this, it wouldn't be a burden for you."

Considering that the fruits created by Yggdrasil are already a staple in their diet. Bows and arrows that form like fruits shouldn't pose any problem.

Surely, they wouldn't refuse this as well. If they dislike this, how are they managing to eat the fruits of Yggdrasil?

"How can you... plant an item made of wood and make the tree grow..."

"Who exactly are you...?"

Hmm. I did it, but it seems like an extraordinary act even to me.

It's definitely extraordinary!

"I am simply one who wishes for you to use this bow."

Upon my words, the humans all knelt down and began to bow to me.

"Oh-ughh, that's not necessary."

[These children do have some discernment.]

Ignoring Yggdrasil's interjection, I lifted the prostrated humans with my magic.

"I am just a passerby. I have no intention of revealing my name to you. So, don't worry about it."

"Such... No, if you are the great one, you must have your reasons. Understood. If you wish to keep your name hidden, we will respect that."

I nodded slightly at the humans' words.

"Instead, I will give you another gift."

I gathered my magic and enveloped the humans, beginning to change their bodies.

No, they could no longer be called humans.

I sharpened their sight and hearing even more. I didn't touch the other senses as becoming too sensitive could be a hindrance.

And finally, I elongated their ears. They transformed into shapes resembling long leaves.

The completed form of these beings was not different from the elves I had in mind.

"This... What exactly is..."

"I have enhanced your eyes and ears. Now, you can see farther and catch smaller sounds. With this, you will become natural hunters."

The humans were confused by the sudden change in their senses. Well, it's natural to be confused when your senses change.

It's like... getting new glasses? But much more intense than that.

"Your ears have become longer in the process of enhancing your hearing... But the shape of those ears reminds one of the leaves of the World Tree, so it will serve as a proof of being children of the World Tree."

[Mom? What have you done to these children?! Their ears are long?!]

"And now, resembling the World Tree, you shall name your race. You, the children of the World Tree, will henceforth call yourselves elves. Those long ears will be your proof."

[Mom?! Mom?! Don't ignore me?!]

"From now on, you will live as guardians of the quiet forest, protecting the World Tree Yggdrasil."

[Mom?! Mom?!?!]

Thus, elves were born upon this land.

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A very long time ago.

When the World Tree Yggdrasil created the elves.

The god of hunting, who was close to the World Tree, gifted bows and arrows to the elves, the children of the World Tree.

However, those bows and arrows were made of wood. To the elves, who listened to the voices of trees and lived closely with them, trees were no different from family.

Therefore, the elves couldn't even dare to hold the wooden bows in their hands.

But how could they discard such a precious gift from the god of hunting? Not wanting to incur the god's wrath, the elves tried to force themselves to hold the wooden bows, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it and could only cry.

It was the World Tree Yggdrasil that extended a helping hand to these elves.

Yggdrasil planted the bows and arrows in the ground and made a tree grow.

From that tree, bows and arrows began to form like fruits, and the elves were able to harvest and use the bows and arrows with the tree's permission.

Since then, the tree that bears bows and arrows has become a treasure to the elves and is said to be under the strict management and protection of the elves and the World Tree.

Even now, when a young elf becomes an adult, it is said that the highlight of the elf traditional coming-of-age ceremony is asking a tree for a bow that they will use for the rest of their life.

……

In the distant future. When the elves face a crisis of existence, it is said that the one chosen by the World Tree will retrieve a bow and arrows rooted in this tree and save the elves and the World Tree.

- Encyclopedia of Legendary Weapons.

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1) The record refers to an unnamed deity, so there is a divided opinion in the academic world about who the deity that gave the bow and arrows is, but the most popular theory is that it was the god of hunting because of the symbolism of the bow and arrow.

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[Mom. That was too much. Suddenly making the children's ears so big.]

“But they look nice, don’t they?”

[Well, that’s true but…. ]

Compared to when they were just humans with long limbs, handsome or pretty, now they definitely give the impression of being a different race.

That impression came from the long ears I extended, which even Yggdrasil agreed with.

“In the future, various races will appear on this land. Shouldn’t there be a clear way to distinguish your children from those races?”

This is a complete lie. I just wanted to see elves with long ears.

Well, it seems the elves are quite pleased with it, so there’s no problem.

[Since the children seem to like it, I’ll let it slide…. But what if other humans come to live around me wanting to? Should I change them like that too?]

“Hmm, are there many new humans coming in?”

[Not many, but not none. Just a few come in every once in a while.]

I nodded at Yggdrasil’s words. If there were none at all, there would be no problem, but if even a few come in, we can’t just ignore it.

“If new humans want to change like the other elves, it will take a long time, so we need to speed up the transformation.”

[Right. It took a long time for these children to change like that, so I don’t think humans who just came in from outside will accept the amount of time it takes for the children to change.]

“Un, well. In that case, manually transforming them might be best…. But transforming every single aspect of humans coming from outside would be quite a hassle.”

Maybe a magic that copies and transforms the racial traits…. Hmm…. Such magic doesn’t exist yet…. Well, why not just create it?

First, target designation. Choose the target to copy the traits from as target 1. Choose the target to overlay the traits onto as target 2.

By comparing the racial traits of the two targets and overlaying them, transform target 2 into the same race as target 1…. This process is limited to transforming only racial traits.

Carefully consider not to mistakenly transform physical features or mental aspects. Hmm…. This should be about right.

With that, I created a new magic to copy and paste racial traits.

It’s a magic that only copies things like racial traits, and the amount of magic power required is so significant that even dragons would find it difficult to use.

But Yggdrasil, who has endured countless years, should be able to use it.

“I’ll teach you a magic I just created. This magic should solve your problem.”

[Did you prepare this in advance?!]

“How could that be? I just made it. Just now. It’s not optimized, so it consumes a lot of magic power, making it unusable even for dragons.”

Yggdrasil seemed astounded by my words.

[What’s that? What’s the point of such magic.]

“At least it has meaning for you. It’s a magic that can transform new humans into beings like those elves.”

The easiest method would be not to accept outsiders at all, but Yggdrasil is oddly kind and can’t seem to think of sending them away.

If you can’t send them away, you have to accept them. With this magic, new arrivals can also be accepted as members of the elves.

[Really, I don’t understand how Mom creates magic. How do you handle such finicky magic power as if it were your own limbs?]

"What do you mean, can't you just do it?"

[Usually, you can't just do it like that! Creating even one spell requires so much care! I really don't understand.]

Hmm, is it that difficult? I've been doing it so naturally that I didn't realize.

Hmm. Anyway.

"The newly grown tree over there... take care of it for me."

[Yes. Since it's a tree, I had no intention of just leaving it be. It seems like the elf children will become quite dependent on that tree, so I'll protect it even if it means wrapping it with my roots.]

Yggdrasil spoke as if it were a matter of course. When it comes to trees, there's no one more expert than this child.

[But are you sure? Hiding your existence from those children.]

"It's fine."

Right now, it's just a simple primitive society, so it doesn't matter if I interfere here and there...

But as time passes and society grows, and things like politics and power structures become complicated... I shouldn't carelessly intervene.

It's like not wanting to step into a carefully built model garden with muddy feet.

When that time comes, I just need to quietly observe this world while hiding my presence.

Well, if an unbearable crisis comes to this world, then I might step in.

The biggest thing is, by that time, I'll probably become so lazy that I'll just hole up in a corner of the room.

But for now, my sense of responsibility is a bit stronger than my laziness. The responsibility of having brought life into this world.