Among the kids, one of them wasn't what he seemed.
I asked the boy who was flying alongside me, "Who are you? You're not a kid, so why were you hiding among them as one?"
He replied tensely, "Who are you—? Why are you saving us?"

Us! He seems to consider himself as one of them. But maybe it's all a fabrication. Anyway, the dragonude's soul was at least as old as mine—or even older.

<(Telepathically)>
"Gar, I think we have someone in disguise among the kids."
"Who? I don't sense anyone."
"I know your power is being restricted, but your senses too? You'll become a burden later."
"Hey, you're way too mean! And really, there aren't any anomalies here."
"Then explain how that dragonude kid's soul is older than mine?"
"Ah! So that's what got you all worked up, huh? I still wonder why you would want to harm a pitiful, lonely, scared, weak kid when you're the one who saved him in the first place?"
"Stop exaggerating and just say it simply."
"Why should I? You're the idiot for not figuring it out."
"I'm in a hurry. Our lives could be in danger."
"Oh please, stop with the nonsense! That kid is a dragon, what do you expect? Even if he's young, he's anti-social—like you!"
"...! Hey, you're skipping a lot."
"Ah! I get it—you really don't know, do you! The almighty prince is actually a frog in the well, haha!"

With light-speed, I slammed his head and returned to my position. I got back before the pain signal even reached his brain. Hehe.
He cried out—
"Ouch! Hey, why'd you do that for? I was just stating the fact."

I said smugly, "Once a wise man said, If you can't say something good, then you should stay quiet."
"You meanie! I'm not telling you anything anymore."
"Come on! It's a life and death situation."
"Oh really? I didn't know. Anyway, the kid is a dragonude. So even if he's 1,000 years old, he's still young. Like, in human years, he would be 15. So there's nothing wrong with him."
"Ah, so that's what it is."

Turning back to the dragonude, I said to him, "I'm Louis the elf and... um, I'm a traveler for now. You guys looked too pitiful for me to ignore. So I couldn't help but save you. But you could've saved them too—you're a dragon, you know. Those guys weren't even that strong."

The little dragon looked down a little. Was it guilt, sadness, or fear? Ah... I'm not good at figuring out facial expressions.
Then he replied, "I was about to. Those guards with the king were dragon slayers and there were weird gramps in white robes too , so I was scared. I heard them say that the king would leave after seeing the third execution. That's why I thought of fleeing with the remaining three using my true form."

"Oh, I get it. Good plan. You thought very logically."
His mood improved a little after hearing that. Poor kid, he was really under a lot of pressure. And I was such a jerk to suspect him. Really, ignorance is a curse.

"Hey Gar, do you know a place where we could rest?"
"They have the curse mark of sacrifice on their necks, so we can't go to anyone. I think it's better to stay away from any intellectual habitats for now. People here are very superstitious, and these kids are oddities—hybrids—so they won't be accepted."
I was really disappointed and angry at the culture of this damn world. Really!

We stopped in front of a big tree. I inspected it from every corner. I also scanned the whole area with my widespread mana. I couldn't sense any humans or elves nearby. I think it's a safe place. I also put up a couple of barriers just to be safe.

Then I placed my hands on the tree and began to shape it. I made it large and hollow inside. As an elf—and also a tree lover from my previous life—I didn't want to cut trees for housing. Even though I knew the process from books, I shouldn't try it without practical experience. Besides, I wanted to do something like this. (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

As I poured my mana into the tree, its fibers started moving like snakes. The whole tree shook. The bark turned black as it grew bigger and bigger. The leaves began to fall, but new, sturdier ones started to grow. The tree was evolving. I could feel all this even with my eyes closed. For a moment, I was connected to the tree—it was like it became a part of my body. I added stairs, several rooms, doors, and windows.

Finally, my ACTUAL fantasy treehouse was ready.
I went inside and arranged some beds and small furniture with the help of the tree. Then I asked Gargian to bring the children inside.

Their wide eyes darted around, limbs pulled close as if trying to vanish into the wooden floor, and maybe a little shocked by my last stunt. Gargian asked them to sit, and they listened to him obediently.

I had some honey I collected on the way here, which I had frozen in candy shapes. I placed the jar of candies in front of them and said,
"Oh my, how delicious these candies look. In an hour they'll go bad, so I need to finish them. But I could never finish them alone. It'd be a waste to throw them out. I wish someone could eat them with me."

Four of the little ones started drooling as they watched me eat them deliciously. The remaining three tried to hold back their hunger, but one of their tummies growled loudly. That was really funny—I couldn't help but laugh. I burst into laughter with the rest of the kids. The hungry girl got flustered and looked away to hide her embarrassment.

Then I handed out candies to everyone. Some of them couldn't help but stare at the treats. The eldest three were on super guard. Suddenly, the tummy-hungry girl shouted,

"STOP!"