It was just another day, exhausted by stress and fatigue. My last memory of my previous life was leaning against a park bench to catch my breath and falling asleep. When I opened my eyes again, a completely new world greeted me. Right before my eyes stood a giant tree emitting a sacred light. The tree's identity was the World Tree 【Eldera】.

It was the tree that appeared in the novel I had been reading until yesterday.

‘Is this a dream?’

Since it felt so surreal, I thought it was just a vivid dream. That was my mistake. Excited to see what I had only read about with my own eyes, I approached the World Tree. I failed to look down, tripped over a tree root, and felt goosebumps crawl up my neck. It hurt. I felt the pain. The sensation of falling was vivid. I finally realized that this was not a dream, but another reality.

I was caught by members of the Nahar, the water tribe, who were on patrol. Misunderstood as someone trying to harm the World Tree, I was tied up tightly with rope. In a situation where I couldn't move, the tribesmen treated me as an 'intruder' and tried to sacrifice me.

"Wa-wait a minute. I'll do anything if you just let me live. Please?" "Then can you put our chieftain to sleep?" "Of course. Naturally! Putting people to sleep is practically my hobby!"

I didn't know then. Neither the meaning of putting the Nahar chieftain to sleep, nor the weight of the price contained in those words.

I stood frozen like a stone in front of the door to Chieftain Seir Airan's room. The tribesman who brought me here retreated as if running away, leaving only the ominous words, "Well, good luck." I grabbed the door engraved with luxurious decorations and pushed it open with all my might.

. . .

Patter. Patter—.

The sound of rain drumming fiercely against the window. The floor covered in water reaching up to my ankles. As I entered the room, my body gradually froze cold from a sensation that chilled me to the bone. Even without intending to, my hands trembled. I couldn't tell if it was from the cold or the overwhelming fear.

However, one thing was certain: the sound of water flowing and dripping was constant.

Only then did it feel real. I had really been captured by the 'Nahar' water tribe. I swallowed hard. I slowly stepped inside, parting the shallow water.

So, you're the 'outsider' from the rumors.

The room wasn't entirely empty of furniture, but it was so excessively large that his youthful voice echoed. As I turned my head, I met Seir's gaze. His eyes, which seemed to hold the blue ocean, were beautiful but cold enough to chill my bones.

I heard you boasted you could make me sleep.

A curve formed at the corners of Seir's mouth. It felt as if the words 'a beauty that could outshine the moon and flowers' existed just for this moment. After laughing for a while, he abruptly stopped.

How dare you.