Saving The Monster Race Starts With Breeding The Elf Village

Hearing this, Leona understood the words but didn’t quite understand their meaning.

There seemed to be some sort of cryptic message behind them, and a hint of sadness that was surprising to see from Luca of all people.

He was always so full of optimism, cheerfulness, and mischief. Seeing him like this felt strange—almost wrong.

It made her chest ache in a way she didn’t like.

So she shook her head and forced a smile.

”Okay, enough! Enough of this gloomy topic. Let’s move on already—to the next task!”

Luca seemed to snap out of his daze. He smiled back, the usual spark returning to his eyes.

”Right! So what exactly is this next task? I might as well treat all these missions as a workout and strech my muscles.”

Luca assumed the next task would take them deeper into the forest, maybe to some distant corner of the village where another impossible problem awaited.

Instead, Leona’s finger jabbed the air directly in front of him.

”Right there, Luca. It’s right in front of you.”

He followed her pointing finger to the massive tree looming over them.

It was enormous—easily five stories tall, its trunk so wide that five people holding hands couldn’t circle it.

Its branches were sparse, its leaves few and withered, and the roots at its base were black with rot.

Luca looked back at her, utterly confused.

”What exactly do you want me to do with this tree?” He asked. ”As amazing as I am, even I can’t bring this tree back to life.”

Leona shook her head quickly, still smiling.

”No, no one’s asking you to do that. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.”

She adjusted her position on his back, which only pressed her massive breasts more firmly against him as she leaned forward to explain.

”This tree has been here for around six hundred years.” She said, voice full of quiet respect. ”But unfortunately, it has finally come to the end of its lifespan. It’s already dying, rotting all over, and it won’t be long before the foundation gives out and it tilts over and falls somewhere.”

”But we can’t allow that to happen.”

She shook her head again, this time more seriously.

”There have been a couple of incidents in the past where rotten trees like this fell on top of people’s houses. Some elves were really injured because of it. Ever since then, we’ve always tried to cut down these dying trees before anything bad happens.”

Leona’s fingers idly caressed Luca’s hair the entire time she spoke, the motion graceful and absent-minded.

”Unfortunately.” She continued. ”We don’t have any mana anymore, so we can’t use wind spells to cut down the branches cleanly.”

”That’s why trees like this one and a few others scattered here and there still need to be taken down, but no one’s been able to do it yet.”

”And that’s where you come in!”

She grabbed his shoulder and gave it an enthusiastic little shake.

”With you here, we can finally cut down these trees...or you can just punch them down!”

She threw a couple of playful boxing punches into the air, clearly eager to see Luca smash the tree with his bare fists.

But to her surprise, Luca simply looked at the tree for a long moment and shook his head.

”I don’t think we can do that.” He said. ”Not only would it take a longer time and make a huge mess all over the place, it would also alert everyone with the sound it would produce. And I don’t think you want that to happen.”

Leona nodded slowly, realizing he had a point.

But then Luca’s expression turned into a confident smile.

”But it’s all right.” He told her. ”After all, I can just lift the tree, take it somewhere else, and make it fall down in a safe manner.”

Leona’s breath caught in her throat. She stared at him, utterly baffled.

”You’re joking, right?” She asked slowly, looking up at the behemoth of a tree. ”You can’t possibly lift something as big as that tree...”

Luca gave her a smug little grin.

”Who are you talking to, Leona? I’m the damn Hero! I can do so many things you couldn’t have ever dreamt of.”

Leona’s eyes widened with excitement, but doubt still lingered.

”Really, Luca? Really? I mean, look how big it is. And with the boulder you could at least hold it in one position, but the tree is balanced at a much greater size.”

”How are you going to hold that? Won’t it be much harder?”

He simply scoffed, completely unbothered.

”Just leave it to me. I’ll handle it.”

Seeing his confidence, Leona’s heart raced.

This was a problem no one in the village could ever have dealt with—even back when mana existed, lifting and moving an entire dying tree like this would have been impossible.

Yet here Luca was, telling her it was no big deal at all.

The sense of absolute safety he gave her made something warm bloom in her chest.

For the past four years she had carried the weight of everyone’s safety on her own shoulders; now someone was effortlessly shouldering problems she had thought unsolvable.

She couldn’t help but look at him in open awe.

But then she realized she had been staring too long. Embarrassment flooded her face.

”I...I think I should get off now.” She said tactfully, starting to loosen her grip. ”After all, you’re going to carry this massive tree and I don’t want to disturb you.”

To her surprise, Luca’s hands suddenly grabbed her thighs and pushed her back up securely onto his back.

”It’s all right, Leona.” He said, voice warm and teasing. ”You can stay on my back. After all, it’s quite obvious that you love to latch onto me like a little monkey who’s found a tree she doesn’t want to leave.”

Leona felt both angry and embarrassed at the same time, her ears burning, but she didn’t deny it.

Luca continued with a grin.

”Actually, I can just lift the tree while having you on my back as well. So, it’s no big deal.”

To prove his point, Luca quickly moved toward the tree with Leona still clinging to him. He circled it once while she watched curiously and silently, trying to figure out what he was doing.

After examining the weak points of the tree’s structure, Luca crouched down near the main roots—and then kicked them.

But this wasn’t a normal kick.

The moment his foot connected with the root, it simply broke apart. Roots that would normally take multiple axe strikes and enormous effort to sever just shattered like they were made of dried clay.

Similarly, he went around kicking down the main roots that were supporting the tree.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon the tree, which was already unstable, began to wobble and shake violently—like it was about to fall over.

Seeing this, Leona panicked and grabbed onto his neck, shaking him frantically.

”Luca! Luca! It’s going to fall! Do something!”

But Luca himself wasn’t bothered at all. He simply walked over to what remained of the trunk—the strongest part, the very foundation that supported the entire thing.

Then, to Leona’s shock, he drove both hands straight into the bark—

Crack!

—almost like he was hooking his fingers into the wood itself.

And slowly, he started to lift.

The moment he did, the tree began shaking and rustling violently, almost like something was holding it back.

The remaining roots still embedded in the ground were pulling against him—but as Luca lifted more and more, the tree shook harder and harder until finally—

SNAP!

Everything supporting the tree completely broke apart.

The tree that had been rooted to the ground was now lifted several feet into the air.

Even though it wasn’t as exaggerated as him holding it over his head like the boulder, he was actually supporting the entire weight of this enormous tree—and Leona couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

It didn’t make any sense. His body was so small, so seemingly fragile compared to the massive tree towering above them—but he was still able to lift it.

In that moment she understood exactly why the human continent had lost to him: even with all their magic and armies, they never stood a chance against a monster like this.

But just as she was processing this, a strained voice came from Luca.

”Leona...y-you’ve got to help me out. You’ve got to help me carry this tree. I’m struggling here!”

When she looked at his face, she realized he actually had a strained expression—and was sweating slightly.

She immediately panicked.

”What?! What do I do?!” She panicked. ”Do I get off and help you lift the tree? No, no, that won’t work—I can’t even lift a single root! How am I supposed to help with this tree?!”

Luca shook his head, still holding the tree steady.

”There’s no need to do that, Leona. That won’t help...But there is something you can do.”

Leona waited, eyes wide and patient.

Luca’s strained look suddenly vanished, replaced by a mischievous smirk.

”I need you to give me a kiss.”

Leona’s entire face went blank with shock and confusion.

”A kiss?” She whispered, utterly baffled. ”What do you mean a kiss, Luca!? Why would you need a kiss for something like this!?”

Luca lost the fake strain completely and spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

”Right now, I’m exerting myself a lot to hold up this tree. I’m losing energy, and this is really hard—even though it might not seem like it.”

He was still talking casually and holding the tree steady.

”So, to replenish my energy and make myself feel invigorated, I need something...”

He glanced back at her, eyes deliberately lingering on her lips.

”...And that something is a couple of kisses from you. I’m confident that as long as I get a lot of appreciation from beautiful girls like you, carrying something like this is no big deal at all.”

Hearing this, Leona couldn’t help but blush profusely. She realized that all her panic and concern from a moment ago had been for nothing.

Luca was obviously teasing her. He was trying to make her kiss him for his own benefit, and he wasn’t really struggling at all.

She knew in that moment she should call him out on it. She should tell him off.

This was the perfect moment to choke him for being such a shameless tease.

But was she going to do that?

No...She was not.

After all, ever since she’d gotten close with Luca, she’d wanted to become even closer with him.

Even now, as she was pressed against his body, it felt like it wasn’t enough. She wanted more intimacy, more warmth, more of his embrace.

But she hadn’t known exactly how to pursue that.

Now Luca had basically given her exactly what she needed—and a kiss was definitely much more intimate than a simple hug.

Not to mention, after being kissed all over by him, she’d wanted to return the favor. She wanted to experience what it was like to kiss someone herself.

So she feigned ignorance and said in a reluctant tone.

”Oh, is that so? Well, if it’s like that, I suppose I have no choice but to do what you say.”

Luca looked surprised at how easily she’d given in.

Leona went on, playing her part.

”As the Matriarch, I have to make some sacrifices, after all. If a kiss is what’s needed to make this work, then I guess I have to give myself for the greater good.”

She said it like she was losing out tremendously—but inside, she was absolutely delighted.

Not wanting to hesitate any longer, she looked at his cheek. A shy expression crossed her face for just a moment before she gathered her courage and gave him a soft peck right on his cheek.

Kiss!♡~

It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This was the first time she’d given another man a kiss—and it felt amazing.

Luca looked pleased and satisfied. He took a step forward with the tree—which shook slightly as he moved.

Then he suddenly stopped and looked back at her expectantly.

She blinked in surprise.

”What? Why are you looking at me like that? Didn’t I already give you the kiss you needed? Why aren’t you walking?”

Luca let out a laugh.

”What are you talking about, Leona? One kiss will only fuel me for one step. If you want me to actually take this tree to a safe place and drop it off somewhere, you’re going to have to give me a lot more kisses.”

He grinned wickedly.

”Basically, one kiss equals one step. So you should be able to imagine how many kisses you’ll need to give me.”

Hearing this, Leona looked utterly outraged.

He was basically extorting her right now, putting an absurd price on her affection and taking advantage of this moment!

But once again—did she care?

No. It only gave her more opportunities to kiss him.

She sighed dramatically, still clinging tight.

”Fine, fine. You really are quite the flimsy hero.” She muttered, opening one eye in mock annoyance. ”So flimsy that you need a woman to kiss you just to have some strength.”

”But it is what it is—there’s nothing we can do about it.”

She grabbed onto him tightly, hovering her lips over his cheek once again.

And she started to kiss him.

One kiss. ”One.”

Another kiss. ”Two.”

A third. ”Three.”

A fourth. ”Four.”

She kept counting, and Luca, just like he’d said, took one step for every kiss.

One kiss, one step. Another kiss, another step.

Soon Leona found a rhythm to it.

She started kissing him all over—on his cheek, on his nose, on his forehead. She held onto him even tighter, climbing up slightly to reach better angles, before moving to the other side of his face and kissing him there as well.

She found so much joy in it.

She’d thought she would feel embarrassed or hesitant—but once she started, she really couldn’t stop.

She continued in a passionate, loving manner, planting kiss after kiss with genuine affection.

And Luca, getting all the energy he needed, slowly walked away through the forest—carrying a massive tree in his hands, fueled entirely by the kisses raining down on him.