TL/ED – Miso
“How did you get in?”
“…”
Before turning the carriage around, I asked Linl, who was kneeling, sothing I was curious about.
The key had never left my possession, not even once.
Naturally, Linl couldn’t have touched it. Lately, I had been able to read even Brimdal’s sword path using current sense, so it was unlikely that a squire like Linl could have laid a hand on it.
Perhaps she knew she had done sothing wrong, as Linl looked like she was about to cry and confessed her situation.
“I-I followed you.”
“What?”
“I saw you buying travel supplies, Jern. And then you bought a carriage on the way, so…”
“…”
She didn’t steal the key to get in, she had been on the carriage from the start.
Since I had left the task of loading the luggage into the Workshop to the shop owner, I hadn’t noticed. Clever move.
I was impressed, but soon realized this wasn’t the ti for that and furrowed my brows.
“You should’ve said sothing. You know how worried Gwallan-nim must be.”
“Ah, I left a letter! I wrote that I was going sowhere with you, Jern.”
“That won’t do.”
Just as I was about to say that we should turn the carriage around and leave Linl behind, even if it ant being late.
Linl grabbed onto my robe.
“I’m sorry! But, can’t I co with you this ti…?”
“We’re not going on a trip. We’ll be away from the Capital for a whole month.”
As I sighed and tried to brush her off, Ciel, who had been watching with a smile from behind, added her voice.
“Don’t be too harsh. She looks so pitiful.”
“It could be dangerous? Bringing Linl along doesn’t seem right.”
It was a place we were going to for the first ti. Letting soone like Linl, who everyone agreed had the talent to beco the greatest knight, get hurt because of my decision was sothing I couldn’t allow.
But Ciel simply shrugged and refuted that.
“You can at least make sure one kid can escape, can’t you? And it’s kind of a waste to turn back now after we even changed the wheels.”
“…I promise I won’t get in the way! I’ll behave!”
Linl looked up at with desperate eyes.
I sighed and then asked the last mber of our group, who was standing outside the carriage with his arms crossed.
“What do you think, Brimdal-nim?”
“Hmm, well. Having her along isn’t a bad thing. That kid is more than capable of pulling her own weight.”
For Brimdal, that was an exceptionally favorable evaluation.
Well, I guess it made sense. From the start, his intention in training was to take Linl as his student once my training was done.
…Thinking of it like that, it was a surprisingly lukewarm response.
Shouldn’t he be insisting on trying to teach her right away?
“You make the final decision.”
Saying that, Brimdal disappeared into the carriage.
I looked at him suspiciously for a mont, then turned back to Linl.
“Please… okay?”
“…”
In the end, I sighed and nodded.
“Just promise one thing. If I say it’s dangerous, you’ll imdiately go into the Workshop and not co out. Ever.”
“Okay! I will!”
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how torn Gwallan’s heart must be by now.
I didn’t even want to think about it.
*
Though we had picked up an unexpected guest, the journey itself went smoothly.
In less than five days, we arrived at a dense forest path where there was no way a dragon carriage could pass.
Just looking at the tightly packed forest, so thick that a fat person might get stuck trying to walk through, gave a headache.
“How far do we have to walk?”
“We’ve arrived. This is the Elf Habitat.”
“?”
I looked at the forest again.
No borders, no roads, no citizens. There was no one.
No, more importantly, what did Ciel just say?
“Habitat…?”
“Ah, my apologies. That was a sowhat discriminatory term.”
“No, it’s fine, but I’d like an explanation about that. What’s the na of the country?”
“There isn’t one.”
“…Huh?”
It seed there was a misunderstanding in how I perceived the Elves.
To be honest, I didn’t know much about them either. Just that this was Dersia’s holand.
“They call it a country, but in reality, it’s just a vast forest barely a week’s distance from the Capital. Even if you go further in, it’s still within the Empire.”
“Then what’s in there?”
“The forest and Elves, that’s all.”
“What’s the currency? What system do they use?”
“They eat plants that grow in the forest. They don’t really have jobs, and they’re divided into priests, the Council of Elders, and general citizens.”
So basically.
“…If I had to classify it, it’d be sothing like a minority tribe?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I wasn’t expecting anything grand, but I thought at least they’d have the basic structure of a country.
This wasn’t a country, nor a city, it was at the level of a village. A slightly large village.
Since Dersia was so intelligent and refined, I had assud she was from Elf nobility, but she was just from a tribe.
Swallowing down what would be a rude thought, I kept looking at the forest.
“…!”
Suddenly, Linl furrowed her brows and pulled behind her.
“Jern, stay behind from here.”
“What is it?”
“Look at the tree.”
The tree Linl pointed at had artificial marks on it.
Piercing marks and slash marks. Tilting my head at the strange sight, Brimdal frowned.
“There was a battle nearby.”
“?
“Yes.”
Linl approached the tree cautiously and traced the wounds with her hand.
“The sap has hardened, but not completely, so I’d say it was two or three days ago.”
“Where’d you learn sothing like that?”
“Tracking? Heaven’s Judgent Knights have to chase down fleeing knights. But it’s dangerous to get ambushed while pursuing them, so to avoid dying, you need to know why they’re running and where they’re headed.”
Linl said sothing dangerous so casually and smoothly drew her sword with practiced ease.
“Don’t worry, Jern. I’ll protect you!”
“Th… thanks.”
Maybe because she was stepping into her true role, Linl beca incredibly serious.
Though with Brimdal around, it didn’t seem likely she’d even get her turn.
We tied the dragon carriage to the surroundings and made our way through the forest.
It didn’t seem like a complete wilderness, as there was a sowhat passable path. Along the way, I got curious and asked Ciel.
“What kind of reaction will the Elves have when they see us?”
“They probably won’t be very welcoming.”
Ciel replied casually, as if it was nothing.
“Since I’m here, we’re probably being recognized as companions of the master, that is, Dersia-nim…”
“Because there’s no way Master didn’t do sothing strange.”
“Exactly.”
So it depended on Dersia’s behavior.
After walking for quite a while, assuming the worst, we reached a plaza.
“Oh.”
There weren’t any grand buildings.
But it was mysterious. Trees dozens of ters tall were interwoven together to form a massive nest-like structure, and from the rooftop, faint movent could be felt.
Though it was too far to see clearly, it was obvious that whatever it was, it moved incredibly fast.
“…Wooow…”
“Hmph, nothing special.”
While Linl was marveling, Brimdal wore a sour expression.
“…What is this?”
Ciel examined the tree, looking puzzled.
“Is there a problem?”
“There’s no one on guard. Normally, there should be watchn posted at those towers 24 hours a day, and they would’ve shot arrows by now…”
Ciel looked up at the tall trees, searching for Elves, but there was no one.
“…We shouldn’t have been able to enter this far so easily.”
“Hmm, I’m not really sure.”
“It’s like walking straight through the front gates of the Capital and into the Imperial Palace as an intruder.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t seem like the master did sothing terrible, but…”
Ciel looked up at the treetop city again, tilting her head once more.
“The leaves are even purple.”
“What’s the purple about?”
“It’s a color used during tis of celebration, festivals, and such. Even so, that doesn’t explain why they’d allow an intrusion this easily.”
Hearing all that, it did seem strange. It looked like we had walked straight into the heart of the Elves with little to no resistance.
“Shall we go in farther?”
“No. Even so, that would be dangerous. We need to send a signal.”
Ciel walked over to a nearby tree, pulled out a dagger from her pouch, and lightly cut it.
White sap began to flow from the tree. And before it could even drip to the ground, soone jumped down from the trees several dozen ters above.
It looked like an act of suicide, but the landing was effortless.
-Tok.
The only sound was like a small stone being dropped lightly to the ground. A male Elf, handso like a sculpture, looked at us with a broad smile.
He wore clothing made from a single piece of fabric and carried a small rod on his back. Looking at us, he spoke in a voice full of goodwill.
“Hmm, visitors on such a joyous day. It might be fate.”
“Good to see you, Sedrak. It’s been a while.”
Ciel reached out to shake hands with the Elf called Sedrak.
He accepted it without hesitation and let out a hearty laugh.
“What brings you here, maid of Dersia and the travelers who follow her?”
“We’ve co looking for my master, Dersia. She ntioned she would stop by here.”
“Hmm? Dersia? Then I suppose our paths must’ve crossed. She hasn’t arrived here yet.”
“…Oh, is that so?”
“But we have plenty of empty rooms. If you wish, you may stay until she arrives.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
“I’ll go up and have them lower the vines, so wait just a mont!”
With those words, Sedrak lightly climbed up the tree.
Ciel, who had been conversing normally, began sweating nervously the mont Sedrak disappeared and turned to us.
“…Sothing is seriously wrong. We should brace ourselves.”
“Huh? The atmosphere seed really friendly, though.”
“That’s the problem. Sedrak is a fanatical purist, he insisted that humans should be shot on sight. He considered the master a lifelong enemy because of that.”
“…”
“If only the master had caused a big ss, we could’ve just fought our way through and found her. But now, we don’t even know what’s going on…”
“Fought your way through?”
“Elves are extrely weak, except for the shamans. Even you, Jern, could handle them easily.”
I really didn’t want to.
While I was thinking, “like master, like maid” a long vine ca down from the tree above.
One for each of us. I grabbed one and gave it a few experintal tugs, for no real reason.
“They’re not going to cut this mid-way, right?”
“Mm, I’d survive.”
“I can do breakfalls!”
“Brimdal-nim would obviously be fine. As for , well…”
My body couldn’t die from just falling, anyway.
Everyone’s safe. With a shrug, I climbed the vine.
It didn’t get cut. At the top of the tree, a new world unfolded before .
I didn’t know how they built it, but there were solid floors, geotric houses woven from trees, and beautiful plants all around.
“Wow…! It’s like sothing out of a fairytale!”
Exactly as Linl described. Above all, the way the purple leaves sparkled under the sunlight was incredibly beautiful.
The Elves, all wearing similar clothes, were moving sowhere with joyful expressions, balancing small puddles of water on their heads.
“Co this way! I’ll show you a fine lodging.”
“Thank you. But, uh… is there a festival going on?”
When Ciel subtly asked, Sedrak burst into loud laughter.
“A festival? Hahaha! Yes, yes, a festival! It must be a festival!”
“What’s happening?”
“The long, long wait is over, and finally the ti marked in history has arrived! Why would we need hatred and disgust any longer?”
Was Dersia’s cryptic speech a racial trait?
Ciel tilted her head, seemingly not understanding most of it.
“Sorry, could you explain it a little more simply?”
“The World Tree has finally acted!”
“?
“Everything is as foretold in the prophecy! She has delivered her scripture to us, and if we follow it, she said we will all receive eternal salvation!”
Sedrak pointed to a massive stone tablet placed in the center of the village.
“Isn’t it glorious! Ah, would you like a translation?”
“Yes, a little.”
“Accept the blessings of the god that surrounds you, that which humans call magic! All who reject it are minions of evil!”
“…”
“Dersia was right, magic was never a bad thing! It is a divine rcy that benefits those who learn it. We were only deceived by lies into rejecting it. What reason is there to fight…?”
Ciel and I looked at each other.
“This is her doing, right?”
“Yes.”
It was absolutely Dersia.
*
“It seems Master is impersonating the World Tree and trying to turn all the Elves into wizards.”
The lodging Sedrak had led us to.
As soon as we unpacked, Ciel spoke with an utterly dumbfounded expression.
I tried to deny it, even though I knew my words carried no strength.
“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? We’re not even certain yet.”
“It’s certain.”
Ciel held out a notebook filled with the translated contents of the stone tablet, each line confird by questioning the Elves around the village.
It hadn’t taken even five minutes. Most of them had cooperated, even though it was their first ti seeing a Human.
“It says that if you consu the sap from the World Tree consistently for a month, you will gain an aptitude for magic.”
“…Was becoming a wizard always this easy?”
“No. That’s impossible. And the only one who could do sothing this impossible is my master.”
“Isn’t there even a slight chance that the World Tree actually delivered an oracle?”
“It’s just a big tree. More importantly, considering that the master ca here for you, Jern, there’s even less room for doubt. She intends to turn all these Elves into wizards.”
“…”
Because it was Dersia, it was hard to deny strongly.
She was absolutely the type to do sothing like this.
“And when Elves learn magic, because of their infinite lifespan, they eventually fall into the Abyss. Without talent equal to the master’s, they inevitably do. What do you think about sacrificing innocent Elves?”
“Of course I hate it. Even more so if she’s doing it for .”
Becoming a Fallen was no different from falling into hell.
Dropping all these Elves into hell, there was no way I could accept that. Even if they were hostile to Humans, they had never hard . There was no way I could agree they deserved such a fate.
And Dersia wouldn’t do sothing like that either.
Even if she leaned toward chaotic evil, she wouldn’t decide to turn an entire race into Fallen solely for my sake.
“I agree that we need to find her and ask why she’s doing sothing like this. But how?”
“First we have to find her. Persuasion or anything else is only possible after that.”
In the end, we had to find Dersia.
But how were we supposed to find her if she was deliberately hiding?
“There’s not a single lead…”
I let out a sigh, glancing between Linl bouncing excitedly on the bed and Brimdal, whose thoughts were impossible to guess.
For now, there was no other way. All we could do was wander around the village and gather testimonies related to Dersia.
As I was thinking that, Linl, who had been staring out the window at a passing procession with sparkling eyes, grabbed my hand and pulled.
“Jern! It looks like they’re doing fireworks in the village plaza, they’re holding torches!”
“We don’t have ti to watch.”
I was about to scold Linl when I imdiately snapped my head toward the window.
“What? Torches?”
“Yeah! Look at those people!”
The Elves were carrying torches, heading sowhere.
Even at a glance, it looked incredibly dangerous. Everything was made of trees and leaves, one spark, and they’d be experiencing the core of blazing Infernal Worlds.
“Is it okay to use fire on top of trees?”
“Absolutely not. Fire is only used in very special situations, but I can’t quite rember what those were…”
“Hmm, wait a mont.”
I expanded current sense and caught the shouts of the Elves passing outside.
[How dare you twist the will of the World Tree and mock us!]
[What do you an magic is dangerous? What will you do if you’ve angered the World Tree because of your nonsense!]
[Burn! Burn the shaman!]
When my expression hardened, Ciel asked curiously.
“What is it?”
“It’s…not a festival but a funeral.”
“?”
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