Chapter 732

Chapter 732

 That's Exactly It! (1)

Forests inhabited by elves existed throughout the continent.

But none of them were as important as this one.

That was because this place housed the mysterious tree known as the World Tree.

All elves on the continent lived with the World Tree as their spiritual anchor. That was why, even in the war against the Demonic Abyss, this forest served as the elven rallying point.

If other elven forests were like kingdoms of humans, then this one could be considered an empire led by the Pope.

In fact, the Great Chieftain of the elves resided here.

Looking at the vast forest in the distance, I couldn't help but express my awe.

“Wow, so this is what it looked like a thousand years ago.”

The forest was so expansive that its end couldn’t be seen. While it didn’t quite match the Forest of Beasts in size—which rivaled a kingdom—it was still equivalent to several territories combined.

Anyone who stood before such a dense forest couldn’t help but be amazed.

I felt something a little more special than most. I knew what would happen to this place a thousand years later.

‘Back in my time, this was just a barren wasteland. What could’ve happened in a thousand years?’

I never imagined such a vast forest could have once existed here. There wasn’t a single trace of civilization.

‘Was it destroyed in the war against the Demonic Abyss? Or did the elves become slaves due to the Adversary’s curse?’

Various questions bubbled up as I wondered why the forest disappeared.

I stared at the distant woods, lost in thought. Of course, I was the only one indulging in such sentiment.

― Damn it! You lunatic! My life is over because of you!

Astion kept throwing a fit without pause.

― All the crazy things I’ve done could’ve been salvaged if I just lived a good life! But now you’ve used black magic right in the temple! I’m going to be hunted for life!

‘It’s fine. Once we solve this, the Pope will take care of everything.’

― That is impossible from the start! If the Pope failed, what makes you think we can succeed?!

‘You don’t know that until you try, right?’

With my confident remark, Dark chimed in from the side.

― Yeah! Talking about failure before even trying! What a weakling! How are you supposed to date anyone with that mindset?!

― What does that have to do with anything, you lunatics! You two can just run away from my body if you fail! You can return to your world anytime! That just leaves me to die!

‘……’

Neither Dark nor I responded to that.

Astion suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

― Y-You guys… were you really planning to run if we failed?

‘……’

― Is that why you’ve always lived so recklessly?

‘……’

― G-Give me my body back. Right now.

‘…Ah, I told you not to worry, didn’t I? We’re not running. I have everything planned out.’

― Yeah! We’re not that petty! Probably?

― Liar! You two just hesitated!

‘I didn’t.’

― No, seriously, you guys…

‘Ah, I’m busy.’

Before Astion could have another outburst, I cut off the connection. He was probably still arguing with Dark.

Astion wasn’t the only problem. Things weren’t going well on the other side either.

“What are you looking at? Huh? What?”

A mercenary who made eye contact with Lionel picked a fight for no reason.

Right now, the relationship between Lionel and the mercenaries was at rock bottom. That was because Lionel had declared that he would conduct an Inquisition on the mercenaries.

Naturally, the mercenaries wanted to kill Lionel in any way possible. Quite a few of them had even approached me in secret, suggesting we assassinate him.

But every time, I gave them the same response.

“It’s fine. Once the job is done, His Holiness the Pope will take care of everything.”

“What if we fail?”

“Then we’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

“……”

“Hey, I’ve got everything planned.”

“……Okay.”

Until now, I had never let a potential threat slide.

If something even slightly suspicious or irritating came up, I would crush it immediately. I had overthrown several kingdoms that way.

That’s why the mercenaries found it strange how carefree I was being now.

Lionel, too, was equally displeased. The mercenaries kept picking fights, so his reaction was only natural.

He wasn’t an idiot. He knew exactly why the mercenaries were acting that way.

‘They probably want to kill me somewhere isolated.’

They couldn’t touch him near the city. He had the authority to summon priests and knights from the various temples.

The mercenaries knew that, so the moment we moved even a bit away from the city, they would glare at him and try to start something.

Each time, Julien and Deneb had to step in to calm the mercenaries and prevent bloodshed.

‘If they attack, I won’t hold back.’

He could tolerate minor provocations, but if they crossed the line, he was ready to draw his sword at any moment.

Lionel didn’t care how many opponents he faced.

He believed he was doing the right thing, so he had no intention of backing down. He had confidence in his skills to match that belief.

And so, the group moved on, cloaked in subtle tension.

While elves lived in forests, it wasn’t as though they had no contact with humans.

Having fought a prolonged war with the Demonic Abyss, they had realized they couldn’t afford to sever ties with humans completely.

That’s why there was always at least one human city near any forest inhabited by elves.

It was in such cities that humans and elves exchanged needed goods and cooperated when issues arose.

“Oh my, welcome! If there’s anything you need, just say the word!”

The city’s mayor gave our group an exceptionally warm welcome.

Of course, it hadn’t been that way from the start. His attitude flipped the moment we presented our identification as envoys from the Holy Empire.

I got straight to the point with the mayor.

“How can we meet the Great Chieftain of the Elves?”

“First, you must request a meeting through the elven Foreign Affairs Officer who resides in this city.”

“Foreign Affairs Officer?”

“Yes, the elves call them ‘The One Who Speaks the Voice of the Forest,’ but we just refer to them as the foreign officer or exchange administrator.”

“Can you arrange a meeting?”

“I will do so. But... may I ask what this is about?”

“We are envoys sent directly by His Holiness, the Pope. I can’t disclose any more than that.”

“Ah, understood.”

Just dropping the Pope’s name was enough to keep anyone from questioning or opposing us. Truly, name-dropping the powerful was the easiest way to navigate the world.

The problem was, there were those on whom that name carried no weight.

Thanks to the mayor’s mediation, I visited the elven official residence, but it became clear things wouldn’t go smoothly.

“I am Sylarn, ‘The One Who Speaks the Voice of the Forest.’”

Sylarn greeted me with a chilly demeanor. Around him stood elven warriors armed with curved swords and wooden shields.

Their eyes brimmed with contempt for humans. It was clear they were ready to draw their blades at the slightest provocation.

I tilted my head at their behavior.

‘What’s this? I haven’t even done anything wrong yet.’

That was the kind of thought someone would have if they were already expecting to commit some offense. Feeling somewhat guilty for no reason, I asked Sylarn,

“Um… did something bad happen, perhaps?”

“Human, get to the point. I granted you this time because you claim to be a papal envoy.”

Sylarn made it quite clear he didn’t intend for the conversation to last long.

Clicking my tongue, I got straight to the point.

“I’d like to meet with the Great Chieftain.”

“Denied.”

“…I haven’t even said why yet.”

“The Great Chieftain does not meet just anyone. And since you claim to have come as envoys of the Pope, I can guess why you’re here.”

“……”

“You’re here to request the Sacred Stones. Just like before.”

“Hm.”

I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. Since he already knew, there was no point in dancing around the issue.

“You’re well-informed. That’s why I’d like to speak with the Great Chieftain directly.”

“I said it’s denied.”

“Isn’t that a decision the Great Chieftain should make?”

“The Great Chieftain has already refused that matter. If you have nothing more to say, you should leave.”

“I’m not asking for them for free. His Holiness said he’d provide whatever compensation you desire.”

“We want nothing from humans.”

“We’re also mercenaries. If you have any troubles, we can assist you.”

At that, Sylarn sneered.

“Do we look like we need help from the likes of humans? We have no problems. Go solve the issues of your own kind, who are too busy devouring each other.”

“……”

Sighing, I rose from my seat. There was no use trying to talk to someone who’d already built-up walls like that.

I needed to retreat for now and reconsider my approach.

As I turned to leave, a familiar face suddenly came to mind.

‘In our time, wasn’t Ereneth the Great Chieftain?’

Of course, there were chances she wasn’t now. When I’d seen this era in a dream, Ereneth had still looked quite young.

Still, I asked just in case.

“Is the Great Chieftain female?”

“……”

Sylarn’s eyes turned sharp. The same went for the other elves nearby.

Depending on interpretation, that question could be taken as highly offensive—especially if it came from a human with an interest in elven beauty.

Realizing he’d caused a misunderstanding, I waved my hands in protest.

“No, I was just curious, that’s all.”

“…He is male. Now get out.”

So, it wasn’t her. As I gave up and turned to leave, Sylarn’s voice called out behind me.

“Human, let me warn you. Do not even think about trying anything foolish with the elves. Unless you wish to face the wrath of nature itself.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

I left the elven residence.

They were so firm in their refusal, I didn’t think persuasion would work. I needed to find another method.

First, I asked the mayor something I was curious about.

“The elves here really seem to hate humans.”

While it was well known that elves disliked humans, their cold treatment of even papal envoys suggested things were particularly bad here.

The mayor nodded as if it were obvious.

“Yes, especially the elves in this region. They have no choice but to interact with humans a lot.”

“How does that become a problem?”

“They’ve all been seriously swindled at least once.”

“……”

“A long time ago, the elves who were assigned here didn’t hate humans from the start. Naturally, elves who had only lived in the forest were curious about the outside world. At first, they were even friendly toward humans.”

“But now they’ve become like that?”

“Yes. Apparently, many of them were backstabbed by humans they had befriended, completely unaware of how the world works.”

“……”

“That’s why the elves here are extremely wary of humans. Even when they leave the forest, they’re repeatedly instructed not to trust humans. After all, they can’t avoid interacting with them entirely.”

“Hmm…”

“But you know how naive elves are when they first come into the world, right? No matter how much they’re trained, the moment they leave the forest, they always get scammed at least once.”

“……”

“How could an innocent, greenhorn elf handle the flashy tricks of human swindlers? Especially in a trade city like this, where merchants flock in droves. You know how slick those merchants can be, don’t you?”

“……”

“Just recently, a newly appointed young elven warrior was conned by a human. He lost all his wages.”

“……”

“So of course the foreign affairs officer is on edge. Even with constant training, there’s always an elf who ends up getting duped.”

“……Doesn’t the city manage any of this?”

“Ugh, since I got stationed here, I’ve caught over a hundred con artists. The Lord himself pays close attention to relations with the elves, but even so, it hasn’t been resolved. Humans, I tell you…”

“……”

So, as expected, the root of all problems were humans. I now understood why Sylarn had given that warning before I left.

Listening beside me, Kyle muttered bluntly,

“Geez… Even so, does he have to be so harsh to us when we didn’t do anything? We’re good people… probably.”

Kyle trailed off as he spoke. When he thought about all the things we’d done… Well, technically, it all turned out for the better, but it was still a bit awkward to say it out loud.

Anyway, with no way to meet the elven Great Chieftain, the group was stuck in contemplation. Nothing could move forward without that meeting.

With Sylarn harboring such hatred for humans, befriending, or persuading him seemed impossible.

Lionel remained silent, clearly adopting a wait-and-see attitude to observe how we’d resolve this situation.

Julien and Deneb looked at me with worried expressions.

“What do we do? I really don’t think the elves here will let us meet the Great Chieftain.”

“Their distrust runs too deep. Unless His Holiness himself shows up, I don’t think we’ll get an audience.”

Kyle glanced at Lionel before speaking.

“We can’t just go back like this. The situation’s too bad.”

If we returned empty-handed, we wouldn’t escape the Inquisition.

The kingdoms we’d built ties with would all turn their backs on us, and the mercenaries we’d worked so hard to gather would surely scatter.

In short, the Julien Mercenary Corps would be finished.

We were in a complete bind. We needed a breakthrough.

Then Osval muttered arrogantly from the side,

“Tch, those elves are acting all high and mighty. Such a shame they’ve got no problems. If they did, I, the great Osval, would solve them all and bestow my grace. A pity there’s no chance to show off my skills.”

Everyone ignored Osval. We were used to his daily bravado despite being a coward.

But I widened my eyes and looked straight at him.

Osval scratched his head at my reaction.

“Wh-What…?”

“That’s it!”

“What… is?”

“The elves said they don’t have any problems or needs right now, right?”

“Th-That’s what they said, yeah?”

I looked around at everyone with a beaming smile.

“If there’s no problem… then we just have to make one!”

“…???”

I pulled out a black cloth from my coat and tied it under my eyes.

Everyone stared at me blankly.

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