episode_0136

After a long time, I left the body of the World Tree Unni and entered the Forest of Death.

There is a reason why people call it the Forest of Death, a forest that should never be entered.

The dense forest, which even covers the sky, had lost its color and turned completely black due to Lily’s mana.

The difference between slightly less black and much black. At this level, even shadows couldn’t be seen as shadows.

I slowly walked to avoid falling, as leaving the black forest was the only way to get out.

All the forest animals were following me, wagging their tails. Despite being told that they had a scary appearance to increase the sense of threat, most of the animals were cute creatures that I used to see when I went for walks.

I petted those animals one by one and continued on my way.

The first thing I saw as I emerged from the forest was a large fortress wall in the distance. I walked towards it as my goal.

The scenery was quite different from what I remembered. It definitely felt like a long time had passed.

Especially the fortress wall, it seemed like it wasn’t there before.

I tried to enter the fortress with a refreshing feeling, but I failed.

Or is it natural…?

I was caught because my identity was not confirmed.

I am sitting in a place that looks like a waiting room, not a prison.

I should have thought of this as natural, but it was my first outing in a long time, so I confidently stood in line without any thoughts. However, I ended up here because I couldn’t answer the soldier who asked for my identification.

But there is a way.

The flag hanging on the fortress wall and the mark on the armor of the soldiers. It was clearly the flag of the country I was in, the country of Viteum.

So, this place is the country of Viteum.

Sometimes, Shali, the descendant of Charlotte and Mary, comes to bring various information to Lily.

It’s a bit embarrassing to meet like this, but it seems like there is no other way to confirm that I am not a suspicious person.

A soldier who looks tall has entered.

“Do you have proof of your identity?”

“I came at the request of Shali, the guild master of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

The soldier frowned at my words.

“You came at the request of Shali? But does that mean you don’t have an adventurer’s certificate?”

“…Yes.”

“And you have no intention of taking off your hood?”

“…Yes.”

It’s a story that doesn’t make sense even to me.

I know how important the position of the guild master is. If someone who receives such a big request says they have no identification or adventurer’s certificate, who would believe them?

And on top of that, covering your whole body and even your face looks suspicious.

However, the soldier interrogating me hesitated and nodded his head.

“Let’s ask for confirmation. But be prepared if it turns out to be false.”

“Thank you…!”

I can’t believe they are trusting me. In my opinion, I thought they would arrest me for lying!

But the soldier believed my words and got up to go make a call.

“Do you really believe it? Honestly, isn’t it impossible? A person without an ID or an adventurer’s certificate who claims to have come at Shali’s request. It’s obviously a lie.”

Another soldier, who was the interrogating soldier’s subordinate, spoke and blocked the interrogating soldier.

If I were in that situation, I would have definitely said the same thing. I don’t blame that soldier.

“Feeling something is impossible is because you’ve never experienced it before and think it’s impossible. Do you know how many things that seemed impossible I’ve experienced in this line of work? Check it out, there’s nothing to lose.”

With that, the interrogating soldier left, and I was left with the subordinate soldier.

I admired the words of the interrogating soldier.

I should find out the name of that soldier later.

The interrogating soldier left, leaving only the subordinate soldier with me.

The soldier’s gaze was enough to tell that he suspected her of being the culprit, so I subtly turned my head away.

==

Shally was feeling at ease because she had asked Lily to turn the recently troublesome gate into a restricted area.

Dealing with the paperwork with a slightly better mood than before, Shally was interrupted by her secretary knocking on the door.

“Guild Master, may I come in?”

“Yeah, come in. What’s up?”

“It’s about an unidentified person who needs to enter the guild at the border on your request.”

“An unidentified person? Hmm…?”

Shally pondered if she had requested someone, but she rarely made requests personally as the Guild Master. Lily was an exception, of course.

“I don’t remember.”

“Then I will inform them that it’s false.”

“No, wait. I need to find out who mentioned my name and said that.”

“Are you finally coming out of your room?”

“If you say that, I’ll seem like a shut-in.”

“Wasn’t that the case…?”

“It hurts…”

Shally stretched and got up from her seat, teleporting to the border with her secretary.

“Why do you bother learning this kind of magic if you find it so annoying?”

“I learned this magic because I found it annoying.”

“I see.”

“Shally, nice to meet you. I’m Doran, managing Gate 2.”

“Ah, nice to meet you, Doran. So, where is the unidentified person?”

“They are inside here.”

As they entered the gate, the secretary frowned at the unidentified person wearing a black hood.

It was a very suspicious appearance. The soldiers seemed oblivious, but the hood had an illusion magic cast on it.

A very sophisticated magic. Even most mages wouldn’t notice it. Suspicious. Very suspicious. Someone with that kind of enchanted hood wouldn’t be ordinary.

But calling them a spy from another country seemed a bit strange.

Having that kind of magical item and yet coming to the gate so openly and being detained like this…? Moreover, the slightly hunched shoulders and nervous gestures.

If you ignored the magical item, they looked like an ordinary person. They seemed completely unaware of their true identity.

And what about the black rabbit on the table in front of the unidentified person? A pet?

The secretary turned to look at Shally, wondering if the Guild Master knew about it, only to be surprised by the expression on the Guild Master’s face.

The secretary had never seen the Guild Master so shocked before.

Wide-eyed, mouth agape, sweating profusely.

“Guild Master?”

“…”

“Guild Master…?”

“Everyone except me, get out!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Ah, understood!”

The secretary and the soldiers were taken aback by Shally’s sudden outburst, but quickly left the room.

“What’s going on?”

It was the first time the Guild Master had been so flustered and shouted. That meant the Guild Master knew the unidentified person.

Was it a dangerous individual? But was there someone who could threaten the Guild Master…?

The secretary was curious and on the verge of going crazy, but obeyed Shally’s command and waited patiently.

As soon as Shally entered the room, she doubted her eyes when she saw the unidentified person.

The black mana emanating even from the hood.

The mana and magic of Lily, Shally’s mother Charlotte’s close friend and colleague.

The black hood worn by the unidentified person, who was actually Amelia.

Shally knew Amelia as well.

Sometimes, when she went to talk to the World Tree, she would meet Amelia and chat or pass on stories from the outside.

But why was Amelia standing in front of her now?

“Shally!”

Amelia recognized Shally and greeted her warmly, but Shally broke out in a cold sweat.

“Shally?”

“Ah, hello.”

Shally greeted Amelia for now.

“How did it go here, that. Lily. No, that’s not it.”

While people around praised Shally for her charisma and sharpness, there was not a hint of that in Shally’s current appearance.

She was just stumbling over her words, trying to figure out what was going on.

“I went out with Kuro for a while.”

“Went out…? Does Lily know about this?”

“No. Lily doesn’t know.”

-Thud.

The alarm bells started ringing in Shally’s head. Having seen Lily for a long time, she knew how serious the situation was considering Lily’s obsession with Amelia.

“If I tell Lily—”

“No. If Lily finds out, she’ll come right away.”

‘This is bad…’

“Can you keep it a secret from Lily?”

Lily always said, “Do it for Amelia, listen to her.”

But that was when Amelia was in the World Tree.

Should Shally keep it a secret from Lily according to Amelia’s words, only to later face Lily’s anger when she realizes that Amelia went out, not just left?

Or should she ignore Amelia’s love for the World Tree and tell Lily, facing the anger of both the World Tree and Amelia?

Either way, it’s the worst-case scenario. Shally ultimately has to make a tough choice here.

While Lily’s anger is frightening, Shally is also a High Elf after all, a child of the World Tree.

And on top of that, there’s Amelia’s love from all the creatures in the world.

Facing the anger of two people is scarier than just one person’s anger, so in the end, Shally nodded at Amelia’s words.

“Thank you!”

Amelia took off her hood, revealing a bright smile as she hugged Shally.

Shally enjoyed Amelia’s embrace, blushing with delight as she erased Lily from her mind.

‘Let’s think about Lily later…….’

==

The tempting Amelia.