Ch.141Chapter 141 – The First Official Meeting with the Elves

“Lady Shreka… held your hand?”

“Th-that’s impossible……”

It seems Shreka taking my hand was quite a shocking event.

The elves escorting her appeared visibly stunned when they saw Shreka holding my hand.

Is holding someone’s hand really that surprising?

“Everyone, please be quiet. We are here as guests, after all. How can you behave so rudely?”

Shreka scolded her escort elves in a raised voice.

“…We apologize.”

“We will exercise restraint.”

Perhaps due to her reprimand, Shreka’s escorts bowed their heads in acknowledgment of their mistake.

“Don’t apologize to me, but to Count Severio here.”

“…We apologize, Count.”

“We’re sorry for causing a disturbance.”

The elves escorting Shreka apologized to me as well at her command.

“It’s quite alright.”

I accepted the elves’ apology to spare Shreka any embarrassment.

Acting stubborn here out of pride would just make me look foolish.

After all, I was merely intrigued by the reaction of Shreka’s escort elves, not offended by it.

“Count Severio. How much do you know about elves?”

“I know a little.”

To be precise, I only know as much as was revealed in the game.

How could I know anything more if the developers didn’t release that information?

I’ve learned some things I didn’t know before by diligently reading books in the library since coming to this world, but information not available in the library is difficult to discover.

“Then some explanation is necessary. Chancellor Regina, would it be alright to explain to him?”

“I think that would be fine. Count Severio should know what kind of beings elves are.”

With both Shreka’s and the Chancellor’s agreement, the Chancellor’s office transformed into a temporary lecture hall on elves.

“Now I’ll slowly explain what kind of beings we elves are.”

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“…and that’s how it is. Do you understand now?”

“I understand completely.”

Wow, so the position of Grand Elder wasn’t won through rock-paper-scissors after all.

She explained what kind of race elves are for nearly two hours without any script.

The lecture about elves given by the High Elf Grand Elder could be summarized like this:

First, elves were created by the gods to maintain the “mana circulation system of nature,” known as the World Tree.

The mana circulation system of nature, simply put, draws mana from flows called ley lines and disperses it into the atmosphere.

Therefore, managing the World Tree, which acts as a pump drawing mana from the earth, is extremely important.

Also, being in the position of guardians of the World Tree, elves tend to look down on other races.

This, coupled with the fact that other races rarely handle spirits, means most elves are somewhat exclusionary toward beings who don’t know how to handle spirits.

That’s why elves rarely venture outside their lands—they find the very prospect of encountering inferior beings irritating.

To control these proud elves more easily, High Elves were created, and the strongest among the High Elves assumes the position of Grand Elder.

In other words, Shreka is the noblest of nobles to elves and their one and only leader.

So her taking my hand, in our terms, would be like the Emperor himself grabbing the hand of a High Elf he’d never met before and asking for help to resolve an imperial crisis.

‘…Wait.’

Hold on.

That makes the elves’ surprise understandable.

Even I would feel my heart racing if the Emperor himself sought out a mere elf and asked for help.

It means a problem so serious has occurred that it requires elven assistance.

Moreover, if Shreka’s explanation is correct… the very act of coming to humans for help scratches at elven pride.

However, Shreka, being a High Elf, doesn’t seem particularly wounded in her pride, suggesting that only ordinary elves hold such attitudes.

“Count Severio. I will now explain why I’ve come to you. The World Tree, the core of nature’s mana circulation system, is dying.”

I closed my eyes at Shreka’s words.

Though I already knew this, I should at least appear shocked.

“What will happen if the World Tree completely withers?”

“May I explain that part?”

The one who answered my question wasn’t Shreka but the Chancellor.

Seeing the Chancellor step in, it seems she wants to explain the mana-related aspects in detail.

Of course, I already know this information, but…

“The concentration of mana in the atmosphere is very important. How much mana is dispersed in the air determines how long magic formations can be maintained. In places rich with atmospheric mana, magic formations can self-sustain for years even with ordinary magic stones. Conversely, in places with scarce atmospheric mana, high-purity magic stones must be used to maintain similar durations.”

Hmm, as expected of the Chancellor, her explanation is much more detailed than Shreka’s, even including examples.

“What happens if all the atmospheric mana dries up?”

“The replenishment rate of mana and aura becomes extremely slow. The mana flowing through the earth is too deep to draw upon. After all, we draw from the mana dispersed in the atmosphere.”

…So mana and aura are replenished from atmospheric mana.

Come to think of it, no one ever described separately replenishing mana and aura, right?

They don’t perform breathing exercises or meditation, so it makes sense that they just absorb mana from the atmosphere.

But now there’s one important question.

“How do we get to where the World Tree is?”

That is, where exactly is the World Tree?

When thinking of a World Tree, I imagine something much larger than most mountains, but where could such a massive tree be growing?

Given that elves rarely leave their lands, and that the World Tree draws mana from ley lines in the earth to disperse into the atmosphere…

‘It’s likely far from the Empire, probably on an island surrounded by sea.’

“You needn’t worry about that. We elves are closer to spirits than any other race. With the spirits’ help, it should take about a week to get there.”

A week with the help of spirits?

“Is that possible?”

“With the earth spirits’ help, yes. We’ll move underground, not on the surface. That way, no one can track our movements. We’re not forcibly digging tunnels; we’re using the earth spirits’ abilities to move through empty spaces beneath the ground.”

I had thought about calling wind spirits to fly through the sky or water spirits to travel by boat.

But going underground to move?

Wow, I didn’t know that was possible.

As for fire spirits…

They’d be good for lighting fires or heating food, I guess.

“How many people know about this situation?”

“Besides Chancellor Regina here and yourself, no one. The elven race knows, of course, as they guard the World Tree.”

I realized once again the gravity of this situation.

This is information that must be kept absolutely secret, not even shared with His Majesty the Emperor or the Prime Minister.

“However, I’m not sure if my ability will work on the World Tree. My ability is to ‘fix’ things, which is quite different from ‘healing.'”

“I know. But I don’t think Count Severio’s ability is limited to merely ‘fixing’ things.”

Hmm. What is Shreka trying to say?

“Abilities are gifts bestowed upon us by the gods. And these abilities are typically used to destroy things that threaten the world. But your ability doesn’t destroy anything, does it? So… I believe your ability can certainly fix the World Tree. Your ability isn’t limited to what you currently know. After all, wasn’t your ability given directly by the great goddess herself? And… don’t you think your ability might have something hidden beyond simply ‘fixing’ things?”

Shreka’s relentless words.

And I had no particular objection to what she said.

‘Honestly, I’m suspicious about my ability too.’

Because… I too was curious about what the true effect of my ability was.

Epitrina.

I wonder what this ability you gave me really is, and what your true intention was in giving it to me.

But now is not the time to ask that.

“There’s one thing I want to ask.”

Because a question suddenly occurred to me.

“The World Tree’s roots beginning to wither—wasn’t there some cause for that?”

And I could clearly see it.

The slight trembling in Shreka’s blue eyes.

“Th-that’s…”

As expected, Shreka couldn’t properly answer my question.

Shreka.

“What are you hiding?”