Ch.224224. For Countermeasures (3)

“Y-you, you crazy human─”

Friel’s lips began to tremble uncontrollably.

The corners of her mouth kept rising upward. A desperate struggle to suppress it.

Yet she couldn’t hide the gleaming delight in her teal eyes.

‘She must feel like a blockage has finally cleared.’

Not only had she gained the perfect opportunity to strike at Ianet, with whom she clearly didn’t get along, but she’d also found a chance to expose and sever the connections between that rascal Allen Kallia’s rotten socialites who had been pestering her.

Even for an elf who might live hundreds or thousands of years, it would be rare to experience such a refreshing sense of satisfaction in life.

Sure enough, unable to hide her rising smile any longer, Friel spoke with a face blooming with joy.

“This information… can I trust it?”

“Of course. These are important clues diligently gathered by my wind spirit. Not a single falsehood among them.”

As I casually answered while patting Elvis’s head, Friel’s gaze naturally shifted toward him.

“That spirit… isn’t one I contracted for you. First the fire spirit, and now this one. I wonder when you summoned such spirits.”

She shook her head slightly and let out a deep sigh.

But this was no sigh of lamentation.

“…You’re truly amazing.”

It was merely an anthem of joy from someone envisioning a bright future.

Our conversation progressed quickly as puzzle pieces began falling into place.

“Ray, you’re right. We’ll need a bit more verification, but… with such solid evidence, it would be better to prepare for a spectacular trial rather than just gathering vague suspicions.”

“That’s great. I was honestly a bit bothered about the Marquisate of Kallia too. Now we can settle things definitively. Two birds with one stone.”

“However, to do that, above all else…”

Friel, once again crossing her legs improperly and resting her chin on her hand, looked up at me and Sione alternately.

“We need actors who can make the performance more vibrant.”

With a voice excited and elated by her own scheme.

“A grand trial mediated by the Grand Elder is completely different from ordinary, stuffy trials. It’s nothing like the armchair discussions held only among elders and concerned parties.”

An elven trial, huh.

Since I didn’t know much about their trial system either, I focused on her words with great curiosity about the Grand Elder’s trial method.

Sione too seemed quite immersed in the flow of Friel’s story and the atmosphere that shifted with her intonation. She was completely absorbed, maintaining eye contact with Friel.

“The precious few times when the Grand Elder appears before the crowd rather than beside the World Tree. The trial is conducted before the entire Great Forest, without a single lie, executed according to the wisdom of the High Elves, wiser than anyone else.”

“Rewards and punishments are declared on the spot after the trial, and punishments are immediately carried out. The victorious elf gains definite benefits, and since it’s a precious occasion where everyone witnesses the struggle and rise and fall of the two elves, becoming public notaries…”

Friel swiftly brought down the hand that had been supporting her chin and struck the small table.

Thwack! Clink…

As the teacups rattled from the impact on the table, producing a clear, crystalline sound.

Friel Arielt used the table as support to rise, leaning her upper body deeply forward.

Her face drew closer to me and Friel. With a smile fully blooming on her face, the 60-plus-year-old oddity spoke in a fresh voice.

“Isn’t the actor’s performance most important?”

“The… performance? What do you mean?”

“Good question, Lady Sione.”

Friel widened the distance and began circling around the table.

“You are the heroes, Ianet is the villain. My lady sensed Magia. From whom? From─”

The corners of her mouth deepened further. The plan became clearer.

“Chenya, Ianet’s elf!”

“When you say Chenya… Lady Ianet is…”

“Ianet might still become another trump card for us. Let’s test the waters first… and if we can use her, we should make the most of it.”

“I suppose…”

Suddenly, the air surrounding Sione grew heavy.

Heavy enough to momentarily give Friel pause.

“…Somehow I felt like Lady Airine was subtly restricting Chenya’s range of action.”

The atmosphere changed completely.

The experience she had gone through must have been quite displeasing.

Gone was the innocent master who would have wagged a non-existent tail if her head were patted. Only Sione remained, coldly observing the past from the center of an icy blizzard.

I was momentarily taken aback, and inevitably, Friel’s mouth closed tight for a moment.

But soon the serpent-like elf changed the mood.

“Anyway… that being the case! Lady Sione will raise questions to Ianet, and in the midst of the escalating confrontation, Ray will present the decisive evidence.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you, Ray.”

“Hmm.”

“To be precise, just like usual, you’ll sweep your sharp gaze over the audience as if everything is boring… and then call upon the power of your spirit.”

“Ah.”

So that’s what she meant.

“The truth dramatically revealed before everyone in the Great Forest. Countless mouths and ears will instantly package the story, inflate it further, and spread it.”

“Every time they hear the story, all our Great Forest family members will recall Ianet’s rotting expression from that courtroom.”

“And Ianet, whose influence will be significantly reduced… under the Grand Elder’s definite punishment, will devote her life to the upcoming war without any nonsense, trying to make up for the disgrace they’ve shown.”

She’s suggesting we publicly bury Ianet.

I wonder if it’s right to openly humiliate a house that rivals Arielt like that, but since the High Elves’ words are absolute among them, if well-coordinated with the forceful commands issued by Edelin…

It could have its merits.

‘First of all,’

The main roles in the trial are me and Sione.

This trial begins with us discovering and reporting their evil deeds. We are the ones who raised the issue, and we will be at the forefront attacking Ianet, the historic traitor who conspired with demons.

If the trial ends successfully, other elves will certainly praise and honor us as heroes, and we can also build a solid relationship with Edelin, who cut off the bud of evil before trouble arose.

‘And secondly,’

Our relationship with Arielt will improve further.

They will stand on our side, struggling hard to stop the villains’ misdeeds, cheering us on, and playing a definite role as the good guys. After a long fight against Ianet, they will defeat them and be imprinted in everyone’s minds in the Great Forest as both good and strong.

Roughly speaking, in this Great Forest, Chelnis is the third-ranked, and Ianet and Airine are fighting fiercely for the first and second positions.

With this opportunity, they can firmly establish themselves as the supreme house of the Great Forest and indulge in the power they desire.

And we will be the ones who lead them to that position.

‘Even if they’re pointy-eared bastards, Arielt is at least reasonable.’

They would certainly maintain a minimum level of loyalty.

Certainly, my first impression of Arielt was close to the worst—a cursed house inhabited by a greedy pointy-eared bastard… But now, having received quite a lot from them, it might be time to revise that assessment a bit.

While I was thinking this, Friel Arielt spoke again.

“Also… since we’ve brought up the Marquisate of Kallia, we can’t easily overlook it.”

“The Marquisate of Kallia. When I first met Lord Allen, I felt something off, but I never imagined he was conspiring with demons.”

“Hmm, so you couldn’t detect the Magia either, my lady?”

“Shamefully, yes. Rather than a revulsion to Magia, it was more like an instinctive discomfort… I don’t remember feeling such a strong aversion.”

“Well─ If it was enough to deceive you, it must have been enough to deceive our informants who had been following him for quite some time.”

“You had informants following Lord Allen?”

“Of course. Cooperating bit by bit with Lady Eunice and Lord Abel?”

Saying this, Friel Arielt placed her thumb and index finger on her chin and tilted her head slightly to the side.

“Come to think of it… my mother mentioned it yesterday too.”

Friel Arielt’s mother.

The head of the Arielt family, Fleta Arielt.

“Lady Eunice needs a definite countermeasure against Lord Allen… so she needs to help according to the contract we made. I also have an appointment with my mother about the Marquis, and coincidentally, you also have an appointment with my mother, right?”

“Yes, it was right after my conversation with you, Friel.”

“Perfect. Let’s go together. Now that it’s come to this, let’s get it over with quickly.”

“Would that be appropriate?”

“Hmm?”

“No matter what, we’re meeting the head of a family…”

“Ah?”

Friel let out a refreshing laugh.

To this, Sione could only awkwardly mimic her smile.

“Well, it’s fine. If I say I’m going to meet my mother with you, my lady… they say no parent can win against their child, right?”

Friel Arielt.

She was more headstrong than I expected.

* * *

It took quite some time to explain the same things to Fleta Arielt that we had explained to Friel.

However, unlike Friel, she had a quick understanding and the skill to develop the conversation smoothly.

Soon, she removed her glasses and let out a deep sigh like an exhausted office worker.

“Haah…”

Indeed, the quantity and quality of information coming in at once would give anyone a headache with so much to think about and reconsider.

“For Ianet, we can proceed more or less as Friel suggested. And now we have the matter of the Marquisate of Kallia as well.”

The audience begins to feel overwhelmed.

The spatial dominance coming from her emotional changes was stronger than anyone else’s in the office.

Even if only for a moment, we couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by her rising anger.

“That orange-haired wench became the head and is really going wild. It wouldn’t be bad to cut off her head this time, beyond recovery. The enemy is a conspirator with demons, after all.”

Sione quietly closed her eyes and listened to her words.

“Our Arielt is a house that rose through war against them thousands of years ago. We couldn’t possibly forget that war which is fundamental to us.”

“Our ancestors, more than any other elves, know the evil of demons well, thanks to the war they waged alongside humans, specifically with those of your house, Sianella, my lady.”

“That’s why I’m not particularly fond of Ianet these days. Don’t you agree, my lady?”

Finally opening her eyes, she nodded slightly.

“Conspiracy with demons is an unforgivable crime. So I too… think the same.”

“Hmm.”

This time, as if in response, Fleta nodded.

She continues speaking in a soft voice.

“Then I’ll give you a gift.”

“A gift?”

“A token of trust as a proper elder and a wooden tag signifying that our house’s will is with you─”

It was a treasure.

And one of considerable value at that.

“With this, even the Grand Elder will have to listen more deeply to your story, my lady.”

Sione rose from her seat and carefully received the two wooden tags that Fleta had brought from a drawer.

“Is it really alright to entrust me with something like this?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Anyway, now that the conversation has come this far, we’re in the same boat, aren’t we?”

“…”

“And besides that, I have another gift to give you.”

Fleta returned to her seat, sat down, and picked up the teacup in front of her.

“Just wait a little longer. Now that the heavy talk is somewhat over, how about we continue our conversation over tea?”

With a confident expression, as if telling them to properly look forward to the gift.