Ch.97Next Story

After the Picnic.

The next morning.

I headed to Vulcan’s office early in the morning to solidify my future plans.

“You borrowed the royal kitchen to make lots of food, and it seems you rested well. Your complexion looks better than when I last saw you.”

“Well… I did eat all the meals I’d been missing while relying on preserved food.”

I might have eaten a bit more than I’d planned, but the food was tasty, and it wasn’t bad to have some rest after so long.

However, unlike me who had been able to rest properly, Vulcan seemed to have been unable to get proper rest recently.

“Unlike me, you look even worse. If I ran into you in the middle of the night, I might mistake you for an undead.”

“This work just never seems to decrease. It would be fortunate if things just stayed the same, but just this time…”

“From what Lilly told me, there was some kind of meeting. It seems there’s bad news.”

At my words, Vulcan sighed with a serious expression, as if recalling something, showing deep fatigue with the current situation.

“Yes, there’s bad news. And it’s serious because there isn’t just one piece, but several. Which one would you like to hear first?”

“I don’t know how all the news that arrived happens to be bad. Let’s start with the most serious one.”

“The most serious news…”

When I asked him to tell me the most serious news first, Vulcan seemed to contemplate for a moment.

It seemed there were at least two matters of similar importance.

‘I hope they’re both simple…’

Judging by Vulcan’s haggard appearance, as if he’d aged nearly ten years, the probability that these were far from simple was high.

If they were simple, he wouldn’t have used the word “serious” in the first place.

“The most serious one would be related to the elves and Yggdrasil, I suppose.”

“Is it about the elves? They haven’t collectively decided to run outside for some greening project, have they?”

Since that was the scenario that would unfold if the elves’ doomsday button was pressed, I looked at Vulcan, hoping it wasn’t the case.

And fortunately, it seemed my desperate hope was answered—it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. Rather, it’s the opposite. Those elves have suddenly shut themselves in the forest without saying a word.”

“That’s a new pattern. It seems they didn’t even participate in the meeting. Is direct approach still possible?”

“No, those elves have even put up a barrier around the World Tree’s forest, completely blocking entry.”

“……”

Vulcan’s following words were enough to smack me in the back of the head, contradicting my thought that it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

It might not be the worst, but it could be the process leading to it.

“I’ve seen that barrier activated even less often… Sigh, it’s difficult to enter unless we force our way in.”

“Regarding that, the opinion was to leave them be for now since we don’t know the internal situation. That’s also the general opinion of the elves who remain outside.”

“You mean, breaking in might just worsen relations… is that it?”

If that’s really how the discussion went at the meeting, there wasn’t much I could do right now.

The barrier cast by elves wasn’t something I could pass through just because I wanted to.

Even if I tried on my own, at most I could try to persuade the Fairy Queen when I meet her this time.

“Then for now, let’s set aside the elves’ issue that I can’t handle alone… What’s the other story?”

“The next story is also something you’ll find difficult to handle. It’s related to the dragons.”

* * *

Having connections with a king of a country certainly made it easier to understand how the world was turning. The information he provided was on a completely different level from what I could obtain on my own.

The problem was that even with such information, there wasn’t much I could do immediately.

Or perhaps that was more comfortable.

“So the dragons suddenly declared they’re closing shop, the merfolk are requesting help because of recent monster activity, the empire’s Magic Tower has been found to have dabbled in black magic, and the demon race might be heading toward civil war…?”

There were too many problems. If I tried to solve everything, it would be impossible even if I had not two bodies, but ten.

“This is really a mess…”

“Yes, it’s a mess. I’ve already informed the Hero. Even if I hadn’t, the temple would have told him.”

After hearing the current situation, I could understand why Vulcan seemed to have aged ten years in this short time.

It would be impossible to remain unaffected after seeing such a mess, even for a god.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Whew, it’s more of a mess than I imagined, but what I need to do hasn’t changed… First, I should meet the Fairy Queen.”

“Indeed, if you can persuade her, the chances of your identity as an Apostle being discovered will greatly decrease.”

Basically, only fairies can see souls with the naked eye.

So if I could persuade the queen who rules over these fairies, I could minimize the chances of my identity as an Apostle being discovered.

“Next… I was planning to visit the Magic Tower for some business. It’s good timing since something seems to be happening there too.”

“Hmm, then I’ll leave that to you. That Hero said he’s going to the World Tree… Cecilia said she’d help with the dragon issue, so what’s left are the merfolk and demon problems.”

“The merfolk issue seems less urgent, but the problem is that it’s difficult to help due to the underwater location.”

“That’s right. If a similar request had come from elsewhere, we could just send adventurers… tsk.”

It wasn’t easy for land creatures to operate in the sea. There were many issues to solve, from breathing to water pressure and movement.

These problems could be solved with artifacts, but obtaining artifacts wasn’t easy—they weren’t handed out by ancestors.

“It seems right to ask the Magic Tower for help with artifacts… but they’re in chaos with the black magic issue…”

Given the situation, it seemed necessary to resolve the Magic Tower’s problems first in order to help the merfolk.

“For that reason, your role is significant in solving the merfolk issue. The demon civil war problem can be handled by adventurers or Apos Hunters… so we can request help from them.”

“I’ll also discuss the Apos Hunt matter when I meet the Fairy Queen.”

As I continued to discuss and plan with Vulcan, the distribution of immediate tasks seemed to be well sorted.

Even if we couldn’t solve everything, we could at least buy time for additional personnel to join.

‘The best outcome would be if everyone resolved their issues well… but I shouldn’t expect too much.’

It would be nice if everything was neatly resolved without me doing anything, but I couldn’t trust this sunfish-like world.

Some might say I have a protagonist complex, but considering how Gagap almost perished, it can’t be helped.

“So, are you leaving right away?”

“I should. Lilly and Kitsune are already preparing what’s needed for departure. I’m planning to head straight to the fairy realm.”

“Then, since the Succession Hall restoration is complete, take a look before you go.”

“I was just there not too long ago…”

Although I went before the restoration was complete, I wondered if there was a need to go again.

However, unlike my thoughts, Vulcan seemed to really want me to take a look.

“You’re the one who saved the place. You don’t have to stay long, just take a quick look.”

“Hmm, if you put it that way… Alright. It won’t take long anyway.”

I should have declined this offer and just departed for the fairy realm.

* * *

If I had, I wouldn’t have felt this embarrassment.

No, I should have gone further back in time and prevented those statues from being made in the first place.

[The Savior of Gagap.]

In the Succession Hall, there were statues of those who fought together here—me, Lilly, Kitsune, Kirara, and even Cecilia.

Upon seeing these statues, everyone in the group expressed their satisfaction with a comment.

“Wow~ They’re really well-made! As expected of a nation of craftsmen, huh?”

“Oh… Kirara and I are here too…!”

“Kerung!”

[It seems to have captured about 5% of my beauty.]

[Not bad.]

Everyone except me, whose face had reddened with the shame of having another statue erected.

“I wonder when they made these when everyone’s supposedly busy. They should have focused more on rebuilding the city…”

Thanks to this, I was worried that my statues might be erected everywhere I go.

[It turned out so pretty, don’t grumble too much~]

[Everyone else seems satisfied.]

‘I really can’t welcome this…’

Although I inherited the succubus-like mischievousness from Lumia, unfortunately, I didn’t inherit that princess complex.

If I had, I might have felt less embarrassed.

[You’re good at appearing in front of people, so I don’t understand why you’re like this about statues.]

‘That and this are a bit different…’

I couldn’t explain exactly what was different, but there was definitely embarrassment coming from this inexplicable gap.

“Sigh… The quality is good… If it had been cheap, I could have broken it.”

[Pfft, that’s just talk. You wouldn’t have broken it out of consideration for the person who made it.]

‘Be quiet…’