The Great Forest (1)

The world flips, and gradually the original light returns. When we open our eyes, we’ve already arrived in a spacious room. Pure white marble, statues seemingly personifying gods. Judging by the religious-style decorations everywhere, it seems to be the Saint Mihail Temple that Surtiga-nim mentioned.

“This is dizzying no matter how many times I do it.”

Shuriel-ssi covered her mouth, looking like she was about to throw up.

“I agree, ieyo.”

I nodded emphatically, agreeing wholeheartedly. I’m dying from the dizziness. Being kidnapped by a Demon was somewhat better, but moving even further than that put a strain on my body. Just in case, I glanced to the side, and sure enough, most of the soldiers were either throwing up or feeling dizzy. The smell of vomit only adds to the chaos.

“Hehe. You’ll get used to it someday, Master.”

Amidst the mess, Kalberd-nim stood perfectly fine. Do you get used to this if you live long enough? I’m a bit lacking in experience compared to the power I possess, so I don’t really know about these things. I roughly calmed my stomach and then drew up Mana. Always useful, Clean magic. If I waited, a soldier would clean it up, but looking around, there didn’t seem to be any mops to clean the floor. It was better to finish it quickly.

―Welcome!!

As I was getting rid of the vomit the soldiers had produced with Clean magic, a loud voice pierced my ears from afar. It was so loud that the temple ceiling seemed to shake. I covered my ear with one hand and turned to Shuriel-ssi.

“Who is it?”

“…The prelate. Probably.”

I squinted and focused on the sound of footsteps. The floor thudded, thudded. The earth-shaking footsteps were as loud and heavy as the booming voice.

“Welcome to the Saint Mihail Temple! Tell me, are you all feeling alright?”

Along with a hearty laugh, a giant of a man appeared, wearing a tight-fitting priest’s robe. He looked to be at least two meters tall, forcing me to look up to see his face. As I raised my head, I saw a passionate-looking face, a head of golden, shining hair, and pointy animal ears sticking out.

“An Aein, I see.”

Aein (亞人).

Those who inherited the raging instincts of ancient times.

They look like humans, but they are not human. In their hearts, they hide the claws of a wild beast running through the wilderness. And, they were strictly a cannibalistic race. Humans, as well as other races. As interaction with humans became more active, it was forbidden by law, but instincts such as looking at humans and smacking their lips still remained.

“Since this temple was built for the purpose of proselytizing the Aein, they must have thought it would be more effective if the prelate was an Aein.”

The prelate laughed heartily, causing the ceiling to shake once more. Shuriel-ssi covered her ears as if she was used to it.

If you were to pick out the characteristics of the Aein, excluding their eating habits, it would be that their hair was incredibly thick. Sensitive areas like armpits were the same as humans, but their head hair grew like crazy fast. Even if you left it alone for just a month, it would go past their shoulders. This didn’t discriminate by gender. Just looking at the prelate in front of me, his hair was as thick as a lion’s mane, reaching down to his waist.

Secondly, their physique was overwhelmingly superior compared to humans. Perhaps that’s why, even when they awakened Mana, they overwhelmingly manifested it as Aura. In other words, there were fewer mages. This was also one of the reasons why the Elves readily accepted the beast-people.

Of course, this wasn’t always an advantage. In the battles of this world, the existence of mages was almost essential. The prelate thumped the floor with his long tail and said to Shuriel-ssi.

“I received the message a long time ago. I heard you’re tracking Demons?”

“The twin Demons, Cordil and Fordil. Their notoriety is well-known, so there’s no need for a separate explanation…”

The prelate nodded.

“They’re notorious among our Aein as well. I heard they reappeared in Kahalia…”

“We’re guessing they fled here after causing damage. We request your cooperation in the investigation.”

“Of course, ieyo. Ah, and Agent-nim.”

The prelate had people bring dozens of heavy sacks. I heard the sound of metal clinking, so I thought they were money bags, but the sound was slightly different. It wasn’t coins.

“The Elves’ movements have been restless lately. Every Elf I see has a grimace on their face, as if they’ve eaten poisonous herbs, so if you happen to find an Elf outside the wall, don’t provoke them unnecessarily―”

Tudduk. He tears open the string of a sack.

“Give them this.”

“…What is it?”

“Something essential when making friends with Elves.”

Inside the sack were strangely shining scraps of metal. They looked suspicious, so I immediately analyzed them, but I couldn’t find any particular special features other than the fact that they contained Mana. However, Shuriel-ssi seemed to know, as she frowned and opened her mouth.

“Isn’t that Farnium? Why would you give something that Dwarves are crazy about to Elves?”

“The wall repair period is coming up soon… There’s no harm in giving it to them, so just hand it over. I guarantee it.”

Shuriel-ssi muttered, “Is it already the repair period?” and then nodded. I didn’t understand what she was talking about. Do the Elves of this world like metal? I poked Kalberd-nim in the side and secretly asked. Shuriel-ssi was busy dividing the soldiers and assigning search areas, so she didn’t have time to answer questions. Kalberd-nim turned to me and gave me a friendly smile.

“Have you ever been outside the Empire?”

“Um. Probably, no.”

“Then wait. You’ll know when you go out.”

Couldn’t he just tell me? I wanted to say that, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. Seeing is believing. It wouldn’t be bad to understand by seeing it.

* * *

It hasn’t been directly revealed what kind of relationship the Elves have with the World Tree. Rumors are circulating that their minds are subordinate to the World Tree like a hive mind, or that Elves are a race born from the World Tree… but the Elves aren’t saying anything.

However, what we can say for sure is that they fear the World Tree being harmed more than their race dying out.

In the past, after the World Tree was damaged during the Demon invasion, the Elves used ‘all’ of their race’s power to protect the World Tree. Manpower, magic, resources, etc. If it could protect the World Tree, they would use any means necessary. Even if it led to the destruction of nature.

It was quite surprising that the Elves, who see all the grass and trees in the world as products of the World Tree, that is, descendants of the World Tree, made this choice. A race that has been with the roots of plants since the beginning of time, worshiping nature, cutting down trees and digging up the ground. It was a move that contradicted the image of Elves in my head.

“…It’s high.”

And.

That giant gray barrier was the result of the Elves’ fanatical obsession.

I tilted my head back so far that my jaw almost dislocated as I looked at the barrier that was built high into the sky. A super-giant barrier that was well over fifty meters tall. Even the trees of the Great Forest that stretched upwards couldn’t hide the barrier’s majesty and drooped down. Even these giant trees felt infinitely small compared to the wall.

I think I know why Elves like Farnium. Why would they dislike it when it can make the barrier even stronger?

It is said that Farnium, when melted and mixed with certain materials, has the property of hardening to an ultra-high strength. Its sturdiness is so outstanding that even Aura can’t penetrate it, so it’s usually forged into weapons, but the Elves have no interest in anything other than strengthening the barrier.

‘…It looks like giants will come out.’

I muttered inwardly, feeling a strange familiarity.

The super-giant barrier that surrounded the World Tree was not the end. The vast wall, which inspired awe just by looking at it, surprisingly existed in a total of four layers. The wall we are currently looking at is the 4th barrier. It is the outer wall of the Barhaya District, which is built on the outermost side.

“It would be a headache if those guys hid beyond the wall….”

Shuriel-ssi grumbled, swatting away the gnats that were sticking to her skin.

The Elves’ territory, the Aein’s country. The giant gray barrier that was overwhelming just to look at was the border. Beyond this was not the territory of the Empire.

Shuriel-ssi received considerable immunity as an Agent, but that didn’t apply beyond the border. In other words, a lack of investigative authority. This was bound to be a headache for Shuriel-ssi, who wandered around here and there.

“…Judging by the fact that there are areas where magical energy has been detected, it’s clear that some Demon has passed through here. If they’re not in the Great Forest, that means they’ve entered the village beyond the wall.”

I was very relieved that I hadn’t made a wrong guess, but the biggest problem was that I didn’t know what kind of Demon it was.

It’s common for magical energy to be detected. A low-level Demon may have stayed for a while, or there may have been another named Demon. It would be fortunate if it was the former, but it would be more serious if it was the latter.

But.

I shook my head and gave a definite answer.

“…It’s the twin Demons.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Mana wavelength. I read the magical energy. It’s the same wavelength as the magical energy I felt at the tower.”

I smelled it.

A familiar smell that I had smelled before.

The abilities I had shown so far were beyond imagination to distrust my words. Shuriel-ssi nodded immediately after hearing my words and made a new judgment. The twin Demons are currently hiding in the Aein’s city beyond the wall, she thought.

“No matter how deeply those guys hide, they won’t be able to get past the 3rd barrier.”

The generally accessible area is up to the Garquina District located inside the 3rd barrier. Beyond that is the Elves’ sanctuary. The security was so strict that they would shoot you with arrows just for trying to enter. In the first place, there wasn’t even an entrance to go from the 3rd barrier to the 2nd barrier. Diplomatic issues? They don’t care about that kind of thing. To put it bluntly, they would respond the same way even if the Emperor came.

“I’d like to seal off the gates in each district and gradually narrow the encirclement, but…”

They wouldn’t allow it. Shuriel-ssi swallowed the rest of her words and began to write down the expected route while unfolding a map. Jjiek. The area reported through the crystal ball was marked with an X in red pen. This meant that no magical energy had been detected in that area.

The Silbehrin Great Forest was already being patrolled by search teams checking for magical energy. The predicted movement route is narrowing. If we invest just one more day like this, we will be able to find out which entrance they used to enter the village.

“If. If they really did enter the Aein’s country. We’ll have to seek the cooperation of the tribal chiefs.”

That’s why. The cooperation of the locals was even more necessary. They were the ones who openly built a tower in Kahalia. I didn’t know what kind of tricks they would pull while deceiving the eyes of humans and beast-people.

As we were proceeding with the investigation, breaking branches and grass.

A clear voice was heard from above.

―Stop.

At the same time, the wind stops. When I raise my head and look up at the sky, a silver-haired human wearing light armor, no. A silver-haired Elf was aiming an arrow at us.

“I heard that suspicious humans are moving around in droves, shaking up the Great Forest. State your purpose. Otherwise,”

“Are you going to kill us?”

“Yes. Those who threaten the Mother Earth Goddess deserve to die.”

“Those pointy-eared bastards are always quick with the news.”

It was an Elf patrolman that the prelate had warned us about. The tip of the arrow they were aiming at us was glowing blue. It was magic. I immediately analyzed it. A magic of a considerably high level was engraved on the tip of the arrow. It was a high-level technique that was so elaborate, powerful, and impossible to deal with that even the magic tower would be speechless. Even I would have a hard time blocking it without causing collateral damage.

“Young Master. Don’t bother provoking them and just take out the Farnium.”

“Hmm. Do I have to?”

“…I won’t block it even if they shoot, so do whatever you want.”

“I’m just kidding. You’re so fierce.”

Shuriel-ssi had Kalberd-nim take out the Farnium sacks. One sack was given to each person. A total of three were taken out and shown. The silver-haired Elf stared at the sacks without lowering the drawn bow.

“Tell me what that is.”

She commands with an emotionless voice and an emotionless face. The Elf, who had received the blessing of nature and possessed outstanding beauty, was even more attractive when she said that. Shuriel-ssi didn’t fall for her beauty and opened the sack.

“…!”

The Elf’s eyes widened.

In an instant, the emotion of greed settled on her emotionless face.

“…Farnium.”

Shuriel-ssi, not missing that emotion, threw the sack without hesitation, and the Elf quickly put away her bow and hung the sack on her waist.

―Tak. She comes down from the tree. The silver-haired Elf immediately bent over and apologized, contrary to the wariness she had shown.

“I’m sorry. You guys, you were good people.”

“Your evaluation is changing rapidly.”

“A Dwarf said. People who give Farnium are good friends.”

“I’m glad it’s easy to know.”

“Dwarves are friends of Elves. Friends of Dwarves are, friends of Elves.”

The way she cut off her words was a bit lacking. Is it just her, or are all Elves like that? It seemed somewhat uneasy that she believed so firmly that we were ‘good people’ just because we gave her one Farnium. I said quietly in a voice that the Elf couldn’t hear.

“…Aren’t they going to be dragged off to a slave trader or something?”

“Who? You?”

“No, I mean that Elf.”

“Buy an Elf as a slave? Are you crazy?”