Chapter 53
“Chief.”
The elf with blond hair pinned neatly up bowed respectfully to the young elf seated on the throne.
The elf who always wore a monocle was Iris, the chief's aide.
“What is it?”
A fresh voice, clear as birdsong in the early morning, filled the quiet hall.
The only thing in the vast hall, large enough to accommodate more than a hundred people, was the throne in the center.
It was a desolate audience chamber, devoid of the usual carpets, flowers, paintings—everything.
The barren scene seemed to reflect the chief's current situation, leaving the chief all alone and Iris feeling bitter.
“Laisen has sent a letter of insubordination.”
The moment Laisen's name reached Elrod's ears, the chief ground her teeth.
They had once been close enough to go hunting together from time to time, but Laisen was now the person most openly expressing hostility toward Elrod.
“It must be the same thing again.”
Even so, she could not simply discard a letter of insubordination from Laisen, one of the three aides, without reading it.
At Elrod's gesture, the parchment in Iris's hand floated through the air and fell onto the throne.
[Regarding the Withdrawal from the Imperial Alliance.]
Sigh.
Though Elrod knew better, a sigh escaped her small mouth.
She had already received more than twenty letters of insubordination with similar titles.
Nor had their contents changed.
They cited the poor welfare of elves in the Empire,
claimed that the Empire was not honoring the contract from the Demon Realm War,
and argued that, for the sake of the elves' glory and revival, they had to break off the alliance with the Empire; their main point was that they would refuse to obey Elrod's order to maintain the alliance.
This much, Elrod could endure.
Although slowly, attitudes toward elves in the Empire were changing.
But the new evidence added recently was the problem.
[After investigating the so-called ‘Elf Disappearance Incident,’ the Empire's emblem was found on the hoods worn by the assassins, but.]
[The official document released by the Empire omitted any mention of the imperial emblem….]
[According to the survivors' testimony, they were attacked by humans while being escorted back to the World Tree by a messenger….]
That blasted imperial emblem.
It wasn't even the imperial seal; even common riffraff with no connection to the Empire could obtain a mere emblem.
But the real problem was that the elves everyone had believed a god was hiding had burned to death.
Just as the Empire had burned the World Tree,
Laisen incited his fellow elves by claiming that the Empire would eventually burn even the elves for the sake of its future.
With the old grudge between the Empire and the elves, the burned World Tree, and the disappearance case all piling up, Laisen's claims were receiving stronger support than Elrod's position.
“What should we do about the reply? Shall I draft a new one and send it?”
Iris cautiously opened her mouth while watching Elrod's expression.
“No, it isn't even worth replying to. Send the previous reply again, changing only the date.”
Elrod had answered regarding the emblem long ago,
and replied without the slightest hesitation.
As you command.
Iris bowed to Elrod.
“…And have you found Siran's whereabouts?”
Unlike before, Elrod's voice had become somewhat somber.
Not yet….
I see.
Elrod gave a slight nod.
No matter how skilled elves were at magic, they could not easily find an elf hidden by a god.
Especially since the target was the famous Siran, failing to find the elf was only natural.
Yet Elrod was searching for Siran because the matter was that urgent.
At the World Tree, it was safe to say that Elrod had no ally besides Iris.
However, if Siran, who had supported Elrod during the election for chief, returned, Elrod could at least gain a foothold from which to launch a counterattack, so the search continued.
“It cannot be helped. Is there anything else?”
At Elrod's words, Iris took out another parchment.
At the sight of the imperial emblem stamped on it, Elrod's eyes narrowed.
Usually, Iseria would draft and send letters concerning the Empire on Elrod's behalf.
Therefore, Iseria's seal should have been stamped on that parchment instead of the imperial emblem.
How strange.
Elrod accepted the parchment and read the letter with her head tilted to one side.
After a while, Elrod spoke with a soft sigh.
“This is from Prince Roen.”
Amid all the troublesome things that kept happening, this was at least welcome news.
In case she failed to find Siran, Elrod had been waiting for the prince's visit.
At Prince Roen's side were not only Laurent, who was guarding the World Tree outside, but also Fulcare, the greatest archmage on the continent.
Although it was humiliating and frustrating to rely on the Empire's strength,
if Elrod could make peace with them once more, Laisen's faction might be weakened somewhat.
“Send a reply granting permission to enter. And welcome the prince as politely as possible.”
Elrod could only hope that Prince Roen would arrive before Laisen made his move.
***
“Ugh, my head hurts.”
Vieta complained as she set down the parchment she had been holding.
She'd rather solve math problems; politics and diplomacy were absolutely not her field.
“Still, you should at least learn this.”
Blanc soothed Vieta by handing her a cookie.
Whenever they stopped at villages along the way, he somehow managed to buy things Vieta would like.
Thanks to him, Vieta never ran out of snacks.
Meanwhile, Blanc had acquired the truly bizarre nickname of the sugar-addicted prince.
“Should we take a short break?”
When Fulcare set down the parchment he was holding, Vieta nodded with a cookie in her mouth.
Being surrounded by Fulcare and Blanc and listening to them talk about politics throughout lunchtime was no different from a new kind of mental torture.
“But do I really have to know this?”
Vieta frowned at Fulcare.
And with good reason: complicated politics and tactics had always been Fulcare's responsibility.
Someone might call Vieta a moron or sneer that she was lazy, but Vieta believed that, as long as she knew the basics, it was best for each person to handle the field they were good at.
That was why she knew at least what she considered the minimum necessary knowledge, such as who the previous elf chiefs were and how the elves' system was structured.
“You never know what might happen. What will you do if I'm not here?”
“That's exactly why I'm asking—why wouldn't you be here?”
“You never know.”
At Fulcare's feeble excuse, Vieta narrowed her eyes.
Lately, Fulcare's behavior had been suspicious.
At first, she thought Fulcare was ill, but Fulcare kept avoiding her, and now the mage was stubbornly trying to teach her despite knowing how much she hated this kind of talk.
“…Could it be that you're angry with me about something?”
“No. If there were, I would have told you long ago.”
Though Fulcare smiled as if nothing were wrong, Vieta could not shake the uneasy feeling.
She felt as though an invisible wall had sprung up between her and Fulcare.
“By the way, Blanc, have you heard from Elrod?”
Only a few minutes had passed, yet Fulcare picked up one of the countless parchments piled around them.
“No. I sent it the day before yesterday, but there’s still no reply.”
The area around the World Tree was not Imperial territory.
Though it was merely a formality, the pilgrimage procession was waiting near the border between the Empire and the World Tree for Elrod's letter before entering with her permission.
“It's taking much longer than expected.”
If the distance had been great, it would be understandable, but they were close enough to reach the World Tree within a day.
“Could Laisen's influence be stronger than we realized?”
Blanc pushed up his glasses.
“That's a troubling possibility.”
As though the thought itself was unpleasant, Fulcare shook his head.
If Elrod was unable to send a letter, it was safe to assume that Laisen had practically taken control of the World Tree.
If so, the alliance with the Empire would inevitably fall apart.
“Ugh, I'm going to rest.”
Damn workaholics.
Vieta staggered out of the carriage.
Before leaving, she did not forget to gather the countless snack wrappers.
*
“Goodness, you mean His Highness ate all of that?”
Ahahaha.
At the passing maid's question, Vieta, who had been burning trash nearby, gave an awkward laugh.
“Even if His Highness is under a lot of stress, continuing like this could damage His Highness's health.”
The maid shook her head and walked away.
Left alone, Vieta stared blankly at the wavering flames.
Once the fire went out, she also remembered to drop a mana stone onto the thick layer of ash.
“Then, I suppose I should go.”
Watching the mana stone absorb the soot, Vieta brushed off her hands and stood up.
If she returned now, she would have to study how to prepare for changes in relations between nations, but she couldn't keep running away when Fulcare and Blanc were taking time to teach her.
“Maybe I should ask them to teach me military science instead.”
At least, learning how to run an army and devise strategies was somewhat interesting.
“Vieta?!”
Just as Vieta was hurrying back to the procession, a familiar voice suddenly stopped her in her tracks.
“Hm?”
Vieta turned in surprise, and something suddenly sprang out of the bushes.
“You're Vieta, right?”
“…Why are you here? More importantly—”
The young elf she hadn't seen in a long time was in terrible shape.
Vieta hurried over to examine the elf.
“What happened? Ugo, who did this to you?”
“Heh, it really is Vieta. Thank goodness.”
With a faint smile, Ugo collapsed into Vieta's arms.
A tightly crumpled letter envelope was clutched in the child's small hand.