That's Exactly It! (1)
Forests inhabited by elves exist throughout the continent.
But no forest was more important than this one.
That was because the mystical tree known as the World Tree existed here.
All elves on the continent regarded the World Tree as their spiritual pillar. That's why, even in the war against the Demon Realm, this forest served as the elves' rallying point.
If other elven forests could be called kingdoms, then this place was akin to an empire led by a pope.
In fact, the Grand Chieftain of the elves resided here.
Ghislain let out an exclamation as he gazed at the vast forest in the distance.
"Wow, so this is what it looked like a thousand years ago."
The forest was so vast it seemed to stretch on forever. Though it didn't quite match the size of the Forest of Demonic Beasts, which was as large as a kingdom, it was still on the scale of several fiefs combined.
Anyone who saw such a dense, sprawling forest would be awestruck.
Ghislain felt something a little more special than that. He knew what this place would become a thousand years later.
'In my time, this place was a complete wasteland. What could've happened in a thousand years?'
He couldn't have imagined such a grand forest had once existed here. There hadn't been a single trace of civilization found.
'Was it destroyed in the war against the Demon Realm? Or was it the Adversary's curse that enslaved the elves?'
All kinds of questions rose up as he wondered why the forest had disappeared.
Ghislain was lost in reflection, staring at the distant forest. Of course, he was the only one caught up in sentiment.
— Dammit! You lunatic! My life is ruined because of you!
Astion was furiously berating Ghislain without pause.
— Maybe all the crazy stuff you've done could've been fixed if I lived a good life from now on! But using dark magic in a temple?! Now I'll be hunted forever!
'It's fine. Once we settle this, the pope will take care of everything.'
— That's impossible! How are we supposed to succeed where even the pope failed?!
'You don't know that until you try. Don't you think?'
Ghislain's confident words were echoed by Dark, who chimed in from the side.
— Yeah! Talking about failure before you even try—what a coward! With that mindset, how do you ever expect to find love?
'....'
— What the hell does that have to do with anything, you maniacs?! You guys can just bail if we fail! You can return to your own world anytime! That just leaves me to die!
Neither Ghislain nor Dark responded to that. Astion suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
— W-Wait, were you guys really planning to bail if things went south?
'...…'
— Is that why you've always been so reckless?
'......'
—G-Give me my body back. Right now.
'...Ah, don't worry so much, okay? We're not running. I've got a plan, alright?'
— Yeah! We're not that cowardly! Probably?
— Liar! You guys looked totally startled just now!
'No, we didn't.'
— No, seriously, you guys...
'Ah, I'm busy.'
Before Astion could explode again, Ghislain cut off his consciousness. Astion was probably still arguing with Dark in the background.
Astion wasn't the only problem. Tension was flaring on another front as well.
"What are you looking at, huh, what?!"
One of the mercenaries picked a fight with Lionel after making eye contact.
Right now, the relationship between Lionel and the mercenaries was at rock bottom. That's because Lionel had declared he would subject the mercenaries to an inquisition.
Naturally, the mercenaries wanted Lionel dead. Quite a few had even secretly approached Ghislain, suggesting they kill him.
But every time, Ghislain repeated the same words.
"It's fine. Once we finish the mission, the pope will take care of everything."
"And if we don't?"
"Then we'll figure it out then."
"...…"
"Hey now, I told you. I've got a plan."
"…Alright."
Until now, Ghislain had never let a threat go unchecked.
If something seemed even a little suspicious or annoying, he'd crush it immediately. He'd toppled entire kingdoms that way.
So when he suddenly started acting carefree, even the mercenaries were puzzled.
Lionel, too, was clearly on edge. The mercenaries constantly picked fights with him, and his reaction was only natural.
He wasn't a fool. He knew exactly why they were acting that way.
'They probably want to kill me somewhere isolated.'
They couldn't make a move near the cities. He had the authority to summon priests and knights from every temple.
The mercenaries knew this too, which is why they'd often glared and picked fights whenever they moved a little outside city boundaries.
Thanks to Yulian and Deneb restraining the mercenaries each time, it hadn't escalated into bloodshed.
'If they cross the line, I won't hold back.'
Lionel was prepared to draw his sword at any moment, no matter how many came at him.
He was doing what he believed was right, so he saw no reason to back down. He had confidence in his skills as well.
Thus, the group continued forward under a faint yet persistent tension.
Although elves lived in forests, they weren't completely cut off from humans.
After long years of war with the Demon Realm, they'd realized they couldn't sever ties with humanity entirely.
So, near every elven forest, there was always a human city.
It was in these cities that elves and humans exchanged goods and cooperated when issues arose.
"Ah, welcome! If there's anything you need, just say the word!"
The city's mayor warmly welcomed Ghislain's group.
Of course, he hadn't been this friendly from the beginning. The moment they showed their papal credentials, his attitude did a complete 180.
Ghislain got straight to the point with the mayor.
"How can we meet the Elven Grand Chieftain?"
"First, you'll need to speak with the elves' external affairs officer who resides in this city."
"External affairs officer?"
"Yes, the elves call them 'the Voice of the Forest,' but we just call them the external officer or liaison."
"Can you arrange a meeting?"
"I'll do that. But… may I ask what this is about?"
"We are envoys sent directly by His Holiness the Pope. I can't say more."
"Ah, I understand."
Just invoking the pope's name was enough to silence any questions or resistance. Indeed, dropping a powerful name was the easiest way to get by in this world.
The problem was that not everyone bowed to that name.
After being directed by the mayor, Ghislain visited the elven consulate and quickly realized things wouldn't be easy.
"I am Cylan, the voice of the forest."
Cylan greeted Ghislain with a frigid tone. Around him stood elven warriors, armed with curved swords and wooden shields.
Their eyes were filled with contempt for humans. It was clear from their gaze that they were ready to draw their swords at the slightest provocation.
Seeing this, Ghislain tilted his head in confusion.
'What's this? I haven't even done anything wrong yet.'
The kind of thought only someone who was going to do something wrong might have. Feeling slightly guilty, Ghislain asked Cylan,
"Did something… unpleasant happen recently?"
"Human, state your business. I'm only giving you this time because you claim to be the pope's envoy."
Cylan made it very clear he had no interest in a long conversation.
Clicking his tongue, Ghislain got to the point.
"I want to meet the Grand Chieftain."
"Denied."
"…I haven't even told you why yet."
"The Grand Chieftain does not meet just anyone. And since you say you're sent by the pope, I can already guess why you're here."
"......"
"You came to demand the Holy Stone, didn't you? Just like last time."
"Hmm."
Ghislain folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. Since the other party already knew, there was no need to beat around the bush.
"You're well informed. That's why I'd like to meet with the Grand Chieftain and have a conversation."
"I already told you, that's denied."
"Isn't that something the Grand Chieftain should decide?"
"The Grand Chieftain has already refused regarding this matter. If you have nothing more to say, then leave."
"We're not asking to borrow it for free. If there's anything you want, His Holiness the Pope has promised to provide it."
"We want nothing from humans."
"We also work as mercenaries. If you're facing any difficulties, we can help."
At that, Cylan sneered with a scornful expression.
"Do we look like we're in such dire straits that we'd ask humans for help? We have no problems. Just go deal with your own human messes, tearing each other apart as you always do."
"...…"
Ghislain let out a sigh and stood up. With a wall like that, there was no way to have a proper conversation.
He would have to retreat for now and think of another plan.
As he turned to leave, a face came to Ghislain's mind.
'In our time, the Grand Chieftain was Erenes, right?'
Of course, the odds were high that she wasn't now. From what he saw in his dream of this era, Erenes looked quite young.
Still, on the off chance, he asked,
"Is the Grand Chieftain a woman?"
"......"
Cylan's eyes sharpened. The other elves around him reacted similarly.
Depending on the interpretation, it was a very dangerous question—especially if it came from a human known to covet the beauty of elves.
Realizing he had caused a misunderstanding, Ghislain waved his hand and tried to explain.
"No, I was just curious."
"...He is male. Now leave."
So it wasn't her. Ghislain gave up his lingering thoughts and turned to go, but then Cylan's voice came from behind.
"Human, let me warn you—don't even think about pulling anything foolish on the elves. Unless you want to incur the wrath of nature itself."
"…I'll keep that in mind."
Ghislain left the elven consulate without another word.
They were too firm. Persuasion clearly wasn't going to work. He'd have to find another way.
Ghislain first asked the city's mayor something he'd been wondering about.
"The elves here seem to really hate humans."
While it was well known that elves disliked humans, the way they were even prickly toward papal envoys made it seem more serious.
The mayor nodded as if it were obvious.
"Yes, especially the elves here. That's because they have to interact with humans more often."
"Is that such a big problem?"
"They've all been conned at least once, big time."
"...…"
"A long time ago—back when elves were first stationed here—they didn't originally hate humans. Naturally, elves who'd only lived in the forest were curious about the outside world. At first, they treated humans quite kindly."
"But now they're like this?"
"Yes. It seems that the naive elves who got close to humans ended up being betrayed many times."
"..."
"That's why the elves here are extremely wary of humans. When they send elves out from the forest, they repeatedly educate them not to trust humans. Because total isolation isn't an option."
"Hmm..."
"But elves who are stepping into the world for the first time, they're really innocent, right? So no matter how much education they receive, once they're out of the forest, they always end up getting conned."
"...…"
"How could a pure newbie elf possibly stand up to the flashy tricks of human con artists? Especially in a trade city like this, merchants swarm in like bees. You know how smooth-talking they are."
"...…"
"Just recently, a newly assigned young elven warrior got scammed by a human. Lost all his wages."
"...…"
"Naturally, the external affairs officer is on edge. No matter how many times they educate them, there's always at least one elf who gets caught in it."
"…Doesn't the city manage this?"
"Agh, since I arrived here, I've caught over a hundred con artists. Even the lord pays close attention to our relations with the elves, but it's just not something we can solve. Honestly, humans are just…"
"...…"
So, in the end, humans were the root of the problem. Now Ghislain understood why Cylan gave that warning before he left.
Kyle, who had been listening nearby, spoke up with a grumble.
"Sheesh, still, isn't it a bit much to lash out at us when we haven't done anything wrong? I mean… we're good people, right?"
Kyle trailed off at the end. Thinking about all the things they'd done so far… in the end, it had led to good, but it was still a bit embarrassing to say outright.
In any case, they were now stuck without being able to meet the Elven Grand Chieftain. The story couldn't move forward without that.
Cylan hated humans too much. It seemed impossible to befriend or persuade him.
Lionel remained silent, simply observing how Ghislain's group would handle the situation.
Yulian and Deneb looked worried as they asked Ghislain,
"What should we do? The elves here don't seem like they'll ever let us meet the Grand Chieftain."
"The distrust is too deeply rooted. Unless the Pope himself came in person, I doubt we'd get a meeting."
Kyle glanced at Lionel and said,
"We can't go back empty-handed either. Things are a bit... tense right now."
If they returned without achieving anything, there'd be no way to escape the Inquisition.
The kingdoms they'd built relationships with would surely turn their backs, and the mercenaries they'd worked hard to gather would scatter.
In short, the Yulian Mercenary Corps would be ruined.
It was a situation with no good options. They needed some kind of breakthrough.
Then Osval muttered with a smug look,
"Sheesh, elves sure are full of themselves. Too bad they don't have any problems. If they did, this great Osval would've solved them all and showered them with grace. Too bad I don't have a chance to show off my skills."
Everyone ignored Osval's comment. They were used to his daily bravado despite being a coward.
But Ghislain suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Osval.
Osval scratched his head at the reaction.
"Wh-What is it?"
"That's it!"
"What… is?"
"The elves said they don't have any problems or anything they need, right?"
"I… guess so?"
Ghislain looked around at everyone with a bright expression.
"Then if they don't have a problem—we'll just give them one!"
"...…???"
Ghislain pulled a black cloth from his coat and tied it around his eyes.
Everyone stared blankly at him.