The World Tree Responds
The plans surrounding the World Tree and the High Elves naturally settled on slipping away into the Great Forest. Relying on secret passages and canyons carried too much risk, so we chose to accept the High Elves' assistance and exit through the forest in a more natural manner. While the elven informants prepared to commune with the World Tree, we used the brief window of time to tour the castle together with the rest of the party.
"This place is really beautiful."
Every single decoration lining the corridors showed meticulous care. It felt like the heart of a parent wanting to give only the best to their child. I wondered what Adela's mother might have looked like if she were still alive, but for Adela's sake, I kept the thought to myself.
Following quietly behind Adela, Neon, Beatrice, and I walked on. Adela, who had been surveying the corridor ahead, spoke in a low voice.
"My memories of my mother are hazy. Actually, it's almost as if I have none at all. My memories begin the moment Zeno woke me."
"Because it happened when you were too young?"
"Maybe."
Adela's voice carried a strange lack of strength, as though she were sifting through those memories.
"Thinking about it now, it's strange. Zeno told me to blend into human society and live there, yet he never taught me what to actually do once I got there."
"It sounds like he wanted you to live as an ordinary human."
"I don't know if it was because of my mother's orders or because that was truly what Zeno wanted."
At those words, heavy with complicated emotions, we stopped replying and simply walked alongside her. Empty reassurances were useless to someone lost in thought. Instead, we offered silent comfort by staying at her side.
After wandering the corridors for a while and sorting through her feelings, Adela spoke again in a lighter tone.
"Yeah. I've finished sorting out my feelings. Thanks for staying with me."
"We're comrades who've entrusted our lives to each other. This much is nothing."
"If you ever feel down, tell me. I know a method that works wonders when your head is a mess."
"You'll see just how incredible the mobile nest I mentioned is. If it's nothing special, you'd better be prepared."
Listening to our considerate words, Adela's lips curved into a faint smile. Relieved that she at least didn't seem to regret being with us, I let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly.
We received word from the informants preparing the ritual in the central hall that everything was ready and moved accordingly. On the way to the central hall, Adela glanced down the corridor and asked me,
"If it were up to me, I'd want to take this castle with us too, but that's impossible, right?"
"It is."
The largest space I possessed among my pocket dimensions was the Water Realm where Laserdon resided. No matter how vast it was, storing a castle of this size was beyond its capacity. If I invested experience points into the sapling inside the Water Realm and grew the one obtained from the ruins, the realm's size would increase, making it possible in the future. But for now, it was impossible.
"Once preparations are complete later, let's come back here. We'll take the castle then."
"You can really store a castle this big?"
"Surprisingly, yes."
The Water Realm connected to me whispered. If I nurtured it, it could hold dozens of castles like this. It conveyed its displeasure, insisting its role wasn't merely that of a warehouse, and I chuckled. Then an idea struck me.
Water Realm. Ruins. Sapling.
As those keywords surfaced, information buried in my mind rose to the surface. The distinctive appearance of the royal castle I had seen while obtaining the Water Realm.
".....It resembles the architectural style of the ancient civilization I saw in the ruins. The ornate one."
Why had I forgotten this? The circumstances suggested it was a memory of the ancient civilization, and the impression had been so intense I thought I'd never forget it. If I hadn't stumbled upon the keywords from the past, I might never have recalled it. No, if I hadn't discovered this castle, I wouldn't have remembered at all.
My expression hardened with instinctive certainty.
"Neon, do you think intense memories can be easily forgotten?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
At Neon's bewildered look, I explained what had happened to me. It might have been simple forgetfulness, but my instincts told me this wasn't ordinary, so I focused on that point. Neon adopted a serious expression and offered his opinion.
"That's difficult. Even for me, after quitting the Blue Tower, I regretted it every single day without fail."
"That counts as an intense memory, I suppose."
"Same goes for you. When you accepted the Water Realm, you couldn't handle the vast amount of information and suffered terribly. Do you think that memory could be easily forgotten?"
"Absolutely not."
Even now, recalling it made my teeth chatter. I was somewhat accustomed to physical pain, but that had been my first experience with mental agony. If I hadn't tempered my mental fortitude with the Northern Breathing Method, I would have become an idiot. Such a memory couldn't be forgotten as easily as last month's dinner.
"An ancient civilization, huh. Come to think of it, you mentioned you also have information about the ancient civilization, didn't you?"
"That's right. Now that you mention it, you said you were interested in the ancient civilization too."
"Do you have any information?"
"What do you take me for? I investigated whenever I had time while working under the Guardian of the Earth."
I had no idea why a monster would investigate such things, but since she claimed to have information, an opportunity to add to it had arisen. However, before Beatrice could speak, we arrived at the central hall, cutting the conversation short.
"Let's continue this talk in Starus."
"We can't afford to chat leisurely when the Mystery phenomenon might break through at any moment."
Swallowing my disappointment, I looked at the central hall where the ritual preparations had finished. At the center of the completed ritual, made using some of the items obtained from the castle's storage, stood the High Elf. Having removed the transparent cloak worn by the informants, his appearance was dazzlingly beautiful. It was enough to understand why so many nobles coveted elves.
Like most other races, elves had a long history of being treated as slaves by Central nobles. Other regions were no exception. Nobles there also faced various issues related to other-race slaves. Only the North, united under the ideology of the First Great Warrior, allowed elves and other races to appear openly and proudly. This was the North, where even slave hunters would become a monster's meal, and ordinary villagers might end up as mine slaves themselves if they couldn't overpower them.
"Hoo."
The High Elf, who had closed his eyes and taken a calm, deep breath, opened his mouth. Contrary to expectations of a grand incantation or chant, what came from the High Elf's lips was a song.
♩~♪♫~♬♪♫~
Without lyrics, the melody began quiet and gentle like a passing breeze. It spread to the surrounding elves, and more of them opened their mouths to sing. Despite the urgent situation, the beauty was enough to leave one dazed while listening. Their song seemed to embody nature itself. The sound of water flowers brushing against the wind. The chirping of birds. The sound of dew drops falling from the tips of petals. It felt as though all the sounds of nature harmonized into music. How long had we listened to that melody?
As the song neared its end, the floor trembled faintly. The High Elf opened his eyes with a satisfied expression.
Kurururung!
"Mother has answered."
Before we knew it, the High Elf, now enveloped in a mysterious aura, smiled gently and walked out of the castle.
"Please follow me. I will open the path."
Following his guidance toward the forest, the trees shuddered and parted left and right, creating a path.
"My god....."
"Magic? No, it's a power closer to a Mystery phenomenon."
The sight of massive trees, hundreds of meters tall, moving in unison was spectacular. Everyone in the expedition party gaped at the path stretching endlessly ahead. However, the situation wasn't leisurely enough to watch peacefully. Confirming that the Mystery phenomenon was visibly shaking, I opened the rift connected to the Water Realm.
"We don't have time, so let's move quickly. Non-combatants, enter the rift connected to the Water Realm. The rest of you, run without rest from now on."
At my words, the people who had only just snapped out of it moved swiftly. The scholars and staff headed into the safe Water Realm. Once only the expedition remained on the forest path, the High Elf shared his mysterious aura with us.
"This is Mother's aura. It will serve as proof and make the forest welcome you."
"Thank you."
"Call me Kierre. Since we're comrades who will fight together, we should at least exchange names, right?"
At the High Elf's—no, Kierre's—words, everyone smiled. It was more enjoyable than expected to become comrades fighting alongside the informants who had always worked in the shadows for adventurers.
Kierre, taking the lead, took a step forward. His figure vanished, and in an instant, he appeared far ahead. We hurried to follow. Just like Kierre, with each step we took, our figures surged forward, and we wore expressions of wonder.
"Is this some kind of teleportation technique?"
"Are you talking about the high-level shamanism of the Eastern Continent?"
"Huh? Well, something like that."
I nodded at Neon's question, which had caught my muttered words. Perhaps because he was interested in magic, he seemed to have learned quite a bit about the Eastern Continent's magic system as well. Speaking of the Eastern Continent, while I had no plans to go there, I felt a spark of curiosity about the East, which traded directly with it. I heard many beastkin lived there—what kind of place was it exactly?
While harboring that trivial curiosity, a thunderous roar came from behind. Like an avalanche triggered by melting permafrost. Like a balloon inflated to its limit bursting. The monsters that had finally dealt with the outer-space lifeforms inside and shattered the core of the Mystery phenomenon poured out like a waterfall. Spotting us growing distant, they charged straight toward us, and I clicked my tongue.
"Don't those guys know moderation? Just how many of them are there?"
"Since Magranas is gathering monsters from the area, a thousand would be an understatement."
"Most are Bronze to Silver rank, but the numbers are sufficient to capture the expedition."
At Hornst and Owen's words, I sighed. Now I understood why the North had tried to bring other regions into an alliance.
Kierre, who had also confirmed the monsters' approach, glanced back and spoke.
"The forest will turn into a maze and block their approach. Let's put as much distance as possible before they get through here."
The moment his words ended, trees rose again in the places we had passed, forming a strange flow. I made a firm resolution. If I ever met elves again in the future, I would never make them angry.