The Elven Kingdom - Chapter 17
Titania had spoken with certainty. She smelled of human.
Although rumors were not entirely reliable, they were not likely to be entirely false either.
Titania had herself described the image she presented to the world as largely accurate, and she had openly admitted to a few selfish choices made in the name of protecting her people in the past.
At the moment when moral and ethical standards had to be set aside as a ruler, she had undoubtedly abandoned them.
Furthermore, Titania had ascended to the throne during the most chaotic period in Elvenheim, immediately after the war ended.
In the midst of that chaos, to steady Elvenheim, she must have had to harden her heart, discard human feelings, and pursue only her own interests in order to survive at any cost.
And as time passed, peace returned, and perhaps Titania’s extreme ruthlessness and bitterness had gradually faded as she grew older.
The story was surprisingly coherent.
That was the most important thing.
“And Livy, your past is weighing you down.”
Of course, in terms of having to deal with absorption-type monsters quickly, Livy’s choice was not wrong.
It had been a way of thinking that valued life over trees, and without it, even if Livy had ultimately won, human casualties could not have been avoided.
Yet that final slash had reached the World Tree, and given the already poor state of the World Tree, it had delivered its last blow and caused the problem to spill out.
Titania had said that the problem was bound to happen anyway, but it was not about holding Livy responsible for it; it was, quite literally, a form of respect for the one who had slain the Demon King.
“If I could speak with the Spirit of the World Tree, there is a way to resolve it somehow.”
The problem was that I did not know whether the Spirit of the World Tree was the same as other spirits.
Originally I had not even known that the World Tree housed a spirit.
If it was called a spirit guarding the World Tree, which was a gift from the Goddess, it would likely be a transcendentally powerful being beyond the reach of any high-level spirit.
Spirits had varying characteristics, but in some cases they could contract with Spiritists, and instead of the Spiritist using the spirit, the spirit would use the Spiritist.
This rarely happened, and it felt like an incident where the sword would pierce itself and kill its wielder, so it was not something one would consider dangerous.
Simply put, I was not yet at a level worthy of challenging a high-level spirit, and I would be the one who ended up harmed instead.
Spirits were obedient to those they considered their equal, but quite cold to those they considered beneath them, regardless of whether they were high-, mid-, or low-level.
This was a trait inherent to the species, like humans walking on two feet and breathing through nose and mouth.
“The real problem is whether the Spirit of the World Tree is willing to contract with me or at least speak with me.”
Spirits are eccentric.
If they believe they are not of equal rank, true contract is impossible.
This was not “I won’t contract with you, kid.”
If they were forced into a contract, even a Spiritist who killed themselves out of despair existed, and otherwise they would fiercely resist.
To them, contracting with a Spiritist of unequal rank was pure humiliation.
Therefore, if I entered, and the Spirit of the World Tree did not like me or judged me of too low a rank, there was almost nothing I could do.
Humans could appeal to feelings, but why would spirits make an exception for humans?
They were beings existing only in that place, lacking human nature entirely.
Humanity? What if they perish? If humanity perishes, fire will still burn, and water will still flow.
That was the way of thinking.
“But once contracted, they become obedient and will follow any command.”
So if I could somehow make the contract, that would be my victory, but I did not know whether it would be so easy.
“……”
My head grew complicated.
The sun was setting, and there was much to do tomorrow.
For the sake of tomorrow, perhaps I should sleep early?
Livy.
Titania.
Sylphy.
Elves.
Rayna.
There were too many things to worry about, and trying to think of everything made my head ache.
No matter what, I had to worry about everything, and since Livy and Sylphy could not, I had no choice but to do it myself.
I thought it was a loss for me, but altruism was always a loss.
No matter how far in the future someone might suffer, I wanted to help them.
Even if not, I wanted someone transcendentally powerful to watch over this kindness.
I was not devout enough to be called religious, but the reason I sometimes prayed was for this very reason: not negating my faith but holding onto it.
“In a world where every act of kindness and evil circles back, where is there anything more joyful than someone watching over you?”
The world after death no one knew.
Only that the possibility of reincarnation might exist was written in the Holy Scriptures the Goddess had given me, so reincarnation was basically accepted, though it was not absolute.
The righteous and good would live happily, the evil would suffer punishment and pain.
People sought faith and religion to look upon this.
They wanted the peace of knowing an omnipotent being was watching.
I was indifferent either way, and my faith was not deep, but because I wanted it to be true, I believed it.
“Shall we go back?”
Was Livy still training at the training ground?
If Livy had not suddenly flown into a rage, the only image I could have imagined was the two of us alone beating each other to a pulp.
Even with that injury, Livy would be stronger than most Demon King Army cadre.
If it were upper-tier cadre, it might be difficult, but lower-tier would be winnable.
I thought perhaps it was similar to how I used Spirit Integration to exert full power now versus how Livy was exerting full power.
And my power, with its large cooldown, would naturally be forced into attrition as the battle dragged on.
“Truly amazing.”
No one could belittle that strength.
Even if they wanted to, seeing the fight before them would leave them speechless.
“……Hmm?”
When I turned my head, I saw various food ingredients.
Hmm.
Since they could be eaten raw, I should add a bit of seasoning to flavor them.
Recovery speed had been far faster than I thought, so I might be almost okay now.
Still, there was a hole in my heart and the inside of my skull was exposed if I loosened the bandage, yet the person was perfectly fine.
The person with a hole in their heart was still standing tall.
The bandage revealed the inner skull, yet the person was unharmed.
What kind of being was this person, really?
If they were a monster, their strength would already have ended humanity long ago.
“Here you go.”
“Huh?”
When I reached for it, someone spoke first from beside me.
A familiar voice.
“Eh?”
I turned my head, and the woman met my eyes naturally as she touched her neck.
“Rayna.”
“Lois.”
Archers of the Hero Party.
And one of the three who betrayed Livy.
Rayna Forest.
“Today we’ve had quite the unexpected meeting.”
***
“What do you have to say to me?”
“Don’t look at me like a stray cat in an alley.”
“Who are you calling a stray cat…….”
She had refused my proposal if she disliked it, but following my suggestion to have a cup of coffee meant she likely had something to say after all.
Rayna looked emaciated and far more haggard than the Rayna I remembered.
She had not slept well recently, dark circles were heavy beneath her eyes, and she was clearly in no healthy state.
“I ate dinner with Titania.”
“Puhuhuhu!!”
Disgusting.
“What? Cough, cough! ……You ate dinner with Mother? Just the two of you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to suffocate…….”
“Surprisingly, the story connects.”
“What?”
“Neck.”
“Ugh.”
The instant I mentioned her neck, Rayna touched it and her expression changed in an instant.
“Rayna, I believe everyone can commit sins.”
“……”
“I believe you have at least a modicum of wisdom.”
Her hand trembled.
“You cannot be forgiven.”
“That is not for you to decide. What you must do is wait for judgment. If you truly feel guilt, go out and receive your punishment properly.”
“……”
“Livy would feel the same. At the very least, hearing that you have confessed everything and will receive your punishment properly would make Livy rather happy. He would not have to cut down one of his former comrades with his own hands.”
“He should be happy. It’s revenge on the person who made you like this.”
“Do you seem like the kind of person who would be happy about that?”
“……”
Livy had not misjudged Rayna in the heat of the moment when they met; he had calmly questioned her and demanded an answer.
When she refused to answer, he had drawn his sword and prepared to kill her.
For Livy, it was not real-time death; it was not even immediate justification under the principle of cutting evil on the spot.
After hearing the reason, if she committed a crime, she would receive punishment.
And most of all, because it was “a sin against oneself,” it would be even more so.
Livy was the type who did not even notice his own serious wounds yet reacted with excessive sensitivity to the smallest scratch of others.
It was not an exaggeration to say that he reacted more sensitively to Sylphy’s fall than to his own severed arm.
If the betrayal by the Hero Party had not been directed at Livy, Livy would have hesitated no longer and slashed the moment he saw the wound.
Yet the victim was only himself.
No one else had been injured.
Therefore, as the victim, he should receive the law’s judgment.
He should receive a just punishment.
He should bear the weight of that crime properly.
“Even now the habit of undervaluing my own worth remains.”
This could not be looked upon positively, but Livy was currently in a state of identity crisis, and rather than intervening, it was better for Livy to answer for himself.
If Livy had come for consultation, I would not have known what to do.
“Will Olivia forgive us?”
“No.”
“……”
“Livy does not forgive evil. Keeping you alive and questioning you is merely because you were the only victim. That kind of person, right?”
“……”
“If someone else had been there and hidden the fact that Livy had tried to assassinate me, and that person had been killed, and Livy had witnessed it, then the earlier encounter would have been even more brutal.”
If Livy had witnessed the death of an innocent bystander, they would have changed from a comrade into a target to be killed.
It was all right to cross lines for oneself.
But taking another person’s life could never be tolerated.
Once killed, prepare to die.
“Until Livy reaches out to you and calls you Rayna, grab him.”
At least Livy was still offering a chance.
Confess everything before me.
Come and beg for forgiveness.
Acknowledge your sin.
Only then would I punish you not as a dog but as someone who made a mistake.
I would pray alongside you that your sin would lighten with that punishment.
That you would not repeat the error.
Though punishment would not erase the sin completely, that you would be given the chance to stand on two legs again.
Even if a sinner, that you would be able to live that life.
“You are not the kind who would not understand this meaning, Rayna.”
Her eyes, wavering slightly, looked at me with a tiny spark of hope.
She desperately wanted me to understand the meaning.
But.
“……What am I supposed to do?”
“……”
Rayna had clearly already broken.
What were those unfocused eyes looking at?
An impulsive surge of emotion rose, but I suppressed it.
“Livy’s last chance, I cannot casually discard.”
Then.
What should I say?