Go Get Permission First
They apparently decided to keep Berik's latest disappearance under wraps—not that it caused much of a stir anyway, completely overshadowed as it was by the monumental news of a new Sword Master being born.
Unintentionally, I'd ended up providing the perfect smokescreen for his vanishing act.
And so, the nobles who had visited Duke's Castle enjoyed the festivities, blissfully unaware of anything amiss, before trickling out one by one. Of course, a few stubborn bastards had clung to me until the bitter end, desperate to solidify ties with a newly minted Sword Master... but I shook them off somehow.
"Well then..."
Since Berik was originally someone who popped up in the original storyline, his departure meant the future had once again careened off in an unpredictable direction... but at this point, I couldn't bring myself to care. Too many massive things had already been derailed; something like this felt almost trivial by comparison.
"I'm only going to explain this once, so listen closely. First off, the one who contaminated the World Tree is the high demon Sukra. He's an ugly bastard with half-melted limbs, red hair, and pitch-black skin. He's got sixteen eyes, four hearts, massive bat wings, and a bird's tail feathers, so you'll recognize him the second you lay eyes on him."
"Sukra..."
"Sukra... Understood. I've committed it to memory."
It was late into the night.
Having lost my bed to the sleeping brats, I was sprawled halfway across the sofa, facing Arpe and Nemeth. Looking at their deadly serious, grim expressions made me feel like I was about to get indigestion. Still, it couldn't be helped. My only role here was to feed them as much intel as possible. Honestly, there wasn't anything else I could do anyway—nor did I have any intention of doing more.
"Now, he might be a high demon, but he's not your garden-variety kind. He's received the Demon God's blessing, along with a portion of the Authority of Life from Demon King Otiliv... making him a rather troublesome opponent. To put it simply, think of him as a direct subordinate, or an immediate confidant to a Demon King. In short, he's leagues stronger than standard high demons."
"The Demon God's blessing and a Demon King's power..."
"He will not be an easy foe."
Watching their faces grow even grimmer, I held my glass out to the side.
Trickle!
Muriel, who had been waiting silently on standby, filled it immediately. Oh, and for the record, Cacciola was dozing off with her face buried directly in my stomach, while Rebecca stood at attention behind me.
"The contamination Sukra inflicted on the World Tree wasn't caused by ordinary demonic energy. It was wrought by the authority granted to him by the Demon King, combined with his innate ability, 'Plague.'"
"An authority and plague... Indeed, that makes sense. Had it been mere demonic energy, there is no way they could have concealed it."
"Exactly. That's why the elven leadership managed to keep the World Tree's condition a secret. Moving on... his 'Plague' ability is self-explanatory, so we'll skip that. The real problem is the 'Authority of Life.' Simply put, it's a power that blasphemes and desecrates life itself."
"Blasphemes... and desecrates life?"
Arpe tilted her head when I recited the exact lore verbatim from the setting guide, clearly struggling to grasp the concept. Honestly, I didn't entirely understand what it meant either.
"Don't overthink it. It just means it's an authority that allows him to dominate and manipulate the very concept of 'life' at will. Naturally, it's the exact antithesis to the World Tree, which stands as the absolute pinnacle of life."
"...That hardly sounds like something you can gloss over so lightly, does it? The power to command life at will... isn't that practically invincible?"
"Who knows? Well, Demon King Otiliv does have an absurdly massive health pool."
Her offensive power was technically the lowest among the three Demon Kings, but Otiliv was disgustingly durable and stubbornly refused to die no matter how many times you killed her. Back in Origin World, her boss fight dragged through a ridiculous eight separate phases. Now that the game had become reality, I was already dreading just how unkillable she'd be.
"Still, it's not invincible. We can kill him with our own hands."
When I gave that guarantee, Arpe and Nemeth stared at me with strange expressions.
"Mmm... When you say it like that, Lord Alzen, it sounds strangely convincing."
"Believe it. I don't lie. Anyway... that's not what matters right now. Sukra used the Authority of Life to throw the World Tree's very vitality into disarray, twisting and distorting it before corrupting it with Plague. Then, by manipulating the World Tree in that state, he placed a curse on the dark elves and sowed civil war among the elves. All to annihilate both the World Tree and elvenkind in one fell swoop."
Grit!
Nemeth ground her teeth with a murderous intensity. But reining in her fury a moment later, she bowed deeply toward me.
"...Lord Alzen. Please, tell me the way. What must we do to cleanse the World Tree's corruption and slay Sukra?"
"Well, about that..."
Digging through my memories of the setting guide, I laid it all out step by step.
The World Tree hadn't just taken the hit lying down either. In an effort to push the Authority of Life as far outward as possible, a dungeon had formed around its roots. Conquering that dungeon would weaken the authority, effectively resolving the initial corruption. And once the corruption was dealt with, the curse afflicting the dark elves would naturally unravel as well.
Next was how to take down Sukra himself.
The bastard was formidable and had a nasty escape mechanic, making him notoriously slippery to pin down. But as long as Arpe had her relic, the 'Open Birdcage,' she could lock him down so he couldn't flee. As for the abilities to watch out for—the Authority of Life and Plague—bringing along a few specific relics would make countering them fairly manageable.
"Phew... You get the gist, right?"
Between the dungeon mechanics, monster spawns, trap solutions, counter-tactics against his authority and abilities, essential relics to pack, and critical precautions to remember, I had ended up rambling on for over two hours straight.
Gulp!
Wetting my parched throat with wine, I checked their reactions.
"......"
"......"
The two stared at me completely dumbfounded. Then, locking eyes to exchange a silent consensus, they nodded almost simultaneously.
...What, did they have telepathy or something?
"Lord Alzen! Please, come with us!"
"I beg of you! Please accompany us and save the Great Forest from peril!"
"...What?"
I stared down in sheer disbelief at the pair prostrating themselves flat on the carpet.
"Wait, why the hell should I go there? No way."
"Please don't say that! We beg of you!"
"I implore you, Lord Alzen!"
Scuttling forward like roaches, they clamped onto my pant legs and peered up with desperate eyes.
"Hey... Look. I just laid out the entire walkthrough. What's the problem? All you have to do is follow what I said. It's not even that hard."
I tried to shake my legs free, but neither of them budged an inch. Wow. I didn't expect much against Nemeth, but to think I couldn't even shake off Arpe? This body really was pathetically weak.
"You're the only person who could ever call that 'not that hard,' Lord Alzen!"
"She speaks the truth. There are far too many complications, too many warnings to heed, and far too much knowledge required."
Nemeth spoke calmly, but her eyes sparkled with blatant yearning and obsession.
"Furthermore, having mere knowledge does not guarantee adaptability on the field. We need you, Lord Alzen."
"No, wait... sigh... Aren't you two being way too greedy?"
At my words, their mouths snapped shut, eyes darting away in guilt. Riding that momentum, I kept pushing.
"Normally, if someone gave you this much intel, wouldn't you just thank them and be on your way? But now you want me to physically go there and solve it for you? Are you out of your minds?"
"Th-That's... true, but..."
"Lord Alzen. I wish to minimize the casualties among my kin as much as humanly possible. And to accomplish that, you are an absolute necessity."
Listening to Nemeth's deadly earnest plea, I let out a long sigh.
"......"
Pondering for a moment, my gaze drifted down to Cacciola, who was snoozing peacefully on my belly.
...Even though she pretended otherwise, it was painfully obvious she was itching to ask me to send her into her trial soon. Rather than staying cooped up in the mansion, diverting her attention somewhere else for a bit might actually be for the best.
"Hmm..."
Still, that alone wasn't enough reason to shoulder such a massive risk.
"...Fine. But it's not going to be free."
"Truly?! Lord Alzen! Yes! Of course! I never dreamed of asking you to do this for free in the first place!"
"I will compensate you properly. I shall grant whatever you desire."
Seeing the two respond with such burning enthusiasm, I nodded and took another sip of wine before looking over at Arpe.
"Whew... By the way, Arpe. There's one thing I wanted to ask."
"Yes? What is it?"
"To be frank, this crisis doesn't really involve you directly, does it? Why are you being so enthusiastic about it?"
"Doesn't involve me...? Lord Alzen, did you truly take me for such a cold-hearted person?" She narrowed her eyes playfully and rested a hand on her hip. "It's an issue concerning Nemeth of all people; how could I possibly stand by and do nothing? Nemeth is exceptionally precious to me, you know."
"Arpe..."
Nemeth gazed at Arpe with touched emotion.
"Besides, I hate the idea of squandering talented assets like dark elves and elves for nothing! After all, they might become my possessions one day, don't you think?"
"......"
Nemeth's expression instantly flattened into a deadpan, and she let out a resigned sigh.
"Haaah... So, when are we leaving?"
"I'd love to set out as soon as possible... but I imagine preparations will take some time. Given my status, leaving for an extended journey requires going through proper channels and receiving formal permission."
I nodded at Arpe's answer. It was only natural. Even if she was 'only' the Third Princess, she was still an Imperial Princess. A person of that standing couldn't just up and travel on a whim.
"Well, if that fails, I could always just run away from home!"
"Please don't..."
I had zero desire to be branded the culprit behind an imperial princess's kidnapping, so I shook my head in horror, prompting Arpe to let out a mischievous giggle.
"Brother! I want to go too!"
Suddenly, Vivian shot straight up in bed, yelling in a voice that rang through the room.
What the hell? She was awake?
Staring at her in shock for a beat, I shook my head resolutely.
"No."
"What?!"
Her jaw dropped in absolute disbelief, looking as though she'd been betrayed—or had just heard the one word she never thought could exist.
"Why not?!"
"Because it's dangerous. Besides, Mother and Weller will never give you permission anyway."
"Then I'll run away from home too!"
"Please don't, I beg of you..."
The last thing I needed was to be framed for kidnapping both an imperial princess and the youngest daughter of a ducal house.
"Then I'll get their permission! If I do, I can go, right?!"
"...Give it your best shot. Though they'll definitely say no."
"Hmph! You don't know that! Just you watch!"
As I chuckled at her huffing and puffing, Cecilia quietly sat up and raised her hand.
"U-Um... May I come along as well?"
"Were you awake too? Muriel, Rebecca. Did you two know about this?"
"I was aware, Milord."
"Mmm... Yes, I knew."
"Then why didn't you say anything?! You guys, seriously..."
When I glared at them in exasperation, they both averted their eyes with awkward smiles.
"Haah... You can't go either, Cecilia."
"Because it is dangerous?"
"Yeah."
"I have already experienced a battle against a Demon King, have I not? Could there possibly be a danger greater than that?"
She seemed to think she was making a logical point, but I could only snort.
"That wasn't a proper battle against a Demon King. A real Demon King battle is far more dangerous, far more hideous, and infinitely more cruel."
"...Then wouldn't it be wise to gain experience in advance, precisely so I can prepare for that true battle?"
Now that... actually had a point.
Once default heroines like Vivian and Cecilia ended up in the Hero's party, they'd be forced into perilous adventures and dire crises whether they liked it or not. Getting some early practice ahead of time wouldn't hurt in the slightest.
"...Still, why are you so eager to go?"
"Because it is my sacred duty."
Meeting her gaze, which held an unshakeable conviction, I shook my head.
"Go get permission first. Then I'll think about it."
"Fufu. That shouldn't be too difficult. And if worse comes to worst, I can always run away from home."
"Please don't. Seriously..."
An imperial princess, the youngest child of a ducal household, and the Saintess of the Church getting kidnapped? That wouldn't just shake the continent—it'd trigger a catastrophic continental war.
"Listen up, you two. Don't you dare go blabbing about what you heard tonight to anyone else. Your homework is to get permission without mentioning a single word of this."
"Why is that?"
"Because if word gets out, things will get needlessly complicated. Think you can handle that?"
"Yes!"
"I can do it."
There had been an episode just like this in the game.
Once rumors spread that the Great Forest was in dire straits, humans swarmed like vultures—some looking to enslave elves, others coveting the Great Forest's untapped resources they'd never dared touch before, and scholars eager to carve up and study the World Tree. All sorts of scum crawled out of the woodwork, motivated entirely by their own greed.
If I had to deal with bastards like that in front of me, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back my temper.
"Phew... Let's call it a night then... Ah, wait. Arpe. I have a favor to ask."
"Hm? A favor?"
Arpe blinked in surprise at my sudden request.
"You're still in contact with Greenjack's operatives, right? In that case..."
As I whispered the rest of my request, Arpe's expression morphed into something utterly bizarre.
"...Why on earth would you want something like that?"
"Personal reasons. Anyway, can you do it?"
"It's not difficult, but..."
"Great. Get it done as fast as possible."
"...Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Dead serious."
"Mmmph..."
"If you don't do this for me, I'm not doing your favor either."
"Mmrghhh..."
Wrestling with her dilemma for a brief moment, she finally gave a reluctant nod.