We're Here on a Trip - 1

When we first entered the elf residential district, we had drawn curious, faintly wary stares. By the time we left, we were receiving the warmest of welcomes.

"Come again whenever you think of us! Our benefactors are always welcome!"

"If you ever get tired of living in human society, be sure to visit! Life in nature is fun too!"

The World Tree had been the symbol of the elves, as precious as life itself. The younger elves might have felt that attachment a little more faintly, but an elf's instincts never truly vanished. That was why they could still rejoice and laugh together at the news of its revival.

"Benefactor, benefactor! See you again, see you again!"

"I'll definitely tell Mom about our benefactor!"

"And the spirit uncle and auntie too!"

"Ah, thank you."

Even the younger elves, who held less attachment to the World Tree, acted like this—so of course the fairies were even more so. With the revival of the World Tree, their home and the means of communicating with their mother, now imminent, the fairies refused to leave my side.

From the way they spoke, it seemed they had no intention of following us outside the sanctuary, which was a relief.

"If it were up to me, I'd ask you to live here, but since you're a duke in human society, I suppose that won't do."

"I'll be in frequent contact."

"Yes, that will be more than enough."

I glanced aside and saw the Magic Lord exchanging farewells with the elder. Parting after only a few hours from her maternal grandmother, whom she had not seen in a hundred and twenty-one years, seemed harsh—but this world had communication orbs, so it would be fine.

Right there on the spot, the Magic Lord had crafted a personal communication orb for her grandmother and presented it as a gift. The elder beamed with clear emotion at the present her young granddaughter had made with her own hands. The Magic Lord could even teleport, so if she ever truly missed her, she could simply pop over and return just as quickly.

"Take good care of Trixie. I trust you'll do so even without my asking, but once you grow old, needless worries just start to pile up."

After embracing the Magic Lord, the elder spoke gently to me as well.

"I'll make certain you have nothing to worry about."

At those words, the elder's smile deepened.

I made a silent vow. Once I married the Magic Lord, I would invite the elder and the other elves. If they were reluctant to enter human society, we could hold the wedding in the sanctuary itself. A marriage between human and elf—there was even a perfect justification for holding one ceremony in human society and another among the elves.

"Little human, little human, see you next time."

"Yeah, little human. That was fun."

"I-I'm not little!"

"Liar, liar."

"Lying is bad. You'll get scolded."

"Iiiigh...!"

Meanwhile, the Young Duke, who had been merrily playing with the fairies, was having a tearful farewell in more ways than one.

I was glad they had grown close so quickly. If the Young Duke, who would one day manage the demi-human sanctuary, was friendly with the fairies, that could only be a good thing.

When we returned to the commercial district crowded with tourists, Tanian quietly spoke up.

"There will be quite a stir in the demi-human parish for a while."

Ah.

Tanian said it with a faint, almost regretful smile, but it was not a matter light enough to discuss with a laugh. In the worst case, the parish itself might have to withdraw.

Regardless of the Dawn Church being the continent's mainstream faith, each demi-human race had maintained its own gods and traditions. Of course, the Apels Empire's spectacular atrocities had shattered those traditions and severed communication with their gods—but now the elves were in a position to speak with their ancient deity again within ten years.

Tanian was not so socially oblivious as to spoil everyone else's joy with a heavy atmosphere. The World Tree itself was a tree the Dawn Church held in high regard, which was probably why he had said nothing in the residential district. From the perspective of the Dawn Church parish installed in the demi-human sanctuary, however, this was a critical blow.

"Haha, I suppose I'll have to warn the parish head to prepare himself."

Watching Tanian laugh it off left me a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little embarrassed. I did not regret reviving the World Tree. Even if I went back in time, I would do it again.

But looking at it another way, I had just staged the revival of a heretical faith right in front of a saint of the Dawn Church. At the very least, I should have shown enough caution to do it in secret when the rest of the party was not around.

"I seem to have shown you something unnecessary. I'm sorry."

At my blunt apology, Tanian looked briefly surprised, then shook his head with another laugh.

"Now I feel embarrassed, as if I were giving you a hard time, Brother. It's all right. In truth, the Church established the parish to offer comfort to demi-humans who had lost their gods—not truly for the sake of conversion."

"Comfort?"

"Yes. Does the Lord not grant peace of mind to the faithful? Though Enen is not the god of the demi-humans... still, only a god can fill the void left by a god."

Unexpected. I had assumed the demi-human parish had been set up to snatch up races that had lost their gods.

"The first thing the inaugural parish head of the demi-human parish built was not a church, but a soup kitchen and a clinic. I hear they still use the clinic as a stand-in for a church."

The moment I heard that, it all made sense.

A parish in name only—just a volunteer service group. In that case, for the priests it would not be a parish withdrawal so much as the suspension of their charitable work.

"And this is a secret, but the people serving in the demi-human parish are those who volunteered of their own accord, with no desire for advancement."

Tanian ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whispered it playfully, as if disaster would strike if anyone overheard, and I let out a short laugh. I hadn't even wanted to know that much.

"Enough complicated talk—let's just have fun for now. We've seen plenty of elves, so it's time to look at the other demi-humans!"

Sensing the conversation had roughly run its course, Ryutis clapped Tanian on the shoulder and changed the subject.

He was right. We had come to see the various demi-human races, so taking in the others was important too. Somehow we had ended up spending intimate time only with the elves, which made it all the more vital to use what remained of our time wisely.

"The Young Duke looks like he wants to play more as well."

At Ryutis's words, everyone's gaze turned toward the Young Duke—who was staring with sparkling eyes at a massive dog walking on two legs.

A dog?

I was briefly confused, then quickly collected myself. That was a beastman as well. Not all of them took human form; some looked entirely like animals.

The moment attention focused on him, the Young Duke flinched, then protested with a deliberately proud expression.

"I-I am the future Duke of Cenes who will manage this place. I need to know what kind of people live here!"

"What a wonderful attitude. You'll make an excellent duke."

Margeta clapped and praised his bold declaration. Of course, she knew it was an excuse he had cobbled together on the spot—and so did everyone else present.

Still, it was admirable. Young as he was, he could already invent a plausible pretext. In high society, eloquence and quick thinking truly were essential.

Please, just grow up like that.

Then he would become a duke truly beloved by the nobility. Without looking far, the retainers of the Salon ducal house would serve him with their lives on the line.

"I hear there are merfolk over there. Apparently you can even fish together with them."

Later, wearing a faint smile as he watched the Young Duke, pointed toward the lake.

Joint fishing with merfolk? Did that mean the merfolk herded the fish up from beneath the lake? If so, I rather wanted to see it myself.

Ever since His Majesty the Retired Emperor resolved to abdicate, real authority had been passing to me one piece at a time. As a result, aside from the absolute minimum of duties only an emperor could decide, I now handled everything.

That was why the proverb that symbolized the lofty imperial power of Creupelofen—for instance, "The Emperor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handles every affair of the Empire"—was starting to feel as though it ought to say "the Crown Prince" instead of "the Emperor."

Of course, "handles every affair" was only figurative. No single person could physically lay hands on every matter, and preventing such a situation was the entire point of bureaucracy. Loyal, competent officials first took charge of cases; only the handful of issues even the officials could not resolve rose as far as the Emperor or Crown Prince.

Even then the volume remained considerable, which was unfortunate—but it was also a matter of pride, proof of how vast the Empire was.

What is this now?

Still, this seemed a bit much.

I had finished dinner with Her Highness and was dealing with the remaining work when an emergency report came through to me directly. From two completely unrelated places, at the same time.

Reports from the Cenes Duchy and the Ausen Archdiocese. Simultaneous dispatches from the secular and ecclesiastical worlds made my head throb of its own accord.

The World Tree?

Worse, the reports contained a word that promised an even greater headache.

I knew what the World Tree was. Not some relic of the mythical age, but a divine heritage that had still existed on the continent as late as the Apels era. Though it was the legacy of a god other than Enen, even the Dawn Church had prized the tree.

Regrettably it had been burned during the reign of Apels's three tyrants, and that incident had enraged the demi-humans including the elves, left the Dawn Church aghast, and made every nation on the continent shake its head. Such was the symbolic weight the World Tree had carried across the entire continent.

And it has been revived?

Astounding. The World Tree, counted among the causes of Apels's loss of the Mandate of Heaven, had been revived in the age of Creupelofen. That could only mean the Mandate of Heaven was smiling upon Creupelofen.

Moreover, successive emperors of Creupelofen had styled themselves the sworn friends of the demi-humans. A beautiful empire where every race coexisted—Creupelofen. This was an event that would lend even greater force to that claim.

Except—

That sentence, common to the reports from both the Cenes Duchy and the Ausen Archdiocese, radiated an enormous presence.

Just what kind of stunts is he pulling now?

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hollow laugh escaped me. I already knew the Academy had gone on its school trip to the Cenes Duchy. That they had headed for Cenes rather than Boyar like last year had been His Majesty's own will, so of course I knew.

But if they were going, they should have quietly enjoyed the trip. Instead, on the very first day of the itinerary, he had presented us with a major incident.

If he had at least given us a heads-up...

The thought crossed my mind for an instant, but I immediately shook my head. The Audit Department Chief was not the sort to commit something like this on his own initiative. If anything, he hated taking responsibility so much that he would have reported at once—so this had to be considered an accidental occurrence.

Yes, think positively. The revival of the World Tree was beneficial to the Imperial Family and the Empire. The Dawn Church, having learned that an imperial official was involved in the revival, would express its gratitude to the Empire.

On top of that, the estimated time until the World Tree's full revival was roughly within ten years. Surely the odds of it reviving within a single year, when ten years had been set as the maximum, were low—so the World Tree would revive during my reign. No matter how I looked at it, it was positive—

...

I picked up the communication orb on my desk.

A good result did not mean the process could be ignored.

After having a grand time in the demi-human sanctuary and sending the Young Duke back to the ducal castle, I was resting in the lodging that somehow already felt long unused when the communication orb vibrated.

Ah.

The report already went up?

Faster than expected. Had the Young Duke, after his novel experience, already boasted about it to the Wise Duke? Or had the Cenes Duchy been monitoring the sanctuary in real time?

In truth, either possibility was irrelevant. How they found out did not matter in this situation.

What am I supposed to write?

Just how was I supposed to write this report? "There was a god in my body, and that god latched onto a tree and turned it into the World Tree"? But if I wrote that, it would not end with a report—I would probably get summoned.

...It'll work out somehow.

My fretting was brief. I could not put falsehoods in an official report, so I would write the truth. If the Crown Prince summoned me after reading it, I could throw a fit then and claim it was unfair.

— Knock knock.

"Older brother, may I come in?"

"Ah, yeah. Sure."

Besides, something far more important than a report was waiting for me right now.

I have to explain this properly.

The wound of being forcibly outed by the fairies. It was time to offer my excuses for that.

Cold sweat sprang out of nowhere from the tension. If I wrote a strange report, I could still salvage things when I got summoned.

But if I failed to convince Luise and Irina now, there would be no next time...!