Chapter 101 — Two — Faced (3)
Chapter 101 — Two — Faced (3)
"Of course, the forest elves do throw a fit whenever anyone enters the forest, but at least we didn't cut down any trees. They won't come at us with everything they have."
"Hmm."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory seemed to have quite a few memories of being on the receiving end of the forest elves' wrath.
If there had been many clashes between Zeno's forces and the forest elves, reports would certainly have reached Basel, but Roan didn't recall reading any such records.
"Have there been many clashes with the forest elves? Doesn't the Dark Forest border the South Black Territory more extensively? I thought the West Blood Territory wouldn't have significant issues."
"In the past, there were occasional skirmishes, but they've decreased considerably since last year. They're said to have established a settlement in the western border region of the Dark Forest. I hear the forest elves here are so sensitive because they're protecting it."
"A forest elf village?"
"Yes. It isn't far beyond the cave Your Majesty was searching for."
Once they came of age, forest elves wandered the forest, but a place was still needed somewhere for young forest elves who hadn't yet come of age or elderly, frail forest elves to live.
What surprised him, however, was that this place wasn't deep within the Dark Forest but close to the zones where demonkind lived.
Thinking about it, Rauka had also said she had been raised around here. A village there must have been true.
"From their perspective, they wouldn't want demons prowling near their village."
"We don't have to understand them, do we?"
The man nursed a grudge.
But this man wasn't just some local loafer—he was a Grand Duke, no less.
No matter how apolitical he was, he wasn't the type to let personal feelings dictate his actions without reason.
There was something driving it.
'Attentive Hearing' told him as much.
So Roan pressed for details.
"According to the forest elf I brought with me, actions like picking fruit are acceptable, so long as one does not damage the forest or cut down trees."
"If I may be so bold, when was that?"
Hearing the Grand Duke's query, Roan felt a little less certain. There was a slight chance it was the one-hundred-fifty-year-old version of the story.
But Rauka had lived close to both humans and demonkind near the Dark Forest.
In the first place, the demon village Rauka had attacked had been established near the Dark Forest specifically to gather forest byproducts.
The other forest elves besides Rauka hadn't particularly sanctioned the village. Had they wanted to, wouldn't they have wiped it out long ago?
"It was before Grünent's guard committed the murder of a demon. It probably isn't that far in the past."
When the Emperor mentioned Rauka, the Lord of the West Blood Territory's expression grew complicated.
"But you said the forest elves here kill every single demon who enters the forest. I found that rather different from what I'd been told, so I grew curious. Tell me in detail what sort of clashes occurred."
The Grand Duke's face darkened.
To summarize his trauma dumping, it went as follows.
At first, demonkind had come and gone along the forest's edge, discreetly gathering wood and other forest byproducts.
Moreover, the forest elves, wary because of their village, didn't come near the cave with the mineral vein either. It was terrain they found uncomfortable.
So the area had remained a common zone abandoned by demons, demon beasts, and forest elves alike.
But as the war dragged on, hunger worsened. The trouble was that this wasn't just a problem here but across the entire demon territory surrounding the Dark Forest.
As demon incursions into the forest intensified from all quarters,
the forest elves grew more high-strung overall.
The local forest elves, in particular, whose village was close by, reacted so sensitively to forest intrusions that they could be called cruel.
In demon society, where anger and hatred couldn't be directed at those above, it was no different.
The starving demons living near the Dark Forest likely had nowhere to vent their rage except at the tribe living inside the forest.
No one knew who started it, but the reprisals against each other continued endlessly and grew ever fiercer.
So by then, regarding any demon discovered,
regardless of age or sex, the forest elves had made it their unwritten rule to sever their limbs and turn them into pincushions or abduct them and treat them as slaves.
And from the demons' standpoint, when they found a forest elf, it had become standard practice to torture them, parade them as breeding stock, then butcher and devour them, they said.
But as this autumn arrived, things had begun to change.
Because Roan had sent wheat to the major cities.
People with full bellies found it bothersome to go to the forest,
and reprisals became bothersome too.
Bother had brought an unexpected peace.
So both the cannibalistic atmosphere and the attrition-focused cycle of vengeance were, for the first time in a long while, in a lull.
"...It seems I went in and stirred everything up again. The forest elves' vigilance must be at its peak."
"...My apologies, Your Majesty."
"Hm."
The Grand Duke, one of the originating causes of this incident, bowed his head deeply in apology.
A mysterious tremor that had occurred in a place originally abandoned, a location that had remained a sort of neutral zone.
The location with the mineral vein was close to the forest elf village.
To them, it must have been a dangerous but important location.
So they would have rushed to assess the situation near the cave and then discovered the search party.
Their wariness, realizing that soldiers were entering, would only sharpen further.
"The forest elves hold the area around the cave Your Majesty visited to be profoundly sacred. They won't let their guard down for a while."
"Hm? How do you know that?"
"We had a forest elf prisoner."
Roan couldn't quite bring himself to ask what had become of that prisoner, and instead merely repeated to himself.
"A sacred place...."
"They said the forest in this vicinity is for the Goddess's repose."
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, what flashed into Roan's mind was the enormous circular structure erected near the ruins.
A magnificent building inscribed with the deeds of a sacred Goddess.
Now that he thought about it, the place had had a strangely comfortable corner. And plenty of things like bus stops, too.
'The Goddess wouldn't come riding a bus.'
Imagining it, Roan laughed inwardly. Structures that looked like bus stops, or perhaps pedestals, had been lined up neatly before the sculptures.
Pedestals, was it. Could they have been for placing offerings to the Goddess?
But if the tray was set that high, could the Goddess even reach it? The Goddess was... well, being the Goddess, she might be enormous.
So even if it looked like a roof to people, to the Goddess it might be nothing but a trivial height....
A faint spasm twitched the corner of Roan's mouth as his thoughts touched on something blasphemous.
Repose.
...Was it for supporting her buttocks?
An object people commonly called a chair.
Only then did Roan fully grasp the structure of the ruins he had seen.
A form with no internal structural elements, for a temple.
(Since he'd been inside a temple in the game.)
A building that served no purpose except for the wall paintings and the waypoint storage inside.
And the enormous 'chairs' placed before the walls.
Perhaps it was a private art gallery for the Goddess.
"They spouted nonsense about demonkind disturbing the Goddess's repose."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory trembled with rage.
But Roan's thoughts traveled further still.
In the age of myths and legends, this place might have been the Goddess's healing spot.
And the forest elves were guarding it.
Thinking about it that way, hm....
If they learned that he was directly receiving the Goddess's power, or if he could let them know the Goddess also cared about demonkind....
Might there be room for negotiation, perhaps?
It would be good if he could meet the Goddess someday, as Helen had. Even better if he could receive the Goddess's token.
Since she was helping him anyway, it would be good if he could ask for something concrete.
As Roan ran his wishful-thinking circuits, the Grand Duke carefully asked,
"By any chance, has Your Majesty thought of a solution?"
"Waiting until their vigilance eases—that would be too late, wouldn't it?"
"Their unit of time is different from ours. Spending a year or two on guard is nothing to them."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory's face was full of concern.
Roan infused his words with strength and offered reassurance.
It was the 'Will' and 'Appeal' combo he'd used to soothe the Lord of the East Yellow Territory last time.
"Worry not. I will find a way, somehow."
"Your Majesty...."
At the Emperor's comforting words, the Grand Duke, with a dazed look ill-suited to him, gazed at the Emperor who was comforting him.
He stared blankly at his Emperor for a long while before suddenly realizing his impropriety a moment later.
"I am mortified, Your Majesty."
And he added one more word.
"Thank you."
It was a short statement, but within it lay relief.
Roan smiled.
Though finding that way wouldn't be done by him, but by someone clever.
There was no need to say that right now, was there?
"In that vein, Grand Duke, it would be best to find someone to formally take charge of the research in this area. By any chance, do you know of anyone who studied this alongside the Former Emperor?"
"Hoh, I see...."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory searched his memories for a moment, then shook his head.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. I do recall that apothecaries were mobilized for the research at the time, but they were already retired then. None remain now."
"Hm."
As he thought, it was power that restored life.
A dark mage alone wasn't enough, then.
Should he consult the Head Apothecary once he returned to Basel?
"What about the count from the North White Territory?"
Roan, who had been lost in thought, turned toward the Lord of the West Blood Territory at the unexpected name.
"The Count of the Dark Pit?"
That strange... count with the cat ears.
"Yes. His personality is a bit peculiar, but he is clever. I hear he enjoys researching strange things and creating new ones."
"Hm."
It was an unexpected recommendation.
Enjoys researching strange things... was it.
He'd have to seek advice from Aranya or others, but it was an interesting suggestion.
If he had to win over the Grand Dukes one by one, as the former Demon King had decreed, wouldn't it be fine if he was the one to first offer the Count of the North White Territory an opportunity to grow closer?
"Thank you for the suggestion. I shall have someone look into it."
"I am glad to be of help, Your Majesty. ...Ah."
"...?"
"Now that I recall, I have something to give you."
The Grand Duke requested permission.
When Roan nodded lightly, the enormous frame of the Lord of the West Blood Territory filled the office.
He turned and fetched a small box from the bookshelf.
The box, which had looked like a crumb perched on the centaur's giant palm, was actually the size of a human palm.
"What is this?"
Unusually, a smile touched the Grand Duke's lips.
"See for yourself."
Roan's slender hand caressed the box, which was ornamented in jet black.
A storage case that looked high-quality from the outside.
The black, glossily polished box had a fair weight to it.
Its heavy, elegant decorations matched the style that adorned every corner of the imperial palace in Basel.
Now Roan could recognize it.
It was the Former Empress's taste.
With a pang of unaccountable nostalgia, Roan gazed down silently at the box.
The Lord of the West Blood Territory studied Roan's profile.
"This is."
Choosing his words, Roan hesitated briefly, then
voiced his thought.
It was impulsive.
"Was it my mother's?"
The Grand Duke's face brightened.
"You recognize it."
In that instant, a very strange feeling swept over Roan.
The joy of having gained a mother, something he'd never properly had, and yet the guilt that this mother truly wasn't his—as though he'd stolen the former Demon King's mother.
"It is an item the Empress entrusted to me. It was something she instructed me to pass on when the Prince... when Your Majesty came of age, but I failed to choose the right moment."
"Thank you for safeguarding it."
Since Roan had been a scoundrel until then, it must have been difficult to give it to him.
"It is said to be for Your Majesty's sword."
"...Hm?"
"They said it sealed the sword's power."
Roan's eyes widened.
A part of Fiora?
Only then did Roan realize why the Lord of the West Blood Territory had never handed this object over to the former Demon King until then, and why he was giving it to him only at this moment.
He must have thought it would be dangerous to add more power to that past record.
Conversely, now that he had witnessed a situation where the Emperor's life was once imperiled, he must have thought he needed to grant him whatever strength he could.
As if confirming Roan's guess, the Grand Duke spoke.
"Watching you come all this way and face danger, I was once again overcome with remorse. I feared I might fail to uphold Former Empress's words, having been unable to present you with an item that could serve as Your Majesty's strength...."
It would probably have become a trauma for him if that had happened. For the Emperor to starve to death after coming to his territory.
"Even if it is late, I hope it will be a strength that supports Your Majesty. Former Empress would be pleased."
Hearing that, Roan, who had been about to open the box, stopped in the end.