83
083 — Underground of the Royal Palace
Rona's eyes rolled around in bewilderment. She was truly flustered. What kind of reaction should she show?
'He came to meet the Queen?'
Jin-woo, who said those words, is not a High Elf, and not even an Elf to begin with—he's human. If such a person dares to speak the Queen's name, there's only one thing a devout High Elf and royal knight of the kingdom should do.
Kill him and harvest his soul, or at the very least, pull out his tongue, cut his tendons, and lock him in prison.
However, Rona didn't want to do such things to Jin-woo, and thanks to that, she couldn't know how to respond.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
"Um... By any chance, did you tell this to any other Elf besides me?"
"No. This is the first time."
Whew. Rona let out a sigh of relief, saying it was fortunate.
"Then that's a relief. I'll pretend I didn't hear it, so Jin-woo, you shouldn't tell anyone else either. Got it?"
"I don't have any other Elf to tell besides you. There was no need to either."
It would be meaningless to tell other Elves who couldn't enter the royal palace anyway. She knew he meant it in that sense, but somehow Rona felt slightly pleased.
Knowing that he wasn't someone she couldn't communicate with, she tried to persuade him with words.
"Jin-woo. I don't know if you're aware, but in our kingdom, that's really a huge crime. The royal palace can only be entered by recognized Elves, and the white tower where the Queen resides is forbidden among the forbidden, accessible only to a handful of permitted individuals!"
"I did hear about it. Thanks to that, Fermue was making a sad face saying there was no one to have a conversation with."
"The, the Queen said such a thing... No, that's not the point!"
Jin-woo's will seemed firm. Rona felt at a loss about how to persuade such a person.
If left alone, he seemed ready to climb over the palace walls by himself. If that happened, he'd be caught in an instant and executed on the spot.
She thought she needed to persuade him to give up. She was fortunate to learn about this before other Elves did.
However, Jin-woo shook his head and conversely persuaded her.
"Rona. Have you been to the 3rd floor recently?"
"Recently? The last time was when I passed through on my way to the 5th floor. Though it's been quite a while to call it recent."
"For some time now, all the entrances leading to the 3rd floor have been blocked. You can neither enter nor exit."
"Really?"
Rona's eyes widened. Seeing her reaction, she really didn't know. She said she had just returned from the 5th floor not too long ago, so it made sense she wouldn't know.
"There are many people from our world trapped in the 3rd floor, so we're investigating what happened. I also came to gather information."
"But what does that have to do with the Queen?"
"Among the gods of the 3rd floor, the God of Moonlit Forest is the World Tree."
"...What?"
Rona asked back with the most foolish voice she had used so far. She seemed unable to understand what she had just heard.
She knew that the God of Moonlit Forest favored Elves. It was famous that they didn't give contribution points to humans or Dwarves, only to Elves.
But she had never thought it could be the World Tree. No, she might have unconsciously thought about it once. But she had immediately erased that thought.
Mother World Tree is the one and only god in their world and the ancestor who watches over all Elves.
To think of such an existence as identical to a Gate's god without any special doctrine or evidence could lead to the problem of falling into idolatry.
Because she was too devout, she couldn't recognize the truth—a situation where even if she had doubts, she would immediately reject them.
"I actually met Fermue in the 3rd floor through the blessing of the God of Moonlit Forest. If you doubt it, go to the 3rd floor later and check the contribution points. My Moonlit Forest contribution is around 100 million or 200 million."
"200 million?! Is that even a reasonable number? When I was actively working in the 3rd floor, I only had about 30 million at most!"
"Various things happened. Anyway, to hear information about the closed 3rd floor, I need to meet with the World Tree. In this world, Fermue is probably the only being who can make that possible."
Rona was flustered several times, but still followed the flow of the story well. She accurately understood the circumstances by which Jin-woo was seeking the Queen.
"I, I understand the story, but still, I can't let you into the royal palace..."
"I'm not asking you to let me in through the main gate. Isn't there a side path or back road?"
"Well. Hmm..."
She crossed her arms and pondered. The royal palace was dominated by stifling regulations, but that didn't mean the palace was a perfect place without flaws.
If she looked for them, there would be plenty of gaps, and infiltration wouldn't be impossible either. Especially if she, a palace knight, cooperated, it would be even more feasible.
'Wait. What am I thinking!'
Then she was startled and came to her senses. How could she, the sword that protects the Queen and guards the royal palace, be contemplating side paths to enter the palace?
That alone was disloyalty and an unforgivable impious act.
'No matter how stifling the palace is, I'm not the type to have such thoughts...'
It was true that she usually felt disgusted by the palace's protocols and the rigid behavior of the High Elves. But no matter what, she would never think of guiding an outside human to the palace's side paths.
But when listening to Jin-woo's story, somehow she found herself lending an ear to his voice. Even when he wasn't speaking, she would unconsciously find herself following his figure. Ever since their first meeting.
"I... I can't help you."
"I understand. You have your position too."
Jin-woo didn't blame her for refusing. He had thought this might happen from the start of their conversation, and it wasn't something to force either.
"If another knight had heard this conversation, they would have drawn their sword immediately. It's such an impious talk that it wouldn't be strange to behead you on the spot. Or if not the head, they would have at least dragged you to prison."
"Prison?"
"Yes. There's a prison for confining criminals. Underground of the royal palace."
Her words had a strange accent. As if she was deliberately emphasizing the underground of the royal palace.
"I can only go that far..."
Indeed, Rona said this while trailing off her words. Even that was sufficiently grateful. It meant she would allow him to infiltrate the palace, even if only with the status of a criminal.
'Underground prison.'
He didn't know what the Elf royal palace's prison looked like. He should be well prepared since he didn't know what unexpected situations might unfold.
—Kiing...
At that moment, upon hearing the word prison, the Ego Sword let out a small cry. The sound was small, but the trembling of the blade could be felt even here.
'What's wrong?'
He asked what the matter was, but no answer came from the Ego Sword.
***
The Elves of Belen Village had arrived at Ellea Territory. Outside the giant twin trees that protected the territory instead of walls, they pitched tents and settled down.
The villagers weren't accepted into the territory. The land permitted to them was a bit further from here.
However, with the lord's permission, they were temporarily waiting here to head to the permitted land together with soldiers.
Rona and the village chief had left for inside the territory for that purpose, and Jin-woo watched from a distance.
After some time had passed, the village chief returned with armed soldiers and began talking with the village elders.
Since so many Elves were relocating, there would be much to discuss.
"Jin-woo, where are you going again?"
Jin-woo lowered his telescope and looked at Mari beside him. While the adults were busy, she had come to find Jin-woo alone.
"I'll come back."
He said this while removing a leaf stuck in Mari's hair. Mari pouted with disappointment, but didn't throw a tantrum like before.
Thanks to various recent events, Mari had become more considerate of the adults' feelings.
'She had to leave even her birthplace.'
That was pitiful, but there was nothing Jin-woo could do about it. He wasn't going to stay in that village for life to protect everyone, and they had all made the best choice they could.
"Mari. Your mother seems to be looking for you. Go back quickly."
"Mm..."
In the distance, Mari's mother could be seen looking around and calling for someone. She was probably looking for Mari, who had secretly come to see Jin-woo.
"Even after moving, listen to your mother well, and I'll visit later."
"You have to come, okay?"
"Yes."
He crouched down and made a firm promise with Mari before sending the child back to the villagers' side. After confirming one last time that she had returned safely to her mother's arms, Jin-woo left that place and went deeper into the forest.
Once the handover to the lord's castle was completed, the lord's soldiers would take charge of escorting the villagers. Rona, who had briefly come on an errand, would become free after finishing her work.
After that, the plan was to meet in the forest and go to the royal palace together.
'I wonder how long it will take.'
Since it was just a handover, it seemed like it would be quick, but Rona had originally said she had business in this territory. If she was going to finish that up too, it might take longer than expected.
'The sun seems to be setting soon.'
Since he couldn't wait indefinitely, he needed to find a place to sleep. Since Jin-woo couldn't enter the Elf territory, he would have to camp out in the forest no matter what.
The sun hadn't completely set yet, but sunset in the forest comes quickly. In just a little while, it would become completely dark.
In a pinch, he could just lay out his sleeping bag on any ground, but preferably somewhere with a ceiling would be better. Like a cave or a large tree hollow.
While looking for a suitable place, darkness began to descend. Then.
'...Wolves?'
Blue flames were felt whooshing past in front.
It wasn't just one. The movement of wolves moving in a pack was clearly visible through the blue flames.
There was no reason to provoke them unnecessarily and see bloodshed. Jin-woo hid his presence and concealed himself to avoid stimulating the wolf pack.
Fortunately, the wolves didn't seem interested in this direction either. They already had prey they had marked.
'Looks like they're surrounded.'
Looking at the widely spread wolf pack, it seemed they were chasing a single prey. Jin-woo moved a little closer and confirmed the blue flame of the prey as well.
If it had been ordinary flames, it would have been another beast or monster-like existence. But what was being chased was a flame that bloomed like a flower.
'An Elf?'
What was being chased was an Elf. When he got close enough to see with his eye, he could see an Elf running away while panting.
"Huff, huff, go away!"
He was swinging a small sword, but looking at it, it was a sword that hadn't even been properly sharpened. It was just a blunt stick, no different from a club.
Moreover, the reach was short too, because it was an item made for children.
What was being chased was a young boy.
'...Do I have some connection with kids?'
Mari, the World Tree, and now this child too—he didn't know why he kept meeting kids like this.
He couldn't just leave it alone, so he touched his sword hilt while watching, and the child was fighting better than expected.
"Go away! I don't taste good!"
He was swinging his staff-like sword here and there, and for a child, he had quite good form. It seemed he had been systematically taught from an even younger age.
Looking closely, his attire was also quite remarkable. Right now, it was dirty with dust and torn here and there, but originally it seemed to have been quite luxurious clothing.
"Ah!"
At that moment, the child who had been swinging his sword while running away was cornered at a dead end. A sheer cliff was blocking the child, and it seemed the wolves had cleverly driven him there.
There was a small cave-like opening between the cliffs, but looking at the child's expression, that cave seemed to be blocked too.
The child, pale with fear, backed against the cliff and somehow pointed his sword forward. The wolves were slowly, unhurriedly closing in on such a child.
There seemed to be no way for the child to escape on his own.
"Found a place to sleep."
Saying this, Jin-woo swung his sword. Sharp sword energy cut through the obstructing trees and shot toward the wolf pack.