Elves and Dwarves (2)
For the time being, I'd sent the envoys from both races back to their lodgings, telling them to come back tomorrow. Hmm. Honestly, shoving the Hero into disputes between other races feels like crossing a line. From what I could tell, they probably wanted to butter him up in advance—since he's the guy making a name for himself by slaughtering powerful monsters, they don't want him siding with their enemies. But the Hero wasn't made for something like that. Sure, his strength is the real deal, so he could probably smash elves or dwarves just like he does monsters. But I don't want that to happen!
Anyway, whether the elves and dwarves bicker or even go to war... as long as they don't cross lines like trying to exterminate a race or massacring civilians, I wasn't planning to get mad about it. But if they try to use the Hero? That's a different story. Let's see... First, I should talk to Yggdrasil and Sagarmatha. I'm curious if they even know about the situation. And if they were hiding it from me on purpose... well, I might get a little angry.
"Yggdrasil, Sagarmatha. Got a sec?"
"Yes, Mom. What's up?"
"I'm sleepy... make it quick."
Their voices were perfectly calm. Did they really not know? Or were they playing dumb? Either way, it'd come out soon enough.
"There's trouble brewing between the elves and dwarves. Know anything about it?"
"Our kids? Well... things have felt a bit noisy lately, but I don't really know."
"Dwarves... oh, the ant-like guys digging around my base. I told them not to come near me, so I ignored them...."
Hmm. Neither of them knew? Also, Sagarmatha—the dwarves have been worshiping you as a sacred mountain, and you saw them as ants...? Well, no surprise there. Back when we first met, you were ready to wipe them all out for trying to dig into you. Not weird at all. The dwarves revere you as a holy peak, but you couldn't care less. Kinda sad for them, really.
"Now they're naming all the peaks around my main body after me too. No idea why. Watching them burrow underground was kinda fun, though."
Sagarmatha watched the dwarves like ants in an observation case. Yeah... better keep that from the dwarves. They'd be devastated to learn their sacred mountain sees them that way.
Anyway, Sagarmatha just didn't care about dwarves at all, so he's got nothing to do with this. What about Yggdrasil, then?
"Did our kids cause some kind of problem?"
"Mm. Looks like they might throw down with the dwarves."
"Whaaat?! Our kids?!"
Hmm... Yggdrasil didn't know either.
"Why all of a sudden? The kids have been rowdy lately, sure, but war?! Why?!"
"Beats me."
If I told her it started over one of her branches, she'd probably be dumbfounded too. Ahem... so, what now? Looks like neither Yggdrasil nor Sagarmatha had a clue.
"Um, Mom? You're not gonna get mad like you did before, right?"
"Like before?"
"Yeah. When you confiscated all their scales and turned the kids into spirits."
Ah, the Day of the Dragon's End.
"Who knows. If you'd been involved... I might've gotten a bit mad."
"We didn't know either!! The kids are fighting on their own!!! And Sagarmatha doesn't even see them as his kids!!!"
"True, but that stings a little."
Ignore Sagarmatha for now.
"I'm not against war itself... it's probably necessary for progress."
"Mm... so can't they just fight?"
Keep ignoring Sagarmatha.
"Why are they even going to war all of a sudden?"
"Heard the dwarves asked for a bit of your branch."
"My branch? Why...?"
"The dwarves wanted to give the elves jewels as a sign of friendship, and they figured the best wood to decorate those jewels would come from the finest tree."
"The finest tree... so that's why my branch?"
"Yep."
Of course the world tree Yggdrasil would come to mind first as the greatest tree. The dwarves must've thought the same and asked for her branch. What they didn't realize, though, was that elves see breaking a tree as breaking their own body. Well, elves can talk to trees, so yeah, makes sense.
But... is that really okay? Wood is one of the most used resources this era. Elves don't use it at all—not for fruit or veggies, not for building, not even papyrus for records since it's plant-based. Without that, aren't elves basically primitives? At this rate, while other races advance, elves will fall behind. Ugh... maybe I need to do something about the elves? But how? Take away their plant communication? Nah, that feels wrong. Tricky. Real tricky.
"A branch from me is no big deal, so why fight over it...? I get that they're my kids, but I just don't understand."
"Maybe communing with trees made them identify with trees too much?"
"Even if they do, a branch that keeps growing on its own is basically like human hair. No idea why they're making such a fuss."
Hair... hmm... kinda similar? Not sure. I'm no tree. If Yggdrasil the tree says so, though, it must be.
"I could give them as many branches as they want. Why are the kids so picky?"
"Beats me."
Maybe I should do a mass mental adjustment on the elves sometime. Loving and communing with trees is fine, but this is overkill.
"Might need to dull their plant empathy a bit next chance I get. They don't know moderation and just cause problems."
"Ahaha..."
Yggdrasil just gave an awkward laugh.
"Anyway, I know you two weren't involved, so I'll handle the rest."
"Um, Mom? Please be gentle."
"Can't they just fight?"
Ignore Sagarmatha. Wait—should I really just let them fight? But not full war. Something else, like a small-scale friendly match. No killing, just subduing. That could work—less damage than all-out war, and it'd channel their rivalry competitively. Yeah. Better to vent the pressure and regulate than outright ban.
"With that said, I'm forbidding war. Summon representatives from both sides."
I met the envoys alongside the Hero and conveyed my will.
"Forbidding war...? On what authority—"
"What?"
"Ah, n-nothing...."
The elf envoy shrank back the moment I glared. Didn't want his limbs shattered again, I guess.
"If war is necessary, I won't stop it—but if it's pointless, then don't. Got it! Tell the Grand Forge Master!"
Hmm. Dwarves are easy to talk to. Probably their efficiency obsession.
"You elves too. Make sure the message is clear. War is forbidden. If you ignore me and attack the dwarves, you'll regret it."
The elf envoy still looked dissatisfied, like he was thinking, 'You think you can pull that off?' Seriously, how did they get so arrogant? They used to be primitive forest-dwellers eating only meat. Was it their lifespan? Long lives make them look down on shorter-lived races? Pathetic, when they barely last a thousand years!
"Understood. We'll relay the message. Turning the Hero and his companion against us wouldn't be good for the elves either."
He's no ordinary companion. These arrogant fools forgot who taught them spirit magic in the first place. Sure, I didn't say I was the Dragon Priestess back then!! Well, it's been centuries since. Any elf who remembers would be on their deathbed.
With that, the elf and dwarf envoys departed.
"Elves and dwarves... what a handful."
"Tell me about it."
The Hero and I watched their retreating backs and sighed. The speechless beast just tilted its head at us.