Chapter 257: Chapter 198 Part 1

Translator: “Ash*ta” Editor: “Weasalopes”

Spirit Forest that spreads across the northern part of the Ost continent.

At the root of the world tree which stands tall in the center of the forest, lies the elven village.

Overlooking the village, the high elf mansion was built on the trunk of the world tree. It was there that the shocking news came in.

「There was a high elf at the Great Pit in the south, you say!?」

The high elves shouted.

The five Knights that were sent out were all B-class. If they were to fight against the humans, they would have the strength to bring down a medium-sized country.

However, only one of the Knights returned.

And what the pilot said on his return was horrifying.

「We encountered the Grim Reaper who had come to the Great Pit. We easily cut him down, but then the captain was shot from behind!」

The pilot’s voice was strained and he looked like another person. There was no doubt that it was due to exhaustion and emotional fatigue.

「Everyone but me were wiped out by the attack magic pouring down from afar and the Grim Reaper’s pincer attack. I returned home with only one thought in mind, that I had to bring back this information」

He kneeled down and hung his head.

「…How many Knights that defeated you?」

「Excuse me sir?」

The Chairman’s voice was low, almost like a whisper. It was unclear, so the pilot asked back.

The Chairman frowned in annoyance, asked again in a louder voice.

「I’m asking, how many Knights that the Empire brought to defeat you with attack magic!」

The pilot’s face twisted in pain as he understood the question.

A pilot is an elite profession among elves. His intelligent, cool eyes and confident demeanor would have made even an elf woman go crazy about him.

But now, there was no trace of the man he was ten days ago.

「…There was only one, sir」

「What?」

「It was hiding on the top of a rocky hill near the big hole. That’s why I couldn’t see him. But I’m sure there was only one of them」

The chairman’s frown deepens.

He glares into the pilot’s eyes and asks again.

「So you’re saying that the Grim Reaper and one more Knight have destroyed our elven Knights?」

The pilot raises his chin and looks back at him directly with a determined expression.

Then he nods deeply and speaks.

「The distance, power, and the amount of magic power that made it possible to keep firing those attack magic. I can’t think of any other possibilities of it being other than a high elf」

The meeting room was silent.

There were two people whose expressions changed. One of them was a fat high elf.

His mouth and eyes were wide open, as if he had been struck by lightning. A number of things became clear to him.

(The young world tree that grew somewhere else. It took over the position of the next world tree)

As if a dam had been broken, a muddy stream of thoughts swirled through his brain.

(Why couldn’t we have noticed or found the young tree? High elves are the guardians of the world tree)

Even after all these efforts, the actual object has yet to be confirmed. The only thing that is certain is its existence based on the calculation of the magic balance.

(But if another high elf is behind this, it would explain a lot. They must have been very careful not to be noticed by us)

High Elf is not the name of a race.

It is a title. Elves who meet certain requirements, such as magical power and magical skill, are appointed by the Magi Carta.

『Magi Carta』n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It is a binding magic created by the elves in ancient times. It continues to operate over the world even today, receiving its magic power from the world tree.

It has two roles.

The first is to keep the number of world trees to one. The other is to limit the management of the world tree to 『Title Holders』.

(Their goal must be to replace the world tree and monopolize the new world tree. If this succeeds, the elves of the Spirit Forest will be decimated)

There’s no doubt about it.

(The next generation will belong to the side that controls the world tree)

The world tree is the source of magic in this world.

If it’s between elves, the side that controls the world tree will always win.

(Then, all of the bad news that kept coming to us. Was it all the doing of that high elf all along?)

The Spirit Forest that is losing its vitality, the missing Zaratan. The ambrosia and the technology for making elixirs that the human race had acquired.

The fat high elf felt a chill running down his spine from his own imagination. In the seat in front of him, there was another person whose expression changed.

It was the high elf who was as skinny as a dead tree.

「Fools!」

The old man stood up while slamming his hands on the desk in rage. And then he yelled at the pilot as is.

「Elves? Moreover, a high elf? There is no such thing as a High Elf that we don’t know! Let’s see if I can use fire magic to burn down that mouth of yours that spouts such nonsense!」

He shouted as he slammed the table with his hands.

The chairman frowned at him and reprimanded him in a harsh tone.

「I will not allow you to talk like that to this man who risked his life to bring back this information to us!」

But the skinny high elf won’t yield and shut his mouth.

「I’m just trying to punish the fools who talk nonsense! In the first place, this fool dares come crawling back here after losing four valuable Knights!」

「It’s not just his responsibility alone. It’s also our responsibility for giving the order」

「Ours? It was your order!」

The fat high elf frowned at the two of them as they shouted at each other. The meeting always went to a halt because of the skinny high elf.

(Why did the Magi Carta appoint such a man as a high elf?)

Fanned by the old woman next to him, the skinny old man feels boastful as he ride his rising momentum.

With the usual questions in his mind, he looked away from the fruitless cursing. He thinks he’s about to lose his patience if he continues to watch them.

(Is he even aware that the elven race is in danger?)

The balloon of patience continues to swell inside him. As he tried to hold it down, the shadow of the man kneeling on one knee suddenly came into his view.

The pilot, who had come to report to them, had been abused and was looking down without saying anything to defend himself.

That figure turned into a sharp object that scratched the balloon that was about to burst. And the fat high elf finally exploded.

「SHUT UUUUPPP!!」

He screamed from the bottom of his stomach.

The high elves in the room turn to look at him. The fat high elf’s rage continues even after seeing this.

「SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UUUPPP!! You fucking idiot!」

His face turned red and he was breathing roughly while standing. His twin eyes are still piercing sharply into the skinny high elf.

「Why don’t you understand? Everything would finally make sense if another high elf was behind the world tree!」

Some of them looked as if they were thinking and among them, some nodded in agreement.

「We have done so much investigation using the spirits and contemplated this over and over again. What we still don’t know is that someone as powerful as us must have been behind all of this!」

The head of the spirit exploration team crossed his arms and nodded deeply.

However, the skinny high elf was still not convinced.

「The idiot one is you! There is no way there’s a high elf we don’t know about! Or what? Are you suggesting that there is a traitor among us, huh!?」

His face twisted and spat out.

Next to her, the old pharmacist woman cowered and shouted, “How preposterous!”

The High Elves are appointed by the Magi Carta. The list was updated each time, and it was supposed to be all of us here.

「I wouldn’t go as far as to say that. But have you forgotten? You don’t have to be appointed to be a high elf to be as qualified as one」

The skinny high elf became quiet at this question.

A few moments later, a high elf groaned.

「…The royal family huh」

The fat high elf nodded.

Today, the elven race is governed by a council of high elves. But in the past, it was an autocracy of the royal family.

With a deep furrow between his brows, the chairman asks in a somewhat confused tone.

「But didn’t all of the royalty die during the revolution?」

「Not one of them managed to escape. Can you really be sure about that, chairman?」

After being told so, the frown on his face deepened. Then, he muttered.

「I can’t be sure. That was a long time ago, even for us」

Descendants of survivors, or the survivors themselves. If it is the royal family, a bloodline that passes down strong magical power, it is possible that they have a lifespan longer than that of a normal high elf.

The chairman crossed his arms and began to think.

After a moment, he opened his closed eyes and spoke out to everyone.