#160
After the Invasion of the Capital (4)
At last, when the envoy party arrived in the forest on the outskirts of the Elven Kingdom on the Enamel Continent, the various races exchanged brief farewells and parted ways for their respective countries.
‘Come to think of it, the Elven Kingdom is located at a transportation hub in the center of the continent, so it’s perfect as a gathering point too.’
Put that way, it really made it sound as if High Elves were a means of transportation.
Even though they were, nominally, the leadership of an entire race.
“Huff, huff— Th-this is harder than I thought. Even with Lord Lafori assisting me, it’s this much… How you managed to cross the sea with this, I really…”
Cecily, who had operated the “Forest Path” together with Lafori as practice, kept wiping away sweat and groaning.
In truth, the others had done nothing more than walk along the forest path, but she had stayed beside Lafori the entire round trip, receiving instruction related to it.
On the way to the Ion Continent, she had learned theoretical aspects such as how to use the energy, and on the way back, she had helped little by little beside him as he guided the path, completing practical operation as well.
And from the moment they entered the continent proper, Cecily had taken the lead and even finished her practice…
“I’m like this after only doing it for a short while, but you maintained it for so long. As expected, Lord Lafori, you’re amazing!”
“Hahaha, this is also something that requires a knack. Lady Cecily, you will become accustomed to it soon enough as well.”
At his consolation, Cecily smiled shyly, then gazed at the World Tree towering in the distance and spoke in a voice filled with emotion.
“Still, it feels strange somehow. The first time we crossed the sea, I underwent my eye-opening, and the second time it’s Mr. Harris. It feels like there’s some kind of jinx, doesn’t it? Who will it be next time? Ohoho.”
“Ah, next is my turn! I’ll reserve it first!”
Seizing the opportunity, Shapiron swiftly cut in, her eyes blazing.
Though she had not shown it all this time, it seemed she was quite upset that Harris, whom she had thought of as a rival, had ended up surpassing her.
With that brief exchange as the end, the envoy party immediately began their journey toward the World Tree.
After walking for several days toward the enormous tree that defied all sense of distance,
Harris could feel, from the changes in musical genres drifting from the many villages they encountered along the way, that the cultural erosion plan he had carried out had been a half-success.
‘…Impressive. They absorbed those and created an entirely new genre. Since I did influence them, should I call it a success?’
As expected of a race sincere about music.
In any case, his goal had been to obtain karma through another method, so even this much was a sufficiently satisfying result.
‘Finally.’
But that was not a very important matter right now.
After continuing their journey, they had finally arrived.
Directly beneath the place where the branches of the vast tree, the World Tree, which rose majestically as if to support the sky, reached down.
“Ah!”
And Harris—
《The World Tree gazes upon its child.》
More clearly than ever before—could sense the presence of the World Tree.
The Main God was too immense for him to feel even a fragment of it, but the World Tree was not to that extent.
Of course, it was still just as unfathomable.
Its trunk soared high into the sky as if it would reach the cosmos, stars instead of fruit were borne upon the branches that coiled as if to cover the world, and its roots grasped the planet beneath his feet.
An overwhelming presence, enough to make reverence well up within him without him realizing it.
Compared to that, he was nothing more than a tiny mite parasitizing a tree.
Whoooosh—
Harris, who had been overawed by that wondrous image, realized at some point that a small red fruit, about the size of a fist, had come right in front of his nose.
Along with the multicolored spirits that supported the branch bearing it and circled around him.
It was a sight he had already seen once before in the past.
When he took a deep breath, refreshing air seeped into the deepest parts of his lungs.
Back then, he had only been able to watch from outside as Cecily underwent the eye-opening ritual, taking in nothing but this abundant air…
Harris grasped that “fruit of the World Tree” and brought it to his mouth without hesitation.
Crunch—
‘Ah!’
He thought he had bitten into it once, but before he knew it, all of its flesh had flowed down his throat.
The high-density energy condensed within the fruit spread through his body in an instant, and every part of him, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, began changing under its influence.
And the final destination of the energy that coursed through his entire body was both of his eyes.
A stabbing pain felt throughout his entire eyeballs.
When that series of processes ended, he could truly understand why the ritual of becoming a High Elf was called “eye-opening.”
As if a filter had been removed, the world shed a layer of its veil.
《The individual has fulfilled the conditions and grown. Acquired the special skill “Star Observer.”》
《The individual has fulfilled the conditions and gained enlightenment. The skill “Spirit Arts” has evolved into the special skill “Call of Nature.”》
It was not merely that his field of vision had broadened.
He could perceive his surroundings as though from a third-person perspective, and the world reflected in his eyes was far more dreamlike than usual.
Like the surrounding scenery he had seen through the “Forest Path”… No, far more than that.
‘“Star Observer,” huh… So this was the core of the various abilities High Elves have shown until now.’
The ability to move along forest paths across space, the ability to bestow blessings on others, and the ability to detect targets through the forest.
All of them were miracles accomplished by borrowing the power of the World Tree through this skill as the medium.
Wooong—
At the same time, the brief but intense will of the World Tree shook his mind.
It was far clearer than what he had felt from the Main God, but it was likewise something that could not be defined in any specific language…
Yet Harris instinctively understood its meaning.
—I will watch over you. My child.
Interest in him, expectation for something, and a slight doubt.
After that brief will, no more direct intent was conveyed, but he could clearly feel that a leyline had been firmly connected between him and the World Tree.
-Individual Name: Harris
-Race: High Elf
-Common Traits: “Mind Hub,” “Persona,” “Super Regeneration,” “Clear Mirror, Still Water”
-Individual Traits: “Legitimate Child of the World Tree,” “Assimilation with Nature,” “Star Observer,” “Call of Nature,” “Fairy Archery,” “Melody of Harmony”
-Special Notes: Having undergone eye-opening as a High Elf, a priest of the World Tree, he is now able to borrow its power through a leyline. His natural power and affinity have grown rapidly, and all spirits are on the verge of evolution. He receives infinite love from all plants and animals.
Was it because of the aftereffects brought about by such rapid change?
Feeling the strength drain from his body and his consciousness grow distant, he slowly closed his eyes.
“Lord Harris’s eye-opening ritual has ended…”
“Carefully move him inside…”
And so, at last,
Harris, who had come to this world as an illegitimate child unknown even to the World Tree, was formally adopted and proudly entered into the family register.
***
“Whew—.”
A beautiful woman with bright golden hair and turquoise eyes, Riley Carte Azerion, the Fifth Imperial Princess of the Azerion Empire, let out a sigh for what must have been the umpteenth time as she strolled through the garden.
It had already been over a week since she had been kidnapped and imprisoned by the Immortal King.
‘The environment is cleaner than I expected, and the treatment isn’t bad either.’
The residential area she was in was shaped with several small lodging buildings built around a large garden.
For her, who had imagined an environment like a prison, it was quite unexpected, and the lodging building given to each person was comfortable enough to be more than spacious for living alone.
‘For some reason, it feels like the watcher is considerate about this and that too. …At least toward me.’
In contrast to the man named Andrew, who always looked exhausted whenever he came here, as if he were doing who knew what outside, and who treated the Crown Prince roughly like a slave…
The woman in charge of her, Lilith, took rather meticulous care of her, almost as if she were her own maid.
Of course, as a watcher, there was some distance between them, but compared to the man who tormented Simon at all hours as if using him as an outlet for stress, she was practically an angel.
‘That does serve him right, though. Should I consider myself lucky?’
But her current situation was far too bleak for her to be happy about that without reservation.
No matter how decent the treatment was, she was still a prisoner without freedom.
All she had done during that time was wander around the assigned residential area and get into arguments whenever she ran into Simon, or meditate alone in a quiet place while training in magic.
‘It’s the perfect environment to shut myself away and train. I’d been neglecting it all this time under the excuse of being busy, so it wouldn’t be bad to seriously take it up again now. …Since I don’t particularly have anything else to do.’
It was something she had learned from childhood as part of her education, but she had some aptitude for magic as well.
After all, she was the one who had first taught the basics of magic to none other than I Se-a.
‘Though I was overtaken in no time, of course. Isn’t it a bit too much that she surpassed what I learned over several years in less than a month?’
Especially when she herself had still been unable to cross the threshold of the beginner level even after that.
The princess, who had been grumbling to herself while thinking of I Se-a, let a small smile hang at her lips and gently closed her eyes.
The reason she could maintain her composure like this now was all because she trusted I Se-a that much.
There was no telling when she would be able to leave this place, and perhaps, on the whim of the Immortal King, she might end up in a state worse than death.
The one and only pillar that allowed her to endure such a despairing situation.
‘As long as I’m alive… Se-a will definitely come to save me.’
But right now, there was nothing she could do except wait.
At that sense of helplessness, Riley crouched down and buried her face in her knees.
The Emperor, who prioritized selecting an heir through competition over love for his children.
Her mother, the Fourth Imperial Consort, who had passed away early after leaving only Riley behind in the world, and the Empress and imperial consorts, who saw her only as a thorn in their side.
And even her siblings, with whom she had fiercely fought since childhood in order to inherit the throne.
‘Se-a… unni.’
With the family that should have been closest to her in such a state, her maternal relatives, a small viscount family on the frontier, were too busy watching others’ moods to protect her.
The same went for the servants who attended her, so she had no choice but to suffer from distrust toward the people of this world.
‘…I should have called her unni sooner. What was so hard about that?’
In that sort of environment, the only person from whom Riley felt true familial affection was I Se-a.
To be honest, at first, it had half felt like she had picked her up as one would pick up a pet…
Wooong—
Just as she was sitting alone in the corner of the garden, steeped in gloom,
Lilith, the princess’s watcher, appeared after opening the “invisible door” in the center of the residential area.
In one hand, she was dragging a man by the back of his collar, as if he had fainted.
“Haa— Andrew must be bullying His Highness the Crown Prince again. Honestly.”
She glanced toward where Riley was, then paid her no further attention and immediately raised her mana to summon him.
“Si… No, Big Sis Lilith! Did you call me? What’s going on all of a sudden… Huh? Th-that person is?”
At her summons, Andrew, who had been harassing Simon while forcing him to do a thorough cleaning of his lodging, came sauntering over, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of the unconscious man as he hurriedly rushed in.
Unlike his usual exhausted appearance, he swept his gaze over the man’s clothing again and again with an expression as if he were looking at something fascinating.
“They say he suddenly appeared near the side of the castle. When the undead nearby tried to attack him, he ran into the castle. Even though spatial movement should have been impossible around here.”
“Big Sis! There’s no doubt about it! This person is from the same world as me!”
Clothing in a style difficult to see in this world, along with protective items including stab-proof gear.
Whether he was listening to her or not, he spoke in an excited voice…
‘The same world?’
Riley’s ears perked up as she remained crouched awkwardly in the corner, eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Ah, I thought that might be the case, and it seems I was right. His Majesty must have guessed in advance as well, because he ordered that this one be managed separately here too. In any case, this is also a rare sample, and if we lock him up here for now, he won’t be able to escape.”
“Hah! Well, well, an unexpected newcomer. And of all places he could have fallen, it just had to be here… Pfft.”
Andrew began giggling with a sinister smile, as if he’d had some wicked thought, but that laughter didn’t last long.
“Ah, right! Andrew? You don’t need to come here anymore. I called you here to tell you that from the start.”
“Huh? Then the work we’re doing now….”
“Phew—from now on, I’ll be taking full charge of matters on this side. So you only need to focus on the work you were doing over there.”
“Uh, er, th-then the working hours….”
“Now that there’s no more work on this side, that will be completely up to Olivia, won’t it?”
As if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have, his face turned deathly pale in an instant.
“No! Please let me work here, Ma’am! I’ll really die at this rate!”
“It’s His Majesty’s decree, so there’s nothing I can do. Ah, and from now on, your quarters are in that sector, not this one, so don’t get them mixed up.”
“Th-that place with those vicious friends…?”
Andrew desperately pleaded while Lilith shook her head as if there was nothing she could do.
But even amid all that, Riley’s curious gaze remained fixed on the unconscious man.
‘An otherworlder… just like Sea…’
The fact that Andrew, the overseer, was an otherworlder was surprising as well, but what currently held her interest was that black-haired man who seemed to have just crossed over to this place.
Come to think of it, his attire was the same, and the situation was similar to when she had met Isea.
Of course, whereas back then it had been the garden of a noble house where her maternal family resided, this time the difference was that it was near the Immortal King’s stronghold.
‘Now that I think about it, that person has the worst luck. To think his very first starting point would be a place like this.’
Riley, who knew about otherworld transfer through Isea, looked him over with a pitiful expression.
Even Isea would have been in quite a difficult situation had it not been for her proposal, but even so, it was nowhere near as bad as this place.
“Your Highness? You must have heard the gist of the situation, but from now on, this person will be staying here as well.”
“Ah!”
While she had been lost in thought, Lilith had approached her at some point and looked down at her, quietly speaking.
“…You don’t know how long you’ll be here either, Your Highness. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to talk to besides the Crown Prince?”
“……”
“Ah, come to think of it, this man apparently revealed his name first—what was it again?”
Lilith pondered for a moment, then glanced down at the man still unconscious in her grip.
A black-haired youth of an ethnicity quite similar to Isea’s, with soft features and slightly drooping eyes apparent even while unconscious.
“…Did he say Hesperon? Well, you can hear the detailed introduction directly from the person himself. Then I’ll be taking this man to his quarters now.”
An Awakened from Earth freshly transferred to another world.
It was the moment Hesperon was captured and brought in as a prisoner of the Immortal King.