## Chapter 1141 – Elf Queen Shahrhan

Shahrhan.

Judging by the fact that she revealed her name first, she seemed to have a pretty good personality.

However, unlike her appearance, her voice was a bit dark. No, it would be more accurate to say it sounded weary. She didn’t seem to have much energy, and her aura was dark.

The quick-witted Kim Kat grasped all of that in that short moment.

“…”

What could be felt from the queen’s thinly opened eyes was deep fatigue.

At first glance, she seemed very authoritarian, a racial supremacist who looked down on humans. But, as expected, impressions and actual personalities are different.

Being a queen is tiring in many ways.

“Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Paladin Kim Kat.”
“…I have heard the stories. They said you are more than worthy to be called a hero.”

ㅡClack.

The queen, who had been making such flattering remarks, snapped her fingers, and with that, the maids scurried out. Dismissing the maids here? The maids who left through the door closed it behind them.

With that, only the queen and I were left in this audience chamber.

And.

ㅡShuffle, shuffle.

The queen, who had been sitting on the throne, slowly descended the stairs.

The queen stood with her back to the light emanating from the stained glass. Because of that, her silhouette was visible. She was wearing a flowing dress, but the material clung to her body, accentuating her good figure. Elves are elves, after all. No, she was more than worthy to be called an Elf Queen.

“Your Majesty?”
“Let’s skip the tedious procedures. You’ve come all this way, there’s no need to do anything tiring.”

What is this?

This is too cool and easygoing.

“Is that alright?”

Of course, I would welcome skipping the tedious procedures.

“It’s not like there are those who like to find fault with such things watching… Besides, now it’s just you and me here. To proceed with unnecessary procedures in a place with only two people… Wouldn’t that be a waste in many ways, and meaningless?”

It seemed that Elf Queen Shahrhan was quite an enlightened person. As far as I knew, there were no bad people among those who could coolly throw away tedious procedures.

“Hehehe, you are quite the queen with an open mind. You’re right. I’m very impressed.”
“If you live long enough repeating the same things every day, you’ll all become like me. Now, get up. There’s no need to kneel and hurt your knees.”

She has a pretty good personality.

She was a person of character.

“Thank you.”

ㅡSwish.

I immediately stood up from my seat.

Shahrhan’s height was about 175cm.

She stood in front of me and looked up slightly. Conversely, I couldn’t help but look down at her slightly, but I don’t know why these women don’t try to cover their cleavage.

“Actually, I don’t really like tedious procedures either. I feel much more comfortable since Your Majesty said that first.”
“No one likes tedious things.”

That’s true.

“All of that is… just a formality to show off. The person doing it, the person watching it, and the person ordering it all know it, but they’re just doing it forcibly. Etiquette and such are just a nuisance. There’s no problem as long as you have the heart to respect the other person and be polite.”

Shahrhan said that with a tone that dripped with fatigue and annoyance. But, unlike that weary tone, she seemed to talk quite a bit.

“Hehehe, that’s a poignant insight that pierces through the ages. It would be so much easier to live if everyone thought like Queen Shahrhan.”
“Hehe, you’re quite the talker.”
“I hear that a lot. But.”

I tilted my head slightly and said.

“Even so, isn’t it a bit much to be meeting with me alone without any guards?”

Right now, only the queen and I were in this space.

I can tell because it’s me.

There wasn’t a single soldier guarding her.
If there was someone, they would have already been caught by my senses.

Even so, for the queen to be meeting with a member of another race alone without guards…

Is this bold?
Or is she just really annoyed?

She has a strange personality.

“…Those with dangerous ideologies cannot enter this place. Do you have any intention of harming me?”
“Of course not.”
“Then there’s no problem.”

I felt something similar to this when I met someone last time. As expected, people in such high positions become bolder.

“Then let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“This isn’t a very good place to talk.”

The king’s audience chamber.

All that was in this place was a wide space, pillars, stairs, a throne, and stained-glass windows. Originally, the king would sit on the throne above those stairs and have a conversation with his subordinates that wasn’t very horizontal while showing off his authority.

As she said, it’s not a very good place to talk.

Is she going to be considerate of that?

“I understand.”
“Then to the drawing room.”

The queen led me to the drawing room without bringing any guards. She opened the door next to the audience chamber, and a hallway appeared. The queen walked quietly and calmly down the hallway and up the stairs.

I could only follow her.

We arrived at the drawing room.

It wasn’t very large, but it was a very luxurious and calm space. I sat on the sofa, and the queen sat across from me.

“Now… please take that out.”

I took out two boxes from the bag I had brought and placed them on the table. One was a box containing the leaves of the World Tree. I opened it first and showed it to her.

“Leaves from the World Tree.”

Shahrhan, who had narrowed her eyes, reached out and picked up a leaf.

“I heard it’s a sacred object of the Elven Forest.”
“A sacred object… I guess you could say that.”
“That’s right. But there seem to be quite a few here.”
“There are many, but we can’t just take them off carelessly. Likewise, the leaves hardly ever fall off on their own.”

Is that so?

ㅡSwish.

The queen, who had put down the leaf, grabbed the box next to it.

“This is… the letter sent from the Karga Kingdom.”
“That’s right. But I don’t know anything about the contents. I’ve never opened it before.”

From the start, the box was well-locked. How could I open it in that state? They didn’t even give me a key, so if I opened it, the box would be destroyed.

“I see. But… how do you open this?”
“Ah.”

The box was locked.

“I didn’t receive the key for this. I think you can just break it and take out the contents.”
“If that’s the case.”

The queen handed me the box.

“Please open it. I’m too weak. I don’t think I can open it myself.”

The queen said that and gave a faint smile.

“I understand. I’ll have to do the heavy lifting.”

ㅡCrack.

I lightly opened the box. The lock was shattered by that force. With that, the imperial edict inside was revealed.

The queen picked it up.

“…Hmm.”

She began to read it very slowly. I sat still and waited for her to read the edict. The amount was quite considerable, enough to be called a bundle of documents, and the queen read it very carefully, stroking her lips.

ㅡSwish.

Accordingly, the documents she had finished reading were piled up on the table.

“Do you… know about the contents of this agreement?”
“I don’t know because I haven’t heard anything about it at all. In fact, I’m just here to deliver the letter.”
“Hehe, I see.”

The queen, who had put down the last document, said.

“This alliance story… was directly ordered by the World Tree.”

She suddenly revealed that fact.

“The World Tree?”
“It was something that he ordered me to do.”
“Then does the World Tree know about the threats that exist these days?”
“Probably.”
“I can’t believe it.”

As expected, a god is a god.

No.

It’s possible enough.

The World Tree is a divine being. Of course, the Gate of Pandemonium opened on the other side. Monsters from another dimension are trying to cross over. He would be able to read this kind of energy.

“Then the World Tree also knows about the Archdemons of Pandemonium.”
“Yes. I don’t know much about it, but he knows about it.”
“Oh my.”

A country ruled directly by a god.
Looking at it this way, it seems stable.

“I’ll ask you this first, how much do you know about the situation?”
“Well, I can confidently say that I know it for sure. Because I witnessed it and fought it myself.”
“You’re a living witness. Can you tell me a little about it?”
“If Your Majesty wants to hear it.”

Explaining this to others is now too familiar. I simply told her about the characteristics and cruelty of the demons, and how they and the heretics colluded to open the gate, and how the Archdemon crossed over.

“Wow. So you ended up defeating the Archdemon all by yourself?”
“It was pretty much like that.”
“You are a very outstanding hero.”
“Hehehe. Thank you.”

Queen Shahrhan listened attentively to my story, smiling, asking me questions, or praising my martial prowess throughout my story. She was someone who was ready to listen to the story.

“…So you feel it’s dangerous because you’ve experienced it and fought it yourself.”

Soon the story ended, and the queen said that.

“Yes. So I’m guessing that the elves are trying to form an alliance with humans. If they start a war, everyone will suffer. I think the World Tree knows that too.”
“I see.”
“What does Your Majesty think?”

I asked that to continue the conversation.

Then.

“My thoughts… Hehe.”

She lengthened her words as if she was trying to think for a moment, and laughed happily.

“Hmm?”
“Demons… Archdemons and invaders from another dimension… Hehe. Hehehe.”

What.

Why is she laughing?

“Is something funny?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing like that.”

The queen, who shook her hand at my question, continued to speak with a smiling face.

“I just thought it was funny.”
“Funny?”

What on earth does this mean?

“Please don’t worry, I didn’t mean it in a strange way.”

I couldn’t say anything.

“Since I’m just experiencing the world with documents in this safe place, I’ve become insensitive to the groans of others.”
“What does that mean?”

Experiencing the world with documents?

“In fact, I’m not very interested in such issues.”
“Excuse me?”

Hey, you son of a…

“For me, whether it’s an alliance with humans or invaders from another dimension, it’s all just a story in a document.”

Queen Shahrhan said as if she was enjoying it.
Her voice was full of life.

“They’re all just things that exist in paper and letters, so I think they’re not much different from novels.”
“…”

The queen, who had brought one hand to her chest, said while looking at my eyes.

What am I supposed to say to this?

“A novel… So, for Your Majesty, all the events that happen outside this sanctuary are no different from the contents of a book? So it feels like a novel?”
“Yes. That’s right. It’s just that kind of story to me.”

What on earth is this?

Suddenly, the future of the elves feels dark.

No.

That’s not it. After all, the World Tree is in control. It doesn’t matter much what the queen is thinking.

“It’s a bit difficult for me to say anything about that. Even so. Why does Your Majesty think that way? I’m not someone who can say anything, but it feels a bit strange that Your Majesty is like that.”
“Hehe. You want to know why I’m like this?”

The queen still seemed happy.

“Well… it’s been over 250 years since I’ve been trapped here.”

However.

Suddenly, the tension drops.

The vitality that had been in her voice drains away again.

“You said you’re not even 30 years old yet. For eight times longer than the time you’ve spent your whole life, I haven’t been able to leave this sanctuary.”
“Oh…”

W, why are you suddenly telling me such a heavy story… I couldn’t help but be nervous. Even if I’m a Heavenly Demon, I’m bound to be flustered if an Elf Queen I’ve never met before suddenly starts telling me such a heavy story in front of me.

This feels too ominous.

“Since becoming queen, I’ve only experienced everything that happens in the world through documents. Because I can’t leave this place. The people I see are limited, the people I talk to are limited. I only see what I’ve always seen. I forget what I wanted to do. I’ve been living that kind of life.”
“…”

I felt a mental distortion in the queen’s voice.

“In fact, that’s why I’m not very interested in stories in these documents. Wouldn’t anyone become like this if they lived like me?”

I understand roughly.

Was the weary attitude she showed at first because of this?

But why are you suddenly telling me this?

“Oh dear. I’ve been talking for a bit too long.”
“No, well… it wasn’t that long.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a human, and it’s the first time I’ve met an outsider like this, so I’ve just become too happy.”

She’s gone crazy from being trapped for so long.

“Interacting with beings who live in reality, not beings in novels, is such a joyful thing.”
“…”
“Actually, my heart is pounding quite a bit. I’m so happy right now…”

The queen, who had been smiling brightly, reached out her hand.

“Should I say it’s making my heart flutter… so rather than this boring alliance story.”

My hand that was on the table.

“I’m becoming more interested in you.”

She covers my hand with her hand.