72 – Whispers

Dawn. The dead of night.

An hour when all… no, almost all are asleep.

Two elves strolled leisurely down

A corridor within the Royal Castle.

The rhythmic clacking of their heels

Filled the silent corridor.

Clack, clack,

Clack, clack.

The persistent sound of heels ceased,

Replaced now by a different sound.

Knock, knock.

The wooden door

Resonated with a deep thrum.

Two knocks, delivered in quick succession,

And after a moment, the door slowly opened.

“Opening quick, are we?”

“I thought perhaps you weren’t coming, it was so late.”

“My apologies for the delay,

I had… certain matters to attend to.”

“..Please, come in.”

The sliver of closing door allowed

moonlight to escape in thin streams.

*

“So, what is it you wished to say?”

“Need you be so severe?

Even so, I am a guest. Perhaps some tea?”

“I am not so kind as to call one who arrives unbidden

at this hour a guest.”

So saying, she settled on the edge of the bed,

flicking on a light that flooded the room, revealing the two elves.

Sylvia, her jade hair as beautiful as ever,

her face a mask of composure, and the woman who had guarded her yesterday.

“So, this time… what is it?”

“It seems you have no intention of concealing your annoyance.”

“….”

“Well, no matter, I suppose.

There is something I require you to do, once more.”

“A request?”

“It benefits you as well, so

strictly speaking, it is a transaction.”

Frankly, I wasn’t keen.

It felt as though it would be something strange, like last time.

Still, I thought I should at least hear them out, and so

I did not throw them from the room, but waited.

As though expecting my reaction,

Sylvia produced a green orb from within her robes.

Unlike her own jade hair,

this orb was a deeper, more vibrant shade of green.

Her movement was so fluid, so natural, that

for a moment, I failed to focus my guard on the orb.

And in that instant, my consciousness was, once again,

dragged somewhere else.

“Wha…what is…”

“The test you so desired.

If you pass through it safely and return…

“I’ll be able to offer as many spirit stones as you need.”

“Wh…at the f…”

“..May the Great Forest’s blessing unfold before you.”

And, at that moment, the expression Silvia wore

was more human than any I’d seen before.

*

When I came to, what greeted my eyes were

leaves that grew as if embroidering the sky, and

a deep indigo heaven spread out above them.

The leaves clustered thick on the massive tree

standing right beside me, and

far away in that indigo sky,

specks like glittering white grains of sand sparkled.

Slowly, I gripped my head and sat up, replaying the events from before, and

curse words spilled from my lips unbidden.

All thanks to Silvia, for sending

me off somewhere without so much as a word.

“..Shit, where the hell am I─”

“Hello there?”

And those curse words

were shattered by a sweet voice ringing from the side.

Turning towards the sound, I saw

a woman standing there, caressing the tree.

A long braid and a brown hairpin neatly tucked in,

and hair a colour between jade and green, though closer to the former.

In her eyes, bright yellow like the morning sun,

I sensed an inexplicable warmth, and

around her, spirits younger

than any I’d seen before smirked and giggled,

and there were a ridiculous number of them.

Enough to create the illusion

of a swarm of locusts migrating.

The woman gestured a few times to the spirits

who were constantly smirking with glee,

and they vanished as if they’d never been.

Then, I blinked, and the woman was already sitting beside me.

“It’s our first meeting, isn’t it? Am I right?”

“..Who are you?”

“Someone who’s placing all her hopes on you.”

A woman I’d clearly just met today,

If I were to say that I placed all my hope on myself,

what kind of reaction would that elicit?

“….?”

“Heh heh, your expression is quite the sight.”

The response would vary from person to person, but

in my case, my face soured and froze in place, and

the woman, as if amused by my reaction,

covered her mouth and chuckled demurely.

“So… who exactly are you?”

“Oh my, you’re not as perceptive as I thought…?

I expected you to realize it right away.”

Saying that, she went back to that distant place,

touching the enormous tree I saw at first.

From the point where her hand touched,

gold was painted on like watercolor,

and finally, the lush and gigantic tree

transformed into a beautiful golden tree,

and at the same time, a radiant golden shimmer spread out.

That light was so warm and comforting that

for a moment, I nearly let everything go, and

again, placing her hand over her heart,

the woman released that melodious voice.

“My name is… Melina Restonil.”

“….”

“I am the queen of this generation’s elves…

and the world tree’s, the sacred tree’s, priestess.”

“…Priestess…?”

To my question, she nodded,

expressing the meaning of affirmation, and

as if to answer my question,

the golden tree once more emitted a warm light.

I briefly closed my eyes from the overwhelming brightness, and when I opened them,

another golden woman was standing before me.

Perhaps I mis-saw. I rubbed my eyes and opened them again,

and even if she wasn’t a golden woman, the fact that she was there remained.

Perhaps my gaze was stolen by the momentary burst of golden brilliance,

making me perceive her as a golden woman, but

her appearance now… was nature.

As if nature itself were transplanted, that’s who she was.

She radiated an aura, pure and ethereal, emanating from every pore.

Yet, instinctively, my body retreated, slow and deliberate,

creating distance.

Seeing this, her lips parted, a gentle descent.

“I am glad to meet you…”

“….”

I froze, instantly.

It was as if the voice belonged to no earthly realm.

I stumbled back, startled.

A single voice, and my entire being resonated with it.

“Child, who defies the destiny

arrogantly ordained by the gods.”

“…!”

Again, my body locked up.

Not from awe or surprise, but from stark horror and bewilderment.

When I regained my senses, caution poured from me, an uncontrollable torrent,

and in my right hand, a sharply honed

blade materialized.

“Calm yourself, child.

I am not your enemy.”

“..How am I supposed to believe that.”

“I can hardly force you to believe it… though.”

If I had learned one thing in my life thus far, it was this:

never trust blindly.

As an assassin, I was betrayed by a junior I’d trusted,

tortured to death.

As a researcher, my knowledge, against my will,

was used in horrific experiments.

All because of my superior, whom I had trusted and followed.

Perhaps sensing my guardedness,

the woman – Marina, was it? – extended her hands,

trying to soothe me.

“Calm yourself, child.

Everything this one says is the truth.”

“..This..one?”

This one?

In my confusion, the question escaped my lips.

If Sylvia’s mother was the Elven Queen,

who was so revered as to warrant honorifics from even her?

Within my mind, fragments of information

began assembling themselves into a haphazard puzzle.

Her aura, briefly radiant with gold.

The colossal tree, shifting to gold beneath the Queen’s touch.

The Elven Queen, introducing herself as a shaman.

The puzzle, its pieces finally unified,

pointed in but a single direction.

Having settled my thoughts, I opened my eyes once more

and regarded the woman before me.

“…The World Tree…?”

“So, at last, you recognize me,

Reverser of Heaven, child of the moon.”

The legendary tree said to have roots in three nations.

God Tree, Yggdrasil… it was the World Tree.

*

Meanwhile, even as Jennison’s consciousness

vanished to some unknown place, time continued its flow.

For the passage of time, none can halt.

Morning dawned,

knights polished their arms,

and servants attended them.

As always, an ordinary day was unfolding.

And from the duties of that day,

Sylvia, too, could not escape.

She arose early,

and took diligent care in her appearance.

As the representative of the Elves,

she could not afford to present a disheveled image.

Having completed her toilette,

she entered the main hall, where

the Empire’s people came into view, partaking of their meal.

Knights ate amidst their gleaming, well-polished steel weaponry,

and beside them, several servants

offered their attendance.

Finally, there was that utterly peculiar fellow

who perpetually fawned over her.

A typical situation that, normally, she would simply disregard…

But today, something was different.

Around Robert – that fellow there – and most of the knights assembled, even a few of the Elves, a strange and unsettling aura hung heavy in the air.

The spirits seemed to sense it too, for they kept a wide berth from their company.

Nay, it was more like avoidance, in truth.

As she was pondering this odd feeling,

Robert sidled up beside her, seizing her arm.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

“Yesterday…”

Robert’s voice, cracked and dry, rasped in her ear,

and the grip on her wrist tightened.

“It’s just that… I was curious about the conversation

you had yesterday… Haha.”

“Conversation?”

“That… that thing, with that fellow…

The whispering you two were doing… surely you recall.”

“…I fail to see why you are so curious.”

“Haha, as your representative, I must be informed

if there are any… extenuating circumstances, wouldn’t you agree…?”

He spoke with a smile plastered on his face, trying to look pleasant,

yet Silvia could see through the charade.

This smile did not reflect his true feelings.

“…It was a matter you need not concern yourself with.”

“Eh… Yes…?”

Silvia, loathing to parley with a man so masked in falsehood,

gave a vague reply, but little did she know

it would only serve to ignite his suspicion.

“So… you’re in league with that b*stard…”

“…?”

“You damned whores… seducing me…

playing with me as you please…”

“Excuse me, are you quite alright…?”

“…If only I had been just a little more handsome,

damn it… I wouldn’t have ended up like this…”

Silvia recoiled slightly from the muttering,

a string of hushed words laced with madness,

but her retreat was short-lived.

She froze, completely paralyzed with shock.

“Son of a b*tch!! Think you’re so great, huh?! Huh?!”

“Old geezer promoted for being ancient, what a loudmou─”

“You guys have it so good, playing around all comfy?

I met the wrong owner, so I’m in this damn state…!”

Before her eyes, as if a bomb had detonated,

a chain reaction of squabbles and bickering unfolded,

and if it had ended there, it would’ve been somewhat nice,

but unfortunately, there was no end in sight to this debacle.

Even now, in this very moment, emotions spiked abruptly,

and people were instigating fights left and right,

their targets indiscriminate of race, gender, or status,

and even those with the most tenuous of connections

were frequently seen fighting each other.

“Wha…what is this…”

“Hey, you, stop right there, you little sh─”

“Oh, you wanna try something, huh?”

“Agh!! You b*stard!”

Finally, blood splattered.

*Pshhk*—a hot liquid scattered across the floor.

The place where harsh words had once flown

had become a playground for brawlers,

and that place, in turn, had become a playground for killers.

Amidst the scene unfolding before her eyes, Sylvia’s mind

began to ring with a strange and high-pitched voice.

“He does not desire the sacrifices you offer.

He will never bring you what you desire,

so turn the arrow of your resentment.

Aim your arrows at those who possess, without effort,

that which you have desperately yearned for.

Rather than ache for the peace of others,

revel in the sweetness that comes to you by rotting their bones.”

Truly, these were phrases best described as a devil’s whispers.