73 – A Simple Reason

“A…World Tree of all beings…

What business do you have with me?”

World Tree.

Also known as the God Tree or Yggdrasil.

The source of life, the center of the world.

And the origin of all life.

A colossal tree supporting the heavens, and

A passage connecting the underworld, the earth, and the heavens.

The dew clinging to a single leaf is a panacea,

and a perfectly ripened fruit, an elixir of immortality.

A tree that repels all that is profane,

revered as the guardian of every forest.

I hadn’t the faintest notion why such a being

would deign to appear before me.

Thankfully, the answer didn’t take long.

The problem was, it wasn’t the answer I desired.

“It’s a test.”

“..A test…you say?”

I distinctly recall hearing those words.

Just before arriving at this place.

Yet, that alone hardly

sufficed to fully grasp the situation.

Surely, for a mere test,

the World Tree itself wouldn’t appear.

“..For something as simple as that, surely the World Tree

needn’t have come all the way—”

“It does.”

But it seemed she didn’t think so.

Cutting me off mid-sentence,

she spoke with unwavering resolve.

Her will was evident, that on this point,

she would brook no argument.

Her uncompromising manner unsettled me,

the disquiet likely showing on my face, for

she ran a hand over her features, a hint of regret surfacing, and continued.

“I am sorry, truly, but…

this is of great importance to us, you see.”

“..Us?”

“Yes, to me…and to my children.”

Who the children she spoke of were

became evident rather quickly.

They were already flitting about her,

giggling as they flew.

“Mama! Mama!”

“Hoomin, is it?”

“Hoomin! Hoomin it is!!”

A verdant green, a profound, deep blue,

A yellow so blinding, and

Reds, fervent and intense, danced around her.

Lights of every hue, reminiscent of a rainbow,

Began to swell, to overflow,

Until their numbers were such that

They all but veiled her face.

“Yes, they are human, children.

Mirne, would you indulge me for a moment?”

“As you wish.”

The hint of vexation gone, she

Called Mirne to assist, and as if waiting for the signal,

Mirne silently withdrew, taking the young spirits with her,

And only then were we afforded the space to converse further.

“Forgive me, for exposing you to such an unsightly scene.”

“..It is nothing.”

“An explanation is owed, I suspect?”

“I implore you.”

At my words, she cautiously upturned the corners of her lips,

And then began to tell her tale.

A litany of stories.

Stories that carried no lightness within them.

*

“Die…you son of a b*tch!!”

“Shit…Shit-baaall!!”

“S-save meee!!”

Pandemonium (阿鼻叫喚)

Sylvia painted the scene unfolding before her with this single word.

Indeed, anyone who witnessed this spectacle

Could conjure no other phrase.

“A..Agh!!”

“Y-you elf b*stards..!”

“M-my ear…blegh..aaagh!!”

The knights’ blades pierced elven hearts,

Their hands staining crimson with blood.

Someone chewed on the elves’ ears, grinding them,

Spitting them out onto the ground with a wet *thwack*.

“These…humans, as expected…!”

“Die… die!”

Elven arrows sought human eyes,

Around them, knights served as arrow fodder.

Elven magic shattered knightly arms and armor,

They hunted humans with the skill of forest stalkers.

The metallic tang of blood hung in the air,

Eyeballs popped and bounced,

The dead, eyes closed, were difficult to truly see.

The calm, dignified meal from moments before

Had become a chaos of screams and slaughter.

“P-Princess! You must flee!”

“We’ll hold them off here!”

“Hmph… trusting these human dogs to enter was a mistake—”

Those few elves still standing tried to spirit Sylvia away,

But she had no intention of obeying.

“No, I’m staying here.”

“Wha… what?!”

“W-What are you saying, Princess?!”

“This is no time for games—!”

“…Games?”

Countless elves argued against her decision.

All of them shared the common thought that

she must be protected at all costs.

Sylvia wasn’t ignorant of their feelings.

But that was precisely why she disliked it so much.

She hated being seen as some weak thing who needed protection,

As if their lives were expendable

so long as she escaped unscathed.

She understood that this was their duty.

But for some reason, she couldn’t accept it.

So she deliberately put strength into her voice,

Hoping they would sense, even a little, her feelings.

“Does my word sound like a jest?

Do I look so weak, like someone who can only survive

with your help?

Or do you value your own lives so little?”

“N-No, that’s not it at all—!”

“We only… for the Princess—!”

She, who had maintained a steadfastly serious expression throughout the entire tale,

advanced towards the Elves standing before her, that frozen look still firmly in place.

Her gaze fixed resolutely ahead,

she appeared utterly defenseless from the rear.

And from behind her,

a woman wielding a knife rapidly closed the distance.

Just moments before, she had been

a kitchen maid, carrying dishes in the main hall.

“You lucky… b*tch… die!

I’m so jealous…!!!”

“Y-Your Highness… you must dodge…!”

“This… damn─”

The Elves before her were unable to react in time

to the maid’s speed, unbelievable for someone of her station.

A soft *thud* echoed, followed by the

metallic scent of blood swirling in the air.

Unable to bear the sight unfolding before them,

the Elves squeezed their eyes shut as if by some unspoken agreement.

“Hm? Open your eyes, you all.”

“Ah… eh?”

“Y-Your Highness…?!”

Opening their eyes again at the familiar voice, they found

a scene playing out that was entirely different from what they had imagined.

“Guh… urgh…”

“Pierced clean through the stomach…

but what manner of constitution *is* that, I wonder.”

The body of the knife-wielding maid flailed helplessly in the air, impaled on

tree roots that had sprung forth from somewhere unseen.

“W-What on earth…”

“W-Where did those even come from?”

Some of the Elves questioned their very eyes

at the display of her power, but

“Th-That’s… spirit power.”

“To think Her Highness could wield spirits so skillfully…!”

Most of the Elves realized she commanded spirits,

and breathed sighs of relief, grateful.

Leaving the Elves’ praise echoing behind her,

Sylvia plunged directly into the battlefield.

No, not a battlefield, but rather a slaughterhouse.

Around her, as she ran, a kaleidoscope of colors

began to swirl, the tide of battle shifting with each gesture.

A simple flick of her fingers skyward

and the earth beneath them surged, erupting in colossal rocks.

A mere wave of her hand

summoned gusts of wind strong enough to throw a man.

Her palm extended, facing forward,

crackled with arcs of raw, untamed energy.

And with a single sweeping kick,

the ground beneath her feet slowly, inexorably, frosted over.

“Ugh… Ughaaah!!”

“C…coldaaargh!”

“Wh…what is this…? Kyaaack!!!”

Even so, victory wasn’t easily won.

These were the Empire’s chosen protectors,

each one undeniably skilled.

When she conjured the gales,

they plunged their swords deep into the earth, anchoring themselves.

When she attempted to command the roots of the trees,

they were severed clean with every try.

“Hold your ground!!”

“The Princess fights so bravely!

She is defending us!”

“Protecting her is our duty, not the other way around!”

But their resolve wouldn’t hold for long.

Sylvia’s onslaught, coupled with

the Elves’ soaring morale, proved too much

even for them.

“W…we have to stop the Deputy Commander!”

“Hey…! Snap out of it!”

And then a few knights, small in number but clearly retaining their composure,

joined the fray, trying to restrain their own men,

and the situation unraveled faster than expected.

“Let… let gooo!!”

“That… that one, I’ll never forgive what they said to me─”

“Hey… where’d that old coot go…?!”

After subduing them, Sylvia gathered the prisoners in one place for binding,

then began the grim task of assessing casualties.

“…What are the losses?”

“The wounded Elves—”

“..I asked how many casualties we sustained.”

“Ah..yes! It appears there are 26 wounded in total, and

a confirmed 13 fatalities.”

“More than I anticipated…”

A torrent of thoughts flooded Sylvia’s mind.

‘..An Imperial plot?

Would they risk such a blatant act so soon?’

“Princess..?”

“..One moment.”

She tried to pinpoint the instigator of this incident, but

even her exceptional intellect drew a blank, and

once again, a voice echoed in her mind.

“You are quite strong, I see.”

In that instant, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning.

The certainty that *this* was the culprit.

The moment the voice subsided,

she frantically scanned her surroundings,

but no suspicious figure was to be seen.

“Ah, looking for me..?

Well..I suppose it matters little, the work is already complete.”

As soon as the voice in her head ceased,

the space behind her *crackled* and tore open.

“What.. what is *that*?!”

“S..space?!”

“Is..is this an attack? Everyone, prepare—”

“Greetings!”

A human form ejected itself into existence.

Flippant voice, frivolous manner.

At a glance, simply a normal boy.

With orange hair and clad in black clothing,

he *seemed* like a normal boy,

but Sylvia did not see it that way.

No, she *could not*.

The spirits surrounding her

began to tremble like aspens.

“Hmm..the trial version is far too weak after all..”

“…?”

He prattled on about trial versions to the restrained figures, cryptic words,

but a single truth dawned on everyone present.

That boy. He was the cause of this whole mess.

Everyone felt it instinctively.

“You…Dieee!!”

“Hm?”

In the end, one knight couldn’t contain his rage and charged the boy.

The reason was simple.

His comrade, his lover, a female knight,

had lost her life in the incident just now.

The furious male knight charged with great momentum…

And was swallowed whole.

“Ugh…Mmph…Mmph!!”

“What is this?”

In the most literal sense.

He was devoured as if sucked into a vortex of black energy.

And then, he was spat back out.

So twisted, his form unrecognizable.

This time, too, the reason was simple.

“Ugh…it’s surprisingly quite underwhelming, though…”

“…!”

Because it was underwhelming.

That was all.