Chapter 332 – Life Cycles
The way to the top of the World Tree, where life circulates.
Could it be thanks to the capture of the Seething Silence Assassin? Milone and Nariel showed a more favorable response to this side.
… Although it may seem too benevolent.
“I heard a lot of stories! He rose to the rank of lieutenant mage at a young age, and stopped several evil plots of cultists!”
“Thank you for a good look. However, it seems to be a little old information, so if I have to add a little bit, I’m a high-ranking wizard now. Not only cultists, but also a lot of dungeons.”
“Wow… ! Isn’t it normal for high-ranking wizards to reach 200 at the earliest? How old is he now?”
“I’m 20 years old, but…”
“Omg! You’re such a baby! Are you okay? Don’t you just want to see your parents? I never thought the empire would put such a heavy burden on a child…”
“…”
I didn’t expect this reaction.
Milone opened her mouth, forcibly holding the corner of her mouth that kept going up.
“Your Highness the Queen. Humans are a fast-growing species. The average lifespan is just under 100 years. It’s true that you’re young at 20, but you’re an adult.”
“… Omg! That’s right. I’m sorry, Duke Lindelheit. It’s the first time I’ve met someone from a different race, so I must have made a mistake.”
“It’s okay. It can be.”
Elves usually live a long lifespan, but High Elves live even longer.
As you can see from Iris, the high elves’ concept of time and age is a bit peculiar.
Maybe it’s because she’s born that way to keep her soul from wearing out like Rebecca, even if she lives a long time.
Well, usually these gaps are filled with experience… Nariel’s lack of experience is too lacking.
The previous king, who still remembered the days when the king was in power of Alfheim, and Milone, who was evaluated as the best among all the ministers.
Right after Milone’s inauguration as chancellor, the two clashed over every incident, and it was always the former king’s side that broke each time.
In the end, the previous king, who was tired of everything, retired right away as soon as the circulating life designated Nariel as the next monarch.
This is Nariel, who rose to the position of queen at a young age after saying that.
She spent most of her life growing up inside the World Tree, and had little contact with other people.
The only things I learned about the outside were the stories and books of Milone, whom I had taken care of since I was a child.
So it was inevitable that Nariel would sometimes say nonsense. Even if she’s over 100 years old, she might not even know if she’s been confined to her room.
… What? So Miloney doesn’t she like Nariel she’s been watching since she was toddling with her?
Shining my God. Not just a lily, but a helmsman lily.
Did you feel my eyes looking at you as if you were looking at a thief? Milone asked, tilting her head.
“Why is that? Ah, if it’s for catching the assassin who was targeting Her Highness, I promise you a proper reward for this as well.”
“I didn’t look at it with that thought, but… May I clear one of the dungeons managed by Alfheim?”
“Ugh. Since the behavior of the cultists is not unusual, I thought about clearing things up, so it should be fine. Which dungeon do you want?”
“The southernmost tip of the great forest. I want the nameless dungeon there.”
“There…”
Milone widened her tired eyes as if a little surprised.
This dungeon, called the Southern Dungeon, is one of Alfheim’s top secrets.
Due to the nature of the dungeon, which contains the environment of the past, it often contains resources that cannot be obtained now.
In this dungeon, you can get Spirit Stones that cannot be made now.
The amount itself was not great, but the purity was so great that it significantly slowed down Alfheim’s energy depletion.
But right now, it is a place that I must clear. That would be too…
Because that is the battlefield sealed with the tomb of Paracelsus, the first great alchemist.
Since I’ve come all the way here, I have to clear it and go.
So, at this point, a question arises. Alternately, why does a spirit stone come out of an alchemist’s tomb?
The reason is simple. Paracelsus, who succeeded in making the Philosopher’s Stone, set his next goal in making a homunculus.
And on the continent of Eurelia, where many races lived together, there was no law that a homunculus was necessarily a human.
He tried to create artificial spirits that belonged to the continent of Eurelia, not to the spirit realm.
A grandiose plan indeed. The problem is that he died before the end of his research.
The lab that lost its owner became a tomb and stopped for a long time… The moment when the war of the gods begins and the forces of evil pass nearby.
The automatic defense system worked, and the golems and monsters that had been reactivated after a long time started fighting each other.
After the evil god noticed that the owner of the golem was the famous Paracelsus, they focused on monsters to secure a defense.
Thanks to this, the remote countryside, which is not a strategic location, has become a battlefield. For quite a long time.
Of course, if the evil god side gathered their troops properly, the decision would have been settled soon. But at the time, it was the end of the War of the Gods.
Since the evil spirits are being sealed away one by one right now, the high-end power cannot be taken carelessly.
Thanks to this, neither side was pushed back and fought endlessly. Rahim succeeded in sealing all the evil gods, and the war of the gods came to an end.
And the whole area of Paracelsus’ workshop was eventually turned into a dungeon and thrown into a corner of the Great Forest without a winner being identified.
Since there were a lot of monsters, they would have judged it to be a dungeon.
Anyway, since it’s such a place, there were quite a few spirit stones that Paracelsus had collected for research, but Alfheim digs them up and uses them. It’s also a loop type dungeon.
It’s ironic. At the time, he created a workshop in a corner of the continent to avoid the elves who did not like the research of artificial spirits, but eventually arrived at the great forest and helped the elves.
After hearing my request, Milone seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded his head with a wry smile.
“No matter how important the Spirit Stone is, it would be foolish to have a dangerous element inside the Great Forest. All right. As soon as the work is finished, we will take action so that you can clear it right away.”
“Thank you. And don’t worry too much. Perhaps the things that the Prime Minister is worried about won’t happen.”
“… How can you be so sure?”
I tried to manage it myself, but in the end, it seems that I failed.
In the meantime, how much Alfheim tried to avoid the situation of depletion of spirit power, how could he say such a thing even knowing that… It seems that there is a saying behind it.
That’s right. But I also have a corner to believe in.
Was it bothered by the story of Alfheim? Grabbing the shoulders of Elisha and Iris, who were sneakily watching from the side, he put them on both sides and showed them proudly.
“These two will come up with a solution. Just because you’re expelled from the Sylvan Tower doesn’t mean you lose your purpose and knowledge, right?”
“No way… Are you still working on a complete replacement of animism through elemental magic? Even after being enslaved by our sentence?”
She smiled at Milone, who was at a loss for words.
“Iris, who has been the most outstanding elven wizard for the past 500 years, and Elisha, the archmage recognized by Iris. I will definitely find a way. … It seems to me that I have already found a clue.”
Because we know the future through H&A, we can assert it.
As a great sorceress, Elisha succeeds in embodying nature itself, replacing her elemental magic with her elemental magic.
And… Even if Elisha and her direction are slightly different, it is possible for Iris to share the same thoughts.
Milone just nodded in admiration at the unwavering answer. But it seems she wasn’t the only one surprised by this.
“You…”
“Master…”
Elisha and Iris are thrilled and want to run at it right now. He patted the two of them on the back and asked.
“How is it? Can you?”
“Oh? When have I ever failed to live up to your expectations?”
“Hmmmm. It’s not the only thing I received from the owner. Although it may take a little time, it is certainly possible.”
Elisha and Iris stretch out her breasts confidently. Seeing that, Milo smiled and nodded his head.
“When that time comes, I will be happy to hand over the chancellor position to you two.”
“To? That’s kinda…”
“I-I am not interested in the chancellor position!”
“…”
Milone, who loses focus from her eyes as if hurt when her half-joking remarks are returned as heartfelt rejections.
Then he stared at the floor and said in a small voice, ‘I didn’t mean to work without sleep for days.’ ‘I thought I could change this country if I became chancellor.’ ‘But everyone except me is just an idiot… ‘ She began to mumble.
Nariel was frightened by the unusual appearance and began to comfort Milone by holding her hand.
The composition is the opposite of the one that Milone soothed.
They already look good. That’s why I couldn’t let Nariel get assassinated.
The chaos that Alfheim is going through is also chaos, but there is a really serious problem on Milone’s side.
If you’re lucky, you’ll disappear somewhere alone in desperation, ending up with Alfheim paralyzed. If you’re unlucky, out of a vengeful spirit, you order all troops to be imprisoned and die fighting yourself.
Of course, there is no way that the elves can fight the ugly army of prosperity head-on and win, so destruction is certain.
There are quite a few senses that I solved it erratically, but it’s really fortunate that I was able to deal with the assassin quickly anyway.
How long did I keep walking while holding back the laughter that kept coming out of my pride?
Before we knew it, we passed the lower and middle levels of the World Tree and reached the entrance to the upper level, where circulating life dwells.
It’s a gift… My friend’s (Fafnir) son or my friend’s (Solari) husband, which one should I give you a better one?
I looked up at the door in front of me with a pounding heart.
It was a door that somehow resembled a knot.