Chapter 110 - When the World Tree Blooms (1)

A crying sound spreading from somewhere in the estate.

The voice of the sorrowfully weeping woman was mournful.

Even though she had no breath left to spare, only dry tear stains remained around the eyes of the woman who was sobbing uncontrollably.

It seemed the sorrow contained in her tear ducts alone was not enough to shed all the pain of losing her child.

"Sir Auguste."

Broken windows.

Teaware scattered all over.

However, unlike the messy surroundings, the tea contained in the teacup at least had a brilliant green light swirling within it.

"From this moment on, we will take over the management of the scene."

The Empire's Imperial Enforcer Commander turned around at the sound of the voice.

Armor engraved with a splendid golden relief.

That armor was something only the Emperor's Royal Guards could wear in the Empire.

"... Crimes that occur in the capital are under the jurisdiction of our Imperial Enforcers."

"Of course, I am aware of that as well."

The middle-aged man standing before the Imperial Enforcer Commander pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment from his embrace with a small smile.

Golden Edict (金印勅書).

The middle-aged man, who unrolled the golden edict that only the Emperor of the Empire could issue, tilted his head and opened his mouth.

"But since it is an order directly from His Majesty, there is nothing I can do."

"Everyone in the Empire knows that he is currently bedridden (臥病)."

The middle-aged man wearing the armor of the Royal Guard.

Hearing Auguste's words, he merely shrugged his shoulders with an exaggerated gesture.

"What blasphemous words. I clearly just met with His Majesty this morning."

"..."

Auguste ended up biting his lip as he looked at the man spouting such ridiculous bullshit.

To think that the Captain of the Royal Guard, who should be protecting the Emperor, was instead wielding his name as he pleased.

Noticing Auguste's anger, the aura of the members of the Imperial Enforcers began to sharpen.

"By the order of His Imperial Majesty, transfer your investigative authority right this instant. Imperial Enforcer Commander Auguste."

However, even amidst the increasingly fierce atmosphere, the middle-aged man merely rolled up the unfolded parchment.

With a faint sneer hovering around his mouth.

"From now on, our Imperial Royal Guard will take charge of the scene here."

A justification heavier than a sword.

In front of the Captain of the Royal Guard wielding the noble golden color, Auguste had no choice but to bow his head with feelings of resentment.

Inside the still-dark estate, only the sad weeping of a mother who had lost her child filled the air.

* * *

"But how are you going to stop them?"

A snowy path that sank up to the ankles.

The party wandering through the deep forest had dismounted from their horses and was moving forward while holding the reins.

However, even as their footsteps moved forward, Vlad's gaze, at least, was directed toward the man in the gray hood.

"Would the tea stop selling just because you keep plundering the wagons? You said it's selling incredibly well."

He didn't know exactly what this person used to do, but he was someone connected to the imperial family.

Furthermore, he was someone who had even recognized the voice's swordsmanship, so it was only natural for Vlad to show curiosity towards him.

The age of 18 was an age still very much eager for experience and knowledge.

"... Like you said, I couldn't stop them from selling."

The man in the gray hood offered a bitter smile and looked at Vlad.

Just as Vlad had said, the Imperial Enforcers, with their hands and feet cut off, could not clear away the cobwebs deeply rooted within the Empire.

"That's why I just went ahead and struck it."

"Struck what?"

"The beehive. Because I need to find out what's inside."

If he couldn't dig out what was hidden deep within, he had to drag it out.

Knowing that, Auguste had used himself as bait and was plundering Vitskaya's wagons.

"... Anyway, you said the Count had requested help from the dragon killer knights, right?"

"That's what they said."

Although contrary to his original intention, all that was drawn out was a greenhorn knight named Vlad, the greenhorn before him had still brought him a piece of information he wanted.

It was information about the fallen dragon that had nested inside the beehive.

'To request help directly from Dragulia without going through the imperial family...'

It was not too strange for a provincial lord to request help from the dragon killer knights to resolve a burdensome matter.

However, there were an order and procedure for all things, and Auguste had never heard anything about the Vitskaya Family following those procedures.

"Why the dragon killer knights?"

"It's nothing."

The young knight before him was probably curious about everything in the world, but sometimes it was better not to know.

If the fallen dragon was biting at its leash just as he suspected, simply knowing about it would bring great disaster.

"Look over there, Captain! That must be it!"

"... Wow."

Vlad, who had been conversing with Auguste for a while, unconsciously opened his mouth wide as he heard Got's shout.

"Why is it so huge?"

There was a forest.

A forest that had not lost its green despite it being winter.

Although it was dyed white by the falling snow, a warmth that even the cold snow could do nothing about could be felt from the forest ahead.

"That right there is the elves' forest."

The elves' forest, which hid in the depths and did not easily open its doors to anyone.

Vlad couldn't close his open mouth as he looked at the green horizon that seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"Then is that the World Tree?"

"Yes."

The elves' forest. Aushrina.

A single giant tree, standing tall above the sea of green, was looking down at Vlad.

* * *

Someone's office filled with sunlight.

In that place covered entirely in brown wood, a girl's platinum blonde hair was sparkling under the sunlight.

"Oppa."

"Yes. Divine Maiden."

Despite there being a chair, the platinum blonde girl, who was deliberately sitting on the desk, furrowed her slender brows as if she was displeased with Varadis's answer.

"... Forget it."

She spoke as if she was sulking, but she herself knew that it couldn't be helped.

Still, the disappointment welling up from a corner of her heart was inevitable, as she was puffing up her small cheeks.

"Take this with you when you go."

"Pardon?"

Varadis wore a puzzled expression as he looked at the basket the girl held out.

A basket filled with fruits she had gathered while wandering around the room at some point.

Along with the sheen of the glossy fruits, the girl's golden eyes were sparkling.

"He seemed to be hungry."

"... Who is hungry?"

Varadis couldn't hide his puzzled expression even as he accepted the basket.

She had her eccentric side even when she was young, but she had become a girl who was even harder to understand after becoming the Divine Maiden of the World Tree.

"Sir Varadis."

"Hmm?"

However, the answer to his previous question flowed out from the mouth of someone other than the girl.

"During reconnaissance, we discovered humans prowling nearby."

"Chase them away."

A report that required no deliberation.

However, the elf who came in to report continued speaking with a troubled expression.

"The thing is..."

"What is it?"

Varadis's expression had completely changed from when he was facing the girl.

Before he knew it, the look of a cold administrator and commander had taken its place on Varadis's face.

"The intruders are looking for you, Sir Varadis."

"... What?"

"To be precise, they claim they received an invitation from you, Sir Varadis."

Varadis furrowed his brows and looked at the reporter before him.

Although not spoken in words, the elf recognized the unspoken question communicated through his eyes and brought out a certain name he had acquired in front of him.

"The intruder introduced himself as Vlad of Soara."

"..."

Hearing his adjutant's words, Varadis unconsciously looked down at the basket he was holding.

"Did he happen to say he was hungry?"

"Pardon?"

Varadis turned his head and looked at the girl.

The girl was swinging her feet and smiling as if telling him to hurry up and go.

* * *

"Elves have prisons too."

"It's my first time being in one too."

"Do they not use nails? There aren't even any joint marks."

Unlike Got, who was squatting in the corner with a gloomy expression, Vlad roamed here and there, snooping around the elves' prison.

"Captain. Are you sure you actually got invited?"

"I told you I did."

"Then is it the elves' etiquette to just blindly shoot arrows at their invited guests?"

"... At least we didn't get hit."

Vlad scratched his cheek with his finger awkwardly as he looked at Got and the man in the gray hood staring at him.

Since he was invited, he thought he could enter proudly, but what actually welcomed them were murderous arrows and a cold prison.

"I still haven't repaid my life's debt to you."

"We managed to get inside, at least."

"Are you northerners naturally this shameless?"

Vlad grabbed the iron bars with both hands, ignoring the scolding and resentment he heard.

'If it was going to be like this, why did they even invite me?'

Vlad, for clues about the voice.

Auguste, for clues about Epsilon.

What each of them wanted was here in the elves' forest, so there was no reason to hesitate.

Even if they had known it would turn out like this, it was a place they had to come to anyway.

'... They were subtly on edge.'

However, what grated on Vlad's nerves was not his current situation of being locked inside a prison.

The kind of vibe that only people of the back alleys, who had to be sensitive to crises, could pick up on.

He had felt such a familiar vibe from the elves that had confronted them.

CREAK!

Vlad pressed his face close to the bars as he heard the sound of the door opening from up ahead.

"I apologize."

Blue hair tinged with black, and navy-blue eyes.

The cold-faced elf was approaching with his adjutants in tow, holding a basket in one hand.

"Vlad of Soara. Welcome to our forest."

"I guess elves give their welcome greetings in prisons?"

"Right. Just take this for now."

When it came to ignoring what people said, Varadis was one step above Vlad.

"Are you going to let us out of here?"

"Eat that and wait for just one day. There is a procedure we must go through to get you out."

At the mention of waiting yet another day, Vlad's brows narrowed.

"I hope you understand. It's a time when everyone is on edge lately. The procedure to release people who have been put in prison once is complicated."

"But why is everyone so on edge? When we were coming in, the surrounding area seemed quiet."

The excessively edgy attitude of the elves.

From their cold attitude, Vlad had felt a bizarre sense of wariness—as if they were intensely on guard against something—rather than hostility towards humans.

"... A dragon is coming."

It was a story he didn't necessarily need to tell the humans, but Varadis laid out his words calmly, as if explaining.

The blue eyes staring at him.

Since those eyes belonged to the being that the Divine Maiden of the World Tree was paying attention to.

Varadis thought there was surely a reason why they had arrived at Aushrina at this particular time.

"Because it will soon be time for the World Tree to bear flowers."

"Flowers?"

Hearing Varadis's words, Vlad unconsciously stroked Alicia's amber.

In the scenery of the amber that the girl had shown him, the maple tree dyed in red was clearly blooming with flowers.

"Yes. Flowers."

The name of the unified god.

And the young World Tree that had barely taken root after escaping the Empire's ambitions.

However, humans were not the only beings aiming for the young roots and fragrant flowers.

"The sharpest dragons have always aimed for the flowers of the World Tree."

Young petals are fragrant, and young roots are covetable.

However, there were countless beings all over the world who coveted fragrant and covetable things.

Even though all young and fragile things in this world certainly possessed the rightful qualification to bloom.

"I apologize for receiving you at a bad time."

"... Not at all."

How distant was the possibility of a single world taking root and safely blooming into flowers.

"Is there any way I might be able to help?"

Therefore, you must rightfully protect that moment.

And you swore to do so before my code.

"I am grateful for the offer alone."

Humans' souls are light, and their mouths are rotten.

Beings that absolutely could not be trusted.

However, the spirits wrapping around the blue-eyed knight right now were speaking.

That this person was one who had been protecting.

The white snake on his armor and the mole beneath his sword were saying so.

"..."

A single memory of the tree carved in the amber was reflecting in Varadis's eyes.

The nostalgically missed World Tree that had bloomed bright red, which could no longer be seen.

The knight standing beneath it was definitely holding a familiar sword.