Chapter 143 - Following the Footsteps (1)

Geronimo, the Great Elder of the elves and the oldest elf, had once said it.

That he had left for the west.

"... I do not know why you are searching for his trail."

It had been the forest of the elves, reached by following the traces of the voice, yet what Vlad had actually encountered there had not been the voice, but only traces of a Swordmaster.

The more he resolved his questions, the greater the questions that waited for Vlad became.

"Still, if you wish to find his traces, there is something you must first try to understand."

"... What must I understand?"

The swordsmanship I used was Imperial Swordsmanship.

Then why was the voice using Imperial Swordsmanship?

The path of the voice had clearly been protecting the spirits and keeping them safe.

Then why had the voice been protecting the spirits?

"Quijano Frausen, who was not Frausen the Founding King, but only a single human being."

"..."

The questions that followed one after another, endlessly, were clearly pointing to one place.

Frausen the Founding King.

The first Swordmaster.

And Quijano, the man who had laid down everything glorious.

"I hope you will read through his thoughts about why he did what he did."

Geronimo, who had grown wise with age, was able to tell Vlad the direction in which he should go.

To know the end, one must look at the beginning.

Perhaps he had rummaged through countless old memories just to bring those words out of his mouth.

"Go west. He said he was leaving for that place."

"The west?"

Though everyone had praised the glorious beginning of the man named Frausen, no one had been able to speak of his end.

The traces of Frausen, who had vanished mysteriously like a tale from legend.

Perhaps Vlad, though it had not been his intention, was now the person who had drawn closest to those traces.

"Yes. The west. The place where our Mother World Tree once stood."

He had walked all the way here without even knowing whom he was searching for.

But faint traces had certainly remained, and they were likely the struggles of those who had tried to protect something.

"Seek out the dwarves there."

The signpost set down by the old man was pointing the young knight toward his next direction.

Toward the west, now turned into wasteland.

Toward the dwarves who remained in the place where the Mother World Tree had once stood.

"Dwarves..."

An aloof silver hue settled over Vlad's face as he came into contact with another unfamiliar world.

A beam of light that began from the silver sword lying carefully in place.

The light spread so faintly that Vlad, lost in thought, did not notice it, and it watched him for a long while, as if quietly studying him.

* * *

Alicia was barely pretending to be calm while clutching at her pounding heart.

"... You wish to compensate us for our family heirloom?"

A trace of her beloved father, and an heirloom her family had held for a long time.

Alicia had not given that amber, which had been so precious to her, to Vlad simply because she was personally drawn to him.

It had been a kind of investment.

An investment made while looking toward Deirmar's future.

The promising knight named Vlad was undoubtedly an excellent piece that could fill Deirmar's weakest part, and Alicia had truly wanted to possess that shining piece.

"That is correct. Ruler of humans, Lady Alicia of Heinal."

The elf who had introduced himself as Varadis was treating Alicia with truly courteous manners.

It was completely different from the rumors that elves rejected humans.

The vassals of Heinal could only keep their mouths tightly shut in confusion as they watched those elves.

"The precious heirloom of your family that you placed in Vlad's hands was of truly great help to us of Aushrina."

There had been a letter from the elves that Vlad had brought, but it had only been a greeting.

The elves had decided to offer proper compensation to the human ruler who had preserved the precious trace of the Mother World Tree and then lost it.

"It is not much, but I hope it pleases you."

From behind Varadis, who bowed his head politely, an elegant wooden box began to be brought forward.

It looked as though the box alone would be worth a fortune.

Knowing that anything with the name elf attached to it would leap in value, everyone held their breath and watched the box as it slowly began to open.

"What is... this?"

At last, when the box opened, a subtle fragrance drifted out with it.

It was a fragrance that instantly brightened this place, which had been filled with a gloomy smell.

"It is saffron. A spice we especially cherish."

Red strands that looked like dried flower petals.

The fragrance rising from within them revealed such a distinct presence that it seemed almost possible to grasp it by hand.

"Uh, um. This is, so..."

Alicia's voice managed to come out, but she could not bring it to an end.

Having encountered elven culture for the first time in her life, Alicia could immediately tell that the saffron before her was an item of tremendous value.

"Baroness Alicia. Through this opportunity, we wish to form a close relationship with the Heinal Family."

They did not bother to speak in circles.

Unlike humans, who tried to hide their true intentions in their words to gain advantage, the elves simply conveyed things straight and properly.

"Though we are in a distant place, if there are trustworthy people there, there will be no reason to hesitate. Please consider our proposal deeply."

The fragrance drifting through the air was dizzying, and the words reaching their ears were sweet.

Alicia's vassals were nearly unable to breathe at Varadis's words lingering by their ears.

Could there be such an absurd opportunity?

The heads of the vassals, who had received the most unbelievable opportunity at the most difficult time, naturally turned toward Alicia, who sat in the lord's seat.

"... I have heard you well."

And sitting there was Alicia Heinal, the only Heinal.

As she met the eyes of her vassals, her shoulders were straightening with pride.

"Welcome. All of you who have come from afar."

Alicia's smile toward the elves brightly lit the hall of Deirmar.

Because what stood before Alicia, who had recognized its value more than anyone, was Vlad's gift, repaying her for all the difficult years that had passed.

* * *

The conversation with the humans had been successful.

Because the elves could not help being poor compared to the Empire, they had always had to live in anxiety over humans, but in the vast world they had finally faced, a great wind of change was already blowing.

"The fact that a force called the Northern Alliance has begun to move will certainly be to our benefit."

"Perhaps it may even become an alternative that can stand against the Empire."

They had heard that the Northern Orthodox Church, which the Northern Alliance was putting forward, certainly had tolerant standards toward other religions and beliefs as well.

Not only one standard, but the possibilities of you and me.

That new sect, which guaranteed such things, would surely show the elves another option.

"It is here."

The rangers, who had succeeded in grasping the trends of the world they had been ignorant of until now, asked Alicia for permission to examine Heinal's tree on the hill in order to accomplish their original purpose.

Because the most important reason they had left Aushrina was precisely this.

"This is what Vlad spoke of..."

It seemed they could know without needing to confirm it.

A single lemon tree that looked old to anyone who saw it.

The rich fragrance felt from there was certainly similar to the scent of a young World Tree.

"So it was a snake after all."

Though he had not closed his left eye, the pentagram that rose in his pupil was lighting Varadis's eye.

The world of the elves, together with the World Tree.

In the place where the color seen through that world was deep, there was a white snake flicking its tongue at them.

"It survived."

"It feels like the mole of Dobrechiti we saw before."

Varadis and the elves had come following the traces of the spirits, just as Vlad had told them.

After leaving Aushrina, they had first met the mole of Dobrechiti, and at last they had been able to reach Deirmar, where the Mother World Tree had somehow come to dwell.

"Did he keep them alive like this?"

In the old days long past, the elves had been forced to flee with only the seeds of the World Tree in order to survive.

But even in the moment when everything was burning, there had been things that remained, and there had been traces someone had secretly scattered out into the world for their sake.

One of those traces was likely the white snake they now saw.

"Lord Varadis. Over there."

"Hm?"

Varadis turned his head along the finger his subordinate pointed, and soon he was able to smile brightly.

Little ones were peeking out from behind the white snake.

They were undoubtedly the young spirits of the World Tree that they had sent within Vlad's sword.

"They have settled in."

They had come a long way, but it had been worth it.

Because they had seen that they were not merely alive, but firmly taking root.

As they looked at the young spirits born in Aushrina, bright smiles began to form on the elves' faces.

"We should ask the ruler of Heinal for cooperation so that we may stay here for a while. There may be other traces left as well."

"Understood."

Small worlds that had been crushed without a trace inside the Empire that had become one.

But the elves, who had only now come out into the world, could recognize it.

That there were still small worlds breathing even now.

And those traces stood in a long line along the path of the young knight they had followed.

It was similar to the path of the Swordmaster who had come to find them long ago.

* * *

Before the docks of the harbor, where dusk was slowly falling.

Standing there, Vlad quietly watched a ship disappearing beyond the horizon.

On that ship, which had left Nassau with a creaking sound, countless dwarves were even now looking back at the harbor where Vlad stood.

"Lord Rutiger probably won't like it."

"... I know."

Hearing Marcus's words from behind him, Vlad quietly nodded.

"He probably won't."

Rutiger would naturally not like what I had done.

This matter had been solely for Joseph, and that meant it was also tied to the struggle between brothers over the position of Family Head.

"Will you not regret it?"

Marcus's question spread together with the sound of the waves and reached Vlad's ears.

Would you not regret it?

Rutiger, who had cherished you, would surely be disappointed.

"I think... I will regret it."

Rutiger Bayezid.

The man who had slain a dragon with me.

Every moment with him had been a heart-pounding experience, and looking back, they had been enjoyable things.

"But I think I would regret it even more if I did not do this."

Betraying Rutiger's goodwill had certainly been a painful decision.

But Godin had said it.

That he should first look at the place where his feet were standing now.

"Because I am Lord Joseph's knight."

"... Yes."

The war against Gaidar was a development that choked Joseph's breath while at the same time raising Rutiger's value.

If things went on like this, Joseph would clearly wither away without ever giving off his own light.

That was why Vlad did not hesitate to send the dwarves back to their homeland.

"I think I have done everything I needed to do here now."

With Vlad's words, the ship that had touched the horizon became a tiny dot and disappeared into the twilight.

Perhaps there were still dwarves inside that disappearing ship looking back at the harbor where Vlad would be.

"I should go back now."

For Joseph, who had pulled him out of the mud, and for the voice.

Using the dwarf named Vulcano as a carrier pigeon, Vlad sent a single letter flying toward a world he had never seen before.