Chapter 28
“The Great Forest, you say?”
While training in the north, I had heard various tales from the Grand Duke, one of which concerned the elves’ Great Forest.
“In truth, the Great Forest hasn’t been around for that long. Now they call it the elves’ homeland or whatever, but it’s really a new settlement created by elves who lost their original home.
Their true homeland wasn’t the Great Forest but a place called the Primordial Woods.”
“If it hasn’t been long, how long are we talking about?”
“Hmm… it was right after the Great War ended, so about fifteen hundred years ago?”
Ah, of course.
I gave up trying to comprehend the dragon’s sense of time and simply continued listening.
“Anyway, back then, the World Tree triumphed in the war, but the Primordial Woods became steeped in death, forcing the elves to relocate. Already greatly wounded, the move to a new place weakened the World Tree even further.”
“Weakened significantly, you say? To what extent?”
“Well… probably about the same level as me.”
On par with the Grand Duke?
If the Grand Duke were to handle the World Tree, Duke Fael could oversee their king, and their knights…
“Still, I wouldn’t recommend going to war with the elves.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s an old dragon living in the Great Forest.”
Finding the location of the Great Forest wasn’t difficult.
Though I’d never been there before, the place where the energy of the World Tree could be felt was undoubtedly the Great Forest.
I immediately set out for the World Tree’s location. However, I sensed interference with the spatial magic, and the coordinates became distorted.
“Ugh…!”
Quickly channeling mana to protect myself, I regained my senses to find myself not before the World Tree but just outside the Great Forest’s perimeter.
“You… are a descendant of Pluto, aren’t you?”
The figure who greeted me at the boundary of the Great Forest was an elf—or rather, a dragon taking the form of an elf.
The dragon who loved the World Tree, Areubo the Green Dragon.
His elongated, slit-like pupils glinted as he looked at me.
“Apologies for the roughness. From my perspective, I couldn’t stand idly by while a transcendent attempted to intrude upon her sanctuary.”
“You’re Areubo, yes?”
“Indeed. It’s rare for a human to know my name.”
“I heard about you from the Grand Duke.”
“The Grand Duke? Ah, you mean Artemia.”
Addressing the Grand Duke as if speaking of a child, Areubo withdrew his guard and approached me.
“Hmm?”
Crackle!
As Areubo took a few steps closer, five streaks of crimson lightning sparked, blocking his path.
Simultaneously, the magical artifacts resting in my subspace activated, each targeting him.
Seven artifacts designed to protect their caster, five amplifying the effects of magic, and three imbued with the power of ancient gods.
Each was a world-class artifact, powerful enough to allow me, even in my early days as a mage, to launch campaigns against the Demon King’s army.
“Do not come any closer.”
“There’s no need for such caution, you know.”
Areubo raised his hands to show he had no intention of fighting, but I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
Unlike me, who had only just reached this level, Areubo was a dragon who had lived for at least a thousand years in the same state. Unless I was certain he bore me goodwill, as the Grand Duke did, I couldn’t risk lowering my defenses.
“Well, I can’t say I don’t understand your reaction. But let me assure you—I have no intention of killing you. No matter what brings you to the Great Forest, even if things go awry, the worst I’ll do is drive you out. Relax.”
“What do you mean, you can’t kill me?”
“Well, you are a descendant of Pluto, aren’t you?”
Hearing Areubo mention the Empire’s guardian dragon, I nodded.
“I see. It’s been quite some time since he returned to the Valley of Dragons, so you might not know. Has Artemia never told you about Pluto’s personality?”
“Not particularly.”
“Ah, well, Pluto’s personality… leaves something to be desired.”
I looked at Areubo with an expression that clearly asked, What in the world are you talking about?
“I mean, I’m aware of how people see us dragons—arrogant, self-serving, that sort of thing. And it’s true. But Pluto… he took it a step further. Tell me, are you familiar with the founding of Arhan?”
“Not much. I only know the guardian dragon helped establish the nation.”
“Really? Sounds like the details weren’t passed down properly. To put it briefly, there was a dark sorcerer who nearly conquered the continent. He was a proxy of a god defeated in the Great War and managed to reach the level of a transcendent, threatening to engulf the continent.”
“That’s news to me.”
“Well, anyway. After the Great War—ah, you do know what the Great War was, right?”
“I’ve heard a little from the Grand Duke. A war between the gods, long ago.”
“Good, that’s all you need to know. After the Great War, the remaining transcendents established a set of laws, one of which prohibited direct intervention in the continent. There were exceptions, but the situation at the time didn’t fall under them.”
Damn. Another story I didn’t know.
Why does Chronicles of Xian have so much backstory? It was supposed to be a straightforward game where the hero defeats the Demon King.
And what’s this about “transcendents”?
“What exactly is a transcendent?”
“Hmm? Aren’t you one yourself?”
“…?”
“Oh, I see. They don’t use that term anymore? About two thousand years ago, it was common. What do they call mages of your caliber these days?”
“If you’re referring to those who’ve broken free of natural laws, we call them Archmages.”
“Exactly! That’s it—breaking free of the laws. Back then, anyone who transcended natural laws, whether through magic or sorcery, was called a transcendent. Oh, swordsmen were a bit trickier, but you get the idea.”
Areubo, seemingly fond of talking, continued with enthusiasm.
“Anyway, the point is, Pluto shouldn’t have gotten involved back then. The god didn’t directly intervene, only appointing a proxy, so we should’ve done the same—appoint a proxy or wait for an exception.”
“But do you know what Pluto did? Because he liked a human, he ignored everyone’s warnings and went to kill the dark sorcerer himself. All for a single human. Breaking the laws he himself had proposed was unthinkable.”
“What happened then?”
“Well, because of Pluto, we dragons were divided. Some said he should be punished for breaking the law, while others suggested scrapping the law altogether. Most leaned toward punishing him.”
“So, what happened?”
“While we were debating, Pluto returned to us and said, ‘I will return to the Valley of Dragons and atone in a hundred years.’ Then, one of his biggest detractors—an elder even older than me—said, ‘Nonsense. You’re a criminal. Accept punishment now, or I’ll kill the human you care about myself.’”
“Wait. Wasn’t that against the law?”
“One of the exceptions was if another transcendent broke the law first. So technically, the elder could’ve killed your ancestor without issue. What would you have done in Pluto’s place?”
“If someone threatened someone I care about?”
I thought about it. If someone used my loved ones against me…
“I would probably kill them.”
“Haha! Like bloodline, like descendant. That’s exactly what Pluto did. He killed the elder on the spot. The meeting descended into chaos. Sure, dragons fighting wasn’t unheard of, but after the Great War, we avoided killing each other. But Pluto killed the elder in front of everyone, even our Lord.”
“No one tried to stop him?”
“Of course, they tried! But the meeting had factions—some followed the elder, others supported Pluto. By the end, both sides were nearly wiped out. What was once a group of double-digit numbers was reduced to single digits.”
“…That’s no longer just chaos; that’s a civil war.”
“Practically, yes.”
“And what was the Lord doing during all this?”
“Nothing. He simply watched with interest. Oh, maybe he sent a young dragon to fetch snacks.”
…This Lord was insane.
“Anyway, that’s the story. Pluto valued a single human over our laws and killed one of his kind to protect them. I don’t want to make an enemy of his descendants.”
Ah, so what you’re saying is that you’re afraid of the guardian dragon and won’t kill me.
“You don’t seem to have much regard for me or the Empire, do you?”
“Ah, if that’s how it came across, then I apologize.”
Though he apologized with words, he didn’t deny it.
Was it that even as the emperor of an empire ruling half the continent and a transcendent who defied natural laws, I held no weight before this massive lizard?
I felt an intense urge to kill this dragon here and now, to prove his judgment wrong—but I suppressed it.
It wasn’t just that I hadn’t yet reached a level where I could match a dragon. More importantly, I couldn’t afford to fight him right now.
If I did, I wouldn’t even have the chance to negotiate for the Elixir.
“Ah, come to think of it, I forgot to ask. What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to see the World Tree.”
“So, you need the Elixir. Someone close to you is gravely injured or ill, aren’t they?”
“…How did you know?”
“What other reason would a transcendent have to seek out the World Tree? But the handling of the Elixir is entirely within the elves’ authority. Are you aware of that?”
“Isn’t it the World Tree’s to give? I thought all I needed to do was persuade the World Tree.”
“It’s an ancient tradition. It ensures that other races can’t dismiss the elves so easily.”
Areubo explained that the tradition was a safeguard. Other races refrained from provoking the elves, just in case they ever needed the Elixir.
“Was such caution really necessary? The elves aren’t exactly weak.”
“They’re strong now, but that wasn’t always the case. There were once plenty of our kin, giants, and all sorts of other monstrous beings around.”
He glanced at me.
“And sometimes, humans like you showed up too.”
“Damn, this is going to be a hassle.”
“Haha, well, at least you’ve never had a conflict with the elves, have you? While you’re here, why not meet my daughter? She’s recently started to view humans in a more favorable light. If you’re lucky, she might help you.”
“Your daughter?”
“Yes, and not to brag, but she’s the most beautiful and intelligent elf in the world. Her voice is heavenly. And that’s not all—she’s an excellent archer, a skilled magician, and an adept spirit-wielder.”
An excellent archer, skilled magician, and adept spirit-wielder.
Wait a minute…
“Your daughter… is she the Elf Queen?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. Oh, come to think of it, you’ve already met her before, haven’t you? During the Anti-Demon Alliance? She mentioned meeting the Emperor of the Empire back then.”
“Yes, I did. But back then, she didn’t seem too fond of humans. Did I misread her?”
“No, you likely saw correctly. My daughter only recently began seeing humans in a better light.”
“Recently? What happened recently to cause that?”
What could have possibly improved relations between elves and humans?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t think of anything.
Wait—don’t tell me…
“It seems our grandson-in-law is going to be human.”