Chapter 69

The party arrived in front of the stone coffin inside the World Tree.

"Altear Woodgard was a very benevolent queen."

Mirage, in the form of Altear, stroked the stone coffin and said this.

The first time she met her was 800 years ago, when she visited the elf village with the Demon King.

"As I mentioned before, the elf village was threatened by a fragment of Sebing at that time."

"That's right."

"It was the first time I met Altear, my lord. Along with me and Mirage, there were a total of three dolls."

"…Three dolls?"

This was the first time he heard this story.

There was another doll besides Tina and Mirage?

-If that's the case, how monstrous was the fragment of Sebing? They couldn't kill it even with the Demon King, three dolls, and the elf queen.

‘Well, thinking about it, it was so active even while suffering from all kinds of debuffs. It must have been truly terrifying when it was in perfect condition.’

And if just a fragment could do that, he couldn't even imagine what the main body would be like.

‘…It's a good thing I wasn't targeted.’

It was fortunate that the recognition curse had been lifted.

It was a moment to be grateful for the removal of the curse once again.

While Carphe let out a sigh of relief, Mirage continued her story.

"It was a tough battle, but we won."

The fragment of Sebing fled with fatal injuries, and thus peace returned to the elf village.

After obtaining the materials needed for the next doll, the Demon King left the elf village, and that was the end of Mirage and Altear's first meeting.

They met again about 20 years later, after the Arclam Empire lost the Prestige War.

This time, the meeting was more of a half-coerced one by the Demon King.

"Even now, when I think about it, it was absurd behavior."

The Demon King simply threw the stone coffin and Mirage aside with a casual 'Hey, take care of it!' and left.

Creak.

Mirage gritted her teeth, and Tina nodded as if she understood her feelings completely.

…It seemed the Demon King wasn't a very good leader for his dolls.

"I thought I couldn't accept that situation."

Altear herself said it was just the natural order of things and that she was sorry for not being able to stay longer, but Mirage couldn't accept it.

For a great queen to die of mere illness? It was absolutely unacceptable.

Mirage desperately sought a way to heal Altear.

And as a result,

Mirage found a clue in the ancient texts of the elves.

'The young leaf of the World Tree.'

It was a story from an old, forgotten legend.

"The first leaf sprouted by the World Tree was recorded to have the power to cure all diseases in the world."

Mirage was delighted to find a solution, but soon faced the next obstacle.

The first leaf of the current World Tree had long since disappeared.

In other words, there was only one way left.

To create a new World Tree.

"But it would take nearly 800 years for the current World Tree to bear its next fruit."

That 800 years was based on the assumption that Mirage would steadily supply her own magic power to the World Tree.

Altear's body couldn't possibly last that long.

Mirage immediately sought another method. Fortunately, a useful tool was right beside her.

The stone coffin that maintained the function of the entity inside.

She decided to seal Altear in the stone coffin, which was originally meant for Mirage.

"But the stone coffin alone wasn't perfect. Unlike a homunculus, Alteer was a living being."

To maintain life for a long time, it was necessary to lower the temperature and reduce metabolism to the extreme.

That's where the 'cold of Sebing' came in, which was also the coldest energy Mirage knew.

"Ah. So that's why you transformed into a fragment of Sebing…"

"You guessed right. It was to maintain the cold."

Carphe nodded.

'It's like a cryopreserved human in reality. Kind of like Captain America, I guess.'

-Yeah, it's more like a plot device to speed up the quest. It would be frustrating if it grew slowly.

‘…Anyway, you really ruin the mood. No romance. No romance at all.’

While Carphe and the Demon King grumbled internally, the sprout of the World Tree grew rapidly.

Before long, the sprout had grown into a small sapling, about knee-high to Carphe.

And at the very top of the sapling,

"Ah…!"

Two green leaves were hanging.

Mirage, who gasped in amazement, plucked one of the leaves and approached the stone coffin.

Creak!

Inside the opened stone coffin, Altear lay like a corpse, her complexion pale.

"…Altear."

The voice calling Altear, with a face identical to hers, was filled with deep regret.

Mirage brought the young leaf of the World Tree to Altear's mouth.

Swish.

Like melting snowflakes, the leaf melted and flowed into Altear's mouth.

And after a very short moment,

"Ugh…"

"Altear?! Altear! Are you awake?!"

"…Mirage?"

Altear, who had been sleeping in the stone coffin, woke up from her long slumber.

"Altear!"

Mirage leaped into Altear's arms.

Her appearance was no longer that of the elf queen Altear.

"Huh? A little kid?"

"Yes, my lord. This is Mirage's true form, not an imitation of someone else."

"Ah."

I see.

Thinking about it, Altear and Dretsch were imitating others with their Doppleganger ability, so it made sense that Mirage had a true form.

But he never imagined it would be that of a little child.

A gender-neutral appearance, neither clearly male nor female.

A cute little girl with short, white hair that suited her perfectly.

If such a child existed in the real world, she would definitely have been cast as a child actor in the entertainment industry.

Of course, being a homunculus, she was indeed a doll.

"Altear! Altear! Haaaang!"

"Okay, okay. Mirage. I'm here. Stop crying. Your pretty face will get ruined. People are looking at you."

Altear, with a gentle smile, stroked Mirage as if she were a loving mother looking at her beloved daughter.

"Aaaah. Altear. Altear! I really tried hard. I protected the village…! I defeated the monsters…."

"Thank you. For your hard work."

"I drank the tea I hated every day… Huh… Huh… Huh!"

"You must have suffered a lot."

Altear patted Mirage's back as if she understood everything.

"It was… so hard, but Altear must have had it even harder. Thinking about that, I could endure it."

In reality, Mirage, who didn't imitate anyone, was very timid and passive.

A quiet child who only nodded or made vague remarks among the Demon King and the other dolls.

Such a Mirage had maintained the village as a queen for 800 years.

Altear could easily imagine how much mental suffering she had endured.

"Thank you, Mirage. For saving me."

"…Huh. I missed you so much."

Mirage continued to cry.

As if pouring out all the emotions she had held back for over 800 years, she cried endlessly.

Watching this, Carphe's nose felt a bit stuffy.

"Ugh. It's touching, isn't it? What's wrong? Hey?"

Carphe turned to the Demon King, but the Demon King quickly turned his head away, avoiding Carphe's gaze.

Could it be…?

"Bro, are you crying?"

-…What nonsense? Why would I cry?

"No, you're not. You look like you've been crying."

-If you have time to talk nonsense, just get out of here quickly.

"No, I was crying. Wow, you always talk about not getting too involved with NPCs or how the graphics are just pieces, but you got caught! If you weren't crying, you'd look at me confidently!"

-Go away. I don't have the hobby of facing a guy's face!

Real name: Kang Jin-ho. Age: 34. Nickname: Supreme Demon King.

He was a man who was easily moved by melodramatic movies.

Ding!

[You have completed the Demon King's second relic quest! The next quest will be available when you reach level 40.]

[The second relic, 'Mirage of Illusion,' has been attributed to the player.]

[You have performed the quest perfectly. The affection of 'Mirage of Illusion' is now fixed at the maximum.]

[You have obtained the title 'Savior of the Elves.']

[From now on, the elf race will appear in Last Savior!]

The final episode in the elf village ended like that.

And that night,

A new post appeared on the Last Savior forum.

-Hey! Supreme Demon King's new TV series is out! This one is the best ever!

└ This guy is exaggerating again.

└ Every time it's a Supreme Demon King TV series, it's the best ever. I'll go check it out right away.

And after some time,

-Huh?

-What is this…?

-The best ever!! Really the best ever!!

The entire Last Savior forum exploded.

The 10-star player who became strong through the gacha.