Chapter 76

Ferret, the Queen of the Elves, is the ruler of the vast forest, the "World Tree Forest," located in the southwestern part of the Rosaria Kingdom.

She is the 12th queen, but her history is ancient.

Elves are different from humans; they are long-lived.

The current queen has been on the throne for several hundred years.

The history of the current queen alone is as long as a mediocre dynasty.

We are going to meet the queen of such a prestigious country, but in the end, the entourage was small.

It consists of me, Gunther, and Lilith and Sati.

I chose Gunther because he is an old acquaintance of the Elven Queen.

The letter from the queen was sent through him.

It would be unreasonable not to bring him along.

I chose Lilith to handle any unexpected situations.

If I left her behind, she would pout.

I brought Sati to monitor Lilith's eccentric behavior.

Additionally, if I brought Sati, there would be no shortage of meals and tea after meals.

Gunther, judging by his appearance, doesn't seem to cook at all, and as for Lilith, it's questionable whether she even knows how to boil water. She basically doesn't eat; she just absorbs nutrients from flowers.

It takes a few days to reach the forest where the elves live.

During that time, eating dried meat and bread would be boring.

If Sati is there, even with the same ingredients, she can come up with:

"Scrambled eggs and milk porridge for breakfast"

"Ham and eggs with French toast for dinner"

It would be too much to ask these two to do that.

Well, I could say, "Then you should make it yourself," but unfortunately, I'm not good at cooking either.

I'm only slightly better than these two.

That's the level of my cooking skills.

So I don't have the right to be condescending.

As I was thinking this, Sati spoke to me.

It was just after we finished dinner, and at the same time as I finished drinking the tea she poured.

Sati asked hesitantly.

"Is the forest of the elves far away?"

White breath escaped from her mouth.

Winter is approaching, and this area is at a high altitude.

She is wearing only homemade wool gloves and a scarf over her maid uniform, which is typical of her. Apparently, a maid is not a maid unless she is wearing a maid uniform.

She refuses to dress warmly.

I suggested that Sati sit closer to the fire and answered her.

"About 2 to 3 more days, I think."

"I see..."

She let out another white breath.

In response, Lilith said:

"Human bodies are so inconvenient. If you can't stand the cold, you should just stay in Ivalice."

Lilith chuckled, but she is dressed lightly, almost like a prostitute.

Succubi, a type of succubus, are apparently resistant to the cold.

"Well, that's true. Thanks to Sati, we can enjoy good meals."

"I don't eat, so it doesn't matter to me."

"I'm the one who's troubled. And so is Lord Gunther."

I turned to Gunther, and he nodded with a bottle of distilled liquor in his hand.

"See? With this, it's an overwhelming majority that bringing Sati was the right decision."

When I said that, Lilith pouted.

"You sound like a human."

"Does it sound like that?"

Well, I am a human.

"You sound just like those human republicans."

"Republicanism. Well, deciding things by majority vote isn't bad."

There are republics in this world.

Countries that make political decisions by majority vote.

The trading federation I visited before is run by a council of wealthy merchants.

However, the drawback of a republic is that decision-making is slow, and the voices of the minority are not easily reflected.

On the other hand, the drawback of the monarchy, which is adopted by many countries in this world, is that if the monarch is incompetent, the country has no future.

In exchange, decisions are made quickly, and actions can be taken swiftly.

Each has its pros and cons, but what about the Elven country?

I asked Gunther.

"Lord Gunther, what kind of country is the Elven country?"

Gunther answered.

"A country enveloped in the blue forest. Normally, they don't step outside the forest at all."

"But sometimes, we see elves in town, right?"

That was Sati's question.

Gunther nodded silently.

"Such elves are rare. Some elves get tired of the boring forest life and are drawn to human settlements."

I see, like how people from the countryside are drawn to Tokyo.

The glamorous city, unusual buildings, and street performances in the square are things you would never see if you lived in the forest.

If you actually lived there, you might get tired of it in a few years, but for elves, a few years is probably equivalent to a few decades.

After all, elves are known for their longevity.

"But why do the elves insist on staying in that forest? If humans attack, they could just move to another forest."

Lilith asked this simple question.

I answered, as I had done some research beforehand.

"Because in the center of the forbidden forest where the elves live, there is the 'World Tree.'"

"World Tree...?"

Sati asked.

"Yes, the World Tree is said to be a tree that was born with the creation of this world in ancient times. Its history is ancient, and it is said to have sprouted before the old gods."

"What do you mean by 'it is said'?"

"We can't know the truth. It happened before we were born, so we can't verify it."

Besides, my previous life was as a Japanese person.

I even doubt the existence of gods. In a world where magic and demons exist, it's not strange for gods to exist, but I've never met one or received any of their blessings.

If praying to the gods would make you happy or help you win battles, I would pray to them every day, but reality is not that sweet.

—Though I wouldn't say it out loud.

The inhabitants of this world fear and respect the gods.

I hear that Gunther worships the mineral god Gustav, and the elves worship the forest goddess Sharis.

Even Lilith believes in and fears the existence of evil gods.

It would be foolish to tell devout people that "gods don't exist."

Not only would they dislike you, but you would make all the followers of that god your enemies.

That is something that a person in a leadership position, a ruler, should never do.

Just because something is invisible doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Perhaps I will meet them someday.

But even then, I have no intention of relying on the gods.

My grandfather used to say:

"Respect the existence of the gods, but don't rely on them."

Now I understand the weight of those words.

In the end, you can only rely on your own wisdom and strength. That is something you must always remember.

With these thoughts in mind, I headed towards the Elven forest.