The three smart people quickly reached a consensus—the object of the Sacred Spring Seal was most likely the 120-year-old little girl herself.
The most successful Faithful of the Evil God Yiselis.
After confirming this, Ella deliberately held her breath, focusing her mind to listen, but she didn’t hear any sound.
After getting scammed in the last transaction, maybe Yiselis thought she wouldn’t fall for it again in the short term, so she disappeared for now.
“Well, it’s not so bad.”
Celes comforted herself.
“If things really get out of hand, we’ll still be facing Evil God Cultists, just like in Harbor City.”
But she also understood that even among Evil God Cultists, there were differences.
Sea monsters had an inherent advantage on the stats panel compared to elves, and there were also systemic differences between successful and unsuccessful Faithful.
So Rolls used a more practical way to console them:
“Don’t worry, this matter might not have anything to do with you.”
After breakfast, the two girls were about to leave, but before they reached the Royal Palace gates, a guard running from the other side called out to them.
“Miss Celes, Miss Ayla, Maken-sama requests your presence in the hall.”
A few months ago, domestic affairs in the Kingdom were led by two factions: the New Faction headed by Maken, and the Traditional Faction led by Tai Dingjue.
The New Faction had many practical ministers, while the Traditional Faction members were of noble status, either hereditary Nobles or royal relatives.
With Tai Dingjue’s demise, Maken’s faction gradually seized power, and the most obvious change in the Kingdom was its newfound vitality—from developing Harbor City to establishing relations with the Elves, proposals that would have taken at least half a year to discuss in the past were now considered radical reforms.
Looking at the square-faced man behind the desk, Ayla sighed inwardly—a true general of the nation.
If time could go back, she would have stopped Zero’s assassination attempt.
Why did you have to kill Tai Dingjue?
See, now the Human Kingdom is thriving.
But it didn’t matter; now she had close ties with the three geniuses of the Human Army, Mage Court, and Demons, and there would be plenty of chances to reap the rewards in the future.
After all, Demon King-sama had returned to being eighteen years old.
“Please, both of you, have a seat.”
Maken greeted them, poured a few cups of tea for himself, and after setting them down, asked directly:
“The Elves have sent a diplomatic delegation. You met them yesterday. How do you feel about them?”
Efficiency.
Ultimate efficiency.
He didn’t even wait for them to sit.
“Not bad.”
Ayla replied casually.
“Pretty good.”
Celes chimed in.
“We came to visit our teacher today, and were just about to leave. May I ask why Mr. Maken called us over?”
When it came to efficiency, young girls were no slouches either.
Maken smiled.
Though his square face was so stern that it could never appear friendly.
“We’ve just finished negotiations with the Elven delegation. They’re willing to let the Kingdom import a batch of Dilu. If all goes well, the Kingdom will have transportation much faster than horses, and people in remote towns will no longer be deprived of aid due to distance. This is what Elder Rolls hoped for, and it was his letter of recommendation that made this possible.”
Only Dilu—very normal.
Dragon Hawks were strategic military assets.
Ayla’s hand, reaching for a snack, paused.
Something felt off.
First, they used the people of the border regions to occupy the moral high ground, then drew close using Rolls’ letter—this was a full sweep of all the possible setups.
What would come next…
“Besides the normal trade goods, the Elves have a small request.”
Maken spoke nonchalantly.
“They hope that several young geniuses of the Kingdom—that is, the Special Squad—can go to the forest for a period of exchange.”
At these words, not only Ayla but even Celes’ face stiffened a little.
The girls couldn’t hide their feelings on their faces, and seeing their reactions, Maken frowned.
“Is there a problem? The Elven delegation guarantees this exchange is friendly and meant to promote both sides—”
“No need to say more, Mr. Maken.”
Celes said with a tight smile.
“We already know about the Sacred Spring Seal.”
Now it was the square-faced man’s turn to twitch slightly.
As a politician, he quickly regained his composure, showing no sign of being caught in a scheme.
“This matter is still just a rumor for now. We only know a name, not a confirmation, so we didn’t tell you.”
That was true.
He probably knew less than the girls.
“Forgive me for being blunt, but this matter is extremely serious and dangerous.”
Celes said seriously.
“Please allow us to refuse.”
Maken didn’t speak for a while, only tapping the table repeatedly.
He couldn’t tell if the girls truly understood the matter of the Sacred Spring Seal or were just bluffing.
If it was the former, why did they refuse so decisively?
At that moment, Ayla heard a clear, crisp laugh in her mind.
Hehehehe.
This time it was a loli voice—probably a 120-year-old elf loli, or perhaps a 12-year-old human loli.
“I remember her. Of course, she was the first to show me the greed and cruelty of intelligent life.”
Ayla’s eyelids twitched.
Yiselis had reappeared, and the subject was the little girl from the Elven story—also the target of the Sacred Spring Seal.
The silence lasted a few minutes before Maken spoke again.
“If you have any requests, bring them up for discussion.”
Celes shook her head.
“It’s not a matter of requests. This matter…”
“We want a portion of the imported Dilu, as well as a say in diplomacy with the Elves.”
Ayla interrupted.
“Also, we want to request a few extra Dragon Hawks from the Elves.”
Celes closed her mouth, leaving the lead in the conversation entirely to the girl.
Maken thought for a moment, then nodded.
“The first two I can agree to. As for the Dragon Hawks, you’ll need to discuss that with the Elven Elders.”
“No problem. We’ll see when we get there.”
Thus, the negotiations were settled.
It was efficient; they rose to say farewell without even touching their tea.
After leaving the Royal Palace, Celes softly asked her:
“Do we have to get involved in this mess?”
“Yeah.”
A trace of helplessness flashed in Ayla’s eyes.
“It’s necessary, because it’s closely connected to the Harbor City incident we experienced.”
Back in the room, after Yiselis finished speaking, she had added.
“I’ll give you a free piece of information.
The little elf girl sealed away holds something related to the Reboot Ceremony.
How to stop her—I’ll only tell one of you.
Let me see who wins.”
They were caught in the Evil God’s trap.
Victory brought rewards, defeat brought punishment.
Celes didn’t fully understand this explanation, but she trusted Ayla’s judgment.
When they returned to camp and told the other three girls, each reacted differently.
Vina was excited—she’d long wanted to visit the Elves.
Zero seemed indifferent, saying that as long as Ayla and her companions were there, she would go anywhere; being together was most important.
As for Leah, she didn’t even think about the journey itself.
She immediately focused on the critical point:
“Since we’re leaving in a few days, Ayla, you have to come back to the church with me before we go—and stay for a night!”