“That… whatchamacallit… um… hey…?”
“What.”
“Eep?! F, first, that axe! Put the axe away!”
Celebrian Asir, the Second Princess of the Elven Kingdom, despite being royalty of noble blood, was currently kneeling on the floor, tears welling up as she pleaded pitifully.
“Tsk…”
Shling-
“Haa…!…Ahem…! W, what is the meaning of this! How dare you threaten and intimidate me, Celebrian Asir, the Second Princess of the elves, in the Great Forest, the nest of the elves! Do you not know how serious your crime is!”
Dariann, who had been clicking his tongue at her whining, slung the axe that had been embedded in the floor back over his shoulder. Asir, who had been glancing around, immediately opened her mouth with an air of dignity, as if nothing had happened.
Of course, Dariann was still weak and slumped on the ground, so her dignified expression was all for naught.
“Enough. Ganix, that bastard, right?”
“Hiccup?!”
Dariann, who had been looking down at her with disdain, suddenly brought up Ganix’s name, causing Asir to flinch.
“Ganix Obina. That third emperor bastard ordered you to do it, didn’t he? Isn’t that right?”
“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
The moment Ganix’s name was mentioned, everything was exposed, but Asir pouted and turned her head, denying everything.
“This bitch, really!?”
“Eep!?”
Dariann, enraged by her attitude, raised his hand, causing Asir to cover her face in terror.
“Honey, no.”
However, Freya, who had wrapped her hand around Dariann’s fist, stopped him.
“The commotion will attract the elves. The current situation is already causing a great deal of confusion, and if an outsider lays a hand on an elven princess in front of the elves, it’s over.”
“Kkeueung…!”
Even the current commotion was enough to warrant the death penalty for an ordinary human.
No matter how annoying the woman in front of him was, her official status was the Second Princess of the Elven Kingdom.
“…Ha, haha! That’s right! How dare you think you can get away with doing this to an elven princess! Guards! Is anyone there! Take these thugs away immediately!”
While listening to Freya’s words with her long ears perked up, Asir regained her confidence and began to act boldly again.
“This is for real…!”
“Hiccup…!? A, are you going to hit me…? Can you handle the aftermath…? If, if I die or get hurt… you’ll never get the World Tree Leaf…!?”
Asir was now using her situation to her advantage, taunting and provoking Dariann.
“…Hey! Tene! You should step up!”
“Yes!?”
“Who cares if she’s an elven princess or whatever? You’re a dragon, what are they going to say? Just eat her whole!”
“Eek!?”
“T, Tenebric Nox…! Hmph…! If, if you do that, it’s really over!”
Dariann then began to threaten her by bringing up Tene, who was a dragon.
“Let’s stop there.”
Estel, who had been quietly observing the situation, finally spoke.
“Excuse me, young lady.”
“Young, young lady?”
“I don’t know what Ganix Obina offered you to do this… but is there really a need for us to be at odds like this?”
“…..”
“If you’re being threatened by that man, rest assured, we’ll help you as much as we can. How about joining our side instead?”
“…Threatened?”
“Yes. If so, we will definitely protect you. Not only will we ensure your safety, but we will also accommodate any conditions you may have.”
Dariann threatened her strongly, and Estel spoke to her gently.
A classic bad cop, good cop approach. Estel noticed Asir’s expression change for a moment.
If this goes on, she might just slip over to our side? That’s what she thought.
However.
“…Threatened? Offered? Ha, that’s rich.”
“…What?”
Asir gave Estel a mocking smile, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Right… you guys ‘don’t know,’ do you? So that’s why. That’s why you’re making such a fuss.”
“Don’t know? What does that mean-
Just as she was about to press Asir about her incomprehensible words,
“What’s going on here!?”
Elven soldiers, alerted by the commotion, appeared with bows in hand.
“Oh, they came a bit too quickly?”
“Looks like the stalling is over.”
Before starting this incident, Estel had moved the nearby troops away in advance, and the time she had bought was now up.
“Even if you are the Third Princess and a dragon…nim… this is the Great Forest! Please step away from the Second Princess immediately!”
Even though the faction supporting the Third Princess outnumbered the faction supporting the Second Princess within the Great Forest, this incident was a step too far.
If they pressured her any further, the elves would truly release the arrows aimed at them.
“…Let’s withdraw from here.”
“Grandpa!”
“There’s no other way for now.”
At that tense moment, just as the soldiers’ fingers were beginning to loosen on the bowstrings, Estel raised her hand and said, retreating first.
“Yes! Arrest them immediately and throw them in the dungeon! Imprison those ruffians!”
As the Evergarden party was surrounded by soldiers and obediently retreated, Asir’s voice, shouting at the top of her lungs, gradually faded away.
The investigation ended quickly.
It was clear that there was a conflict between the Second and Third Princesses within the Great Forest, and many elves resented Asir, who had abandoned the Great Forest once and then suddenly returned to claim the title of Second Princess.
No matter how much they valued tradition, they could not look kindly on someone who had abandoned its weight.
Besides, what could they even argue with a dragon about?
Rather than questioning Tene for her rudeness to the Second Princess, the elves were grateful that she had remained calm and done nothing. However, they had also received a warning, so even the elves would not accept the same method twice.
After the investigation, the Evergarden family gathered again in Estel’s office.
“We gained something. As expected, she was taking orders from a guy named Ganix.”
Nevertheless, they had not come away empty-handed.
“But, it didn’t feel like she was just a subordinate. It felt more like a partnership.”
“It didn’t feel like she was being forced to do it because of threats or anything.”
“That makes the situation even better. It would have been more troublesome if she had been a highly loyal subordinate.”
If Asir had been a loyal subordinate of Ganix or had been threatened, the situation would have been more difficult.
In that case, neither threats nor persuasion would have worked.
“Yes, we saw a gap to exploit.”
However, they did not see Asir as either of those two cases.
Therefore, they had a chance to create an opening somehow.
“By the way… what was that thing she said at the end? ‘Don’t know’…”
“I was wondering about that too.”
However, Estel and Freya were bothered by Asir’s statement.
That they didn’t know anything. What was that?
Ganix and his companions seemed to have more than they thought.
“Let’s think about that later and focus on our current goal for now.”
There were many things to think about, but the World Tree Leaf was the priority for now.
“Great-granddaughter. Is everything ready?”
“It took some time, but it should function properly.”
Felix then smiled and handed Estel something he was holding in response to her question.
“Yes, this will be enough.”
That would be the key to resolving this situation.
“I was surprised… those crazy bastards.”
Late at night.
Asir’s heart was still pounding because of what had happened during the day.
She had a hunch, but she didn’t expect them to actually barge in and threaten her so recklessly.
“Especially the Black Dragon. It looks cute, but… how did I not piss myself… how are those guys sticking around that monster?”
Each of those people was extraordinary, but the biggest threat was Tene.
Tene was standing there like an ordinary girl who didn’t know anything, but as soon as Asir felt her energy up close, she barely managed to hold back her vomit.
A presence that made her stomach churn and her body tremble with chills just by being near her.
Truly a monster of a different class than her, just like her reputation.
“…But, just like that blonde guy said, they really can’t touch me.”
However, just like Ganix had said, the Black Dragon did not step forward.
Besides, even though they had barged in without warning, they hadn’t laid a hand on Asir, just like Ganix had said.
If they were serious, they would have had Tene turn her into mincemeat and forcibly take the World Tree Leaf, but strangely, they were diligently following the rules of this world.
“They’re working hard against the NPCs, if they’re going to live like that, I wish I had possessed the dragon instead…”
As a result, she even felt sorry that she hadn’t possessed the Black Dragon.
If she had been the Black Dragon, she would have had everything she wanted and done everything she wanted to do.
“Anyway, now that they can’t touch me, if I just endure for a few weeks like that guy said, I’ll be free from this damn forest…”
Having realized that they wouldn’t kill her, Asir relaxed on the bed and hummed a tune.
“Yeah, when I leave this forest, I’m going to burn that damn Prompto or whatever to the ground—”
Knock knock-
“…..”
“….What?”
At that moment.
The sound of knocking echoed quietly within her chamber, which had been restored to its original state in an instant.
“Who is it at this hour…?”
Just as Asir was tilting her head at the knocking sound coming so late at night.
[It’s me. Can we talk for a moment?]
“This voice is… that one from earlier!?”
Asir jumped out of bed and stared at the door, recognizing the familiar voice coming from beyond.
Celebrian Estel.
The Third Princess of the elves had come to the Second Princess’s chamber late at night.