Splash

I approached the riverbank after bathing in the Clarsflume river, which is a river located in the woods on the outskirts of the Royal Capital Elfast that runs along the Elven towns. It was still dark outside, but it was even more so in the forest.

“Gau, uruan.” (I guess it’s about time.)

After shaking off the excess water and making myself presentable, I headed out of the small forest which ran parallel to the river and passed the cultivated lands as I made my way back to the city.

“Wofu…” (O wind…)

It was still early so nobody was around when I entered the Black Elves’ settlement on the outer edge of the Royal Capital. I then clad my legs in whirlwinds and flew up, landing on the roof of a nearby building.

I was aiming to get to the heart of Elfast, the World Tree which was surrounded by the Royal Castle.

Why must it be such a big tree?

(There’s no way I’m not going to climb that!!)

By the way, I chose to go out before the crack of dawn since I wanted to watch the sunrise and because my sister might wake up and go with me if I left a little later. If I tried to climb and fell, I could soften my fall by using the updraft since I was a wind user, but… It would be difficult to take care of my sister too.

So while the others were asleep and my sister was still rolling on the sheets and covering the bed in fur, I snuck out from the guest room on the west wing of the Royal Castle and shook my sleepiness off by taking a bath and dressing up.

Well, if a certain tall, skinny Kobold who was vigilant of his surroundings were around, then I would not be able to sneak out though…

While thinking about that, I noticed that the cityscape had changed from the simple buildings of the Black Elves to the needlessly artistic buildings which the Bronze Elves were particular about. After I passed through the Bronze Elves’ district, I entered the White Elves’ district where large buildings such as the parliament building and aristocratic residences stood side by side.

As I flew further, the 6-meter high western castle gate came into view.

And so, after confirming the placement of the guards who were on the lookout, I briefly descended to the street, lightly ran, and used the whirlwinds surrounding my legs to launch myself up as I jumped.

(Aaand up I go!)

Hooking my hands on the edge of the wall, I kick up and use the recoil to balance myself and turn my body to get over the wall.

(Hup!)

Immediately after that, I silently dropped down into the inner wall and completed my break into the castle.

(Hmm, with my current physical abilities, conquering a 6-meter castle wall is a piece of cake.)

However, because the Elves assumed that the castle would not be attacked, the walls protecting it were simple, but if it were a castle wall of about 15 to 16 meters, it would not have been so easy…

(Let’s not think about that now!)

If the guards found me, Aristia and the curly-haired Elf girl wearing a dress yesterday would scold me, so I jumped from the top of the wall to the inner castle, and went to the garden called “The Forest of the World Tree”.

(… This is the moment of truth.)

Before stepping into the garden, I placed my hand on the ground to examine the flow of magic, and sure enough, I discovered that the area was protected with detection magic. It seems there are magic devices or wards placed around the vicinity of the World Tree that converts the tree’s life force into magic to detect the presence of foreign magic.

I don’t know how it alarms the person-in-charge about the intrusion, but it’s probably through a magic pathway or a wave of a specific frequency, but… it reminded me of a time when I was a novice mercenary and I was accidentally caught in it during an infiltration operation.

Now that I remember it, it was kind of a good memory because Leonardo, who was my buddy at that time, became injured while trying to escape and was slapped by his lover Liza after she found out.

After immersing myself in the memories of the past for a bit, I took out the “Seed of the World Tree” from my waist bag and wrapped myself with a thin layer of the power that resided within it to conceal my own magic.

And then, I carefully stepped into the area covered by the detection magic.

(It doesn’t react to the same power derived from the World Tree after all.)

Strictly speaking, there are slight differences due to the individual distinctions of the World Trees, but it does not pose a problem as long as it is not strong enough to be detected by the sensors. In the first place, if it reacts to the magic of small creatures such as ants and grasshoppers, then it will be useless because they will be constantly alerted to intruders.

That is why the spell is usually designed so that it will not react if there is a small disturbance in the magic flowing on the surface of the earth.

(Alright, I’m going to climb you!!)

And so, the silver-furred Kobold began to climb the World Tree with enthusiasm, but…

“Hnn, aaagh…”

On the 2nd floor of the main castle, there is a luxurious room with walls decorated with gorgeous silver and mother-of-pearl accents created by the Bronze Elves. On the canopy bed, which also seemed to be made for royalty, lay the Elf Queen whose hair was in disarray as she writhed around.

“Nnngh… uh, auh, uu~?”

Aristia sat up as she was awakened due to the sudden attack of sensations of something touching her body all over.

Last night, Aristia strengthened her connection to the highest level to perform a close examination of the condition of the World Tree that was reported to be in bad shape and fell asleep without breaking the link…

And so, the sensation of the silver Kobold climbing the World Tree was directly transmitted to her.

“… Uh~, is this magic from a different World Tree? But…”

The surge of magic power was a familiar one, as it was none other than her who incubated the seed of that World Tree… In other words, it was almost undetectable.

Originally, climbing the World Tree was an unacceptable act, but… as long as it does not cause a disturbance, Listy and the other Priestesses would not notice it.

“Using the magic of the World Tree seed to blend in… He’s a clever one.”

After lightly rubbing her sleepy eyes and collecting her thoughts, Aristia decides that it is alright and dives back into her bed for the first time in a long while…

“N-nnh, hyah, so this is… the feel of paws, mmnn”

She could not fall asleep due to the subtle stimuli that constantly went through her body. All she had to do was break her deep connection with the World Tree, but it was not until later that Aristia, who was still half asleep, realized it.