Just as I reached the top of the World Tree Aion, the dazzling morning sun appeared in the eastern sky, bathing the ancient forest in gentle sunlight. 

“UWOOOOOOONN!!”

Something inside me was so moved by the scenery that I couldn’t help but howl at the sight. As I looked around, I could see the three other World Trees towering in the distance just as Aristia described.

(As far as I recall, the World Tree on the southeast is called “Affectio”, and at its base is the city of Elwind…)

Further ahead was the Philland Republic, whom the Elves fought against in the Battle of Forest Garden and where the World Tree “Memoria” was sent to as a sign of peace after the war. It was hard to tell from here which World Tree belonged where, but it’s only the nation in the west that possesses one.

And when I turned around and faced north, there was the Easteria forest, where my pack and I live.

“Guruau, woruoaau… Wafu?” (I wonder if they’re getting alo—!?)

Suddenly, a shadow shot from behind me, and when I turned around…

“Kwaaaaaaaannn!!” (Angry!!)

“Wafuh!?” (Wha!?)

…An enormous bird of prey suddenly swooped down and tried to grab me.

“UWOOOOOOH!!”

*grab*

I tried to evade and bring it down, but… It grabbed my torso with its left leg and the “King of the Skies” soared into the dawn sky.

“Varuoh, gauruuoguruh!!” (It’s a King Eagle!!)

King Eagles are large, aerial monsters that prey on harpies, insects, and bird-type monsters. They are known for their speed, which is faster than the dragon species, so they have no natural enemies in the sky.

Another thing to note is that these birds make nests on top of large trees like the World Tree. This piece of information came to mind when I saw the enormous, white egg buried in the treetops as I was lifted into the sky. 

“Ofuu, wooah!” (Wait, this is all a misunderstanding!)

“Kwaaaaaaaannn!!” (Angry!!)

My Mithril Mask of telepathy was in my waist bag, so it didn’t understand me and kept flying away from the World Tree at a tremendous speed. 

I hesitated to attack the bird because of the egg I saw earlier and as I made a futile attempt to scratch it with my feet, I noticed that we had already traveled far away from Elfast in under a minute… So these King Eagles can reach speeds of about 150km/hour in a heartbeat.

(Kuh, then that means I’m already about 20 km away from the city!!)

And we headed further away as I realized the situation…

“Gauoaaaan!!” (I’m sorry about this!!)

Fortunately, I was able to free my right arm, so I touched the King Eagle’s thick leg and concentrated wind magic from my palm so I could fire a wind blade to cut it off!

“Kuu!?”

“Wafih!” (Wha–!)

However, the bird was sensitive to wind magic and let go of me just as I was about to do the deed.

“UWOOOOOOH!!”

Following the laws of gravity and inertia, I naturally fell at a high speed, so I pictured a parabola to estimate my landing and…

“Wofu, garuoh!!” (O wind, I command you!!)

Using wind magic, I produced an updraft to reduce the speed of my fall and made minor adjustments so I would fall on a suitable tree.

Tumble, rustle, thud

“Auh, uu…” (Ow…)

I came tumbling down a tree until I got caught in a tree branch. From there, I crept my way down until I reached solid ground.

“… Worugaon?” (Where am I?)

It seems I’ve been brought somewhere in the northeastern part of the forest from the capital…

It’s only about 25-30 km away at best, so if I can find my way to the Clarsflume River that flows into Elfast and rely on my sense of smell while moving southeast, I should be able to return.

(But the problem is getting through the Forest of Wandering…)

Well, the Elves are immune to the effects of the barrier called the Forest of Wandering, so it would be safe to assume that the mist detects the wave of magical power that goes around the body. Therefore, if I could disguise my power to be as close as the magic produced by the World Tree that maintains the barrier… It’s just a theory, but it’s worth a try.

I reached into my waist bag and felt the warmth of the Holy and Earth attribute magic that enveloped the Seed of the World Tree.

Besides, if I get close to the barrier’s area of influence, there’s a chance that I would run into my companions who would be looking for me or meet a Black Elf who is in the middle of hunting.

There are a lot of uncertainties in my plan, but… Nothing will happen if I just stand around here. And so, I sharpened my sense of smell and walked through the northeastern part of the Ancient Forest.

……………

………

…

On the afternoon that the silver Kobold reluctantly made his trek to get back to Elfast, the main Elves gathered in the Audience Hall of the Main Castle despite the commotion caused by his disappearance.

“My Queen, I bring you good news and bad news. Where would you like to start?”

As one of the Queen’s subjects, Eliza follows the court etiquette during their audience even though she affectionately calls her childhood friend “Aris” in private.

“Very well, let us start with the bad news.”

Nodding at Arisitia’s prompt, the fair-skinned Elf began her report.

“First, we have the total number of casualties in the White and Black Elf sides from yesterday’s mayhem…”

“I see… Those who have died should be respectfully mourned, regardless of whether they are White or Black Elves.”

According to the report, the corpses had already been placed in burlap bags in the morning and laid to rest near the north gate and later a tree burial will be held in the forest on the outskirts of the city.

“But on a more depressing note, the living is more of a problem than the dead.”

“Are you referring to Gregor…?

The militant leader had a crack in his neck bone, but it was not fatal and he was already receiving treatment. Meanwhile, others also survived like Adre, the Black Elf Sorcerer who was merely knocked out during the skirmish, and Bright, who healed himself to save his life.

“That’s also one thing, but that is not the main problem.”

The Queen paused to think about Prime Minister Theodore’s response and replied,

“… This is about the members of the reform extremists who fled in the confusion, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. That and we also have to find and expose the traitor who planned your assassination.”

She sighed at the Prime Minister who had a triumphant look on his face.

“Theodore, if you do that, a lot of names will be involved… Besides, the prison is already at maximum capacity from all the reform extremists who surrendered.”

“Then what are we going to do? We can’t just say that no one is to blame for all this.” 

Eliza looked at the Queen who sat pondering with her eyes closed on the throne and made a proposal,

“Let’s think realistically… Let’s enlist the help of the reform moderates to crack down on the reform extremists who have escaped, especially those who have extremely dangerous ideas. We could also temporarily allow the over containment of the prisons while new ones are being constructed in the vicinity.”

“Can I count on you to take care of this?”

“Absolutely.”

And with that, the discussion regarding the post-management of the previous day’s battle was settled. And after setting the schedule of the forum with the reform conservatives and moderates, a series of discussions about several issues followed…

“… By the way, what was the good news?”

“We were able to pinpoint Sir Archer’s whereabouts after Listy reported that there was a momentary reaction with the Seed of the World Tree on the ley lines connecting the northeastern World Tree Incunable and the World Tree Aion.”

“So he was there…”

Aristia tilted her head while absently playing with her long, silver-blonde hair.

I was sure he climbed the World Tree this morning…

“He has helped me with a lot of things, so please get him back safely. His companions must be worried about him as well…”

Regardless of the reason, Lenaide and the other Chamberlain Knights were deployed into several search parties and left for the northeastern part of the Ancient Forest that day.