Needless to say, part of the reason Leiard became a “fake Elf” was because of the events involving the Grove of the Ancient Guardians* at that time. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated at being called derogatory names.

“I’ve heard that the White Elves, in particular, are very obsessed with bloodlines…”

Depending on which clan their parents belonged to, the Half-Elves were also divided into white, pale, and wheat-skinned groups. However, because their numbers were few and they are discriminated against in the Republic, their cohesion is tight regardless of their skin color.

Practically all the Half-Elves are gathered under Leiard, which shows the high level of camaraderie among them. To begin with, he was the one who had the most privileged upbringing among the Half-Elves born in the early days.

Leiard’s mother, a White Elf called Eleanor, was bought as a concubine by his father, a great nobleman, because of her beauty. And although this was how they met, his father loved his mother dearly and raised Leiard as the next head of the family despite all the opposition.

Unfortunately, even though his father’s love for his wife and child was genuine, his mother Eleanor could not accept his affection and died of illness…

In any case, Leiard was fortunate to become the head of a powerful house in the aristocracy, so he either bought or hired Half-Elves who were in harsh conditions at the time. As a result, a total of more than 250 Half-Elves and Quarter-Elves are gathered under him.

And because they lived a long life, many of them have taken advantage of their strengths to take important positions in the Republic. Another one of them was Ragiel, the 2nd Division Commander of the Republic Army, who came along thanks to the appointment of Leiard, the special envoy who had full authority over the expedition.

“The deadline is the day after tomorrow, but I wonder what kind of response our messengers would bring us? What do you think, Master Leiard?”

By the way, the younger generation of Half-Elves who were taken in by Leiard are all under his tutelage, so many of them use the honorific title of “Master” in informal settings.

“Considering the report from Merida, I’d say nine out of ten would refuse.”

“Thought so.”

Suddenly, a voice calls out from behind them, and the two turn around to see a Black Half-Elf with wheat-colored skin and silver hair approaching them.

“How is Elwind doing?”

“There hasn’t been anything to note so far, so it seems that our warning not to make any poor decisions seems to be effective.”

Leiard nods to the response and reminds the younger Elf after some thought. 

“While there might be a low chance that the barriers will become fully operational soon, the possibility is still there, so please be careful.”

“Yes, leave it to me! Oh, Master, how about a drink after all this is over?”

After welcoming the Scoutmaster Merida, who flirtatiously tilted her head, the Republican envoy gazed out from the encampment into the depths of the forest where the city of Elwind was located and let out a light sigh.

(…If we are going to do this, we must do it with the least amount of sacrifice.)

The significance of the World Tree in the Republic is so great that they were prepared to use forceful means as necessary.

In addition to its financial value as one of the Republic’s national budget sources, the World Tree was also recognized as the nation’s symbol. Moreover, the fact that the Republic is the only country in the west that can produce the resources derived from the World Tree is also significant and helps them gain an advantage in diplomatic relations.

So if the Tree were to die, it would certainly be a factor in the decline of their motherland.

……………

………

…

In the early hours of the morning, the Prime Minister and his daughter, and the World Tree Priestess Listy were all gathered in the spacious private chambers of Queen Aristia, holding documents prepared by the bureaucrats and discussing them.

“In particular, this reopening of diplomatic relations is a problem…”

“Yes, it might be unusual, but I agree with your father on this one.”

“… Although it was my own fault that caused the political unrest, the problem is deeply rooted in the concepts that originally flowed from the Philland Republic 600 years ago.”

Thanks to the efforts of the coalition of the moderate and conservative reformists, the revolutionary tone that resulted in violence had died down, but the gap caused by the dispute between the Black Elf clans, who sought to gain more rights, and the White Elves, who were the ruling class, was too deep to be settled overnight.

In this situation, except for some members of the aristocracy, it would be too risky to get involved with the Republic who had a more liberated approach, and would only make the situation chaotic, not to mention that it would allow them to overrun the Ancient Forest by taking advantage of the gaps in their barriers.

“If that’s the case, then we can’t have the Republican troops stationed at Elwind City loitering around, can we? After all, they might be there as insurance against the city’s barrier, but…”

Just as Eliza says while playing with her curly hair, even if the Republic could get the Elves to accept the conditions they presented, if the barriers were restored after the event, then interference from the outside would be blocked. Therefore, their intention of taking the city of Elwind as a hostage was obvious.

“We should also refuse their request to treat the World Tree Memoria (Memory). After all, if we gave in to their demands and their show of power, then they will only look down on us. ” 

Aristia meditates on Prime Minister Theodore’s suggestion for a while.

“Listy, is it possible to connect the World Tree Aion to Memoria through the earth’s ley lines despite the distance?”

“It was originally connected to Affectio. However, even though we chose the land it was planted on, it seems the connection has been severed and the location has become the nation’s capital now, so I’m afraid we cannot take care of it from here.”

A World Tree has the ability to grow fast, so by the time it was handed over to the Philland Republic, it had already grown sufficiently to provide the Humans with leaves for elixirs and branches for making magical tools. Fearing interference from the Ancient Forest, it was believed that the Republic probably severed its connection through the earth’s ley lines to make it independent from the other trees.

And even now, the chances of them allowing the Elves to connect to the tree were nil without any kind of guarantee.

“…And what is the status of the barrier surrounding Elwind City?”

“I’m afraid it still hasn’t been restored to its original state, Your Majesty.”

Prime Minister Theodore’s face clouded over at Listy’s explanation.

“According to the additional reports from Elwind City, we have confirmed that at least 2,000 soldiers from the Republic are camped near the barriers and their actual fighting force, excluding the Transportation Units, are at approximately 1,600 personnel.”

“What about the status of our soldiers stationed there?”

“The only ones who could respond are about 260 soldiers from the Royal Capital. If we enlisted the help of the Black Elves and gave them equipment, then we could gather around a thousand people, but…”

Even though Aristia didn’t want to think that the presence of a foreign enemy would cause further in-fighting between the clans, the Prime Minister’s unexpressed intentions were what worried her the most.

“… Depending on the situation, they could also be targeting the Royal Capital, so please make preparations. Also, please instruct the cities of Elreic and Eldart to send over reinforcements as soon as possible.”

“So in terms of military force, I think we’re on equal footing, Your Majesty. However, I’m sure the Republic won’t stand idly either.”

As Eliza put it, the deadline for responding to the conditions presented by the messenger of the Republic was set so the Elves could not make any unnecessary moves to provide any decent assistance to the city of Elwind.

(Of course, I understand where you’re coming from, but we’re stuck on both sides…)

Aristia released a heavy sigh at Eliza’s suggestion.

“… This is just a bit of wishful thinking, but may I suggest something?”

“Yes, you may.”

“The terms set by the special envoy of the Republic may seem one-sided, but they do show some consideration for us.”

“What do you mean?”

“I do not know what is going on with the Humans, but they do not seem to have any intention of making things worse… At the very least, I think they need our assistance with the World Tree in their possession.”

After collecting her thoughts for a while, Eliza continues,

“Let us allow them to stay in the city of Elwind and continue negotiations. At the very least, it would give us some time to restore the barriers and we could also prepare our troops so that they cannot go through.”

“Besides, it will be harder for them to act out if they are politely invited,” she added.

And like this, a messenger was dispatched to the city of Elwind to inform the other party. The  2nd Division of the Republican Army then took up a position on the outskirts of the city, and Eliza was assigned to take charge of the negotiations.