Reclaim the Elves’ Sacred Land (2)
“Isn’t it cruel to suddenly treat me like a monster?”
When the clone waved its hand, magic circles floated up around the fairies, restraining them.
The fairies were frightened that she could use a binding spell capable of restraining even those among them who were close to spirits and could normally break free of incantations.
“Knew it, you really are a monster!”
“Le~~t~~me~~go~~!”
The fairies struggled, but their power wasn’t enough to escape the bindings.
“Take this—Crack—ugh, bounced back.”
“It’s useless to try interfering with my magic. My control is stronger.”
The clone gathered the restrained fairies into one place.
“Why’d you attack me out of nowhere?”
“Because you went and unsealed the magic of this forest without permission! Do you have any idea how many Elves died, how many suffered, just to cast that spell?!”
A fairy man raised his voice in anger.
“That’s exactly why I unsealed it. If I left it alone, their souls wouldn’t even have been able to reincarnate—they’d just vanish.”
“They knew that risk!”
“Sure, they accepted it when they cast it. But they were suffering. Enough of that already.”
After centuries of bondage and soul consumption, the Elves’ souls had long since reached their limit.
“We won’t hand over the World Tree to humans.”
It seemed the fairies thought they had come to steal the World Tree.
And that much was true. The clone had indeed come for the World Tree. But not to keep it for himself.
“The surviving Elves are living in my country. I came to return the World Tree to them.”
“I don’t believe those Elves are alive. And you—you’re not human, are you?!”
“Well, I’m more like a magically-made drone. If I’d brought my real body, convincing you would’ve been easier…”
The clone had no soul. Something without a soul, yet moving as if it had self-awareness in human form—such a thing unsettled the fairies. The unknown always inspires fear.
If it had been the real Alicetia, this would’ve been over instantly. She bore the power of the Spirit King; that alone would’ve dispelled their wariness. That was the weight of her presence. (Not that her real body was awake right now.)
“Ugh, persuasion’s a pain. Takuto.”
“Got it. Rien, wake up.”
Takuto lightly tapped his pocket, rousing the sulking Rien from her nap.
“Ow! Don’t you know the proper way to wake a lady—wait, my kin!”
“Help us, kin! This monster has us trapped!”
“Wha—ugh, it’s all over…”
Rien hadn’t imagined any fairies besides those protected by the goddess had survived. Overjoyed, she threw her arms up—only to see they were prisoners of the clone, and her face twisted with despair.
“Knew it, you really are the enemy!”
“This is because of Alice’s usual behavior, isn’t it?”
“Shall we settle it in court then?”
Stung by the accusation, the clone acted as if ready to fight it out in court. Though the chances of winning were slim.
After all, it’s hard to befriend a mad scientist who tries to take samples every time you meet.
“Takuto, please help them.”
“Eh? But they attacked Alice. Isn’t killing them the only option?”
“You’re broken too, I forgot!”
Since the fairies had attacked Alicetia, the clone categorized them as enemies. So Takuto had no reason to ask for mercy.
“Eh, I didn’t hurt them. If they don’t attack, I’ll just let them go.”
The clone didn’t hold hostility toward fairies. She only restrained them because they attacked.
“… And then you’ll take samples, right?”
“Not without their consent. I’m not like Alicia, dripping samples everywhere.”
She had no intent of taking them by force. That’s why she always politely asked Rien whenever they met. She’d never forced it, not once. There was no urgency. She figured steady requests would eventually succeed.
“Eh, so you really won’t force it?”
“I never planned to. I just asked.”
“Then what’s that weapon you’re holding?”
“So that when you say yes, I can take a sample right away.”
At last Rien realized that as long as she refused, there was no problem.
“Way too late to figure that out! You’re impossible to read!”
“Oh? Sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you with cookies.”
“Yay! You’re forgiven!”
The clone handed her a plate piled with cookies, and just like that Rien forgave every past misdeed, diving into the sweets.
At the same time, several stomachs growled. The clone turned to see the captive fairies blushing and averting their faces.
“If you won’t attack anymore, I’ll share.”
“… We can’t win anyway. We won’t fight.”
The fairy man hung his head in defeat. After that, they had a little tea party.
“So after the Elves perished, you’ve been the ones maintaining this forest?”
“That’s right. They fought bravely. So we protected this place, their place, our place. Eventually that magic will wear off too.”
The Elves’ forbidden spell consumed not only their magic and life force, but even their souls. The casters would of course die, but their souls weren’t released even then.
In time, even their souls would be eaten away to maintain the spell, and its effect would fade. Then this forest would simply return to being an ordinary forest.
“The Empire—or whoever—probably knows that. Even ordinary humans, if skilled in magic, would realize it can’t last more than a year if left alone.
And when this forest turns normal again, we fairies will be captured. We can’t win anymore. There are just too many humans!”
Fairies lived longer than Elves but reproduced even less. Having aided the Elves when the Sacred Tree Kingdom fell, they’d suffered heavy losses. Even centuries later, their numbers remained below what they once were. Worse, most of their strongest had been wiped out, leaving mostly illusionists and healers—support casters, not fighters.
Fairies were small of body, gifted at magic, but incapable of wielding weapons effectively. They could support Elves, but couldn’t defend themselves alone. That’s why so few fairies remained on the continent.
“I see, I see. So why did you attack me so suddenly then?”
“Because the Elves’ forbidden spell was undone all at once… outsiders began invading… we didn’t realize you had ties to the Elves. Forgive us.”
It took quite some effort to convince them, but thanks to Alicia—half-elf, half-beastkin—they eventually believed.
“Well, for now I’d like you to guide us to the World Tree… is that alright?”
“… It’s fine, but you must promise not to defile it. It’s precious not just to us, but to the Elves too.”
“I wasn’t planning on defiling it anyway.”
The goal was to bring it back. Wrecking it would only upset the Elves.
“Oh, but I would like some fallen leaves from the World Tree.”
“That much is fine…”
The fairies had high magic affinity, and nearly all were mages. Since they neither used alchemy nor needed medicinal herbs, the World Tree’s leaves had little value to them. Fallen leaves were something they readily shared.
“Fallen leaves are useful?”
The clone nodded with satisfaction at Takuto’s question.
“Not as potent as fresh ones from the branches, but still a valuable alchemy material. With them, I can make potions that serve as cures for certain diseases.”
This was written in Avon's grimoire. In Arland, where substitute materials were scarce, they had struggled to find alternatives. But with this, fewer citizens would suffer from illness. The clone was very pleased.
After the tea party, they continued through the forest. Thanks to the broken illusions, they soon reached the World Tree.
“Incredible. It’s still mostly intact.”
There stood a city built around the World Tree. Centuries had passed since the Sacred Tree Kingdom’s fall, yet instead of crumbling away, the forest city still endured.
“Heheh. Impressive, right? We’ve been casting Preservation and cleaning it, so it would be ready whenever the Elves returned.”
The fairy girls spoke proudly. They had kept the city, believing the Elves would one day return. While not immediately livable, it needed only light maintenance to be used again.
“Wow, that’s quite a sight.”
“Hm.”
The clone thought for a moment.
“What is it, Alice?”
Takuto asked.
“In theory I can bring it back, but it’ll be tough. I’d only planned to bring the World Tree itself to Arland if necessary, but I think I should take the entire city. Trouble is, since everyone said no, I’ve only done small-scale experiments.”
She did have a method to bring this city back to Arland. In fact, she’d been researching it as a gift for her growing family. With the airship already completed, it should be fine… but the sheer scale made her uneasy.
“How do you even move a whole city? I can’t imagine it.”
“I’ll float it and carry it. With earth spirits—though since I can’t use my main body right now, I’ll just ask the dwarven spirit-users.”
It would cause problems with groundwater and such, but handling that was the spirits’ specialty. It would take a massive effort, but if Alicetia asked, most spirits wouldn’t refuse.
“Maybe I should report to Arland first. Noble Council’s already gone, but before anyone can interfere and claim it for the kingdom, I’ll just sell it to the Elves.”
“Y-you’re selling it?!”
Alicia cried in shock.
“Loot belongs to me. If I transfer it to the Elves before complaints arise, then they’ll protect it. With no Noble Council, nobody can seize it. And if anyone tries, my big brother—who hates civil war—will crush them.”
By rights, all plunder from the Empire belonged to Alicetia. She judged it best to preemptively hand it to the Elves.
If they regained their sacred land, they’d never return it to the kingdom. And as one of the leading producers of potions in Arland, the Elves couldn’t be forced.
Besides, currying favor here would mean stable access to World Tree leaves.
“For now, let’s leave my brother out of it. If I call, he’ll just cry and beg me to come home. First I’ll contact my master.”
“What about contacting the Elves?”
“I don’t have their numbers. They never leave their lands. The war started before I could exchange info. So for now—map!”
The clone pulled a precise map of the Elves’ territory from her Treasury.
“Princess! That’s a state secret! Why did you take that out?!”
In this era, precise maps were state secrets. Even fortress maps often omitted details.
What the clone pulled out was a perfect, kingdom-owned map, strictly forbidden to remove.
“Hehehe, I peeked when I snuck into the Treasury. The real one’s still at the castle, so it’s fine.”
“So it WAS you who put treasure in the Treasury, Princess!”
“Oho, but you’ve got no proof. Anyway…”
The clone pulled out a ruler and began making calculations. About thirty minutes later, she found the target.
“This reforested area looks just right.”
“That… supports the Elves’ timber exports though.”
“If we circulate World Tree leaves, profits will multiply. As for lumber, we can just harvest the Far Reaches. It’s all forest there.”
Apparently, she’d already set her sights on expanding north after the war.
Taking out her phone, the clone called Grantz. He picked up in seconds.
“Ah, Master. I need a favor. I’m not doing anything bad—just stealing gold and iron ore from the Empire, blowing up forts and city walls for fun!
Eh, slaves? I’m freeing them. Even your kin—I freed them, and they’ll be sent to the capital in a few days. Brilliant, right? I’m a tactical genius. Anyway, what I really need is for you to talk to the Elves.”
Thus the clone laid out her unprecedented plunder plan. Hearing it, Grantz burst out laughing.
What do you think about this chapter?
