TERNLF Vol. 3 Chapter 4 Part 1

◆Chapter 4◆

“It’s the same here, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right. There’s no sign of any elves anywhere.”

A few hundred meters away from the Illusion Forest where the elves lived, we had hidden ourselves behind a boulder and were observing the fortress built at the forest entrance to serve as a checkpoint.

The fortress, which should normally have been filled not only with elves but also countless merchants who traded with them, was deserted. Not a single person could be seen.

“Isn’t this a little too careless?”

To enter the elven nation, one had to proceed through the Illusion Forest. Even races with power on par with the demons could not break through the forest’s illusions. After wandering aimlessly, they would eventually find themselves back outside the forest.

In the past, even with such impregnable defenses in place, the elves had not allowed anyone to approach the forest without permission.

I had heard that if someone trespassed without permission, elven magic would come flying from every direction the moment they entered the forest.

Defending against attacks from such elves while under the influence of the illusions was an exceedingly difficult feat.

And the corpses of those who trespassed into the forest were brutally thrown back outside as a warning to others.

For that reason, anyone who wanted to enter the forest first had to receive permission at the fortress that served as the checkpoint. Now, however, its gate was firmly closed, and none of the elves who usually stood guard in front of or atop the gate could be seen.

“So, what do we do?”

“What do we do? We have no choice but to go.”

“Indeed. We must determine what those elves are plotting.”

The three of us exchanged glances and nodded to one another.

After coming this far, turning back was not an option for us.

“For now, we’ll leave the Mobi Dragon here and walk the rest of the way.”

According to Faura, there was no problem with abandoning a Mobi Dragon in a suitable location.

Apparently, they were trained to remain near the place where they were abandoned for about two days, then return to their original location on their own.

In other words, in the case of this Mobi Dragon, it would return to the Demon Capital by itself even if we left it alone, so there was no issue.

“I’ll use this just to be safe, so both of you, stay close to me.”

I took out the barrier magic tool I had used in the Demon King’s castle, the one that erased our presence and appearance.

“Oh? Is that one of Darwie’s magic tools?”

“She gave it to me as a farewell gift when I left the fortress.”

Darwie was a wingfolk woman who primarily made magic tools at the Border Fortress.

On the continent where I lived, I had rarely seen any wingfolk besides her, but apparently, on the distant continent where she came from, they were not such an uncommon race.

Rather than resembling birds, they looked more as if a human’s arms had turned into wings. The feathers at the tips of those wings could move as deftly as human fingers, allowing them to perform intricate craftwork. It was said that the precision of their movements even surpassed that of dwarves.

However, because she was worse at mana control than humans were, she had been unable to activate magic tools by herself.

For that reason, at the fortress, those of us skilled in mana control, including me, had cooperated with her and helped with her magic tool production.

No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we had served as her test subjects…

“She put me through all kinds of things.”

As I remembered those days and felt slightly drained, Rish laughed with amusement.

“You were Darwie’s favorite, after all. After you left the fortress, she was quite dejected, you know.”

“She didn’t seem that way when she saw me off.”

“That girl was a show-off. She didn’t want her apprentice to see her like that.”

As we reminisced, we unloaded our belongings from the Mobi Dragon and made our preparations.

“Barrier magic tool, activate.”

Once I confirmed that our preparations were finally complete, I activated the barrier magic tool.

At the same time, a barrier formed around me, and the two of them stepped inside it.

“It’s cramped.”

“Ufufu. Perhaps I should cling to you, Toa dear.”

“Please don’t. It’s hot.”

Exchanging light banter as if to conceal our tension, we carefully advanced toward the Illusion Forest.

In the end, however, nothing happened even after we passed through the gate the elves used as their checkpoint.

We continued through the gate, walked past buildings that seemed to serve as lodgings for the elves, and reached the plaza constructed near the forest’s outer edge for trade and negotiations with outsiders.

“It really doesn’t look like anyone’s here.”

There were no signs of people whatsoever, not only in the plaza but also in any of the several buildings.

It seemed the elves truly had vanished completely, not merely from the outer perimeter but even from this place, which lay a little way inside the forest.

“Now then, this is where the real work begins.”

The power of the Illusion Forest should not extend beyond this plaza.

I took the Illusion Canceler out of my storage.

“I hope that magic tool of yours works.”

“If it doesn’t, we’ll just think of another method.”

“Do you have one?”

“No, but we’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

“How irresponsible.”

At Rish’s exasperated expression, I merely shrugged and approached the Illusion Forest while holding the Illusion Canceler ready.

Then I stopped just before the path leading deeper into the forest.

“Please work, Illusion Canceler.”

I channeled mana into the Illusion Canceler.

“Oh?”

“My. To think this place had been an illusion as well.”

The moment I channeled mana into the Illusion Canceler, the place we had believed to be a plaza transformed completely.

“Wasn’t the plaza supposed to be outside the range of the illusions?”

Before we knew it, there was a roof above our heads.

Apparently, the place we had thought was a plaza had actually been inside a large building. The structure, which resembled a circus tent made of wood, was a magnificent one, about fifty meters in diameter with a roof nearly ten meters high.

“So everyone had been deceived.”

“I do not know why they made it this way, but one thing was certain…”

“Yes. Your magic tool could properly dispel the forest’s illusions, Toa dear.”

I nodded at Lentret’s words.

At any rate, it was fair to say that the greatest concern in our plan to infiltrate the elven nation had now been resolved.

Feeling relieved, I told the two of them, “Let’s move on.”

And so, while using the Illusion Canceler, we advanced along the road toward Landriere, the capital at the heart of the elven nation.

Thankfully, the route had not changed since the time when Lentret lived here.

Thanks to that, we were able to proceed through several forks in the road without getting lost, which could be considered an unexpected stroke of luck.

According to her, the scenery had barely changed from long ago either.

Perhaps the elves had avoided developing this forest, since it was also their lifeline.

While thinking about such things, we proceeded down the road on alert.

Along the way, we saw elven settlements here and there.

However, there were no elves to be found in any of them. Only an unsettling silence had been left behind.

“It’s like a ghost town. Where in the world did the elves go?”

I muttered that, but no one had the answer.

After what felt like half a day since we entered the forest, we passed several forks in the road from the entrance and reached the third settlement. There, we decided to take a short break.

About 20 wooden houses stood between the trees, as though buried naturally within the forest. It was a uniquely elven scene, one that could not be seen in the outside world.

I found myself captivated by the townscape, where sunlight filtering through the trees emerged in soft patches.

Yet even amid such beautiful scenery, not a single elf, the supposed inhabitants, could be found.

“It is convenient for us, but when there is no one to be found to this extent, it becomes eerie.”

“Yes. I didn’t expect there to be no one even this deep inside, not just outside the forest.”

The empty settlement, where nothing could be heard except the rustling of the trees and the cries of beasts from far away, was beautiful yet eerie.

An indescribable unease began to fill my heart.

“At any rate, we might be better off reaching Landriere before sunset.”

“Indeed. Surely there will be someone there, at least.”

“And if there isn’t?”

“Then we will deal with it when the time comes. Heave-ho.”

At my anxious murmur, Rish answered with a smile as she stood up.

We stood up after her and put the canteens, small table, and other things we had taken out for our break back into storage.

“Which way should we go next?”

“That way.”

When I looked in the direction Lentret indicated, I saw a road continuing between the buildings.

Because both the buildings and the roads had been built in a way that avoided destroying the natural environment as much as possible, there were no simple, straight roads in the forest.

“Even without being caught in illusion magic, I feel like I’d never reach the place.”

“You just have to get used to it, that’s all. Come on, weren’t we in a hurry?”

Lentret said that with a smile, then took my hand and began walking toward the road leading to the capital of Landriere.

—

How long had we been walking down that dim path?

After passing through two more deserted settlements, we found it.

“So this is the phantom capital, Landriere…”

From the open rise we had climbed to confirm our position, we could see Landriere, the capital of the elven nation, clearly.

A city hidden deep within the forest, unreachable by anyone but elves.

I was probably the first human ever to see it.

Deep inside the Illusion Forest, the vast space that opened up abruptly was covered like a dome by towering trees and vines. That said, gaps had been carefully created to allow sunlight to shine through, and I could see the care taken to ensure the light was not blocked.

Beneath that dome stood an enormous building at the center.

Around it, wooden buildings spread outward in a circular pattern, forming a townscape so beautiful that words could not do it justice.

The central building was apparently a massive church, and the administrative buildings were gathered around it.

Lentret explained that this was the heart of the nation.

Several springs were scattered throughout the town, and they apparently reflected the light pouring in from above, delivering it beautifully throughout Landriere.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It hardly looks like the capital of those wretched elves.”

Even in response to Rish’s scathing words, Lentret said nothing back.

Perhaps that was only natural, since she too had been on the receiving end of the elves’ vicious attacks at the Border Fortress.

“And those wretched elves are here.”

Just as Lentret said, the elves were in the capital.

“Indeed. I wondered what we would do if no one was here either, but I feel somewhat relieved now.”

I never thought I would feel relieved at the sight of elves.

That said…

“Aren’t there too few of them?”

The number of elves walking along Landriere’s streets was clearly small, considering the scale of the town.

The elves should have gathered here not only from outside the forest but from the settlements as well, yet within sight, I could only confirm a little over a hundred people.

Moreover, those elves were concentrated around the central administrative district, with none at all in the capital’s outer edges.

Were they hiding inside the buildings?

No, elven buildings were generally small, and even the relatively large buildings in the administrative district did not look capable of holding that many people.

If so, that meant most of the elves were not here.

“There’s no point thinking about it from here.”

“Indeed. It seems faster to capture an elf and make them tell us what they are trying to do.”

“Now that we’ve decided, let’s go in all at once.”

After looking at one another and nodding, we ran down from the rise.

We headed straight toward Landriere, leapt into the shadow of the nearest private home, and searched for signs of anyone inside.

“There’s no one here after all.”

“The other houses are probably empty too.”

“Then let us head straight to the center.”

We advanced while hiding in the shadows, searching for any elven presence as we moved.

However, just as we had seen from the rise, we sensed no one until we approached the central administrative district.

“We should proceed even more carefully from here on.”

Once we reached a spot just a short distance from the administrative district, where elves were coming and going, we watched the area for a while before sitting down in the shadow of a building to discuss our plan.

“Kidnapping someone walking outside… seems difficult.”

At my words, the two of them nodded.

Several elves were walking along the road, but none of them were in a place where we could abduct them without being noticed.

“Wouldn’t it be better to target someone inside a building instead of kidnapping someone walking along the road?”

“But we have no idea what the inside of those buildings looks like. That would be far too dangerous.”

Of course, we could probably abduct someone by force.

If it were only me, that would be one thing, but with Lentret and Rish here, I could not imagine us losing even if a fight broke out.

However, if that happened, the elves would discover that intruders were present.

They were skilled at freely manipulating wind magic, and also excelled at using wind-based means of communication.

Even if we overpowered them by force, it would be nearly impossible to prevent that information from reaching the others.

“Sneaking into a building and eavesdropping would probably get us caught too, since we’re dealing with elves.”

With the barrier magic tool I had, there was a high chance that elves, who were skilled in magic, would notice us.

Of course, if we kept a certain distance, we would not be found, but once we were inside a building and close to the elves, that would no longer be the case.

“At times like this, I wish we had brought Faura with us.”

With her 【Invisible】, she would surely have been able to enter a building without being noticed by the elves.

Of course, bringing her to such a dangerous place had never been an option from the beginning.

That was when it happened.

Thud.

“I have heard your conversation.”

Suddenly, along with a voice from overhead, a female elf leapt down in front of us.

“!”

The three of us instantly put distance between ourselves and the female elf who had suddenly appeared, then readied our weapons.

It seemed she was alone… but she showed no sign of calling her allies either.

Elves were an arrogant race. Perhaps she thought she could dispose of us all by herself.

“Well, there’s no other choice. Let’s secure her before the other elves arrive.”

I whispered that to the two of them, then was about to charge toward the elf when…

“Wait. I only came to speak with you. I have not reported you.”

Realizing that the elf who said that bore no hostility, I stopped myself.

“Speak with us?”

“That’s right. If you hear what I have to say and still wish to kill me, then I do not mind if you do.”

“…”

Her unexpected words left us bewildered.

However, I could tell that it was true that this female elf had no intention of harming us.

Seeing our confusion, the female elf continued.

“You want to know what the elves are doing now, don’t you?”

She was right.

That was why we had come to this enemy forest despite knowing the danger.

“What do we do?”

Without taking my eyes off the female elf, I entrusted the decision to the two of them.

“Well, it does seem true that she hasn’t informed the other elves, so I think hearing her out should be fine.”

“We may be able to obtain information without taking unnecessary risks, after all.”

Neither Lentret nor Rish seemed to have any particular objections.

For us, who had been about to take a risk to gather information, the female elf’s words, if they were not a lie, were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I slowly lowered my stance and put away the weapon in my hand.

“Whew… I’m glad you believed me.”

The female elf had not changed her expression at all until then, but the moment I put my weapon away, she exhaled deeply and showed a look of relief.

Apparently, she had been inwardly terrified over what judgment we would make.

“So, what did you want to talk about? I should warn you, if you intend to deceive us—”

“If I intended to deceive you, I would not have risked danger to speak to you. Besides, I have no intention of fighting powerful people capable of breaking through that forest’s illusions.”

After saying that, the female elf placed her right palm against the left side of her chest and bowed her head lightly.

“First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Realus. I am the representative of Willendi, an organization that advocates opposition to the goddess.”

“Oh? This is the first time I have heard of elves who oppose the goddess.”

Rish widened her eyes, but this was the first I had heard of it as well.

I had thought that all elves, except those who had left the country, were fanatics of the goddess like Rastel.

“We of Willendi are an assembly of those who lost our families… our loved ones, in the fortress assault because they believed the goddess’s words.”

“…”

Whatever they might have been in the past, the elves were now among the strongest races on this continent.

Against such a race, we had not had the luxury of holding back, and we had taken the lives of numerous elves.

It would not have been strange if someone precious to her had been among the elves I defeated.

I fell silent, unable to say anything.

“You are kind.”

“Huh?”

“The reason you looked pained when you heard my words is because you too were part of that fortress, isn’t it?”

“…”

“The person I loved went to that fortress, and there lost his life.”

So that was how it was.

Of course, I did not know whether the elf I had killed with my own hands had been that person.

But since I could not definitively say it had not been, I had no idea how I should answer.

As if seeing through my turmoil, Realus shook her head slightly.

“You need not feel guilty. To begin with, we elves were the ones who started the war. Not once did you attack us first.”

A faint loneliness appeared in Realus’s eyes, yet she still told me that with a smile.

She was surely remembering the person she had lost.

“Indeed. That elf is right.”

“She’s right, Toa.”

Rish and Lentret spoke up to comfort me after I had grown despondent.

We had repelled the elves who had attacked us one-sidedly.

The elves’ assault had been fierce, and we had absolutely no leeway to hold back.

It had been a battle where lives were taken, with not even a moment to relax, and there was no way both sides could have emerged unscathed. There had been people on the fortress side who lost their lives as well.

And there was a chance that I might have been one of them, so I had no need to feel guilty.

That was probably what the two of them wanted to say.

“Thank you. But I’m all right now.”

After thanking them, I turned back toward Realus.

“So, your organization… Willendi, was formed by people who began to doubt the goddess’s words. Is that correct?”

“That is correct. We harbor doubts toward the goddess’s oracle… no, toward the goddess herself.”

Rastel, who had come to the empire, had believed that the goddess’s words were absolute and had shown not the slightest hint of doubt.

It had seemed like a kind of faith bordering on brainwashing.

On the other hand, the people of Willendi, including Realus, had been freed from that brainwashing by the deaths of their families and loved ones. They now doubted the very existence known as the goddess and were trying to gain the cooperation of us, their enemies.

Most likely, Willendi was an extremely small minority among the elves as a whole.

If they had been the majority, there would have been no need for them to risk their lives to seek our cooperation, and they would have been able to suppress the rampage of fanatics like Rastel.

“Understood. I believe you.”

After saying that, I looked back into Realus’s eyes with a serious expression and continued.

“Then, let’s get straight to it. Tell us what the elves are trying to do right now.”

“Of course. But if we have a lengthy conversation here, there is a risk that the other elves will notice us. Let us change locations.”

After accepting Realus’s proposal, we headed to their hideout.

Apparently, the hideout could be reached through a hidden passage from a nearby house.

Guided by her, we headed to that house.

Before long, we arrived at an ordinary wooden house and entered.

When Realus lifted the floorboards of the room, a staircase leading underground was hidden beneath them.

Magical lights were lit at intervals along the stairway walls, so there was no risk of missing our footing.

With Realus leading the way, we descended the stairs for a while, then proceeded down a straight passage.

The passage was wide enough for two adults to walk side by side, and its height was spacious enough that even a tall adult could pass through without issue.

After walking about a hundred meters down that passage, by my estimation, a sturdy iron door stood waiting ahead.

—