TERNLF Vol. 3 Chapter 3 Part 1

◆Chapter 3◆

After Rastel left, the talks between the Dwarf Kingdom and the Volga Empire began in earnest.

Taking part in the negotiations from the Volga Empire were four senior figures and Demon King Empipi.

From the dwarven side were four representatives of the dwarf race, led by Cheki.

And as a witness, I ended up attending as well.

The imperial dignitaries were initially bewildered when they were told that I was the witness.

That was only natural.

There was no reason they would not find it strange that a human adventurer of unknown origin was serving as the witness for talks of this magnitude.

However, since Empipi, the Demon King, had appointed me, and Cheki, who held full authority on the dwarves’ side, had approved it, they had no choice but to accept it after the fact.

In the Volga Empire especially, the Demon King’s word was absolute.

No one could possibly voice an objection.

The discussions proceeded solemnly, with the demon side offering a certain amount of compensation and an apology to the dwarves, who were ostensibly the victims in all this.

One reason the talks advanced in a calm atmosphere without descending into deadlock was that the dwarven side also carried a sense of guilt, knowing they bore part of the blame for what had driven Luchimada to his atrocity this time.

Another major factor was the fact that Cheki was acting as the dwarves’ plenipotentiary.

Caught up in the conflict among dwarves, elves, and demons, she had lost everything except her life.

Her presence, as the one who could well be called the greatest victim in all this, weighed heavily on both the dwarves and the demons.

If Cheki had demanded vengeance against the demons, the atmosphere in that room would surely have turned hostile.

But she remained calm to the very end.

“—Then we will proceed with arrangements along those lines.”

After several days of talks, one of the Volga Empire’s senior officials rose to his feet as he gathered up the documents spread across the table.

That was the signal that the negotiations had come to an end.

“Mm. I leave it to you.”

“As you command.”

At the Demon King’s words, the official bowed his head.

“Then we shall return to the homeland and make our report as well.”

“Please do.”

The dwarven representatives also spoke to Cheki, took their documents in hand, and left the conference room together.

The only ones left in the room were Cheki, me, and Demon King Empipi, or rather, only Empipi’s external terminal.

Yes, Empipi had not been attending the meeting in person, but through this external terminal instead.

The terminal itself had a cylindrical main body equipped with only the bare minimum of functions, such as speakers, a camera, and manipulators, and it moved on four wheels.

In truth, there was a conference room within this royal castle large enough even for Empipi’s enormous body to enter.

However, because this matter had involved highly sensitive information, they had chosen not to use that room.

“Phew. We somehow managed to get through it.”

Cheki stretched broadly.

I was inwardly surprised by how the talks had remained so procedural and then simply ended.

No matter how much Cheki and the Demon King had wanted to settle things peacefully, what Luchimada had done could easily have led to an all-out war between the dwarves and the demons.

“I truly did not feel alive the whole time.”

“Faura. You did very well.”

“Empipi is too kind. But all I did was watch over things here. The one who truly worked hard was Empipi.”

Faura’s usual voice, along with Empipi’s, came from the terminal.

Just as Faura had said, she had left everything to Empipi during these negotiations.

That was because, to begin with, Faura had almost never involved herself in the administration of the Volga Empire.

After all, Faura had originally been nothing more than an ordinary village girl born and raised in a remote settlement. There was no way she could suddenly found and govern a nation.

She had only wished to make the Demon Territory into a rich and peaceful land, and to ensure that no demon would ever have to suffer the same sorrow she had.

The AI within Empipi had merely answered that young girl’s wish.

Listening to the exchange between the two of them, the words slipped out of my mouth before I knew it.

“The AI for the MPPRD I knew wasn’t supposed to be this advanced.”

The way Faura and Empipi conversed, and the way Empipi gave orders to subordinates as the Demon King, all felt far too natural.

Of course, AI had surely continued to evolve even after I died in my original world, so it would not have been strange if something on this level had eventually been created.

Still, the MPPRD was, at its core, nothing more than a terminal belonging to a mother ship that served as an immigration survey vessel, and the AI installed in it should only have been the bare minimum necessary.

Perhaps Empipi, as a machine, had also undergone some kind of unusual transformation after being cast into this world.

After all, unlike my original world, magic existed here as a tangible reality.

“Toa, you have my thanks as well.”

As I was thinking that, Empipi offered me words of appreciation.

An AI this human no longer felt like a machine at all.

“All I did was sit here the whole time. My butt just got a little sore, that’s all.”

“The same goes for me.”

“Were you injured, Faura? Please proceed to the infirmary at once.”

“Empipi always makes too much of things.”

The playful back-and-forth coming from the terminal made me smile without meaning to.

“Ahaha. You two really do get along well.”

“Yeah. By the way, Cheki, is your bu—”

“Toa, I think that kind of thing is exactly where you fall short.”

Cheki turned away with a huff, and her cheeks looked slightly flushed.

Right. Asking a girl, “Is your butt okay?” really was not something I should have said.

“Sorry. I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“I think you’d be the same even if you weren’t tired… but fine, I’ll forgive you today.”

Cheki said that and turned back with a smile.

Even so, fatigue was still visible on her face.

“Looks like everyone’s worn out, so let’s head back to our rooms early.”

“Yeah. Let me just put these documents in order first.”

“I’ll help.”

Most of the materials had already been taken away by the dwarves who left ahead of us, so only a very small amount remained.

But important documents were included among them.

After confirming each one with Cheki, I gathered the papers together and tossed them into spatial storage, including hers.

“I’ll come by later too.”

“Got it. I’ll have some snacks ready and waiting.”

And so, leaving only the Demon King’s terminal behind in the conference room, we left the room and headed back to the place we had been using.

—

Five days after the talks concluded, I finished preparing for my journey to Landriere, the elven nation.

“Are you really going to be alright on your own?”

Nikka asked anxiously.

Just as she said, I had decided to head to Landriere alone this time.

“You know how strong I am, right?”

“But…”

“If I’m alone, then the moment I run into someone I can’t handle, I can just turn around and flee. I’m not going to do anything reckless.”

That was the main reason I had decided to go alone this time.

Nikka and the others still did not have the strength to fight elves, and if something happened, I figured it would be better for me to be by myself.

Everyone had accepted that, and over the past five days they had helped me prepare food, equipment, and everything else I would need. Thanks to them, I had managed to gather everything except for one last thing.

“Here, this is for you.”

“Oh, it’s done? Then that means I’ve got everything I need now.”

Grassa emerged from the room next door carrying rod-like objects in both hands and passed them over to me.

“I think it should be fine, but test it properly just to make sure it actually works, alright?”

What Grassa handed me were two Illusion Cancelers.

For the past few days, I had been having her use 【Duplicate】 to make copies of the Illusion Canceler.

The construction of an Illusion Canceler was so complex that even a seasoned dwarven engineer would have a hard time making one.

But even something that intricate could be replicated with Grassa’s skill. Luchimada had believed that too, which was why he had even tried to abduct her.

Well then, time to test it right away.

After inspecting the Illusion Canceler in my hand, I turned back toward Nikka and Grassa.

“Could you two stand together over there?”

“Here?”

“What are you planning to do?”

Though hesitant, Nikka and Grassa moved a short distance away from me and stood side by side.

“I’m going to cast illusion magic on you two now, but don’t worry.”

“So you’re saying we’re your test subjects?”

“There’s no danger… but if you don’t like it, I’ll think of another way.”

“I don’t mind at all. Besides, I’m curious what illusion magic is like.”

“If Nikka’s fine with it, then I’ll help too.”

Nikka looked excited at the prospect of experiencing illusion magic for the first time, while Grassa put on a bold front to hide her unease.

When it came to nerve in situations like this, Nikka really did have more of it.

“Alright, here I go. Illusion!”

I held out my palm toward them and cast the spell.

The very next moment, the two of them suddenly began darting their eyes around as though searching for something.

“H-Huh? Mr. Toa? Where did you go?”

“We were just in the room a second ago, weren’t we? So where are we now?”

“It’s kind of beautiful, but it also feels scary somehow.”

What the two of them ought to have been seeing now was the grassland where I had first fought the elf Theo at the capital’s guild.

There should not have been anything frightening about that scenery itself, so perhaps Nikka had sensed something off.

That said, the scenery was not actually being “seen” by their eyes.

Illusion magic did not deceive the eyes. It deceived the brain.

“Can you both hear my voice?”

“I can! So you’re there somewhere!”

When I called out, Nikka answered immediately.

But her gaze was directed in a completely different direction from where I actually stood.

“Hearing a voice without seeing who it belongs to feels really unpleasant.”

“Sorry, Grassa. But now I know for sure that both of you are properly under the illusion.”

I lifted the duplicated Illusion Canceler that Grassa had handed me earlier.

“Now comes the real test.”

As I said that, I poured mana into the magic stone built into the Illusion Canceler.

Nothing felt strange about the flow of mana.

It did not seem any different from when I had tried using the genuine Illusion Canceler back at the dwarven royal castle.

“Activate for me, Illusion Canceler!”

I raised the Illusion Canceler high overhead.

At the same time, I felt the mana I had poured into the magic stone spread out into the surrounding area.

“Huh?”

“We’re… back.”

It worked.

The Illusion Canceler Grassa had copied activated just like the original, and I felt a wave of relief.

“Welcome back.”

“We’re back… though it’s not like we actually went anywhere, right?”

“I was sure we were standing in a grassland just a moment ago. How strange.”

From the way the two of them looked around in confusion, it was obvious that my spell had been completely dispelled.

“The only question now is whether this can really break through the illusions in the Elves’ Forest…”

This proved that the Illusion Canceler could nullify illusion magic.

But the illusion magic cast over the Elves’ Forest was so powerful that even the demons had been unable to break through it.

“Can I really do this?”

I myself had never actually entered the Elves’ Forest before.

So all I knew about the illusions cast over it came from rumor.

But even Luchimada had been unable to break them.

There was no way they were anything half-hearted.

“Toa, what are you going to do if you can’t break the illusion?”

“If that happens, I’ll come back without pushing myself.”

Grassa peered into my eyes skeptically, and I answered her with a smile.

“Really?”

“Mr. Toa, please don’t do anything reckless.”

It seemed neither of them was willing to take my words at face value.

I really wasn’t trusted much, was I?

“I won’t do anything reckless. I’ll make sure I come back.”

“Will you promise us?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

I would not break my promises.

Nikka and the others knew that.

That was probably why the moment I said it, both their expressions softened.

“Well then, with this, I’ve got everything I need. The only thing left now is the transportation Faura said she’d prepare for me.”

“Transportation? Isn’t that just going to be a horse or a carriage?”

“That’s the thing. The shortest route from here to the Elves’ Forest goes through rough wasteland that hasn’t been maintained. So horses and carriages won’t work.”

“Isn’t that place…”

After hearing that much, Nikka seemed to realize what I meant.

Her brow furrowed, and her expression darkened slightly as I told her.

“Yeah. It’s the ruins of the former capital of the Eldwa Autonomous District.”

—