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[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 212
"Is there anywhere uncomfortable?"
At Leon's question, Triana was startled and nodded.
"No. It's so comfortable that I’m wondering if it's really okay..."
"I'm glad to hear you’re satisfied. So, are you curious about my sword?"
After some hesitation, Triana nodded firmly with a determined expression.
"I saw you subdue the slavers. It didn’t look like simple magic — it was as if you made the wood itself grow... am I right?"
"Yes, that's correct. It’s a power limited to plants, but it’s close to complete control. I might only have a slight influence on something as great as the World Tree, though."
Still, thinking about the origin of this ability, it was undoubtedly an incredible power.
"Is it a magic sword?"
"It's similar, but... no one else can use it except me."
Leon crossed his legs, savoring his coffee, and turned his gaze outward.
Triana’s eyes widened at his words.
"Young master, could you... lend me your power?"
"I'll have to decline."
Leon was firm.
"Could you at least hear me out?"
"Something happened to the World Tree, didn’t it?"
Triana took a deep breath.
The wide-eyed look showed just how shocked she was.
"I guess that answers it. I'm sorry, but the Kingdom of Bata is very sensitive about crimes involving elves, so we have to be cautious whether we like it or not."
Triana's ears drooped sadly.
She looked cute, but elves are a race whose appearance doesn’t reflect their age.
"The World Tree is in a bad state."
"Didn't I just say I wouldn't listen?"
"If you could help, I’m willing to offer compensation equivalent to your aid, in the name of the Trigard family. Please, at least give me the chance to make an offer."
"Wa-wait! Young lady! Are you seriously thinking about that...?"
"Whatever it takes, saving the World Tree comes first. For that, I’m willing to go this far..."
At her determined shout, the elf man guarding her flinched and tried to dissuade her, but Triana’s decision was firm.
"Very well. In that case, please speak with my younger sister, Countess Melissa Cascadia."
"With the Countess?"
"I'm a member of the family, but the head is my younger sister."
Triana lowered her gaze, deep in thought, then nodded firmly.
Melissa isn’t the type to work for free either.
She’ll handle this smartly, Leon thought.
* * *
The next day, with a look of steely determination, Triana met Melissa and discussed matters for several hours.
And then, with a somewhat relieved expression, she left the office and returned to the mountain lodge.
"How was it?"
"The proposal itself isn't bad. Actually, it’s more like an opportunity."
"What did she offer that’s so good?"
At my question, Melissa signed a document and pulled the family seal out of a drawer.
"But first, I need to confirm something. Can you actually achieve meaningful results?"
"If it's something like the World Tree, I can't guarantee anything."
"I have two reasons for agreeing."
She raised two fingers.
"First is the Trigard family’s business item. Have you heard of elven wood?"
Of course.
It's not just ordinary wood — it's famously a high-grade material, processed using a unique elven technique known for its strength, weight, and many other qualities.
It’s said that the finest magic staffs are made with elven wood.
Additionally, when it comes to wooden musical instruments, 'Fairy Wood' — elven wood — is considered the best material.
On the continent of Lazeros, aside from the World Tree's branches, elven wood is recognized as the finest quality timber.
"As you know, in the Kingdom of Bata, there’s no separate trade for elven wood. But it turns out the Trigard family produces and distributes Fairy Wood."
In other words, by helping them, we can open up a valuable trade route.
"Does that young lady really have that kind of authority?"
"It was a little surprising, but... it seems she does. And the second reason is more personal."
She let out a short sigh.
"Senior Isna was reportedly seen near the Elven Forest."
Huh?
What’s that about?
Why is Isna showing up here?
"Right now, the Elven Forest is in chaos because the World Tree’s roots are rotting."
"I had a rough idea. But what does that have to do with Isna Mielephon?"
"Just listen — things have gotten complicated. Rumor has it that the reason the World Tree is dying is because of Triana Bel Trigard, one of the candidate successors."
That’s nonsense.
"There's no way an ordinary High Elf could pull that off."
"Right. But it seems that's how things have turned out. Anyway, the head of the Trigard family pretended to cast his daughter out to protect her. Told her not to come back to the forest until a solution was found."
Externally, they claimed she was banished to hold her responsible, but in truth, it was to get her out safely — a subtle but crucial difference.
Had she stayed, she might have been harmed.
However, whoever had schemed against her wasn’t satisfied and even arranged for Triana to be attacked after she left the forest.
Most likely, the slavers who captured her were part of that scheme too.
"Anyway, after she left the forest, she was attacked. And it was a woman wearing a white polar bear costume and wielding a silver sword who saved her."
There was only one woman on the continent bizarre enough to walk around like that: Isna.
"She was heading toward the Elves' forest, apparently. You were looking for Senior Isna too, weren’t you?"
"I was."
If Cascadia managed to secure a trade agreement for Elven timber, it would mean stable, fixed profits — and a very lucrative business opportunity at that.
I found myself thinking that this High Elf Triana was surprisingly competent.
"So, I've tentatively decided to accept the offer. But your opinion is the most important."
"At that level, it’s not a bad deal. As long as no one says anything stupid."
"If you're fine with it, then go. I'll handle any minor issues that come up."
"Potential problems?"
"As long as you don't cause any major incidents, there shouldn't be any."
The hardest order of all.
Melissa accepted Triana’s proposal.
Although Bata Kingdom preferred not to get involved with Elves, individual families were free to make their own choices as long as they didn’t cross any major lines.
"Thank you so much!"
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[Translator - Night]
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"First, let's take a look at the situation. There are many ways we could approach this, but the World Tree isn't an ordinary tree, so failure is a real possibility."
"......"
"Miss Triana, what exactly makes you think I could help with this?"
"In all my life, I’ve never seen anything as naturally attuned as your sword. It resonates with the forces of nature in a way that's similar to, yet distinct from, elemental spirits."
Then she looked directly at me.
"And... I don't know if you'll believe me, but before coming here, I had a dream where I met the World Tree. It told me to head north, to the central continent. That I would find a way there."
Of course, her dream could easily have been nothing more than a meaningless fantasy.
But she didn’t want to overlook even the smallest clue.
Fortunately, while there were internal tensions among the Elves and someone had schemed against her, it wasn’t a full-blown civil war with everyone out for blood.
For the average Elf, the World Tree still held far more importance than any petty political games.
"There's no mana gate that connects directly to the Mother Forest. We'll have to head to the nearest city and travel by land from there. It's urgent, so we should hurry..."
Now that she had secured my cooperation, Triana’s eyes were filled with hope, a stark contrast to how she had looked before.
"Hmm... I don’t have the coordinates for the Elven forest..."
After a moment of thought, I snapped my fingers.
At once, my shadow spread out wide and circular on the ground, and from it, a massive arm burst forth.
Boom!!! Thud!!
Something began to crawl out from the gap.
"Miss! Get behind me!"
The Elven escorts shouted in alarm, though their faces showed no real confidence.
The creature that emerged was none other than the Shadow Dragon, Baril.
Once fully revealed, Baril gave a short growl and stared intently at the three Elves.
Then, slowly, he lowered his massive head toward them.
"H-haa!"
"H-huff! A... a dragon?!"
"No need to go by land. Once we scout the coordinates, we can either use teleportation or set up a mana gate. Flying there for the first trip is much faster."
I helped the three Elves mount the special saddle installed on Baril’s back, strapping them in securely like seat belts, then climbed to the very front.
"Leon, I want to come too, but I can’t this time."
Luna said, looking glum.
Understandable.
Normally, she would have tagged along, but today, she had promised to take Arsha on a picnic.
Arsha, who unusually adored Luna.
And Luna, who loved Arsha right back.
"It’ll only take a day. Just a quick trip to 'burn out' the World Tree’s cancer cells and then I'll be back."
Of course, that's just a metaphor.
It's not literally cancer.
"Leon, if you can, bring back some Elven snacks!"
"Oh, right. I hear they're pretty good. I'll grab some if I find any."
The Elves’ faces paled as they watched our casual conversation, seemingly unable to believe how nonchalantly we were treating this.
"Baril. Let's go."
Whooom!!!
Baril’s enormous body slowly began to lift off the ground.
BOOM!!!
And then, like a missile launching, he tore through the sky at incredible speed.
BOOMF!!
In the blink of an eye, Baril pierced the clouds and, with a powerful beat of his massive wings, soared toward our destination.
"Kyaaaaaaaa!!!"
The scream of Triana, the High Elf lady of the Trigard family — utterly unaccustomed to such experiences — was just a bonus.
The great forest centered around the World Tree, known to the Elves as the Mother Forest, was not too far south of the Bata Kingdom.
In the center of the Central Continent lay an immense forest.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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