FWOOSH.
"O God! Save us!"
"Save us!"
"Guide Your lambs!"
"Guide us!"
"O God! Let us hear Your voice!"
"Let us hear it!"
Endless rows of people lay prostrate across the spotless floor of smooth white stone, raising their voices in desperate pleas as they bowed toward an enormous, majestic building made of the same white stone.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of torches illuminated both sides of the floor stretching into the distance, and their flames flickered each time the people bowed.
"This place is quite noisy. Didn't you say this was an empire that worshiped a Dragon named Tario?"
"That is correct. This is an empire where those Human bastards worship Tario."
"If it's an empire, didn't you say an emperor stands at its head? Even if they worship a Dragon, do they truly need to offer prayers like this?"
Elder McGill answered as he walked, keeping his gaze naturally fixed ahead.
"Kings and nobles obey the commands of the Dragons who sponsor them or bestow Blessings upon them. In the Kroso Empire, Tario's final command carries the greatest weight, so it appears they are seeking his permission to wage war."
I asked Elder McGill about something that had puzzled me during my conversation with Norqui.
"I heard that Dragons regard Humans as lowly. Why do they sponsor Humans or bestow Blessings upon them?"
Elder McGill licked his lips and answered after some thought.
"Even those who have served in the Special Operations Unit or the Covert Operations Unit have been unable to find an answer. Many speculate that it is pride in being worshiped by so many, or a desire for honor, but we still do not know their true intentions."
So this is a problem I'll have to solve.
"Can Humans not wage war among themselves without receiving permission from a Dragon?"
"According to reports from the Covert Operations Unit, a conflict between Humans could escalate into a contest of strength between Dragons, so Humans must receive permission from the Dragons before going to war."
"Then there can't have been many wars."
"That is not the case. There have been many. A great war between empires has never occurred, but wars between kingdoms or nobles are frequent. It is also common for Dragons of different factions to use the Humans' justifications as a pretext to fight one another."
Factions…
The faction of Dragon Lord Garn, which primarily invaded the Elves.
The faction of Isena, who did not particularly oppose Garn's views but only invaded Ellar from time to time.
The faction of Tario, which had never attacked anyone in Ellar Kingdom or any Elf operating outside it.
The faction of Shavron, which had never invaded Ellar Kingdom aside from taking Salindra, yet had killed the greatest number of Elves operating outside. The largest number of traitors across both the Guardian Unit and the Investigation Unit had also belonged to his faction.
And the faction of Indigon, whose very existence no one had ever witnessed, leaving us without a single report about it.
Did I have so little information about the Dragons' internal power structure that I could do nothing but speculate?
As I followed Elder McGill across the plaza and into an alley, a loud clamor reached my ears.
"They discovered an iron mine and a gold mine in Sharl, on the outskirts of the Vindora Empire!"
"Historically, wasn't that a place where Lord Tario often rested?"
"How long will you stand by while those Vindora bastards covet that territory?!"
"We must fight!"
"That is right!"
"For Lord Tario!"
"For Lord Tario-!"
"For the Kroso Empire!"
"For the Kroso Empire-!"
I walked down the alley with Elder McGill, ignoring the demonstration without letting my reaction show.
CRASH.
At that moment, the door of a building in front of me shattered, and someone flew outside.
"What did you spew, you son of a bitch?"
Is this a fight between Humans? Is it this noisy here even in the middle of the night?
A bandit-looking man grabbed the collar of the man who had tumbled through the doorway and shouted so hard that the veins bulged in his neck.
"Say that again, you bastard!"
"Ghk, ghk… The emperor… Ghk. Ghk. I'm telling you… he's starting a war to avoid dealing with the turmoil in the empire…"
"This bastard is spouting nonsense because he's drunk. The Vindora bastards discovered iron ore and gold, didn't they? They say our taxes will be reduced if our empire takes them. You're a bastard spying for Vindora, aren't you?"
"I'm not!"
"I caught a bastard spying for Vindora!!"
"Who?"
MURMUR, MURMUR.
"Which bastard is it?"
Elder McGill spoke in a low voice.
"We are almost there. Where will you go now, Your Highness?"
As I walked with Elder McGill, I quickly surveyed the surroundings.
After taking a cursory look, I gazed at the buildings that seemed likely to contain supplies or wealth, including those guarded by soldiers, and spoke.
"I'll get moving now. I'll be back soon."
"I hear that King Hellorn has prepared a speech and banquet tonight to celebrate everyone's safe return."
"I'll return before then."
"Understood."
I put on the mask and walked away, extending my Energy Sense faintly in every direction.
***
I was fiddling with a flower bookmark made from a carefully dried dandelion when someone knocked on the door.
SWISH.
I slipped the flower bookmark into an inner pocket, placed a hand on the dagger at my waist, and walked toward the door while making as little noise as possible.
KNOCK.
BANG BANG BANG-!
KNOCK KNOCK.
KNOCK. BANG… KNOCK KNOCK.
So it's a member of the Special Operations Unit, not an outsider? Thank goodness.
"Come in."
CREEEAK.
The door opened, and Elder McGill approached me with a benevolent smile.
Elder McGill?
Why would someone as busy as him come here?
I quickly lowered myself onto one knee and spoke.
"May Nature bless you!"
The elder placed a hand on my shoulder and conjured a Subspace. I could sense that the Subspace opened behind me contained a considerable amount of mana.
'With this much mana, it should be large enough for Elder McGill and me to enter.'
I raised my head and looked at Elder McGill. He sighed, forced a bright smile, and spoke.
"An order has been issued for every member outside the kingdom, including the Special Operations Unit, to return."
Life in the Special Operations Unit was harsh, but I had endured living in a foreign land for the kingdom and for Railen, who wished to protect the kingdom more than anyone else.
I should have controlled my expression, but a faint smile rose to my lips before I realized it, and I stood.
"Has something happened?"
As Elder McGill entered the Subspace with me, he told me everything that had happened.
Dragons were summoned inside the kingdom…
I had expected there to be traitorous bastards trying to sell out the kingdom.
As we walked through the Subspace, the blue glow surrounding us gradually faded, revealing the World Tree and the platform where the altar stood in my homeland, Ellar Kingdom. As though welcoming me home, the fragrant scents of flowers and trees brushed past my nose on the wind.
"Go to the meeting room and report to Elder Philn."
"Understood!"
Elder McGill opened a glass bottle filled with a bright green liquid the color of the World Tree's leaves and took a sip. He then opened another Subspace and headed somewhere else.
Is he going to retrieve the others?
I could not completely hide my joy, but I did my best not to show it as I headed toward the meeting room where the elders and the Spirit King usually stayed.
"Oh, Ellond! You're back too?"
"It's been a long time, Senior!"
"Wow, has it been about twenty years since you last returned?"
I walked onward, warmly greeting the seniors of the Guardian Unit who protected the kingdom and everyone else I encountered.
The thought that I could finally meet Railen, whom I had missed so desperately, made the greetings come naturally.
I was also excited to hear that His Highness, who was of the same generation as me yet had succeeded in summoning a First-Generation Spirit, had gathered everyone and was preparing to establish something called a Branch.
I wanted nothing more than to spend peaceful mornings tending flowers with Railen in the kingdom and gaze across Lake Ellar at night. Yet the former members of the Special Operations Unit in Ellar still served in the Guardian Unit even after retiring.
Everyone worked tirelessly to protect the kingdom. It would be shameless for Railen and me, neither of whom possessed a Spirit's power, to do nothing.
That was why I intended to devote myself to working at the Branch for the sake of the kingdom. I also harbored a small hope that I might be able to work alongside Railen.
Looking at the buildings constructed atop the trees in harmony with nature, I felt at ease and refreshed as I stopped before the door of the meeting room where Elder Philn was staying.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Elder Philn's voice came from inside.
"Come in."
As I reached for the door, Auntie Ada opened it and stepped through.
"Auntie Ada?"
Auntie Ada hugged me tightly and spoke through her tears.
"Our Ellond! How many decades has it been?!"
"It has been twenty years."
The sight of Auntie Ada, who had raised me in place of my parents from the Investigation Unit after they were killed by Dragons long ago, made my eyes redden before I realized it. I glanced toward the door to Elder Philn's room farther inside, where he would be waiting for me, and Auntie Ada placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Hurry and go inside."
"Thank you. Sister Poran has been well, has she not? She used to complain every day about how grueling her work in the Guardian Unit was."
A sorrowful expression crossed her face.
Ah, was she among the many Guardian Unit members Elder McGill said had died?
She soon gave me a faint smile.
"She has gone into the Mother of Nature's embrace… so she must be hap… happy."
"Ah… I am sorry."
She forced a bright expression and spoke.
"Do not be. More importantly, have you been eating properly while living away from home?"
"Yes, of course."
"Many people are waiting to report to the elder, so wait your turn and report your return."
"Thank you."
After finishing our greetings, I joined the line inside the meeting room and looked around.
"Brother Ellond!"
"Unit Leader!"
"It's been a long time."
"Oh, isn't that Ellond who joined the Special Operations Unit?"
"Have you grown taller?"
I waited in line, chatting warmly with them with a bright expression. Before I knew it, only a few people remained ahead of me.
Is it my turn now?
Elder Philn's voice came from the room inside the building.
"Come in."
STEP, STEP.
THUD.
I lowered myself onto one knee and greeted Elder Philn.
"May Nature bless you!"
Elder Philn answered while writing something on a sheet of paper.
"May Nature bless you, Ellond."
"Thank you."
"Very well. Go outside and catch up with the friends you have not seen in so long."
"Understood."
I bowed my head and was stepping out of the building when my eyes met Elder Bardi's.
His eyes were red-rimmed. When he saw me, his lips trembled, and he forced a bright smile. I walked over to him, lowered myself onto one knee, and spoke.
"May Nature bless you!"
"El. El… Ellond. It has been a long time!"
He was smiling, but his sorrow seeped through.
"Of course, you must be told as well."
The instant I saw his lips begin to form ‘Ra,’ a terrible premonition struck me.
Before I realized it, the strength left the calf supporting me on one knee. Both knees dropped heavily to the ground, and all strength drained from my shoulders and my entire body as I collapsed.