Chapter 6 - The Elders
I feel like I've walked quite a bit after leaving the prison. I wonder how far our destination is.
"How far are we going to walk?" (Fell)
"Just a little more. There is a place beyond this called the Eternal Garden. The elders are waiting there." (Mittor)
Just as Mittor said, not long after that, we found ourselves in an open space. There were no trees around, so the surrounding was quite bright.
It seems that there are several animals and fairies around. They're hiding in the bushes and not coming out. I want try catching them later.
In the center of open space where the ground was slightly higher than the surrounding, I saw three people sitting.
"I've brought the one who seemed responsible for the withered World Tree." (Captain)
The captain took one step forward to give his report to the elders and then presented us before them. After that, we were told to sit on the spot.
Are you telling me to sit on the ground? I hope you can prepare chairs or something to sit on at least. My clothes will get dirty at this rate. Let's ask Charlotte who runs a laundry service to clean it later. She won't charge me, right?
The elders scrutinized us in silent from their seats, talked about something amongst themselves in a low voice, and then closed their eyes as if sank into thought.
They didn't fall asleep, right?
"Dedicate them to the World Tree!"
The elder who sat in the middle declared so after a moment of silence.
What kind of speedy trial is this!? I was judged guilty without getting a chance to defend myself.
"Hold on, would you hear me out first at least?" (Fell)
"Not necessary. I already understand. You are responsible for the withered World Tree."
You don't understand at all! No, maybe they do understand, but still trying to put blame on me?
"Elders, isn't that too hasty? There is not even clear evidence..." (Mittor)
Oh!? Mittor is trying to defend me. I guess he's actually a good guy. I will introduce him to Dia later.
"Mittor, are you going to go against the elders' decision? The elders have told us to dedicate them to the World Tree, our job is to obey them." (Captain)
This captain guy is useless. Let's punch him later.
"Mittor, right? This woman is a demon race, she is an enemy…. and enemy must be crushed, or am I wrong?"
Just now was Thought Guidance, right? He put magic power into words to guide the target towards a certain thought or idea. Still, it doesn’t make a sense. Or does this kind of conduct normal for elves? No, perhaps the elders are just bad guys. Let’s take a better look at them.
This…. only makes things more complicated....
To begin with, did the other elves not find this situation abnormal? No, maybe they're already under the influence of Thought Guidance. I thought elf was a wise race.
“No, you are, right….” (Mittor)
Mittor got taken down. Maybe it’s because the difference of their magic power count. In any case, things don’t look good for me.
"You're a demon who responsible for the withered World Tree. You ought to atone for your sin, am I right?"
You're trying to use Thought Guidance on me? Everyone in the demon world will be laughing if they hear this. Yeah, let's tell it to everyone when I return to the demon world.
"I have nothing to atone since I'm not the one who responsible." (Fell)
Hearing that, the elder flinched a little.
Oh, did he really think I wouldn't be able to put up a resistance? To begin with, how can he be so confident that kind of magic will work a demon race like me? Since there was no contact from demons for about fifty years, the people in this world must have forgotten how strong the demons are.
"The handcuffs to suppress her magic power are working properly, right?"
One of the elders threw that question at the captain.
I see. He thought I wouldn't be able to put up a resistance because my magic power was being suppressed by the handcuffs. He is really underestimating me.
"Eh!? Yes, I'm sure they're working properly." (Captain)
The captain answered the question with wonder.
Of course the captain was confused. After all, the elder suddenly thrown a question unrelated to the topic of our conversation at him. However, I know that they are not unrelated.
"Even if my magic power is being suppressed, I still have a high magic resistance. Your Thought Guidance will never work on me." (Fell)
Hearing my declaration, the elves around me fell into confusion.
I wanted to see their reaction if they knew the elders were manipulating them using Thought Guidance. From what I can see, no one seems to be aware of it. In other words, the elves are being deceived by the elders.
"Thought Guidance? Elders, what does she mean?" (Captain)
"Silence! Everything this demon said was just a nonsense."
The elders seem to be trying their best to take control of the situation. However, now that the elves are on guard, Thought Guidance will be less effective on them.
The captain and Mittor resisted. There were also other elves who resisted here and there. Then, the captain looked at the elders suspiciously.
"It seems what this demon said is true. Elders, why did you do that?" (Captain)
"Calm down! Now is the time to pass a judgement to this demon."
His attempt to change the subject is way too obvious.
"I understand. I will hear your explanation later." (Captain)
Is elf actually a dumb race!? No, is this captain guy dumb? I mean, why is he still obeying them?
"There's no helping it.... Very well, I will explain it from the beginning. First, this is something unprecedented. However, this demon woman suddenly appeared a few days ago and asked about the location of the World Tree, so it's clear that she is related. In addition, the humans we captured confessed that they were working for her, and she was also responsible for the withered World Tree."
"I indeed asked about the location of the World Tree to the elves I met before, but that was just for a sightseeing purpose. You should have validated their testimonies first. How can you be sure they were not lying?" (Fell)
"Because I questioned them myself."
Did they lie out of desperation? No, it's different. Maybe these guys....
"Everything is clear now. Open the path to the World Tree!"
Nothing is clear, and yet the elves are already getting prepared. These guys are really hopeless. Still, from what I can see, these elders seem really want to go to the World Tree for some reason. I feel like they're only using me as a pretext.
I'm getting tired of this. I was told to not go wild, but it should be okay if the elves are the ones who go wild. Yeah, let's expose the joker to the elves!
"Can I say something before that?" (Fell)
Hearing that, everyone turned their attention at me.
"Very well. I can hear your last words at least."
I really want to punch their smug faces, but I should be patient for now.
"Just one thing, why the elders of elf race are humans?" (Fell)
Now then, let's see their next moves.