Episode 325 The Elf Family (1)
“Haven’t you heard from Sir Pasius?”
“Not all. Didn’t Pasius faint in the middle in the first place? There’s no way you wouldn’t know that, right?”
Ludger’s gaze naturally turned to Pasius.
Pasius couldn’t help but let out an awkward smile at the gaze asking how far he had gone.
“Hey, I can’t hide anything from the princess.”
“…..”
It seems inevitable, but given the same situation, Pasius would have made the same choice.
All of his actions were because he was loyal to the imperial family and would never do anything against it.
At least to Eileen, Pasius had to be truthful with nothing to hide.
“So what happened? What happened to the Liberation Army officer who said he used that demonic power?”
“He is dead.”
“Dead? how?”
“I killed him.”
Rudger answered honestly.
In front of Aileen, who knew most of the work anyway, there was no need to hide it.
Rather, it would be easier for her to kiss only if she knew, which would help cover up the truth.
Upon hearing Ludger’s answer, Eileen showed an expression of blatantly absurd.
“Is that true?”
“Didn’t you tell me to tell you everything?”
Ludger stares blankly, wondering why.
Eileen tapped her forehead with her index finger.
“I heard that that Ruifold became a test subject for black magic and gained great power.”
“Yes, that’s right. You know right.”
“…It is said that he grinds up missing wizards and transplants them into his own body, revealing multiple magics at the same time even though he is an individual. In addition to that, he handled the cells of the world tree and the power of demons, so he was said to be physically perfect.”
“yes. That’s right too. It must be because the Sword Master was pushed out of his power.”
Eileen’s expression became more and more subtle at Ludger’s answer.
“You mean you killed it?”
“yes.”
“how? From what I’ve heard, even the Sword Master’s Aura Blade couldn’t properly damage it.”
“Oh, princess. To be precise, it can inflict wounds, but it is so regenerative that it is correct to say that they all recovered.”
“noisy. You guys keep your mouth shut.”
Pasius intervened in the middle, but immediately withered away at Eileen’s scolding.
“You killed a guy who threw off his human mask and became a complete monster? Even alone?”
“There was no one to turn to for help in that situation, so I am alone. Oh, you’re not entirely alone. Andrei Semov helped. Just a little bit.”
“…Explain the situation in detail.”
Eileen didn’t know much about the story after Pasius passed out.
That is why I called Rudger to this place.
Ludger told the story of how he moved his party after they fainted and fought against Ruifault alone.
In the part about overpowering Ruifault with various magics, Aileen showed a consistent attitude at first as if she was interested.
Then, as Ludger’s explanation got longer, he showed surprise for the first time when he said that Basara, the demon sleeping inside Ruifold, had awakened.
“Did you just call me a devil?”
“What are you so surprised about?”
“It’s a demon…”
“Haven’t you heard of the devil’s power sealed inside the World Tree?”
“I have heard that the test subject was strengthened by refining the power of the demon, but I have not heard that the sealed demon has fully awakened.”
“Then you heard now.”
At Ludger’s words, Eileen glared at him to see if he was lying.
But Eileen knew.
That Rudger wasn’t lying at all.
“…Then the black storm that was said to have been seen on the ground.”
“yes. That’s what the devil did.”
Rudgar explained the powers of the demon Basara.
Everything from interfering with the human psyche, stimulating internal trauma, making people delusional and mentally broken.
Eileen, who heard that, shed a blank laugh as if it was absurd.
“Listening to the report, I know that the power is so dangerous that it can easily defeat even Lexler-class wizards and sword masters.”
“Actually, they both suffered, so it must be.”
“But how did you stay fine with that power?”
“It wasn’t fine. Because I was also affected.”
“But didn’t you fight him without fainting?”
“yes. I endured it with my mental strength.”
“You talk like a well-trained soldier. It’s like saying that you overcame everything with spirit, mental strength, and whatnot. It’s really absurd.”
Eileen shook her head as if she was in pain.
Rudger’s words were full of things that could not be believed by common sense.
However, the whole situation and Ludger’s actions were all proving the truth.
Eileen also knew that Rudger was different from ordinary people.
“I was lucky. I am basically immune to psychic attacks.”
“I don’t usually say I’m lucky with that.”
“In that case, let’s count it that way.”
“…..”
Eileen narrowed her eyes.
The more I listened to the story, the more I couldn’t get rid of the thought that I was getting caught up in Ludger little by little.
But it was Ludger who had the information right now, and it was he who had the relational edge in this situation.
“So you said that the demon ran away to the surface and attacked the three students who were taking refuge and took the body of a female student?”
“yes.”
“indeed. That’s why the students and guards fainted during the evacuation. Now the pieces of the puzzle fit together.”
For being attacked, it was surprising that there were no signs of injury left on the body.
Neither of the victims could remember what had happened before they passed out.
So I thought that the Liberation Army was playing an unknown trick again.
I can’t believe it was because of the devil’s power.
“Is the student whose body was stolen okay? It was called Flora Lumos. Is that Lumos, after all?”
“I met him once before coming here, and I didn’t see anything strange about him.”
“It wasn’t revealed right away, but isn’t it something you don’t know what will happen later? And if it was the daughter of the Lumos family, it would be even more carefully handled. I will need to keep an eye on it in the future.”
“Even if you don’t, I think so.”
“I just want to keep her locked up here and check her condition periodically…”
Eileen muttered that, then glanced sideways at Rudger.
“Some teachers would be very angry if they touched their students, so I think we should put that aside.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Catch the excitement. what happened If you pay attention to it and watch it, you will be relieved in a different way, so you can trust it. So, have there been any other changes?”
“As the devil took over his body, he forcibly let his bodily talents bloom. Perhaps because of that, the color of her hair has changed a bit.”
“What are the side effects of that?”
“doesn’t exist. Rather, the sense of the magical part of the magic response and the total amount of magic has increased dramatically.”
“It’s like you’ve actually gotten a chance.”
Eileen took an interest in Flora Lumos, but it was only a fleeting feeling.
Right away, Eileen had too many other questions.
“So how did you deal with the devil?”
“I entered the student’s mental world and destroyed his mental body.”
Eileen accepted it naturally without being surprised.
“It must have been no ordinary fight.”
“It was nothing.”
“okay. That would have been no big deal to me. Not for others, though.”
Eileen rested her chin on her left hand, raised her right hand, and pointed at Ludger’s forehead with her index finger.
“I feel that way sometimes. When will you suddenly say the words of admiration on your own lips? It’s always nothing special. It’s just normal. Not these words, but something more than words of praise. It scares me just to think of those words coming out of your mouth. I think you need to be prepared mentally.”
Eileen said it playfully and sarcastically, but she was also half sincere.
It was at that moment that Eileen’s expression, which had been talking with a smile, changed in an instant.
“okay. I heard the story well. In the end, the Liberation Army did this, but it is said that it was the descending devil that decorated the finish.”
“yes.”
“Then it creates more problems. Devil’s power in the middle of the capital. That’s how we give them a reason to intervene.”
“If they are …..”
“The Church of Lumensis. To be precise, it is the Bretus Holy Kingdom, its headquarters.”
“…..”
Rudgar kept his mouth shut at the name of the Church of Lumensis.
He remembered the vicar who had come to see him in Lederbelk.
Those who would normally have been quiet have recently begun to move actively.
Rudger didn’t know why.
“Do you really think they will notice in this situation?”
“I will take it. It’s because these guys are quick-witted. A black storm arose in the middle of the capital. It is very ominous no matter who sees it, but on top of that, too many people have witnessed it.”
Fortunately, the black storm was caused by Basara, who stole Flora’s body.
That Rudger actually thwarted it was unknown.
But that’s all.
The Church of Lumensis would use that as an excuse and might approach the truth through some method.
“Right now, we are hiding as much information as possible from this side somehow, but even then it would be nothing more than buying time. They will definitely intervene and start an investigation. If that’s the case…”
“…you’re saying that I can’t escape from the line of suspicion.”
“It’s not just you. The daughter of the Lumos family, a child named Flora, will also be caught up in it. Even if the two keep it a secret, there is no truth that can be hidden forever in the world.”
Eileen clicked her tongue lightly as if just imagining it made her feel uncomfortable.
“They are truly reckless. It’s because they’re trying to use their privileges somehow, putting God’s name first. You dare to meddle in my family’s affairs, including me. But unfortunately, if they set their minds on it, it’s not easy to stop them.”
“Isn’t it a thing of the past that the Holy Kingdom of Bretus wielded great influence?”
“Now it is said that its prestige has decreased compared to the past, but I do not easily believe that. You would know too. What happened to the former kingdom before the Exilion Empire entered.”
Rudger also nodded with a heavy expression.
Before the appearance of the Exilion Empire, in the past, the kingdom built underground facilities and conducted various experiments.
I don’t know why they built such a huge structure underground.
It’s just that the elves were also involved in the incident, and something that almost succeeded failed because of Basara’s intervention.
“Come to think of it, I heard such a story in the basement.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was a story about how the dead World Tree happened to exist in the underground facility and how the devil was sealed inside.”
Eileen did not pay attention, asking why she said that now.
There had to be one or two tiles that each other hid from each other.
Wasn’t that the relationship between the two?
“That sounds kind of interesting.”
“Prior to that story, there were people who helped grow the World Tree underground.”
“…Elf.”
“yes.”
At the word elf, Eileen leaned against the backrest and crossed her arms.
Lost in thought, she seemed to be thinking deeply, then opened her closed lips as if she remembered something.
“Come to think of it, I heard such a story. There are special nobles in the kingdom of elves.”
“yes. I also heard They said it was an elder family.”
“It is said that there are several families, from those that manage the World Tree to those that manage the outer forest. Among them, by far, the one with the most power is the family that protects the world tree at the center of the forest.”
The family is called the seven roots of the elven kingdom.
“But you know what? Now, the family that protects the World Tree and is known to have the greatest power by far, but the Leafre family, but that wasn’t the case in the past.”
“Is that really it?”
“It is said that in the past, the Leafre family did not rank very high even within the seven roots. At that time, there was a separate family that served the World Tree. However, it seems that some kind of incident happened and the Leafre family took over the world tree.”
“I don’t think it’s that kind of thing…”
“Yeah. It’s just speculation, but it seems highly likely that it’s related to the world tree under the capital. When you think about it that way, the front and back fit perfectly.”
It was still at the stage of speculation, but Rudger thought it was a very believable story.
In the first place, it was impossible to grow the world tree underground without the help of the elves.
However, elves do not always have the ability to grow the World Tree.
Even in the case of Bellaluna, wasn’t she expelled from the kingdom for contacting the World Tree?
The World Tree is a divine tree worshiped by elves.
To recklessly increase it would have been tantamount to blaspheming their identity for the elves.
‘But the Zero Order said. There were some very enterprising elves among the elves in the past.’
Rudger pictured the situation in his head.
A family that existed before the Leafre family.
If so, what happened to that family?
To put it bluntly, there was a high possibility that he was expelled from the elven society.
Beyond simple banishment, the family itself may have disappeared.
“If so, a great revolution would have occurred in the elven society at the time.”
“okay. However, it is a thing of the past and it is a very closed place, so few people know about it. but.”
“but?”
“There is a saying that survivors of the exiled family still exist somewhere on the continent.”
“It’s surprising, but when you think about it, it makes sense.”
“okay. They must have escaped somewhere on this continent, since they were once the best families in the elven kingdom. If you do well, you might run into them and hear the truth of the day from them.”
“This is nonsense. They think of the pursuers and hide their identities, but how do you face them? It’s really like finding a needle in the desert.”
Rudger thought it had nothing to do with him anyway.
Aren’t they the ones who are sought after by the heirs of the ruined elven family?
