To be honest, I think everyone has some sort of fantasy about elves. I am not a big fan of fantasy novels, nor do I watch much animation. Nevertheless, the image of a tall race of beautiful men and women who were noble and elegant, loved nature, and guarded forbidden knowledge had been ingrained in my mind at some point.
That perception was further solidified by looking at Dersia. Although she was a bit off the mark, she had her own kind of elf aura. The reality was devastating.
"This filthy man has misinterpreted the will of the World Tree and has trapped us in ignorance!"
"That sin can only be repaid by cutting open his belly and using him as fertilizer!"
"Burn him! Make him into fertilizer!"
Watching the other elves throwing stones and threatening the old elf tied to a stake with torches, we couldn't find the words. I approached Sedrak, who was throwing stones along with the frenzied crowd, and asked.
"Excuse me, what is going on here?"
"A human visitor, I see. That man is a shaman who was our Chieftain. But according to the directive from the World Tree, it's clear he has been deceiving us all this time. He must be executed."
"Has there been a trial?"
"What's a trial?"
From Sedrak's bewildered expression, I immediately understood that they had no legal system whatsoever. Chieftain, shaman, execution. I silently closed my eyes and recalibrated my understanding.
I should have realized it from their shamanism of worshipping a giant tree. These guys are just natives. The reason the Empire hadn't touched them wasn't because they were recognized as a country, but probably because they were treated as something like a special autonomous region for natives.
Well, if they were a real threat, the Empire wouldn't have let them be within its territory. Feeling my fantasy shatter, I looked at the man called a shaman, tied to a wooden stake.
"You goddamn fools! Didn't I tell you that you'll surely fall into hell if you learn magic! When I speak, you should listen!"
"Shut up, Azrael! Then why is the World Tree trying to make us mages!"
"It must be something other than the World Tree, you morons!"
"To even insult the Holy Tree...!"
A shocked Sedrak gritted his teeth.
"This won't do. Your filthy corpse can't even be used as fertilizer, so I'll just scatter it to the heavens! Light the fire!"
"You stupid fools!"
The old, white-haired shaman tied to the stake spat as he roared in fury.
"There is no one who has inherited my curse yet, and you're trying to kill me? Are you in your right minds!"
"We will learn magic now, so we have no need for something like a curse! Now, light the fire!"
"Jern..."
Linmel tugged at my sleeve with an anxious expression. Of course, I had no intention of letting this be. If Dersia was controlling the World Tree, then this death was partly her fault.
I couldn't let that happen. With a sigh, I took a step forward. I stared at the flame touching the straw tied to the stake. -Fizzle...
"Hmm?"
The elf, who had tilted his head when the fire went out, received another torch. I acted before he could try again. I made all thirty-six torches in this space extinguish at the exact same time.
Instantly, wisps of smoke rose. The elves murmured and looked around.
"What, what is it?"
"Is that Azrael fellow using some kind of trickery?"
"I don't know, you idiots."
The fact that the elves were simple-minded was convenient at times like this. Just by being a little distance away, I was removed from the list of suspects. I then used the currents to snatch all the surrounding torches, crushing them into powder in mid-air. -Crack!
"What is this..."
While the elves were flustered, I used the powder to draw a small X above Azrael's head. The powder soon fell like rain.
"...?"
As the elves still couldn't grasp the situation, Ciel cleared his throat a few times and told them what they should do in a surprised tone.
"Oh, it seems the World Tree has given a prophecy."
"... Is that so! I see, untie Azrael! The World Tree wished for his survival!"
"The shaman was innocent after all, I knew it!"
"Azrael, please forgive our ignorance!"
Azrael came down from the stake, supported by others, with a very sullen expression. The elves didn't look particularly sorry. It was more like they were acknowledging that something had just happened, rather than taking responsibility for it.
Are these guys really crazy? Perhaps Dersia's terrible personality was inherited from this elven nature. As I was about to leave, shaking my head with a weary expression, a beetle suddenly flew over and landed on my ear.
"?"
I was about to flick it away with the currents. Then, as if sensing my intent, the thing sitting on my shoulder spoke.
[Thank you for your help. I could have survived even without you, though.]
I immediately turned around. The shaman called Azrael was brushing off the marks from being tied up, glaring in my direction. I activated my Tide Sense to be sure.
[Buzz buzz buzz-] [Buzz buzz...]
I could confirm that there were hundreds, even thousands, of such beetles around the building. If he could make them speak, he could do other things too. It seemed his claim that he could have survived even without me wasn't just a bluff.
Azrael continued to speak through the beetle while looking at me.
[But thanks or not, I have to ask. With magic like this, you could easily control the World Tree. Don't tell me you're the one who incited these idiots?]
I met his gaze and used the currents to scratch words onto Azrael's back.
[No. However, I have an idea of who controlled it and how.]
"...!"
Azrael's expression hardened slightly. With that action, I had not only conveyed my message but also showed him what I was capable of. No matter how confident he was, he wouldn't dare try anything foolish.
The assessment of each other's abilities was over. It seemed this would take a while, so I spoke first.
[We can't finish this conversation like this. Please choose a place.]
[... Come to the hut on the outskirts of the village so we are not discovered. Don't bring anyone else.]
[I'd rather not. I think allowing you to choose the place is a sufficient courtesy.]
[It's for your own good, young fallen one.]
[They all know that much.]
[Do you even know that you are a Red Lotus?]
I frowned.
What was he talking about?
[I'm not.]
[Ridiculous. Do you think a Great System is formed naturally?] ...
This was new information to me. He was different from the other elves. Brimdal or Ciel wouldn't be fooled by such nonsense, but it seemed worthwhile to talk to him, even if it meant playing along a little.
[I'm not one, but I understand.]
[It would be good if you came quickly.]
The beetle flew away again.
"I'll be back in a moment. Please look after Linmel."
"You should be careful."
Brimdal spoke with a slightly serious expression.
"From ancient times, elf shamans have been dangerous beings. Far beyond what human mages can compare to."
It seemed he had caught the sound of the beetle's voice.
"In what way?"
"Magic is fair. You get out what you put in. But a curse, with finely ground bugs, unidentifiable blood, and strange patterns, killed a thousand dwarves."
"If he tries to do something, you'd do well to abandon any thought of observing and judging."
"I see. I'll keep that in mind."
It appeared that being a shaman involved more than just controlling bugs. Of course, I wasn't letting my guard down.
[Just how vast is his world...]
I had no intention of letting Azrael out of the range of my Tide Sense.
The hut Azrael mentioned was not a figure of speech or humility. It was a real hut. I had confirmed it with Tide Sense, but I still looked at its form made of cloth and branches with disbelief before entering.
The inside was even more of a spectacle. Bones, crushed flowers, strange powders, and snakes and bugs trapped in jars. It was a space that could easily be mistaken for the dwelling of a madman.
He roughly cleared a space with his foot.
"Sorry for the humble place."
"Under normal circumstances, I'd pass it off as a greeting, but this place is truly humble."
"Hmph, you rude brat. A shaman is supposed to live in a place like this. If it's too big, things are out of reach in an emergency."
With a grumpy expression, Azrael picked up his pipe, took a puff, and then half-reclined with a guest in front of him to ask.
"So, who incited those guys? They may be idiots, but to be able to touch the World Tree, they must know all our secrets."
"Let's take turns asking. How did you deduce the ridiculous claim that I am a Red Lotus?"
"Your world is obviously vast. Too vast."
Azrael waved his pipe as if he found it absurd.
"Do you know how a heart-realm is formed?"
"Yes, it's when a mage sees bad things growing up, and the physical-realm gets twisted, becoming a heart-realm."
"You have a crude understanding. The Fall means a mage's world undergoes a Reversal."
"A Reversal... you say?"
That was another word I was hearing for the first time.
"Yes, how to explain it... hmm..."
Azrael gathered some branches, moss, and stones to create a small forest. He was quite skilled, it looked rather convincing.
"Let's say this is a mage's heart-realm."
"Yes."
"If a fire starts here, like this, what do you think will happen?"
He struck a flint, and as the leaves caught fire, the world immediately began to burn. The moss didn't burn due to its moisture, but the small forest was on the verge of being completely consumed in an instant. Not knowing what he wanted me to do, I shrugged and answered.
"It would burn, I guess."
"Be serious. This is your world, which is to say, you. You have to survive, so try to figure out a way to put out the fire."
"Hmm... would I try to create water?"
"Water? How would you create that water?"
"It's represented as fire here, but this is a shock that shakes the mage's world."
"How do you introduce an opposite shock? That's next to impossible."
"I have no idea. Then what can I use?"
"You must only use what the world has."
I looked at the small forest. All that was left was a small flame.
"There's nothing left but fire?"
"That's right."
Azrael calmly watched the burning forest, then took out some firewood and threw it in.
"The world undergoes a Reversal. If you are pained by fire, you choose the path of survival by becoming a world where only fire remains."
The forest was no longer a forest. It was a small bonfire. Azrael, who had naturally started boiling water over that bonfire, added.
"The world of trees and forests, to withstand the fire, became a furnace of flames. This is the Reversal, and the process that gives birth to the fallen ones."
"That sounds like a phenomenon of wordplay. So what does this have to do with not being able to create a Great System?"
"... You really must not be a Red Lotus. To not even know this."
Azrael, who had casually sprinkled tea leaves into the pot, looked at me with eyes full of disbelief.
"With normal methods, no matter how much you reverse a world, a Great System won't emerge."
"Look, this reversed world here can do nothing more than boil some tea leaves, can it?"
"Without artificial stimulation, a Reversal won't create a Great System."
"You have to create the worst possible situation yourself and torture the world, only then will a Great System be created upon Reversal."
"Aha..."
I nodded for a moment, then narrowed my brow.
"Then the current executives of the Red Lotus are—" "Yes. They were all created there. If you're not from the Red Lotus, then who on earth created you?"
It was my turn to answer.
"But are you sure you want to ask that question?"
"You wicked brat. Just tell me who's controlling the World Tree."
"Dersia Aspandil, do you know her?"
"Dersia? No, why that one?"
So he does know her.
"She is my Master."
Azrael, who had been blinking, let his jaw drop.
"What? She took a fallen one as a disciple?"
"Yes, a lot of things happened, but that's how it turned out."
"I see, but what does that have to do with controlling the World Tree and deluding those idiots? What does she plan to do by turning the elves into mages?"
"Perhaps... she's doing it for me, I think. I'm not entirely sure."
"Hahaha, what are you saying?"
At those words, Azrael laughed as if it were absurd, slapping the ground.
"What in the world does that mean. For you, she's turning the elves into mages, to do what..."
Azrael, who had been laughing, saw my serious expression and slowly lowered the corners of his mouth.
"Don't tell me."
"I have a slight suspicion that she might be trying to make all those elves Fall to extract information for me, but I'm not certain."
"That crazy bitch!"
He shot to his feet, screaming as he tore at his hair.
"No, is she in her right mind? Selling the future of all elves for a single disciple?? I mean, I knew she wasn't sane, but to this extent?"
"I said I'm not certain. It's more likely not the case."
"Whether it's for you, or because she found you interesting and wants to make other test subjects, it's certain she's trying to make them Fall."
"She's truly insane. This is not something I can just stand by and watch!"
"Please calm down first. We also do not wish for such a thing to happen."
I calmly used the currents to lift the tea leaves and pour them into Azrael's cup. Seeing this, Azrael calmed down a little and picked up the teacup.
"... How old are you."
"Around eleven. I'm an orphan, so I don't know for sure."
"Only that much? Huh, you're too mature for your age. Your ability to handle your world is also extraordinary, is that why you caught her eye..."
Azrael took a sip of tea, then looked at me with displeasure.
"Hmph, if you hadn't caught Dersia's eye, none of this would have happened."
"That's a stretch. If we're going by that logic, you should first point out the state of elven civilization, worshipping a big tree as a god."
"I believe a normal society would judge a talking tree to be a monster and cut it down, not believe it's giving oracles."
"That was something I couldn't help."
As I took a sip of tea myself, I felt something was off. It wasn't that I sensed poison in the tea. I had only pretended to drink and pushed it back into the cup anyway.
What was strange was Azrael's words.
"You couldn't help it? Did you perhaps create this situation, shaman?"
"I'm this old, how old do you think I am? The fact that those fellows are still living on this primitive tree, hostile to humans, worshipping a stupid tree their whole lives—I'm the one who made it all that way."
The culprit who shattered my fantasy was right here. Shouldn't I kill him? Not necessarily because he shattered my fantasy, but just because he was so clearly an unspeakable villain.
Receiving my cold gaze, Azrael snorted and dismissed it.
"Don't criticize without knowing. This is how elves are meant to live."
"Do you know how arrogant it seems for a single individual like you to decide the fate of a race?"
"I know. It is arrogance. Foolish, dogmatic, a terrible act worse than any dictator—something like that." ...
His all too frank admission left me speechless for a moment. Azrael took that opportunity to defend himself.
"But you must admit that the perspective of a human and an elf are different. The value of our deaths and your deaths are different."
"What are you talking about? The value of all intelligent life is the same."
"I'm not trying to establish a hierarchy of species. No, if anything, I'm saying that elves are inferior."
Azrael held up his hand. I hadn't noticed before, but one of his fingers was severed at the joint.
"This finger was cut off thousands of years ago. For you humans, even if an arm is cut off, you'd live like that for ninety years at most."
"But we have to live for thousands of years with one arm."
"You could wear a prosthetic."
"It's a metaphor, a metaphor, you brat. Whether we are wounded, fall ill, or are exposed to hostility, we experience it in units of thousands of years."
"The price for our actions is too great, is what I'm saying."
With a sigh, he brushed himself off and stood up.
"The happiest way for an elf to live is to know nothing, to live in this narrow space their whole lives worshipping a tree as a god, not developing, and revering tradition."
"It's a fact that took me a thousand years to accept myself. I don't expect you to understand, nor do I want you to."
"But we can cooperate. If that Dersia woman is controlling the World Tree, I have an idea where and how she's doing it."
Azrael extended his old, wrinkled hand, missing one joint, with a look of displeasure.
"What will you do? If you help, well, I can throw in a little extra reward with my knowledge."
"Be honest. You can't face my Master alone, can you."
"... That's why I'm offering an extra reward."
I looked at the gaunt hand with even more displeasure. The reason Azrael was asking for a deal was simple. He couldn't judge that he would survive a direct confrontation with Dersia.
We, too, needed a guide who could find where the World Tree was in this foreign land of elves, and among all places, where Dersia might be. And an elf who had lived this long could surely fulfill that role. We needed each other.
I was also curious about the extra reward.
"Let's do that."
"Good."
After a dry handshake, Azrael began to touch my body. It was unpleasant.
"What are you doing?"
"Hmm..."
Azrael, nodding his head, uttered a strange thing.
"Do you, by any chance, have two souls?"
"... Excuse me?"
"I've noticed it since earlier, but touching you makes it certain. Can I hear why you have two worlds?"
I looked at the questioning Azrael and organized my thoughts. It seemed he was no quack.