200 Chapter 196 Light and Shadow ②

It has been 14 years since Allen was reincarnated in another world.

He was born as a serf at first, but in that frontier village, there were only humans.

When I read some otherworldly novels in my previous life, I remember that there were many different species in the other world. But I thought that this other world was only human.

It was not until I learned about the existence of non-human races in this world that I learned the history of demon kings from Cecil's magic instructor at the Granvelle house.

Then I learned that there were elves and dwarves to the northeast and northwest of the central continent.

Then, in my second year at the school, I learned about the five continents.

Southwest and southeast of the central continent are two continents.

They say there is the Beast Kingdom to the southwest of the Central Continent and the United Kingdom to the southeast.

We also learned about the origins of the two countries.

That's when I came to know the shadow side of this other world.

The beast kingdom was created by the beast people who fled to the southern continent after being persecuted in the central continent, especially by the Gearmut Empire.

It is said that the beastmen were targeted for persecution because they were said to be a cross-breed or descendant of monster beasts.

This was done for about 100 years a thousand years ago.

Now there are almost no beastmen in the central continent.

The Allies learned in the academy that those who could no longer live in the central continent had moved there.

Especially the nobles and criminals who were defeated in political disputes within the Ghiamut Empire were often exiled to the southern continent. I heard that the races are very diverse. I heard there are also fishermen and bird people.

They say that there is no country as large as the other four continents, with diverse tribes creating their own countries.

Countless such nations make up the confederacy. I learned in class that the leaders of the confederacy are decided by consensus by the representatives of the nations in the confederation.

Because of the history of these two southern continents, even though it is called the Five Continents Alliance, the southern two continent leaders are treated as one lesser alliance.

Because of this situation, the two southern continents are not supporting the central continent with all their might in the fight against the Demon King. They only supported with material goods and no troops. The war between the Empire of Giumut and the Demon King is also a somewhat quiet position.

Compared to humans, these beasts are better at melee combat than humans, and it's said that the battle situation will change if they join the battle against the demon king's army with all their might.

As Allen was remembering all the things he had heard and learned about this other world, the queen began to speak.

"Are you a dark elf?

That's right. There were two kingdoms here in Rosenheim more than a thousand years ago. One ruled by the elves and the other by the dark elves.

"You mean you've been fighting that dark elf all along?

Yes, we have. We have wished for coexistence, but for thousands of years we have fought the Dark Elves. The former queen has told us that the dark elves were skilled in offensive magic and fought very hard.

Again the queen says that the elves never invaded the land of the dark elves themselves.

She also tells us about the characteristics of the dark elves. She says they have brown skin and are good at attacking magic with the help of spirits.

(That's kind of what a dark elf sounds like.)

Why have the elves fought, if they do not want to fight?　The Dark Elves wanted to rule Rosenheim?

There is a large tree in Forthenia called the World Tree. Both we and the dark elves feel very strongly about the tree as the birthplace of spirits, but the dark elves have asked us to give it to them. They want it for themselves and want the elves to leave.

There is only one World Tree in Rosenheim.

From time immemorial, the World Tree has been honored in the land of the elves.

The dark elves did not take kindly to it.

Dark elves also held sacred the spirit's birthplace tree.

It is said that the elves and dark elves fought for this tree.

Only one of these huge trees grows and the struggle for this huge tree has been going on for a long time.

Talk of a truce or co-management by elven and dark elf leaders has occurred many times in the last few thousand years.

But the dark elves were not accepted by the elves because they wanted to monopolize the world tree.

""......"

Allen and the others are listening to the Queen's story of Rosenheim's history.

The queen, the leader of Rosenheim, silently listens to the stories that have been passed down since her predecessors.

But there are no Dark Elves in Rosenheim now, are there? So they were eliminated after all?

In the meantime, Allen poses the question.

"Yes. That's how we ended up. But before that happened, we elves were nearly destroyed by the dark elves. Just as they are now.

It has been an unwanted battle. In the midst of such a long battle, a leader of the dark elves has emerged with power and wisdom.

As a result, the elves have lost cities and fortresses have fallen.

All that is left is the city they built by the World Tree, the forerunner of today's Fortenia.

When the city could be attacked tomorrow and the elves would be gone, the elves prayed to the World Tree for help.

"Prayed?

Yes, in desperation, the elves prayed to the World Tree for help. Then a young elf girl, my ancestor, discovered a juvenile spirit emerging from a hole in a large tree.

The elf girl prays desperately to the spirit baby to save her from this situation.

Then the child asked her for a name.

"And it was Master Rosen?

Yes, the Elf girl named her an elfish name, Rosen. And the elf girl made a pact with Master Rosen. We Elves call her 'The Praying Priestess,' as she was the first girl to make a pact with the Spirit King.

The elves were watching the deal, but were skeptical about the power of infant spirits.

Spirits generally gain power as they age.

That's why they say it takes hundreds or thousands of years for a genie to go from an infant to a great genie.

The elves wondered what they could do with a newborn spirit infant that they had just made a contract with.

But he was strong enough to turn the tables.

"Yes, the Spirit King turned my ancestors into high elves and the fight against the dark elves has changed forever.

The maiden of prayer who made the pact says that she turned to golden eyes and pure white hair.

It was the beginning of the High Elves.

And the power of the girl who made a pact with the spirit child was such that she could drive away an army of dark elves.

The tide was completely turned.

That power surpassed even the current Rosenheim's strongest man, the spiritist Gatluga.

What happened to the dark elves after that?　You think they almost destroyed it?

No, we drove the dark elves to the vicinity of the current nest and gave them the choice of making a pact of life that they would never again attack the elves or leaving this continent.

(Is it a contract for life or a contract to enforce regardless of one's will?

Which one did you choose?

"The Dark Elves have chosen to be banished from this continent. From here they were banished to the southern continent of the Allies.

They say that the dark elves put every last one of them on their ships and exiled them. And they never allowed the dark elves to set foot in Rosenheim again.

They say this was more than a thousand years ago.

(So the elves' prayers have shifted from the World Tree to the Spirit King. But the dark elves still want the World Tree?

Sophie had heard about the World Tree in her stories and classes at school.

But to Sophie, it feels like the spirit kings and queens are the ones who are important to the elves.

I wonder if she still worships the descendants of the Spirit King and the Praying Priestess who protected them from the dark elves.

Do you know anything about the demon god Razel?　Are the names of the defeated leaders during their war against the Dark Elves?

No, I don't think it was called that. I have some dark elf material in the archives, but after all, it's over a thousand years old.

The queen says it's unlikely to find enough material to identify an individual.

"I see.

"That ......

"Yes, Your Majesty.

We need your help. Without Mr. Allen, this battle would not be won.

""What?"

The Elven Queen has bowed her head.

The queen of Rosenheim, the leader of the League of Five Continents, bowed to Allen, who said he didn't want to get into a battle between elves.

She does not want the battle to stop.

(As expected, it would be a perfect tale of good and evil in another world.

When Allen was Kenichi, he was used to seeing stories of one-sided beating of evil.

There were many stories in which unilateral evil spewed unreasonable violence and a perfectly righteous protagonist beat the evil.

But in this world, all the characters are the protagonists and interact with each other to create a story. I believe that Allen is just one of the characters in this story.

Naturally. All we know now is that he's a demon god with a bit of an elfish name and long ears. But I'm just glad to hear that.

(After all, we don't know for sure about the Demon Goddess Razel. Well, that's how it evolved from my speculation.

"...... Oh, thank you.

The queen thanked Aren from the bottom of her heart.

Thus, as the battle with the Demon King's army continued, Allen and his friends heard about the story of light and shadow that occurred in Rosenheim.