CH 325

"Something happened involving Lord Razel."

Sophie did not allow any emotion on her face as she stared straight at King Arbus.

Her face was completely still, but the emotional burden was such that a tear trickled down her cheek.

When Sophie entered her second year in Rosenheim's Academy, she transferred to Latash's Academy.

Being 50 years old, Sophie was actually attending the Academy, unlike Formar..

There was only one academy in Rosenheim, and for one year she was there earnestly taking classes, alongside others who had a Talent, scholars, and her teachers.

The year she was transferred, the Demon King Army's more than a million troops invaded her home.

There were roughly five times more monsters than usual, which led Rosenheim, Gamut, and Baukis to join forces.

The higher-ups in Rosenheim determined it was too dangerous to continue alone, so for the safety of the people they decided to collaborate with other countries.

It was partly because of that that Merle was also sent from Baukis in her second year.

That was because an order had been given for those students in their second and third years, who had yet to graduate, to assemble on the battlefield.

In Rosenheim they were mostly royalty and nobles who had been called to the front lines, many of whom had been classmates with Sophie during her first year.

They were all inexperienced students, and most of their bodies had not been found yet.

At this point, they had probably been eaten by monsters.

Even now the queen and elders were visited by crying parents asking for yet another search party to be organized.

Sophie recalled the faces of those classmates she had, who were declared dead but their bodies were never found.

There were even friends she had before going to the Academy that were unaccounted for.

As queen of Rosenheim, Sophie could not allow emotions to take over her, so she pushed her anger away and regained her composure.

"Why? Hmm...that reminds me, I received something relating to him last year too."

King Arbus had noticed Sophie's anger and frustration under her emotionless mask.

That reminded him of something, and he turned to look at Giamnil who handled foreign affairs.

Since Rosenheim and Fabraze did not have an amicable relationship, they kept their interactions minimal.

King Arbus recalled receiving a letter from Rosenheim's queen the year before, and there was a question attached to it.

He replied by first sending a letter expressing his heartfelt condolences for the souls lost in battle, and he also replied to the queen's question.

The question itself was written in just one line.

'Is there someone named Razel in Fabraze?'

Usually they never received questions like that, and the elder in charge of foreign affairs would veto whatever came in.

Rosenheim was aware that if that elder chose the question did not merit an answer, there was no point in sending the letter.

After much consideration, Fabraze decided there had to be a reason why they were asking for a dark elf, so they answered 'The King's father is called that.'

There had been no mention of that again after they sent the reply.

King Arbus had forgotten all about it, so he wondered why that had been brought up now.

He stared at Sophie with intense eyes, trying to fish out the reason for that question.

"I presume the answer you gave last year was true then. As princess of Rosenheim, there's something I must share with you. That's another reason for my visit."

"Intriguing, very intriguing. Something so important a princess had to come tell me in person."

King Arbus understood why he had never heard about that story again after he sent the reply.

"Razel is also the name of one of the highest commanders in the army that attacked Rosenheim last year."

"""Wha-?"""

The dark elves struggled to understand what she was trying to say.

They had all heard how the Demon King's Army had invaded Rosenheim, claiming countless lives in the process.

Even their capital, Fortenia where the World Tree stood, had fallen, and there was a risk the entire country would cease to exist.

That was why even though they were on bad terms politically, the dark elves still sent their regards, responding in a positive way.

And it felt like this is how the elves repaid that kindness.

This was how the princess believed to be the next in line for the throne behaved.

All the dark elves' faces turned red with anger.

There were a lot of murmurs everywhere in the room.

"She's lying!"

"Don't try to trick us with that!!"

"The cease-fire agreement is over!!"

They were so angry they even seemed to forget Sophie was holding the Spirit God.

Some of the dark elves were even ready to jump out and attack that very moment.

Merle was not used to situations like these, like Sophie and Formar, so she looked very uneasy.

While everyone got more angered in the room, the military officer that sat closest to King Arbus, an elderly soldier wearing full armor, stood up.

"I knew the cease-fire agreement King Arbus signed five hundred years ago was a mistake. We should forget that document, and march into Rosenheim as one and reclaim our land."

He probably had the same status as Marshal Sigur in Rosenheim.

The other military officers agreed with him.

"...Silence, everyone."

"""?!"""

King Arbus ordered them and the elders to remain silent.

They all did as told, but stared at the king wondering if he was in his right mind.

The other dark elves seemed to also be slightly angry at King Arbus now.

"Is that really true? Think carefully of what you're going to say. I'm sure you've been told before that familial pride can lead to incessant bloodshed. And I'm willing to do that."

He glared at Sophie, making sure she knew whose name she was sullying.

"The blood of three million elves has already been spilled. The one who caused that was a dark elf turned Demon General, and he called himself Razel."

"You're saying my father turned into a Demon General?"

"Yes. He attempted to take over the World Tree, but my party, led by Master Allen, managed to stop him."

Without faltering, Sophie related what she had witnessed with her own eyes.

"What are you trying to accomplish by telling such a tale?"

"Nothing in particular. Just, if there's any information you might possess on what drives someone to turn into a Demon General, we'd like to hear it. We're currently fighting Demon Generals after all."

There had been so many victims from the attack, but she did not want anything in return.

That did not mean that she did not want any monetary compensation, but that she did not even want an apology.

Rosenheim's princess herself had declared that, so that decision would not change in the future either.

Sophie was focused on her fight as Allen's comrade, fighting the Evil Cult, Pagan Worshippers, and Demon Generals.

That was why she asked about Razel, to gain information that might remove hurdles from their path to reach Allen's objectives.

But Sophie was still Rosenheim's princess.

If she prioritized hunting the Pagan Worshippers and let the conversation end after gaining the maps and shelter for survivors, she would never have another chance to talk about Razel.

It would leave a bad aftertaste to bring it up after they helped her too.

She could not ignore the many millions of elves that had lost their lives, and collaborate with the dark elves without mentioning it.

Allen knew that as well, and that was why he sent her west.

He knew her position as Rosenheim's royalty.

Seeing the reaction of the dark elves after hearing her story, Sophie felt like she had already obtained what she needed.

Namely, proof that the attack last year had not been something prompted by the desires of dark elves.

Otherwise they would not get so enraged hearing her essentially say "the king's father turned into a Demon General and attacked Rosenheim."

Dark elves chose their next ruler from the children of royalty, or the dozen or so elders. That had been their tradition for generations.

Even if the elves knew the name of the current dark elf king, they did not know all the elders.

Around two thousand years had passed since the dark elves left the continent with Rosenheim.

The cease-fire agreement was signed five hundred years before, thanks to King Arbus supporting the notion.

At the time, the current elf queen and Sophie's mother, Rutiarno, had not been born yet.

Diplomatic relations had been set up two hundred years before, at the behest of Queen Rutiarno, and King Arbus' approval.

That way the two countries had non-aggressive contact for the first time, though both sides had no intention of actually making up either.

They simply sent one appointed elder from one side to the other.

The reason why the name of King Arbus' father was not known in Rosenheim, was simply because the dark elves had not divulged it.

King Arbus' father did not figure in the list of past rulers either.

Rosenheim checked their limited list of dark elf elders, and he was not in there either.

There was a limit to how many names of elders would be passed along with every dispatch.

No elves lived amongst the dark elves.

And the opposite was true as well.

They were of different races so it was impossible for one side to send spies into the other.

They knew the name of the rulers of both sides, and some elders had made contact, but that had only happened for two hundred years, so there were still names they did not know.

They either concealed Razel's existence all this time, or he did not have an influential enough position in Fabraze for his name to spread. Considering how they reacted, it was likely the latter option.

And from King Arbus' reaction, it could be assumed that Razel had left Fabraze quite a long time ago.

Sophie then said that that concluded what she wanted to say.

Everyone looked at King Arbus, awaiting his next words.

He was talking with his counselors, taking a while to respond.

"You requested a shelter near the village, and maps, correct? We'll prepare those for you. You can talk in more detail about that with the elders."

He switched the topic from the Demon General back to the two requests Sophie made first.

King Arbus looked almost desperate to finish speaking.

Hearing that decision, Sophie answered in her usual calm voice.

"Thank you very much for your support, King Arbus."

Without standing up, Sophie lowered her head and bowed.

"Wha-?! You'll help her?! My liege!!"

The elder who seemed to be the king's closest aide had an instant reaction.

"Of course. This is something that's happening near our village, knowing the details is valuable for us."

King Arbus was paying back the knowledge of knowing what happened in Luqoack, and how Pagan Worshippers were loitering around the desert.

"B-B-But...no!! Shouldn't we at least attempt to check the veracity of everything she said first?"

Another elder was of the mind that Rosenheim's princess had to be arrested for telling such a rude story, and lying to the king.

"Who cares if that's true or not, restarting the war is more important! Let's rise to arms again, brothers! Let's reclaim Fortenia as ours!!"

One of the military officers wanted to go to war instead.

"Alright then, it was my idea to sign that cease-fire agreement. Helping the elven princess is also my decision now. If you're so certain all my decisions have been mistaken, then elders, form a meeting and let me step down as king."

"""?!"""

King Arbus was firm on his decision, even if it would cost him the throne.

The elders and military officers were caught off guard hearing him say that, and they all looked at the Spirit King Fabre rolled into a ball on the king's lap.

The Spirit King remained silent, not responding to any of the angry shouts that filled the room earlier.

The Spirit King's attitude decided everything there.

Everyone swallowed any further complaints and they remained silent.

"So, what do you plan on doing now?"

"We'll trust that you'll build a suitable and safe shelter for survivors. We have some medicine to stop cultists from becoming Pagan Worshippers as well, so we'll leave some here too. Then we'll use the map and search for cities that might be under attack."

"Interesting. I heard you have a monster under your control as well?"

"Yes, Master Allen's summons. Rosenheim had the luck of meeting 'the boy who wards off darkness', and he's helping here as well."

"Hm? Master Allen? Ahh, I see."

King Arbus recognized the name Sophie mentioned.

He also recalled she said it was Allen's party that defeated the Demon General.

There was a prophecy in Rosenheim from back when the Spirit God Rosen was still a Spirit King which everyone knew.

The Spirit King had left a message instilling hope into the elves, who every year had to ward off the attacks from the Demon King.

Many in Rosenheim believed they had achieved victory after last year's attack only because the Spirit King had brought forth 'the boy who wards off darkness.'

The elves thought that was the only possible explanation, as the attack had been incredibly devastating and nothing else would have been able to save them.

The dark elves of Fabraze were aware of that savior legend, the prophecy of 'the boy who wards off darkness.'

King Arbus believed they were right, and that they had indeed met 'the boy who wards off darkness.'

The dark elf army had been fighting the Pagan Worshippers for many days on end, and then Allen's summon cleaned them up almost instantly.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation. Sadly we're pressed for time, so..."

"..."

Sophie had managed to tell them everything she had to as a princess, and requested the help she needed.

If they spent more time talking in there, more cities would be attacked, so she wanted to move out as soon as possible.

Sophie noticed a change on the king's face and stopped before finishing her sentence.

He looked like a young boy trying his hardest to reach something far away.

There was some sort of hesitation on him, not wanting to finish the conversation yet.

He wanted to ask something.

But as king, he could not allow himself to do that.

That was the kind of face he made.

Sophie began thinking hard, trying to figure out what the king might want to know.

She had to express her gratitude somehow, since he offered his help even with the conflict surrounding them.

Had she forgotten to say something?

Was there something she had to say no matter what?

Thinking about it all, she came to a single conclusion.

"My apologies. I was trying to finish the conversation quickly so I completely forgot to relay Lord Razel's last words."

"I-I see. What did my father say?"

Sophie felt like she had hit the nail right in the head.

King Arbus leant forward to listen better.

"He looked up and said: I really wanted the dark elves to see this World Tree."

After becoming a Demon General, Razel's last words were not of hatred against elves.

They were emotional words meant for dark elves.

Sophie related Razel's last words, which he uttered as his body turned to ash, being defeated by Allen's party.

"Ah, so that's what he said. Thanks..."

King Arbus' face seemed to crumble.

He had just found an answer he had been looking for for centuries.

He forgot his position as king, and accidentally expressed his gratitude.

After that he hung his face down, and while it was impossible to tell, Sophie believed he was crying.