Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

◆Black Haired Sage; Chiyuki

The capital of Arseidia was a dream city—an elven kingdom nestled deep within the Sea Forest at the base of Elios Mountain.

Few fortresses surrounded Arseidia, protected by powerful barrier magic.

We departed from one of those fortresses, Cartahaugh, under the guidance of Fairy Knight Tamriel. Our carriage, drawn by Cryneia, rolled along the white stone road that meandered through the forest.

While the trees were dense as we made our way to Cartahaugh, the path toward Arseidia had a different feel. The trees were just as numerous, but they had been carefully pruned, allowing us to catch glimpses of the sky.

「OVER THERE CHIYUKI-SAN, IT LOOKS AMAZING! THE TREES ARE GLOWING IN A GOLDEN COLOR! AND THEY’RE HUGE!!」

Rino's excited voice cut through the quiet as she pointed out the window.

I turned my gaze to follow her finger, spotting a massive golden tree on the horizon. It looked almost like a mountain, its golden leaves shimmering in the light.

This was the first time I’d ever seen a tree of such size and grandeur.

「Yeah. First time I’ve ever seen a tree like that.」

Both Nao and Shirone were equally amazed.

「That's the Golden Tree. The great tree that has been towering since ancient times.」

Tamriel, who was guiding our carriage, offered an explanation.

The Golden Tree had stood since the creation of the world. Beneath it lived the Divine Dragon King of Gold, a sworn friend of the Gods of Elios. Arseidia, the elven capital, had been built around the tree to protect and honor this ancient being.

Soon, we arrived at a giant gate. It was an impressive structure, decorated with arabesque patterns—a clear reflection of the elves’ distinct style.

This was the entrance to Arseidia.

「Uwa~! It’s so beautiful!」

Rino exclaimed in awe.

As we passed through the gate, it felt as though we were stepping into another world. The streets were lined with porcelain-white buildings that seemed to glow, adorned with silver and gold. Tall, dark green trees stood proudly alongside them. Elves walked gracefully along the roads, and fairies flitted through the air. It was like stepping into a living fantasy.

「So beautiful…」

「This is truly… amazing…」

It wasn’t just Rino—none of us could look away from the enchanting sight.

「This is the capital of Arseidia, Milady,」

Tamriel said, bowing slightly.

「I’ll take you to meet Her Majesty, the Queen. However, we need permission for an audience first. Please wait in another room while I take care of the formalities.」

Tamriel spoke with an apologetic tone.

Sure enough, our deer-drawn carriage turned onto a smaller side street, away from the main thoroughfare. We didn’t mind waiting—it was only a short delay.

We soon arrived at a large mansion, complete with a fountain in the garden. It seemed to be a guest house for important visitors.

「Eh?」

I spoke in surprise.

Outside the mansion, a bulky, unelven-like carriage was parked.

「Is that the crest of a hammer? Does that mean there are dwarves visiting?」

The hammer crest was the symbol of Heibos, the God of Treasure and Smithing, revered by all dwarves. If the crest was here, it likely meant the carriage belonged to a dwarf.

「You’re correct, Sage-dono.」

Tamriel replied.

「That’s the carriage of those who live in Qtar. While they can work with metal, they’re not skilled with organic wood. They often come to us to purchase our wares. I’m sorry, but you’ll need to wait with them.」

Tamriel apologized.

I didn’t mind—it seemed like a nice place. Shirone, Nao, and Rino didn’t appear bothered either.

After parking next to the dwarf’s carriage, a child appeared from the mansion. He looked about ten years old, and while his appearance was androgynous, I suspected from the elves’ customs that he was a boy.

It seemed that the child worked at the mansion.

If we leave Kouki in the elven kingdom, he might end up like that boy.

「If it isn’t Tamriel-sama, welcome. And who are those behind you? Are they your guests?」

「Yes, Hylas. Apologies for the sudden intrusion, but since it’s just the dwarves, the best room should be available. Please guide them to those rooms.」

The boy named Hylas looked troubled upon hearing Tamriel’s request.

What was wrong?

「My apologies, Tamriel-sama. That room is currently occupied by the dwarves. I’ll guide your guests to another room.」

「WHAT!? IMPOSSIBLE!? THOSE DWARVES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ASSIGNED TO THE LOWEST QUALITY ROOM! HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN!? KICK THEM OUT OF THAT ROOM IMMEDIATELY!」

Tamriel spoke with a displeased expression.

Though I had heard rumors about the strained relationship between elves and dwarves, it seemed even worse than I imagined.

They were supposed to be kin of the Gods of Elios, yet they couldn’t get along. Even if they didn’t get along, it seemed odd that they would assign their guests to the worst room.

Hylas looked even more troubled by Tamriel’s remarks.

「IMPOSSIBLE, TAMRIEL-SAMA! THAT ROOM IS RESERVED FOR HONORED GUESTS! WE CAN’T KICK THEM OUT!」

「WA!?」

Tamriel was at a loss for words.

He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard from Hylas.

Hylas, however, was unwilling to back down.

「Wait a second.」

Suddenly, someone spoke up.

Rino stepped forward, standing in front of Hylas, her gaze locking onto his face.

「Uhm, what’s the matter?」

Hylas was left confused by the situation.

「Hey. Take a look into Rino’s eyes.」

The moment Rino said that, Hylas’s expression shifted, and he immediately tensed up in alert.

「W-Wait a minute!? What are you doing, Rino!?」

I rushed toward Hylas in a panic.

Rino was about to use mind magic on him.

What in the world was this girl doing?

「Don’t worry, Chiyuki-san. Someone else used mind domination magic on this boy. I’ve neutralized it.」

Everyone in the room couldn’t hide their shock at Rino’s words.

「MIND DOMINATION MAGIC!? YOU MEAN SOMEONE USED MIND DOMINATION MAGIC ON HYLAS!? IMPOSSIBLE!」

Tamriel shook his head in disbelief.

The dwarves were skilled in enchantment and earth magic, but they were completely inept when it came to mind domination magic.

「What does that mean? Are you saying there’s another guest besides the dwarves?」

Shirone asked, her voice filled with unease.

Maybe someone had used the dwarves to infiltrate the city with malicious intent.

「IMPOSSIBLE!? THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING IN ARSEIDIA! Wait, if we don’t consider any other possibilities… the dwarves usually take catfolk women as wives, but they aren’t skilled in mind magic either…」

We exchanged uneasy glances.

I had a bad feeling about this.

It seemed like someone in this mansion—possibly a dwarf—was involved, and they could be a potential hostile force.

「Let’s assess the situation, shall we?」

Nao’s suggestion was met with agreement from everyone.

We needed to identify who was using mind magic in this mansion before anything else.

Tamriel led us inside the mansion.

The interior was beautifully decorated and spacious, with no signs of disturbance or ransacking. We made our way deeper into the mansion and arrived at a set of gorgeous doors.

「This is the best room available in the mansion. Are you sure it’s safe to open the door?」

Seeing us nod in agreement, Tamriel opened the door.

Inside was a grand banquet hall.

The room was filled with dwarves, female catfolk, and a few humans.

Pretty boys bustled around, serving them. The boys appeared to be the mansion's employees.

「Uwa~. How luxurious. But it isn’t just dwarves. What’s the meaning of this?」

「The women are the wives of the dwarves. Our princesses aren’t that fond of them.」

Tamriel explained, his voice laced with discomfort.

He must be referring to the elf princesses.

It seemed that the elf princesses had a deep prejudice against both the catfolk and the human women, which must’ve reflected in Tamriel and his companions' views as well.

But, he still must be troubled, considering he acts so gentlemanly toward women.

「Meaning that the user of mind magic is among them.」

It was obvious at a glance that the dwarves were the real thing. I didn’t think there was anyone masquerading as a dwarf.

Someone among them—perhaps one of the dwarves who got pissed off about being assigned the lowest-ranking room—might’ve used the magic.

As I pondered this, one of the dwarves who had noticed us approached.

「Dear me, if it isn’t Tamriel? So you really do have such excellent rooms in this mansion, huh? I thought you elves were poor, since you’ve always been guiding us to the poor rooms.」

The dwarf called out to Tamriel, still holding a cup of booze in his hand, his breath reeking of alcohol.

「My apologies for that, Belgar-dono. We can’t disobey our princesses' orders. My apologies, but I must ask you to leave this room immediately.」

「That might be difficult. We’ll have to ask that lady’s opinion—Eh? Who are these girls behind you? They don’t seem to be one of those nasty elves.」

Belgar’s gaze shifted to us.

「They’re comrades of Reiji-sama, the great hero chosen by Goddess Rena-sama. They have business in this city.」

「WHAT!? THE COMRADES OF THE HERO!? Man, this might be… a pretty bad situation.」

Belgar’s voice trailed off, barely audible at the end.

What did he mean by "bad situation"?

As I pondered the meaning of his remark, Shirone suddenly stepped forward.

「Eh? What’s the matter, Shirone-san?」

But Shirone ignored me, her eyes fixed on the innermost part of the room.

I followed her gaze.

There, in the center of the spacious room, was a beautiful silver-haired girl sitting in a luxurious chair.

Rather, she was an extremely beautiful girl.

Though there were black cat ears on her head, she was obviously not a catfolk woman.

It was a headband.

The boys were waiting on her, hovering around as if they were waiting for orders from their master.

The girl sat there, in that lavish chair, as though she were the owner of the room.

「Hey! That girl seems familiar!」

「Yeah! We saw her back then at the Republic of Ariadya!」

Rino and Nao exclaimed in shock.

They were right—I had seen her before.

There was no way I could mistake that beauty for someone else. We had met her back in the Republic of Ariadya.

The Silver Witch, Kuna.

That should be her name.

What was she doing here?

Shirone walked toward the girl.

「What are you doing here?」

Shirone asked, her voice sharp with anger.

「Shirone, huh? That should be my question. Why are you in this kind of place? What a troublesome girl.」

The silver-haired girl looked at Shirone as if the latter were inconvenient.

The two of them glared at each other.

At that moment, I realized what Belgar had meant by a "difficult situation".

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