MAEPG: Episode 53

Episode 53 Elf (1)

The entire cathedral was bustling from early morning.

Everyone was busy preparing to welcome the envoy from the Elven Kingdom.

“Everyone’s busy.”

Except for us, who were in charge of internal security.

Lailyn, who was guarding the passage leading to the gate with him, nodded in agreement with Heinrich’s leisurely remark.

“It was decided suddenly. Considering the scale of the exchange, with even High Elves participating, the time between the decision and the implementation was very short. It’s inevitable that preparations would be lacking.”

As she said, it had only been a few days since the cooperation with the Elven Kingdom was decided, and things were progressing rapidly.

It wasn’t a schedule that could be rushed by just one side.

It was something that could only be done if both sides agreed and hurried as much as possible.

‘I guess the Church judged that tracking down the Immortal King’s descendant was urgent, but what’s the rush on the Elven Kingdom’s side?’

The Church only had to prepare to welcome the envoy, but it was the Elves who had to cross the sea.

Traveling across continents couldn’t be easy.

But the fact that they were in such a hurry meant that they had something urgent to attend to…

‘Whatever their purpose is, it’s pointless for me to think about it here.’

He was content for now because he had been able to buy time to reinforce the barrier thanks to receiving the information in advance.

“But I feel a bit sorry that we’re the only ones being so leisurely.”

“It can’t be helped. This is our job.”

Those busy preparing to welcome the guests.

Unlike the outer knight orders, who were busy strengthening security and patrolling in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances, the Radiance Guardian, who was in charge of internal security, was continuing their usual duties without any of that.

‘They said the Heresy Inquisitors are in charge of checking the infiltration routes to the inside of the cathedral.’

Of course, there were more things to be careful of than usual, but even considering all that, it wasn’t as much as what they were going through.

“You can think of our main work as starting after we welcome the envoy. We won’t even have time to breathe then, so don’t feel too bad.”

“Ah, no… I wasn’t feeling bad…”

As they were talking, a group of people, led by the Saintess, approached from the other side of the passage.

“It seems like it’s almost time. We have to be really careful not to make even the smallest mistake from now on.”

“Yes.”

As they straightened their posture, focusing ahead,

“Hello! Lady Lailyn, Sir Heinrich. Are you two in charge of security here today?”

The Saintess greeted them cheerfully, with a line of people behind her.

“That’s right, Saintess. You’re going to welcome the envoy from the Elven Kingdom, right?”

“Yes! We received a message from the temple in the east. They’ll be here after passing through two more gates.”

Of course, everyone here was used to dealing with the Saintess, as her behavior wasn’t anything new.

Lailyn, who naturally received her greeting and had a conversation, soon stepped back and pointed towards the gate.

“Then there’s not much time left. Shouldn’t you hurry inside?”

“Ah! You’re right. They must have already passed through one gate by now!”

The Saintess, who was nodding, suddenly stopped on her way to the gate and turned her head towards Heinrich.

And then she started to think about something, staring at him intently.

“…”

“…?”

A sudden silence.

Heinrich couldn’t help but smile awkwardly as the surrounding gazes started to focus on him, a situation that made him flustered.

‘What’s wrong with her? Did I forget to greet her?’

He had bowed his head with Lailyn when she greeted them. Did she not see it?

As he was wondering if he should greet her again,

“Sir Heinrich, come with us.”

The Saintess suddenly spoke.

“Ah! To welcome the envoy from the Elven Kingdom. Don’t we need two people guarding here?”

The people around them looked puzzled at her hasty addition.

It was true that they didn’t need two people guarding the passage right now.

The people entering with her were quite high-ranking.

Besides the Saintess herself…

High-ranking priests, including Archbishop Latiaus, who had led the Immortal King subjugation force, and even high-ranking holy knights, including two Paladins.

With them heading towards the gate directly, it didn’t matter if there were one or two ordinary holy knights.

“Is there a reason why you want to take him with you?”

But that was that, and this was this.

They didn’t set up guards for no reason.

If they started moving security personnel based on their own judgment, it could lead to security breaches and a breakdown of the system.

They needed to make that clear to the young Saintess.

The Saintess fidgeted uncharacteristically at Archbishop Latiaus’s serious question.

She realized that she had made a mistake, judging by the atmosphere.

“Um… I wanted Sir Heinrich to gain a lot of experience.”

“It’s true that Sir Heinrich Landguard is a promising talent, but the support the Church is currently providing is not insignificant. There’s no need to go this far…”

No matter how much Heinrich proved his worth with his exceptional growth rate, excessive favoritism could cause dissatisfaction among others.

Of course, since the Main God Church was full of devout believers, they would understand and accept it if it was someone with strong holy power.

In fact, that was a big reason why Heinrich, a newcomer, had been recognized by everyone without any major friction.

But human hearts weren’t controlled solely by reason.

Someone might feel inferior and develop a complex.

“Um…! I can’t explain it well… but I feel like I need to take care of him. I’m interested in him, and I want to look after him…”

The Saintess stammered, as if making excuses.

Everyone’s gaze went back and forth between the Saintess and Heinrich.

“Hmm… You mean…”

The Archbishop, who had been thinking about something, slowly nodded.

“If that’s the case, it can’t be helped. Then do as you please.”

Of course, there was no personal interest in their eyes.

Archbishop Latiaus and the others agreed with serious expressions.

“Since that’s the case, it seems like you’ll have to guard here alone for a while. Is that okay, Lady Lailyn Setri?”

“Yes! No problem. Leave it to me.”

It was the Saintess, the closest being to the Main God, who spoke.

In other words, it meant that she couldn’t help but be most influenced by the Main God’s will.

“Oh~ I heard that the Main God himself showed interest in him by bestowing a blessing at his knighting ceremony. I’m envious. Hey, you’re not interested in crushing the skulls of heretics, are you?”

A man with a sharp, intimidating appearance and short black hair grinned and spoke to Heinrich.

It was the captain of the Black Crescent Holy Knight Order, one of the two Paladins, who devoted all his energy to hunting down dark mages and demon worshippers.

“I heard Sir Heinrich isn’t interested in joining a holy knight order. But if you change your mind later, remember that our Silver Wing comes first.”

Even Paladin Tuskin chimed in from the side.

He was troubled by the sudden attention from the big shots.

It wasn’t bad to receive favor from high-ranking individuals, but…

‘Was the reason why the Saintess was so friendly to me because she was influenced by the Main God?’

It was true that the Main God was interested in him.

He even showed his interest by bestowing a blessing.

It must have been a combination of that and the Saintess’s personality, which made her feel favorable towards those with strong holy power.

Anyway, it wasn’t bad for him.

It was helpful right now.

“Hmm… We’ll be late if we delay any longer. We should hurry now.”

The group, including Heinrich, hurriedly moved towards the gate.

Fortunately, the disaster of the envoy arriving before they did didn’t happen.

“The gate will be activated soon.”

Less than a minute after they arrived at the gate room, they heard the high priest in charge of the place speak.

“Whew~ We almost missed it! But thankfully, we arrived just in time! Hahaha…”

The Saintess laughed cautiously, gauging the reactions of those around her.

She seemed embarrassed, knowing she had made a mistake.

Wooong—

At that moment, a blue vortex started swirling and vibrating in the center of the gate.

After a while,

Figures emerged from the vortex one by one.

The group of nearly twenty people immediately formed ranks as soon as they exited the gate.

…They were Elves, something he had never seen before in his life.

They then approached us, led by the one at the front.

“Welcome, envoys from the Elven Kingdom. We welcome you to the Roselia Cathedral. I am Liesta Saint Hatianuss, the Saintess of the Main God Church.”

As they got close enough, the Saintess stepped forward and greeted them with a gentle smile.

She was in a serious and dignified mood, unlike her usual self, perhaps because it was a formal occasion.

“Thank you for your hospitality. I am Rapori Granwood, a High Elf from the Elven Kingdom.”

The handsome man with light blue hair at the front placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head.

The other members of the envoy followed suit.

And so, the Elven envoy set foot in the Roselia Cathedral.
_________________

A place was quickly prepared due to the urgent request from the Elven side.

The Main God Church readily accepted their request for a meeting to discuss their situation.

Heinrich was able to attend the meeting with the Elves thanks to the Saintess’s consideration.

He was standing behind the Saintess, Archbishop Latiaus, and the two Paladins, accompanying them.

From the Elven Kingdom, two men and women attended besides High Elf Rapori.

The three of them must be the leaders of the envoy.

‘This is really amazing.’

Heinrich stealthily glanced at them while standing behind the Saintess.

His main observation target was Rapori Granwood, the High Elf with soft, shoulder-length light blue hair.

White skin, slender physique, pointed ears, all as he had imagined.

The green pattern on his forehead, which seemed to symbolize a tree, was also unique, but not to the point of being amazing.

What was most eye-catching right now was his star-like eyes.

…They were literally shining like stars.

‘Wow, his pupils are star-shaped. And gold.’

The deep blue irises and the gold star-shaped pupils were sparkling like the morning star shining in the middle of the dawn sky.

‘The other Elves’ eyes are normal, so it doesn’t seem like a racial characteristic. A symbol of a High Elf? Would it be rude to ask?’

As he was glancing at him and lost in thought,

“It seems you’re fascinated by my eyes.”

Heinrich flinched at Rapori’s sudden words.

It could be problematic if the other party took it as rude.

But his words weren’t directed at Heinrich.

“Ahem… I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. Your, your eyes are very beautiful. I was unconsciously captivated by them because they look like stars shining in the sky.”

The Saintess cleared her throat and apologized, trying to regain her composure.

…It seemed like she was also preoccupied with Rapori’s eyes.

“It’s alright. It’s a necessary topic anyway. These eyes are the mark of a High Elf.”

‘As expected!’

Heinrich, relieved to have his curiosity satisfied, listened attentively to his words.

“I was also an ordinary Elf at first. I was chosen by the World Tree, awakened, and became known as a High Elf.”

High Elves were a kind of priest.

A bridge connecting the Elves and the World Tree, the object of their faith.

“High Elves are very precious to us. There aren’t many who are suitable to become High Elves. Only two or three are born per generation.”

Naturally, a generation for the long-lived Elves was very different from that of humans.

And not all of them became High Elves.

“When an Elf with the aptitude grows and meets certain conditions, they are chosen by the World Tree and become qualified to become a High Elf.”

They would then reach the World Tree under its guidance, eat the fruit it bestowed, and awaken as a High Elf.

“Currently, there are less than ten High Elves remaining. And most of them are old, so we desperately need new High Elves to be born.”

Judging by his tone, it seemed like there were far less than ten.

They couldn’t reveal everything, even if they believed in the Main God Church.

“But a while ago, we received a revelation from the World Tree. A child qualified to become a High Elf was born on this Ion Continent.”

Most of the non-human races had migrated to the Enamel Continent a long time ago, but there were still quite a few who remained on the Ion Continent.

One of their descendants seemed to have become qualified.

But it seemed like they weren’t in a situation where they could reach the World Tree on their own.

“…They were sold to dark mages as a sacrifice after being captured by slave hunters. It hasn’t been long since they fell into their hands, but it’s dangerous to waste time, so we need to search as quickly as possible.”

There were limits to the information that could be obtained through the World Tree’s revelation.

That’s why they needed the Church’s information network that spanned the entire continent.

“We need as much detailed information as possible. The more accurate the location, the better, and the target’s appearance as well. A detailed description of the surrounding scenery would also be helpful.”

Archbishop Latiaus, who had been listening quietly next to the Saintess, spoke.

“…We were able to confirm that they were led by slave hunters towards somewhere in the northern mountains. I couldn’t pinpoint their exact location after they were handed over to the dark mages, as if they used some trick.”

“The northern mountains are vast. Practically, most of the northern part of the Ion Continent is part of the northern mountains. Is there any other information?”

“Their appearance is no different from an ordinary Elf because they haven’t awakened yet. They look to be in their mid-teens in human age, with light green hair and orange eyes.”

‘Huh?’

“Well, we’ll mobilize the Church’s information network as much as possible. Ah, what’s their name?”

“Cecily. Please find her as soon as possible. We don’t know when something might happen. We’ll also do our best to help…”

‘Huh? This…’

They started discussing the next steps, but it was no longer an important issue.
___________________

“Hahaha! This is a problem!”

Harley laughed heartily and scratched the back of his head, or rather, the black panther’s head.

“So, little lady. What’s your name?”

He asked gently with the most harmless smile he could muster.

Of course, it only looked sinister because his face was covered in blood.

“C-Cecily… My name is Cecily.”

An Elf girl with light green hair and orange eyes.

It seemed like Harley had found her first.

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