Chapter 412

Words : 2429 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

‘The story is more interesting than I expected.’ That was Rudger’s assessment after hearing Pasius’ story but at the same time, anxiety also crept in. For a meeting between those who shouldn’t have met, the incident didn’t seem to escalate as much as expected. Rudger’s ominous prediction proved correct. “Surprisingly, there was no armed conflict between the two organizations.” “There wasn’t?” It was so unexpected that even Rudger, who rarely gets surprised by anything, found himself asking again. We’re talking about the Lumensis Order and the Elves here. Two groups that inherently cannot tolerate each other’s existence met. Beyond not being able to mix, they react like a chemical explosion just by touching, yet there was no significant armed conflict. “First, both sides had considerable forces, so they were careful since needless conflict would only hurt themselves.” Right. Fighting would only lead to losses. But weren’t they the type who wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice themselves a bit to wear down the enemy’s forces? “There must be something else.” At Rudger’s certainty, Pasius nodded with a slightly troubled expression. “It seemed they made some kind of deal. We couldn’t get detailed information even through our intelligence.” They didn’t meet inside a building, and since it was outside the capital, there wasn’t much we could do about it. Rudger crossed his arms and fell into thought, as if having a headache. The Lumensis Order and the Elves, both came to the imperial capital with the same purpose. Namely, the roots of the dead World Tree underground. The Lumensis Order came after noticing traces of ominous demonic power and the World Tree’s roots, while the Elves also began tracking through records accessed via the World Tree network. The two groups that encountered each other this way came to some kind of agreement, despite baring their teeth at each other, without fighting. “For now, the most likely possibility is sharing information about the World Tree underground.” Even if they were archenemies, it wouldn’t be strange to join hands temporarily if they had a common goal. In that case, they would either work together to discover information about the World Tree, or exchange what each side had already learned. “Is the concealment of the underground facility properly maintained?” “We’re maintaining maximum security at all times, but...” Pasius trailed off subtly. He probably meant he wasn’t sure since he wasn’t the field commander. “Still, while we monitored both groups’ movements, there were no signs of them approaching the underground facility’s cavity.” “But they might have picked up traces even without approaching directly.” It was First Princess Eileen who said that. “Those guys who were busy trying to find gaps until now have been behaving quietly since making contact with each other. They’re so quiet that it makes those of us watching uncomfortable.” “Don’t they seem to be waiting for an opportunity?” “It’s the opposite. Rather, their movements suggest they’ve already found out everything they needed to know. Whether that’s meant to deceive us or not remains to be seen, but my gut feeling is they’ve already noticed something.” “That’s quite troublesome.” Just one would be nerve-wracking enough, but now there are two such groups. Of course, they haven’t become a direct threat yet, but just having them lurking around is quite irritating. The problem was there was no way to openly drive them away. At most, the Elves could be punished for crossing the border without permission, but they weren’t stupid enough to stick around once they detected such movements. The Elven Kingdom itself would likely maintain complete ignorance if confronted. “So you came to share information and find alternative measures?” “Among other things. Well, as the future ruler of the empire, it’s also hard to ignore such rats scurrying around.” “Hmm.” He might complain about bringing troublesome matters, but Eileen is Rudger’s reliable supporter. Not only does she know our identity, but she’s been accommodating us in various ways. Even if our identity is discovered later and we need to change to a different identity, First Princess Eileen will provide excellent support. Since we’ve gained information, we might as well give some in return. “There is one way for now.” “Oh. What would that be?” Eileen’s eyes lit up as if she’d been waiting for this. Though she tried to hide it, she too had been racking her brains over this matter. “While the Lumensis Order will be difficult, I know how to deal with the Elves. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. For Elves, we use an Elf.” An Elf for Elves? Everyone’s gaze naturally turned to one direction. “Uh, eh? M-me?” Only Bellaruna, who hadn’t grasped the situation, stupidly pointed at herself. Though she actually already knew, she wanted to deny this reality desperately. Eileen shifted her gaze from Bellaruna, whom she was watching with an odd expression, to Rudger. As if asking ‘Can that really work?’, Rudger kindly explained. “She’s one of our executives. Bellaruna Petana. Codename <Scott Fitzgerald>. As you know, she’s an Elf who’s proficient in pharmaceutics and alchemy.” “What does that have to do with this incident?” “Her abilities don’t end there. She’s one of the Elves who can access the World Tree network right now.” At those words, Eileen’s eyes grew round. She knew that only Elves chosen by the World Tree could access it. “Could she be from some noble house?” “No.” “Then how...” “That’s one of her abilities.” When Rudger spoke with certainty, Eileen’s gaze toward Bellaruna grew intense. Bellaruna hiccupped without realizing it. Rudger spoke to Bellaruna. “Bellaruna. You’ll need to go to the capital.” “...” It hadn’t been long since that chaos in the capital, and now again? Moreover, there are Shade Warden family trackers in the capital right now who came to kill her. This was basically telling her to go die, wasn’t it? However Bellaruna didn’t openly say she didn’t want to go or rather, she couldn’t say that but she couldn’t just nod her head either. Bellaruna planned to use her refined method of indirect refusal that she had practiced. “Me?” “Yes.” “Really me?” “Yes, you.” “Why?” “...” This was one of the miraculous three-step arguments Bellaruna had recently realized. A unified offensive and defensive debate technique that makes the other person lose their words by asking innocently. If you just keep repeating these three arguments, the other person will get tired and give up but sometimes there are people who are completely immune to this miraculous technique. “Why? Because you hacked the World Tree network and brought the Elves here, so you need to clean up your mess.” Rudger was one such person. He has money, power and a superior position. How could you resist when someone like that tells you to do something? “B-but still...” “Don’t worry. I’ll provide escort forces.” “But the Shade Warden...” “Wouldn’t this be a chance to freely use the World Tree for experiments? Though it’s a dead World Tree, it should be quite helpful.” “...!” Bellaruna swallowed hard. Rudger’s offer was too tempting but Bellaruna exercised desperate self-control to suppress that desire. It’s a trap. That must be a trap. Besides, we still have lots of work to do here! “And I’ll also give you various plant and herb samples obtained from the recent visit to Kasar Basin.” “...!” Bellaruna’s ears twitched and moved. Everything else aside, samples from Kasar Basin which opens only 3 days a year, and from an environment with its own unique ecosystem – this struck Bellaruna’s heart directly. Rudger looked at Bellaruna with a contemptuous gaze. ‘Look at those eyes.’ Just moments ago she seemed ready to fight to the death against going, but now it was the complete opposite. “H-how much...” “...It’s not a huge amount, but I plan to get as much as possible with help from other mages.” Bellaruna exhaled strongly through her nose and spoke to Eileen. “Let’s go right now!” “...” Eileen looked at Rudger with an incredulous expression. * * * After sending Bellaruna up first to pack her belongings, Rudger began organizing the situation. “First, we’ll enter the World Tree network through Bellaruna, check what happened, and then decide what to do next.” “Right. Thanks to you, we now have a plan. I didn’t expect you to have such a capable Elf.” “...Yes, well.” A capable Elf. Strictly speaking it wasn’t wrong, but that capability was just a small part of Bellaruna’s madness. It was only because he managed to restrain her well enough; in any other place, it wouldn’t have been strange if several incidents had occurred. ‘Come to think of it, I have quite a few difficult characters to handle.’ Just look at Seridan. If Bellaruna is a mad scientist in life sciences, Seridan is a mad scientist in mechanical engineering or more politely an extreme explosion maniac. Now that I think about it, maybe Seridan’s codename should have been <Alfred Nobel> or <Julius Robert Oppenheimer>. Considering what they were both famous for making, those names would have been quite fitting. “So is this all you wanted to discuss?” “We’ve put out the immediate fire, but there’s still something else I want to confirm.” “About what happened in Kasar Basin?” Now as the day was ending with the setting sun, those with good ears would have already received reports about what happened in Kasar Basin. Yet asking like this means that, rather than the surface-level news that’s known publicly... ‘She wants to know the deeper truth hidden beneath.’ Rudger decided to try backing out once. “I think you should hear that directly from Duke Kadatushan.” “You’re going to play hard to get after coming all this way even though we eliminated your competitor Ranpartz?” “You benefited quite a bit from that too, Your Highness. Did you think I wouldn’t know where all the torn-apart affiliates were absorbed?” “But someone made huge profits through short selling. I wasn’t the only one who benefited.” “And we also removed an annoying tumor eating away at the empire. What better achievement is there than executing those who secretly leaked valuable information to foreign countries?” In the intense battle of nerves without giving an inch on either side, Eileen was the first to raise her hand. “Fine. I lost. I tried to secretly steal a bread crumb as a joke, but you’re watching with burning eyes.” “To steal the last piece of bread, you need to bet something of equal value.” While Rudger responded as if it was nothing, he carefully observed Eileen’s reaction. Though she tried to hide it, her slightly protruding lips showed she was quite annoyed that he wouldn’t yield. Her expression seemed to say ‘I came all the way here in person, couldn’t you cut me some slack?’ No, it probably wasn’t just a seeming – that was exactly what she thought. Rudger inwardly smiled slightly at this sight. No matter how mature and adult-like she acted, these occasional emotional displays suited her quite well too. “Still, since you came all this way, you’re welcome to rest here.” “Hmph. No need. Why would I stay where I’m not welcomed?” “If you had contacted us in advance, we could have prepared a more gracious reception. How unfortunate.” “...You really don’t give an inch, do you?” Fine wrinkles appeared on Eileen’s beautiful brow. It was the expression she made when she was truly annoyed. Knowing this, Pasius secretly gestured to Rudger behind Eileen’s back. -That’s enough. Any more would be dangerous. It would be dangerous to tease her any further. Rudger agreed with that assessment and decided to offer a carrot instead of a stick. “So, what are you so curious about?” “Weren’t you not going to tell me?” “If Duke Kadatushan forgot to report, I suppose I’ll have to do it in his place.” “Ha.” Eileen let out a laugh as if dumbfounded but she wouldn’t say she didn’t want to hear it even if she died. She was actually curious about it too. Her sulking appearance while still wanting to hear what she was curious about was like watching a stray cat that couldn’t be honest. “So what do you want to know?” “Everything!” ‘I see.’ When Rudger gave Pasius a look, Pasius shrugged his shoulders and stood up from his seat. Planning to give them some private time, he naturally withdrew, and Eileen didn’t try to stop him either. Hans also read the atmosphere appropriately. At this moment, Rudger wanted to have a private conversation with First Princess Eileen. “Come on now. Let’s all wait outside.” Hans pushed all the U.N. Owen executives out of the room. * * * Rudger and Eileen finished their conversation and came outside. Having discussed both what she was curious about and various other matters, Eileen seemed quite satisfied. But as soon as she stepped outside, she narrowed her eyes at the strange atmosphere flowing through the corridor. It was the same for Rudger. ‘This atmosphere...’ A strange tension was pervading the corridor space and Rudger cast his gaze toward its source. Having lost considerable weight compared to before, Pantos was openly emanating fighting spirit. The target of that fighting spirit, which flew straight like an arrow, was Pasius, who was shaking his head with a troubled expression. ‘Oh dear. Just when I thought things had calmed down recently.’ Pantos had been thirsting for battle lately as it was. In such a situation, a Master-level knight appeared – it must be something he could hardly bear to let pass. Eileen also noticed this atmosphere. A smile formed on her lips. To Rudger, it was quite an unsettling smile. Eileen strode up to Pantos and stood before him. Pantos, who had been concentrating his senses on Pasius with his arms crossed, glanced at Eileen. It was quite a rude attitude toward a princess, but Eileen didn’t take issue with it. At least in her eyes, Pantos was a ‘strong one’ qualified enough for such behavior. “Hey warrior. You look quite thirsty.” “...” “Then how about a sparring match with our knight?”

Chapter 412

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