ALL NOVEL chapter 27
27 – Homelessness
In the middle of the elven kingdom, a giant world tree grows high into the sky…
The health of this world tree meant that the dryad, the spirit and guardian of the forest, was alive and well and his protection was in this forest.
The huge palace built next to the World Tree was as majestic as the World Tree.
“Your Majesty, Princess Illuen has arrived.”
The Queen’s office located on the top floor of the palace…
The words of the doorkeeper guarding the office resonate, and soon after, Illuen enters in a cold sweat even in the not-so-hot weather.
“Your Majesty… How are you? You said you were looking for me, so I came here…”
The queen, who has long, glossy blond hair that reaches her thighs and has a beauty that is hard to see among elves as well as humans, looked at Illuen who approached while processing paperwork piled up on her desk. .
“It’s been a while. Iluen.”
“Yes…”
Unlike human kings, elves who do not inherit children inherit the throne, and as soon as they are crowned queens, they select a superior person from among the high elves as the next successor.
She said yes, but she didn’t necessarily mean she could be queen.
She was able to build a reputation as a thorough ability system, make achievements, and pass a thorough test to see if she could rule the elves, and then she was able to inherit the right to the throne.
“Did you reflect a lot during that time?”
“Yes…”
“Nothing but the news that refugees are flocking here to the north due to the continuing war in the western part of the continent.”
“Yes.”
“As the next heir to the throne, he must know better than anyone else about harmony with humans…”
“Yes. I am well aware of it.”
“Please prevent any humans from entering this woodland without permission, and take good care of them by setting up an evacuation camp outside the woodland.”
“Yes.”
Due to the demon king’s attack, many kingdoms in the western part of the continent were collapsing, and even the mighty Eritre Empire was shaken.
The refugees in the west headed for the nearest kingdoms in the northern part of the continent.
The elven kingdom was also struggling to prevent cold and hungry refugees from entering the forest.
The queen set up a refugee camp outside the forest area, the territory of the elves, to reconcile with humans rather than drive them out.
I tried to provide them with a place to sleep and something to eat.
“Oh, and…”
“Yes?”
“I heard that the princess also went to the forest of the elves on fire this time? Did you meet the hero well?”
“Ah… Yes… Yes…”
“I heard that there is already a half-elf in this hero’s party, do you know that?”
“… Yes…”
On Iluen’s forehead, even her pupils shook violently along with cold sweat, and she lowered her head even more so that the queen could not see her.
“Three years ago, if the princess hadn’t made that mistake, she would be able to participate in this warrior’s party… How good would it have been? Isn’t it?”
“……Sorry.”
“Well.. I have to keep bringing up the old things.. It will be difficult for both the talking and the listening princess, so she won’t talk anymore. Keep moving forward.”
“Yes. Your majesty.”
Iluen’s brow furrowed little by little, and then he started to panic again at the Queen’s words…
“Ah! And do you know that there was a fire in that forest?”
“Ah… Yes… Yes. Ah.. I know.”
“It was a wonderful forest, but it’s a pity. It seems that Dryad is also very heartbroken about this incident…”
“…..”
“Why don’t you come so early and help with the restoration work there?”
“I’m sorry. I have work to do here…”
“To become the next queen, staying in such a disaster area and comforting the forest spirits and elves who are heartbroken is a good way to do it.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind. Your majesty.”
Every word the queen spoke was like goosebumps in her illuen ears.
She was just praying and praying earnestly in her heart that this moment would pass quickly.
“I’m going to send someone there soon to investigate the cause of the fire, so I’ll have to go and comfort the elves in the forest then.”
“You mean… there?”
“Yes. The forest, which is like a treasure to us elves, has been burned, so we must find out the cause and make sure this doesn’t happen in the future.”
“Yes!? Ha… But… It’s a natural fire…”
“I guess the new princess came after investigating the fire?”
“…..”
The queen pretended to be relaxed and spoke her words, but her eyes did not take her eyes off Illuen.
She continued to question Iluen with her face showing that she knew this to some extent.
“In addition, I plan to re-investigate the massacre of the half-elf village 10 years ago.”
“Yes!!!?”
“Recently, an anonymous informant said that some far-right elven supremacists were the instigators of the half-elf village massacre…”
“Ha.. But… Your Majesty… didn’t you conclude that the incident was caused by an attack by monsters…?”
“Yes. I’m just trusting someone’s words. However, as new reports have been raised, we should re-investigate it again, right?”
“…..”
Iluen’s face was so distorted that he stood there with a face that looked like he was about to cry.
When her eyes met the queen in the middle, she was startled and quickly averted her eyes, which made it even more suspicious.
The feud with the hero,
The case of annihilation and escape from the Kingdom of Horon,
Fire in the Elven Forest,
And the re-investigation of the massacre in the half-elf village 10 years ago…
Iluen had to hide his trembling hands behind his back so as not to be seen and clenched his teeth, not knowing which one to deal with first.
*****
Subjugating the Demon King’s Army in the Fjord Empire.. No.. After subduing the Sand Worm, a boss-level monster, I headed back to the Kingdom of Argen.
Of course, with Lucia and the newly joined Irene.
On the way back, if you go through the elven forest like the way back, you’ll be there in no time, but
Thinking that Illuen was still in the forest, she decided to take a detour and go back, even if it took a while.
If you take a detour without stopping at the Elven Forest, there is a small place called Erupe Kingdom between the Fior Empire and the Argen Kingdom.
The population is so small, and there are only a few villages to speak of, so I had to sleep on my way home.
“Irene, would you like to try this?”
“…..”
“Aren’t you thirsty? Eat this too.”
“…..”
Before Lucia entered Erupe Kingdom, she took out the snacks she had bought and handed them to Irene.
She took one glance at the food her Lucia had brought out of her, then looked out the window again, disinterestedly.
“I will eat. Lucia.”
“The hero’s is here!”
Since departure, Lucia and I were the only ones who talked mainly in the carriage, and Irene’s voice could not be heard at all.
An answer is just a nod or a short answer in the form of a short answer…
Maybe it’s just my original personality, but should I say it’s gotten worse since the last sand worm subjugation?
Before that, we had a short but simple conversation and even exchanged greetings…
“Hero, I think I will have to sleep here today.”
Coachman Roman slowly slowed down and spoke through a small window connected to the coachman’s seat.
Outside the window, the sky gradually turned red, and it seemed that the sun would set in just a little while.
“If you go a little further from here, you will find a mountain road, and it will be cold at night if you stay overnight there. I got it here.”
At the place where Roman stopped, I saw a few trees on the flat ground to block the wind moderately, and above all, there was a stream right next to it, so it was the best place to stay overnight.
“I will cook!”
Who didn’t even ask Lucia,
She got off quickly and she started to get some cookware out of the carriage bed.
Irene followed Lucia out of the carriage, but she seemed to be looking around without doing anything.
“I…”
“Irene is taking a break. Because I can help Lucia.”
“…..Then I will go and get some firewood.”
If it was like a warrior party,
I was in charge of everything from picking up firewood to building a fire and cooking…
That’s what he did, the saintess who only sat in the chapel and prayed, the princess and the elven princess who didn’t even help start a fire with magic…
Yes..
Let’s say I can…
Then it would be nice to eat whatever they give you…
Saint Emilia, who said that we must eat according to the laws set forth in the temple, and that we should eat porridge, and that we should only eat bread and wine, and then we choose to eat according to the day.
Princess Lydia grew up eating all kinds of precious food in the imperial palace and would not touch anything other than the menu of the imperial chef.
I usually eat meat well without my knowledge when I go to town or city, but the noble high elf said that I should only eat salads and seasonal fruits.
Illuen, an elf who only looked for vegetables and fruits in the desert…
Compared to the real b*tches, the current party members were like angels.
Lucia started a fire on her own and went to the stream to wash ingredients and even cook…
I thought she would just sit still doing nothing, but Irene went to the forest to find a tree on her own…
Giyiik…
While helping to trim the ingredients next to Lucia, I looked up at the sound of dragging from somewhere.
Irene went to get firewood and saw that she was dragging a large tree.
“Irene… Hey… What is that…?”
“Firewood.”
“Ah… Then, when you go to get firewood… You mean you pulled a tree…?”
“Yes.”
“…..”
Instead of the expressionless expression she had when she went to get firewood, now Irene is standing with an expression as if asking me, not knowing what she did wrong.
“Good job. You did very well. A tree that has just been cut cannot be used for firewood. The firepower is weak and there is only a lot of smoke.”
“Sure?”
“I mainly use fallen branches or rotted and dried trees for firewood.”
“….. I’m sorry. I did not know.”
I never thought a sullen expression would come out of Irene’s expressionless face…
“It’s okay. I’ll go and pick it up, so can you help Lucia here?”
“…..Yes.”
In the end I go back into the woods to get firewood, but…
Still, compared to the fact that I hadn’t even thought about getting a party of former warriors in the first place, I felt proud.