Chapter 92 : Yggdrasill (Part 2)

Confusion and shock could be seen all over their faces. Rei had his suspicion from the moment she was against this trip.

'To think that she is the Princess from this Kingdom...' Rei thought while looking at her, then he glanced at Fang who's more shocked to hear it than any of them, 'I guess it was a very unexpected secret for him huh.'

Ruru looked upon them with a smile, "I'm sorry to keep it a secret from you guys...it must be very shocking."

"Well I already had guessed that you came from this Kingdom, but to think that you are the Princess..." Rei replied.

Ruru nodded, "As expected of our leader...and I'm sorry Fang, for not telling you earlier."

"No...I mean I am shocked but..." Fang looked unsure about something.

Ruru noticed his troubled expression and so she shook her head, "It's fine, I know what you are thinking now but don't worry...I am still the Ruru you know."

"Ruru..." Fang mumbled her name.

"So, since you have revealed your real identity...does that mean you allowed us to pass through?" Rei spoke.

"Ummm...about that." Ruru gently scratched her cheek.

"I will take over this." Suddenly the Elf who stood behind her spoke.

"And who are you?" Rei asked him.

"Isn't it quite rude to ask someone's name when you don't even introduce yourself." The Elf spoke coldly at him.

"Well right back at you, isn't it rude to welcome us with arrows above our heads?" Rei replied calmly.

The Elf glared, "This is how we welcome guests who don't have an appointment with our Kingdom, especially an uninvited guest like you."

"I see, I never thought Elves are that barbaric, pointing their weapon to welcome their guest like this"

"Compared to you humans, your way is far more barbaric."

Rei and the Elf suddenly created a spark as they exchanged words. It was unintentional, because the Elf started it first.

*THUNG*

Suddenly something tapped at Rei's helmet while the Elf got his cheek pulled by Ruru.

"Stop fighting." The one who tapped him was Iris, using her sheathed rapier.

"Onii-san, don't be so rude to my leader." Ruru scolded, it was surprising for them to know that this person was her brother.

"It wasn't even a fight." Rei grumbled.

"Well, to me, it looks like you are picking a fight with him." Iris commented.

"He started it first!" The Elf spoke defensively at Ruru.

"No, you started it first." Ruru chastised and kept pinching his cheek.

"Ugh...fine–I suppose that was really rude of me." the Elf sighed before looking at them.

"My name is Eindride Andor Viorgrand, the First Prince and the Royal Guard of the Elf Kingdom, Viorgrand...tell me yours now, uninvited human." Eindride introduced himself.

It didn't surprise Rei for sure, as he looked at him. "I am Crimson, C-class Adventurer."

"C-class?" Eindride suddenly stared at him with a scrutinizing look.

"It's best you don't lie to me." Eindride threatened as his expression suddenly changed into something more serious.

Rei tilted his head a bit, "What makes you say that."

"Don't play dumb...among you all, the strongest presence that I could feel is coming from you two, you and that little girl over there." Eindride pointed his finger at him then at Iris who stood behind him.

Silvi and Harson quickly covered her behind their backs.

'He even noticed me?' Iris was surprised that she was found out.

Rei could tell that, 'This guy is strong.'

"Do you think I am that dumb to believe you to be a C-class when you are that strong? Especially hiding such a monster."

"Hey! That's so rude!" Iris yelled at him.

"Heh, don't think that you and that little girl can deceive me!" Eindride shouted as the Elves who remained on stand by above the trees suddenly prepared their bow and arrow.

Rei quickly got into his stance.

"Stop! We are here not to fight!" Iris told him.

"Onii-san! I told you they are harmless!" Ruru yelled at her brother too.

"They pointed their weapons on us, if we just let them be...it just made us look like a pushover." Rei replied to Iris.

"I can't allow such a dangerous person like him loose...especially walking into our Kingdom, Rurua." Eindride spoke to her as he drew his sword from his waist.

Tense atmosphere fell upon them when they readied their weapons in their hands, until suddenly...

"Would you stop now, Ein."

Ruru and Eindride turned around as they saw an elf lady approaching them.

'Who?' Is the question that popped out in their head once they saw her.

While Rei was looking at her with surprise, '...when did she get here? I couldn't sense her presence at all.'

She was beautiful. The lady was gracefully walking towards them while wearing a silky white dress, on top of her head was a crown made from roots and flowers. On her hand is a wooden staff with a green orb on the edge of it.

The elf has blonde hair like the rest of them, but the difference between them all is that her eyes were bright golden.

"Onee-chan." Ruru called the Elf lady who turned out to be her older sister.

"Erna–no, my Queen." As Eindride called her as well, the elves suddenly knelt before her.

"We welcome...our Queen the Ruler of the Elf Kingdom, Viorgrand!"

An unexpected appearance made the team even more shocked. One by one, they just kept appearing and shocking everyone when they revealed their identity.

'First Ruru was the Princess...the other one was the Prince and now their sister is the Queen?! Why is it that the big shots are all here!' Rei thought, then he widened his eyes a bit when the Elf Queen made eye contact with him and a smile.

Rei blinked his eyes for a moment, 'Did she just look at me?'

"Ein...I told you to welcome our guest, but I never said to bring your army to hold them down here." The Elf Queen spoke.

"My apologies my Queen, but this is all necessary for the safety of our Kingdom, there are monsters hidden among them." Eindride defended.

"But it is still rude, we are the proud Elf...we must not lower ourselves to the level of humans." The Queen spoke.

"My apologies...my Queen!" Eindride heeded her words.

'Does she forget that the humans she talked about are here?' Rei felt insulted, but then his body flinched a bit when her eyes met with him again, and suddenly he felt chills down his spine

'W-why is she keep looking at me.'

The Elf Queen smiled at Ruru, "And welcome back, my cute little sister Rurua~"

Ruru flinched then lifted her head up, "O-onee-chan."

"Come here, my dear~" The Elf Queen spread her arms widely for her, Ruru hesitated for a split second before she ran towards her.

The two pulled each other into a warm embrace. The sisters finally reunited after so long.

"I'm sorry for leaving...I'm sorry..."

"It's okay...I know you had your reason."

"I miss you...Onee-chan...I miss you..."

Rei and the others couldn't help but put their weapon down at such a heartwarming scene.

Even Eindride sheathed his sword, followed by his army who put their arrows down.

They all just stood there and watched as the two sisters spent more time hugging each other.

*****

After a few more minutes of Ruru apologizing, the Elf Queen walked towards them.

"It seems I haven't introduced myself."

"My name is Erna Liv Viorgrand, I am the Queen of the Elf Kingdom, Viorgrand and the eldest sister of these two." Erna introduced herself.

But Rei stayed quiet and stepped back to let Iris take over his spot.

Iris bowed down her head, "My name is Iris May Welford, I am the Daughter of the Welford Family and the Envoy that was sent by the King of the Human Kingdom, Luxion." Iris introduced herself.

"I see~ what a brave little girl to go on this dangerous journey just to create an alliance with our Kingdom~" Erna praised her.

"Thank you for your kind words, my Queen~" Iris smiled as she replied to her praise.

Erna smiled then shifted her eyes at the man who stood behind her, "So then...may I ask who is the man standing beside you~"

Iris lifted her head and looked behind her. Rei pointed at himself.

"Me?"

"Who else I am asking~?"

"My apologies, I am just a lowly Adventurer who doesn't have an identity." Rei spoke to her while bowing his head.

"I never ask you that, what I just want is your name~"

Rei shifted his eyes up to meet her gaze without moving his head, "My name is Crimson...my Queen."

The Elf Queen–Erna nodded with her ever present smile, "I see, a name that befits you perfectly~"

'Befits me?' Rei thought of it before he answered her, "Thank you for your kind words." Rei replied.

"Then, how old are you?" Erna asked him another question.

Rei lifted his head up completely at her question, "Huh?"

"I am asking you, how old are you?"

"Uhhh...I cannot say." Rei answered, confused at the sudden question.

After that, another question was thrown at him "Now, where do you live?"

"I am a wanderer." Rei answered swiftly.

"Do you have a family?"

"No, I don't."

"How about a lover? Have you been in a relationship before?"

"I don't think I have."

"Why not? Despite being so handsome."

"I never said that."

"I see, then how about..."

The question kept on coming, Rei felt his anxiety growing slowly with her questions. Each of them was about his personal life, from age, family, lover, pet, everything that related to him.

The others were confused, from the Elves army and his own team who were standing behind them the whole time.

'What is this situation?' Eindride thought as he watched them from behind.

'Are they chatting?' Iris thought the same.

If they listen carefully, it's not a casual chat between two people who have never met before but more like an interrogation about his life. Erna didn't stop at this point.

"Ummm...my Queen?" Rei interrupted her before she could throw him another question.

"Yes?"

"Are we done? Because...we have taken up a lot of time here." Rei reminded her about her soldiers who were waiting for her orders and his team was still waiting for them to finish this question-answer session.

"Ara~ it seems that way." Erna rubbed her cheek as she smiled, as if she was enjoying that session a moment ago.

"My Queen." Eindride called her.

"Onee-chan." Even Ruru called her as well.

The two were staring at her as if they were confused and suspicious of her intentions to talk to this man whom she just met.

*CLAP*

Erna clapped both of her hands, "Now then, shall we proceed inside? I bet you all are tired from that long journey. Am I right, Iris-san?~"

Iris, who was in a daze as she watched Rei got questioned that much, snapped herself out of it when she was called by the Elf Queen.

"Y-yes!"

"Then~" Erna turned around as her face suddenly turned more serious. "They are now my Guests who came from the far Human Kingdom, Luxion! Which is why we must show them respect and the hospitality of the Elves. Escort us all, my army!" Erna ordered her army who were standing on those trees as they bowed their heads in response to her.

"Yes, our Queen!" They spoke simultaneously.

Iris felt relieved but at the same time found it weird when the Elf Queen was asking Rei so many questions there. But knowing she and the others finally able to walk into the Kingdom was a big relief.

They were escorted inside, passing through the forest and arriving at the front gate of the Kingdom.

A big white wall and a gate were revealed in front of them. It was large, larger than any trees around them, it's as if it was a dome now.

'Woah.' Rei widened his eyes seeing such things for the first time as the gate was opened for them.

*CLICK* *CREAKKK*

Erna, who stood in front of them, turned to the team with a smile. "Welcome to our Kingdom, [Viorgrand]."

After spending a lot of time walking through the mist, they finally arrived at the Kingdom where the Elves lived.

When they walked in, they were greeted with a very vast space filled with greenery inside of it. From bushes, giant trees and even flowers blooming all over the place.

The ground was covered with many tree veins with a big white road above it for them to walk and poles at the edge of the road that were attached with small lamps on top. There were houses that naturally attached to the big trees like they saw before coming here and they could see the Elf folks just living their ordinary life.

Most of them were leisurely taking a walk, shopping and even chatting, while the Elf kids could be seen playing and running around with wooden swords on their hands.

Although the atmosphere around here was filled with joy and smiles, it wasn't as crowded as the human city.

It was a calm and beautiful view.

The group began to walk towards the castle, escorted by the army.

"This is amazing." Rei commented as he followed Erna from behind.

She giggled, "Of course it is, it's a rare scenery for you humans."

"Here, we live with nature, we eat what nature gave us, and of course we return it by taking care of them."

"A mutual relationship." Rei replied.

"That's correct, we Elves have been living for so long and have maintained this land for more than thousands of years." Erna explained.

"Hmmmm...and somehow I could feel the air around here is different, it's more like fresh and filled–"

"With mana, yes...this place is where the pure and rich mana scattered around to keep the trees alive."

"And they all connected with that tree over there, am I right?" Rei mentioned as his eyes shifted towards the gigantic trees that enveloped the whole sky above them now.

"You are good at guessing, Crimson-san...I expected much from you." Erna spoke.

"I am nothing compared to your strength and wisdom that you are hiding, my Queen." Rei spoke while glancing at her.

"How rude of you–" Eindride suddenly grip the hilt of his sword.

*CLINK*

But Erna lifted her hand at him to stop him from doing it, "You are pretty sensitive and insensitive at the same time, Crimson-san."

"I am just stating the fact here and besides...I am indebted to you that we were able to avoid a blood bath before coming here." Rei spoke.

"That is true~ but you shouldn't be so tense, there's no enemy who would attack you out of nowhere, I promise you that." Erna spoke as she stopped her movement to look at Rei properly.

Rei stopped his movement as he looked upon her, "Is that true."

Erna smiled, "I can swear by my name as a Queen if you want."

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Suddenly her army and even Eindride who heard this looked at Rei.

Rei could feel the stare coming from them, and sighed. "You don't have to." He spoke to her.

"Heh~ I am joking. However, everything that I said to you is true, so don't worry~" Erna spoke while she started to walk again, followed by her army.

Rei sighed seeing her guiding them again, but he felt another stare upon him. Rei looked to his side and saw Iris looking at him curiously.

"Is there something wrong?" Rei asked her.

Iris flinched a bit with his question, "Hm? O-oh it's nothing."

"Really?"

"Y-yeah, but like—have you ever met her before?"

"Before? I just met her today."

"But...she sounds like she knows you, and the way she kept asking those questions was a bit..." Iris trailed off, keeping it somewhat vague on purpose.

"I bet she is just curious. How is she able to know when the whole Kingdom is filled with barriers that could mess up your mind and sense of direction."

"T-that's true." Iris looked straight ahead. Her heart continued to beat fast and whenever he talked to her, she felt pain in her heart.

It was a weird feeling. But after thinking about it, she realized that it was jealousy.

"Maybe you are just nervous about this alliance thing, but I know you can do it since you are the smartest person that I have ever met in my entire life." Rei spoke to her as they kept walking.

Iris glanced at him again, looking a bit surprised, "E-entire life? But we just met not too long ago."

"Hmmm...yeah."

Weirdly enough, the mood slowly lightened her heart and she smiled, "You're really weird."

"Am I?!" Rei looked shocked.

"That's what shocked you?!" Iris looked at him in utter bafflement as they continued to follow Erna to the castle.

******

After a few more minutes, they arrived at their destination. A large white castle that was attached with a giant tree behind it. The tree seemed to be larger than any other trees around them but still smaller in comparison to the other one behind it.

Nevertheless, this might be the biggest castle he ever saw in his life.

"Woah." Rei was amazed once again, compared to the white walls around them, this is much more extravagant looking.

The gate to the castle was opened by the guards on the gate, welcoming their Queen and her guests to follow her from behind.

When they walked inside, the hall was bigger and wider than they thought, furthermore the ceiling is much higher and probably taller than those trees outside of the castle.

As they walked past the hall with many pillars on either side of them, they finally arrived at the throne room.

Her army quickly stood on the sides, making a path for her and her brother and sister who's walking side by side.

Rei and the others could only follow them from behind until they were stopped by two of her soldiers so that Erna, Ruru and Eindride could take a seat that had been prepared for them.

Rei let Iris stand to lead them as they all get on their knees.

"Now then! I will introduce myself once again."

"I am Erna Liv Viorgrand the Queen and the 164th Ruler of the Elf Kingdom, Viorgrand, has graced my presence upon you, the envoy from the human Kingdom."

"May I ask, what is your name little girl~" Erna suddenly acted like a ruler, no longer the easy-going elf queen that they met before coming to the castle.

Iris couldn't help but smile and play along, "I am Iris May Welford, the Daughter of Duke Welford and the Envoy that was sent by his majesty the King from Luxion."

Erna smiled, "I assume you want to create an alliance between Viorgrand and Luxion, yes?"

"Yes, my Queen." Iris spoke.

"On what purpose you want to do that."

"Of course...for the peace of our Kingdom and yours, my Queen."

"Your words are honorable and I acknowledge your bravery, but unfortunately right now it's not the right time to create an alliance, Iris-kun, especially when we have our own personal affairs to take care of." Erna explained.

"So I cannot accept the alliance right now." Erna explained. It made the team feel anxious at this moment, hoping that Iris had some hidden cards in her sleeve.

"I know it very well, and I know that the timing couldn't be much better to propose a deal."

Erna lifted one of her eyebrows when she heard her words, "A deal? What kind of deal?"

"A deal that will benefit you and your Kingdom of course."

Erna looked at her suspiciously, "Hmmm...and what's in it for you?"

Iris suddenly smiled, "Of course, there's none."

Erna knitted her brows in confusion at her words, a deal that only benefits one party, not both of them.

"Then let me listen to it."

Iris lifted her head, "I want you to make a quest."

"A quest?"

"Yes, a quest like you put on Adventurer Guild with rewards in mind."

"I see...what kind of quest." Erna asked curiously.

Iris smiled as if she had fallen into the trap she just laid down, "Of course, allow me and my Adventurers...to defeat the Monsters that occupied the West and East, my Queen."

Eindride and Erna widened their eyes when they heard her request.

Erna rose up from her seat in surprise, "W-what did you just say?!"

However she managed to collect herself shortly after that. She cleared her throat, sitting down to her seat as her expression turned into something that was more serious.

"You do know...that your words are simply outrageous."

"Is that so, my queen? I'm afraid I found it to be nothing too outrageous."

Erna sighed, "My entire life being a Queen, I never had this kind of conversation..."

"My, thank you for your compliment~"

"It's not a compliment. But regarding what you just said...it does benefit us to establish this alliance."

"But for several years, none ever defeated these monsters that appeared out of nowhere. We have even lost some of our most precious soldiers to those things." Erna spoke while tapping her finger at her throne.

"Another thing, these monsters cannot be considered as normal...and you might not know about it." Erna explained.

"I am aware, my Queen."

"You knew? And you still want to do it despite knowing that these are [Unique] and [Named] monsters?!"

'[Named]?' Rei blinked as he repeated the word in his head.

To be continued…