When the elf mentioned they were almost there, Leon quietly summoned his magic sword through his consciousness.

"Are you still not going to say anything?"

[...]

But the magic sword remained silent, no matter how many times Leon called it.

'Is it planning to stay quiet until I receive the branch of the World Tree?'

Leon decided not to push the conversation further.

He didn’t want to engage in unnecessary bickering with the magic sword. After all, it wasn’t like he couldn’t use the sword; it wasn’t a major problem for now.

‘I really wish there was a way to fully control this sword.’

As they neared the vicinity of the Elven Forest, the elves became notably more silent. They looked far more tense than Leon and Erika.

Returning to their homeland after a year of running away, especially after being captured by slave traders and now coming back with humans, wasn’t an easy situation for them to navigate. Leon understood their predicament, so he refrained from unnecessary chatter and quietly followed their lead.

Before long, sounds of movement came from the thick foliage ahead of them.

"Stop."

A clear male voice rang out.

Leon instinctively sensed the flow of multiple mana sources ahead. Just as he prepared to cast a defensive spell, the flow of mana abruptly halted.

"Jeren... Princess?"

The owner of the voice pushed through the bushes and revealed himself.

It was an elf, a man with long silver hair faintly tinged with green, though the green was much lighter than Ariella’s.

"Why are you with humans, Princess?"

The male elf's cold expression grew harder.

"Could it be... Are you being threatened...?"

"Fez, it’s nothing like that."

Before the elf called Fez could jump to any strange conclusions, Ariella quickly intervened.

"These people saved us. I invited them here myself."

Fez, still confused, asked again.

"Invited? You mean, they saved you...?"

"I'll explain everything once we're in the village."

Fez looked like he wanted to ask more questions but held back and instead shifted his gaze to Leon and his companions standing behind Ariella.

"Are you saying you're bringing all these humans with you?"

"They are as good as benefactors, so there's no need to be so wary."

"..."

Fez’s expression remained suspicious, but without further comment, he gestured with his hand. Immediately, several other elves dressed in green garments woven from leaves and branches appeared. Each of them was holding ancient-looking staffs, and the mana that had gathered around them dissipated into the air. They had been ready to cast spells but canceled them.

Fez, too, put his staff behind his back and spoke slowly.

"You know very well that we cannot allow humans into the forest, Princess."

Ariella’s face showed a hint of guilt as she responded.

"I'll explain it properly to my grandfather."

Fez deliberated for a long while before nodding with a stern expression, as though suppressing a deep sigh.

"Since you say they are your benefactors, escort them to the inner area. And Jeren... stay here with me for a while."

"...Yes."

Jeren nodded with a darkened expression. As Ariella gave her a concerned look, Jeren shook her head and smiled, as if to assure her that she was fine.

Fez stayed behind with Jeren, while the other elves followed his orders and surrounded Leon and his group, guiding them deeper into the forest in silence.

Before long, thick branches blocked their path.

The leading elf touched the branches with his staff, and the branches shifted smoothly, forming a path.

The elf led the group through.

Once they had all passed through, the branches entwined again, blocking the way behind them, while a new path opened ahead. Powerful currents of mana swirled around them.

‘Is this a transportation spell?’

Leon was mildly intrigued by the unusual magic. It was different from the magic he knew, entangled with the forces of nature.

Finally, as they passed through the last of the branches, a massive village unfolded before them.

The scene was completely different from the dense forest they had been walking through.

The space was vast, filled with enormous trees standing in rows, with countless houses built along their branches. The entire area had the appearance of a village nestled high within the trees.

And in the distance, towering far above, stood one colossal tree. It pierced through the clouds, so immense that describing it as simply "large" didn’t do it justice.

This tree had been completely invisible from the surrounding areas.

"Is that... the World Tree?"

At Erika’s comment, the elves all turned their gaze to her.

Feeling their unfriendly stares, Erika quickly fell silent.

The elves resumed their quiet walk, and Leon's group continued to follow them.

 

The elves’ attention turned to Leon and his group.

As they entered the village, more and more elves gathered, whispering to each other. The unfamiliar sight of humans seemed to spark their curiosity.

As Leon and his group made their way deeper into the village, even more elves came out to see them, and the presence of the princess drew an even larger crowd, causing a commotion to grow.

Suddenly, an older-looking male elf stepped in front of Leon's group.

Though he showed no signs of age, his presence carried a distinct air of gravity. The elves who recognized him naturally stepped back.

He approached Leon’s group slowly, and the elf leading them greeted him with a tense expression.

"The princess has returned safely."

The male elf pondered this for a moment before asking in a calm voice, though his gaze never shifted to Ariella.

"Hmm, and the ones behind her... they’re humans, aren’t they?"

"They are... people the princess brought with her herself."

Hearing this, the elf rubbed his eyes tiredly.

It was clear that even here, Ariella was regarded as somewhat of a reckless princess. Leon couldn't help but feel slightly out of place.

After standing in silence for a while, the man finally turned his gaze to Ariella.

"At least you’ve returned safely. But these humans...?"

Ariella quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Leon’s group.

"I’m sorry for leaving the village without permission, and I regret returning without any notice. But these people are my benefactors. Please don’t treat them too harshly."

The male elf hesitated for a moment.

His long ears twitched slightly, and then, with a sigh, he spoke again.

"Lord Abel has been worried. He says to bring you in."

"My father... I see."

Ariella lowered her head as she continued.

"I will explain everything to him properly. These people—"

"He says to bring them in as well."

At those words, Ariella glanced over at Leon. Leon silently nodded in response. He had already anticipated meeting someone of high rank after bringing a member of the royal family.

‘It seems we're even less welcome than I expected.’

Thinking about it, Leon figured they were already being treated fairly well, considering they hadn’t been imprisoned immediately.

Leon followed the elf who was guiding them deeper into the village.

Soon, they arrived in front of a towering tree. A house, built upon its branches, stood above them.

As they stood before the tree, its branches moved on their own, approaching the group.

The male elf naturally stepped onto the branches, and Leon and his companions followed.

The branches encircled them as though alive and carried them up to the house nestled among the branches.

Once at the door, the male elf knocked.

"Captain, I’ve brought the princess."

A cold voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Leon and Ariella entered the house together.

Inside, a man who had been sitting at a desk slowly rose to his feet.

He was a male elf with a cold, expressionless face, and his sharp features only heightened his frosty demeanor.

Though he, like the others, didn’t appear to age, Leon had no doubt this was Ariella’s father. They looked close enough to be siblings.

His piercing gaze fixed on Ariella. She instinctively lowered her head, then hesitantly raised it again.

"Are your childish games finally over?"

"...I apologize for leaving without permission."

"I don’t see any hint of remorse in that apology."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"...I don’t regret it. I’ve told you before."

He pondered her words for a moment before giving a bitter smile.

"I seem to recall giving you permission, didn’t I?"

"You didn’t permit me to take a group of warriors like that."

He didn’t argue with her but merely nodded, though his expression remained cold.

"So you didn’t come back because you wanted to?"

It seemed he had already discerned Ariella’s true intentions.

His gaze then shifted to Leon.

Sensing it, Ariella quickly spoke up.

"When I was captured by slave traders in the human world, these people saved me."

"Slave traders?"

The coldness in his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he asked again, his voice tense.

"Did you say slave traders?"

"...Yes."

His expression hardened, and the chill in his demeanor deepened.

He kept looking at Ariella, as if the reality of her near-enslavement hadn’t fully sunk in.

"You were nearly made a slave in the human world?"

"I wasn’t actually enslaved, thanks to these people..."

Ariella carefully added, but it seemed her words didn’t reach him. His expression remained rigid.

The male elf who had guided Leon’s group also looked grim, his lips sealed tightly.

The air in the room grew heavy.

Ariella’s father remained silent for a long while before speaking in a low voice.

"And you still don’t regret it...?"

"...I have no regrets about wandering the human world."

Ariella stood her ground, her stubbornness matching her father’s. She didn’t retreat, despite her tense posture.

Leon watched the exchange quietly. He had refrained from using any detection spells, not wanting to disrupt the conversation.

Despite the tension, he wasn’t too worried.

The reaction Ariella’s father had shown—a disbelief mixed with repeated questioning—gave Leon a sense of certainty.

That reaction was mixed with a father’s concern for his child.

In the end, the conversation between Ariella and her father seemed more like a family argument than anything else.

As Leon quietly observed, Ariella’s father finally turned his attention toward him. Leon could sense a subtle probing of his mana, as if the elf was trying to gauge his power.

Leon responded by slowly raising his mana, attempting to assess the elf’s strength in return.

At that moment, the male elf who had guided them stepped forward, visibly tense.

"Using magic recklessly will—"

But Ariella’s father raised a hand to stop him.

"No, let him."

At his words, the male elf fell silent and stepped back.

Leon continued raising his mana, casting a detection spell. As expected, he couldn’t fully measure the elf’s power.

Given that his grandfather was the king of the elves, it was only natural that his son would hold such authority, both in power and status.

After assessing Leon’s abilities, the elf raised an eyebrow and asked.

"You seem young, yet your abilities are quite impressive. So, why did you follow my daughter here?"