Chapter 67 – The Right Posture (2)
‘It seems like things are getting bigger, but it’s fine. I anticipated this.’
Irilia, waiting for the results from Ethan, was staring at the floor with a stiff face. After meeting with the Elves, she had been acting cheerfully, but looking back, the tasks she had done until now were not trivial matters.
Due to her involvement, the Elves had completed the formation of an alliance that had never occurred in their tribe’s history, where all clans gathered in one place.
Moreover, she had started to intervene with the Church of Light as well. If the High Priest Leber, supported by her, won the faction fight, it would be difficult for Leber to refuse her words in the future.
Furthermore, she was now in a situation where she could become involved in the internal affairs of the Narian Kingdom, which could be the first to form a relationship with the Elves if things went south.
“Is it really certain? Even if he’s a powerful figure, for a minister of the kingdom to do something like that…”
“You never know who might be listening, and he said it himself; at least we can be sure he’s wearing a mask normally.”
Lila shuddered when she entered the room and saw the dark expression on Irilia’s face. The information conveyed by the wind spirit indicated a wicked plot against the Elves, and the perpetrator was none other than a minister of the kingdom and a high-ranking noble.
Of course, since the wind spirit simply relayed something the target had carelessly said, it wasn’t clear if that statement about attacking the Elves was just bluster or a serious plan.
“The organization will report back with the results soon. We will judge based on that.”
Irilia said it wasn’t confirmed yet, but in truth, she had already steeled herself in her heart. If the other party really turned hostile, there would be no other choice.
‘The more I poke around, the harder it becomes to deny things.’
Though there were justifications for everything, she did not want to contribute to the absurd misunderstanding that she was acting like a shadow controlling the affairs of the world. Unless it was a necessary task related to preventing despair in this world, what she was dealing with now was something she could very well avoid.
“Did the results arrive?”
The power held by the organization in the capital of this kingdom was quite considerable. Less than two days after Irilia’s contact, the organization had placed a report at the designated location.
After retrieving it, she calmly read through the document. And as she read, she couldn’t help but show her emotions as her smooth brows began to crease.
*
“It’s late, Your Excellency.”
“I couldn’t help but be late. The whole kingdom is in turmoil, and nearly everyone is focused on it.”
In the grand mansion in the kingdom’s capital, the owner of this mansion was Frank Medis, the Grand Lord of the kingdom and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He chuckled at the words of the butler, who bowed politely as he returned to the mansion late at night. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, after all.
With the Elves forming a unified power and the official delegation currently staying with the royal family in the capital, he couldn’t help but have many more responsibilities.
“You took longer than expected. It was quite a wait.”
“Everyone was determined to wait. They could have left.”
As he went to a room in the corner of the mansion, he found several people already waiting, giggling while holding their glasses.
Although they were all nobles, many were of a lower rank compared to Frank, who was a high noble.
Still, Frank, unlike usual, mingled freely with their unrestrained behavior.
“The king seems to be quite interested in the Elves.”
“Ah, isn’t the queen’s position currently vacant? The young king, soon to be a man, might be smitten by their beauty—after all, female Elves are famous for it.”
When Frank brought up the topic of Elves casually, someone among them chuckled and responded.
“Queen? Don’t joke about that. Do you really want to have an ageless monster as your queen?”
Some people began to scowl, reprimanding their comrade. The one who had spoken while drunk had taken note of their reactions.
“Let’s not respond too sensitively; it wasn’t a serious comment. But Melchis, as you know, such jokes are fit for a tavern filled with lowlifes. Elves are merely… livestock for breeding.”
Frank interjected to mediate, but the mood had inevitably dampened a bit. Seeing this, Frank scoffed.
“They say the Elves are making a fuss about the erosion and claiming we need to unite to deal with it.”
One of them discreetly changed the subject, and a ripple of commotion spread among them at the mention of erosion.
Certainly, the phenomenon known as erosion, reported across the continent, was a real threat. It was widely known that Renia, a beastman mage and scholar, claimed it was a process leading to the world’s end that had been ongoing since ancient times.
“What a funny notion. If that really is the end, it’s an opportunity to sweep away what does not belong in this world—like those Elves.”
Frank faintly raised the corners of his mouth. It was certain that the curse of corruption, for some reason, did not affect ‘humans.’
It wasn’t so much a privilege granted to humans, but more of a penalty given primarily to those influenced by the curse upon the tower. Yet, they couldn’t possibly know of the events that happened 10,000 years ago, which left no record.
“Opportunity, yes. This is our chance. At last, the time for our oath to be revealed to the world has come.”
Frank’s eyes sparkled as he clenched his fist.
“For this world belongs solely to humans.”
“We’ll start with the Elves first. We’ll make them regret daring to emerge in this world.”
The others also resolved themselves with determined expressions and proclaimed their unity.
They were the extremist faction of human supremacy that spread across the continent, believing that all non-human races should be expelled from this world.
“…What a sight.”
And at the moment they solemnly raised their glasses in oath, a young girl, wearing a hood, was scratching her long pointed ears as if she had just pulled a thorn out and was standing under the mansion’s wall where the breeze softly blew, leading to a dark alley.
“I can hardly believe it. The head of the Medis family is an extremist xenophobe. This might reveal the truth behind the mysterious disappearances of non-humans that often occur in the capital.”
“It’s not impossible. After all, the Elves themselves tried to distant themselves from humans until just recently.”
Irilia, who had come out directly to ascertain the reality, chuckled at Ethan’s words.
“But if they’re a hindrance, it can’t be helped. Moreover, their attitude towards the erosion is frivolous to a fault, so they must be swept away.”
Although it was an unexpected hindrance, it didn’t matter. Since she had caught onto it early, she could prepare and sweep them aside in reverse.
‘Foolish creatures. They don’t even know who they’re opposing.’
Ethan swallowed hard at her words. He thought that bowing his head and getting under her wing when they first met had been a wise decision.
“Then does that mean our organization doesn’t need to take separate measures?”
“Isn’t there already a lot to do at the moment?”
“Right. The organization is rapidly expanding under my leadership. This is to secure locations where exchanges with the Elves are expected.”
Information equates to money. Someone like Ethan definitely understood that.
The entire process of Irilia stirring things up in the world was, in a way, that very information. Ethan was the first to realize that the Elves would send a delegation.
Thanks to this, Ethan was already preemptively securing potential trading cities with the Elves across the continent to reap the profits.
“Knowing something in advance means there will be a financial return in some way. If Leber’s faction is already confirmed to win in the internal faction battles of the Church, I would make an enormous profit there, knowing results that our organization hadn’t even contemplated until now.”
Although the organization originally expanded across a single kingdom, Ethan aimed to traverse the entire continent alongside Irilia. No matter how solid the organization was, it was now comparable to the internationally renowned trading companies. Moreover, all the money and networks gained in this way would be directly passed on to Irilia’s power.
“Not bad.”
Having somewhat resolved her mind, she reacted to this fact rather unreservedly. After all, there was no reason to refuse an increase in wieldable power.
“I’ve changed my mind. If possible, help me with this matter. I want all potential hindrances removed in one sweep.”
Such facts were gradually changing her mindset. Where she would have stayed back in the past, now she found ample reason to step forward.
