417: Ilz, the City of the Tree

“It’s so massive it could easily fit an entire small country inside.”

“Of course it can! Ilz—the most important city of the elves—is built right against the trunk of the World Tree. If you look down from the tree’s branches, the city looks like a tiny toy tucked at the roots.”

“Wow, really...... That’s incredible. It wasn’t this big the last time I saw it. Now it’s truly fully grown.”

“?”

A confused question mark seemed to pop above Ignir’s head.

“Last time? What nonsense are you spouting, Hulim? The World Tree has always been this big.”

“Um...... Never mind. I was just rambling.”

“?? Hmph~. You’re such a weirdo sometimes, Hulim.”

“......?”

“Oh, right—speaking of things that don’t matter, like whether the World Tree changed size or not——”

Ignir’s huge golden slit pupils drew closer to Hulim, fixing her with a curious gaze.

“I didn’t really notice until now...... Your hair has gotten longer.”

“Has it?”

Hulim frowned in confusion, brushing a strand of hair over her shoulder. Only then did she realize it had grown long enough to reach her back without her noticing.

“Oh, it really has......”

She thought for a moment, then figured out why.

“Huh. I guess I was so caught up in training that I totally forgot about it. I’ll cut it later.”

“Why would you cut it? It looks great like this.”

“Because long hair gets in the way, obviously.”

“Does it?”

Ignir looked genuinely puzzled.

“But Lady Irus has long hair too, doesn’t she?”

“Irus is Irus, and I’m me. Ugh, whatever—I’ll just cut it myself.”

With that, Hulim reached for Helkem, which was lying beside her.

“What do you think you’re cutting?”

A voice suddenly sounded behind her.

Hulim froze mid-movement and turned around.

“Oh, Lady Irus.”

Ignir scrambled to his feet in a hurry.

“Irus?”

Hulim stared in surprise as Irus—who’d somehow snuck up behind her—stood there with a wide, mischievous grin.

“My hair’s gotten a bit too long, so I was going to cut it shorter.”

Hulim replied honestly.

“You can’t do that!!!”

Irus’s face went pale, as if the sky were about to fall.

She dropped to her knees in an instant, grabbing Hulim’s right hand before it could touch Helkem. She spoke in a dramatically “anxious” tone,

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“I finally managed to distract you into forgetting about this! Don’t suddenly remember now!”

“......Huh?”

Ah——

So that’s why I completely overlooked my hair growing out. She was messing with my head this whole time.

“Why would you do something like that, Irus?”

“Because, because......” Irus pouted, putting on an exaggeratedly “wronged” expression. “Because Hulim looks way cuter with long hair~!”

“?”

“Ah, no...... I-I mean, just don’t cut it, please! Look how adorable you are right now!”

“......”

Hulim stared speechlessly at the S-Rank powerhouse acting like a spoiled brat in front of her.

In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to argue with her.

She sighed in resignation.

“Fine, fine. I won’t cut it. Now will you please act normal?”

“It’s a promise! Ugh, I was so careful tiptoeing around this for weeks. If I’d known you’d give in this easily, I wouldn’t have bothered going through all that trouble~!”

The pathetic, misty-eyed look vanished from her face in the blink of an eye, replaced by a bright, beaming smile. Irus’s lightning-fast mood swing left Hulim utterly dumbfounded.

“......Can I take that back?”

“Nuh-uh——! Good little girls keep their promises~!”

“......”

Hulim fell completely silent, resigning herself to her fate with a mental sigh.

Whatever. It’s not that big of a hassle. I guess I’ll just get used to this new look......

“Lady Irus.”

Just then, Sylvia approached, followed by a large group of Federation soldiers.

“Oh, you’ve got everything ready?”

Irus asked, her tone shifting back to its usual calm.

“Yes, my lady. We’re ready to depart whenever you are.”

“Hmm——”

Irus tapped her chin, pretending to think deeply.

Then she broke into a grin.

“Well then, no time to waste! Let’s get moving!”

A few minutes later.

Whoosh——!

A fierce gust of wind swept across the grassy hillside as the crimson dragon spread his wings and soared into the sky.

Behind him, a squadron of Indam soldiers rode atop their flying mounts, escorted by knights from the Griffin Knight Order.

Wintermoon Hill grew smaller and smaller behind them, while the colossal trunk of the World Tree loomed larger and larger in their field of vision.

They flew for what felt like an eternity.

Then, a city built at the base of the World Tree’s roots came into view. Its towering spires glimmered brilliantly in the light filtering through the tree’s branches, casting a magnificent, otherworldly glow over everything.

They had arrived at Ilz, the City of the Tree—the capital of the elven kingdom of Ravenrim.

......

“ROAR!”

The dragon’s thunderous roar echoed across the skies of Ilz.

Thwack!

“Ow!”

“Ignir, didn’t I tell you not to roar like that once we’re inside the city?”

“It was a reflex...... And Hulim, can’t you hit me a little softer? Your punches hurt more every time!”

“It was a reflex.”

“......”

“What? You got a problem with that?”

“Nope...... Just suddenly missing how cute you used to be before you started hitting dragons.”

Thwack——!

“OWIE——!”

Whoosh!

A gust of wind stirred up the stone tiles of the aerial plaza as the crimson dragon landed with a heavy thud.

Flap! Flap! Flap......

The sound of beating wings filled the air as the rest of the Indam Federation forces touched down one after another.

Waiting for them ahead stood a large group of elves.

There were elven nobles dressed in royal finery, high priests of the Seven Days Church in their sacred vestments, and elven knights clad in gleaming armor.

Elegant and graceful in their formal attire, every one of them exuded the refined, ethereal aura of the true elves of legend.

One glance was all it took to think, This is what an elf is supposed to look like.

“Hulim, I have a feeling you’re thinking something mean about me. But I don’t have any proof.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Once all the Federation delegates had dismounted from their flying mounts,

the elf who appeared to be the current elven king stepped forward and spoke slowly, his voice ringing out clearly,

“Welcome, honored friends of the Indam Federation! And——”

With that, the elven king Inulson dropped to one knee. Behind him, every single elf followed suit, bowing their heads in unison.

“We welcome your return, Holy Maiden!”

“Rise, everyone.”

“As you command.”

The elves rose to their feet once more.

“Auntie Irus!”

Suddenly, a small elven girl darted out from the crowd, bounding over to Irus and throwing her arms around her in a tight hug.

“Prarlulu missed you so much!”

“Wait, Prarlulu——!”

The elven king’s face turned ashen.

“What do you think you’re doing? Get back here at once!”

“Umm......”

The elven girl’s shoulders drooped, her face twisting into a pitiful pout.

“Alright, alright.” Irus ruffled Prarlulu’s hair affectionately, then turned to King Inulson with a smile. “Don’t scold Prarlulu like that, Brother Inulson. She’s just excited to see me—there’s no harm in that.”

“This......”

King Inulson was left tongue-tied, finally sighing in resignation.

“As you wish, Holy Maiden.”

“Ahem.”

The elven archbishop of the Seven Days Church cleared his throat, his tone solemn and formal.

“Holy Maiden, this is not the time for childish reunions. Please ask the young lady to return to her place.”

“Right.” Inulson quickly nodded in agreement. “Holy Maiden, please come with us, along with our distinguished guests from afar. We shall escort you to the royal palace.”

“Hmm......”

Irus sighed, then knelt down and smiled, gently patting Prarlulu’s head.

“Prarlulu, how about we catch up once we’re at the palace? Okay?”