A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

97 – Scheming

“So… what did they capture?”

“An elf. If you think of dark skin, it should be called a dark elf.”

“A dark elf? In the middle of Lord Elond’s territory?”

“Yes.”

I stared at Seorik with a bewildered expression.

“An elf… Let’s go see first.”

I scratched my head and hurriedly followed Seorik to the guard’s prison. In the guard’s prison, emergency anti-mana magic circles set up by the magicians hastily brought in from the nearby Matap were shining brightly. And in the middle, there was a being I had never seen before, sitting hesitantly.

Long hair.

Beautiful appearance.

Pointed ears.

Yet at the same time, a very arrogant and fierce expression.

But looking at the bruises and scratch marks all over the body, and the underlying shock and fear behind that fierce expression, it seemed like the being was extremely shocked about being subdued.

“What crime was she arrested for?”

“They tried to subjugate Chertu as a spirit.”

“As a spirit? Why?”

“It’s said they were trying to inquire about the location of the World Tree. When they reported to Lord Randor and asked for a response, they attempted to forcibly subdue Chertu, and in the process, it seems they had no choice but to resort to armed suppression.”

“Any casualties or injuries?”

“Three suffered minor injuries. Nothing serious. But…”

Seoric brought me a handful of crumpled large-caliber cartridges, showing me. I looked silently at the dozens of bullets, then asked Seoric a question.

“All this was fired just to subdue that one person?”

“Yes. As you can see, he took a bit of a beating, but he endured.”

“Even with the assistance of the Aquarians?”

“They held out for more than ten minutes. It’s not their usual combat prowess.”

“True. With a hundred of those guys gathering, they could easily conquer a city. They’re monsters.”

The signs of a tattered development begin to show. If those elves swarm in, Karamba and Ailam will have to fight with all their might to barely hold their own.

Naturally, it was crucial to accurately understand the current situation.

It was also necessary to find out why they had come.

“I’d like to have a little chat. Those magic circles are secure, right?”

“Even if they’re elves, they won’t be able to wield spirits or anything within those magic circles. Feel free to converse.”

“Thank you.”

I entered the prison. Others withdrew, leaving only me and the elven male in the room. His gaze was sharp as it fell on me.

“You’re quite the Celestial, aren’t you. I heard you foolish Celestials haven’t changed, but your combat abilities have increased significantly.”

His tone conveyed a growl. Wounded pride and surprise were clearly transmitted. But fundamentally, I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

I furrowed my brow at him, then realized I couldn’t cast translation magic due to the magic circles and clapped my hands.

“Can we leave everything else the same and just cast the translation magic on the mouth area to lower the level of suppression?”

“No problem.”

The light of the magic circle weakened slightly, and soon the elf cast translation magic on his mouth and continued the conversation with me.

“You’ll make me regret what you’ve done to me. Celestial.”

“I may be a Celestial, but that doesn’t mean you have a reason to disrespect us. Nice to meet you. If you hadn’t come off so rough, I would have greeted you much more politely.”

“Release me immediately.”

“I can’t do that. I’m quite important in the Empire. It would be inconvenient if something were to happen to me.”

“You seem to be quite a powerful figure among the Celestials. In that case, you should release me even more. You don’t want the entire Celestial race to suffer extermination because of your actions!”

“Extermination. Is it safe to assume that the elves are planning a war against us?”

I looked at her with a smile on my face. Honestly, the elves were formidable opponents. It was obvious that if an army of powerful spirit sorcerers invaded us, it would be a tough fight.

But that didn’t mean we had to surrender without a fight.

Human technology had advanced, and we had the protection of the seven dragons.

Of course, those stubborn creatures who never listened and were a pain in the neck would only move when the Empire was in real trouble, but still.

“Yes! I can even sacrifice all of you if necessary! If you don’t want war, release me now and take me to the World Tree!”

“I understand two things. Your talk of war is a lie. And you’re in a great hurry.”

The elf’s expression turned pale. But even so, she was desperate.

“It’s not a lie. If you don’t release me, the wrath of our tribe will…”

“Do you know what level of combat power we possess? You shouldn’t have said that we, who subdued you so easily, would easily wipe out humanity. It’s clear. Your desperate position, threatening us with such absurdity just to meet the World Tree, is quite evident.”

The elf’s eyes shook.

“In the name of Danmyeongjong!…

Why would the esteemed Jangsaengjong need to urgently meet the World Tree like this? Since the World Tree grew on our land, we should also know your intentions.”

“You know nothing! Release me immediately to the World Tree!…”

I burst into laughter at her appearance.

“Do not raise your voice so high. It seems quite obvious. If you have no intention of speaking, rest here for a few days. When you feel like sharing, come find me again. My name is Randor. Lord Jangsaengjong.”

“You insolent fool! You look like a greasy lump of lard! Release me at once! Me!…”

Ignoring her words, I left the prison.

And I had to rub the back of my neck while sighing.

“One problem after another. How can things go wrong so quickly?…”

“What should we do?”

“For now, I will inform His Majesty. Keep a close watch on that prisoner. We may be able to use their urgency to our advantage. Let them stew in the prison for a few days; they might spill their secrets out of haste.”

Seorik chuckled and nodded.

“Even depriving them of using the restroom can be a form of torture. hahahaha!”

“Express it… in a similar way. Keep an eye on them here. Understood?”

“Of course.”

After saying that, I headed towards the teleportation station. It was to report this to the Emperor.

But to cut to the chase, I couldn’t use the teleport that day.

“Randor.”

“Yes. What’s the matter?”

“It’s reported that a member of the Iron Blood Legion guarding the World Tree in Rimnakal Plain was attacked. Two elves carried out the assault.”

“What? Any casualties?”

“No casualties, but four injuries. They were shot down by heavily armed machine guns. They are currently subdued at the garrison in Rimnakal Plain. His Majesty is urgently teleporting to Rimnakal Plain.”

Since the Emperor went to Rimnakal Plain to report, I had no choice but to go there as well.

It was a day where humans encountered three elves, a sight unseen for thousands of years.

If the Dark Elves were coffee,

These beings in front of us were the cream of the crop.

“You seem to hold some authority. Release us immediately. Mother Tree must be observed.”

“I cannot do that. You attacked us. You must explain the reason for the attack and why you seek the World Tree.”

“There’s no need to inform the Danmyeongjong vultures. Unless you want an all-out war with the Elven race, release us now.”

“As I mentioned, that is not possible.”

“Making foolish choices. Fine. If you truly seek destruction, I won’t stop you.”

“If you would tell us now why you came…”

“Mixing words with Danmyeongjong vultures tarnishes the tongue. If you won’t release us, go away. Remember this: by capturing us, you have hastened your own demise.”

Unlike the Dark Elves, the Elves with pale skin simply stared at us with a look that seemed like they were ready to kill, full of contempt and disgust. Naturally, their gaze was filled with disdain and loathing, as if they were looking at giant bugs.

Since they wouldn’t speak even if we did, we had no choice.

“Report on the battle situation.”

“Two elves approached the World Tree, and the outer defense forces spotted them. They tried to stop them, but the elves didn’t listen and attempted to attack. We used machine guns, rifles, and summoned humanoid combat mages to subdue them. We had to engage in combat for about 15 minutes, even enduring hundreds of bullets.”

“…Serious.”

Adran furrowed his brow while touching his temple. When the Emperor gestured for me to go out, the white officer who reported bowed and then disappeared.

“Never did I think such an incident would occur shortly after the tree’s appearance. And all of them so aggressive.”

The elves were more arrogant than I had imagined. Filled with a sense of privilege, they showed no consideration for other races.

“At the end of every sentence, ‘Dark Elf’ this, ‘High Elf’ that… Do they really want a war?”

Karia growled in displeasure, but I shook my head.

“That’s not it. Your Majesty, even in the Elond Viscounty, there is a Dark Elf captured.”

“In the Elond Viscounty?”

“Yes. I even had a conversation with him. I was heading up to report to Your Majesty when I ended up coming to the Limnakal Plains. Him, the two elves we captured here, they all seemed urgent, didn’t they?”

“Urgent?”

“The Dark Elf demanded to be released immediately under an unreasonable threat, and the White Elves didn’t attempt dialogue but launched an attack outright. And consistently demanded to be released. Release them, or they will perish. They are resorting to absurd threats only.”

“Why do you think that is?”

At Adran’s words, I bowed my head in thought.

My mind spun quickly.

If it were a world with a status window,

[SSS-level skill ＜Cunning Trickery of the Sly Fox＞ is operating at maximum speed!]

A similar phrase would have come to mind.

Before long, I could derive an interesting hypothesis.

“Your Majesty, I’ve thought of a way to get them to reveal their true intentions. This… will you entrust it to me?”

“Randor, do you have a good plan?”

“Of course.”

“Proceed.”

I received the Emperor’s permission and immediately ordered the transfer of the Dark Elf held in Elond Viscounty.

And the next day.

“Come, White Elf. Today, you have a visitor.”

“As I said, if you’re not going to release us, I don’t want to talk with you. I don’t want to see you. Get that disgusting face of yours out of my sight…”

“This person has come to our side. I believe we should show solidarity as fellow elves.”

I faced the White Elf and the Dark Elf towards each other.

And as I expected, the elves recognized each other.

“Alkina! You vile offspring of filth! How dare you crawl in here!!”

“You filthy piece of… Hey! Release me right now! I must see the Mother Tree immediately!!”

“No!! Release me! Quickly! If those black creatures access the Mother Tree first, it will be disastrous!!”

Competitively, they began to plead with me.

Indeed, my touch was fearsome.

A sinister grin crept onto my lips.

“Just as I suspected. They’re competing, so they’re impatient, huh?”