A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

98 – Truly a ridiculous idea, let’s do it right away

I let the two elves argue.

Honestly, just from that, there was plenty of information to be gleaned.

“How dare a lowborn like you!! Dark Elves like you belong underground!”

“4000 years of suffering is enough! Now it’s our turn to rise to high places!”

“Where do you dirty creatures come from!!…”

“Once we form an alliance, the long-standing tyranny of your High Elves will finally end! You will never forget what you’ve endured! You are evil!”

“In the natural order of things, you who have been abandoned by the laws of nature and not chosen by the mother tree are truly evil! Evil!”

After a while of bickering, the two beings, who had been fighting with rising tempers, finally seemed to notice me as they smiled awkwardly and looked my way. Moreover, due to the translation magic I had cast and the fight they had, I had heard all of their conversation.

They urgently shut their mouths when they noticed me.

Was I not the wretched little bird who almost ruined the empire with just one tongue?

In terms of quick-wittedness, they believed they ranked within the top 5 in the empire.

“Come, it’s time to separate again.”

I separated them. I moved them to completely different barracks, ensuring they couldn’t have any conversations or interactions with spirits. And then I waited for about three days. During that time, no other elves came.

After those three days, I casually addressed the pale-faced elf with a relaxed expression.

“Nice to meet you. I imagine it must have been quite uncomfortable being bound for three days, but I hope you enjoyed the food we carefully prepared. We specially prepared it with moss.”

“You!!!…”

The pale elf, or high elf, growled as if disturbed. However, I wasn’t particularly afraid even when looking at his expression.

There was no reason to be afraid.

I held the leash right now.

“I’ve decided to release the dark elf. I plan to allow them to approach the mother tree.”

The moment I said that, the high elf stopped in his tracks.

“You, you! Do you know what you’re doing?”

“I’m not sure. But the terms offered were quite favorable. They spoke of what benefits they could provide to us humans if released. It was quite intriguing. Of course, I can’t disclose the details.”

With a smile suited for a trusted servant on my face, I looked at the high elf. The characteristic of a trusted servant’s smile was that it could make an impatient person anxious and double their impatience.

“So, you’re finally joining forces with the despicable root creatures! You will bring ruin to elf society!”

“Yes. It seemed amusing to the short-lived ones to destroy the long-lived society. There’s nothing as entertaining as watching others fall apart, right?”

The high elf gnashed his teeth as he looked at me.

After rolling his eyes for a while and desperately pondering something, he finally spoke to me in a trembling voice.

“Short-lived. Listen.”

“Yes. I’m listening.”

“It’s best to stop releasing the dark elves. They’re not a trustworthy race. They belong to the root class in our society, the lowest position.”

“I see.”

“Even if they were to rise to the leaf class and seize power, they wouldn’t offer much to you. So, it’s better to join forces with us. Joining forces with us will be much more beneficial for you. I am Lumynas of the leaf class.”

“Nice to meet you, Lumynas.”

Still smiling, I pulled a chair over and sat in front of him. Then, I leaned forward towards him.

“Shall we discuss the terms? Ah, before that. I’d like to hear in detail why this chaos erupted. It should be more detailed than the dark elves. There should be no lies, of course.”

I told a lie so casually.

But it seemed he had no room to filter out whether what I said was a lie or not, and in his anxiousness that the dark elves might escape, he had no choice but to reveal his situation.

I listened carefully to what had happened in elf society and what benefits could be provided if the high elf released me.

Then I turned to the dark elf.

“You’re releasing the high elf?”

“They said they would provide various benefits. They even mentioned transferring some of the mother tree’s fruits that come from the World Tree to humans. Isn’t that impressive?”

The dark elf’s expression crumbled at my words.

“Wait. Short-lived.”

“Short-lived? The high elf kindly asked me to address him as Lord Landor. It was quite pleasant to hear.”

“Landor. We should also hear our conditions, shouldn’t we?”

“Isn’t it remarkable how someone from humble origins can grasp power once again? It should be better than the conditions proposed by the High Elves.”

“Very well! Let’s hear it first!”

“When presenting the conditions, please elaborate on the circumstances of your respective roots. That way, I will consider it.”

“Of course!”

In this manner, the Dark Elves also began to speak. I received detailed explanations from both sides and gave the same answer to both.

“Hmm, quite challenging. I will need to think about it first.”

“The oppression by the High Elves must end! Please choose our Dark Elves! Lord Landor!”

“I said? I will think about it. Give me about three more days to ponder.”

Having exasperated both parties, I left the council chamber.

Swiftly, I went to the Emperor.

And with just a few words, I explained the whole situation to him.

“This is a revolution in Elven society caused by the end of the World Tree’s life, Your Majesty.”

Once again, the five of us gathered.

Selene. Myself. Caria. Karl Hanson. And the Emperor. I explained what I had discovered to them.

“To sum up both sides, here is the situation. The World Tree is an immensely long-lived being, but its life span is finite, just like any living creature.”

“Is that so?”

“Once every millennium, a new World Tree is born, and the existing one imparts all its memories and knowledge to the new one. It is said that through this process, a pact can be made with the new World Tree.”

“What is this pact?”

At Selene’s question, I gestured towards her, acknowledging her good question.

“In simple terms, it determines the ruling class. Those who make the pact can communicate directly with the Mother Tree, receive more of her favor, wield more powerful spirits through the World Tree, and even partake more intensely of the fruit akin to the Mother’s Essence.”

“What is the Mother’s Essence?”

“It is an item that extends life and keeps the body healthy. It is said to be highly valued even in Elven society. Anyway, in the current Elven society, the apex, or Leaf Class, belongs to the High Elves. The Dark Elves are the lowest Root Class.”

Stopping at this point, the politician Adran immediately grasped the current situation. He was, after all, an expert.

“Only the Dark Elves and High Elves, in the Stem Class Wood Elves and the Branch Class High Elves just below the Leaf Class, have noticed that the second World Tree is born and the existing one is dying, right?”

“That’s correct. It seems that only the Dark Elves, who are close to the roots, and the Leaf Class High Elves directly connected to the Mother Tree are aware of it.”

At this, Adran smiles.

Not only him, but Selene, Caria, and Karl Hanson also smile.

They all understood the situation.

“The Dark Elves are revolutionaries who want to become the new ruling class, and the High Elves are in a position to restrain such Dark Elves. It’s a clash between the existing power and the revolution. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The escalation on both sides is due to that. Both sides strongly argue that their race must make the pact.”

“I see… Is that the situation?”

Quietly, Adran, with his chin resting on his hand, falls into thought. Then, he erases his smile and looks at me with a slightly stern expression.

“This is not a situation we can simply view positively.”

“Correct. If those two inform their people of the location of the World Tree, there is a possibility that all High Elves and Dark Elves who were scattered worldwide for the search could gather and a war could break out. Fortunately, they are currently detained and unable to pass on the information, but…”

“Both races may realize that the news has not been relayed and send other Elves to the place they were tasked to search. If they fail to suppress them and the location of the second World Tree is revealed, the Rimnakal Plains and the Aylam below will be drawn into the war of the Elves.”

“Such a risk also exists.”

The laughter in the room disappears.

It was not a situation to be entirely pleased about, as Adran had pointed out.

We did not have much time.

We couldn’t know when another Elven scout would discover this place, and the second World Tree was still growing in real-time, so even from a great distance, one could observe the appearance of the World Tree.

And the moment the location is revealed.

The war between High Elves and Dark Elves will take place on the Limnakal Plain.

From our perspective, it’s a real headache.

“Wouldn’t it be better to lure one side of the Dark Elves or High Elves to our side? Release one of the High Elves or Dark Elves now and make them the ruling class.”

“I’ve thought about that as well. But no matter which side we choose. I don’t think they will be friendly to us.”

“Why?”

“The Elves are very naive. Moreover, they look down on us as a short-lived race. In a way, they’re even more arrogant than dragons.”

Since the difference between dragons and ordinary short-lived races is so huge, they usually don’t bother to get involved in their affairs and simply find it annoying. Even now, they are just focusing on their own interests. They were very indifferent and passive about everything else.

In short, as long as I don’t interfere, I don’t care what you do, and I’m not interested in it.

But the Elves seemed to have a very proactive attitude towards the short-lived races. No matter which ruling class they become. There was a possibility that they would find it distasteful for the short-lived races to be buzzing around the new World Tree nearby. In other words, there seemed to be a high possibility that they wanted to get rid of those little bugs living near our house.

It was easy to conclude just by looking at how the Dark Elf, the lowest class, initially treated humans.

“What about burning down the World Tree? Why not make it impossible for them to come over to this side?”

Everyone nodded at Karl Hansen’s suggestion. I explained to Karl.

“They worship the trees. Karl Hansen. How do you think the short-lived races would react if the beings they worship were burned by them?”

“It’s annoying. If we wait quietly for the World Tree to grow larger, there will be a war among the Elves on the Limnakal Plain. And if we burn the World Tree, it will lead to a war with the entire Elven race. Even if we take one side and make them the ruling class, there’s no guarantee they will look at us favorably, right?”

“True.”

There were three options. And there was no guarantee that all three would lead to positive conclusions.

Once again, in the midst of a troublesome development, we all fell silent.

Suddenly.

Adran spoke up.

“Why don’t we just make a pact with the World Tree and become the ruling class of the Elves?”

Silence.

Realization.

And.

“hahahahaha!! That’s it!! Why didn’t I think of that!”

“Long live the Emperor! hahahahaha!”

Laughter followed.

On one hand, Adran’s idea was truly foolish.

“Let’s do it right away, Your Majesty.”

And for us, it seemed like the only choice that could lead to a happy ending.