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As usual, I used Stealth to search the Tree of Spirits, but amid the paths that I could easily access, none led to the spirit. However, on the floor reserved for the royalty, I noticed a barrier, similar to the one I had seen in the noble sector in the Fraus kingdom. I guessed it probably had something to do with that.

(Hmmm… If I marry that prince, I might be able to get in without triggering any alarms. But marriage…)

I felt like I finally understood the sentiments of noble daughters who got married for political reasons. Now really wasn’t the time for love or romance. If it developed into one of those popular engagement/breakup tropes where the prince ends up cheating on me while I do my best to secure the marriage, only to be publicly humiliated in the end, I can see myself ripping him to shreds.

On top of this, unlike me, those noble daughters had likely had to go from house to house, studying diligently for their fiancés, only to be cheated on. I honestly couldn’t blame them for wanting to stab their fiancés dead. Then again, I’d never be dragged into such a story to begin with.

Getting back to the main subject, I wondered if I could ask Lullus to check things out for me.

“Hey, Lullus. You can check inside the barrier, right?”
“With this level of barrier, probably yes. It’s not as bad as the cage.”
“In that case, can you check if the spirit is somewhere inside of there?”
“Will do.”

Lullus said. I thanked her for agreeing so generously and made a mental note to repay the favor later. While Lulus was inspecting the inside, I tried to see if there was a way to get in from the outside. It seemed quite impossible, so I gave up in the end.

(If only I had a flying skill right about now…)

I could probably use magic to fly, but even then, the barrier extended outward. If I tried something funny, it would undoubtedly cause a huge commotion.

Moving around would have made meeting up with Lullus later a hassle, so I decided to just wait for her to return. After a while, Lullus came back, and I immediately asked her how it had gone.

“I can certainly say that the Spirit of Wind is trapped inside this barrier.”
“The Spirit of Wind, huh.”
“As you might have already guessed, the spirits are trapped in locations that are directly tied to their attributes. The cage here is similar to the one I was in, but it’s in a more airy location.”

“Come to think of it, there was a huge window next to yours, Lullus. So, did you find out how I can reach it?”
“Unfortunately, no… I looked through all of the rooms on the floor but didn’t see stairs leading up anywhere. I just ended up eventually slipping through the ceiling, and that’s where it was. The spirit is inside the barrier, but it’s on a higher floor.”
“We’ve found out where it is, so we can leave for now. Back in Fraus, I needed a key that only the royal family had access to, so I’m guessing it will be something similar here as well.”

In other words, we’d need to figure out what was required and where it could be used. After that, we’d have to determine how to get past the barrier. For now, we needed to gather as much information as possible.

◇◇◇

After a day of exploration, I couldn’t figure out how to cross the barrier or sneak onto the floor that contained the spirit without causing a commotion. However, I did uncover some interesting information during my search.

First, I learned something about the relationship between the Elves and the Beastmen. To summarize it, in the past, when it had come to the matter of capturing the spirit, the Beastmen had left the matter entirely in the hands of the more intelligent Elven tribes.

In return, the Elf royals had promised to spread the spirit’s power equally, giving the same amount to the lands that were inhabited by the Beastmen. The spirit’s power had naturally been stronger around the Tree of Spirits, so although the Elves were tasked with managing the spirit, they were also getting something in return as well; thus there’d been no reason for any side to protest.

But as the spirits’ power weakened, some of the Beastmen—mainly those who knew the spirit—had begun to protest. From the Elves’ perspective, they were managing things fairly, so there was no reason to protest.

What had led to things completely breaking apart had been the Elves’ angry decision to pull back the spirit’s blessing from the Beastmen’s territories. This led to the relationships in towns and villages where the two races once coexisted to grow strained. In some places, even walls had been built to completely cut off contact.

I wasn’t going to take either side, but I didn’t know how to feel. I’d finally managed to get to the bottom of the conflict with the Beastmen, which had been the sole reason for my summons here, but it also felt like I’d gotten involved in something I shouldn’t have. What had once been a good neighborly relationship had suddenly turned into enmity, and now the Elves wanted to use me to justify their invasion.

It was like they were trying to push the agenda that this was a crusade led by none other than an Ancient Elf, hoping to inspire everyone and get them to fight. Honestly, I couldn’t understand what was going on with these wars.

And amidst this conflict with the Beastmen, I could also feel the connection to the war going on between the Fraus Kingdom and the Nigel Kingdom. I had more than enough information to know that the relationship between both kingdoms was extremely tense. Yet, it was also clear that the neighboring kingdoms were taking a passive stance, leaning in favor of Fraus.

Once the war between them began, the Elves wouldn’t need to worry about the Nigel Kingdom anymore and would be able to go all in against the Beastmen. Unlike the large-scale war between Fraus and Nigel, this was more of a domestic conflict. The smaller scope meant it would draw less attention, potentially making it easier for the Elves to execute their plans. Whether or not their strategy would succeed was beyond me, but I figured the lower-ranking individuals, me included, would simply follow the king’s orders.

It wouldn’t be long before Fraus pulled the trigger and started the war. I was honestly quite curious about how things would unfold, but I wanted to first resolve the situation I was currently dealing with.

(I wonder if that plan is going smoothly?)

I didn’t know if my classmates would get caught up in it, but I hoped I could be there to see it all unfold.

The other piece of interesting information I found concerned the upper floors of the Tree of Spirits. They were essentially a prison. But this wasn’t a crude place surrounded by iron bars. Instead, it was a refined space meant for the upper class. There, I discovered an Elf, nearly 1,000 years old, yet despite their age, they still looked like a middle-aged Elf.

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