Author: Himezaki Shiu	Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: Jiro	English Source: Re:Library

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“It would’ve been nice if it had only been me and the king.”
“That is impossible.”

The Knight Captain responded, trying to sound intimidating. But his attempt failed. Rather, he seemed more frightened of me than I was of him.

It was a pitiful sight. Maybe he’d remembered something that unsettled him. Still, this was his duty, so he had no choice but to fulfil it.

I wanted to speak to the king alone, but I ended up in a public setting with a huge audience. Not only were the guards here, but several members from the high nobility were here too. Not that I cared about it. It didn’t bother me in the slightest. After all, I was going to talk about the spirit. It would be their problem if the information spread to the general public.

Though everyone here seemed to be of high enough status to have already been informed about it. As I thought about that, the king looked at me with a curious gaze.

“So, what is it that you want?”
“I’ve been waiting too long, so I’m here to make a suggestion.”
“A suggestion?”
“Preposterous! We must first find the perfect moment to act! How dare you approach the king without even knowing that?!”

One of the elves present interjected. No sooner had I spoken than everyone except the king chimed in. Their interruptions were incessant. The king, for his part, made no effort to stop them, and that, too, was why I’d wanted to speak to him alone. But still, I could understand them. It was correct of them to think that a young girl, with likely no political background, could grasp the full weight of the situation right now.

“You too summoned me here, only to leave me hanging, so it’s not only me that’s selfish, now am I? Can you at least tell me what, when, and how I am supposed to do the task I was summoned here for? If you can’t, I might as well leave the Tree of Spirits right now.”
“Do you think we’ll let you do as you please with the Beastmen?”
“Like I care about them. I came here as an elf, same as all of you. However, given your current response, I see no reason to cooperate with you. That is why I decided to approach this in a more businesslike manner.”

I let out a huff of laughter, and immediately, killing intent radiated from all directions. It was a heavy, palpable force, one that would probably render an ordinary person unconscious. But for me, it didn’t work at all. They probably wouldn’t be able to touch me even if they decided to hurl spells at me.

I wasn’t planning on starting an outright confrontation just yet, so I let them off by simply casting my Pressure skill at them. Almost immediately, a few elves began to tremble. I almost felt sorry for them. Even the Knight Captain was sweating profusely. I was even starting to wonder if they were okay. Maybe they’d need a moment to go to the toilet or something? Well, they couldn’t. They had to do their best at their jobs. I’ll even help them. I’d cast Pressure on them once more.

“So, what is it going to be?” I asked.
“Fine, let’s hear what this suggestion is all about. If you’re going to make so much of a scene, it should at least be worth listening to.”

The king responded with an irreverent attitude, clearly unaffected by the pressure directed at everyone else. I could tell the king was different from the others in this regard. He appeared as if he was pondering ways to take advantage of me.

He also seemed to be trying to gauge the reaction of the Knight Captain, who was standing next to me. Honestly, his face was as white as a ghost’s, but he was still determined to maintain his composure and dignity while trying not to offend me. Whatever the case, all that mattered to me was that they were willing to listen.

“I’m going to bring you the head of the Beastmen’s leader, but in return, I’d like you to grant me one wish.”
“I am not going to give you any troops.”
“I was planning to go alone.”
“Nonsense!! Don’t get carried away just because you’re a little stronger!”

Someone from the crowd exclaimed indignantly. I sighed internally.

(Perhaps I should have directed my pressure at the others and not the king. They’re so noisy.)

I couldn’t help but wonder if that loudmouth was blind to his surroundings. There were only two or three knights capable of moving quickly enough to protect him, and even they looked unnerved, their expressions twisted with unease.

The king rebuked the man with a curt “Enough,” silencing further interruptions. This confirmed that he was preoccupied with gauging the Knight Captain’s reaction.

“Do you believe it possible?”
“If it’s only a matter of being possible or not, then it is indeed possible. I’ll bring the head right here so that you can confirm it with your own two eyes.”
“If you’re willing to go that far, then I have no choice but to believe you. Do know, though, that I will not help you should you fail.”
“I’m perfectly fine with that. If by some chance the leader’s head is not enough, then we will renegotiate the terms then.”
“So, what is this wish of yours?”
“Do I have to say it? Though I guess it’s not a particularly hard wish to grant.”
“Speak.”

The king’s piercing stare bore into me, but I wasn’t shaken. My wish wasn’t anything preposterous, such as wanting the king to die or wanting to become king myself. Nonetheless, it looked like we wouldn’t be able to proceed with the negotiations unless I said it.

“I want you to take me to the spirit inside this tree.”
“What are you planning? And how do you know about that?”
“I’m simply curious. As for why I know, you should be able to figure that out yourself if you think about why a higher-ranked Elf appeared before you now.”

I tried to glance around while responding appropriately to the king’s surprised expression. Our conversation hadn’t sparked that much discussion. There was the occasional whisper of the word spirit, but overall the commotion died quickly. This meant that it was safe to assume that most of the upper echelon was somewhat aware of the spirit’s existence. If I thought about it, it wasn’t strange given that the former king had a rebellion of sorts to liberate the spirit. It was normal that the older Elves in power were aware of it.

There was only one Elf who was looking quite perplexed, but he appeared relatively young compared to the others. Though young in the context of Elves probably meant around 200 to 300 years old. Hardly what one would call young by human standards.

“Fine.”

I wasn’t sure what had convinced the king, but if he was satisfied, then that was fine by me. My goal was set, and I was going to move towards it.

“In this case, are you willing to sign a contract saying that if I bring you the Beastmen leader’s head, you will let me see the spirit?”
“I am.”
“Then I’ll prepare and leave tomorrow if you’ll excuse me.”

I said, bowing slightly before turning to leave. Since it seemed unlikely that I could achieve my goal quietly, I decided to proceed with asking the king to guide me. It was, more or less, one potential route. Be that as it may, I was also thinking of first visiting the Beastmen and seeing if I could maybe take an alternative path from there. While I was at it, I figured I might as well enjoy Lullus’ Beastmen mimicry—after all, her ears were not ones to miss.

However, before I could proceed with my plan, I first needed to check out the situation in Fraus. I figured I’d get there in no time if I flew as fast as possible.

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