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chapter 59
Eldmir’s question was answered in turn by Agarat and his spirit.
“It hasn’t been long since I found out.”
―Heh heh heh, this guy has a hobby of observing Le Ruel. To be precise, he’s been watching you. The problem is that he doesn’t bother to come see in person and instead makes me do useless work—what a nasty hobby.
“…What did you say?”
Wait a moment. That means they’ve been observing me all this time.
Eldmir’s guard heightened even further at their unexpected words.
‘Since when? And why would the elves of El Rel even care about me?’
―I haven’t observed everything, but at least I could see what you did in El Lien. I roughly saw that you were falsely accused by the Chitaen guys, that they are traitors… I couldn’t gauge their strength, and their ultimate goal is not just to overturn our forest but the entire continent. Ha! To think there are people willing to go this far just to ruin the continent!
The Wind Fox chuckled its characteristic laugh, amused by the thought.
“You’ve been observing me?”
―Yes.
Eldmir found it hard to believe.
Indeed, if a top-tier spirit hides its presence deliberately, even someone like Gra wouldn’t be able to sense it easily.
But that was only before his status window opened.
Now, he possessed senses far beyond what they were before, and he had even used tracking skills a few times.
Even for a top-tier spirit, deceiving his eyes would not be easy.
―See this guy?
Perhaps sensing Eldmir’s thoughts, Isra’s eyes narrowed.
―Certainly, kid, you’ve recently developed sharp senses, though it wasn’t like this before. But does that mean I wouldn’t know at least one way to probe into your intuition?
“…Hmm.”
―It was tricky, but even for you, it isn’t easy to detect my presence.
Saying this, Isra twirled elegantly and let out a proud laugh.
Eldmir, speechless, had no choice but to accept it silently.
With experience spanning countless years alongside a high elf, it was plausible.
He shifted the topic.
“Then you mean you’re aware of everything about me and the current situation of the elves. If you knew all that, why did they…?”
“It’s because of the reason you feared.”
Agarat said it with a tone of inevitability.
“Just as in El Lien, there could be traitors in our village too. The so-called ‘seeds’… whether planted or not, it’s something to be cautious about. That’s why I only recruited Sentinels I personally selected.”
His words made sense.
Those brainwashed by the demonic seeds were subtle enough that even spirits sensitive to soul energy wouldn’t easily notice the anomaly.
So being cautious was wise, but…
‘You even kept your own existence secret from me? Until other Sentinels would confront me as an enemy?’
Eldmir couldn’t deny feeling frustrated.
Still, he decided to focus more on understanding the situation and their perspective rather than complaining.
‘But it still doesn’t answer why they were observing me. Could it be that some of them are also corrupted by the demonic seeds…?’
He quickly realized how foolish that thought was and shook his head.
The elf before him was openly revealing the presence of his spirit.
That alone was a display that he was not a traitor.
‘Perhaps the demonic seeds couldn’t even affect the high-ranking nobles. To brainwash the elites, demons would need to use demonic energy directly… Ah.’
While musing, Eldmir finally understood why the demons used seeds instead of directly corrupting elves with demonic energy.
‘It was because of the spirits. Seeds suppress the mind, while demonic energy corrupts the soul. Spirits would immediately notice, so they intentionally used the scarce seeds here.’
In fact, the scarcity of demonic seed items in the game might have been because most were used to brainwash elves.
Realizing how long he had been lost in thought, Eldmir cleared his throat and pointed to the Sentinels who had appeared with Agarat.
“So these are…?”
“Yes. All are aware of the traitors’ presence.”
Agarat approached Eldmir and slowly placed a hand on his shoulder.
“We are on your side.”
“……”
“Of course, it’s hard to believe…”
“No.”
Eldmir shook his head.
Hearing that they had been watching him, knowing even his mother’s mysterious past, these suspicious words alone might not inspire trust.
But this one maintains a contract with a spirit.
That alone proves he is not a traitor.
What more definitive proof could there be?
“Then… are they trustworthy?”
At Eldmir’s gesture, Iruceph looked puzzled.
Agarat pressed his temple in frustration.
“They’re not untrustworthy, but a little troublesome. They serve under Elder Three.”
“Elder Three?”
Taken aback, Eldmir tilted his head.
“I suspect him to be the traitor of El Rel. Maybe there are others, but he’s almost certain.”
“…You realized that much?”
Eldmir was amazed at Agarat’s decisiveness.
Even in the short span since noticing the traitors, Agarat had already recruited a majority of El Rel’s leadership.
Yet, Eldmir frowned at Agarat’s next words.
“I initially planned to eliminate the traitors, including Elder Three, but damn it, the highest elder noticed our movements.”
“…The highest elder?”
Eldmir frowned.
Was the highest elder also a traitor?
“Not exactly. He isn’t a traitor… hmm, I can’t explain it clearly.”
Agarat shook his head after a moment of thought.
“You’ll understand when you meet him. But know this—the old man isn’t our enemy. Just very capricious.”
He cleared his throat and continued.
“The important thing is, after hearing our plan, he suggested waiting for you to arrive. Even I can’t figure out his motives. He’s delaying dealing with traitors just for this…”
“Waiting for me?”
The highest elder of El Rel? Eldmir was bewildered.
Agarat nodded knowingly.
“Don’t try to understand him. You’ll see—he’s unpredictable these days.”
At that moment, Iruceph interjected.
“I don’t understand, Elder O. You mean Eldmir Architea isn’t a traitor? That can’t be. Elder Three confirmed him as a traitor to me. That means…”
“I told you,” Agarat interrupted.
“Elder Three is most likely the traitor.”
“…Impossible.”
“I’m not testing your faith or doubting you. We were all deceived, including you.”
“But Elder Three…”
“I understand your confusion, but for now, trust me. You know the gravity of the situation, don’t you?”
Iruceph fell silent, clearly torn between the words of the highest elder and Agarat.
Eldmir sighed, seeing the positive shift compared to before.
Even naturally hostile elves could be swayed when approached by a respected elder from their village.
He asked the question that had been on his mind.
“Then… why restrain me?”
No longer speaking softly, Eldmir regarded Agarat with respect.
“Really, if you’re on my side, there’s no need for restraint. We could just proceed together…”
Eldmir’s words stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Agarat’s subtle expression.
“You’ve never been to El Rel, have you?”
―Hahaha! Just proceed together? This is the funniest thing I’ve heard in over a thousand years!
The fox above Eldmir rolled over and laughed, holding its belly.
Eldmir was annoyed by the soft breeze from its body brushing his hair.
‘A thousand years… not all spent alone. Looks like Agarat’s contract period is similar. He must be around a thousand years old.’
Yet, he appeared in his late twenties—truly frightening.
“You’re not the first to try force in El Rel,” Agarat said, stroking his chin.
“But that was a special case. I never expected you to think of using a group strategy.”
“…Is it difficult?”
“Difficult?” Agarat chuckled at the awkward question.
Eldmir regretted asking.
“There are many reasons I could tell you, but the most important one you must never challenge El Rel directly. Eldmir, you’re strong, but there’s a huge pillar here that cannot be defied.”
“A pillar…?”
“Yes.”
Agarat nodded.
“Since the highest elder ascended as El Rel’s top elder, no one—even across the continent—dares to interfere recklessly. It’s similar to the era of the heroes and our ancestors, the Eldrasik.”
“……”
“So trust me here. The restraint is just for show. You can easily break it if needed. If danger arises, prepare to escape.”
His words were chilling.
“The traitor force we face will likely include Elder Three and some of his close allies. Not all under him are conspirators, but we cannot ignore their loyalty.”
Eldmir asked what he had been curious about.
“Does each elder in El Rel have independent forces?”
“No, not independent. They have authority delegated to them as needed.”
“Needed?”
“Yes. You may not know, but El Rel’s Sentinels patrol the forest boundaries regularly.”
Eldmir had heard this before.
Every five years, Sentinels fight off other races along the forest’s edge—a tradition spanning around 300 years.
“Dividing the forest into five sectors maintains this tradition. Each elder commands one sector. It’s for defending the forest outskirts.”
Eldmir nodded.
“Thus, though not personal forces, one must be cautious of suspected traitors.”
Agarat glanced at Iruceph, who remained lost in thought.
“Now we must recruit Iruceph as well. But avoid recruiting other elves unnecessarily. I’m confident Elder Three is the traitor, but there could be others. Minimize variables.”
“So we must be cautious and prudent.”
“Don’t reveal that I know of their existence yet.”
Eldmir considered this, then said:
“So you mean restrain me, bring me to the village… and proceed to trial?”
“You’re quick,” Agarat nodded.
“The trial will end swiftly according to El Rel’s custom. You may not even speak. But don’t worry—I can handle Elder Three. Everything will conclude in El Rel’s way.”
Eldmir felt a strange reassurance.
“I’d also like to hear about my mother eventually.”
Agarat smiled warmly.
“No need to rush. I won’t tell you now because I don’t want to be interrupted. We’ll discuss it after everything settles.”
He added gently:
“I also don’t want my time with my niece disturbed.”
Eldmir froze, utterly speechless.
“…Yes?”
That was all he could manage.
