IRE 62

Chapter 62

“Ugh, so noisy! Igras, nothing ever progresses when I’m involved with you. I know you don’t want to do anything, so just shut your mouth and watch quietly. We’ll handle the meeting ourselves!”

“Really? You think you can finish the meeting well without me?”

“Shut up!”

The First Elder, his face red as if about to explode, shouted, and the High Elder gave a small smirk.

“Yes, yes. You’ve grown older and really lost some patience. Don’t get worked up over such trivial matters.”

Igras covered his mouth with both hands, as if restraining himself.

The First Elder placed a hand on the back of his neck, looking relieved, though he didn’t speak further. It seemed he was thankful that Igras remained quiet and tried desperately to maintain his composure.

“Like an old man about to fall into a cesspool…”

Muttering to himself, the First Elder then cleared his throat and began glaring at me. Despite his earlier demeanor, his gaze carried an overwhelming intensity, a reminder that he was a High Elf and a leader of El Rel.

Yet somehow, his stare felt more like a venting of frustration than anything else, leaving a strange sense of unease.

“Eldmir Arhitea of Le Ruel. Agarat called for a trial on your behalf,” he said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere shifted.

“Let us see. A trial exists to confront the suspicion that one is a traitor against the opposing opinion that they are not,” the First Elder said meaningfully, glancing at Elder O.

“Elder O, why do you believe Eldmir Arhitea is not a traitor?”

At his question, all eyes except for the High Elder turned to Agarat. Especially the gaze of the Third Elder, filled with hostility, seemed ready to consume him.

Agarat calmly met all these glances and spoke.

“Then I shall ask in return. Why do you think Eldmir is a traitor?”

“Didn’t the Elves from Chi Taen tell us how their fates were affected by Eldmir?”

“That’s not it.”

Agarat shook his head.

“In truth, we had no reason to trust them. Not that we had reason to distrust them either, but that does not mean we should only listen to their words and dismiss Eldmir’s perspective. Yet still, we blindly branded Eldmir as the traitor of the forest.”

“What’s the point of debating this now?”

The Third Elder interjected, but Agarat ignored him and continued.

“I asked earlier. Why do you think Eldmir is a traitor? I’ll ask again.”

He fixed his gaze squarely on the Third Elder, and naturally, the other elders also focused on him.

“Why did we blindly call Eldmir a traitor and trust only the words of the Chi Taen Elves?”

“Wait, Elder O, what are you saying…”

The Third Elder frowned, but Agarat continued without acknowledging him.

“When did our El Rel become so blind, judging everything based on one side’s words without evidence?”

“There is evidence! Don’t you know what state the Chi Taen elves were in when they came here? Their miserable condition!”

The Third Elder shouted, but Agarat merely looked at him as if he were talking nonsense.

“How is that evidence? Have you wasted your life? Or have you lived too long to understand truth? You think one can grasp someone’s essence from appearance alone?”

The Third Elder gave a wry smile to the others, as if to say how ridiculous it was.

“Comrades, must we keep matching our steps to something already decided?”

“So… why do you go and decide things on your own?”

“What?”

“Why do we think there are only five elders in El Rel? Just to play along with your word games? Impossible.”

Agarat glared sharply at him, stood up, and addressed everyone:

“My dear comrades.”

He walked slowly forward, approaching me. Once he reached my side, he turned to the elders and continued.

“Here, I wish to bring forth an accusation regarding our current situation.”

“An accusation?”

“What does that mean?”

The First Elder and Elder E fell silent, the Fourth Elder looked confused, and the Third Elder glared at Agarat as if he wanted to kill him.

Their eyes met, and the stare-down lasted for a while. Other elders quietly watched, sensing the intensity of the clash.

Finally, Agarat spoke:

“One of the elders of El Rel, Erkes Grakain.”

His voice echoed through the hall.

“I hereby accuse you, as a traitor who corrupted the spirit of the forest and deceived the Elves with twisted teachings.”

The impact was enormous—not because of noise or chaos, but because the aura of all present began to churn uneasily.

The Third Elder immediately radiated murderous intent toward Elder O, and Agarat countered. The First and Fifth Elders pressed their power, while the Fourth Elder blocked them. In short… it was chaos.

“Showing your murderous intent right away… You must be flustered at hitting the mark, huh?”

“Of course I am. You accuse me with ridiculous claims. Elder O, I have served the forest for 1,200 years, devoted to El Rel and the World Tree. And you call me a traitor?”

“The depth of time only adorns your nature; your ugly true face is still filled with malice toward the forest. You’ve deceived us well all this time.”

“Inooom! Agarat! If you insult me any further, I won’t stand idly by!”

At that moment:

“Shouldn’t we hear more?”

Clap.

As if to clear the air, a round of applause rang out, instantly quelling the aura of the five elders. The pressure of the claps extinguished their energy as though it never existed.

The one who silenced them was none other than the High Elder, Igras.

With his hands still in the clapping pose, he asked Agarat:

“Why say the Third Elder is a traitor?”

“Elder Igras! How can you say such nonsense…!”

“I asked Elder O, Erkes.”

Igras narrowed his eyes at the Third Elder, who flinched. With just a look, Igras subdued him, then turned his gaze back to Agarat.

“Indeed, there are several questionable points about this situation. Chi Taen’s elves claim to have sought our help, but how many of us met them directly? At most, only the Third Elder did.”

The Third Elder tried to speak but had to remain silent under Igras’s gaze.

“Eldmir, called a traitor, brought a story completely opposite to that of Chi Taen. If we believe them just because they are fellow elves, shouldn’t we, by the same logic, believe Eldmir’s story?”

He didn’t give the Third Elder a chance to respond and continued:

“They brought no evidence, only words. Even when checking the forest’s memory, it revealed nothing about Chi Taen. The elves blamed Eldmir’s magic, but who knows if it was Eldmir’s or Chi Taen’s? Why is Chi Taen right and Eldmir wrong? The Third Elder has not explained this.”

Forest memories… I suddenly remembered Atrir calling it similar to the powers of the High Elves. Somehow, I had developed this ability too.

“And more importantly,” Agarat cleared his throat, “why do we not question why Eldmir, the so-called traitor, came to El Rel voluntarily?”

“…Indeed,” Igras stroked his chin.

“He knows he’s called a traitor. Yet he walked here himself… even bringing beastfolk. Surely there are doubts about his behavior as a traitor.”

His words were spoken as a mutter, not expecting an answer.

“Agarat’s opinion clashes head-on with the Third Elder’s! Good. Third Elder, my dear friend and guardian of El Rel, now dishonorably accused of treachery, Erkes Grakain! Do you maintain that Eldmir is a traitor?”

The Third Elder ground his teeth and glared at Elder O.

“…Of course,” he replied.

“I ask again. You met the Chi Taen elves and declared their story true to all of El Rel. Whether you are a traitor or not, if Chi Taen’s words were false, you must bear responsibility.”

“I am fully aware of that.”

“Yet you say Eldmir is a traitor! I wonder… do you still trust Chi Taen’s elves while accepting the suspicion against yourself?”

The Third Elder only bowed his head in silence.

“Silence is a virtue. But even virtues can be poison depending on time and place. Still, I will not press you further here.”

Igras tapped the armrest with his fingers several times.

“Let it be decided.”

Clapping his hands, he smiled.

“El Rel’s way.”

El Rel’s Way

El Rel’s Way originated over a thousand years ago when two Sentinels, unable to resolve a conflict, decided to settle it through a method everyone came to accept. It involved using confrontation to force one’s opinion, though it carried a religious nuance: “The result of the duel will shine victory on the one whose opinion El Lerdarel agrees with.”

Now, the essence was simple: whoever was stronger was “right.”

From afar, the Third Elder muttered, grumbling about having to face such a young challenger.

It was a duel—a trial of strength to impose one’s will. Though the reasoning was supposedly spiritual, to me, it seemed merely crude: might makes right.

I glanced at Agarat, who met my gaze with concern.

“Did you anticipate this?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“I expected the outcome would be a forest trial, but I did not think you would be the one standing there. I didn’t expect you to bear this burden.”

He paused, then muttered:

“Igras… that senile old man… has stirred the pot like this. All my fault.”

Despite being the High Elder, the others treated him indifferently. It seemed he intended from the start to test me this way.

“Do you wish to gauge my strength? But why?” I wondered aloud.

“He’s been like this for fifty years. Acting senile, causing trouble,” Agarat said.

Even elves grow senile if they live too long. I learned something I hadn’t wanted to know.

“Eldmir, you failed to anticipate this. Yield as the trial begins. Your honor may be tarnished, but survive first. If you survive, I will handle everything…”

“Agarat,” I called.

He looked at me silently, eyes filled with concern. I began to understand his character.

“It cannot be helped. The duel is decided by El Lerdarel’s will,” I said.

Not that I fully believed it, but I didn’t dismiss it either.

“Don’t worry. I may not have anticipated this precisely, but I am confident I won’t be abandoned by El Lerdarel’s choice.”

I checked my bow and quiver and said:

“It will be fine.”

The Third Elder was undoubtedly strong—perhaps the strongest I’d ever faced.

“I am not weak either,” I said.

The Third Elder finally spoke:

“How long will you stand there talking? Step up now.”

Agarat nodded to me.

“…I will trust you. Still, if it gets dangerous, I can intervene anytime…”

“Don’t worry.”

I smiled bitterly, placing my hand over his, then slowly withdrew it.

“Prepare for the aftermath of this trial. Especially don’t let those Chi Taen scoundrels escape.”

I stepped forward, feeling Agarat’s presence behind me.

A duel.

The Forest Trial. Sentinels risking their lives in competition.

Though El Rel’s Way differs in origin, the situation I faced was a matter of life or death.

“Le Ruel’s Sentinel, Eldmir Arhitea.”

“El Rel’s Third Elder, Erkes Grakain. Step forward, rookie.”

The Third Elder drew his bow.

Senses sharpened.

It comes to this. A duel.

The Forest Trial and El Rel’s Way—different in name, but both deadly, where life hangs in the balance.

And yet, a strange, unfamiliar sensation surged through me, a current of heightened awareness. My entire body was alert.