Ferret, Queen of the Elves, is the ruler of the Forest of the World Tree, a vast forest in the southwestern part of the Kingdom of Rosalia.

　She is the twelfth queen, but she has a long history.
　Elves, unlike humans, are long-lived.
　The current queen has been on the throne for hundreds of years.
　The current queen alone has the history of a lesser dynasty.

　We were going to see the queen of such a venerable country, but in the end, there were only a few people accompanying us.
　It was me, Günter, Lilith and Satie.

　I chose Günther because he is an old friend of the Elf Queen.
　The letter from the Queen had been sent through him in the first place.
　There was no reason not to take him with you.

　I chose Lilith to deal with the situation in case something rough happened.
　And if you leave him behind, you will bend your navel.

　Taking Sati would be like a watchdog for Lilith's odd behavior.
　And then there's no shortage of food and after-dinner tea if you take Sati with you.

　Günter, as it appears, does not cook at all, and it is doubtful that Lilith even knows how to boil water. To begin with, she basically does not eat. She only sucks the spirit out of the flowers.

　It takes a few days to get to the forest where the elves live.
　In the meantime, it would be tasteless to wistfully nibble on dried meat and bread.

　With Sati there, we could use the same ingredients.


"Scrambled eggs and milk porridge in the morning.
"Bacon and eggs and French toast for dinner.


　They will try to make it work, etc.
　It would be too much to ask for that from these two people.
　Unfortunately, I'm not a good cook either, but I'm a little better than these two.
　I'm a little better than these two, but that's about it.
　That's about the extent of my skill.
　So I'm not qualified to talk about it in a big way.
　When I was thinking this, Sati spoke to me.
　Just as I finished my dinner, just as I was finishing the tea she had poured.
　Satie asks me in a reserved manner.

'Is the forest far away from you and the elves?'

　White breath leaked from her mouth.
　It's close to winter and the altitude is high around here.

　It's typical for her to keep the top of her maid's uniform intact, but she's only wearing her own woolen gloves and scarf. Apparently, a maid is not a maid unless she's wearing maid's clothes.

　I don't try to wear thick clothes at will.
　I replied that I would suggest Satie to take a seat near the fire.

'I think it will be another couple of days or so,'

Well....

　I let out a white breath again.
　Lilith says in response.

The human body is an inconvenience. If you don't like the cold, you should have stayed in Ivalice.

　Lilith giggles, but she's wearing light clothes.
　She's dressed like a whore.
　Apparently the succubus of the whore race is also resistant to the cold.

'Well, don't say that. You can get a good meal thanks to Satie.

I don't eat food, so I don't really care.

I'm in trouble. And Herr Günther.

　He turned to Günther and nodded at him, a bottle of spirits in his hand.

'Well. That means by an overwhelming majority, it was the right decision to bring Satie along.

　When I say this, Lilith bends her navel and says, "Hmm.

'You talk like a human being,'

Does that sound right?

　Well, he's human.

They have a lot of arguments with those human beings called "Kyowaists".

Republicanism. Well, deciding things by majority vote isn't so bad.

　There are republican countries in this world.
　It is a country where politics is decided by majority vote.

　In the Trade Federation, where I visited before, large merchants get together and conduct politics by consensus.
　However, the disadvantage of a republican system is that decision-making is slow and it is difficult for the voice of a minority to be reflected.

　On the other hand, the disadvantage of the monarchy, which has been adopted by many countries in this world, is that if the monarch is incompetent, there is no future for the country.

　Instead, decisions can be made quickly and move quickly.
　Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but what is going on in the land of the elves?
　I ask Günther.

''Günter-dono, what kind of country is the Elf Country?''

　Günther replies.

'It's a country surrounded by blue forest. They usually never leave the forest.

But do you occasionally see elves around town?

　was Satie's question.

　Günther nodded silently.

'Such elves are rare. Elves who can't get enough of the boring forest life and yearn for human settlements.'

　I see, it's the kind of thing that rural people long for in Tokyo.

　The glamorous city, the unusual buildings, the street performances that take place in the squares, if you live in the forest, you'll never see it in your lifetime.

　If you live in the forest, you'll never see anything like it in your life, but for the elves, a few years is probably decades.

　After all, elves are a race famous for their longevity.

'But why do the elves cling to that forest?　If the humans are going to attack us, why don't we just run to another forest?

　It was Lilith who raised that simple question.
　I'll answer that one.
　I had investigated that much beforehand.

"Because at the heart of the forbidden forest where the elves live is the 'World Tree'.

The World Tree...?

　Sati asks.

Ah, the World Tree is the name of a tree that is said to have been born with the birth of this world in ancient times. The history of the tree is ancient, and according to legend, it sprouted in this world before the gods of old.

What do you mean by that?

'I don't know the facts. It happened before I was born in the first place, so I can't confirm it.

　And I'm Japanese in my previous life.

　I even doubt the existence of God. This is a world where magic and demons exist with impunity, so it's no surprise that there is a god, but I've never actually met one, and I've never benefited from it.


　If you pray to God, you will be happy.
　If you pray to God, you can win the war.


　If that's the case, then I can pray to God every day, but the reality is not so sweet.

　--though I won't say it out loud, most of the time.

　The inhabitants of this other world fear and respect the gods.

　Günther worships the mineral god Gustav, and the elves worship the forest goddess Charis, we are told.
　Even Lilith believes in and fears the existence of evil gods.

　It would be foolish to speak to the religious people and say things like "there is no God".
　Not only will they hate you, but you will turn all the believers who worship that god against you.

　This is something that one must not do as a person in charge of an organization, as a person in control of the organization.
　But just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
　It may be that you will have the opportunity to encounter it sooner or later.
　But even so, I don't want to rely on the gods at all.

　My grandfather used to say, "Respect the existence of the gods.


It's fine to respect the existence of the gods. But don't rely on the gods.


　Now I know the weight of those words.
　In the end, we have to rely on our own wisdom and strength. I must keep that in mind.
　With that in mind, I headed for the Elf Forest.