"The Forest of the Elves is also known as the Forest of No Return.

　The elven girl who guided our group spoke eloquently.

''The reason for this is that any human who wanders into this forest will never come back.

Why can't you come back?

　The maid Satie asks.

'The earth spirits (gnomes) create a magnetic field that throws the compass out of whack, and the wind spirits (sylphs) mislead the travellers to prevent them from entering the depths of the forest.'

So this whole forest is under the protection of the spirits, so to speak.

That's right.

'Then shouldn't the Lords Alliance be able to invade?

　Sati asked a simple question.
　I was the one who answered Sati's question.

'We may not be able to attack, but we can unleash our fire. Besides, the power of the spirits is powerless in front of a large army.

　For that, the elven girl flatly denies it.

'No matter what kind of hordes come, we, the elven tribe, blessed by the spirits, will not be defeated. And this forest is as good as our own backyard. The advantage of the ground is over here.

　I'll turn around and deny it, but that would be too optimistic. However, there is no need to dare to point this out.
　But there is no need to point out that there is no need to point out that it is up to the Elf Queen to decide whether or not she can compete with the League of Kings with her current strength.

　And that's not a far-fetched argument.
　To win the war, you need the time of heaven, the advantages of earth, and the harmony of men.
　At least the advantage of the earth lies with the elves.
　I have to admit that.

　And from what I saw earlier, the harmony of people is also on the side of the elves.
　That can be discerned at a glance from the way they care for their companions.
　If we take advantage of the terrain of this forest and fight well, we might even be able to drive away a large army.

　Now it's time for heaven--.
　This is the only way to get the Elf Queen to decide.
　If the Elf Queen is a wise queen, she should be able to say.


"An alliance with the Demon King's army, I beg you.


　And--


　I headed deeper into the forest, trusting that the Elf Queen would say so.



　On the way, I crossed the village of the elves.
　It was a simple village.
　A kind of dugout hut was built on top of the trees.
　However, rustic sounds good, but in other words, it was poor.

　Lilith and others openly let out a comment, "It's so poor.
　Satie, on the other hand, let out the opposite comment, "It's kind of very nice.

　Both impressions are spot on.
　It's certainly simpler than the houses we live in, but it's not bad to live in a house like this.
　In both the past life and this life, living in a tree house makes a boy's heart skip a beat.
　There isn't a boy who doesn't long for a tree house.
　If I were a boy, I would be allowed to climb up into the house with my heart racing.

　No, in fact, I'm still itching to get up in the tree, but I'm even now suppressing the urge to do so.
　You are still the commander of the demon king's army, even though you have this kind of appearance.
　It's not possible to do something so undignified.

　When you think about it, the daughter of an elf stops walking, "We have arrived at the palace.


''This is the palace?''


　It was still Lilith who gave her impression on behalf of the whole group.
　This girl doesn't have much in the way of discipline. I'll have to teach her a lesson later.
　But Lilith's words hit on the truth.
　And I feel the same way.


(Is this the palace where the queen of the land lives?


　That was my honest impression.

　It was built on a huge tree in the center of the village, but it was not very large or magnificent.
　There are spiral boards around the tree, but they are not very well made.
　Or should I say, rustic.

　Günther, King of the Dwarves, would have carved his staircase into a magnificent structure, but the Elf Queen did not even seem to recognize the need for such a structure.

　In fact, she lets out a sigh, "If I were the master of this palace, I would have made it even more magnificent....

　Hearing those words, the elf's daughter is miffed.
　This is probably why elves and dwarves don't get along with each other.
　The dwarf, who wants to make things up as he goes along, and the elf, who values harmony with nature.
　It was impossible to ask them to get along with each other.
　But for once, they need to get along with each other.　
So I spoke to the daughter of the Elf as if to get in between them.

'What kind of person is the Elf Queen, young lady?

'I'm not a young lady, I'm still a 280-year-old adult. Please don't treat me like a child.

　She says this without hiding her grumpiness.

'I see, although you don't look very old for it.

The elves stop growing at age 17.

　After all, it seems that the elves of this other world are also a race that can maintain their young and beautiful appearance.
　There are many such types of races among the demon race, but I don't envy them too much.
　Just living for just a few decades is such a hassle, but I shudder to think of that life spanning several hundred years.
　If possible, I'd like to create a peaceful world as soon as possible and quickly use up my life span.
　As I was thinking this, Lilith the Succubus spoke into my ear.

''The elves are really proud, aren't they?

　I don't think you'd say that, but you're certainly right, so I let out a bitter laugh.

'Well, don't say that. I suppose that's just what they are.

But there is a limit to what you can do. Ike-sama is a leader of the Demon King's army and an official emissary. That attitude is unacceptable.

There's a saying: "If someone slaps you on the right cheek, give them the left cheek.

What is it?　That stupid adage. Is that a masochistic term?

'That's what a great world prophet said. He also said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as if thou lovedst thyself.

What do you mean by that?

　Lilith is puzzled.
　Sati adds.

'In other words, have a heart to forgive others, don't you?'

That's right.

　I reply, but that still doesn't seem to convince him.

'By the way, what happened to this prophet or something like that in the end?

　Lilith asks.
　I answer honestly.

"My disciples betrayed me and crucified me.

..........

　Satie and Lilith are silent.

'Well, the lesson is not to trust people too much. But you can't get angry at someone for being rude. You don't have to be as good-natured as that prophet, but you do need to be as tolerant as he was, even if it's only one in ten thousand.

The point is, we shouldn't get angry like this.

　Sati summarizes.

'Exactly,' I said, and we made our way up the spiral staircase to the Elven Palace.　

　The elf girl opened the door and showed me inside, but when she stopped halfway through, she said, "Those of you who are not involved, please wait in the antechamber over there.

　By unrelated, I guess he meant something other than me and Günther.　　
　Sure enough, Lilith puffed out her cheeks, but Sati accepted it with a smile, as she should.
　I say a few words to Lilith to make her accept it.

'It's probably for security reasons. There's no way any king would invite a large number of the Demon King's army into his audience room.

That's true, but wouldn't it be polite to at least offer them a cup of tea?

　As I'm saying this, someone who appears to be an elf lady comes over with a silver tray of tea.
　Apparently, she serves tea to the guests.

　However, according to Günther, the tea of the elves is herbal tea with no sugar added.

　Anyway, I am grateful that Lilith was caught by the unusual tea and backed off.
　Günther and I looked around and followed the elf's daughter to the audience room.