Oh, I found another one.

'Again! I've already found almost a dozen people...

　With that, I turned my attention to the screen to my right. And sure enough, there were two elves sitting on chairs in a windowless room. The elves are looking at me with rolled eyes, and a slight fearful expression can be seen on their faces.

　However, Yuri walked quietly towards the two of them, and after conversing for a while, they nodded together and stood up.

　What did they talk about in just a short amount of time? Yuri smiled and turned his back to the elves and left the room, and they quickly followed him.

　Looking at the scene, I exhaled deeply.

I feel like I've caught a glimpse of Yuri-san's unexpected talent.

　As I was muttering about this, Violette opened her mouth in disapproval.

''........You didn't need my information, did you?''

　He mouthed this in a sullen manner, and I chuckled and waved one hand in denial.

''No, no. The imperial capital is a big place. It's thanks to Violette-san that she narrowed down the location to some extent.''

It's not very convincing, is it?

　I return a vague smile to Violette, who sniffs at my words and says so, and turn my attention to the screen again.

　In fact, thanks to Violette's information, the speed of discovering the elves has increased significantly, but Violette seems to be skeptical of my words.

　Well, it can't be helped since they are practically hostile to each other.

''Ah, Runt-san and Schnee have also safely protected the elven people, right?

　On the screen to the left were Runt and Schnee, who were searching for the elves in another city. Unusually, they were two elves wearing armor. They carried large bows and arrows on their backs.

''You use a bow?''

　When I muttered that, Eira nodded.

''There are many elves with aptitude as sorcerers, but I've heard that they're also excellent archers, so those people must be excellent archers as well, as an example.

　I listened to the explanation and nodded a few times, hmmm. It makes sense since all elves are slender and they all look good fighting at a long distance. However, if they lived in the forest, I feel like they would be at a disadvantage in a fight because of the many shields, but I wonder.

　The way Aifa said it, it doesn't seem like they wouldn't fight in a way that would hurt the trees in the forest unprovoked, and that area seems to be the reason why they were defeated by the imperial army.

　While thinking about that, I press my body against the back of the chair and stretch out.

''At any rate, it's just as planned. Let's have the elves move to the shelter. That's fifteen people, right? I think we'll manage to find them all in a week.

　When I said that with a relieved pat on the chest, Eira smiled and countered with a "yes".

　Then, a stifled laugh can be heard.

''Hmm........well, how about that, huh?

　Eira gives Violette a sharp look at Violette, who says it in an implied way.

'What do you mean by that?'

　Eira asks with a stronger word, but Violette doesn't even look at me and completely ignores me.

　This causes a heavy, tense air to spread across the large space, and I give one cough in an awkward atmosphere.

''Uh ... maybe it's the last one.''

　I answered that to Eira instead of Violette. Then Violette's face, as well as Eira's, turned to me.

'The last one?'

　Eira asked me that, and I nodded with a raised eyebrow.

''Yeah. That's because we can tell by looking at the number of elven people we've been able to find so far.

'Yes, sir. I was slightly skeptical at first, but the information General Violette brought to me was certainly useful.

Yes. I was convinced thanks to that solid information. According to Aifa-san's story, it was vague as to where and how many people were there, but Violette-san's information is limited to the number of people in the imperial capital alone. If we calculate the remaining number of people, one of the elves will be missing.

　As she said that, she exhaled shallowly, and Eira's expression clouded over.

''No way........one of them died and.......''

'That's a possibility.......but I haven't heard of any dead elves. Now, where is the last one...

　Violette laughs under her breath with a nasty smile on her face.

　She seems to know something, but I can't force her to find out and lie about it. I'll never be able to torture him, and I'll just have to find it on my own.

　However, I can vaguely imagine the location, so I should be fine.

　As I turned my attention to the screen while thinking about this, Eira looked at Violette with a regretful glance to the side.

''Taiki-sama. General Violette definitely knows where he is.''

Maybe. But I don't want to force him to throw up...

But in order to help the elves...

'Well, it's all right. I don't want to do anything horrible, and we'll find out on our own.

　When I said that and quieted Eira, Violette crossed her arms, sniffed and smiled victoriously.



Are you going to negotiate?

　A strong tinge of alarm was added to Eira's expression. Violette opened her mouth as she watched his face with amusement.

''It's not so much a demand as a negotiation. I'm getting tired of being in the sky by now, and I just want you to drop me off at the imperial capital...''

' There's no way I can do that!

　Reflexively, Eira rejected Violette's request. In response, Violette raised her eyebrows and cowered her shoulders.

''Oh? As long as Lady Eira is not one of her own people, does it not matter if she lives or dies? Certainly, if I join the imperial army, it will be troublesome for you. Forget about the magician, if we make a mistake and Yuri-sama loses his life, we will surely be hostile to the Frieder Empire, with whom we are building a friendly relationship. A settlement of less than a hundred elves won't be much of a problem, but when it comes to relations with a single country, it's different...

'Yes, I never said the elves were unimportant!

　Violette blabbered on as if to provoke me, and Eira blushed and raised her voice.

　I laughed at Eira, who was firmly in control of Violette, and I spoke up.

''I'm interested in Violette-san's information as well, but I'm not going to negotiate with you.

　As I told them that, their eyes turned to me.

''Ta, Taiki-sama, but........''

　Eira lets out an uneasy voice and Violette glares at me with angry eyes.

You are the king of the sky, isn't it? I don't want to negotiate with me for such trivial matters as the fate of the people on earth........

　He said this in a sarcastic way, and I blinked my eyes and opened my mouth.

'What? I don't think so, do you? However, since the last one seems to be in the castle, I don't think there's any need to negotiate with Violette-san separately.......

　When he said that, Violette's eyes widened.

''W-why did you tell me that........? No way, I knew all along...

　He nodded to the astonished Violette with a gentle smile.

''It was in the castle, after all. I knew that that emperor would never let go of the elves, so I thought that one or two of them would keep them with him and hide them.

　When I smiled at that mouth, Violette, who realized that she had been sickled, stared at me with even murderous intent in her eyes.

　On the contrary, Eira turns her sparkling eyes on me.

　I laugh back at Eira and ponder.

　One hidden inside the castle.

　It would be someone important who would be able to keep all the elves stuck in case of an emergency.

　It could be an elder or his son.

　The best place to hide him would be somewhere that Aifa, who lives in the castle, would not find him. A cellar, a hidden room - or the Emperor's own room.

Either way, is this going to get us into a war with the Empire?

　I muttered that in a small voice that no one could hear and let out a deep sigh.