[Schwartz]

　I didn't know what happened.

　Come to think of it, the first thing that came to mind was a line from the woman named Yuri.

　It was as if she said that she had further reinforcements, but it was a statement of such a nature that even our supposed allies were confused.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that she advised the Emperor to get out of his chair in what seemed like a desperate situation.

　Maybe this woman is crazy.

　I wouldn't be strange to think so. It is true that Yuri and Ditsen occasionally talked about such things behind their backs, but when it comes to this situation, they would have raised eyebrows.

　Through the skill of the Emperor, a fierce warrior of successive battles, we were successfully cornered into the audience room. In the rear, there is an unbreakable horde of soldiers, and in the front, an ironclad defense by court wizards and knights of honor.

　Furthermore, even the dependable Aifa had been taken hostage.

　In this situation, if they really had the kind of forces Yuri had mentioned, they should have been deployed already. It would be pointless if we were all captured, so that would be obvious.

　But that bewilderment of mine was cancelled out by a fierce shock and roar.

　The sturdy doors and stone walls of the audience room, which even played advanced magic, shattered like a thin wooden slab.

　Don't tell me they brought a crushing hammer into the castle?

　Such foolish words floated in my mind and disappeared.

''Release the flaming arrows!''

'No, it's a spear of ice or stone! Don't ever let him into the audience chamber!

　With such a shout, multiple sorceries rushed towards the destroyed entrance, but the sorceries were blown away in an instant.

　As I stood there, not knowing what was going on, Fearatola kicked me from the side.

''Tsk.''

　I'm lightly clothed in armor... is this really the power of a woman!

　With that thought, I rolled on the ground and looked up. There, a silver blade is swung down.

　My body reflexively starts to move at the blade that passed in front of me.

''Kook!''

　He flicked his sword and kicked the relative knight in the stomach.

'Master Schwartz! Backwards!

　Fear Torah shouts and releases his magic, flicking two knights who were approaching in front of me.

''Saved...!

　As I answered, I stepped backwards. It's shameful to have a face full of young sorcerers standing at the front, but I can't die for the future of the empire.

''However, we can't get out of this crisis with only some reinforcements, but...''

　I muttered as I regained my poise and looked up.

　But that perception was quickly overturned.

　Because when I noticed, the majority of the knights had been kicked around by an unseen golem.

　At a speed that the knights couldn't avoid........no, the giant golem was moving around at a speed that was difficult to follow even with my eyes, which were looking at it from a distance.

　It's true that it's quite thin for a golem, but even so, it's too fast.

''.........What, what....... What's going on...!

　The court sorcerers unleashed advanced magic one after another, but they were all lightly prevented from doing so by the golem.

　Although they were powerful and stubborn, they were slow and could only follow monotonous commands. Hence, the golem is not able to take on a higher level sorcerer, it should be.

　If that thing existed as an enemy, and if its creator, a sorcerer, was in conflict with the empire....

　I shuddered at the thought of my own imagination.

　At that moment, a loud voice like an angry voice rang out.

''Don't move!''

　When I turned my eyes to the back of my head at the voice, I saw the scene of Aifa being captured by two soldiers and having a blade attached to her neck.

　The moment I saw that, Yuri, Ditsen, and those golems stopped moving in a flash.

　I looked at Aifa with a variety of thoughts. Aifa didn't change her expression, but she moved her shoulders up and down slightly and opened her mouth.

'Don't worry about me. Take Fearatola and run. With half of the court mages and the Knight Commander absent, now is an opportune time.

'Aifa, I'm not running away. I'm not running away for my family.

　Fiatola cut off Aifa's words and discarded them. Watching their exchange, the emperor smiled.

''Did you think that if you make Schwartz the emperor, your lives would return to normal? But that's not going to happen, is it? The spirit tree is something that all of the world's politicians want. I'm sure you'll be able to find out how to use it and if it exists, then the elves will not be able to rest for ever.

　The emperor's line, which wasn't very loud, resonated well in the audience room, which was supposed to be strangely noisy.

''........The spirit tree is real?''

　This was the first time that the Emperor had heard rumors that his father was trying to obtain it, but this was the first time he had been assured that it was real. Furthermore, that he even knew of the power of the spirit tree, which should have been suspected to even exist.

　If it had been uttered by anyone other than the emperor, it would have raised eyebrows and laughter, but upon hearing the emperor's words, Aifa and Fiatola's faces froze.

　The air in the audience room became cold.

　Everyone is wary of the enemy, yet they are aware of the emperor's words.

　Perhaps understanding this, the emperor's smile deepened and he opened his mouth.

''........Yes. The Spirit Tree, in other words, is the secret of the elves' long life.''

　Just that one word. Hearing that one word, a longstanding mystery to me was cleared away.

　That the emperor had searched for and obtained the elves at great cost.

　Why did they stick with the elves when they were so eager to expand their territory?

　It was because of the power of the spirit tree.

　When everyone was unable to move in astonishment, the emperor shook his shoulders and laughed.

He shook his shoulders and laughed, "No matter what happens to the emperor or the country, you will not escape. The truth about this spirit tree will spread to other countries in the blink of an eye. These are my words. No wonder you're so trustworthy- ha ha! Hahahaha!

　It would be tantamount to a death sentence of some sort.

　With this, the elves would indeed be targeted by the greedy ones in each country. Anyone would be interested if they knew that what was previously thought to be a fairy tale was real.

　It's even more so when it's an old, powerful person.

''...Even the emperor of the Blau Empire is afraid of death?

　I couldn't help but say that to the Emperor. I was surprised to learn that he was not a man who feared death, but I felt as if I had seen the weakness of my father, a man whose existence was unknown to me.

　But the emperor didn't seem to take it personally, and looked down at me with a sniffle.

''You fool. 'Death? I'm not afraid of death. But the longer I live, the better. The longer I live, the stronger and larger my empire will be. I want to see how far my empire can grow. Is there a limit to my power? Or is it enough to rule the world... ha, ha, ha!

　The emperor started laughing like a madman, and I realized that I had misjudged my own father again.