For the next few days, the group made their own way around the peaceful elf city. A few magicians went into the forest to collect samples of soil and vegetation, while others got samples from streams or lakes.

Meanwhile, there were quite a few people who stayed to listen to the stories of the elves in the city. Elves were rarely seen in the human world. So, the kingdom itself was overflowing with many valuable things to study.

There were only two people who didn’t leave their rooms. They were the representatives of Meltor, White Tower Master Orta and Theodore Miller.

Is today already the fourth day?

Perhaps they had arrived too soon, but it seemed Elvenheim wasn’t ready to meet them. The elves would send a guide when they were ready, so the delegation just needed to wait. It didn't help that an elf’s sense of time was several times slower than that of humans.

Theo gazed at the forest outside his window and muttered the name of the legend ranked grimoire, “... Laevateinn.”

It was a grimoire of flames which had ended the Age of Mythology thousands of years ago. According to Gluttony, the fire had once burned all the world trees and destroyed the Arv. If this was true, Laevateinn was almost like a disaster to the elves, and it would definitely hit Elvenheim.

No matter what happens, the effects won’t be minor.

The grimoire was aiming for the world tree. There was no room for negotiation here. The battle would only leave one side standing. Hence, Theo was conserving his energy for the battle he was sure was coming. There was nothing more foolish than expending his strength and not being able to use it at important times.

At this moment, someone knocked on his door. “Excuse me. Theo, are you inside?”

“Yes, I am.”

Theo opened the door, and an elf bowed politely. His accessories and clothing gave him away as a highly ranked delegate. The middle-aged elf introduced himself as Theo’s guide, and the news the delegation had been waiting a few days for had finally arrived.

“Please tell me when you are ready. The parent’s dancers have called you.”

***

The delegation members who had scattered across Elvenheim gathered instantly. Naturally, they had many questions, but they were reluctant to ask the guide in case they would be seen as impolite. In these times, it was the role of the delegation leader to step forward and resolve any questions.

So, Theo asked the guide, “Do we just have to keep walking like this?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And the destination is dozens of kilometers away?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

The delegation members were only growing more confused, as they started to question more things. Why did they have to walk dozens of kilometers?

When the guide saw their puzzled faces, his only reply was a mysterious smile. The delegation walked in silence for ten minutes before the guide suddenly stopped before a large knothole in a tree. It was just large enough for someone to enter without ducking. Oddly enough, the knothole was so dark that even the bright sunlight didn’t illuminate it.

Orta muttered in quiet admiration, “A space door? I never thought I’d see a relic of a bygone era here.”

One of the delegates asked, “White Tower Master?”

Orta was fascinated as he gently touched the edges of the knothole. It seemed the space door led to another location. Without further ado, Orta walked through it, and his white robe disappeared into the darkness.

“T-Tower Master!”

“Unbelievable...!”

“Ohh...!”

The feelings of the group were largely divided between astonishment, admiration, and fear.

Ah, so it is like that.

Theo could only admire the elves’ handiwork as he followed Orta without hesitation. The knothole was connected with another space, and as soon as Theo walked through it, he felt the distinctive dizziness, similar to the motion sickness from cheap carriages in Bergen.

Fortunately, the discomfort faded away as soon as he took another step forward.

“This place is...”

He could detect the unique aroma of wood, the refreshing feeling of clear air, and the overwhelming flow of mana. As Edwin had said, a magician who didn’t have at least five circles would lose control of their magic power in this kind of environment.

However Theo had already reached the limits of the 5th Circle, so he soothed his mana flow with a thought. It took him a moment to notice the four high elves waiting for him at a table.

“Ellenoa.”

“Welcome, Theo.”

While Theo greeted Ellenoa, the rest of the delegation crossed the knothole. Theo knew that they wouldn’t be able to speak informally until the formalities were dealt with. The delegation frowned as they mastered their dizziness, but they didn’t say a word. They were all too aware that they were meeting the legends of the world, the high elves.

Alucard, the elf with impressively dark skin, rose and welcomed the guests. “Guests from the magic kingdom of Meltor! We, Elvenheim, sincerely welcome you who have come a long way. I hope this meeting will leave us not just as neighbors but friends as well.”

Orta inclined his head. “Thank you for the kind words, descendants of the Arv. We will observe the laws of the forest while staying here, hopefully proving to be worthy friends and inseparable neighbors.”

The White Tower Master replied skillfully to Alucard’s old-fashioned greeting, and Alucard sat down with a satisfied expression. Theo and Orta were seated relatively close to the high elves, while the rest of the delegation were further away.

The discussion quickly began in earnest.

Orta spoke, “First of all, I would like to talk about trade goods.”

The alchemists of the Yellow Tower were excellent professionals, but they couldn’t reproduce goods that were created from the by-products of Yggdrasil. However, Elvenheim traditionally only traded a small volume of these goods to other countries. There had never been an exception to that policy, but today was different.

Alucard nodded, having had a discussion with the other high elves already.

“We feel the same way. The artifacts made by Meltor are useful to Elvenheim. If you increase that number, we will show the same kindness.”

“If possible, I would like to increase the quantity of raw materials for medicines and...”

“What do you think about tripling the existing amount?”

“Wonderful.”

The White Tower Master negotiated with a level of diplomatic knowledge and eloquence Theo didn’t have. It was impossible for Theo, who didn’t really like being social, to negotiate the existing contract and its details with the trading partner. It was more accurate to say that Kurt III had sent Theo as a diplomat rather than a negotiator.

Meanwhile, Theo felt a strange incongruity.

Ah, that’s it.

A certain high elf was missing. Theo noticed that the chatterbox in Ratatoskr wasn’t present. She was the elf who was curious about the relationship between Theo and Ellenoa. Yet, the meeting between the two countries proceeded smoothly without her presence. Meltor didn’t want to lose this chance to get close to Elvenheim, and Elvenheim was willing to give quite a bit.

“So, if we don’t focus on one area, is it okay to cut from the outskirts?”

“It is fine as long as the balance of the forest isn’t disturbed.”

“I understand. We will be sure to inform you before proceeding with any logging work. In the case of the fruits and harvest, it will be divided in a 5:5 ratio.”

Once the decision on logging, which was an implicit taboo, was finished, the air in the meeting room relaxed. Now, the only things remaining were the matters of mutual non-aggression and emergency military support. These weren’t matters which could be determined in one or two days. So, as representatives of the two countries, Orta and Alucard were both satisfied with their current progress on the negotiations.

However, the moment they were going to move on to the banquet...

Pajik… pajijijik...

The high elves had more sensitive hearing than humans, so they were the first to notice the noise. They stiffened and looked up as the air above the table started to wobble. Then a wave of light appeared from somewhere.

Alucard cried out, “This route... It is the dryad queen! What’s going on? You’re accessing Ratatoskr without our permission?!”

The light turned crimson, and screams rang out in the distance. Theo couldn’t help gulping.

A distressed voice rang out.

[Ahh, please forgive me! But, but!]

“Explain what happened! I will investigate your mistake after that!” At the dark elf’s words, the image in the air rotated slowly to reveal a terrible sight. Dryads and ents were being swallowed by flames, and the source of the tragedy was standing tall among carbonized trees.

“Fire... giant?” Someone murmured when they saw a giant burning the forest.

Flames and magma followed his every step and his fire sword burned away the ents and dryads like they were rotten leaves. It looked like a vision of hell.

... That guy.

Theo’s eyes narrowed as the White Tower Master tensed.

According to Gluttony, Laevateinn was an autonomous maneuver-type grimoire, and the fire giant was its second form. If two more seals were released, it would turn into a master level monster which they couldn’t afford to face.