Chapter 93: Guardian of the Dark Forest Part 2

The queen easily subdued the elders. It was only natural. Lysette's queen was a thousand-year-old elf and one of the strongest people on the continent. The whole incident could not have happened if Grizel hadn't obtained the fragment of the Origin God in the first place.

By the queen's orders, Blanche and the other elders, along with their accomplices, were all imprisoned in the underground prison. They did not resist or make excuses. It was likely because the queen already knew everything.

In contrast to the elders, the unjustly detained dark elves were all freed. Thanks to Darion and me, who testified about the terrible atrocities in the dark elf villages, they were promised the reconstruction of their villages. It was a fortunate outcome.

"We have brought them."

And thanks to the queen's help, I was able to reunite with Lloyd and El. The two were about to cross Lysette's border into the Barak Empire. If I had been any later, we might have been completely separated. Well, I could have found them eventually, but it would have been troublesome.

-Awoooo!

"Alright, alright, I understand."

-Whine, whimper, whimper!

"You're, you're heavy!"

As I expected, Ayla was lingering around the forest near the palace. She must have been looking for me. Because of this, rumors were already spreading that ghost wolves were roaming the area. I had asked Luisa to take care of her, but what was done was done. I had to soothe Ayla, who burrowed into my arms like a puppy, for quite a while.

"Master."

"…Yes?"

"I knew this would happen."

"What?"

"You always solve problems. So, I knew you would this time too."

"Is that so?"

"So, I interfered with Lloyd's attempt to cross the border."

"Puhaha!"

"It didn't work, though."

"El, I told you to escape Lysette if you didn't hear from me. You should have listened to Lloyd."

"I told you! I believed in you completely! Lloyd is strong, but honestly, he's not as amazing as you, Master."

"Never let Lloyd hear you say that."

"Of course not."

But unfortunately, Lloyd happened to pass by behind El. He must have heard everything. "Lloyd is strong, but honestly, he's not as amazing as you, Master." He must have heard it loud and clear. Lloyd was the type of man who could detect the sound of falling leaves in the wind. I suppressed a chuckle.

Thanks to the queen's consideration, we were able to stay at the Lysette Palace for the time being. Compared to the palace, not only the inn but even the grand mansion of the Sylvanus family seemed modest. The guest room was as large as an auditorium and had platinum ornaments lined up here and there. Seriously, didn't they worry about someone stealing these? Maybe there were anti-theft devices in place? I picked up a platinum candlestick and then put it back down quietly.

-Knock, knock.

"Come in."

"Good afternoon, Sir Theodore. I have come to deliver an invitation sent by Her Majesty the Queen."

"Ah, thank you."

I unfolded the ornate invitation placed on the platinum tray. To my surprise, it was written in the common imperial language, not Elvish. The proud elves seemed to be considering the humans now.

"A banquet, huh…"

We had been invited to a banquet by the queen. She expressed her wish to repay us strongly enough that we couldn't refuse.

The banquet was to be held in two days. In the meantime, we decided to rest at the palace.

Lysette Palace has a hot spring, doesn't it?

The huge and luxurious hot spring inside the palace was famous, even in the game. I had been there once before, but the thought of seeing it in real life made my heart race.

A magnificent statue welcomed us at the entrance to the hot springs. It was a sculpture of an elf woman and man holding water jugs, and fragrant silver water droplets were flowing down with a soft melody. Apparently, there was a small portal inside the jugs. We walked in while feeling the mist-like hot spring water.

"It's a pity El couldn't come with us."

"She can't reveal her identity."

Indeed, even though we weren't in the empire, it wasn't good for El to reveal her identity, so she stayed in the room. Even if she couldn't enjoy the hot spring, she was probably happy with all the snacks she could eat.

Lloyd and I soaked in the hot spring. The bubbling carbonated water gently pricked our skin. For some reason, there was a subtle floral scent here which made it different from a regular bath.

-Bubble bubble bubble!

"Oh, it's boiling over there."

In the center at the back of the hot spring, a huge golden tray was installed with hot spring water bubbling over it.

"…Ah!"

I had a great idea, one that any Korean would think of.

I took two fresh eggs from my space ring and placed them on the golden tray. Lloyd looked at me like I was crazy, but once he tasted these hot spring eggs, he'd understand. I waited a moment and then took out the two hot eggs. And then.

-Smack!

I cracked the egg on my head and handed it to Lloyd. He still looked at me as if I were crazy.

"Here, try this. It's an egg cooked in the hot spring."

"…Okay, but why did you crack it on your head just now…?"

"It's a tradition from my hometown. A tradition."

Lloyd took the cracked egg and began peeling it with a reluctant expression on his face. Watching him peel the small egg with his calloused hands, hardened from handling a sword, was quite amusing.

I cracked the second egg on my head and started to peel it. Honestly, I wanted to crack it on Lloyd's head like I used to do with my friends in the sauna, but I figured he might crack my head in return, so I held myself back. Anyway, after peeling off all the shell, I dipped the egg in roasted salt in a bamboo bowl and took a bite.

"Ah~~~!"

This was the taste! The soft and mild egg white combined with the slightly runny, rich yolk! With the addition of the fragrant bamboo salt, it was exquisite. Ah, if only I had some cider, it would be perfect!

"ve heard you can make something similar to cider with pine needles. I'll have to try that later.

Lloyd seemed to enjoy the hot spring egg too, as he ate it without any complaints.

We made and ate another round of hot spring eggs, then leisurely enjoyed the hot spring before heading out. Thanks to the hot spring water, my skin felt so smooth! Indeed, there's nothing like a bath to relieve fatigue. And among baths, hot springs are the best! It's a pity that El couldn't enjoy this.

Ah, I must visit the hot spring again tomorrow.

I chuckled to myself as I returned to my room, my face feeling silky smooth.

Two days later,

It was the day of the banquet to which the Queen had invited us. We wore the custom-made formal attire sent by the queen's tailor the previous day and headed to the banquet hall. There were only six of us: the queen, myself, Lloyd, El, Ayla, and Darion. But the table with the lavish banquet seemed endless. There were blue milk crackers topped with black shark roe, halved and fried lion shrimp, pudding made from goat's milk, and glistening honey….

Moreover, there were all kinds of rare fruits! Along with star apples, there were white raspberries preserved in honey, sugar-coated roasted oranges, black melon topped with heaps of cream, and white pineapples similar to regular ones. These fruits which would cost a fortune in the empire were piled high on platinum trays.

"This is amazing!"

The meal began with El's cheer. I maintained proper etiquette, but Lloyd, El, and Ayla were engrossed in their food… In the end, the ones who enjoyed the banquet with conversation were only the queen, Darion, and myself.

"Is the food to your taste?"

"Of course. The flavor of the black melon is incredible. The juiciness is amazing."

"Black melon is the pride of the Dark Forest."

We laughed, chatted, and ate food. In fact, the queen never touched her food. Of course, it wasn't because it was poisoned or anything like that. It was a characteristic of older elves, like the Elf Queen. Older elves much like trees doing photosynthesis don't need to eat.

"Theodore, I can never thank you enough."

The queen whispered in a soft voice with a gentle smile. Well, they say there's a fine line between a queen and a witch… It's a voice perfect for enchanting people. Not that it has any effect on me, of course.

"You flatter me. It wasn't my doing alone."

Queen Dianta nodded her head with a heavenly smile befitting her name.

"That's right. Your companions contributed greatly as well."

"Darion too."

Darion who was unable to say a word perhaps because he was nervous in front of the queen, looked at me in surprise.What, man? Can't you even pick up the scraps?

"If someone like you were in Lysette…"

Ah, this routine again.

I gently set down the fork that had pierced the black melon. I could easily predict what the queen was about to say. It would be the same thing I had heard countless times throughout my adventures.

"Lysette already has a remarkable talent like Darion."

I decided to use Darion. When I smiled at him, Darion started sweating profusely.

"That's not all."

I had something I needed to address anyway, so this was perfect. I naturally shifted the topic.

"It seems Her Majesty is unaware of how many talented dark elves there are."

It was a statement that could be considered rude, but the queen merely smiled without any reaction.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is. What I'm saying is, Lysette is wasting its talent. Incredible dark elves are being left to rot in a corner of the Dark Forest."

"..."

"Simply because they are dark elves."

Darion was apparently affected by my words and started coughing. Ah, this clumsy fellow… I glanced at Darion briefly before turning my gaze back to the queen. I decided to settle things once and for all.

"If you truly want talent, you would do well to heed my advice."