[Bonus chapter]Trelis Aldon [3]

[James's Pov]

"I know where the Elven Tear is."

The Elven Tear; A legendary item that has long been lost from the nation of the elves. A national treasure that is necessary for them to keep the flow of mana in their forests alive.

Or at least that's how it was in the game. Sitting in front of the king, I had no idea what kind of response I would get to my Hail-Mary pass as there was no way for me to know if it even was real. Luckily, it didn't take many seconds before the handsome man showed me the reaction I wanted.

"You know where the Elven Tear is?! How?! It has been gone for centuries!"

'Bingo!'

Seeing the king trying to desperately try and keep himself together and failing was amazing, letting me know that my gamble had paid off. Putting my hands together, I finally felt fully comfortable with the fact that I was the one in control.

Forcing myself to keep quiet, I let him sit in the emotion for a moment, allowing him to realize what he was feeling right now. 'Must be quite painful... Knowing that if there was even the slightest of chances of me telling the truth, he has no choice but to listen to me...'

And, in the end, he did. Seeing the knuckles on his hands whitening as he clutched them, Adriana's father spoke with the tone of a desperate king, "Let's say I believe you... That you truly do know where the Tear is. What would I have to give you in return?"

Somehow, the silvery hair of his didn't seem to carry the same shine anymore, now sullied with dirty greed and exasperation. Now it was time for me to reap the benefits.

"I want a branch of the world tree."

From the looks of it, it was a simple request. But in the eyes of the elves, it probably pained him just to hear the words.

The world tree was a mythical tree that the elves viewed as holy, more than a temple but less than a god. In the game, there was a long questline that was based on acquiring one of its branches to power up the hero, in this case, Arthur. So it felt natural that I should try my hands at getting one while I had the chance.

I was still in the dark about what the power dynamics between the allied races and the demons looked like right now, but I had a feeling that my first priority should be to make the hero strong enough to not die on the battlefield.

Even more so after I found out about his reactions to demons, how he instantly lost his cool and reasoning as soon as he saw one.

'Hmm? Wait... Shouldn't he have reacted when he met Ezral? Weird...'

Thinking about it, he didn't have any sort of reaction when they had the audience with the king even though Ezral stood right by his side with me on her shoulder. 'Is it because of her transformation into a human? Or is there something else at play here?'

Unfortunately, I didn't get any more time to ponder as the exasperated king finally spoke, now leaning forward on his throne. "No! There's no way a demon like you will get your hands on one of the branches, no matter what you can give us!"

'As expected... Stubborn old man!'

Standing up, I got ready to take my leave, knowing it would be better to give him some more time to think about the situation at hand. I could always return at a later time after all.

"Well, then I guess negotiations have broken down. A shame, really. On the other hand, I guess the king of Kurat might be interested in the Elven Tear as well. They do seem to need some help with their agriculture. A pleasure meeting you, king of Aldon. Goodbye."

*Poff!*

****

[Bellatrix's Pov]

'This place really is strange...'

Looking around at all the modern buildings covered in leaves and branches, it truly felt like I had entered another world. However, it was by no means a bad world.

Although most people walking around the capital were beastmen, there were also quite an amount of handsome male elves around us. Male elves that were so incredibly handsome that it was almost hard to keep my hands to myself.

It did make me uncomfortable seeing so many beastmen, but the elves more than made up for it. 'No! Stop thinking like this!' My brother had repeatedly tried to dissuade me from viewing commoners and beastmen with the negatively tinted eyes I currently had, but it was incredibly hard for me to change it.

During our childhood, I had been actively fed with the thoughts that nobles were superior to all, and that I should view myself as better than them because of our standings. Even though my parents hadn't been a part of this, the curriculum for the heir of the Rue family was absolute.

Throwing me out of my thoughts, the elven princess spoke, wearing an almost smug face, "So? What do you think? Isn't it pretty amazing?"

Seeing her icy blue eyes squint a bit because of her smile, I had no words to refute here. Although I had no idea about the personality of the men, the first glance truly didn't disappoint. Still, I didn't want to give her the pleasure of being right so easily.

"I guess. But I still don't know about that gentlemen part. For all I know, they are all stuck-up and rude. So I guess you will have to take me to a venue where I can actually talk to them"

"Tch! Fine, let's go grab a drink. I know a good place."

****

[James's Pov]

'I hope this will work...'

It was uncomfortable feeling my mana get sucked out of my body every second that passed, but I honestly needed a lot of practice. Yes, I was currently walking around Kellenora in the form of the tiger beastman Gael, making sure that my clothes were suitably posh to fit in.

Wearing a white polo and gray khakis, I was pretty impressed with how good someone with a bit more muscle could look if they just bothered wearing some nice clothes. However, I couldn't say that I particularly enjoyed having a body covered in fur.

My goal here was simple. I just wanted a drink. Actually, no. I needed a drink.

Even if the conversation with the king had become easier during the latter part, I still felt quite weak after having to suffer the immense pressure he had exuded. So now, I was just trying to find one of the more fancy bars to get something to ease my nerves.

After a couple of minutes of walking, I found a place that fit my needs. With a sleek black exterior and silvery letters, the bar named "The Golden Leaf" seemed to be the right place.

Steeling my mind, I got ready to put myself out there, knowing that I would have to suffer from being around a lot of people. It couldn't be understated that after half a year of staying isolated with Ezral, my social anxiety hadn't exactly been cured.

Walking through the automatic doors, I was quickly met by quite an amazing sight. Just like the outside the insides also had a color scheme of black and silver, with rows of tables alongside the wall with accompanying black couches.

However, what was most amazing was the people I found inside, two people that stood out even in the crowd of beautiful elves. Two of my former classmates were currently chatting away with glasses of red wine in their hands, both of them looking just as beautiful as ever.

Adriana, who was wearing a white top that tried its best to accentuate her modest curves, and Bellatrix who was wearing a tight green dress that was struggling to withhold her softness.

As soon as I saw them, I couldn't help but think that maybe some god was having a laugh, somehow making it so we ended up at the same location. At the same time, I felt like I might as well join in on the fun.

'It's a good chance to see how effective my disguise is...'

But I still had something I needed to do. Walking up to the black bar, I was quickly met by a somewhat rude elf in the form of a bartender. "What do you want? Just know that the prices are expensive so you might not be able to afford anything."

'Hmm? Racism towards beastmen? Interesting...'

Taking a quick mental note of something that might be useable in the future, I quickly dismissed his stupid words. After all, a certain succubus had made sure that I had more than enough money to buy whatever I wanted.

"Whiskey on the rocks. The most expensive you have."

With a skeptical look, the black-clothed elf did as I asked while most likely making himself ready to call security if I couldn't afford it. It didn't take long until I had a drink in my hand and prepared myself to have a bit of fun.

Walking up to the table where the beautiful ladies sat, I was once again met by rude faces.

"Greetings, young ladies. Could you be bothered to give me a moment of your time? I am new to Kellenora and would greatly appreciate having someone to talk to for a bit."