Chapter 5 - Getting Out Of Here? Impossible

Resilia, who had been throwing daggers at the queen she had been following, turned her head to address the gathered people who were staring at her.

"People of Pelledia, the World Tree has ordered the abdication of the current queen, Iris Lemeria Byart Pelledia."

"?!?"

Although it was expected that Resilia, who had taken a stance that amounted to treason, would have impure intentions, the nobles were speechless at her overly blatant remarks.

Of course, only one elder and nobles were likely to act.

"First Elder of the Senate, Bigis Harun Hartz. I will follow the World Tree's orders."

The wrinkled First Elder let out a shocking remark.

"What did that crazy old man say just now…?!"

"Didn't he have no interest in power?!"

"…It's dangerous."

If that was the opinion of the First Elder...

The anxiety of the high-ranking nobles soon became reality.

"Second Elder of the Senate, Alanya Raymond Provina. I will follow the orders of the World Tree."

"4th Elder of the Senate, Amal Florence Kashka. By the orders of the noble and great World Tree."

"7th Elder of the Senate, Laken van Pittel. I will follow your orders."

With the exception of a few elders who were not present and the 6th Elder, who had yelled at Resilia for framing the Queen, all the elders agreed to the dethronement of the current queen.

"What kind of behavior is this?!"

The 6th Elder shouted at the other elders in the Senate with a look of utter disbelief, but the elders did not respond.

"Your Majesty the Queen? No, Iris?"

"Resilia!!!"

Iris, who had finally lost her sense of reason, reached out to Resilia, but she was stopped by an unidentified black-clad man who appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

This was the appearance of the 4th Master-level strongman.

Even Iris, the great magician of the 8th Circle, had no chance against a Master-level knight, a foe she had once allowed access to her kingdom.

Furthermore, no matter how much she tried to let go of her rationality, she could not commit the atrocity of using magic in the holy land.

"Huh? Since when has Her Majesty the Queen's hand been so light? Oh, you're the queen now, huh?"

"The hell…! What on earth have you done to the World Tree Lord!"

"Oh my…"

Resilia's expression as she looked at Iris with a look of utter regret was clearly mixed with laughter.

"Citizens of Pelledia! As the World Tree Lord has commanded, I, Resilia Runabrian Falun Peledia, announce that I have ascended to the throne of the Sixth Kingdom of Pelledia!"

Even though Iris was watching and listening, it was a series of statements and situations that her brain simply could not accept.

The former queen, who was a saintly monarch, was rejected by the World Tree, and a woman who appeared as a prime minister framed the queen and even committed the atrocity of touching the World Tree's body.

She was a high-ranking criminal who should be exterminated immediately.

How could such a criminal become the new queen?

The people could not easily escape the confusion caused by the successive great disasters.

But that was only for a moment.

"…Long live the new queen!"

"Long live Queen Resilia!"

"Long live the World Tree!"

"May Pelledia be glorious!!"

"Long live! Long live!!"

The choice and will of the World Tree, the only god and mother to the elves, captivated the crowd.

No matter how much Iris was a saintly monarch, believers and absolute faith and loyalty to their goddess won.

After that, things progressed in an instant, and Iris was punished by being imprisoned in an underground cave for eternity while wearing a powerful seal that suppressed her magical power.

She would never be able to leave the prison again until she took her own life or died for some reason.

Iris, who had been reduced to living in prison, asked herself blankly.

"Why on earth did this happen? Why on earth did Resilia do this? Why on earth…?"

Even until the moment the prison door closed with a thud, no one showed up to answer her questions, and 200 years passed like that.

***

Iris, who had been deeply involved in the incident, recited her story calmly. It was difficult to listen to, perhaps because of the influence of the mysterious app.

"…Two hundred years."

Just thinking about it was suffocating for Leo. For a human who had only lived for 21 years, it was an unimaginably long time.

It was impossible to put into words how Iris must have felt, having spent all those years completely alone in this place.

As Iris finished confessing her past, her eyes slowly returned to normal.

"Don't you want revenge?" Leo asked cautiously, trying his best to hide his emotions, but the question slipped out.

"Revenge..." Iris's expression grew detached.

"Who can I blame now? Seeing the true nature of others is also a virtue of a monarch... It's just that I didn't have the ability to judge people."

Her voice was calm, but her expression betrayed a mix of blame toward herself and sadness.

"But you don't want to stay here, do you?" Leo pressed gently.

"That's true..." Iris admitted softly.

"Then it's decided," Leo said confidently.

For him, getting revenge on that woman might have been the most satisfying outcome, but he had no intention of forcing revenge on someone who didn't want it. The person's will was the most important thing, after all.

"Revenge or not, let's get out of here first. Is that fine?" Leo added.

Iris nodded slightly.

Besides, it wasn't right for someone as innocent as Iris to be locked away in a dark, damp place for the rest of her life.

"Of here...?" Iris's voice suddenly dropped, her tone heavy. "Thank you for your words, but... that's impossible," she said, pointing to a massive door in the distance.

It loomed as high as a five- or six-story apartment building.

"The only exit is blocked by the World Tree's barrier, and I can barely use my magic power because of the seal," Iris explained.