It's been said that the World Tree is the tree of the elves but that was a very old and outdated legend. Scholars have long since concluded that the tree is a surviving sapling of an ancient species that existed in the world long ago.
Of course, that didn't make the tree any less important than it once was.
A single tree growing so large that it covers an entire forest is a marvel in itself. Especially when it consumes so little energy that it actually gives you life, and unlike normal trees, it can't be burned.
This is why the elves still held them sacred, and why humans sought to study them but even if the tree is dead, it's in the depths of the Empire.
Everyone's gazes naturally turned to Princess Aileen.
Eileen laughed in amusement at their reaction, as if they wanted her to tell them what was going on.
"I see you're all looking to me for answers, but I'm afraid I don't know much. I only heard the news a little while ago."
"Even so, it's strange."
It was the sixth-rank wizard with an iron mask on his face, Iron Mask Rotheron, who spoke up.
"The World Tree is not something that can exist so easily, especially if it grows underground."
"Even if it is a World Tree, it's just a tree."
"It's an ancient species of tree. You can't just plant a sapling in the ground and expect it to grow. It has to have the right environment and demanding conditions, and the idea of a tree growing underground is absurd."
"Ha, but then again, it's not impossible."
It was Loina who returned Rotheron's words. She had recovered quite a bit of her magic, and her face color was even better than before.
"In other words, it can be cultivated if the conditions are right."
"But what's strange is that it's underground, right under the capital. Usually when a tree grows, it pierces the ground and faces the sky, but it's……."
"That's why it's dead. Isn't that right, Sir Passius?"
Eileen looked back at Passius and asked.
He nodded, even as he bitterly lamented, 'You're putting this on me.'
After all, that was why he was here in the first place.
"Yes, you're right, it was definitely a dead tree, at least to my knowledge."
Everyone gasped at Passius's words.
As a Royal Guard, he would never lie, so his words must be true. And indeed, Passius was telling the truth.
What they didn't know was that there was more to the story.
As Rudger watched the events unfold, he was inwardly satisfied.
'Hans must have passed on the right information.'
Before Rudger went to save the students he said one last thing to Passius.
-Sir Phasius.
-Yes. Tell me, Mr. Rudger.
-When this is over, there's going to be a lot of people here to sort this out, and they're going to want to find out what the Liberators are doing in the underground aqueducts.
-You will, won't you?
-I've sent one of my men down there, and while I don't trust his demeanor, I can trust his work, so he'll probably be back with news soon.
-Hmm. I see. Where can I meet them?
-On 3rd Street, in a residential neighborhood near Central Square. One man, one woman.
-I don't recognize them from that.
-It's such an unusual combination so they'll stand out, especially the woman.
Rudger said, then added a postscript.
-Besides, with your skills, I'm sure you'll figure it out without me telling you.
Rudger's words were true.
As we waited near the living quarters, two men and a woman appeared. The man was a common sight everywhere but the keen senses of the master knight, Passius, detected a strange animal scent emanating from him.
The woman, on the other hand, drew his attention. She was beautiful, but she was also an elf with a certain air about her.
Rudger had been right when he said he would know them when he saw them.
Passius immediately made contact with the two, telling them Rudger's story and receiving information from them in return.
It was much easier for Rudger to have a royal guard tell the people that he had found the information than for him to step up. After all, he was only a teacher.
In other words, Rudger had ordered Hans and Belaruna to find out the information, and then Passius took over and explained it to Eileen.
It was a weird way of passing on information, but Rudger didn't care as long as the results were good. And it worked.
"Sir Passius, is that true?"
"The World Tree is dead."
Passius smirked inwardly at the questioning glances directed at him.
"Yes. It was no ordinary World Tree. It was literally dead, its color had faded to ivory, and there were no pillars left, just barely the roots and the base, but that's just a guess, of course."
However, the World Tree protruding from the wall of the underground aqueduct was definitely real and Passius described the story he had heard as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
It was an unbecoming behavior for a knight who held honor and truth in high esteem, even for a Royal Guard. And yet, the people believed him.
"A dead World Tree. But even if it is dead, the World Tree must have a great deal of life within it."
"It's not like it's impossible to create a chimera army of that magnitude, if you have the facilities to do so."
"Then it's a big deal. I wonder what else they'll do with that World Tree."
It wasn't that the Liberators couldn't threaten this side now, it was what else they might be up to.
"Passius, what else have you learned?"
Luther asked.
"The underground aqueducts are a veritable field of chimeras now that they've taken control of them and set up all sorts of traps and fortifications along the way."
"Hmph. I suppose we won't be able to pick their bones if we go in there."
"Yes. But if we leave them alone, they'll just replenish their supply of chimeras and do the same thing again."
Everyone nodded in agreement as Passius drove a wedge.
"Beyond that, the presence of warlocks is also a threat, and with a chimera army of that caliber, we'll be outnumbered and outclassed."
"Hmm. How strong is the Liberation Army?"
"They must have a cadre."
"A cadre of the Liberation Army?"
It might seem ridiculous to call them cadres of the Liberation Army, but it wasn't. The Liberation Army had a sixth-rank wizard among its ranks.
"It must be Louispold. He was a mage in the Empire's servant army before he deserted."
Louispold was a member of the Liberation Army and as evidenced by the lack of a last name, he was a commoner, but a very talented mage who rose to the rank of Lexer.
Normally, a sixth-rank wizard would be treated with respect, but Louispold murdered his superior and deserted. He joined the Liberation Army and has been terrorizing the world ever since.
There weren't any news about him for a while but they didn't realize that he was hiding in the capital's underground.
"Hold on."
Casey Selmore glanced from one side to the other with her blue eyes, as if she hadn't finished speaking. Not at Princess Eileen, who stood facing her, but at Rudger Chelici, who stood still to one side.
"Mr. Rudger Chelici, I have a question for you."
Rudger stared at her, unable to respond with silence, so he opened his mouth.
"Go ahead."
"When I was doing my mentor work, Mr. Rudger Chelici, you ran into me, with Sir Passius the Royal Guard by your side, right?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Rudger at Casey's words. It was as if they were asking him if Casey was telling the truth.
'I guess that's what happens when you're confronted.'
He tried to pass it off as nothing but now that the incident happened, it was only natural for Casey to ask.
"Yeah."
Rudger's answer drove a wedge. Those around him were puzzled as to why Rudger was working with Passius.
The more perceptive among them realized that Rudger was not merely working with Passius, but with the First Princess as well.
"So if you were working together, why was it only Lord Passius who brought the information?"
That was Casey's question.
You must have done something while he was digging for information. But why are you silent and he's the only one talking?
The mentors near Casey were puzzled by this since Rudger had sent them a warning about the Liberation Army's attack. He knew what they were going to do and what kind of gunpowder they were using.
Which means that before this happened, Rudger was hunting down the remnants of the Liberation Army with Passius but now Rudger was silent, and all the talk was coming from Passius' mouth.
It was quite unnatural, unless, of course, one of them was trying to conceal themselves, rather than the other forcibly taking the ball.
"……."
Rudger stared at Casey wordlessly.
She was looking at him with a gaze of determination unlike anything he'd ever seen before. It was as if she really wanted to hear the right answer.
She knew that if she asked him privately, he would never speak.
'I'll use the power of this place to get you to talk to me. Hmm, how will you answer that?'
Rudger was a little surprised at how much attention he was getting but he had plenty of excuses. It wasn't like he hadn't planned for this.
When Rudger took a moment to think about it Princess Eileen spoke up for him.
"I commanded it."
"What?"
When Eileen spoke up, people were naturally surprised and couldn't help but ask.
"I have already read the movements of suspicious people within the capital, which is why I have called the Knights to patrol the city."
Veronica and Trina nodded in agreement.
"But that wasn't enough, so I decided to send others, one of whom was my loyal knight Sir Passius, and the other was Mr. Rudger Chelici."
"Why?"
Casey asked in a pointed voice and the questioning tone caught everyone off guard.
Although she was a prestigious wizard, wasn't she a bit rude to a Princess of the Empire? But Eileen was actually finding the situation rather intriguing, even smiling.
"Because he was the most qualified."
"He's just a teacher."
"You're missing a lot of modifiers there, and I'm not going to add them because it'll take too long, but a 'capable' teacher is good enough for me to recommend. Moreover, since his students may be in danger, I should at least inform someone associated with Theon."
Rudger Chelici was not just any first or second year teacher, but a man who had risen to the position of Planning Director in Theon. His rank was much higher than the average teacher's, so it wouldn't be surprising if Eileen had given him a personal order.
However, Casey knew instinctively that what Eileen had said wasn't the whole reason.
'There's something. Something between you two.'
Casey's keen instincts picked up on the tenuous threads of Rudger and Eileen's relationship. Otherwise she wouldn't have assigned a Royal Guard to his side but the evidence was lacking and there was nothing conclusive.
The two of them were completely consistent with each other so it was impossible to probe further.
Casey glared at Rudger in frustration.
'What did you do?'
Rudger was puzzled by the arrow that came back at him and Eileen only laughed at his behavior. Perhaps Eileen knew this, but she went out of her way to annoy him.
Outwardly, she defended Rudger and said she was doing it for him, but that was just part of the deal. What Eileen really did afterward was look Casey in the eye and subtly nudge her in the gut.
Just as Casey suspected something between Rudger and Eileen, Eileen suspected something between Casey and Rudger.
'You really caught me off guard.'
It felt like a pain in the ass to have all these people from his past come together like this but at least it was just the two of them.
'Come to think of it, there was one more.'
Rudger's gaze fell on Trina Ryanhowl, the knight who had hunted him to death when he was a thief. She hadn't been a master knight back then, but in the years since, she had become very strong.
He realized that this was a very uncomfortable position to be in.
'Wait.'
Rudger was suddenly struck by a possibility.
'I thought Casey Selmore and Trina Ryanhowl were friends.'
Casey Selmore knew his identity but she hadn't revealed it yet. Perhaps due to her own stubbornness or perhaps for some other reason. But would she really want to keep it a secret, even from her friend Trina?
'No way!'
A chill ran down Rudger's spine.