Chapter 95 – Stomping Down The Fires

“Those foolish Black Elves! What in the world are they thinking?!

“Hiuh!?”

Theodore, the Prime Minister standing in as a proxy in the Queen’s absence, shouted in anger when he received a report from his subordinates, and the maidservants who were waiting on him let out a small scream of surprise.

Following the assassination of reformist moderate Minister Marcus, protest rallies have been held by the Black Elves in various parts of the capital, their numbers growing by the day.

As part of the protest, the Black Elves, who are coming to the Royal Castle to proclaim freedom and equality, are mixed with the reform extremists, who have been lashing out and harming the guards who try to hold back the crowd.

Aside from that, the recent report also showed that some stores in the White Elves’ area were also attacked and some White Elves were harmed on the streets.

“They have not been farming and herding, are neglecting their daily lives, and are making a fool of themselves! Why are they acting lawlessly while talking about freedom and equality!?”

“Father… the people are only agitated and excited, and it’s all the work of a few malicious extremists. If you lose sight of that, you will make a mistake in your judgment.”

Eliza, the daughter of the indignant Prime Minister, rebuked her father with a melancholy look on her face. She was a young, beautiful Elf girl who was about a hundred years of age, with curly silver-blonde hair, and deep jade green eyes.

“I’m sorry, Eliza, I’ve shown you something unsightly… Seems like I’ve surprised the others too.”

“No, please don’t mind it, Lord Theodore.”

The attendants waiting beside him quietly bowed.

“But we cannot let ourselves be easily agitated by these people. The Black Elves’ actions cannot be tolerated.”

“If all the citizens were outstanding, then that would be strange. But because there are only a few of those while the rest are normal or less than average, then things such as this is inevitable.”

Theodore nods toward his daughter’s broad-minded opinion.

“Hmm, but a political assembly that is influenced by the people’s voice is nothing but folly… And that is why we of the White Elf clans must lead these people.”

“This way of thinking is what makes the Black Elves resent you, father. In the first place, the political assembly is based on the consensus of many people, so we cannot ignore them.”

After a pause, he asks his daughter,

“Then what do you think we should do?”

“It’s not just limited to the Black Elves’ clan, but I think we should cultivate knowledge and decency over time since abrupt changes tend to create friction and backlash amongst the people.”

Eliza’s response was typical of a moderate conservative’s, which was quite different from the ideas of her father, who was a conservative extremist.

“However… the reform extremists do not wish for that. We will have to do something about those fools first, won’t we?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Theodore is a typical conservative extremist who has some problematic beliefs such as the idea that the White Elves, who are a superior species, are responsible for leading the other Elf clans, but he is not a fool.

In the case of the recent attack on the Central Assembly, he was quick to notice the danger of the reform extremists who advocated for freedom and equality but wielded violence that produced casualties.

And so, he acted to raid and capture the reform extremists and Gregor, who united them, knowing that he himself would be tried for breaking the law.

Even though he was admonished by the former Prime Minister Delphys, he still stood his ground, but…

“By the way, Eliza, what is the World Tree’s condition?”

Just when Queen Aristia disappeared and Vizier Delphys was killed by someone, the life force of the World Tree was severely reduced.

At that time, the water and sewage systems, which were maintained by the Bronze Elves’ magical device that converts the life force of the World Tree into magical power, was shut off, and a disruption in the usage of Living Magic occurred, which prompted an immediate investigation to be conducted.

“Listy, your report please…”

From behind Eliza, a Priestess of the World Tree who had the role of assisting the Queen emerged.

“…The recent disruption in the energy supply of the World Tree was probably caused by a life and death condition which affected Lady Aristia, and it is presumed that an enormous amount of life force was consumed from the World Tree to keep Her Majesty alive.”

“Then, the Queen is probably…”

“Yes, she is alive.”

Theodore was interrupted mid-sentence with Listy’s declaration.

“Nnngh…”

Theodore pondered the situation for a while with a difficult expression on his face.

Queen Aristia might be an inconvenience to him as she is also pushing for reform, but she is currently the only one with the thickest concentration of High Elf blood in this generation. And so, Theodore, who values the principle of White Elves as the more dominant species, cannot make light of the Queen’s existence in relation to his beliefs.

“Very well, then let us send out a search party around the Northern Woodlands where the Queen seems to be hiding.”

“Yes, that would be a good idea indeed, father.”

Currently, the moderate conservatives are already searching, but since it would be better to have more people join the search, Eliza nods and shows support for her father as he makes arrangements to dispatch the squires and knights who are under house arrest.

“… There is more to the report, Your Excellency. May I continue?”

“Ah, yes, please continue.”

“We have been prioritizing the maintenance of the city facilities to bring the recent chaos under control. And because the World Trees in other cities also get life energy through the same veins of the earth, fluctuations in the barriers around each city have also been observed.”

The current situation had been predicted from the very start, but… With the current state of affairs in the Royal Capital, if further confusion is imposed by the concerned parties on the citizens, then various outbursts are bound to occur. And for that reason, it is important to prioritize the maintenance of the city’s facilities first.

“How long would it take the World Tree to return to its previous state?”

“The earliest could take a month, and the latest would be about half a year…”

“I hope nothing happens during that time, though.”

“It would be ideal if we could at least stay on high alert during this period…”

Just as Eliza sighed while playing with her curly, silver-blonde hair, her attendant entered the audience room and whispered something in her ear.

“Father, I apologize, but it seems I have a visitor, so if you’ll please excuse me.”

After excusing herself, Eliza quickly left the room.

After all, she also had a lot of things to do…

When she returned to her private chambers, she found two Elven men — one with pale skin and one with dark skin — waiting for her.

“Thank you for coming, Lord Ziebel.”

“Yes, well, we are just as distressed as you are about the current situation.”

The man named Ziebel responded. The man was also a reform moderate who is currently trying to unite all the other reform moderates who belong to the Black Elf clan. He is also one of the people who will carry on the will of Minister Marcus, who called for nonviolent disobedience.

“Thank you for also coming over, Lord Sheyard.”

“Well, I’m still in a neutral stance over this situation though.”

This man was called Sheyard, the Guild Master of the Craft Guild that unites the Bronze Elves living in the Royal Capital.

Taking advantage of his position and having access to the Royal Castle, he hid Ziebel in the carriage with mixed deliveries and brought him to Eliza in secret.

“I know it’s on short notice, but you coming here means… you are going to help us aren’t you?”

“Yes, if it’s just us, then we would not be able to stop those radicals from inciting the people, after all.”

Originally, the moderate conservative faction which Eliza belonged to merely feared that sudden reforms would cause chaos, but it was not like they rejected all kinds of reforms.

“We will do everything we can to help, and together we will work for the abolition of extremism.”

Smiling, Eliza held out her hand and Ziebel shook it.

“It would be reassuring if the Bronze Elves cooperates with us too.”

Cutely tilting her head, she also glances in Sheyard’s direction, but…

“I’m terribly sorry, but I cannot make the Bronze Elves make a move on my own. The least I can do is to make sure that weapons don’t get into the hands of the reform extremists, but… If I do more than that, then we would not be considered neutral anymore.”

Sheyard replied with a shrug.

That day, the reform conservatives and moderates joined forces to contain the growth of the reform extremists led by Gregor, and to bring the chaos he caused under control.