Chapter 30: Exam

Rosemas Tervation.

She is a high elf and the princess of the elves.

Elves form a collective community in each forest, and the elves representing the forest are called ‘elders’.

So what is a princess?

A princess is a concept in the human world.

However, the reason Rosemas is an elf princess is because she has the same status as a princess in the human world.

“Princess!

What can we do if someone who has the duty to protect the World Tree behaves so dangerously!”

In elven society, she is known as the ‘next World Tree priestess’, but the elves do not want to call her by her full name, so they simply call her “princess!”

“If the princess is harmed, I will not be able to show my face to the queen, the manager of all forests and the representative of the World Tree.”

The elves also have a queen.

This queen is in charge of managing the World Tree, and has a very important role as she oversees all the power transmitted from the World Tree.

“Would your mother be…very surprised?”

“I’m surprised.

If I had done something wrong, all the guardians of the forest could have rushed out here.”

Rosemath is the queen’s daughter.

If the queen dies, she will become the next priestess of the World Tree.

Even if the elders, including the highest elder, assist the queen, thanks to the queen’s existence, the elves maintain an equal relationship with humans.

Therefore, special care must be taken around Rosemath.

Even if there is a replacement if she disappears, the existence of the woman named Rosemath is as important to the elves as a princess in the human world.

“Princess, really!

Ao!”

A woman like that was captured by an orc and almost killed?

The guard knight, the elf ‘Marjohis, who was Rosemath’s escort but was captured by Rosemath and lost Rosemath, pounded his chest in frustration.

“So why are you leaving me behind?!”

“I’m sorry….”

“If it’s going to end with an apology, oh, really!!

Do you know how nervous I was until I went to the Adventurer’s Guild?!”

Rosemas’s new recruits were handed over to Marjohis.

The one who reported her missing to the Adventurer’s Guild was Marjohis, and of course the Guild sent Rosemas to Marjohis.

“I was really scared on the way here!

I was worried that the humans might think she was a princess and kidnap her!”

“…”

If Rosemas had known that she was an elf princess, she would have taken different measures.

Fortunately, Rosemas thoroughly hid the fact that she was a princess and was not caught by the humans.

However, she ended up in a dangerous situation.

“Ugh, really, this reckless princess…!!

I can’t even hit her once…”

“Come on, come on.

Calm down.

Everyone wants to wander around alone when they come out to the human world.

Don’t be so upset, Princess.”

Fergus, the Normans blacksmith who gave Marjohis and Rosemasa temporary place to stay, handed them honey tea.

“Just don’t do that again.

Everything turned out well in the end.

Okay?”

“If you make a mistake once, you can make a mistake again.”

“You can think about it later.

For now, let’s be happy that you’re back alive.

Okay?”

“Ugh.”

Marjohiss patted Fergus on the shoulder and patted him on the shoulder, lowering his trembling fist.

“Damn it.”

If something happens to the princess?

Then he’ll be the one who gets punished.

The reckless princess’s wound will soon be the death of his escort knight.

“And princess.

No matter how much you want to travel, it was really wrong to trap your escort at the bottom of the lake with spirit magic and run away alone.

In the human world, it would be attempted murder.

You won’t die, but if the spirit had a bad thought, he’d really snap.”

__I’m sorry.”

“If I made a mistake, you should apologize to Marjohiss, not me.”

“…I’m sorry, Marjohiss.

I won’t do it again.”

“Oh, really.”

Marjohiss let out a deep sigh and suppressed his temper.

He’s apologizing like that, so there’s no way I can press him any further.

“Promise me, Princess.

You’ll never leave me again.

You’ll never do anything like that again.

Do you understand?”

“Uh, uh, that…”

“Promise, Can’t you do it?”

Marjohis’ expression began to harden.

Fergus also lowered the corners of his mouth with a face that said, “This won’t do,” and the atmosphere gradually became more tense.

“…That.”

Rosemas wiggled her fingers, then met Marjohis’ gaze with a serious face.

“I have a partner I want to be with.”

“Huh?”

“I want to be with the hero who saved me.”

“…Phu, hahahahahaha!!”

Fergus held his stomach and burst into laughter.

Rosemath, blushing and holding onto the hem of her skirt, looked like a girl in love to anyone.

“Hey, this can’t be! It’s over!!”

“You can’t, princess. You’re not in love with a human, are you?”

“That person….”

“That person?!!?!”

Marjohiss was dumbfounded by the shocking declaration.

“Princess, you really can’t. You might end up a half-elf if you keep doing that!”

“…I’m prepared!”

“Princess!!”

“I can’t ask you to come with me. What if he falls in love with you?”

“Oh, no. Are you trying to keep me in check here, princess? Tsk….”

Marjohiss really seemed to have a lot to say.

“Good. Good. The princess wanted to travel the human world without restraint, so she used spirit magic to trap me in a lake and made me unable to come out for a few days, and in the meantime, I registered as an adventurer and wandered the human world, but was captured by orcs, and survived with the grace of the World Tree and the two goddesses. It’s all good. But, shouldn’t you come with me after all this time?”

Marjohiss was starting to get really annoyed.

“But….”

“But what?”

“Marjohiss, you’re weaker than me.”

“____.”

The princess was much stronger than Marjohiss. She was called a bodyguard, but in reality, she was more like a servant.

“No, princess, but….”

“And you’re weaker than Fergus.”

“That’s true.”

“No!! But I’m still a member of the Guardians of the Forest!”

“Yes, I was a former Guardian Vice-Captain.”

“I’m stronger than the Guardian Captain.”

“A person like that got captured by orcs?!”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Rosemas held Marjohiss’ hand tightly.

“Tell the Queen and the Elders how I was captured. There was an Orc who sealed the spirit magic”

“__”

It was a serious matter. The Elves’ mainstay, spirit magic, was ineffective as if they were using magic in the dispel field. If Rosemas was helpless, then the other Elves were the same.

“The spirit magic sealing magic is “their” power. Maybe they have appeared again. It’s a story from the distant past, though.”

“Princess.”

“I will gather information while working with the person who saved me. It’s okay, they are the ‘real’ ones who wiped out the Orcs.”

“… Really, can you trust me?”

“Yes. Of course. I made a big mistake, but trust me this time.”

Saaah.

A huge body of water gushed out from beside Rosemas. The stream of water that had formed in an instant transformed into the shape of a person, and soon pulled out a sphere made of water droplets from its chest.

“Marjohis, tell this to the Queen.”

“What is this….?”

“This is my memory of what I went through. Please pass this on. Okay?”

“… Are you sure you can do without me?”

Marjohis couldn’t move for a while.

“Are they really people I can trust?”

“Yes. More than anyone else. In fact, if I deliver this to the Queen, the Queen will tell me to act together with them.”

“Are they people I can trust to that extent…?”

“Yes. I swear on the World Tree. They are not dangerous people. Marjohis can go into the forest and deliver this without worry.”

“I”

An oath to the World Tree. It is a stronger binding force for an elf than an oath to one’s parents or an oath to a goddess. Since swore an oath to the World Tree, of all people, there is no turning back.

“I, Rosemas Tervation, swear that I will never fall in love with a man or move separately from Marjohis because I don’t want to take Marjohis.”

“…That much.”

Marjohis bowed his head. The World Tree is like a parent to the elves. Since I swore an oath to the World Tree, I have to trust it.

“I can’t believe it… But if I swore an oath to the World Tree, there’s nothing I can do. However, I still have to worry about their safety. I want to meet them once.”

“…No.”

“Princess. I can’t back down from this. Unless we meet in person, I’ll just watch from afar.”

“…Understood. Then let’s go right now.”

Rosemas kicked the door open and went outside. Marjohis continued to feel uneasy at her hasty movements, but he followed Rosemas and hid on the stairs of the inn.

And then.

“Eek!”

Rosemas stepped back in surprise. Marjohis tried to rush forward, but Fergus, who had followed him, grabbed Marjohis.

“Wait. Watch. Over there…Uh-huh.”

“Ow, come.”

The two elves gulped when they saw the blond man coming out of the room into the hallway. Their expressions became serious at the sight of the human male, who was drenched in sweat and wearing only his pants roughly draped over him.

“Please come in and talk, Lady Rosemas.”

“Yes, yes.”

Squeak.

Rosemas went into the room, and the two left the stairs and headed toward the hallway.

“Did you hear a voice?”

“I know. Because she was a customer who came to our shop. But…she’s really in good shape. Wait.”

Fergus became deep in thought.

“There’s one person in the group, a woman-”

-You want to be a comrade?

A woman’s voice came from inside. The two elves in the hallway gulped.

-Okay. Companion. Instead, call me master.

“How dare you tell the princess…?”

“Wait a minute. Calm down. That woman is an acquaintance of the highest elder.”

“What…? How? She hasn’t been outside for 500 years…?”

“So.”

-Instead. If you fight me and win, I’ll accept you as a comrade.

-Okay.

Rosemas’s voice was more resolute and motivated than ever.