515 - Festival. Time of the Elves. And the Traveler # 4

Elfriede is a traitor who committed a great crime in Alfheim.

The pursuers dispatched from Alfheim to chase such an Elfriede are cold-blooded killers with a brilliant talent for hunting humans.

First of all, Calidur of the Flash.

Calidur was a damn powerful Elf, strong enough to handle most things with his bare hands. The Elves dispatched as Calidur's reinforcements were the same.

Dermod of Collapse. Daltor of Lightning.

And Mimir of Cycle.

Mimir was the sole woman among the pursuers.

I remember she could use magic, but what left the strongest impression was that she was a beauty who displayed a somewhat cynical attitude, much like her chilly appearance.

"Dammit-."

However, the current Mimir looked quite disheveled, to the point of spitting out profanities without hesitation.

It also meant that, unlike many Elves who usually maintain a cold and composed appearance, she was showing the cracks in her heart without restraint.

I thought it would be best to calm her down before she got even more agitated and started acting out.

In that sense, I quickly snatched her palm and pressed down firmly on the thumb area.

"What the-. Why are you suddenly touching my hand?"

Mimir hwiik- shook off my hand.

I replied lightly to escape the charge of harassment.

"Just calm down. It's a pressure point that's good for calming nerves. Anyway, explain more about what that traveler fellow is up to."

"...."

Instead of answering immediately, Mimir gently massaged her palm, which had turned red from my pressure.

Whether she was trying to calm down or trying to think, Mimir held her tongue for a while. It was after a brief silence that she opened her mouth again.

"...That man, they say he visited Alfheim one day."

"He visited Alfheim?"

"Yes. He wasn't a being of Alfheim. He wasn't our god either. Anyway, he told us Elves about the Gaia continent beyond the mist and beyond the veil of the sea."

I etched Mimir's words and all the keywords into my mind. Imprinting them so I would never forget, I asked back about what I was curious about.

"You don't know his appearance or anything like that?"

"I don't. I've never met him personally. According to the elders, he was tall. They said he was someone who possessed an intense aura."

Tall.

A person with an intense aura, huh.

When Mars explained about the traitor of the gods, he said it was someone I had met before. Was there someone tall with an intense aura among those I had met?

Actually, there were such people.

Diana, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and so on-all the gods I've met were tall and had intense auras. Fuck, looking at it this way, it's a completely useless hint.

While I was feeling a bit disappointed, Mimir shook her head as if she couldn't take it anymore and said.

"I really can't do this. Let's just pass the time until midnight. That man has ears everywhere. He's someone with terrifyingly good hearing."

"Is that so?"

Is he someone who installed wiretaps all over the place?

"They say that when it becomes the hour of the rat, that man's power weakens. It would be better to talk then. I'll give you a guest room. Rest there. And don't show any signs of this to the other Elves."

"I'll do that then."

Curious about the story that would come out of Mimir's mouth, I decided to spend some time at this Olympia branch of the New Alfheim Reconstruction Foundation.

"The centipedes are running away-!"

As Luna chased away the remaining centipedes, and I helped repair broken furniture or observed the appearances of the Elves, time passed quickly.

After going through such a busy time, Hippolyte, who sat down in the drawing room for a moment, looked around and said.

"I never imagined that the contents of the scroll would be a message to meet under the tower at the hour of the rat. I still have a long way to go. Actually, Antiope is good at this kind of tracking."

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Hippolyte showed a slightly reflective attitude as she recalled her mistaken deduction.

Her self-discipline must be what raised her to the position of a high-ranking adventurer.

Luna also added a word.

"So, Hassan. How do you know the branch manager here? You seem to know her quite well. About each other-. You weren't that close when we met at the tavern before."

In her narrowly slit eyes, suspicion and jealousy were mixed half and half.

"No. We're not close. It's not like that-. It's more like an ill-fated relationship-."

I explained to Luna and Hippolyte the process and circumstances of how I came to know Mimir.

The fact that the pursuers who followed Elfriede were in Sodomora. That Mimir was one of them, and that I didn't expect to meet her again like this here.

"-That's how it happened."

"If that's the case."

Hippolyte, who had heard the general story, asked as if another curiosity had arisen.

"What is that traveler, that traitor? They were words that kept coming up in the conversation. Hassan, you also reacted strongly."

"That is...."

Among the gods of this Gaia continent, there is one who betrayed their own kin and sold them out to the Elves-. That is the truth.

I hesitated whether I should tell that fact to Hippolyte or Luna and increase the confusion. The reason I hadn't told them the truth until now was because of this hesitation.

Is it okay to drag them into this?

If I tell them the truth, won't my companions end up in unnecessary danger?

I found myself walking a tightrope between those risks and the potential benefit of coming up with good ideas if we put our heads together.

I decided to make a choice.

"From now on, you must swear by the River Styx to keep what is said here a secret from others."

Hippolyte narrowed her eyes upon hearing my words.

"Since the underworld is broken, the River Styx might not be what it used to be. But yes. I promise. On my honor."

"Luna, what about you?"

"I promise too! I don't have honor, but! On the tribe of the Small Yard!"

"Alright then-."

Having been guaranteed confidentiality, I slowly opened my lips after confirming with my sensitive senses that there were no listening ears around us.

"There is a traitor who sold out the gods of Hypos. It's highly probable that Bacchus's death, Hypos's long silence, and the current wars are all related to that person."

Words that have left the mouth cannot be taken back.

I had already factored in the ripple effect those words would bring.

It must have been the same for Hippolyte, who was on the receiving end of the secret. She trembled her shoulders as if she was very surprised by my story.

"Is that true? I see why you tried to hide it. Now that we've learned the truth, we've become irreversibly entangled in these causalities."

Hippolyte was reflecting on her rash choice. Unlike Hippolyte, Luna seemed to have more questions.

"Why on earth? Who? For what reason? Why betray the gods? They're family!"

"I don't know either. That's why I'm trying to find out now. If it's a being that can threaten the gods of Hypos, I'll surely clash with them someday. It's better to block or prepare for it in advance."

Luna trembled at my vague answer.

"Mom and Dad won't be in danger, right? I hope the two of them, who must be somewhere, are safe-."

I wanted to comfort Luna by saying they would be fine, but I couldn't say anything because I had no certainty that they were safe.

This situation where I don't know who will be entangled how, and who is involved.

I feel like I can understand a little bit of Mimir's feeling when she made a fuss about there being no one to trust.

* * *

When it became midnight.

Everyone had left work, and only I, Mimir, and my companions remained in the empty basement of the foundation.

Daeng, daeng, daeng- rang the grandfather clock.

Only after seeing off the last of the employees did Mimir close all the doors and windows and let out a deep hwoo- sigh.

"Now it's done. Anyway, Hassan. There was something I wanted to say to you. You could say there's a task I want to commission you for."

"A commission?"

"Yes. A commission. Before long, a great crisis will strike this Gaia continent. I want you to stop it."

"A crisis is coming-."

And she says it's a crisis for the continent. Just what on earth has to happen for the continent to be in such danger?

As if answering my curiosity, Mimir said.

"Before long, the volcano will erupt. The giant volcano of Hypos will erupt. You must stop it."

Hypos is going to erupt?

That was quite surprising.

If that high mountain were to have a major eruption, not only the nearby city of Olympia but everything might be swept away.

Perhaps the living creatures and what could be called civilization on this land right now could be reset.

Fuck, that's definitely a crisis for the continent and the ecosystem. No wonder there's a hypothesis about volcanic eruptions being the cause of the dinosaurs' extinction.

Uuuuuu- I feel like the grudges of the poor dinosaurs are echoing in my ears.

"Uuuuuu-. A volcano-."

Ah. It wasn't the grudge of a dinosaur, but Luna's growling.

However, only Hippolyte shook her head as if it were nonsense.

"Elf. The Hypos volcano does not erupt. Around Mount Hypos, the priests of Vulcanus are calming the rivers of fire with endless hammering. It's common knowledge on the Gaia continent."

Vulcanus is the god in charge of blacksmiths, furnaces, and volcanoes.

Since I was far from the work of a forge, I had no reason to be associated with him, but I heard he is very closely related to people living in volcanic regions, carpenters, and blacksmiths.

"I know too. The priests of Vulcanus."

Did Mimir also know that?

"That they are calming the volcano by driving in golden pillars with hot hammering. I know. But, the priests of Vulcanus will all die before long. At the hands of the assassins sent by us Elves."

"What? What does that mean?"

Luna asked in surprise.

"Are you saying you Elves are trying to make the volcano erupt on purpose? Don't you know it'll be a real disaster if those people stop hammering?"

"Yes. It will be a disaster. I was dispatched to this city for that disaster. To make the volcano erupt."

Seureureuk, kkwaaak-.

"You-. Elf-."

Before I knew it, Hippolyte had grabbed Mimir by the collar and lifted her into the air. The fragile Elf's body just floated up without any chance to resist.

"Isn't that the same as saying you Elves are going to massacre the people of the Gaia continent? What is the reason for confessing that?"

Gooooo-.

"Try making an excuse-. Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you right here and now, Elf-!"

A tingling murderous intent radiated from Hippolyte, who spoke in a concise tone.

Mimir, who was fully receiving that murderous intent, just muttered something small with a pale face.

"The abyss shall collapse, and the festival shall begin in the city of harmony-. Then, at the effort of the fairy, the mountain shall be enraged and shake the earth. And dye the sky red-."

"What?"

"With that power. At the end of the long winter, the butterfly shall shed its cocoon-."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a prophecy. A prophecy written on the trunk of our World Tree in Alfheim. It's the hope of us Elves.... Everything is written there."

To think such a thing is written on the World Tree.

I asked.

"Everything is written?"

"That the abyss of the Gaia continent would collapse. That a huge festival would be held in that city was also written. You should know what that means by now, Hassan."

Is the World Tree some kind of giant Namuwiki?

Mimir continued.

"When the intense heat generated by the eruption of the volcano Hypos reaches the sky, that magic and powerful energy will melt the ice and snow of our Alfheim, and spring will come where butterflies fly."

According to Mimir's explanation, to end the winter of Alfheim.

To fulfill the prophecy written on the World Tree, Elf operatives would raid the Temple of Vulcanus located near Hypos.

There, they would kill all the priests who were suppressing the volcano.

And they would make the volcano explode and cause a massive eruption.

"The snow of your Alfheim melts because a volcano erupts? Is that even possible?"

"At least Mother World Tree believes so. What Mother believes is the destiny that Elves must achieve."

"I see. There's no answer when you put it that way."

"Three days left. The day when the fire of Hypos boils the most. The last Day of Fire of the year. On that day, the Elves will appear. To fulfill the prophecy."

Hippolyte, who had been listening silently with a furrowed brow, lowered Mimir, whom she had been holding by the collar, and clicked her tongue with a tsk-.

"To even know the date when the fire of Hypos becomes the strongest. It must have been a secret known only to the gods. Is that also written in your Elves' prophecy?"

"No, that's what that person told us. The one who came from your Gaia continent. The one who told the Elves how to come to this land."

Mimir massaged her neck, which had been squeezed by Hippolyte.

When she poured water into a cup from a nearby water jar as if her throat was dry, Hippolyte, who was watching with narrowed eyes, asked.

"Is there anything more you know about that person?"

"I don't know much about him either. But, if you stop this matter well. I can introduce you to an elder who knows about him. That's my commission reward. I swear."

"I see."

Hippolyte seemed convinced in her own way. Helping with a job and receiving a reward. Since that's the way of adventurers, there would be no contract more certain than that for Hippolyte.

But for me, I couldn't help but have questions.

"Mimir. Why are you telling us this? You're an Elf. Doesn't telling us this mean you're going to betray the Elves...?"

"Betrayal...."

"What about the others who know about this besides you? Are the other Elves I saw earlier today also involved?"

"No, they really don't know anything. Those friends are people who sincerely want to build a new home in this land of Gaia."

Mimir's eyes, as she spoke, were sparkling with a mix of pity and longing.

"This is a story known only to the monks of the Ascetic class. It means only the branch managers know."

"So, what's the reason you're trying to betray the Elves? If you're a branch manager, it's certain you're in a fairly high position."

At my questioning, Mimir stopped talking for a moment. She gently touched the back of her neck with her hand and then answered slowly.

"Since the abyss of this Gaia continent collapsed, Mother World Tree's influence has weakened noticeably. The shackles monitoring us Elves have also thinned. That's how I came to know. That Calidur, or Elfriede, was right."