Mana ripples and spirits play. The spirits reject her because she's a demon, but she doesn't mind because she can see their purity without having to touch them.
It is indeed a night to think of him.
Hugging herself in loneliness, she brushed the snow from her shoulders to her elbows.
It's not like I'm actually cold, but I do it anyway.
I missed him, even though I hadn't seen him in a day.
On a day like this, I wouldn't mind a relaxing soak in the tub with you.
In my true form, I could bathe in lava, but it hurt with my wounds.
It's been three days since I fought the demon king.
A warrior, princess, or shrine maiden might be healed by a saint, but she was a demon and had to rely on natural recovery, so there were still after-effects of the battle in places she couldn't see.
You are a good woman. Instead of helping him, she wants to delay his return to his homeland.
The physical affliction could have been cured by returning to the manor, but time with the warrior was limited, and the sage's time with him was more precious than his recovery.
But the shrine maiden, why did she call him Nature's Tree?
There were many possible reasons.
The god of light, Fiora. King Merkirena, too. Dera, the natural wood. Even himself.
She needed a trace of the warrior who had not yet returned home.
But she loves him with all her heart.
Her passionate confession to the warrior during their party must have been genuine.
Even without the imprinting curse, she still wanted him.
Religion for faith. Kingdom for kingdom. A race to survive.
Organizations need heroes to serve their purposes.
So what are you courting a warrior for?
"...Because he made me realize that I am a woman."
The sage didn't always love the warrior.
The only reason she was interested in humans in the first place was because they were stronger than her.
She had tried to pursue a direct relationship with him, but it never progressed beyond that because there was another woman.
It was ridiculous that the story was told as if he had been defeated by Husa.
I knew that even if I corrected it later, it would be dismissed as a lame excuse, so I didn't mind bringing up the wrong past.
Even if she had warned him sternly against making light of her.
...It doesn't matter what he did in the past, what matters is this longing that won't go away even if he's in charge.
My throat tickles even when I drink water, so I understand it's not thirst.
I was in a hurry to get here because of his sudden disappearance, but I need Dera's permission to enter the elemental realm. So I must ask the holy woman, even if it's not very nice.
If you try to force your way in, you may be able to, but reopening the shattered crystals is a difficult task for even the most divine of beings.
At best, by joining the Continental Army, you've turned your back on the Elementals.
As a member of the Demon Army, as the King of Heaven, and as the King of Sichuan, he had secretly aided the Continental Army against the Demon Army's invasion.
Moreover, the reason why the Sage joined the Continental Army before the Warriors were summoned was because his territory was actively interacting with the Continent.
He was also intrigued by the continent of Pula because there was a stronger opponent than him in the form of the Ancestral Warrior.
In the past, it would have been one thing, but her demeanor lately has been suspicious. It's as if she's like a flirtatious fire fox who knows what she's doing but pretends not to.
She was cut off from the outside world from birth and built her faith from within. She takes care of him like a sister, even though they are mismatched because he is pitiful and reminds her of her own childhood. The saint also treated the wise man like a big sister, and they became so close that it was hard to believe that a believer and a demon could be in the same room.
Until the plan to capture the demon was decided.
That's when she became suspicious.
If former Legionnaire Tiang was the strongest physically, the Sage was the strongest in a magical sense.
However, as the Demon King of the Demon Army, it was difficult for her to publicly help the continent.
She had been secretly working behind the scenes to help the party of heroes, only voicing her opposition.
But this is coming to an end.
He had a plan in mind that, if he was so inclined, he could take over the Demon Army and rule peacefully after declaring war and peace.
A demon with ties to the continent-. If she truly meant it, it wouldn't be such a far-fetched dream.
Instead, it would be a struggle for her and her people.
I hate that kind of thing.
The sage pushes away his thoughts and returns to reality. The problem at hand was to enter the land of the elements.
"As the saint asks you a question, so you ask the saint a favor."
Perhaps the relationship between the wise man and the holy woman was not as harmonious as that of eldest and youngest siblings, but rather a temporary pretense of friendship for the same purpose?
A sage who's forced to live with a demon in order to capture it, so she's forced to be nice to the warrior.
Or a saint. Or herself.
Even if that was the case, if she wanted to be allowed in, she would have to ask the saint to meet with Dera and ask her to come.
No one but a princess or a saint would be able to ask a natural tree dera for a favor or request an audience.
At times like this, the sage was truly dissatisfied with the limitations of his race. He had worked so hard to bring peace to the continent.
What a futile endeavor.
He sat by the window and pondered. He savored the coolness and waited for the approaching spirit.
"Have you come?"
"Shah-ah.
"Yes, I have traveled far."
"Shah-shah-.
I took out the kettle beak I had stored in the subspace and stroked the little creature, feeding it, and it ate cutely.
"Kukuk, cute one."
She smiled, a smile that came naturally to her as she was unusually happy to see him after traveling so far. She then pulled out a letter and other items from a pouch around her neck.
"Dear Princess Artemine.
I have received word that you have defeated the demon.
I, too, was skeptical, but while I'm glad you succeeded, my heart aches to think that the Duchess is not well.
Please, please, please do what you can for the good of the continent, but please know that the Duchess's health and well-being must come first.
Word of the Demon King's demise has not yet spread within the Demon Army.
Perhaps King Krytrik is controlling the information.
Still, if the Demon King has indeed been destroyed, I'm curious to see what the Duchess will do.
Chief of Staff Krytrik has become increasingly suspicious lately, if not before.
I'm not sure where she'll get a puppet if she doesn't have the talent of a demon one day.
The other estates have been acting strangely as well.
We're not going to sit idly by and let it happen, but now that the Demon King is gone.
I'm cautiously suggesting that the Duchess should take control of the demon army.
We are all looking forward to your return to the estate.
It's been a while since we've had a fashion show for the beautiful Duchess.
The piles of clothes to show the Duchess are piling up, but without her, we're all feeling a little discouraged.
I can't wait to show the Duchess my creations so she can check them out with her eight eyes.
Tania, the fashionable Princess's top designer."
"Kook, kook, kook."
Reading the letter from the loyal Suha's meechum, I feel my irritation melt away.
"Surely the war has left no time for fashion shows."
For a sage with no power, magic, or even rank, catwalks were a favorite pastime. Her outfits are the talk of the town, and Tania's creations are the talk of social circles.
The act of showing off beauty while cultivating it.
As a woman, Tania enjoys the privileges of being a strong woman until she meets and falls in love with a warrior.
The war would soon be over, and it would not be strange for her to resume her hobby once she returned to the manor.
"But for now, he comes first."
The sage removed the blue jeweled ring and touched it wistfully. When he couldn't help himself, he used communication tools like this to assist.
At this distance, communication should be easy.
I wonder if Dera's determination is the reason I can't reach her.
I had tried several times before, but alas, she was silent.
"Woof.
"Ah, Millet. Can you hear me?"
"You!"
Feeling unsatisfied, I put it down and started to write a reply.
"I see you can hear me. And by the sound of it, she's not far away."
"You are right, and I have come to see you, lest you should be in trouble!"
"Ahaha, yes, that's great."
The warrior suspected that the wise man's intention was that she might be obsessed with him, but the wise man replied cheerfully, as if he did not know that he was the one in trouble.
"But what is the matter with you that you did not come to me at once?"
"Well said, for you are a demon, as you know, and it is difficult for you to pass the test unless the natural trees allow you to do so."
"...I see."
The warrior wondered if she'd come to him as boldly as she had yesterday, but was relieved to hear a practical reason.
"Oh, well. I wanted to ask you something."
"Something has happened to you, my friend. Tell her, and do not be surprised."
Pleased to be of service to the warrior.
"It happened after I arrived around noon today."
The warrior was as brief with the sage as he was in the conference room.
"Chief of Staff Krytrik appears to be responsible-."
As if that weren't bad enough, a subordinate had mentioned Kritik's suspicious behavior in a letter. I was just about to reply when I realized I should include the warrior's question and let him figure it out.
"The Krytric I know is the weakest of the Four Kings, but a very dangerous man."
"Hmm-. He's certainly more difficult to deal with than Mutupa."
"Intelligent?"
"Alas, I was talking to myself, so don't mind me."
"Hm-hm. I see. In any case, Chief of Staff Kritik is a cautious man. So cautious, in fact, that he keeps his own men in the dark."
"It is said that to deceive your enemies, you must first deceive your allies."
"That is a fitting description of him."
The sage added that Krytrik was also a vicious man who experimented with different races, and it was speculated that his experiments may have allowed demons to break through the bonds.
He added that the Zithuas are very clever and only care about their own kind, leaving the lands they pass through desolate.
"That's not a good man."
"Dost thou understand," said the king, "that my daughter's opposition to the war was due to her fear of the wickedness of her chief of staff?"
"It's Mile, after all. She's as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside."
"Kuch! What a pity."
The corners of his mouth twitched upward in pleasure. The sage, a woman of enchanting beauty and aura, chuckled softly at the warrior's praise.
"...So, you're saying that Krytric's trickery allowed the demons to enter the circle?"
"It's more of a suspicion, but if the Chief of Staff's suspicions are anything to go by, it's probably true, so beware."
There are also rumors that the soldiers are being given pills that make them stronger at the expense of their sanity, so they should be careful about hardening.
"Especially since you're so skilled at distracting your allies, you'll need mental defense as well, but I suppose that's pointless for you."
"No. I don't know about you, but I have to be careful around you, lest someone else gets hit by your trickery like last time."
"...That's not your fault."
"No, Millet. It's my fault for making such a fuss when I didn't even kill the enemy."
The warrior blames himself for his mistake, but the sage barely suppresses the thought that it is because of him that the warrior is able to stay.
"Well, then, if it is the Chu Jia La horde that is the problem, may I offer my assistance?"
"Haha, I was going to help just as Mile was going to help, but the elementals said they would handle it themselves, so I'll respect them."
"Hao, they say such pompous things, but if the maiden is like that, the elementals are like that. If you are, then I understand."
How kind of you to be so gentle when your contract with the Light God is already over.
If either the warrior or herself were willing to take the initiative, this could have been dealt with in a matter of moments, but the warrior said she respected the will of those weaker than herself, so she waited patiently, but it was clear she was preparing herself for action.
"It's late at night, shouldn't you go to bed? Beauty is said to be a light sleeper, and if you want to get up early, you should lie down now."
"Kuhuhuh, you're always saying pretty things."
"No matter. To be honest, it's just lip service to get off the phone when the job is done. Of course, Mille is pretty."
"Hmph, she can stay until dawn."
I should be grateful that they weren't empty words.
A compliment and an afterglow, both regrettable and pleasing, as the warrior's mind wanders in and out of the sage's.
"Would you be so kind as to send word to the Natural Tree that she may enter the circle?"
This was not a command communication.
The sage had a premonition that the communication would soon come to an end, so he asked, not forgetting his original purpose for coming to the Elemental Realm.
"...I'll pass that on once we meet. I'm still waiting."
"Thank you."
"Good night, then, Mile."
The sage was too quick to respond, a warrior who wrapped things up. It was a little hard on the other man, who wanted to continue the conversation, but the warrior didn't want to leave any room, because he could really talk all night if he didn't.
"You, too, have a good night."
and hung up without hesitation.
We talked for maybe 10 minutes.
I slap my communication tool in frustration.
He's such a jerk. He's a married man.
The world of a warrior and the world of a wise man are different.
A strong man.
It was not unusual for a powerful man to have multiple lovers besides his spouse. It was a way of showing off, like showing off wealth or honor, but it was never something to be rejected out of hand like that.
"Shaa shaa-.
"Right. Are you going to go straight?"
"Shhhh.
The sage scribbled a note on the letter he'd taken out to reply to his servant, along with a note from the warrior, telling him to look into it, and then tucked it into his neck pocket.
"I stopped by the kingdom on the way," he said, "and the recipient is a young woman you know, yes, the red-haired one."
"Shah-ah.
As a bonus, she included a brief note to update the princess on the current situation.
"I will take good care of her, then."
The sage waved goodbye as she exited through the same window through which she had entered.
Tomorrow, I'll have to figure out what to do with the holy woman.
Earlier, I hadn't mentioned that I had brought the holy woman with me because I was talking to the warrior alone.
But what does it matter, I've asked for a meeting, and I'm sure the warrior will return if the disturbance inside is resolved, if not necessarily the meeting.
The sage was left to ponder the saint's recent behavior before falling asleep.
This fiction piece was written for promotional purposes.
This article has been translated by deepl.