**Chapter 435 – Auril and Dietrich**
—
Dietrich wore a face on the verge of tears.
*I actually stole the Guardian Holy Sword…!*
He had stolen the Guardian Holy Sword.
Given that he was the child of a pirate, stealing something in itself wasn’t strange.
The problem was that Dietrich was no longer just a pirate.
He was in the position of a king—one who had to thoroughly conceal his origins.
Even though no one truly acknowledged him, if he fled like this, it would only be a matter of time before Dietrich’s true identity was exposed.
Dietrich glared at the mastermind behind all of this.
*…To think he walked out of that heavily guarded royal castle as if it were his own home.*
Phantom.
The moment Dietrich clasped his hand, they were already outside the castle.
In the blink of an eye, they had flown through the air and reached the outside.
If he truly set his mind to it, assassinating a king would be child’s play.
The realization sent a shiver up Dietrich’s arm.
Honestly, at first, he had been clinging to him like a drowning man to straw.
*And at the same time, Phantom is the only one who’s ever defeated the Empire in war.*
It was unprecedented.
No place had ever survived after standing against the Empire.
And yet, the moment they were defeated, the Empire withdrew from the Labyrinth City entirely.
As if they had touched something they should never have touched.
Like someone who’d grabbed a scalding cup in shock.
*He really is Phantom.*
If so, then he was his benefactor.
After all, Phantom was the one who had once saved Dietrich’s life.
It had been a desperate, inescapable moment—kidnapped by pirates hostile to the Queen, with death all but certain.
Though he had been trained to wield a sword from a young age by his mother, there had been no way out.
Just as he was about to die, Phantom’s soul had begun to move his body.
As if possessed, he escaped them and miraculously survived.
“…By now, they must be searching everywhere for the Holy Sword. I’m probably already on a wanted notice.”
Dietrich let out a sigh.
He didn’t know what Phantom meant by granting him the qualifications of a king, but one thing was certain: by now, the entire Kingdom of Cernil would be mobilized in search of him.
He might even go down in history as the first king ever to be wanted in his own kingdom.
The king of a nation becoming a fugitive—what a joke.
“Don’t worry. Once you become the true owner of the Holy Sword, they won’t be able to do anything to you.”
Phantom said calmly.
Still, Dietrich was full of doubts.
“…Can I really become the true owner of the Holy Sword?”
“That depends entirely on you.”
True enough.
Once he had chosen to run, there was no turning back.
Yet what still puzzled him was how Phantom could be holding the Holy Sword at all.
*It’s unbelievably docile.*
Even being chosen by the Holy Sword didn’t mean one could simply wield it.
Even Dietrich, if he held it for too long, would receive a warning from the blade—
as if to say he had not yet been accepted as its true master.
Ignore that warning, and death was inevitable.
In fact, two kings in history had been killed by the Guardian Holy Sword.
Since then, no king had dared to wield it.
And yet…
Even though Phantom wasn’t even a king, the Holy Sword rested in his hand without the slightest resistance.
Had the stories been wrong?
Or had the Guardian Holy Sword been utterly overwhelmed by Phantom’s very existence?
“Where are we going?”
Dietrich asked.
They had already passed through several warps, heading toward an unknown destination.
“The Primordial Forest.”
“…?!”
Shock filled Dietrich’s eyes.
This was madness—utter madness.
After all, the Primordial Forest was—
“T-that’s the land of the elves, isn’t it?”
A land where elves absolutely forbade human entry.
Not just humans—no other race was permitted to intrude.
Above all, no one knew the path leading to the Primordial Forest.
Yet Phantom advanced without hesitation, as if he knew it well.
“I was taught that elves are monsters you must never come into contact with.”
“Do pirates spread those kinds of rumors too?”
Elves dwelled in forests; pirates ruled the seas.
It was strange that sea-roaming pirates feared a forest-dwelling race.
Especially since elves rarely ever left their woods.
Dietrich shook his head.
“It’s not just a rumor. Six years ago, the second-largest pirate fleet kidnapped an elf. Exactly three days later, that entire fleet vanished—wiped out by a single elf who came to rescue them.”
“So there are stories like that.”
“There are more than you’d think. My mother herself warned me over and over—never touch the elves.”
Elves were among the races with the highest average combat power.
A reclusive people who guarded the World Tree in the Primordial Forest.
And on top of that, they were long-lived.
Their accumulated strength rivaled the greatest forces in all of Pangaenia.
“Elves are kinder than you think.”
“Th-that can’t be true!”
Dietrich shouted without realizing it.
In Pangaenia, elves were synonymous with cruel monsters.
There were no stories of humans encountering elves and surviving.
*No way. That can’t be right.*
Dietrich kept denying it.
No matter how powerful Phantom was, there was no way he could know the path to the Primordial Forest.
But his fears soon became reality.
After passing through several more warps—
“…Ah.”
A dense forest came into view.
A vast primeval jungle untouched by human hands—just like the Primordial Forest.
And then—
Sssshk!
Figures with pointed ears approached from the distance.
Not one or two of them.
The moment Dietrich saw the armed elves, the strength drained from his legs.
There had to be dozens of them.
He had followed the wrong person.
If he’d known this would happen, he should have stayed quietly in the palace.
*I’m going to die…!*
“We greet the Druid of the Golden Scale.”
“Our benefactor! It is an honor to meet you.”
“The Queen awaits you.”
“Please, rest here in comfort.”
But this wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.
*…Druid of the Golden Scale? Benefactor?*
What was going on?
Not hostility—warm smiles greeted them.
This wasn’t how a closed-off race that shunned outsiders should behave.
They even invited him to rest.
And said the Queen was waiting.
For a moment, Dietrich wondered if he’d misheard.
*This is impossible…!*
Dietrich looked up at Phantom.
The Elf Queen had never once revealed herself to the outside world.
Naturally, humanity had never reached her.
And yet they said the Queen herself was waiting for Phantom.
*Who… what in the world is this man…*
The more he saw, the more he learned, the less he understood Phantom’s true nature.
One thing, however, was absolutely clear—
If Phantom so wished, the Kingdom of Cernil would be reduced to ashes in an instant.
*
*
“We are deeply indebted to you, Druid of the Golden Scale.”
The Elf Queen bowed her head.
Beside her stood the elves once kidnapped by the Black King, along with Elder Aruwen.
After the war ended, I had demanded the release of all captured elves in exchange for sparing the Black King’s life.
Thanks to that, the elves had survived and returned safely to the Primordial Forest.
“…I cannot even fathom how we might repay this debt.”
“We help one another. I, too, received your help—this is only natural.”
The elves had aided the war against the Reaper Cult as well.
They played a crucial role in blocking and delaying the Black King.
Without them, the Labyrinth would have been annihilated before I returned.
“That said, what brings you to the Primordial Forest today? If there is anything you desire, we will provide it.”
The Queen went straight to the point.
“I need to open the Altar of the Forest.”
“…The Altar of the Forest? But that place is sealed.”
“It should open. I brought the key.”
I lifted the Guardian Holy Sword.
Why else would it be a hidden quest of a wonder?
You had to steal the Guardian Holy Sword from the royal castle of Cernil and then enter the Primordial Forest to open the dungeon.
You would also have to fight the elves guarding the altar.
Even ten high-rankers together couldn’t accomplish such a feat.
*There was a note left by the former king of Cernil about the origin of the Guardian Holy Sword.*
That note had been discovered by chance, which was why the information became widely known.
But knowing didn’t mean being able to do it.
“I understand. Guiding you there is no trouble, but… you must be weary from your journey. How about resting for one night?”
I considered it briefly.
For the sake of maintaining good relations with the elves, spending a night wasn’t a bad idea.
“Very well.”
“Auril. Guide our guest to a comfortable room.”
Auril.
At the sound of her name—
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
An elf hurried forward.
Auril.
The elf who had climbed the Tower of the War God with me when I wore Randolph’s form.
I still vividly remembered entering the tower as an Emperor Penguin while Auril wore a bunny-girl outfit.
But now, the laurel elf had changed significantly.
*She’s received the blessing of the World Tree.*
Petals of the World Tree had bloomed beside her ears.
She had personally received the blessing said to be granted only to high elves.
“Druid of the Golden Scale, I will guide you. But the human beside you is…”
“Prepare the same room.”
“Ah! Understood. Please follow me.”
*
*
Elf Auril.
She had personally led elves to the Labyrinth City.
Though she nearly died at the hands of the Black King, she had thankfully survived.
*The Druid of the Golden Scale is Lord Randolph… could it really be true?*
Through him, the elves learned that the Druid of the Golden Scale had deep ties to the Labyrinth City.
And to Randolph, one of the Five Main Pillar.
But that was all.
Yet Auril had traveled the world with Randolph.
She had journeyed with him, climbed the Tower of the War God, and fought alongside him.
And then—
When the captured elves returned, Auril learned the truth.
They had first been released in the Labyrinth City, where she saw Priest Andrew—closely tied to Elder Aruwen—expressing gratitude to Phantom.
Hudson. Serengeti. Isaac.
The one who led them all was Randolph.
If they followed him, didn’t that mean Phantom *was* Randolph?
Of course, she didn’t sense the same overwhelming desire from him.
From the Druid of the Golden Scale, she felt nothing at all.
That was why she couldn’t bring herself to ask.
Yet the thought that he was Randolph kept returning.
Randolph, who had vanished one day without a word.
Auril found herself thinking of him more than she expected.
Perhaps this feeling was longing.
When he had first touched her, the laurel leaves had grown at a tremendous rate.
And in the end, it was all thanks to him that she had received the blessing of the World Tree.
Was it merely gratitude?
Unable to grasp her own feelings, Auril grew flustered.
She wanted to ask him right now—
Were you Randolph?
The one who climbed the Tower of the War God with me?
If so, where did you go, and why did you return in a different form?
For elves, outward appearance didn’t matter.
What mattered was one’s very existence.
*But what’s with this one?*
Auril frowned and shot a glare at Dietrich.
…She didn’t know where he’d picked him up.
But from the moment they met, Dietrich had been staring blankly at Phantom, mouth slightly open, without looking away.
