"We're here."

Entering into the thick forest that lay before them, Charles and Lisa had finally left the Kingdom of Varanga and arrived in the Elvian forest. The forest was considered a sacred place to the elves and many adventurers or travellers who entered the forest were usually looking to quickly leave so as to not disturb or disrupt the peace of the forest. Brave or reckless adventurers, however, might try to take on the two dungeons that lay within the forest. They were certainly some of the most challenging dungeons in the entire continent, even requiring entire armies to clear them, yet the rewards they offered were too precious to pass up. Unfortunately, this had led to hundreds of deaths from adventurers overestimating themselves.

"This forest just stretches on forever...how in the world are we going to navigate our way through?"

Lisa stared at the map for a moment, it didn't really show any distinct paths that led from the entrance to the exit of the forest. Even though the entire forest has been mapped out, there are so many winding paths and intersections that even merchants and other experienced travellers usually hired elves as guides. The elves have a unique ability to communicate with the living things in the forest, allowing them to navigate the forest with ease.

Charles smirked for a moment before putting a finger to his lips and whispering something to Lisa.

"We won't be taking the usual routes most elf guides take people through. We'll be going through a very special route, one not known to many people. After all, you wanted to see a forest guardian right?"

Lisa's eyes widened as she ecstatically chased Charles to reveal what route they were taking.

"Really?! We get to see one so early on?"

"Yeah, although you have to promise me not to tell anyone about this route we're taking."

"Of course, I wouldn't really have anyone to tell anyway."

"Alright then, follow me."

The pair continued through the seemingly endless forests filled with all sorts of mana beasts and creatures, yet none of them seemed to be attacking them, it made Lisa a little confused until she realised that no monsters throughout their journey so far had ever attacked them. It was quite the opposite from the tales she heard from her siblings or other court members who constantly spoke of being attacked by hordes of beasts.

After around 10 minutes of walking and turning left and right at seemingly random points, Charles stopped in front of a specific tree that didn't really seem to be any different from the thousands of other trees that they had seen and walked past.

"Hm? What's up?"

"We've arrived."

"Eh? But this doesn't really look any different from the rest of the forest."

"Exactly."

With full confidence in his words, Charles placed his hands on the tree before uttering some sort of secret code.

"Alright, let's see... if I'm correct, this was the code. Eternity lies not with those on the surface, but with those below. Open up, haloed gate."

Just as he said that the entire area around Charles and Lisa began to glow as a teleportation circle appeared and sucked both of them out of the area they were standing at. Once they opened their eyes, they found themselves standing inside a teleportation zone. Looking in front of them, there was a huge pathway illuminated by white lights, as if they were in some grand hallway in a palace.

Charles stepped off the platform and began to walk while Lisa remained stunned.

"Where...are we?"

Charles understood her shock and surprise, he was the same when he first entered this place. Signalling for her to follow him, he spoke.

"Follow me and you'll find out."

Despite being hesitant at first, Lisa obliged and followed Charles. The two walked slowly but silently towards the bright light at the end of the pathway. It was also then that Lisa began to catch a glimpse of two massive figures, towering almost as tall as the giant gate that stood before them. Lisa soon began to realise that these two giants were the mythical forest guardians she had heard so much about. She felt a little intimidated as her steps began to quicken towards Charles and she looked away from the hulking beings. She noticed how they seemed to be made of rocks covered in what looks like moss, they had huge eyes like that of a human.

Just as they approached the entrance to the gate, Charles and Lisa stopped as the guards who appeared stationary and lifeless began to move.

"You who wishes to enter the realm of the spirits, state your name."

They spoke in a gentle yet commanding tone, it was obvious that they were the guards who were keeping watch over the gate. Lisa nervously tried to speak up, believing that Charles would be too casual for such a mighty figure.

"Um...we are..."

"Yo, nice to see you guys are still here."

Lisa was immediately cut off by Charles who warmly greeted the two as Lisa stared at him in horror as the thought of the two of them being immediately pulverised for speaking to them in such a manner crossed her mind.

"Charles! What are you doing? Shouldn't we show some..."

Before she could complete her sentence though, the two guards spoke up in such a manner that caused her to freeze up in fear.

"Oh, it's you. I haven't seen you in a while, Charles."

"It's been almost 300 years. How in the world are you still alive? I'm pretty sure humans don't go past a 100."

"Well, a lot of things have happened. I don't really have the time to explain it now, but do you mind letting me in?"

Charles spoke to them with a tone of familiarity as if they were a group of old friends. It made Lisa feel a little more at ease, knowing that the two of them wouldn't be crushed by these two giants. Once her fear had subsided, she couldn't help but continue to admire the two giants before her. She stretched her hand forward, wanting to touch them yet hesitant to do so.

"There's no need to be so scared. Go ahead, these guys don't bite."

Even after having Charles reassure her, she was still a little hesitant. After a while though, she gave in to her curiosity and placed her hand on the leg of the guardian.

"Oh...it really is like a rock. Amazing...how in the world is this possible...?"

She seemed much more upfront than before, no longer afraid of the guardian, Lisa was now in full investigator mode as she asked the guardians all sorts of questions about their bodies and the structure of their limbs. it seemed as though she wouldn't be satisfied until she knew every fact about them.

"Um...Lisa...we should probably get going..."

"Oh? Sorry about that, I got too carried away."

She apologised to the two guardians who simply chuckled and opened the gate for the two of them to enter.

"It's been a while since I've met a human like you, Lisa was it? My name is Gladen, this guy here is Vurden."

"Nice to meet you two."

Just as they had introduced themselves, Charles and Lisa also bid farewell to the two as they stepped into the gate and entered into the spirit realm. They entered the gate and found themselves in a world that was coloured pure white. It almost seemed like the descriptions of heaven those religious fanatics from Longinus preached on the streets of her hometown. It seemed like a ghost town at first though, the entire place seemed as large as a city and yet there was not a soul in sight.

"Where is everyone...?"

Lisa questioned as she looked around hoping to spot something or someone.

"We're in the spirit realm after all. Everyone here is a spirit, the only people who aren't spirits are those contracted with greater spirits who are allowed in or people with access like me. Besides, this place is pretty populated, take a closer look."

Concentrating a little harder, Lisa soon noticed numerous flickers of lights all over the place, each of different colours and their brightness differed greatly from each other. Some of them appeared like a spark and some shined bright like a diamond.

"Those are...spirits..."

"Yeah...each and every one of them is a spirit. These ones are called lesser spirits, they don't really have enough mana to manifest a form, yet they are incredibly powerful when summoned in great numbers. That's how those who practice the spirit arts are so strong.

"Incredible...it's so pretty."

It was here, seeing how in awe Lisa was at such a simple sight of what was essentially pretty lights, reminded Charles of the person she was. Her incredible growth and potential that Charles witnessed made him forget how simple of a person she was, he admired that simplicity of hers. Something like a few pretty colours could make her show such a warm expression. He wondered just how much the court life and being a princess had robbed her of such experiences.

"By the way, what in the world are we doing here? It's really cool and all to be able to enter the spirit realm but how is it going to help us navigate through the forest."

"Here's where my skills come in. You see, the Elvian forest is divided into three sections, the outer forest, the deep forest and the light forest. Venturing through each one of them requires a lot of skill given how complicated the routes are. We would have to hire an elf guide and even then, there's no guarantee we would get through in the time we want. In the spirit realm though, we can safely bypass the forest entirely by travelling underneath it."

"Woah! So we're really underneath the forest right now?!"

"Yep, way, way beneath the forest. Best of all, you won't really be deprived of training since there are plenty of opponents to fight here. It'll be good training for you."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get right to it."

"You're pretty fired up huh? I wonder how your family might react seeing you like this."

Her face turned red instantly at the mention of anyone seeing her behave that way. She quickly tried to brush it off as the two made their way through the spirit realm. The place was adorned with gorgeous ornaments and the entire place really did feel like a safe haven. The houses were made of the purest white marble and the entire place felt so peaceful.

Before they could really venture much further, however, the two of them were stopped. All of a sudden, two humanoid figures appeared before the two of them. One was of a tall and slender man with blonde hair, his eyes had no pupils and were a pure black colour, he wore what appeared to be an aristocratic attire with a long black trench coat to give that extra touch of intimidation. The other was a woman who wore a tight azure blue dress with long sleeves covering her entire arm. The dress also covered her entire figure down to her ankles. She wore a jacket of sorts that helped prevent the outfit from being too indecent.

Immediately, Charles put his arm in front of Lisa to prevent her from walking forward, his gaze solely focused on the two individuals in front of him. He had never seen them throughout all his trips into the spirit realm.

The two of them soon took a quick bow before relaying the orders they were given.

"Our master. Count Nostefal has summoned you to the council headquarters."

Hearing that name immediately triggered Charles's senses as his face gave away the fact that he knew such a person.

"Do you know him, Charles?"

"Yeah, he's an old friend of mine... Count huh? So he finally did it."

Pondering for a moment, Charles accepted the summon and together with Lisa, the two followed the man and woman who used another teleportation circle to transport them in front of a building that was located on a floating island above the area they were just at.

The building seemed more grand and luxurious than any of the others they walked by previously. It was also huge, much bigger than the countryside villa the two stayed in before they departed for their journey.

"Follow me. My master awaits."

The man spoke as they followed him into the building. Walking up to the second storey, the man led them to the furthest room before knocking on the door.

"Master, the guests you've requested to be summoned here have arrived."

"Very well, you may enter."

Opening the door, the two were let into what seemed like a meeting room. There was a huge round table with 8 chairs that appeared extremely tall. On one of the chairs sat a man who appeared to be in his late years. He was quite old with a long beard that made him look like some sort of sage. His hair and everything was white as well, making him appear like an elf yet somehow even more majestic.

The door closed behind them as the man got up from his seat and approached the two. Lisa was quite scared initially as she could feel the intense presence the man had, it was one even her father did not possess and made her want to grovel on the ground in respect and fear. Yet she trusted in Charles and his ability to protect himself. The man stared at Charles with a serious expression, before immediately wrapping his arms around him and giving him a hug.

"It's great to see you again Charles."

"Woah, slow down Nostefal. It's not like you to get so sentimental."

"Well, even I can be sentimental when so much time has passed."

"You're a greater spirit though, time is something you guys can't really comprehend."

"Just shut up already."

"Alright, alright."

After that whole fiasco had occurred, the man known as Nostefal introduced himself as the king of all spirits. It caused even Lisa to feel dizzy and she felt like collapsing.

"To think I'd get to meet a forest guardian and the king of all spirits in one day is too much for me to handle."

"I apologise for the sudden meeting, princess of Pavone."

"You know me?"

"Of course, your family is contracted with several greater spirits of mine."

"Right. It's an honour to meet you, your majesty."

"Now, now, there's no need for such formalities. Any friend of Charles is a friend of mine."

He spoke with a gentle tone that didn't really suit an old man like him. Lisa was still a little shocked by the contrast of his wise sage appearance and his warm gentle voice.

"So...how do you two know each other."

"Well, Charles has aided the spirit realm on several occasions before. Without him and several others, I wouldn't be where I am now."

"Come on now, that's not true and you know it."

The two continued conversing about all sorts of things for a little while more. Lisa could notice the change in Charles's behaviour, while his demeanour was usually kind and lighthearted, Lisa always felt it was sort of distant, as if he was hiding something. She had all but confirmed it today with the forest guardians, yet here he behaved more like someone his age.

"Before we get carried away any further, why did you summon us here. We were just about to make our way through the spirit realm."

"Didn't want to travel through the Elvian forest huh? That's pretty rare of you, in fact, you've changed quite a bit from the short time we've had."

"I mean... a lot has happened..."

"I understand, you don't have to say it again. Falco has already told me about it."

"So you spoke to him already huh?"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it initially when he told me you were alive. Seeing you here has clearly proved me wrong though."

Nostefal spoke with a sense of nostalgia that made Charles recall several pleasant memories he was glad to remember. He then spoke up about the agenda for calling both of them here.

"You see... us spirits work quite closely with the Elvian kingdom. Recently, something has happened that has caused great distress for the royal family."

"What exactly happened?"

There was a look of concern and stress on Nostefal's face as he began to explain the situation.

"Both children of the Elvian king, 13-year-old Miranda and 14-year-old Sebastian have suddenly disappeared around a week ago."

"That's quite some news."

"Tell me about it. The entire nation is up and about because of it."

"Um...if I may, aren't elves able to navigate the forest with ease, surely they would've been located as soon as they were discovered missing."

"You are correct Lisa, however, this time was different. By the time the two were discovered missing, their presence was no longer traceable. This would usually imply that they had already left the forest, yet they were no sign of such a thing occurring. The Elvian royal family members all wear rings that cannot be removed, those rings will shine brightly should one of them leave the forest unauthorised. Yet the rings never glowed, not even a faint glow."

"So they're still in the forest huh? It's strange then that we can't track them."

"Yeah, I've had every available greater spirit on the job, every lesser spirit has also been tasked to keep an eye out for them. A week later and we've still got nothing."

"I'm guessing you're telling me this because you want my help?"

"Yeah, since you already figured that out, I'll cut to the chase. Help me locate them and I'll give you a free teleportation to the exit of the forest. It'll surely save you a lot of time, only the council members are authorised for such things as you know."

Charles had considered the offer given how much time it would save. Even travelling through the spirit realm, it would require almost a month to cross the forest, at most 2 if they stopped to train and fight. As much as Charles wanted Lisa to have the training, he wanted to help out an old friend more than anything. Besides, he could always just help him out for free.

"Sure, I'll do it, you don't really have to offer me anything. I'm just helping out an old friend."

Nostefal stared at him in shock before laughing for a while before regaining his composure.

"I don't know what to say...you really have changed."

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

Lisa and Charles then headed out as soon as they could, bidding farewell to Nostefal for now as they teleported back to the forest so they could begin the search.

"Now then, where do we start the search?"

"I'm surprised you went along with it so casually."

"We're helping to find missing children, aren't we? I can't leave like that and say no, besides, you want to help out an old friend. You've done a lot for me so I want to be able to help you when you need it."

Her face appeared a little red as she spoke, though only enough for her to notice and not Charles.

"Thanks. Before we start though, take this."

Pulling something out from his pocket, Charles handed her a bracelet like object.

"What's this...?"

"A spell caster. With this, you'll be able to use magic."