Skeleton Knight, in Another World Volume 7 Chapter 19-20

「Return to The Village」

In the open yard in front of Rhoden’s palace.

Various personnel had been lined up here.

“Dylan-dono, when can we expect a reply from Great Canada Forest?”

King Carlen asked Dylan that question.

Dylan placed his hand on his chin and pondered the question for a while.

His eyebrow rose slightly before he answered.

“……Around three days. It should take that long to explain the situation to the great elders and organize reinforcements.”

A little girl’s grey eyes became clouded by worry she heard Dylan answer.

“Three days…… I am to wait here for that long……”

Dylan’s sharp elven ears picked up on Lille mutters and he began to smile at her.

“I’m sorry. Having you come all this way only to have you wait for results. However, you’ve carried out the mission King Asparuf gave you magnificently.”

Behind the princess, Zahar and Nina nodded in agreement to his statement.

“His Majesty will surely rejoice. Princess, once we return the war preparations should be well underway.”

Zahar clenched his fist as he voiced his earnest opinion, while Nina gave her small master a calming smile.

“Princess Lille, there are things you can still do even if you stay here. Deeping your friendship with Princess Juliana and contributing to the post-war country contribution is still an amazing goal.”

Nina’s words seemed to revitalize Lille, as she rose her head and spiritedly clenched her fist.

When Princess Juliana saw this, she bent down to Lille’s level and looked her right in her eyes.

“Well, since you and I are cousins, why don’t we get to know each other better while you stay here? Personally, I would like to learn about your country.”

“I understand! Friendship? Strengthening ties?”

Lille replied to Juliana was smile and words with a smile of her own.

While watching their funny interactions brought a smile to my face, I was sitting a bit away from them drawing the location for future transfers.

When I came back to transfer the soldiers, my drawing booklet would compensate for shortcomings in my memory.

However, I would need a bit more time if I wanted to make a photorealistic representation of the palace.

Just as I’d finished the rough outlines of the drawing and was about to start on the shading when someone called out to me.

“That’s rather impressive, do you enjoy drawing?”

When my eyes sought out the person who called out to me, I saw Prince Sect standing there.

His stature and smiling figure were befitting of a prince, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding a cold and distant personality underneath.

Atop my helmet, Ponta jerked back a little.

“Hmm, perhaps my hobby is traveling?”

My attention returned to the incomplete drawing until the feeling of someone staring at me caused me to raise my head again.

However, Prince Sect nodded his head when I looked at him…… after a quick glance at Ponta his gaze fell on me again.

“Excuse me, I’ll look forward to an answer on a later date.”

Prince Sect left after saying that.

“Ky〜, Kyun!”

A top my helmet, Ponta let out a cautious bark towards the Prince Sect shrinking back, it seems that she had voiced her impression of the human prince.

Royalty that wore their hearts on their sleeves like Lille were a rarity after all.

Their true feelings were things that needed to be absent from their faces and placed in the back of their mind, but Ponta had a knack for sniffing out those types of people.

However, in that regard, Chiome was also someone that didn’t put her emotions out there.

My gaze wandered over to the cat-eared girl in black ninja grabs as that thought occurred to me.

Her ears restlessly moved about in every direction as several sounds caught her attention, and her long tail wagged in long arcs.

While she didn’t emote with her human features, her animal features expressed her emotions clearly, perhaps Ponta picked up on those?

After that incident with Nina, it was obvious that Chiome wasn’t emotionless, it just took a lot to bring them to the surface.

In fact, she’s at her most expressive when she eating something delicious.

While I was in the middle of that thought a pair of voluptuous breast suddenly blocked my view.

“Why’d your hand stop?”

Ariane looked directly at my face when she asked that question.

For the time being, I began drawing were I had left off, shading the coat of arms engraved into the palace walls.

“Hm, I think it should be like like this, shouldn’t it?”

I placed the finished rough sketch of the transfer location in my bag before I addressed Ariane.

“Sorry, Ariane-dono. Thank you for bringing Shiden……”

“Giyuriin.”

Shiden let out a large yawn and shook his head when I mentioned him.

The sight of the guards, who’d been curious about the Dragon Mount, unintentionally flinching back got a chuckle out of me.

“This much is alright. So, are you ready to go?”

Ariane waved away my concerns and asked if we were ready to set off.

“There’s no problem, we can transfer to Rhoden’s palace anytime.”

I give her a brief reply.

However, it was only under the current state of emergency that transferring to the royal palace was viable.

Having a foreigner (?) frequently pop into the palace was a major security risk, which would only result in an increased sense of caution and distrust.

While the Hiruku situation turned us into allies for now, the elves’ transfer magic would be seen as a threat to them once this war settled.

It was a realistic expectation given that soldiers could be transported as well.

I’d heard that a few humans were already looking into the characteristics of transfer magic, but nothing seems to have come of it yet.

As I led Shiden to the center of the plaza, where Dylan, Ariane and Chiome had gathered, I stopped to say farewell to Lille.

“Lille-dono, we will be separated for a brief period. I will do everything within my power to return to you with good news.”

Lille nodded her head at my words before looking up at me.

“I am leaving it to you, Arc-dono! I’ll be waiting for your return!”

Behind Lille, both Zahar and Nina bowed their heads to me at their master’s words, so I nodded in return.

“I’ll be off then.”

“Kyun!”

Once I returned to Ariane’s side I invoked my magic.

The destination was Raratoia, in Great Canada Forest.

“【Transfer Gate】!”

A moment after the large magic formation appeared at our feet, the palace was replaced with a familiar location.

The house of Ariane’s parents, Dylan’s home, stood in front of me.

Sunlight filtered through the foliage and illuminated the mansion that was blended into the tree trunk itself.

A single dark-elf stood in the beautiful garden that spread out in front of the mysterious mansion.

When the woman noticed that we materialized, she smiled and waved at us.

“Welcome back, dear! Ari-chan!”

It was Ariane’s mother and Dylan’s wife Glenys waving towards us.

In addition to the high physical abilities of dark-elves, she was a master swordswoman in her own right and Ariane’s teacher, so when she embraced Dylan it knocked the wind out of him.

“Ga!”

While that hug was somewhat of a knockout-blow, Dylan managed to endure it and greeted a slightly suspicious Glenys.

Their daughter’s ears became a deep shade of crimson as she watched her parent’s couple moment.

“Don’t do stuff like that in public.”

Puffing out her cheeks, Ariane stormed into the mansion with Chiome following behind her.

After watching his daughter walk off, Dylan’s gaze returned to Glenys in his arms.

“You finished our task earlier than I thought. Can you finally relax for a while?”

When his wife asked him that question…… Dylan could only preface his answer with an apology.

“I’m sorry, Glenys. To tell you the truth, a troublesome situation has come up over there, Arc-kun’s power brought me here, but I need to consult the great elders in the capital……”

Dylan, who could navigate negotiations with human royalty and other nobility with dignified grace, was at a loss for words.

All of the emotion drained from Glenys’ face when she heard his explanation, and without any intonation she looked at her husband and said: “Is that so”.

Glenys had the physique of a dark-elf and actually stood a little taller than her husband. With her standing as straight as she was, and Dylan slumping as he was, even I could make out the current power dynamic of the couple.

After a brief moment of silence, Glenys turned her back on Dylan and followed Ariane and Chiome into the mansion.

Dylan, on the other hand, held his stomach and sighed as his eyebrows lowered.

“Haa, my stomach hurts for some reason……”

Dylan spoke in a slightly miserable tone, but from my point of view getting any kind of response was better than not getting a response at all. Maybe he thought differently?

“Dylan-dono, it’s better to be met with love rather than indifference, isn’t it?”

Dylan seemed taken back when I spoke my opinion and smiled wryly afterward.

“That certainly is an unpleasant thought……”

His eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction Glenys had walked off in.

“In order not to make her mood worsen any further, we’d best bring an end to this crisis as soon as possible. Arc-kun, your power is essential to achieving that.”

He looked up at me as he said that.

I lightly beat my chest plate and nodded my head.

“I have a lot of home renovations I would like to work on…… I’ll do my utmost to end this endeavor.”

“Kyun! Kyun!”

Dylan seemed a bit relieved by my spirited reply and quietly breathed out a sigh.

“Then, I’ll be heading to Maple then. The entire council will probably have to convene on the matter, but having you attend should make the preceding go faster. First, we need to get you permission to enter Maple, so we should be able to set off tomorrow at the earliest?”

Dylan sought my approval on the matter after laying out a potential timetable.

If I was able to enter Maple myself it would achieve many of my goals, so I nodded at his suggestions.

“I understand.”

“Then, I’ll be away for a little while.”

He began walking towards the small transfer shrine in the middle of the village after that.

“Giyuriiiin.”

While I watched Dylan back shrinking in the distance, Shiden’s suddenly cry caught my attention.

Shiden let out another yawn and began to shake the saddle on his back.

“Oh, right. Shiden let’s return to our home and replenish our hot spring water.”

Shiden barked happily as I combed his white mane with my hand.

“Ky〜un.”

Atop my head, Ponta was either getting hungry or complaining about something.

“Okay, Okay We’ll make it a quick stop.”

I invoked 【Transfer Gate】after saying that.

=========

「Forest Capital Maple」

The next day, just as the sun had begun to peak over the mountains in the east.

In front of Raratoia’s small transfer shrine.

The structure was built into a tree in a similar manner to Dylan’s mansion, with the branches and leaves above casting a shadow over the area.

Ponta sat atop my helmet as Ariane tried to suppress a yawn, while Dylan stood ahead of us since the village elder would be our guide today.

As a People of the Mountains and Plains, Chiome would require special permission to enter Maple, so she would be staying behind with Glenys today.

When we entered the shrine, the first thing I noticed were the tall pillars that supported the entire structure.

In the center of the shrine was a circular, elevated platform that had a faintly glowing magic formation etched into it.

Dylan briefly spoke with the elf in charge of the transfer shrine before we all stepped onto the platform, the formation shining brightly as a floating sensation overtook us.

When the lights settled, we were in another location.

While the structure of the building remained unchanged, the scale of everything was larger…… instead of one magic formation, there were multiple platforms in the room.

Unlike the small shrine from before, there were multiple guards in the more furnished and decorated room…… it seems we’d successfully transferred to Maple’s shrine.

After exchanging a few words with the guards and a few other people, Dylan ushered us towards the shrine’s exit.

“Hmm, so we’ve arrived at Maple, the center of elven power.”

“Kyun!”

Despite the less than ideal circumstances that brought us here, I was a bit excited about setting foot in the elven capital I couldn’t visit until now, even Ponta’s fluffy tail swayed from side to side as she let out an excited cry from the top my helmet.

Ponta…… since fluffy foxes were a rarely seen spirit beast, she was gathering a lot of attention from the elves.

The scenery completely changed when we left the shrine under the gazes of the crowd.

In contrast to the quiet Raratoia, a sprawling city had opened up before me.

While there few tree buildings in Raratoia, the streets here were lined with them, paved roads running up and down the streets and a multitude of elves were going about their own business.

Even though it was in the early hours of the morning store owners were already barking into the crowd for potential customers.

The energy here was higher than in any human market I’d been to, and just watching it all filled with a sense of wonder and vigor.

Among the streams of elves, several unexpected figures caught my attention.

They were around a hundred and thirty centimeters tall.

Although the size of children, but their arms were thick and log-like, their bodies had a stout build to them, their ears were slightly pointed and they had beards that extended to their waist. It was obvious that they were far from being any type of elf.

“Ariane-dono, these……”

Ariane seems to have anticipated my question and answered me without looking back.

“Those are the dwarves. As far as humans are concerned they died out long ago, but they’ve resided in Maple for quite some time.”

Dylan turned around and added a warning to her explanation to me.

“Of course, it’s a secret that they are living here.”

When Dylan turned back around, Ponta and I both nodded our heads in understanding.

As we followed Dylan, Ariane began filling me in on the secret history of the dwarves. Eventually, we came upon the largest of the tree-buildings.

“Hmm, the humans hunted the dwarves for their metallurgy technology……”

Ariane pointed her index finger at me when I interrupted her history lesson.

“First chieftain Evangeline decided to protect them, so don’t tell a soul outside of the forest. Understand that, Arc.”

Ariane looked me directly in the eye as she pushed her warning on me.

“Even if you tell me that, I already carry the name ‘Raratoia’.”

“Kyun!”

I pounded my chest armor to convey my comprehension.

Ponta joined in and stuck out her chest.

When she noticed the gazes of the surrounding people watching our exchange Ariane froze for a moment.

It seems that a silver knight stood out wherever he went, when I looked around, everyone seemed to be staring at me.

Ariane didn’t seem to like the attention so she began chasing after Dylan, who’d already left the area, and I began following behind her.

The city of Maple was an exciting spectacle to behold, while the tree-buildings resembled high-rises from my former world, the organic plant matter they were composed of reminded me of both a futuristic and fantastical setting.

Especially the aerial walkways between some of the larger buildings would be a difficult feat to achieve, even with modern building technology.

I was deprived of the view when Ariane began tugging the edges of my mantle, urging me to follow after Dylan, who’d pulled ahead again.

“Should we visit again sometime? Chiome-chan and a bunch of other people are waiting for us, so we should finish things up first. However, I understand how you feel.”

“Sorry, it’s just such a spectacle……”

With Ariane’s suggestion, I reined in my emotions and began hastening my pace towards our destination.

Eventually, the buildings gave way to a large, open space.

A tower which soared well above the conventional buildings, seemingly piercing the sky, stood in the center of that space.

While its canopy was rather sparse compared to the Dragon King’s Tree, this tree’s trunk was thicker and it definitely stood taller. The tree deviated from the shape people associated with trees, resembling a baobab more than anything.

“…… like the mythical Tower of Babel.”

I unconsciously nodded and said “exactly” to my own observation.

Dylan was heading directly towards the giant tree tower.

The group of guards stationed at the base of the Tower of Babel took notice of me as I approached.

Dylan called out to the guards and spoke with them for a bit, after which the guards promoted us to enter, so Ariane and I did so.

The inside resembled the lobby of a high-class office-building. There was even a receptionist sitting at a desk, who greeted us with a smile.

When the receptionist caught sight of Dylan she signaled for a female guide, who stepped forward and urged him to follow her.

The guide took us to a collection of cylindrical rooms and herded us into one of them.

The cylindrical room wasn’t that large and sparsely furnished. There was an elevated platform with a crystal ball embedded in its center.

It gave me an impression of a small fortune-teller’s station, but when our guild placed her hand on the ball, it began emitting light before I felt a floating sensation.

“Oh?”

I was a bit surprised when the circular platform soundlessly began to climb the cylindrical room.

It was just like an elevator.

No, it may be more advanced than that give its mechanisms.

There weren’t any wires in the room, the floor itself just rose under its own power.

It was a type of elevator you’d see in a Sci-Fi anime, I wandered around the platform and examined it out of curiosity, enjoying the mystical feeling to it all.

The guide gave me a wry smile, whereas Ariane’s face had turned a shade of red.

Eventually, the floating sensation and the platform stopped and our guide prompted us out of the room.

When we got off the elevator, there was a bridgeway that connected the various sections of the tower to one another, overlookin the entirety of Maple.

The spectacular scenery was so inviting I wasn’t able to stop myself from walking up to the window and basking in it.

“Oh, such an amazing view……”

The view of the city filled with tree-buildings spread out below me, I could even see a dome-like sports stadium from here.

A magnificent lake that seemed like the sea stretched from the northern and southern edges of the city, the thick morning fog making it seem like the few fishing boats I could make out were sailing in the sky,

This breathtaking view alone would be enough for me to recommend this place as a World Heritage Site.

However, I also remembered that there were various other locations I would’ve liked to nominate.

The Dragon Valley, the Dragon King’s Tree, the Black Forest and the Kinrei Mountains on the Southern Continent, were all beautiful if you took away the monsters.

Revisiting the different locations in my memories caused me to let out a sigh until Ariane’s tugging on my mantle dragged me back to reality.

“Hey, you’ll be left behind if you don’t hurry up.”

When I looked towards the source of the comment I saw Ariane’s troubled expression. Dylan and our guide were looking back at us as they waited.

“Sorry, it was just……”

I apologized to Ariane and advanced until we came upon a set of luxurious doors.

Both doors were decorated with vividly colored plants and entangled ivy.

Since Dylan and I had planned this meeting in advance, I took my canteen from my waist and began drinking the spring water I collected this morning through the gaps in my helmet.

While I prepared myself, our guide and Dylan entered the room and we were granted permission to follow shortly after.

Beyond the flashy doors, there were a few decorations and a little furniture in the room.

The room was rather large, but it’s most eye-catching feature had to be the huge central round table and the eleven people sitting around it.

There was neither a higher or lower seat, it was a round-table-meeting.

While the majority of the people seated were regular elves, there was a warrior-like dark elf and a dwarf as well.

These people were the apex of the Great Canada Forest’s power……

In other words, they were the ten great elders and the third generation chieftain.

They took a look at us as we entered the room before exchanging words with the person seating closest to them.

Most of the gazes were directed at me, but they were more of a systematic evaluation of the man in full body armor than anything else. I couldn’t help but not to be the main topic of discussion.

“It has been a while…… Elder Dylan.”

The elven man that sat furthest away from us was the first to speak up.