In the early morning, Mephilia and Liana planned to leave Gran Town early to avoid being discovered.

But Mephilia hadn’t expected that even at such an early hour, there would already be people waiting outside the hotel.

“Your Highness the Princess.”

“What is it?” Mephilia looked at the crowd standing by the entrance.

Among them, many were seeing Princess Mephilia for the first time, but every single one of them knew in their hearts that Gran Town had become what it was today entirely because of the princess’ help.

Therefore, every one of them was extremely grateful to Princess Mephilia.

And, even if they had never seen her, they had heard about her deeds to some extent.

Not to mention, what Mephilia had done had genuinely helped them, so they were also very supportive of her becoming the next monarch.

But now that Princess Mephilia had given up on this matter, they felt it was a great pity.

After all, only Princess Mephilia had helped their remote region; of course they had to support her.

But they didn’t say too much to comfort or persuade her, as that would put pressure on the princess.

“This flower is for you.” A little girl, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, presented it to Mephilia on behalf of the crowd.

“Thank you.”

“It is us who should be thanking Your Highness. Without you, we would not be in our current situation. It was you who improved Gran Town,” the villagers said gratefully.

“I only did what I was supposed to do.” If it weren’t for Liana, Mephilia herself would never have noticed the abnormality in this place.

Mephilia looked at the villagers. They kept a certain distance from her, not getting too close.

“Is there anything else you wish to say?” Mephilia asked.

They shook their heads. “We just wanted to see our benefactor. We know that Your Highness must have many things to attend to, so we’ll just take a look. Also, do your best, Your Highness.”

“...Thank you.” Mephilia smiled faintly. She could see their restraint.

It was clear they didn’t want to disturb her, so they stood watching from a distance. It was also clear they didn’t want to add any pressure, waiting here only to offer a flower to thank her.

“However, there is someone else you should thank even more,” Mephilia said.

“Of course! We have also properly thanked everyone from the Royal Knights.”

“I...” Mephilia wanted to say more, but Liana gently tugged at her.

“...That’s good, then.” Mephilia nodded.

“Then we won’t disturb Princess Mephilia any longer.” The crowd dispersed, leaving only Liana and Mephilia behind.

Oh, that’s not right. There was also Minoga, guarding them from the shadows.

“Everyone really likes you,” Liana said with a smile.

“Mm.” Unlike before, Mephilia now chose to accept this kindness.

“Shall we go?”

“Okay.”

The two boarded ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) a carriage, which was driven by Minoga.

Liana looked at the scenery outside the window. “This is my first time leaving the Lisat Kingdom.”

“It’s the same for me.” Mephilia never had the time to travel far, nor did she know what she would do if she went out.

The Luska Kingdom was a hostile power, and while the Elf Forest was a neutral territory, its attitude toward humans wasn’t particularly friendly, so there was naturally little opportunity to visit.

“We’ve experienced a lot of firsts together,” Mephilia said.

“I feel like that phrase has a different meaning when it comes from your mouth...” Liana said irritably, though what Mephilia said was the truth.

“What different meaning? How come I don’t know about it~?” Mephilia looked at Liana with a sweet smile.

“You’d better genuinely not know!” Liana wasn’t about to fall into that trap.

“How about that place, does it still hurt?” Mephilia asked with some concern.

“...” Couldn’t you have phrased that differently! Aren’t you ashamed saying it so directly?

However, Liana still answered honestly, her face just a little red. “It’s much better...”

“That’s good. I’ll definitely be gentler next time,” Mephilia said.

Liana could believe many things Mephilia said, but this particular sentence was one she couldn’t quite trust. However, she didn’t call Mephilia out on it.

“I wonder what kind of scenery the Elf Forest will have. I heard from Sephirena that elves don’t have buildings like humans do. They live within nature, using magic to create living spaces inside tree trunks, probably similar to that elf shop in the Lisat Royal Capital.” Liana had only ever learned about the world of the elves from books and had never seen it with her own eyes.

Therefore, Liana was also very curious about what the place where elves lived was really like.

“Lady Minoga!”

“Open the gate. I need to go to the Elf Forest,” Minoga said, taking a token out of her pocket.

“...I understand.” Upon seeing the token, the guard didn’t ask any more questions.

If it were anyone else, they would have been subject to inspection, more or less, with no exceptions even for a Judge. But this was a direct order from the king.

Liana looked out the window as they moved away from the Lisat Kingdom.

The scenery outside the kingdom was somewhat surprising to Liana.

The road to the Elf Forest was a stretch of barren wasteland, where not even weeds existed.

“Legend says this was the battlefield against the demon race a thousand years ago. This land was corrupted by the blood of demons and thus cursed. From a thousand years ago until now, it has remained in a barren state, with no living creature willing to survive in this area,” Mephilia explained.

“This conveniently separates our three kingdoms,” Liana remarked.

Because it was a barren wasteland, anyone trying to cross would be easily detected, which was one of the reasons why stability could be maintained between the several kingdoms.

“Even after so much time has passed, this place is still affected by the demons.” Mephilia fanned herself with her hand.

Stifling, barren, and oppressive.

The mana in their bodies felt as if it were being obstructed by something.

“No wonder so few people are willing to go out,” Mephilia said with a frown.

Due to the influence of the demons, the mana stones in the carriage were affected to varying degrees and couldn’t cool properly.

This made the entire carriage rather stuffy, forcing them to use magic manually to cool down.

Soon enough, however, Liana saw a verdant green forest. This was likely the Elf Forest.

Minoga stopped the carriage in front of the forest.

A winged folk covered in red feathers flew out from the air.

“We come from the Lisat Kingdom. I am Mephilia Lisat, a princess of the kingdom. We have come to the Elf Forest this time to inquire about certain matters. We have also confirmed with Princess Avira beforehand, and she knows we are arriving today,” Mephilia said.

“Let me confirm first.” The winged man dared not let humans into the Elf Forest carelessly. If any accident were to happen, it was a responsibility he could not bear.

“There’s no need to confirm. Princess Mephilia is a guest of our Elf Forest.” Avira appeared before them.

“Yes, Princess Avira!” Upon seeing the princess emerge, the winged person knew his presence was no longer needed here. It was better to leave quickly and not disturb them.

“Everyone...” Princess Avira’s gaze fell upon Liana, pausing for several seconds before she continued, “Come in.”

Liana took a step forward. As she crossed into the forest, she could clearly feel something like a barrier.

But it didn’t attack her, likely because of Princess Avira’s presence.

Upon entering, Liana felt the scorching heat completely disappear. The surrounding temperature and environment were extremely pleasant, giving one a very comfortable feeling.

Moreover, the speed at which the mana in her body circulated and recovered was greatly enhanced. For anyone who used magic, this place was simply a holy land.

“Welcome to the Elf Forest, our guests.”

“Thank you, Princess Avira, for coming out to greet us,” Mephilia said.

Avira smiled faintly. “Follow me.”

Liana followed behind Avira, looking around with curiosity.

The place was teeming with life. Dancing spirits could be seen everywhere, and the plants here were much larger than those normally seen outside.

And, the further they walked in, the more familiar the scene before Liana became, as if... she had seen it in Sephirena’s illusion.

But strangely, the place where the holy sword was sealed in the illusion was completely absent, as if it had vanished from this world.

Although Liana was puzzled, she didn’t say anything. This matter could probably only be unraveled when she met Sephirena.

Along the way, Avira didn’t speak much.

Liana walked shoulder to shoulder with Mephilia. Mephilia looked at Liana’s swinging hand, really wanting to hold it.

But right now, Liana was just an elf, just an ordinary friend, and she was still in disguise. Holding her hand at this moment would only bring them a great deal of trouble.

They arrived before a massive tree. Avira raised her hand, and a door appeared in the trunk.

“Come in.”

The group walked inside, looking around with curiosity. The layout of the room was not much different from a human’s room.

The most noticeable difference was probably that there were more plants, and that it was inside a tree.

Just as Liana had thought, it was indeed arranged similarly to the elf restaurant she had visited before.

“This must be Princess Mephilia’s first time in one of our elven buildings, isn’t it?” Avira said.

“Yes. Although there are some elven shops in the Lisat Kingdom, this is the first time I have truly seen an elf’s dwelling.” Mephilia looked around curiously.

“Is this magic?” Mephilia could see obvious magic patterns suffused throughout the various parts of the house.

“Why not ask the miss elf next to you, Princess Mephilia? Perhaps she would know,” Avira said, looking at Liana, seeming to have already noticed something. “Won’t you say a few more words, miss elf? You should be very familiar with the most basic structures of our Elf Forest, right?”

“...” What do I know? Didn’t Loraviel say I wouldn’t be discovered?

“Aren’t you going to continue the disguise? Perhaps you could deceive the other elves, but in front of me, it’s not quite enough. I know basically all the elves who are blessed by Mother Tree of Life,” Avira said with a laugh.