Soon, Liana saw many familiar sights, all of which she had seen in the illusion.

Sephirena stopped at the edge of a cliff. From this spot, one could see the entirety of the Tree of Life in the distance.

Liana gazed into the distance and saw the Tree of Life, which had already withered by more than half. Its current condition was extremely poor.

To put it bluntly, if a tree like this appeared in the Lisat Kingdom, it would basically be sentenced to death, then transplanted out to make way for a new tree.

But this was the Tree of Life. Forget saying that, if you even voiced such a thought, you would be strung up by the elves.

“It was right here that I fought that demon,” Sephirena said.

“Here?” Liana looked at the place with some confusion; it was completely different from the scene in the illusion.

Could it be...

“The Tree of Life in the illusion was in a completely withered state. Perhaps that illusion of yours was not the Elf Forest of today, but the Elf Forest of a more ancient time,” Liana said.

“I thought so too, but the position of Mother Tree of Life is fixed. I didn’t determine this location by the surrounding environment, but by Mother’s position. I can be sure that this is the right place,” Sephirena had naturally thought of this point as well.

“I brought Your Highness Liana here to have you confirm once more where exactly you found the holy sword.” Sephirena had not been the first to come into contact with the holy sword, so ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ she wasn’t clear on the specific spot Liana had retrieved it from.

“...I only know the general location.” That day, it was the Tree of Life that had been guiding her, and besides, the current Elf Forest was a bit different from the one in the illusion.

“Let’s go take a look. I’ve already searched the surrounding area. Perhaps the holy sword doesn’t welcome me; I didn’t find any clues,” Sephirena said.

“Alright.” Liana tried her best to recall the path she had taken.

Liana raised her hand and pointed in a direction, only that direction was below the cliff.

“We’ll have to take a bit of a detour,” Mephilia said.

“We can just jump straight down,” Sephirena said.

“Huh?” Liana tilted her head.

“Just, jump straight down. Your Highness Liana can use magic too, there’s no need to take such a troublesome detour, right? Besides, there’s a lake down there. You won’t fall to your death,” Sephirena said.

Wait, is that the main point? 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Don’t you know I’m afraid of heights, Sephirena?

“Our time isn’t that tight, is it? It’s nice to stroll around outside and enjoy the scenery of the Elf Forest, isn’t it?” Liana said.

But when Liana turned back, Sephirena had already jumped.

Splash!

Sephirena jumped into the lake and popped her head out to look at the two on the cliff.

“Shall we go down too?” Mephilia said.

She wasn’t afraid of heights, and for someone who could use magic, this small height was nothing.

“Are you going to jump down too?” Liana asked.

“If we can save some time, we should. After all, we still have a lot to talk about, don’t we?” Mephilia looked at Liana with a sweet smile.

Oh no...

Mephilia still remembered what had happened earlier.

“I suppose so...”

“Come on, I’ll take you down.” Mephilia directly scooped Liana up into her arms, and before Liana could even react, she jumped.

“Hey! Mephilia, no! Wait!”

Liana immediately shrank into Mephilia’s embrace, not daring to look down.

Splash!

“Hm?” This allowed Mephilia to discover something strange. “Liana, so you’re afraid of heights?”

“Of course not! I was just...” Liana was still trying to think of an excuse to hide this fact.

“Just what?”

Liana didn’t care anymore! She opened her mouth and bit down on Mephilia’s ample chest.

Because of the angle, no one besides the parties involved would know what the two of them were doing.

Mephilia suddenly felt a pain in her chest and then realized what was happening, but she also knew very well why Liana was doing it.

It was nothing more than being stubborn and trying to find another excuse.

However... she’s using quite a bit of force. And the location she bit...

Mephilia put Liana down. “Princess Sephirena, which way now?”

“The direction Her Highness Liana pointed to was a forbidden area a long time ago. If so, it most likely became a forbidden area because of the holy sword, right?” Sephirena said as she led the way.

“Your Highness Liana, there are many elves ahead,” Minoga reminded them at this time.

“Okay.” Liana nodded. Mephilia and the others also knew what they had to do next.

Although Mephilia was a bit reluctant, she still gave way, letting Sephirena stand between her and Liana.

“Princess Sephirena?” This was, after all, a former forbidden area, so there were bound to be some elf guards stationed here.

Sephirena nodded and, without saying much, started to lead Liana and the others inside.

“Princess Sephirena, they are?” But the guards stopped Sephirena.

“This is no longer a forbidden area.”

“Princess Nimeris has instructed that although this is indeed no longer a forbidden area, it is by no means a place that just anyone can enter,” the guard said.

“They are important guests of our Elf Forest, the first princess from the Lisat Kingdom,” Sephirena said.

“This has nothing to do with her being a princess. Princess Nimeris has instructed many times that one must at least have her permission to enter this place.” The guard was in a difficult position.

Princess Nimeris?

Originally, Liana wasn’t very sure, but now she was certain.

The holy sword was definitely in this place all along, and Nimeris absolutely knew something, which was why she continued to have guards watch over it strictly even after it was unsealed.

“Then what’s the difference between this and it not being unsealed?” Sephirena asked.

“Hm? Princess Sephirena, Princess Nimeris simply does not wish to see humans or other races enter this place. After all, it is a forbidden area, holding many secrets of our elf race. It wouldn’t be right to let humans in, would it?” The guard didn’t really want to antagonize Sephirena, especially since she had just returned.

Moreover, she heard that she had even received the acknowledgment of Mother Tree of Life, and her status was even higher than that of Princess Nimeris.

Liana reached out and poked Sephirena. It’s true that humans can’t enter, but right now, I’m an elf.