THE rest of the journey went peacefully. They had stopped at two towns along the way. Neither were all that big. They were similar in size and population to Dragontan. Stopping to rest wasn’t a problem—the real ordeal was the Succubi’s intense attempts to seduce the men and crawl into their beds at night. Even those nights turned out uneventful, thanks to the stern warnings from their escorts, which scared off the others. Takuto tried to view the ordeal in a positive light, since it gave him insight into Succubi behavior.
Unfortunately for Yu, he had a little incident that strained his relationship with Ai for a time. Seeing as they quickly made up and were back to their usual flirting, the Succubi’s temptations seemed to have only added a little spice to their relationship and not much else.
Though Takuto was relieved that the trip was peaceful, he knew that the more uneventful things were now, the worse the fallout would be, so he remained vigilant.
Several days had passed since they entered the El-Nah Alliance of Elementals. The Elven and Succubus nation was covered in forests and woodland, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact location, but judging from the distance they had walked, they had roughly reached the middle of the territory. At long last, they had reached Khan-Nah, the former Elven capital, now ruled by Queen Vagia of the Succubi.
Now the game begins for real, Takuto thought. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to say and what grand agenda they have in store.
The Elemental City of Khan-Nah. The Elven empire had a council-based government run by representatives from each clan that made up their alliance. Strictly speaking, they had no capital city. Instead, they treated Khan-Nah as a capital of sorts for convenience, since it was where the World Tree was located—a giant tree that served as the cornerstone of their nation. Of course, the city was El-Nah’s largest in terms of size and population, so it essentially acted as capital in everything but name.
The trees made it difficult to gauge the true scale of the city, but it had significantly more traffic and much older trees than any of the towns they had visited so far. More than anything else, the sheer number of buildings in the trees and their intricacy announced to all who laid eyes upon it that this was a massive city.
I can tell things are not going to turn out well, but I can’t walk away now, Takuto bemoaned as he followed his escorts. He already knew what the outcome of this conference was going to be.
✦ ✦ ✦
“ATOU, do you know what my policy is for this conference?” Takuto asked.
“This visit is for peaceful purposes, and unless the other side takes action, we are strictly forbidden to intervene…right?”
“Bingo. I’m glad you know without me having to tell you.”
“I’m pleased to hear that, my king.”
“That being said, don’t neglect to gather intel. I want to get a firm grasp on what game systems the other Players have, including the Succubus Army’s.”
“Mm-mm-mmm! That’s our true objective here, eh? A simple case of know your enemy and know yourself! In that case, I shall keep the tomfoolery to a minimum, mon dieu!”
Takuto reminded Atou of their purpose upon being led into the anteroom, while holding the real conversation with Vittorio telepathically. They didn’t know who was listening. Being able to hold sensitive conversations telepathically without the risk of being overheard was a huge advantage.
The pretext for this conference was peace talks.
While Takuto always considered how to take advantage of any opportunities that might arise, he wasn’t going to make the first move here. He had no choice but to conserve his best cards as long as everyone believed without a doubt that it was really him and Atou at the conference. Takuto had decided to play it safe for now.
“According to the reports, the other factions have already arrived. The conference begins tomorrow… I wonder who will be there. I’m dying of curiosity,” Takuto muttered to no one in particular.
Vittorio-Atou nodded in response, leaving the room silent.
Players had been summoned to this continent for some reason. And the All-Faction Conference they would supposedly all be attending was right around the corner.
✦ ✦ ✦
LOCATED in the center of El-Nah’s capital city of Khan-Nah was the Tetrarchy Council’s deliberation chamber. Takuto’s party was escorted to the building where the Elven clan leaders used to decide their nation’s policies.
Built at the top of the ginormous World Tree, which was said to be the center of the world, the majestic, overwrought structure showcased the Elves’ power, and its abundance of nature paid homage to their way of living in harmony with the elemental spirits. Its pale green luminescence and dense magical energy fully indicated the value of this spot as a Mana Source.
Mynoghra’s Palace generated Ruin Mana. The Deliberation Chamber built into the World Tree also generated Mana, although it did so on a much larger scale. Mynoghra’s Palace couldn’t even compete at its current level.
They sure are openly inviting the enemy into the Elves’ most important facility… Then again, they could be presenting that as the concession they are making for the rest of us to come. And also a show of their confidence that their position won’t falter even if a commotion happens at their heart… Whatever the case may be, we’re about to find out.
If nothing else, the Deliberation Chamber was a fitting venue to host a grand event such as the All-Faction Conference.
The members of the other factions were all shown to the large, round table. Yu was the only face Takuto recognized. He didn’t know the people from Qualia, and Phon’kaven’s envoy was an unfamiliar face. Pepe stuck to his word that he was sending an envoy in his place. As for the rest…
There are fewer people than I expected. And what’s that?
Takuto wanted to know what the other Players looked like, but he didn’t see any at the table yet. Several empty seats had curious stone objects set on the table in front of them. He had a pretty good guess what they symbolized when he saw that one of the objects was shattered. He was about to telepathically share his theory with Vittorio when the door to the room opened with a loud creak. Freesia and Goliath entered the room.
“Welcome to the conference venue. You have my heartfelt gratitude for your participation in the All-Faction Conference, darlings~♡.”
A Succubus he was both familiar with yet meeting for the first time appeared behind the other two.
Thus began the conference that would decide the fate of the world.