“If I must. Putting him to death would be easiest, though.”
“This whole state of affairs was brought upon us by your own unworthiness. Make up for it yourself. Should this be beyond your powers, the Elder Council will unleash its magic to slay those demons and monsters in our lands.”
“I understand. I’ll do something, so please tell everyone to stay deep in the forest and not come out.”
“I cannot take your word for it, so I shall accompany you.”
“What? For real, mother?”
“I do not tell lies.”
The high elf woman came to Ulupano’s side and sounded her staff, instantly dissipating the fog.
“So the topmost organization of the Elven Forest Republic was a council of elderly high elves...”
“Yes, milady. Publicly it’s a republic with the fairy king as its ruler, but it seems there were high elves standing above them all along.”
As Adela and I whispered to each other, I noticed the high elf woman staring our way.
“Hm... What an odd spectacle... You, the servant,” she called out to Adela.
“Y-Yes, h-h-how can I help you?”
For a few moments, the high elf woman unceremoniously observed my maid without saying a word.
“Well, I suppose you must have your reasons, so I shall not bother you with questions. Would you introduce your mistress and the Aryakan prince to me?”
“C-Certainly. This is Floortje Hobbema, my mistress. And this is Crown Prince Richie of the Kingdom of Aryaka.”
“Thank you for looking after my foolish son,” she addressed us. “My name is Jomin. It is a pleasure.”
“Likewise,” I replied.
“I am most pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Jomin,” continued the prince.
From behind us came the heavy footsteps of the mizuchi.
“Oh, Jomin! How long has it been?”
“Mizuchi! What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to see sumo. ’Tis a feast for the eyes.”
“What is ‘sumo’?”
“Why, an exciting ritual that came from another world.”
“An ‘exciting’ ritual? Rituals are supposed to be solemn ceremonies...”
“You’d best see for yourself, rather than listen to a lengthy explanation. The world keeps moving forward while you high elves spend your whole lives deep in the forest!” said the mizuchi and laughed.
Not like she had known about sumo until two days prior, though...
As we approached the village of Hufton, the road ahead was blocked by roughly five thousand revolutionaries, apparently scraped together by the elven captain who had run away earlier. The troops led by Ulupano and Marshal Cabriel continued their march, unfazed.
“S-Stop! Stop, I said!!!” shouted the captain.
“What right have you to impede the march of the fairy king?” asked Ulupano.
“Th-The fairy king is bedridden at the Palatial Tree! Y-You’re, you’re a fake! So p-please stop, I beg you!”
“Are you so addlebrained as to claim the fairy king bedridden at the Palatial Tree can transform into a fenrir?! Know your place! Now, out of my way!”
Jomin stepped forward.
“I am Jomin of the Elder Council. Cease your pointless resistance. Before you stands none other than the fairy king himself.”
“The Elder Council! The legendary Jomin!”
“I do not mind demonstrating the magical prowess of the high elves for the first time in a thousand years, but since our numbers are few, the Elder Council wishes to avoid needless bloodshed. You would do well to clear our way.”
Marshal Cabriel stepped forward next.
“I am Marshal Cabriel. I switched sides immediately, and was bestowed a rank higher than my former one of general! Here in the royal army, there’s nobody blocking your way up, and no peers to contend with!”
“You got promoted to marshal? Seriously?” asked one of the revolutionaries.
“Of course! The revolutionary army switched everyone’s ranks, putting formerly low-ranking soldiers on top, but this also means that all ranks have been reset. It’s not like the fairy king has a good memory, so the sooner you make a name for yourself, the easier it’ll be to secure a good spot.”
The incredible agitation of the revolutionaries was palpable. After all, the problem with long-lived races such as elves was the inability of individuals to move up through the ranks, since the higher positions were constantly occupied. And those who ended up as grunts in the revolutionary army had drawn particularly short straws. The prospects advertised by the marshal were bound to be appealing.
“The rank and file of the revolutionary army may switch sides without any punishment from the fairy king. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
“Indeed. And now is your best opportunity to secure a good post for yourself, before the army has fully formed. Why don’t you all join me?”
“Seeing how he’s in the form of the sacred beast, he must be the true Ulupano...” said one of the revolutionaries.
“And there’s Jomin of the Elder Council. What, are they the loyalists and we the rebels?” said another.
“Damn, we have no hopes of climbing the ranks even in the revolutionary army, so that offer of theirs sounds pretty good...” said a third.
The captain of the revolutionaries looked at his troops with an expression like he would break down in tears any moment.
“Y-You idiots!!! Have you forgotten the ideal we’re pursuing, of an army where ten thousand men are equal?!”
“But Captain, we’re gonna lose everything if we end up as rebels. If the fairy king is fine, then Chancellor Mickaël is clearly in the wrong.”
“Damn it! Then I’ll have to do this alone! Viva la revolución!!!” shouted the captain as he unsheathed his saber, ready to come charging our way at any moment.
Meanwhile, all of the grunts tore the red armbands off their upper arms in an instant and cast them in the air.
“I’m switching sides!”
“Long live the fairy king!”
“Long live the republic!”
They began stamping their feet and singing the Elven Forest Republic’s national anthem.
“You’ve made the right choice. Grunts may join without penalty. Officers will be arrested—best run if that doesn’t suit you,” spoke the fairy king.
“W-Will you pardon us if we surrender?” tearfully asked the captain whose saber had fallen from his hands.
“If the chancellor has fooled you, I’ll pardon you should you submit to me right now. Even if you’ve broken the law, I’ll have the court-martial take your surrender into consideration.”
“Then I surrender.”
Seeing the captain kneel on the highway and start crying bitterly, I felt that his revolution had, in that very moment, become a thing of the past.
“Elves have become such lowly creatures recently...”
“We live in a different time from two thousand years ago, mother. This is how things are now.”
“What a bewildering change. The primary reason for it is humans, I’m sure.”
“Everyone changes: humans, dwarves, demons and monsters...as do we elves.”
“How utterly regrettable.”
Thus, we entered Hufton without any fighting.
“Ah, Fairy King! I’m so glad to see you back in this form. And Jomin of the Elder Council! It has been a long time.”
“It has indeed, Vivi. About a thousand years, was it?”
“Sounds about right. So the Elder Council has finally decided to act?”
“The dryads have informed us of Yggdrasil’s recent peril. We may have to intervene should worse come to worst.”
Chief Vivi flashed a smile.
“You needn’t worry—we have sumo now.”
“This ‘sumo’ again? What meaning could there possibly be in a lowly martial art that involves bringing your body in contact with another?”
“Ho ho, you will understand once you see it.”
Jomin went silent, a frown surfacing on her face. She would have to come to the Town of Yggdrasil to see sumo in person.
“Where’s Boorman?”
“He went to see an elder skilled in an ancient elven martial art. Should be back any minute now.”
Apparently even elves had their own martial arts, though I didn’t imagine they were very powerful. Perhaps they could make use of their long life spans to reach incredible mastery in them.
As Marshal Cabriel finished assembling an army and declared a march on the capital, Boorman showed up.
“Hey, yokozuna. You’re back.”
“Yes, the dwarven Magic Train helped us make the trip much quicker than expected. How has your training gone, Boorman?”
“The more I train, the more I grasp sumo’s depth. It both scares and excites me. Also, the magic-obsessed elders have started their research into magic-imbued sumo techniques.”
“Oh? I’m looking forward to the results.”
If elves skilled in magic could analyze those abilities, the mysteries behind them might finally be solved. We rikishi used such techniques in a no-theory-all-practice kind of way, and they were banned in regular sumo tours regardless: showy as tornadoes and lightning were, they ran counter to the essence of sumo. True sumo involves using only your trained body and mind.
“Oh, and some of your fellow Aryakans were staying with someone I know, so I’ve brought them over.”
And in the direction Boorman pointed was...
“Prince Richie, Lady Floortje, I’m most pleased to see you back in one piece.”
It’s General Maurilio and his elite rikishi!
“General Maurilio! You’re alive!” I exclaimed.
“Indeed I am! Apologies for worrying you. Your entire retinue of five hundred warriors is safe and sound.” The general saluted us.
I had been very concerned with their fate after they’d taken on the monsters in the state guest house all on their own in order to let me and the prince escape.
“I’m glad to see you all again, and that nobody is wounded. Welcome back.”
“Glad to be back, yokozuna!” replied Maurilio’s rikishi as one, saluting me.
“How did you become acquainted with Boorman?”
“An elf who once trained me is leading the resistance against the revolutionaries,” explained Boorman. “She took in General Maurilio here too.”
“That’s very nice of her.”
“And wow, you guys even have the fairy king with you.” Boorman was smiling at Ulupano in fenrir form.
“So you’re Boorman. I am Fairy King Ulupano. Your self-driven pursuit of sumo is admirable, and I wish to reward you by teaching you techniques that make use of spirits.”
“You’re kidding! Damn, can’t believe I get to learn from the fairy king himself! Thanks a lot!”
Prince Richie approached General Maurilio.
“What’s the situation in the Elven Forest Republic, General?”
“Chaos, Your Highness, to put it mildly. Every major town is seeing uprisings against the revolutionaries. Chancellor Mickaël’s support has sunk to rock bottom due to the fact that he let demons and monsters into the Town of Yggdrasil. Leaders in all spheres of life are actively pressing the chancellor to let them see the fairy king.”
It sounded like a failed revolution already. The chancellor would soon have to resort to political purges.
“If we don’t hurry to the capital, we might end up with a Great Purge on our hands,” I warned the fairy king.
“The elven population grows so slowly that it’s not very likely, but I’m not about to expect restraint from the chancellor. Let us take the forest path to reach the capital quickly.”
“‘Take the forest path’? What does that mean?”
“It’s magic exclusive to elves that allows swift passage through the forest.”