With Sérignan singing my praises, the tenants entered their new temporary residences.
“That’s the spirit, Sérignan,” I told her. “The way you treat humans is fine.”
“R-Really? I see them as hated enemies...”
She said that, but I got the feeling Sérignan would blend in just fine in human society.
“Wonder how Lysa’s doing?” I mused.
Lysa had grudges against humans too, after all. Knights who’d advocated human supremacy had taken Linnet’s life, and she likely still hated them for that. Besides, that memory was much more recent than Sérignan’s, so I expected her hatred to be much greater.
That being said, when I pried into the collective consciousness, I didn’t sense any hatred from her. Did that mean she didn’t resent the humans?
“Look! This is how you do it!”
Just as that concern crossed my mind, I found Lysa playing with the refugee children. She was using the legs growing from her back to skillfully juggle beanbags. Professional jugglers would pale in comparison. As they watched her, the children cheered, eyes aglitter. They didn’t reject her for being a Swarm or an elf.
“How are you doing, Lysa?” I asked, walking over to her.
“Oh, hello!” she replied cheerfully. “I’m doing great! I finished guiding the tenants to their new homes. Now I’m just entertaining the kids.”
“Don’t you resent humans, though?”
“I...still hate the fact that Linnet was killed, but it’s not like every human is at fault for that. The knights and the king of Maluk were responsible for that. Now that they’re dead, my heart’s lightened a little.”
Right... Lysa doesn’t want all humans dead.
Still, that was enough to trigger a war. It was what drove me to declare my first.
“I don’t forgive Nyrnal’s people yet, though,” Lysa continued. “We had so much fun in Khalkha, and they burned it down with their wyverns. That’s terrible, not to mention inhuman.”
“Agreed.” I nodded. “I hate them too.” Enough to want to wipe them off the map.
“I just wish a day would come where people wouldn’t have to go to war over things like this,” Lysa murmured as she touched her hair, which was still hiding her elven ears. “Like being an elf, or a Swarm, or a human, or a pagan...”
“I’m sure that wish will come true, Lysa.” Leaving her with that note of hope, I headed elsewhere.
Sérignan was gradually blending in with the humans, and Lysa was doing fine too. What about the rest of the Swarm? Dipping into the collective consciousness, I didn’t sense any general hatred toward humans at all. I did feel their resentment toward the Nyrnal Empire clamoring through the consciousness, though. It was like a chorus of loathing.
“We have to destroy the Nyrnal Empire...”
I couldn’t tell what Emperor Maximillian was thinking, but he’d already done more than enough damage to justify painful retribution.
You’d better be ready to see a city or two burn, Maximillian. Remember that you were the one who started this damn war.
Still, I had no idea what he was planning. The northeastern detachment that had attacked the Popedom of Frantz was retreating and, at the same time, receiving more troops. I thought it reasonable that they’d try to invade by crossing the Phros River. Still, I didn’t think Maximillian would resort to such obvious tactics. If he were that simpleminded, I wouldn’t be having so much trouble. He always employed strategies I didn’t expect.
It made sense—Maximillian had all the smartest people in the Empire on his side. He had a gaggle of generals offering him all sorts of ideas, which he could carefully consider and pick from. But that meant...
“Right... If he’s consolidating his forces in the northeast, then they might try to...”
With the worst-possible scenario coming to mind, I immediately tapped into a Ripper Swarm’s consciousness and had it hurry into the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Where’s Keralt?!” I asked, flustered. The Ripper Swarm transmitted my question.
“Th-The guildmaster is on the second floor!” a receptionist hurriedly replied.
I had it hurry up to the second floor and open the door to her office.
“Keralt!” I called out, throwing all politeness to the winds. “Do you have any adventurers near the elven forest?!”
“I was just thinking of talking to you about that,” Keralt said coolly. “A large force of Nyrnal soldiers is invading the elven forest. They’re using those monsters—the lindwyrms, that is—to level the ground and carve a path open. Their army is 450,000 strong, with 80 lindwyrms.”
I knew it! I knew they’d try to go through the elven forest!
But I’d realized it too late. The elven forest had no paved roads, so I initially thought a large army wouldn’t be able to cross it. But of course, they had heavy machinery of sorts in the lindwyrms. They could use those to clear a way through the forest.
“We have to handle it right now,” I declared. “Thankfully, we have a base in the elven forest. Using that, we might be able to...”
Can we really do something about this, though? No, we have to do it! I couldn’t let the elves get overrun by this war. I’d promised them our protection, and they believed in me.
“We’ll mobilize our army,” I told Keralt. “Could you continue scoping things out with your adventurers?”
She nodded. “Got it. What about the mercenaries?”
“Have them protect the home front.”
I finished my hurried exchange with Keralt, and we each departed for our respective battlefield. I had sworn an oath to protect the elven forest. I couldn’t allow it to fall so easily.