The airport where the plane to Eshaware was arriving… was emptier than I expected.

I thought it would be full of journalists, high-ranking people.

But it wasn’t.

In fact, it was the opposite.

There was not a single ’normal’ person in the airport.

At least, not in the part of the airport we were in.

Apparently, they had made sure that we were not disturbed before the flight.

I sighed slightly and looked behind me.

Adrian and Alysia were next to each other. They were standing much closer to each other than before, but also not too close.

Alysia was quite calm, I could even tell that her expression was dull, while Adrian was having a hard time hiding his nervousness, although he was trying to stay calm like his sister.

I thanked the Kingdom inwardly for not bringing the journalists here. It would certainly have increased his nervousness. It would certainly have added to his tension.

I tore my eyes away from the two of them and turned my gaze to the person standing closer to me than them.

Julian, whom I had dragged along at his father’s request.

Julian… not only looked professional in his suit, but also surprisingly serious and calm. I expected him to be like Adrian, but he was the opposite.

And that was it.

Apart from the bodyguards, we were going to Eshaware as these ’four guys’.

Four people in their early twenties, still in the prime of their youth, were going to have a meeting that could decide the future of the two countries.

*******

The aircraft was a jet, rather than a large passenger plane.

It was chosen for fast travel and professional service. The food, the staff, even the silence, as if we weren’t moving at full speed across the sky.

But of course, this silence only applied to the sound of the plane itself.

Because I was constantly talking to Julian.

“Their main objective will be to try to eliminate Adrian and Alysia.”

And Julian was listening to me more than well enough.

“And they will do everything they can to do that.”

Julian looked at the screens floating in front of him.

On each one was valuable information, possible situations, useful suggestions, things like that.

“Think of it as a ’mission’. A mission to protect Adrian and Alysia from being killed, to try to strengthen the relationship between Cevilian and Eshaware. And your role in this mission will be to think about what you think are the necessary things and offer them when necessary.”

In short, he will be an ’assistant’ to me, even though he belongs to one of the most important noble families in the kingdom.

But he will also learn in return.

And he is aware of that.

That’s why he takes his job very seriously, rather than looking down on being an ’assistant’, rather than thinking that he is someone who can take on more valuable roles.

“I want to ask you something, Aiden.”

For the first time in almost the entire trip, I didn’t refuse him when he came with a question.

“Go ahead.”

He tore his ocean blue eyes away from the screens and turned them to me, sitting directly across from him.

“You… are planning to take the whole planet in your hands, right?”

…

…

“First the kingdom itself, the nobles… Then the dwarves and now the elves. Next will be the Hannyas, perhaps Elhair or some other country. Am I… wrong?”

The silence continued, and so did Julian’s… albeit for a short time.

“Why is that?”

There was no one but the two of us where we were now. That’s why he could speak so openly.

How similar he is to his father, except for the way he looks…

“Well, it’s because I’m trying to create a future that fits my dream.”

He’s questioning me, just like him.

“And that dream includes a future where everyone I care about can live happily.”

Even though we are friends, even though he trusts me, he is curious and wants to be sure.

“But to achieve this dream, I need to protect the planet first, and I can’t do it alone.”

And I’m going to give him what he wants.

“That’s why I’m trying to get all the allies I can get and destroy all the enemies I can destroy.”

Julian continued to stare at me for a while, in a way that I couldn’t guess what was going through his mind. Yet I continued to wait patiently, not worrying too much and giving him time to think.

Because I knew Julian, and therefore I knew one thing for sure.

“Got it.”

He would follow me no matter what.

“Then… I will strive for the future you dream of.”

He broke his seriousness, smiled, just as I had expected… as the person I knew him to be.

“But, I hope you trust me… as much as I trust you.”

I tore my gaze away from him and looked up at the sky above us, the clouds disappearing from our view every second, which I could see through the window of the jet.

“What am I supposed to do if I don’t?”

*******

After only two hours, the jet began to descend.

As we flew through the clouds that we were flying over and finally landed below them again… the inside of the jet suddenly went black. Find adventures at NovelBin.Côm

Sunlight was not, or rather could not, penetrate. It was as if the sun had just set and we were in a house where the sun could barely shine.

And there was only one reason for that.

We looked out of the windows of the jet, and what I saw was not simply land or dense clouds covering the sky and blocking the sun.

It was a shadow, something darkening the jet, something much more massive than the clouds.

It was majestic, it was magnificent. Its lush green foliage, some even larger than humans, and its huge branches, reaching for kilometers, were as spectacular as they were shadowing the earth, blocking out the sun.

It was the only one of its kind on the planet, the only thing that symbolized the land of the elves and helped them preserve it. It was the source of the fertility of their land, the main reason for the unusually high mana content of their air.

“The World Tree…”

Julian murmured without realizing it.

The World Tree was the name of the gigantic thing we could see through the jet’s window.

However, unlike the others, I did not immerse myself in its beauty.

I knew what was going to happen because, in the not-too-distant future.

It was destined to rot to nothing in just a few years, the end of the elves and their land.

Unless, of course, it was prevented.

I squinted, unable to stop focusing on the tree for a while. Not because of its beauty or fascination, but because of the lingering thoughts in my mind.

Eshaware was not simply a country, it was an entire continent. On top of that, the World Tree was one of the last things one could see with one’s own eyes, as it was very difficult to set foot on the continent due to the policies of the elves.

It was such an important thing, and yet the elves failed to protect it. Not that they were that guilty, of course. Still, given their capacities, I would have expected them to be able to solve this on their own.

Well, there’s not much I can do…

I took my eyes off the tree and after a short time the jet became lower and lower, out of sight and out of mind. At the same time, its mesmerizing effect on the other three on board diminished.

Finally, when the jet came to a complete stop… no one had their eyes on the gigantic tree.

The stoppage of the jet meant that we had reached our destination, and this caused their tensions to rise, although they remained calm. The tree was no longer on their minds.

Shortly after the jet stopped, the guards inside slowly approached us and the four of us stood up.

After a short time, when we stepped out of the jet… we were greeted by a startling sight.

Cevilian had kept journalists or anyone who might give us a hard time directly away from us.

But Eshaware…

~click!

~fwoosh!

~chk-kt!

~chk-kt!

Suddenly, I found myself more uncomfortable than I had ever been before with the flashes bursting in our faces and the sound of the cameras.

At least there didn’t seem to be any journalists trying to ask us questions, they were just busy taking pictures.

But then I paused, suddenly realizing who these photographers were, their physical features.

Long and thin bodies, pointed ears, brighter than normal hair and eye colors, sharper than usual facial and body features…

Elves.

The people who greeted us were all elves.

Another completely ’fantastic’ humanoid race, not found in my previous world… just like the dwarves in Holar.

…

Strange, I thought to myself.

But… no, it wasn’t that the people in front of me were elves, a different and fantastic race.

It was more… the indifference, the emptiness inside me.

The other races I had seen while shopping in Efenyl City, before the dungeon Alex and I had cleared, had almost blown my mind. The first time I set foot in the Northern Holar, I was so mesmerized that I was constantly looking around, unable to take my eyes off anything I saw.

I loved Lunerra so much that seeing things I had seen maybe a hundred times, over and over again, especially with my own eyes, was an insane experience.

But… now?

There was no excitement.

Just… nothing.

I let out a sigh, softly, not letting anyone notice. I tore my eyes away from the cameras and the people holding them, and turned them to the people standing right in front of me.

Right in front of the jet we landed on, besides our own bodyguards, there were Eshaware’s guards.

They were all studying us. Their eyes were trying to catch every detail, categorizing us according to our possible danger levels.

And at this point, quite a lot of eyes were on Adrian and me specifically.

“Welcome, our esteemed guests.”

I couldn’t help the slight confusion in my mind as I heard the words in my own language echoing in my ears.

Fortunately, the translation device was working quite well. Her words was transmitted quite clearly into my mind. I just… couldn’t help feeling like it was giving me a little headache. It was a strange feeling.

After a short while, though, I pushed the thoughts about the device out of my mind and focused completely on the person who was speaking to us.

A tall stature, which is a common characteristic of elves. Yet a fragile body that looked thin, even for elves. Platinum blonde hair down to the waist, pale yellow eyes that almost smiled, a face that would dazzle most men.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome you here in our lands, in Eshaware.”

Eshaware’s only princess, Phloria Aroniel, was her name.

“I hope your journey was comfortable without problems. Please, follow me. It will be in the best interest of both sides if you rest before the meeting.”

She kept her pale and yet somewhat bright yellow eyes on us for a while longer, fixing them specifically on Adrian and Alysia. Then he gave Julian a quick glance, probably deeming him… not so important. And, finally, me.

The short time we looked at each other without speaking was quite simple, actually.

But… it was also complicated.

She had a strange yet understandable expression on her face.

They were expecting a prince or someone from the pillar families alongside Adrian and Alysia. Not me, someone who had only recently become a noble, even if they had already heard about it.

I closed my eyes briefly as Princess Phloria turned around and started to walk away.

Before I started to follow her, though… I thought of something quite simple.

A few days.

I will only be in Eshaware for a few days.

I won’t stretch it out over months, as I did on the Holar continent.

I opened my eyes, looked at the architecture of the elves’ airport, which simply felt ’magical’ and ’fantastic’, and then at the back of the princess, who had only moved a meter from her spot.

And, so, I took my first step.

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