Ancient Wood Forest, Foggy Moon Garden.

After the farce of "slipping hands" that night, the Foggy Moon Court experienced a lot of turmoil up and down - although in a sense, this is also an inevitable thing.

Yes, the Misty Moon Court is the largest settlement in the Northern Forest, and it may even be the largest, most prosperous and rich in the Ancient Wood Forest, but it is only an elven settlement after all... Self-sufficient, closed and remote are her greatest characteristics;

It is not at all the same as Morning Star Forest, which has to deal with ogre harassment all year round and gathers hundreds or even thousands of war dancers.

A great search for "foreign assassins", subtle differences in customs and behavior, and conflicts and differences between settlements in the past due to minor things, all erupted at this moment.

It took two days for the chaotic Fog Moon Court and the elders from various settlements to finally settle down the commotion, and they didn't even bother to pay attention to the imminent arrival of the Imperial Mission.

When they finally had time, the War Dancers of the Fog Moon Court in front reported that the Imperial Mission that had come with the second batch of Morning Star Forest War Dancers had only two days to go.

In a hurry, the elders, who had no time to prepare, had to arrange for the Wardancers of the Morning Star Forest—the only ones who had dealt with humans, after all—to be in charge of the reception, while the remaining Elven Wardancers were in charge of keeping the Imperial Mission safe, while also keeping an eye on them to ensure that they did not cause a disturbance in the settlement.

This is also the contradiction between the elves of the Ancient Wood Forest, on the one hand, they do not have any good feelings for the empire, and on the other hand, they are unwilling to provoke without anything to provoke, causing a war between the two sides, so that it has dragged on for so long and has not made up their minds.

During this period, there were also contradictions between the eastern and northern forests, and the elves led by the barren mound forest were dissatisfied with the "self-righteousness" of the Misty Moon Court and the "changing customs" of the Morning Star Forest, believing that only they were the real "war dancer elves".

The strife between the elders also gave Lukla the opportunity to rally his supporters, but to his surprise, the Azorean elf, who was supposed to "jump up and down" during this time, stirring up strife between the elves and the Empire, was unusually quiet during this time.

As for another "accident", there is still no trace of a certain black-haired wizard......

Sighing, Luca, who was standing under the gate of the Misty Moon Court, looked up, and not far away, a team holding the Iron Crown and the Golden Lion on a black background appeared at the end of the dense forest path, surrounded by the dancers of the Morning Star Forest, slowly approaching.

But what caught Luca's attention the most was that it was not Loren Turin who was at the forefront of this team, but Ain.

And in the entire team, the black-haired wizard was still nowhere to be seen.

This means that Loren has not left and is still in the settlement of the Misty Moon Court?

The absurd thought came to Luca's mind, and he shook his head inexplicably - the entire settlement, nearly a thousand war dancers, but they searched up and down, and they couldn't find even the slightest clue.

Although Luca thought it was impossible, the fact was that Loren Turin was not in the mission, and it was impossible for him to travel back and forth between the two settlements in just a few days without being noticed.

What the hell is he trying to do?

With a mind full of questions, Luca, who was forced to calm down, stepped forward to greet Leah and the little wizard.

"Thank you, Leah. ”

"It's just a matter of duty, and there is no need for this. The female elf with her little nose cocked snorted lightly, and turned her head to look at the Misty Moon Court behind Luka:

"That's... Person... How's it going?"

"Missing. The middle-aged elf shook his head with a pretended lament: "Several days have passed, and there is still no news." ”

"Oh. ”

Lukka smiled dumbly, and although the elf replied lightly, her shoulders shook visibly.

The group of small wizards who followed closely behind looked curiously at this Misty Moon Court, which was very different from the style of the Morning Star Forest and even any elven settlement.

Of course, there are also the ancient wood forest spirits who come to watch the mission as if they are crowding on both sides of the gate and path.

Although the Misty Moon Court had never had any contact with the Empire, its hostility towards the Empire was much stronger than that of the Morning Star Forest, and a pair of indifferent or hostile eyes shot from all directions, causing Lu Sien to nervously hold down the hilt of the sword at his waist, and the Byrne knights accompanying him on both sides also tensed their heartstrings, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

"Keep order, don't let the road block!" Luka, who was at the front of the line, shouted to the elven warriors of the settlements on both sides as he led the Morning Star Forest War Dancers out of the way:

"They are the envoys of the Empire, and they are the guests of the Misty Moon Court and the entire Ancient Wood Forest—the elves, when did they become unkind to their guests?!"

Hearing this, the warriors no longer slackened, desperately trying to keep the elves who wanted to squeeze towards the middle of the road out of the street.

"Why would they be so hostile to us?"

Although he didn't know anything about the elves, looking at the elves of the Fog Moon Court with anger written on his faces on both sides, the little wizard still felt a little inexplicable: "This is the first time that the empire has sent someone to the Fog Moon Court." ”

"The first time I came, I came with the threat of a sword. The female elf who walked in front said coldly, and her tone was undisguised dissatisfaction: "If it were you, what kind of face would you give to the guy who came without saying hello?"

The little wizard lowered his head aggrievedly, while Lusen on the side squinted his eyes and glared angrily at the female elf.

"Leah, do you think we're doing something wrong......

"Whatever happens to you, it's the big liar's fault!"

The female elf hurriedly turned her head to look ahead, and hurriedly excused: "Four days ago, an assassin from a foreign race infiltrated the Misty Moon Court.

The War Dancers from all over the Ancient Wood Forest searched the settlement for four days without finding any results, and finally had to do it hastily, saying that it was an accident - Lukka told me when he came. ”

Aine was stunned.

Although the female elf did not say it explicitly, the answer was already obvious.

Being able to quietly blend into the Misty Moon Court, and still be able to search under the search of nearly a thousand battle dancers without leaving any clues—who else could there be except for a certain black-haired wizard?

"It's all the fault of the big liar!" the elf repeated, as if this was the only way to vent her anger.

Compared to a female elf whose face was full of hatred but was actually worried, there was a hint of worry in the eyes of the little wizard.

"What's wrong?" The gray-eyed young man who was faintly aware of it on the side turned his head and asked with concern, "Are you uncomfortable?"

"No, it's not this, it's ......" Ai Yin, who wanted to speak and stopped, shook her head vigorously and stopped talking.

Loren... He hasn't even shown up yet.

This also means that when facing the elven elder of the Ancient Wood Forest in the future, he must come forward to negotiate with the other party on his behalf, and shoulder the responsibility of establishing friendship between the two parties, at least so that they are no longer hostile to each other.

You must listen to each other's complaints, you must find out the truth about the hostility between the Ancient Wood Forest and the Empire, you must maintain the fragile peace of the moment, and you must make everyone listen to you.

If it fails, the Empire and the Ancient Wood Forest may meet each other, maybe the Morning Star Forest will be engulfed in flames, maybe their hometown of Deep Forest Fort will become a battlefield, and maybe Lothair, Byrne, and the entire Empire will be involved!

Companions who fell in pools of blood, friends who met with swords, burning memories......

The little wizard was not worried about her own failures, as an alchemist, failure had long been a matter of course for her, what she really worried about was the consequences of failure.

She couldn't afford it.

The head hung down on his chest, in vain to hide his trembling pupils.

“...... Bridging barriers, trusting each other, and letting go of scruples and disputes......"

“...... No one is worthless, you can impress thousands of elves with the most mundane things, so that they want to die for you once, I can't do it, no one can do it......"

Sincere and trusting words echoed in Ain's ears.

"Really... Can you do it?"

"Yes!"

Abrupt words came.

The stunned little wizard looked up, and saw that the female elf walking in front had turned her head and was looking at her intently.

"Li, Leah, do you mean that I, I just ......?"

"I don't need to know what you're talking about, it's all written on your face. The female elf snorted lightly and sighed: "You guy, the biggest problem is that you are too unconfident!"

"Huh?!"

Ain's face was inexplicable.

"I'm always scared, I'm always worried that I can't do it, and I'm worried that I can't do it well. As if remembering something, the female elf looked at the little wizard in a daze: "That's why you're always bullied by that big liar!"

"I ......"

"At the end of the day, Ain is so unconfident that you're so talented that you always have to accommodate this big liar, and you'll only be bullied by him more and more. ”

As if to vent her emotions, the female elf shook her head and continued: "This big liar is different from you, he is very very self-confident, so if you don't resist, he will feel that he has done the right thing!"

"You have to fight with him, tell him what you want and don't want, what you like and don't like, you have to make him feel that you are important, not his... Something like an accessory!"

The little wizard's expression was stunned, completely speechless.

"And this time, no matter what the hell he had in mind, it was obvious that he had already made him useless, so he had to let Ain take his place and negotiate with the elders. The elf continued to cheer up Ain:

"On the other hand, doesn't this just mean that even this guy who is extremely confident thinks that you can replace him and complete this task, or even better than him... Isn't it?"

The little wizard, who had not spoken all the time, slowly raised his head and looked at the female elf.

"And what about you? Ria - do you believe that I can quell the hostility between the Empire and the Grove and return to the peace of the past?"

The female elf's expression froze.

This time, even Lu Sien next to her could see how complicated her mood was.

Turning around silently, the female elf who walked straight forward did not look back.

"No matter when, no matter what happens... I will not betray Morning Star Forest, nor will I betray my people. ”

Looking at such a female elf, Ain frowned slightly and sighed softly.

As she approached the Cloudcrown Tree, the elves who led the Morning Star Forest Dancers silently turned away, leaving Lukka alone to wait under the winding "branch staircase" of the Cloudcrown Tree.

"Ain, please follow me. The middle-aged elf said with a gentle face, "As for the rest of the guests, please wait in the camp under the cloud canopy tree for a while. ”

"After all, this is the largest settlement in the Ancient Wood Forest, and the longhouse where the elders deliberate is no better, it is impossible for everyone to enter, only the main person can represent it... Thank you for your understanding. ”

Luson paused and turned his head to look at the Byrne knights who were following him.

Although these words are reasonable, why do you always have a premonition that the other party will have bad intentions?

"I see. The little wizard nodded slightly.

Lukka sighed - if he could, he really didn't want to be so kind to the little wizard who had been so kind to him, and even to the entire Morningstar Forest.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't worry, I'll be back soon. ”

The words fell, and the little wizard who didn't look back followed in the footsteps of the middle-aged elf, climbing the silent cloud canopy tree step by step.

The zigzag branches and the huge "cloud canopy" obscured the sky and the sun, and it was impossible to see the outside from the trees, giving people the illusion of being in a different world; it was obviously in the noisy and prosperous Fog Moon Garden, but it seemed to be back in the Morning Star Forest.

Under Lukka's gaze, the little wizard stepped into the gate of the Cloudcanopy Treetop Longhouse without squinting, passing through the Misty Moon Court War Dancers who were staring at her with hostile gazes on either side.

"Squeak~~~"

The door of the longhouse, closed behind them.

The moment he walked into the longhouse, the little wizard noticed that he was "surrounded".

The whole room is like the concert hall of the imperial capital of Golovin – the entrance is a semi-curved "dance floor", surrounded by a stepped "auditorium".

In the front row, there sat twelve old elven men with different appearances, different clothes, and gray hair, who were looking at the little wizard standing in front of them almost from the moment they entered the door.

It's like looking at an object.

Behind them, Ain could detect more pairs of eyes, staring from head to toe from all sides, angles, scanning herself.

A pair of unkind, suspicious and even hostile eyes.

The little wizard gritted his teeth, a drop of cold sweat dripping from his forehead slipped through his eyes, and he endured it without wiping it.

Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the elves with the same expression he usually faced with the "test subject"—the guinea pig—in the wizard's tower:

"Elder Gentlemen, in Lower Ain Rand, on behalf of the Supreme Emperor of the Empire, Eckhart II, and in his name visit the Ancient Wood Forest. ”

"We are here for friendship and peace. ”