Chapter 635: The Forest City
The Forest City, the central settlement of the Elf Autonomous Region, was a surprisingly well-fortified town surrounded by sturdy walls and abundant greenery.
At its center stood a massive tree known as the World Tree, as Glasslow had described.
However, strangely enough, despite its enormous size, the World Tree couldn’t be seen from a distance. It only became visible when one approached closely.
Tauro assumed it was under some form of “visual interference” magic. Since he possessed [Anti-Inhibition], such effects shouldn’t work on him—but even so, he couldn’t perceive it from afar. It was a mystery.
When they arrived at the grand gates of the Forest City, elf guards immediately raised their spears in alarm, blocking Tauro’s group along with the wolf golem Garo.
“Halt! Who goes there! Why are humans here?!”
“Wait! I’m Glasslow, their guide. I have permission from the village elders. These are Lord Tauro Giro Sugar, the new ruler of the neighboring territory, and his companion Ragune, a member of the dragonfolk!”
Glasslow quickly dismounted Garo and gave a brief explanation.
“What?! Dragonfolk?! This is serious! Please, come in!”
The guards were far more shocked by Ragune’s identity than by Tauro’s status as a lord.
However—
“Humans can’t be allowed in without authorization from higher up. Wait here!”
At that, Ragune sighed dramatically.
“If my friends can’t enter, then I shall wait here as well… To think a member of the dragonfolk, your ancient allies, would be treated like this…”
Glasslow then stepped in again, presenting written permission from the village elder.
“The village elder has already given permission. If you treat them this way on your own authority and it causes trouble later, what will you do?”
“Hmm… this is indeed the signature of the village chief of Saijo Village… Very well, you may pass. However, many elves in the region deeply dislike humans. For safety, we’ll assign you escorts. Is that acceptable?”
At that, the gatekeeper turned to the others and immediately summoned two elf soldiers.
“…Okay. Then we’ll try not to stand out too much.”
Tauro said this while pulling two hooded cloaks from his magic storage, putting one on Aeris and wearing the other himself.
Zion already concealed herself using her equipment, the “Two-Headed Holy Dark Beast Leather Armor,” which naturally generated a black mist-like cloak.
As for Ragune, she dispelled the illusion magic she usually used around humans and proudly exposed her scaly skin.
Naturally, they drew attention immediately. Everyone was riding atop the wolf golem Garo, and this was an elven city cut off from the surrounding regions.
As soon as they entered, they became the center of attention among the other elves.
“A strange riding golem…”
“Scales… is that some kind of lizardfolk hybrid?”
“No… could that be… the dragonfolk from the legends?”
“No way… most of the people of different races you see in this city, other than elves, are familiar faces, but I don’t recognize them…”
The group endured the curious stares of the elves as they headed toward the castle complex in the center, where the leaders of the Elf Autonomous Region were based.
The central castle complex was surrounded by walls and backed by the World Tree itself—it was truly a fortress.
Again they were stopped at the gate.
Again the humans caused confusion.
Again Ragune’s identity shocked them.
After all of that, an official in charge finally came out to deal with the situation.
When Tauro requested an audience, the request was immediately rejected because they didn’t have an appointment.
At that point, Tauro stepped forward.
“As you can see, I’m a noble and the new lord of the neighboring territory—in other words, I hold the same position as the head of this autonomous region. Moreover, she’s a member of the dragonfolk. Are you really planning to turn both of us away?”
“W-what do you mean, ‘sure’…?”
The elf official responded with slight hesitation to the child, Tauro.
“Of course, if we return to the city to look for an inn, people will notice a human and a member of the dragonfolk, won’t they? That will cause quite a commotion. And the reason for that commotion will be that you turned us away at the gate. We’ll naturally explain that you made that decision on your own authority. What do you think your superiors will say when they learn your decision triggered it?”
Tauro disliked the arbitrary and rude treatment the official had given them, so he made clear just how much trouble that decision could cause.
“Ghk…!”
At those words, the official fell silent.
“I’ll say nothing about this—if we’re treated properly.”
Tauro smiled calmly.
“…Wait here.”
The official disappeared into the building.
Aeris sighed.
“So this is how badly elves here think of humans…”
“I apologize. In the capital especially, the former Count Lunesk’s discriminatory rule left such a terrible impression that distrust of humans has become deeply rooted. That’s why the discrimination has become so severe.”
Glasslow bowed apologetically.
“It’s not your fault. Discrimination exists everywhere. But still… I’m starting to think it’ll be difficult to resume relations in this state.”
Tauro muttered, feeling just how deeply rooted the elves’ distrust of humans was.
Afterword
Thank you very much for reading!
On a personal note, it’s already been three years since I first posted this story on November 16, 2020.
I hope to continue into the fourth year as well, so I appreciate your continued support.
If you enjoyed the story, you can rate ★, follow, like, or comment. It would be greatly appreciated—they’re a huge motivation!
Thank you again, and please continue enjoying “Going to another world on my own!” (｡ ・ω・)♪