# Chapter 461: Side Story 134
The date for the count title succession ceremony was set at the royal palace.
All that remained was to head up to the capital on time.
Transportation?
Should we ask our new dragon?
No.
That might draw unwanted attention.
Dragons were apparently nearly extinct here too.
People would be startled if one suddenly appeared.
There was no choice but to use the most common mode of transportation.
That would be the horse-drawn carriage.
The travel time from the Delian territory to the Artia Kingdom’s capital by carriage was just one day.
This wasn’t the ordinary carriage people were familiar with.
It operated using magic.
So it was quite fast.
This was a fantasy dimension.
A place where aura and magic were alive and breathing.
Especially since this was the world of elves, spirit magic was widespread.
You know them.
Sylph, Undine, Salamander, Gnome.
Carriage travel worked like this:
The wind spirit Sylph increased the speed of the horse and carriage.
The water spirit Undine cast cleansing magic during the journey.
The fire spirit Salamander raised the temperature to keep bodies warm.
The earth spirit Gnome smoothed out the road.
For travel, a wind-attribute spirit master was essential, followed by earth attribute, then water, then fire.
Honestly, fire-attribute spirits weren’t very useful for travel.
They could light campfires, but that could be handled neatly with a single artifact.
Though their attack power was the strongest.
First, they needed horses and a carriage.
Perhaps because this was a fallen territory, the lord’s manor stable had neither horses nor carriages.
That was fine.
They could just buy them with money.
There were plenty of merchants in the territory.
The problem was spirit magic.
Ju-hyeok only looked like a half-elf; his blood wasn’t mixed at all.
How was he supposed to use spirit magic?
He wasn’t an elf, and he didn’t have a spirit attribute either.
Actually, there was a solution for that too.
They had High Elf Mari.
But?
“It’s been so long since I summoned a spirit, I’m not sure if it will work.”
Mari answered in a voice as small as an ant’s.
“Huh? Why haven’t you summoned one all this time?”
“W-well, I was in the Soul Space, and also the homunculi are basically my spirits anyway….”
Aha.
That made sense.
True, homunculi could do almost everything spirits did.
“Then what about the spirit you summoned in the past?”
“Salamander. Fire attribute.”
“Ah!”
“I-it suits my personality.”
Fire suited her personality?
Mari-ssi, wasn’t she the quiet type?
Water seemed more fitting.
“…I’ll try anyway.”
“Sure. It’s fine even if it doesn’t work.”
They could manage without a spirit.
They just wouldn’t use the carriage.
If it really came down to it, they could ride the dragon.
Mari concentrated her mind.
Hoping a wind spirit would be summoned.
-Wooooong!
Mana gathered around her.
Along with scorching heat.
-Fwoosh!
A red spiritual body appeared.
Wow!
It was a fire spirit.
“Um, this is Sallion-nim, a supreme fire spirit.”
Amazing!
As expected of High Elf Mari.
She said it had been a long time since she summoned a spirit, yet she called forth a supreme spirit in one try.
“How disappointing.”
What now?
“Even if it’s a fire spirit, it’s no different from an explosive-type homun, is it?”
“…”
“It’s not helpful. Not helpful at all! What’s the point of just being pretty?”
“…Shit.”
Whoa.
Our Mari just swore.
“With that nasty temper, a fire spirit suits her perfectly.”
“You damn @$#%, X-ing &@#!”
“Aiyu, how refreshing. I’m going to live a long life.”
“You !!! #%$&$?*
“Please continue. As if I haven’t heard cursing before?”
Oh my.
Ju-hyeok glared at Kozak while rapidly shaking his head side to side.
Meaning: don’t provoke her.
But it seemed Mari’s mood had already soured considerably.
-Tspft!
The supreme fire spirit Sallion was instantly unsummoned.
After a brief silence,
“It can’t be helped. I’ll ask Alejandro-ssi to….”
Then Kozak raised his hand and spoke.
“How about this?”
What?
“There’s a summoning genius I know. If we ask that person, it should work out.”
Huh?
“There was someone like that?”
“Yep!”
“Who?”
“Count Yurik Bong-nim.”
Me?
“The master of summoning that everyone acknowledges, the genius of summoning, my summoning knows no limits. Group summoning, individual summoning, if he wants to call them he just calls them—click! I’m talking about Count Yurik Bong-nim.”
Hmm.
That wasn’t wrong.
But would it actually work?
“Why not give it a try? Nothing to lose, is there?”
Right.
Let’s try.
“But Mari-ssi, how does spirit summoning work?”
“…Um, there’s no set method really. Y-you’re born with it, so just close your eyes and earnestly wish for it.”
Following Mari’s advice, Ju-hyeok closed his eyes and concentrated.
Any bored spirits out there, please come.
A wind spirit would be the cherry on top.
It doesn’t have to be wind attribute.
Earth attribute is fine too.
‘…’
But nothing happened.
‘It’s not working?’
There was no mana flow either.
How embarrassing.
‘Maybe I should give up….’
That was when it happened.
-Wooooooooooo!
An intense vortex of energy formed in front of Ju-hyeok.
‘It’s coming!’
He could sense it instinctively.
It was definitely a spirit.
-Wooooooo….
The vortex grew larger and larger.
Like a black hole, it absorbed all the mana around it.
– Who are you? –
A voice reached into his consciousness.
‘Ah!’
It was definitely the voice of a spirit.
‘I’m Bong Ju-hyeok.’
– Are you human? –
‘Yes! I’m human.’
– I don’t think so. –
‘Trust me. I’m definitely human. If I had to say, a slightly special human?’
– I see. Let’s go with that. So why did you call me? –
What should he say?
Given that the spirit was making conversation, it seemed like no ordinary spirit.
Would he get cursed out if he asked it to pull a carriage?
Let’s be honest.
A person should be truthful.
‘I’m trying to travel by carriage, and I was hoping you could help a little…, like making it go faster, or improving the ride quality like air suspension.’
– Ah…, a carriage? –
‘Yes, you won’t have to fight or anything. I have no intention of asking that.’
Please don’t take it the wrong way.
If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.
– I understand. Let’s form a contract. –
Oh!
How kind of them!
Then how do they form the contract?
– If Ju-hyeok-nim wills it and says in your heart that you want to contract with me…. –
‘I want to contract.’
But then?
– Hmm, two contracts appeared instead of one. –
‘Two?’
– One is a spirit contract, and the other is…. a Summoned Being contract? What’s this? –
Ah!
It was the dual contract.
‘You can ignore the Summoned Being contract. Just the spirit contract.’
– …Alright. It’s done. I’m Sillaiel, the Spirit King of Wind. –
What!
It was a king?
– I’ll manifest now. –
-Fwaaaaaash!
A transparent spiritual body appeared before Ju-hyeok.
“Ah!”
Mari was utterly shocked.
At the same time, she doubted her own eyes.
It was definitely a wind spirit.
But it wasn’t a basic spirit like a Sylph, nor a superior or supreme spirit.
An even more formidable level of spirit.
If it was a being of higher rank than supreme?
“…Spirit King?”
My goodness!
A Spirit King had been summoned?
It was hard to believe even while seeing it.
No matter how strong a High Elf’s spirit power was, there were limits.
They could summon supreme spirits.
Though it came with tremendous burden.
But a Spirit King could not be summoned.
They were beings that simply could not be summoned in the first place.
Only communication through consciousness connection was possible.
So what was this?
Truly, the Summoner-nim was….
“Now then, say hello. This is Sillaiel-nim, the Spirit King of Wind.”
“Ohhh! A king? I knew it would be like this. Click! Isn’t it Count Yurik Bong-nim?”
Mari too, with sparkling eyes,
“A-amazing. Ju-hyeok-nim….”
“It’s Count Yurik Bong-nim. Get the title right. You’re not his legal wife yet.”
“Ah! Yes yes, Count Yurik Bong-nim.”
Ay, how embarrassing.
Anyway, the recruitment of a wind spirit for comfortable travel.
‘Though it does weigh on my mind to ask a king to do menial work….’
Well, whatever.
He was already riding around on a dragon.
***
Finally, the journey began.
Four people were traveling to the capital with Ju-hyeok, making five in total.
This was enough.
If a dangerous situation arose, he could summon the summoned beings from the capital.
First, the greatest alchemist and High Elf Mari.
Her inclusion was mandatory.
And Kozak.
No summoned being could match Kozak in espionage, infiltration, and intelligence gathering.
Bardin accompanied them too.
The Holy Knight of Radiance, since this was a mission to catch the Demon God.
And finally, their fairy princess.
The mystical Grand Shaman priestess, the best in the dimension.
The carriage seated four.
Bardin and Kozak took turns as the coachman.
The carriage moved swiftly.
The ride quality was excellent too.
Thanks to the Wind Spirit King Sillaiel’s power imbuing the horse and carriage.
They could have gone even faster, but they controlled the speed.
There was no reason to rush.
During the journey, Ju-hyeok had many conversations with the Wind Spirit King Sillaiel.
– Ah! I see. So Ju-hyeok-nim isn’t from this world. –
‘Yes…. Are you perhaps disappointed?’
– Not at all! It’s an honor for me. When else would I get to meet a being from another dimension? And you’re even a dimension traveler. –
‘Ay, honor is too much.’
– If it’s not too impolite, may I hear about Ju-hyeok-nim’s home dimension and what worlds you’ve traveled through? –
‘Oh, of course. I was bored anyway.’
It was a story he had told countless times whenever traveling through dimensions, but that actually made it easier.
It was like performing a set repertoire.
Starting from conquering the Black Tower on Earth.
The circumstances that led to dimension traveling, the countless worlds he had encountered.
– Oh! Oh dear! So what happened then? –
The further the story progressed, the more exclamations of wonder came from Sillaiel.
Where else would one hear such tales?
Ju-hyeok got into it too.
Here was a Spirit King, and the reactions were good.
The storyteller couldn’t help but get excited.
In the midst of all this.
– Ju-hyeok-nim, I have a question. –
‘Yes, please go ahead.’
– It’s been quite a while since I’ve manifested, but aren’t you feeling strained? –
Strained.
Was he supposed to be strained?
‘I feel perfectly fine though?’
– Ah! As I thought. –
‘Are you feeling strained, Sillaiel-nim?’
– Yes, a little. It’s difficult to stay in the mortal realm for extended periods, after all. –
He could understand.
A Spirit King was also a being with a degree of divinity.
‘If you’re strained, please go back. I’m fine.’
– I’ll send another child in my place. Silpion, a superior wind spirit. It should be sufficient for operating a carriage. –
How kind.
As befitting a Spirit King, very considerate.
‘Yes, I feel bad asking, but please.’
In truth, Sillaiel also wanted to continue staying in the mortal realm.
But what could be done?
A Spirit King could not remain in the mortal realm for extended periods.
That was the law of the world.
Would things be different if they formed a Summoned Being contract?
Was that even possible?
It was worth considering.
If it worked, they could leave the Spirit Realm and experience a new world.
But not now.
It was something to think about more before deciding.
– Then, I’ll take my leave…. Please call me again tomorrow. –
-Spot!
Sillaiel disappeared.
The carriage began to slow down.
But then -Fwoosh!
The superior spirit Silpion appeared.
The horse and carriage sped up again.
They reached the capital in no time.
He should use this service often.
But would spirit summoning be possible in other dimensions too?
If so, it would be very convenient.
***
The rear garden of the Artia Kingdom’s royal palace.
There stood a massive tree that seemed to pierce the heavens.
It was the World Tree.
Guardian of the elves.
Mother of the elves.
The medium that connected spirits and elves.
Not just the Artia Kingdom, but almost every kingdom on the Skaldion continent had a World Tree planted.
In fact, that wasn’t the case a thousand years ago.
There had been only one World Tree on the entire continent.
Then, as elves mingled and scattered among human society, the World Tree divided as well.
The god Wignar had made it so.
Because elves and World Trees needed each other to sustain their lives.
Queen Serena Artia was a pure-blooded elf with no human blood mixed in.
Her daily routine was to come to the rear garden every day, caress the World Tree, and commune with it.
A pure-blooded elf needed a World Tree.
Only then could they maintain their true nature.
What about half-elves?
They didn’t necessarily need one.
They were half human, after all.
Of course, half-elf nobles also occasionally visited the palace’s rear garden to commune with the World Tree.
But many half-elf nobles didn’t bother seeking out the World Tree.
Serena Artia was meditating beneath the World Tree.
For her, troubled by the headaches of state governance, this was precious time to escape briefly and enjoy peace.
But it didn’t last long.
Because an intruder came looking for her.
“Your Majesty, you were here.”
“…Aron, welcome.”
The highest-ranking noble of the Artia Kingdom.
It was Duke Aron Silbain.
“I hope I haven’t disturbed your peace.”
“Yes, you have.”
“Hahaha, how sorry should I be?”
“You don’t look sorry at all.”
Duke Aron Silbain stood beside Queen Artia with a slight smile.
The two were close enough to joke with each other.
They were relatives connected through the maternal line.
“It’s about the count title succession ceremony tomorrow. Should we summon all the central nobles of the kingdom….”
Queen Serena pondered briefly at Aron’s question.
Then.
“It’s a formal succession ceremony, so we should show proper respect. Invite everyone.”
She had actually been considering it.
The suggestion to hold the Delian territory count title succession as a formal ceremony rather than a simple one.
As always, the budget was the issue.
Ceremonies cost a lot of money.
Should they just do the succession and be done with it?
The palace would have to host a banquet, prepare succession gifts…
Since she didn’t collect excessive taxes, the kingdom was always short on funds.
But she had decided to do it.
Wasn’t this the count house responsible for the southern forest frontier where monsters appeared?
Also, it was a house contributing to the kingdom’s economy through recent Magic Stone mine development.
They should give them a grand ceremony befitting that.
“What shall we prepare as a gift?”
A gift.
She had something in mind.
“I heard that Lord Yurik Delian recently recovered from an illness?”
“Yes, I understand he narrowly recovered after being on the brink of death.”
“Then how about a stamina recovery elixir made from World Tree fruit?”
“Hmm, wouldn’t that be too excessive?”
“Well, what does it matter? It’s just a knockoff elixir without Dragon Heart anyway.”
That was true.
For an elixir to have proper efficacy, it needed Dragon Heart.
Nevertheless, an elixir made from World Tree fruit was a precious potion that not just anyone could consume.
A treasure carefully refined by the palace’s veteran elf alchemists using Magic Stones and other precious ingredients.
“Yurik Delian will be very pleased.”
“It’s fine. He deserves it.”
“Understood. We’ll proceed with that….”
That was when it happened.
-Swsssssss.
“Hm?”
“Oh?”
The World Tree’s leaves and branches suddenly began to shine brilliantly.
“Wh-what?”
The World Tree was rejoicing.
What could this be about?
This had never happened before.
‘I need to find out.’
Serena Artia gently pressed her ear against the World Tree’s trunk and closed her eyes.
Tell me.
What makes you so happy?
And the reason flowed from Serena’s lips.
“…High Elf.”
“Pardon?”
Duke Aron Silbain’s eyes went round.
“A H-High Elf?”
King of the elves.
Pinnacle of the elves.
Leader of the elves.
The World Tree’s closest friend.
But all High Elves had disappeared hundreds of years ago.
Ever since elves and humans began living together.
“It says a High Elf has come near.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Then…?”
“We must find them. Without fail.”
For the sake of the World Tree.
For the sake of the elf race.
But where to look?
***
Around that time.
Ju-hyeok and his party passed through the city gates and arrived at the capital.
“They call this a capital, but it looks like a backwater.”
“I agree.”
“I’ll secure lodging first. And I’ll also call in the dispatched operatives and ninja summoned beings.”
“This young lady shall move together with them.”
But Mari’s expression was strange.
She was staring blankly in one direction.
“What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?”
“…The World Tree. There’s a World Tree over there.”
Aha!
“It’s calling me.”
“Then are you going to go meet it?”
What should she do?
Mari deliberated.
Then.
“No. Later. After Count Yurik Bong-nim’s mission is finished….”
If she went to meet the World Tree and left her position, she’d have to be separated from the Summoner-nim.
She could see it later.
“Alright. Mari-ssi, do as you wish.”
Ju-hyeok grew curious too.
‘A World Tree from another dimension.’
Well, it wasn’t anything special.
The White Tower’s World Tree had also been brought from another dimension.
Anyway, another matter had come up.
Getting our Mari to meet the World Tree.
After finishing the mission first.
