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We received curious and slightly wary glances when we entered the elven residential district, but we were given an extremely warm send-off when we left.

“Come back anytime if you ever remember us! Our benefactors are always welcome!”

“Make sure to visit us if life in human society gets too tiring! Living in nature can be fun too!”

The World Tree, a symbol of the elves and the very core of their existence, had long been absent. While the younger generation seemed to have weaker emotional ties to the World Tree, their elven instincts haven’t disappeared. That was probably why they could share in the joy and laughter at the news of the World Tree’s resurrection.

“Benefactor, benefactor! See you again soon, see you again!”

“I’ll definitely tell everyone about you! I’ll tell Mom!”

“And the spirit uncles and aunties too!”

“Uh, thanks.”

If the young elves with less attachment to the World Tree were this happy, then it was no surprise that the fairies were even more enthusiastic. With the imminent resurrection of the World Tree, their home and means of communication with their mother, the fairies refused to leave my side.

Thankfully, judging by their words, it seemed like they didn’t plan to follow us outside the sanctuary area.

“I’d ask you to stay here and live with us if it were up to me. But since you’re a duke in human society, I suppose that’s impossible.”

“I’ll keep in touch often.”

“Yes, that’s enough.”

I glanced over to see the Mage Duchess exchanging farewells with the Elder. It seemed cruel to make them part after just a few hours when they’d met for the first time in 121 years, but it was okay since there were communication crystals in this world.

The Mage Duchess created a communication crystal specifically for her grandmother on the spot and gave it as a gift. The Elder smiled brightly, seemingly touched by the gift her young granddaughter personally made. Moreover, the Mage Duchess could teleport, so she could pop in for a quick visit anytime if she really missed her.

“Please take care of Trixie. I believe you’ll do well without me asking, but I can’t help worrying—it comes with age.”

The Elder spoke to me gently after hugging the Mage Duchess.

“I’ll make sure you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

At those words, the Elder’s smile deepened.

I made a promise to myself. I would invite the Elder and other elves when I married the Mage Duchess. If they were reluctant to visit human society, we could also hold a second wedding in the sanctuary area. A wedding in both human and elven traditions would be the perfect way to honor our union.

“Little human, little human, see you next time.”

“Yeah, little human. It was fun.”

“I-I’m not little!”

“Liar, liar.”

“Lying is bad, you’ll get scolded.”

“Eeeek…!”

Meanwhile, I saw the young duke who had been playing happily with the fairies bidding them a tearful farewell.

Still, it was good to see they’d bonded so well. Considering that she might one day oversee the sanctuary area, a close relationship with the fairies would undoubtedly be a great advantage.

***

Tannian quietly spoke up as we arrived back in the bustling commercial district.

“There will be quite a commotion in the parish for the non-human races’ sanctuary area for a while.”

Ah.

Although Tannian spoke with a faint, regretful smile, the situation wasn’t one to take lightly. If things escalated, the parish itself might have to withdraw entirely.

While the Dawn Sect was the dominant religion on the continent, each race still maintained its own gods and traditions. Of course, their traditions were shattered and their communication with their gods was cut off due to Apels’ spectacular tyranny, but the elves were now in a situation where they could communicate with their old god within ten years.

Tannian wasn’t tactless enough to dampen the mood, and he didn’t raise any objections in the sanctuary area since the World Tree itself was also important to the Dawn Sect. But for the Dawn Sect parish established in the non-human races sanctuary area, this must be a critical issue.

“Haha, I suppose I should tell the bishop there to prepare himself mentally.”

I felt a bit embarrassed after seeing him burst into laughter. I didn’t regret helping to revive the World Tree—I’d do it again even if I could turn back time.

But in a way, didn’t I just demonstrate the resurrection of a different religion in front of a saint of the Dawn Sect? At the very least, I could have shown some discretion and done it quietly when the others weren’t around.

“I think I may have shown you something I shouldn’t have. My apologies.”

Tannian blinked in surprise at my straightforward apology before letting out another chuckle and shaking his head.

“It’s embarrassing that I’ve made you feel guilty, but it’s really fine. Actually, the parish wasn’t established to convert the non-human races. It was meant to provide comfort to those who had lost their gods.”

“Comfort?”

“Yes. Doesn’t God give peace of mind to believers? Although Enen isn’t the god of the non-human… only a god can fill the void left by a god.”

How unexpected. I thought the parish was naturally set up to devour the non-humans who lost their gods.

“The first thing the bishop here built was not a church, but a soup kitchen and a clinic. I hear they still use the clinic as a substitute for a church.”

As soon as I heard that, I understood.

It might be called a parish, but it was more of a volunteer organization. For its priests, leaving the sanctuary wouldn’t be about shutting down a church but stopping their humanitarian efforts.

“And this is a secret, but the people in this parish are those who volunteered without ambition for promotion.”

I chuckled at Tannian, who was playfully whispering as if it would be a big deal if someone heard. I didn’t really want to know that much.

“Let’s stop the complicated talk there, it’s time to have fun. We’ve seen a lot of elves, so now we should see non-human!”

As if the conversation was roughly over, Rutis patted Tannian’s shoulder and changed the subject.

Right, that was correct. This trip was meant for us to experience the diversity of the races within the sanctuary. While we’d ended up spending most of our time with the elves, we still had time to make the most of what remained.

“It looks like the young duke wants to play more, too.”

At Rutis’s words, everyone turned to the young duke, who was looking at a huge dog walking on two legs with sparkling eyes.

A dog?

I was a little confused for a moment, but I quickly came to my senses. That must be a beastkin—so some weren’t humanoid, but instead had fully animalistic appearances.

Caught in the spotlight, the young duke flinched before trying to defend herself with a forced dignified expression.

“I-I’m the future Duchess of Cheness who will manage this place. I need to know what kind of people live here!”

“That’s an admirable attitude. You’ll make a great duchess!”

Marghetta clapped and praised her bold declaration. Of course, we all knew it was a hastily made excuse.

Still, it was cute. Although she was still young, she already knew how to make plausible excuses. After all, eloquence and quick thinking were important within the social circles.

Please grow up just like that.

If she did, then she’d become a duke beloved by nobles everywhere. Even her own vassals would likely pledge their lives to serve her.

“I hear there are mermaids over there. Apparently, you can even fish with them.”

Lather, who had been watching the young duke with a faint smile, pointed towards the lake as he spoke.

But what was this about joint fishing with mermaids? Do the mermaids herd fish from under the lake? If that was the case, then I’d like to see it too.

***

More and more of Father’s responsibilities began falling to me after he decided to abdicate. Thanks to that, I now handled everything except for the minimal duties that only the Emperor could decide.

So much so that I was starting to think that the famous saying ‘The Emperor handles all affairs of the empire’ should instead be changed to ‘The Crown Prince handles all affairs of the empire.’

Of course, ‘handling all affairs’ was just a figure of speech. It was physically impossible for one person to handle every task, and the whole point of a government was to prevent that. Loyal and competent civil servants managed most issues, passing only the rare, unmanageable cases up the chain to the Emperor or Crown Prince.

It was truly unfortunate that the volume was considerable even then, but it was something to be proud of since it was a testament to how vast our empire was.

What’s this now?

However, this seemed a bit much.

While I was working through the remainder of the day’s tasks after dinner with the Crown Princess, I received an urgent report—two reports, in fact, arriving simultaneously from unrelated sources.

Confirmation of elves gathering in the elven residential district within the non-human sanctuary area, testimony obtained about the imminent revival of the World Tree.

Detection of massive divine energy within the parish in the sanctuary area. On-site priests identify it to be the energy of a god other than Enen.

These were reports from Cheness Duchy and Ausen’s Archdiocese. Just reading the reports from both secular and religious sectors made my head throb.

World Tree?

Moreover, the report contents included words that induced even more headaches.

I knew what the World Tree was. It wasn’t some mythical relic from a bygone era, but a divine legacy that existed on the continent until the Apels era. Although it was the legacy of a god other than Enen, it was a tree revered even by the Dawn Sect.

Sadly, it burned down during the reign of Apels’ three tyrants, but that event enraged the non-human races including elves, shocked the Dawn Sect, and made countries across the continent shake their heads. The World Tree was that symbolic across the entire continent.

They say it’s been resurrected?

How astonishing. The World Tree, cited as one of the reasons for Apels losing the Mandate of Heaven, was being resurrected during Kefellofen’s era. This could only mean that the Mandate of Heaven was smiling upon Kefellofen.

Moreover, Kefellofen’s emperors have always claimed to be allies of the non-human races. In an empire devoted to harmony among all species, this event would bolster that ideology immensely.

However—

Confirmed involvement of the Prosecutors’ Office’s Executive Manager in the World Tree’s resurrection.

This sentence was common to both Cheness Duchy and Ausen Archdiocese’s reports. That single sentence radiated an overwhelming presence.

What on earth has he been up to?

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. I knew the academy had taken a school trip to the Cheness Duchy. Father decided to send them there instead of Boyar, so of course I was aware.

But instead of quietly enjoying the trip, he managed to create a massive incident on the very first day.

A little heads-up would’ve been nice…

I even thought that for a moment, but I quickly shook my head. The Executive Manager wasn’t the type to act impulsively on something like this. If anything, he was the type of person who would immediately report anything just to avoid responsibility. This must have been an unintended accident.

Yes, I should think positively. The resurrection of the World Tree was beneficial to the imperial family and the empire. The Dawn Sect would also learn that an imperial civil servant was involved in the World Tree’s resurrection, so they would express gratitude to the empire.

The timeline for the World Tree’s full revival was estimated to be within ten years. Even if that was the maximum time set, there was little chance it would happen in just one year. That meant that the revival would happen during my reign, and all things considered, this was a positive development—

…

I grabbed the communication crystal on the desk.

A good result didn’t justify ignoring the process.

***

I was resting in what felt like a long-awaited lodging after having a great time in the non-human sanctuary area and sending the young duke back to the ducal palace when the communication crystal vibrated.

Submit a report on the World Tree resurrection incident that occurred in the non-human sanctuary area.

Ah.

The report’s already been submitted?

That was faster than I thought. Had the young duke already boasted to the Wise Duchess about her amazing experience? Or was the Cheness Duchy observing the sanctuary area in real-time?

Actually, it didn’t matter which it was. How they found out wasn’t important in this situation.

What should I write?

What on earth should I write in the report? Should I say, ‘There was a god inside me, and it transferred itself to a tree, turning it into the World Tree’? But if I did that, this wouldn’t just end with a report—I’d get summoned for questioning.

…It’ll work out somehow.

My thoughts were short-lived. I couldn’t write false information in the report, so I’d just have to write the truth. If the Crown Prince summons me after seeing that, then I could always throw a fit about how unfair it was.

Knock knock—

“Oppa, may I come in?”

“Ah, yes. Sure.”

Besides, there was something more important than the report waiting for me right now.

I need to explain it to them properly.

The wound I’d been forced to reveal because of the fairies—it was time to give an explanation.

Nervous sweat trickled down my back. A poorly written report could be dealt with once I was summoned.

But if I couldn’t convince Louise and Irina now, then there wouldn’t be a next /genesisforsaken