It had been 14 years since I was reincarnated in this world.
I was born as a serf, but in that development village, there were only humans.
When I read some novels about other worlds in my previous life, I remembered that there were always many different races. However, I had thought that this world only had humans.
It wasn't until I learned about the history of the Demon King from Cecile's magic instructor at the Granvelle mansion that I learned that there were races other than humans in this world.
It was then that I learned that there were elves and dwarves in the Northeast Continent and Northwest Continent.
Then I joined the Academy and in my second year, I learned about the Five Continents.
There were two Continents to the southwest and southeast of the Central Continent.
They say that there is a Beast Kingdom in the Southwest Continent and a Confederacy in the Southeast Continent.
I also learned about the origins of those two countries.
It was then that I learned about the shadowy side of this world.
I learnt that the Beast Kingdom was created by Beastmen who fled to the Southern Continent after being persecuted in the Central Continent, especially by the Giamut Empire.
It seemed that Beastmen were persecuted because they were said to be half-breeds or descendants of magical beasts.
This was done 1000 years ago for about 100 years.
There are almost no Beastmen in the Central Continent.
I learned at the Academy that those who could no longer live on the Central Continent had moved to the Confederacy.
In particular, many Nobles and criminals who were defeated in political disputes within the Giamut Empire were exiled to the Southern Continents. I heard that the races there were very diverse. I heard that there were also fish and bird people.
The Confederacy was basically an alliance of small countries which each is ruled by a separate race and there was no large country in the Southeast Continent like in the other four Continents.
Such a myriad of countries made up the Confederacy. I learned in class that the allies of a confederation are decided by a council of representatives of the countries that are members of the confederation.
Due to the fact that countries were established on the two Southern Continents, the two Southern Continents are treated as if they have a lower standing than other Continents.
Because of this situation, the two Southern Continents were not supporting the Central Continent with all their might in the fight against the Demon King. They were only providing support in the form of supplies, and were not sending out any troops. The battle between the Giamut Empire and the Demon King's army was also being fought from a somewhat calm standpoint.
It was said that if the Beastmen, who were better at close combat than humans, joined the battle against the Demon King's army with all their might, the war situation would change.
While I was reminiscing about what I had heard and learned about this world, the Queen began to speak.
"Dark Elf, is it?"
"Yes. More than a thousand years ago, there were two nations in Rosenheim. One ruled by the elves and the other by the Dark Elves."
"You mean you've been fighting this Dark Elf all this time?"
"Yes. We wished to coexist, but we had been fighting the Dark Elves for thousands of years. The Dark Elves are skilled in offensive magic, and I have heard from previous Queens that it was a very tough fight."
The Queen reiterated that the elves never attacked the Dark Elfves from their side.
She also told us about the characteristics of Dark Elves. She said that they had brown skin and were good at offensive magic with the help of Spirits.
(That's kind of what I think of Dark Elves.)
"The elves didn't want to fight, so why did you fight? You think the Dark Elves wanted to rule Rosenheim?"
"In Fortenia, there is a large tree called the World Tree. As the World Tree is where Spirits are born, we and the Dark Elves have strong feelings for it, but the Dark Elves asked us to give it to them. They wanted us, Elves, to leave so they can have it for themselves."
There was only one World Tree growing in Rosenheim.
Since long ago, the World Tree had been worshipped in Rosenheim.
The Dark Elves also considered the World Tree, where Spirits were born, to be sacred.
The Queen said that the elves and Dark Elves fought over the World Tree.
The fight over this huge tree, of which only one grew, had been going on for a long time.
Stories of ceasefires and co-management by Elves and Dark Elves had occurred many times over the past few thousand years.
However, the Dark Elves had a strong desire to monopolize the World Tree, and as the elves could not accept that.
""...""
We were listening to the Queen's account of Rosenheim's history.
The Queen, the leader of Rosenheim, might have heard it from her predecessor, and it might have been a story that had been passed down from generation to generation.
"But there are no Dark Elves in Rosenheim right now, are there? Does that mean they were eliminated after all?"
In the midst of all this, I raised a question.
"That's right. In the end, it ended up that way. But before we got here, we Elves were almost destroyed by the Dark Elves. Just as now."
The Elves had been fighting an unwanted battle. In the midst of such a long battle, a Dark Elf with power and wisdom emerged and became the leader of the Dark Elves .
As a result, the elves took over many cities and fortresses.
The Queen said that only the city built on the side of the World Tree, the predecessor of present Fortenia was left.
When the city was about to be invaded and the elves were about to disappear, the elves prayed to the World Tree for help.
"You prayed?"
"Yes, in desperation, the elves prayed to the World Tree for help. It was then that my ancestor, an elven girl, discovered an infant Spirit emerging from a hole in the World Tree."
The elven girl prayed desperately for the infant Spirit to save the Elves from that situation.
Then, the infant Spirit said, "I want a name."
"Was that Master Rosen?"
"Yes, the elf girl gave the Spirit an elfish name, Rosen. Then, the elf girl made a contract with Master Rosen. We Elves call that girl 'Prayer Maiden' as the first girl who made a contract with the Spirit King."
The elves were watching the contract, but were skeptical about the power of the infant Spirit.
Spirits generally grew more powerful as they aged.
That's why they said 'it take hundreds or thousands of years for a Spirit to go from being an infant to a Great Spirit'.
The elves wondered what an infant Spirit could do.
"But he was strong enough to turn the tide?"
"Yes, the Spirit King turned my ancestors into High Elves, and the war against the Dark Elves changed completely. The Prayer Maiden who made the contract is said to have had her hair changed to pure while and eyes golden in color."
It was the beginning of the High Elves.
"And she was so powerful that she could dispel the army of the Dark Elves."
The situation was completely reversed.
"Her power surpassed even that of the current strongest man in Rosenheim, the Spirit Mage Gatoruga."
"And what happened to the Dark Elves after that? Destroyed?"
"No, the Dark Elves were driven to the vicinity of the current Nest and given a choice: Make a life-time contract to never attack the Elves again, or leave the Continent."
(Is it a contract of life, or one that compels you to do things regardless of your will?)
"Which one did they choose?"
"The Dark Elves chose leave the Continent. They left to the Continent of the Confederacy, south of here."
Every single Dark Elf was put on a ship and exiled. The Dark Elves were never allowed to set foot on Rosenheim's soil again.
She said that this was over a thousand years ago.
(So, the object of prayer for the elves shifted from the World Tree to the Spirit King? But the Dark Elves still want the World Tree, is that it?)
I had heard about the World Tree in my classes at Academy and from Sophie.
However, for Sophie, she felt that the most important people to the elves were the Spirit King and the Queen.
I wondered if they still worshiped the descendants of the Spirit King and the Prayer Maiden who protected them from the Dark Elves.
"Do you know anything about the Demon General Razel? Was it the name of the leader who defeated the elves in the war?"
"No, I don't think that was his name. I have some material on Dark Elves in my library, but it's over a thousand years old."
It is unlikely that enough material will be found to identify the individual, the Queen said.
"I see."
"That..."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Please lend us your strength. Without you, Master Allen, we will not be able to win this war."
""What?""
The Elf Queen bowed her head.
The Queen of Rosenheim, a member of the Five Continent Alliance, bowed her head to me, when I seemed troubled entering into a battle between elves.
She didn't want me to stop interfering.
(As expected, even in this world, it won't be a complete story of good and evil.)
In my previous life, I'd seen a lot of one-sided, evil-bashing stories.
There were many stories where a one-sided evil wielded unreasonable violence and the perfectly righteous Hero beat the evil.
However, in this world, all the characters played a leading role and interacted with each other to create a single story. I believed that I was just one of the characters in the story.
"Of course. The only thing we know right now is that the Demon General has an elfish name and long ears. However, I'm glad I listened to what you just said."
(After all, we don't know anything for sure about the Demon General Razel. Well, the story did grew out of my speculation.)
"... Oh, thank you."
The Queen expressed her heartfelt thanks to Allen.
Thus, as the battle against the Demon King's army continued, Allen and his friends heard the story of the light and shadow that occurred in Rosenheim.
