"It’s the man who is friends with the Queen," one of the elves said.

The words moved through the group with the kind of restrained alarm that made Ludwig wonder what exactly had happened to his reputation while he was gone. Several bows remained half-raised. A few hands stayed near curved blades. None of the elves looked eager to attack, but none of them looked relaxed either. That was fair, in a way.

Then he noticed a familiar face among the green-robed patrol.

A female elf stood slightly behind the others, her expression already tightening because she knew he had seen her.

Ludwig lifted a hand. "Yo. You’re here."

Every elf turned toward her.

She sighed as if the forest itself had betrayed her.

"Good seeing you again, I guess," she said.

"Still salty about me beating you in that race now?"

"No," she said instantly. Too instantly. "I’m not. And you didn’t beat me. I didn’t want you to get lost in the forest."

"Sure."

"That is what happened."

"Absolutely."

Her eyes narrowed. "You are still unpleasant."

"Consistent, though."

The patrol looked between them with growing confusion. Ludwig smiled, not widely, but enough to make the female elf’s annoyance deepen.

"I need to go to the Elven Kingdom," he said. "Can you take me?"

The elves exchanged glances. There was a quick silence, followed by the sort of subtle nodding that suggested they had been ordered to watch for him, but not told what to do if he actually arrived. Finally, the female elf clicked her tongue and turned.

"Follow us."

Ludwig did.

He walked beside her as the patrol led him through the deeper forest. The other elves spread around them, moving so lightly that fallen leaves barely reacted beneath their boots. Their robes blended with the greenery, and their steps had that irritating elven grace that made even walking look like a form of silent judgment.

"What?" she asked after a while.

Ludwig looked at her. "You guys look a bit tense."

"Ah," she said. "You don’t need to worry about it. Nothing a human like you would understand anyway."

Ludwig shrugged. "That excuse is very popular among people hiding obvious problems."

She did not answer.

That was answer enough.

The forest grew denser as they moved. Sunlight thinned, not because the canopy became oppressive, but because the trees seemed to choose where light belonged. Roots formed natural steps. Vines arched overhead like woven ribs. Flowers opened in their passing and closed behind them. The path was not marked, yet every elf knew where to place their feet. Ludwig followed easily enough, though he could feel the forest watching him from every side.

Eventually, they reached a large tree.

At first glance, it looked like the others, ancient, wide, and covered in moss, with bark thick enough to be mistaken for stone. Then the trunk split open. Not cracked. Not cut. Opened, the way a door might open if the door was alive and had decided he was worth the trouble. Soft green light poured from within.

The patrol guided him through.

The hidden sanctum of the elven lands unfolded beyond the tree.

A massive open field of greenery stretched before him, impossible to reconcile with the size of the trunk they had entered. Houses grown from wood and leaf curved along gentle slopes. Clear streams crossed beneath living bridges. Platforms hung between trees. Elves moved through the settlement in quiet lines, some stopping as Ludwig appeared, others continuing with the forced composure of people who wanted to stare but had too much pride.

And above it all stood the World Tree.

It rose so high that it seemed to support the sky itself, its trunk wider than castles, its branches spreading into a crown of green and gold that swallowed the clouds. Light moved through its leaves in slow pulses, like the breath of something too vast to be merely a tree. Ludwig had seen it before, yet the sight still forced a small pause out of him.

The female elf noticed.

"Still impressive?" she asked.

"Annoyingly," Ludwig said.

She almost smiled, then remembered she was irritated with him and looked away.

They crossed the settlement toward the World Tree. The closer they got, the more the air changed. It became heavier, richer, filled with a vitality that pressed against Ludwig’s Living Vessel in ways normal forests did not. The dead parts of him disliked it. The living parts did not. That contradiction had become familiar enough that he ignored it.

At the base of the tree, a broad leaf platform lowered toward them.

Ludwig looked at it. "Still using leaves as elevators."

"What would you prefer?"

"Stairs would be funnier."

The leaf platform lifted once he stepped onto it. It rose along the inner curve of the World Tree, passing openings and balconies grown into the living wood. Far below, the elven settlement shrank into a pattern of green roofs and silver streams. Above, the branches thickened into layered platforms where older residences, sanctums, and royal spaces nestled between leaves the size of sails.

When the elevator stopped, Lorina waited for him.

She looked slightly paler than when he had last seen her.

Not weak, not sickly, but worn in a way that did not suit the bright dignity he remembered. Her hair was arranged neatly, her robes were elegant, and her posture remained royal, but something beneath the surface had clearly been strained for too long. Even so, when she saw him, she smiled.

"Ludwig," she said. "Good seeing you again."

"Same here," Ludwig replied. "So, where is your mother?"

The moment he asked, the guards near him tensed.

It was immediate. A tightening of hands. A shift of feet. A silence that spread too quickly. Ludwig looked at them, then back at Lorina.

Her smile became smaller.

"She is awake," Lorina said. "And would like to meet you."

"Alright then."

Lorina turned and led him deeper into the World Tree. The route took them higher, toward the same sacred area where Ludwig had once obtained the Serene Water Amulet. The air grew calmer with every level, but not peaceful. There was expectation here. Memory. A kind of sacred quiet that made even Ludwig’s steps sound disrespectful.

As they moved, Lorina glanced at him. "Your amulet has been exhausted, hasn’t it?"

"Yeah," Ludwig said. "Wrath consumed too much of it."

"How is the irritation?"

"Controllable now that I have Pride."

Lorina’s brows lifted slightly. "You obtained Pride and Envy? Quite the hard worker."

"Trust me, it’s not like I’m enjoying it."

The words came out drier than he intended.

Sloth had left.

Whenever it wanted.

The thought still tasted bitter.

Lorina seemed to notice the shadow across his face. Her voice softened. "You are doing great."

Ludwig looked at her.

It was such a simple thing to say. Too simple, perhaps, but those kinds of words had a habit of finding cracks in armor.

He looked away first. "That depends who you ask."

"I am asking me."

"Biased source."

"Still correct."

He huffed once, which was close enough to a laugh.

"Oh, which reminds me," Lorina said, brightening slightly. "Thomas is also in good form."

Ludwig’s attention returned. "Oh? I hope he hasn’t been making too many issues."

"He has been making some issues."

"Expected."

"But useful ones," she added. "And from the looks of it, his soul managed to become a spirit."

Ludwig’s expression shifted with genuine interest. "A spirit?"

"Yes. A decent one too. An Intermediate level Spirit of Fire. You will see him when we reach the higher level."