61. The Corruption of the Forest of Elves
Davey’s only method of communication with God was through ‘Check Information’ and the ability to check his own status.
Freyja, the Goddess of Wine who was both existent and nonexistent, had requested a deal with Davey the moment he had fulfilled his promise. One part of the request was something he already knew: the purification of the Great Forest’s corrupted spirits. There was no penalty for failing, but there was a reward for success.
Davey wasn’t given a direct revelation, but this was what Lord Freyja had told him, according to Daphne’s way of understanding it. Davey's goal was quite clear, unlike vague revelations that were usually given through the regular faithful believers.
—The Great Forest…
“It’s the Forest of Elves that we went to get Moon Flower seedlings from.”
Davey was thinking of using the Great Forest, which was abundant in natural energy, for summoning spirits. This was because summonings required a lot of energy. However, he had been putting it off, because it was quite tedious to purify a severely corrupted forest.
—Any other reasons?
“It will be good for both the elves and I if I purify the forest, but the way to do it is a little rough.”
Perserque slowly nodded.
—Those pointy ears will make a fuss if they see you.
Perserque was also right.
There was only one thing that Davey could pull out of his Pocket Plane as of right now. He was able to retrieve objects that were relatively easy to make, except for the self-restoring clothing, the Elixir, or Divine Spear Longinus, which he had already summoned. Needless to say, he couldn’t summon any other powerful objects. He could feel that they definitely existed in the Pocket Plane, but it was like they had become an illusion.
—It’s already confusing that the Pocket Plane you made in the Hall is still connected to you here.
“I thought it to be a possibility, since most of my power is connected to the soul and not the body.”
Davey also suspected that this was why his large storage of mana, holy power, and devil mana came with him from the Hall, but now, he was pretty sure that this was the case. However, he didn’t expect for his powers to be nerfed like this. He grumbled, “I can try so many things if I could just take everything out right now.”
Davey could get large amounts of labor work done nonstop or even put a huge shield over the entire territory. He was sure that the items were good enough to assist him with parts that were a little difficult to use as a soul in the Hall.
“Let’s think of it positively.”
The one who currently had all the power wasn’t Davey, but the divine will; he wouldn’t be able to do anything even if God suddenly took away his Pocket Plane because he was too OP. An owner of the world would be above an owner of a building; even if Davey owned all the land and buildings, there was no way he could beat God.
‘There’s really no end to abusing power, is there?’
“I’ve been neutralizing it with the Elixir for now, but I can’t even dream of more recovery at this rate.”
-Is there anything that could harm you right now?
“I don’t know, but if the actual Shandra Minea shows up or something, we’re all dead.”
Everything in this world happened for a reason; the fact that Davey could return from the Hall meant that Davey, who was making a deal with God, had things to do here. For example, he had gotten rid of Shandra Minea, a transcendental beast from another world, at the Pandora Region.
“Purification…”
After thinking hard, Davey decided to open his Pocket Plane and pull out what he was thinking of. As a refreshing energy surrounded his hand with a slight buzz, he revealed a bright smile.
‘The thing I made as a precautionary measure is coming in handy.’
-The staff… I wanted to see it…
Perserque pouted. She was very curious to see the staff with the dragon heart.
“Just be patient. I’ll show it to you next time.”
Perserque, who seemed a little disappointed, moped as Davey tried to comfort her.
What he had pulled out was a light green marble called the Spirit King Pearl, which was a concentration of the king’s essence. Everything Davey had was valuable, so it would be more beneficial for him to use the right one for the right situation instead of picking random ones out of desire.
* * *
In a way, the quiet study was a playground for Rinne, Red Ribbon, and Blue Ribbon. They were troublemakers who caused mischief everywhere they went, so Davey felt more at ease having them where he could see them.
“Rinne, analyzing that bio-armour is being stretched. Asking that you stop.” Rinne voiced her disapproval without any emotion.
However, Blue Ribbon just giggled as if she didn’t care. “Hehehe! Rinnie! Squishy~ Squish!”
“T… Thinking that bio-armour can be touched a little…bit more…”
The problem was that even the golem struggled to not give in to the two girls’ smiles.
“I think they like it more because you’re not doing anything.”
“Rinne’s activation consumes a lot of energy. Requires additional supplies. Concluding that unnecessary movements should be avoided.”
“Then, what are those cookies you are shoving into your mouth?”
“Rinne possesses a very highly efficient storage of energy. So, requesting additional supplies.”
Rinne brazenly asked for more cookies without blinking an eye, and even then, her hands did not stop grabbing cookies. Where were all those cookies being stored in her small body?
Considering how much more often Rinne looked for food than the twin swords who were crazy about cookies, Davey felt a serious need to determine whether this was just typical golem behavior or Rinne’s personality.
“Hm… Red Ribbon sleepy…”
“It’s very good to get enough sleep.”
Since Rinne stayed still and played with the twins well, she could capture the girls’ attention just by chiming in a few times. At last, it seemed like the girls were getting tired from running around so much.
As Red Ribbon fell asleep in Rinne’s arms, Blue Ribbon went to Davey and fell asleep in his arms. It was like Red Ribbon’s sleepiness had caught on. Davey smiled and patted her on the back for being so adorable, to which she giggled and hugged him even harder.
“Your Highness, this is Royal Attendant Bernile,” Bernile spoke with a knock on the quiet study.
“Royal Attendant Bernile? What are you doing here at this time?”
“Your Highness, I know it is not my place, but can I propose something?”
“Well, all right.”
Bernile bowed quietly and presented Davey with a paper chart. “This is a list of the people currently working in the territory.”
“Hm…”
“They have all worked hard without a break. What do you think about giving them a vacation?”
Davey, who was just nodding along to what Bernile said, opened his eyes wide. “You’re right. They have probably been working very hard.”
Scribble… Scribble! Davey executed his thoughts into actions right away. Marking all the names of the people working in the territory, he said, “All right. Let all these people go on a vacation. Then, send the others on vacation when they come back. This way, everyone can enjoy their own vacations.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Give them a good amount of money for them to get back home.”
It was quite a huge mistake for Davey to have forgotten about the workers’ vacations when he wanted a healthy work environment in the first place.
‘Just you wait. I’ll send everyone that I see on vacation.’
This was the thought of an incredibly amazing CEO.
“Hm? Your Highness. These people…” Bernile looked a little confused when he read over the names that Davey had marked. He asked, “Yuri and some of the maids have only recently become helping hands in the palace. Is there a reason why you are sending them on vacation first?”
Like Bernile said, one-third of the people Davey had chosen had only been working in the palace for a little bit.
“They’re all from the other territories. I should at least let them head home and tell their families that they are adjusting well. I feel bad for the rest, but tell them that I would like them to be a little considerate.”
Davey was lying.
“I—Is that so? I did not think about that.”
Davey felt a little guilty because Bernile looked a little touched by his reason. That wasn’t the real reason he was sending back the new helping hands, but it didn’t matter; he would do this if it made everyone happy and satisfied.
—You sent back the elf lady?
‘Yeah. The master of the house should be home when a guest visits, shouldn’t they?
Depending on the situation, the same decision could be taken differently. The only way Davey could really benefit from it would be the person with the final say.
Bernile, who didn’t know Davey’s real reason for doing this, just chuckled. He thought about how considerate Davey was.
* * *
About a couple of days after sending the newly hired help on vacation, Davey left the seigneur’s palace with only Rinne and Megatron. It was as if he had been waiting for them to leave.
The Great Forest, which was located not too far from the Heins Territory, had always been Davey’s final destination. It was usually empty, since a lot of monsters only appeared occasionally and the forest had rough terrain.
Davey wasn’t here for a picnic. He was here because the forest had something he wanted. This was also the reason why he had specifically sent back Yuri, one of the new maids.
Yuri was a sixteen-year-old maid; she appeared to be an ordinary maid, but Davey could easily see that she wasn’t a normal maid if he used ‘Check Information’. According to his power, Yuri’s real name was Yuria Helishana, the last line of defense against the vampires.
“Ah, my head.”
The forest had no noticeable differences, but as sensitive as Davey’s spirit affinity was, he could see some strange differences when he looked around. He frowned, muttering, “It’s gotten worse.”
The forest was familiar but still slightly different. Davey could barely stand the nasty rotten smell that came from the forest.
“Question. Rinne detects no stimulus to sense of scent. Reporting that there is a problem with Sir Davey.”
“Of course, you can’t tell. You have no spirit affinity.”
Rinne nodded at Davey’s explanation.
It wasn’t just any smell, since only people advanced enough to be able to see and touch spirits could smell this nasty odor.
“Elves. Thinking they have pointy ears and are picky.”
“You’re right. You know it well.”
“Rinne has excellent mental calculation abilities. Confident that it is better than Sir Davey.”
“You’re funny.”
“Sir Davey, forty-three losses out of seventy-five battles of [Olde] with Rinne.”
“…”
“Giggle, forty-three losses. Rinne thinks lowly of this.”
How could Davey win against a computer that could calculate a thousand times better than average humans? The thirty-two times he had won was just from tricking Rinne over and over again.
“…”
“Rinne is excellent. Thinks highly of this.”
Perhaps Rinne had taken some information from Davey, because her perception of elves was very much affected by his own perspective on them. As a result, these elves had been marked as picky and stubborn by the golem, a great invention, when they hadn't even met.
“It’s here.”
After walking around for a while, Davey successfully found the barrier leading to the Forest of Elves. The way they changed the barrier’s location and form to keep their village safe was a distinct feature of the elves.
Ripple… Davey balled his hands into fists. He watched the barrier spread like a ripple spreading on calm waters when he touched it with the back of his hand.
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