Nidavellir.
In my room, I was twirling an interesting little thing in my hands, which I had transformed from a dark elf artifact that had outlived its usefulness. Now it looked like Enkidu's chain, but with a coarser shape and different purple and black engravings.
- "So, now all I have to do is catch the world in a moment of activity, but how do I do that?" I muttered thoughtfully, scratching my chin.
To settle this question once and for all, and fulfill Zelretch's request at the same time, I obviously needed to get to the place where the core of this world resided.
But the catch was that it wasn't that easy to do, even with my True Magic and Noble Phantasms. However, this little thing could completely cover my needs, for it contained the power of a giant, the original being of this world, if not the world itself.
And to guarantee success, I needed a situation similar to the one that had recently occurred with Serafina and her obsession.
The reason was that when the world intervenes in this way, it forms a channel for the transmission of power and signals, that is, the most direct path to its core. Otherwise, I would have had to look for a needle in a haystack and poke at every millimeter of the world's texture.
I got out of bed and sat down in a chair, creating a cup of coffee and taking a sip.
Well, the story told by the giant partially confirmed my guesses and dispelled the conventional wisdom about the origin of some local intelligent races.
The giants were indeed the first living beings in this world, or more precisely, they were created by this very world as conduits of its will.
It was thanks to them that mountains, rivers, plants, animals, and other components of the familiar Nasuverse' Gaia appeared. And then the world decided to use the giants themselves as raw materials for the creation of intelligent races, because in this case it would almost certainly not lose its influence due to the already established system.
But mistakes were inevitable as long as self-awareness existed, and, of course, the giants, as the first creation of the world, did not like this very much, and so they rebelled, though not all of them. After all, they were created by the world, and its settings were still present in their consciousness, so it was very difficult to resist its will, which is why only the most stubborn could fight.
One by one, only one giant remained in resistance, the very one who hid here and left vague instructions to the dark elves, which they did not interpret correctly, and with whom I spoke. He put his soul into an artifact, waiting for the moment when he would have the opportunity to avenge his race.
To do this, he needed a suitable body with practically impossible characteristics, one of which was the absence of worldly influence. And this could ONLY be achieved with a body from another world, with at least a C-rank physique. Heh.
I sighed and stretched, missing Tia's soft embrace and Morgana's sharp tongue.
Well, it was time to get back to business.
The first option was Celestine, and most likely the only one I knew of. If the world could influence Serafina, Celestine's twin, then the latter was my only option at the moment. And in order for the world to start working, I needed to set it in motion, which meant...
I smiled.
I guess Celestine will get my help after all, huh?
And just as I was about to teleport to the capital of Eostia, guests arrived at my room without knocking. The only one who had the courage and status to do so was, of course, Olga. She was followed by Chloe and Mistiora, who looked calm as usual, unlike her sister.
- "Romani, we need to talk," Olga declared, walking possessively into my room and sitting down on the sofa, Chloe standing behind her and Mistiora next to me.
- "Oh, how categorical. I wonder what it's about?" I chuckled.
- "By the way, how did your conversation go? I guess not as you expected, huh?"
- "I want to extend our deal," said Olga, clearly dissatisfied, completely ignoring half of what I said. "In about a couple of weeks or a month, I plan to bring the people of Nidavellir to the surface and officially enter the political arena. I want the dark elves to regain their former glory and the respect we lost long ago."
- "Oh. And you need my help for that?" I smiled, then, without answering her, looked at Mistiora. "Your sister is terribly rude. Will you tell me why she is so unhappy, even considering all the circumstances?"
- "Lord Romani..." Chloe hesitated until Olga changed her cold expression, but even a blind man could see that she had something to say.
- "Yes, sir," Mistiora nodded obediently. "Olga's dissatisfaction may be related to Elder Lucretia, because even if my sister understands the necessity and expediency of her choice to spare the elder's life, it does not bring her any pleasure in light of the recent revelations. But I think I am the main reason."
- "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Olga. "Really?"
- "We... talked... and realized that our views on the situation are a little different," Mistiora continued. "Olga wanted to punish the elder, but I asked her not to. And for that reason, we had a... conflict."
- "It wouldn't have happened if you weren't so weak-willed," Olga said.
- "The elder acted in the interests of Nidavellir and our people as a whole," Mistiora shook her head. "And the punishment you suggested was excessive. She will pay with her blood, and you know very well that she will not betray us. Not now."
I raised an eyebrow.
Oh? It turns out that Mistiora isn't so submissive after all, at least when it comes to her homeland and her people. Oh well, that trait had shown up before, so it was no surprise. And Olga had listened to her sister's opinion, which meant she no longer held a grudge against her. Heh.
- "Tsk," Olga clicked her tongue and looked at me. "So, what's your answer, Romani?"
I thought for a moment.
- "You certainly chose the right time," I shrugged. "Aren't you worried about a group of mercenaries with incredibly high ambitions? And I'm sure Mistiora told you about the incident in Eldonia."
- "If you support me, there's nothing to worry about," Olga replied calmly. "Besides, you still haven't returned the 'Heart of the Giant,' and I'm sure you need it for something."
- "Oya. You're getting cheeky, Olga," I said with a cute expression on my face, causing Chloe to look worried, but not Olga or Mistiora.
- "Besides the artifact, if there's anything you want, I'm willing to give it to you," Olga said, standing up and coming close to me, looking me in the eyes. "Even if it's me or anything else in my power."
Looking into her eyes, I could clearly see only two things: duty and desire. ESPECIALLY desire. But does she really think that's enough to make me sleep with her?
- "You already belong to me, don't forget that," I chuckled and flicked her forehead, causing her to take a step back and rub the spot where I hit her. Chloe, seeing this, smiled softly, as did Mistiora, for that matter. "Stalactites."
- "What are you talking about?" Olga didn't understand, and in the next moment, my magic circle flashed above Nidavellir for a couple of seconds, then slowly faded away.
- "Stalactites," I repeated, pointing outside with my head. "Right now, every stalactite and stalagmite is enchanted by me and filled with my mana. Each of them can serve Nidavellir in several ways, but I would highlight only two — creating magical items and increasing the magical potential of those who live here. That is, short-term and long-term benefits."
I paused to let those present digest what they had heard.
- "Of course, mana has a tendency to deplete over time, but in this case, that's not a threat to you. You'll just need to touch a stalactite and give it as much of your mana as you want, and it will recycle it."
- "That's..." Olga opened her mouth, her eyes slowly widening, and then she became very serious. "That's a lot... A lot, but at the same time, it all depends on us..."
And then she smiled.
- "You're very cunning, Romani."
- "I never denied that," I grinned, and a magic circle lit up beneath me. "Don't expect me back anytime soon. I have things to do."
- "Are you leaving?" Mistiora immediately caught herself, staring at me with a worried look. "You... will you come back?"
- "Yes, Lord Romani..." added Chloe. "You will come back, won't you?"
- "Well, we'll probably see each other again," I shrugged. "After all, for my purposes, I may need to gather representatives from every country in one room. Heh."
- "In that case..." Mistiora began, already reaching for my lips, but I was no longer in Nidavellir.
I understood perfectly well what was on her mind and how she felt about me, but it was a lost cause. After all, I'm not here for long. Heartless, of course, but there's nothing I can do about it, and right now...
Let's see what stage the conquest of Eostia is at. Aha-aha.
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