When I finished reading the letter, we all fell silent.
I kept looking at the paper for a few more seconds before folding it.
"Are you sure this letter was written by Loki?" I asked Ryuu.
"Yes. She delivered it herself."
"I see."
"Are you really going to believe all that?"
In the letter, Loki said she didn't know the cause of my 'deep sleep'. She thought I had simply fallen ill. It never even crossed her mind that someone might have caused it. After all, I've always been very strong.
She didn't believe anyone would have the audacity to do something like that—not even a god.
And at the end of the letter, she left a message:
[ I will do my best to help you discover who did this to you. Trust me. ]
"I don't know..."
"What do you mean you don't know? You shouldn't trust her that easily."
"Well, we'll see what happens. I won't contact her again. I'll let her carry out her investigation. If she manages to find something that helps me track down the one responsible, maybe then I'll start to trust her."
"And what if she fabricates something just to lure you in?"
"Serie, did you and Loki have a fight in the past?"
"Hm? No, why?"
"You clearly hate her. You just don't want to believe her."
"Of course I don't. A god caused all this misery. Of course I won't trust one. Not even a god I once had close ties with, like Hestia. I don't trust her either."
"I see. Well... I shouldn't trust any of them either."
But I want to trust Loki.
"Ryuu, tell Loki she can do as she pleases. If she wants to help me, let her. But tell her not to come here."
"You're not going to write a reply?"
"No, there's no need."
"Alright. But… can I rest a little? I've been traveling back and forth for days."
I laughed and replied, "Of course. Stay as long as you need."
####
POV: Loki
"So a god is behind all this... but who could it be?" Sitting in my office, I stared at a piece of paper, pen in hand. I had written down a few names of suspicious gods.
Apollo, Hermes, Ishtar, and lastly, Freya.
Apollo is obnoxious, Ishtar too… and Freya… well.
"Hermes is the least suspicious of the bunch. I should contact him and talk. He might have valuable information."
No—too soon. I need to investigate myself using my Familia members.
But if I tell them what I'm looking for, they'll find out that Frieren is awake.
That information isn't public yet. Only Riveria, that man, and I know. Probably the other elves living in Orario know too. I wonder if they've already gone to see her.
Frieren is like a goddess to them.
But Frieren hates being compared to a god.
Most of the elves have probably already visited the tree.
I walked to the window and looked toward the World Tree.
The sky was full of clouds, and the tree was far away—I couldn't see much.
But I remembered something I saw days ago—the day Ares died.
There was a light at the top of the World Tree. It was distant, but powerful and impossible to ignore. Some people noticed it too, but everyone dismissed it, since the tree has shown strange behavior before.
Either due to magical surges or other reasons.
Thinking back now, that was probably the moment Ares was killed.
I smiled, then sighed. I returned to my desk and sat down. I looked at the paper for a few seconds, then crossed out all the names before folding it.
'I think I'll talk to Riveria about this.'
Riveria joined my Familia many years ago. I don't even remember exactly when.
By then, Frieren had already "fallen ill." Like many other elves, Riveria came to Orario because of the ongoing wars—the repeated attacks from humans on the tree.
I regret never intervening.
I could've prevented the deaths of so many elves.
Frieren would probably see me differently if I had.
But in the end, we all turned a blind eye.
We took advantage of the situation. Many Familias gained talented elves as members.
I was lucky to "get" Riveria for myself.
If I help Frieren find the one responsible, will I be forgiven for not helping? I'm not sure.
I called someone, and a Familia member entered the room. I asked them to contact Riveria.
Ever since she found out Frieren had awakened, Riveria hasn't spoken much about it.
I told her to visit Frieren several times, but she never did.
Still, I know she's happy.
I can tell when Riveria is happy. We've spent many years together.
If I explain the situation, I'm sure she'll support me.
I could just order her to help, but I want her to offer her support freely. And she will.
####
POV: Frieren
A few days have passed, and I've reached the second layer of the 2nd Magic Circle.
My current status is:
Name: Frieren
Cultivation: 2nd Magic Circle – Second Layer (Conversion Bonus +120%)
Magic Proficiency: 4,834 / 204,800
Mana: 72,329 / 204,800
Elements Collected: 0
Talent: Fast Conversion (+10% conversion rate)
My mana value is quite high, but it could be even higher.
I spent a large portion of the mana I gained to level up the tree again. It's now at level 10.
[World Tree]
Level: 10
Class: Source of Primordial Element
Max Primordial Element: 8,000
Regeneration: 192 units/minute
Current Primordial Element: 3,048 / 8,000
Elves Created: 1 / 160
Current EXP: 123,988 / 456,000
Special Ability: Elven Creation (spends mana to create a new elf)
Even though I gained a lot of mana and gave the tree a lot of EXP, I only advanced one layer.
90% of the mana I get each day comes from the tree itself. Its generation rate is very good.
Right now, I train only to increase my Magic Circle power. I don't need it to generate mana anymore.
"I should spend most of the mana I gain daily on the tree. That way, my conversion rate will improve, and I'll level up my Magic Circle faster."
So I injected 50,000 mana points into the tree.
It gained 100,000 EXP, reaching 223,998 out of 456,000.
While I admired the tree's status screen, someone burst in.
"My queen, we have a visitor." It was Serie.
She looked visibly nervous.
Who is it? Is it Loki?
But I told her not to come after me!
####
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Next Chapters: Chapter 26 - She doesn't look like the same Riveria. / Chapter 27 - Information about the culprit. / Chapter 28 - Happy to have prepared good food. / Chapter 29 - Heiter and Fern. / Chapter 30 - Nine More Elves.