I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 446: Rescue Operation (3)

"You're going down?"

Robert laughed as if he'd heard an amusing joke.

"Even the outskirts of the Elven Forest are difficult to approach carelessly. There are those who intensively guard the forest's perimeter. Since we can't land, even if we stop in mid-air, we'll need to maintain an altitude of at least 300m."

In fact, even 300m was an extremely low estimate and that figure only came about with maximum concessions.

"Besides, what about the equipment in the cargo hold?"

Robert recalled the equipment filling the cargo hold.

Not only was there a lot, but every single piece was an important artifact.

Moving items of that caliber requires specialized personnel, and it even takes a lot of time.

But to move that in the forest, they'd have to drop it straight down - who in their right mind would throw artifacts from such a height? Do they know how much those cost?

"Don't worry about that. You just need to focus on your part."

"...Hah. This is difficult to discuss. When you speak so confidently, it seems like you must have some way."

Robert started to say something but ended up scratching the back of his head and shaking it.

"Ah geez. Even if I tried to persuade you, it probably wouldn't work. Fine. I'll do as you say but don't regret it."

"Wouldn't it be good for both of us if we can handle things quickly?"

"Well, that's true."

Hans, who had been listening from the side, asked nervously.

"Brother. Are you sure about this?"

"About what?"

"Instead of slowly entering from the outside, you're planning to go straight into the inner forest and jump down, right? Sure, that would dramatically cut down time, but it would be extremely dangerous."

Elves who commune with the forest can immediately detect when intruders enter.

The vegetation that receives this information transmits it in real-time to the wood network through deeply extended roots.

Even in places beyond elven sight, if it's within the forest, their position and identity would be immediately exposed.

"That's fine. We can deceive their eyes at least."

Rudger said this while glancing at Bellaruna.

"A few seconds will be enough."

"...Hmm. Alright."

Even Hans couldn't say anything more in the face of Rudger's confident attitude.

Hans also internally felt the need to reduce time.

They had to prevent whatever might happen the moment the Lifrey family fully grasped the World Tree's authority using Sedina.

'It would be the revival of the racial war that ended at least 100 years ago.'

That had to be stopped no matter what.

Robert returned to the flight room to take the controls, and the remaining party discussed their future plans.

The important thing was to establish their plan after arriving at the forest.

Vierano spoke first.

"We probably won't be able to approach the kingdom directly. The Lifrey family will be closely monitoring all movement to and from the kingdom."

"Is it difficult even using the Dentis family's power?"

"To be honest, yes. Although our Dentis family is one of the seven families, we're the weakest among them. Moreover, since we maintain neutrality rather than taking either the moderate or radical stance, we face opposition from both sides and find it difficult to move freely."

"First, we need to understand about the other elven factions."

Vierano immediately summoned a water spirit.

Water droplets formed thin and long in the air, drawing a map.

In an instant, a three-dimensional map drawn in water appeared in the center of the group.

In the center of the map, a massive tree commanded attention, that was the World Tree.

"Renar-Tirone is a large kingdom that stretches around the World Tree at its center."

The World Tree stood so tall it seemed to pierce the sky and its width was difficult to even estimate.

The Serendel Palace was a massive marble structure that was right up against this World Tree.

"The Lifrey family, who lives closest to this World Tree and effectively holds the highest authority, is currently in power. And the Shade Warden, the most loyal servant of the Lifrey family, is also affiliated here."

"Where is the Dentis family located on this map?"

Vierano pointed to one side of the map with a bitter smile.

It was a very small portion.

"The Dentis family is in charge of the forest's exterior. As a result, we occupy an extremely small portion within the forest."

Moreover, its location was at the very outskirts of the kingdom.

In reality, compared to the other seven roots, the Dentis family's power was considerably lacking.

The only similar one was another family that maintained neutrality.

"And between the World Tree and the outside, there are three families commonly called the Wood Section. They're all affiliated with the moderate faction."

Radix, in charge of the kingdom's defense.

Crown, overseeing the forest's network.

Floheim, controlling commercial rights across the entire forest.

Vierano called them the three nobles.

"And the last remaining area is the forest's outskirts. There's Birk, who along with our Dentis family, are the frontline guardians preventing external invasion. They maintain neutrality like us."

"The elven kingdom is quite politically complex."

That was Alex's honest impression after hearing Vierano's explanation.

The radical faction's "Lifrey" and "Shade Warden."

The moderate faction's "Radix," "Crown," and "Floheim."

And the neutral "Dentis" and "Birk."

Among them, Lifrey was the current supreme family holding the most authority over the World Tree, and the other three moderate noble families were an alliance formed to prevent Lifrey's unilateral actions.

However, even if they aligned with the three noble families to check Lifrey's power, it wouldn't paint a good picture.

It was the moderate faction that instigated the killing of Sedina's mother.

If they learn of Sedina's identity, and that she has now been kidnapped by a Shade Warden tracker they would try to eliminate her by any means necessary.

In the end, the only trustworthy ones were the Dentis family managed by Vierano and the Birk family that maintained neutrality even in this situation.

"Elves aren't as noble a race as commonly known to the world. Surely there was such a time long ago. But over the long years, elves have become corrupted."

"Hmm. Then in this state, even if we arrive at the forest, it's practically impossible to enter the palace interior, right?"

"That's right. The Lifrey family would notice something suspicious if I tried to enter the kingdom."

"Can't you use the excuse that you came home during the vacation after a long time?"

"Although I did return to the forest often during Theon's vacations, I always stayed only in our family's territory at the forest's outskirts and never went to the palace. I knew I wouldn't be welcomed there. Looking back now, I should have at least tried to establish some connections."

Vierano laughed self-deprecatingly.

Rudger said.

"Besides, the one who was kidnapped is Theon's student. Considering which institution Professor Vierano belongs to, the Lifrey family will absolutely refuse to meet."

Rudger also firmly believed Alex's suggestion was impossible.

"Then is there no way to enter the palace?"

"Ah, I think there is."

At that moment, it was Bellaruna who raised her hand and spoke.

Everyone's attention turned to Bellaruna without exception.

In such a hopeless situation, they wouldn't have high expectations, but Bellaruna occasionally came up with outrageous suggestions.

Sure enough, amazingly, Bellaruna didn't disappoint those expectations and concerns this time either.

"I know an underground passage that leads to the palace."

"What...?"

Vierano's voice echoed as he asked what that meant.

His voice was the only one that rang out because the other three were too dumbfounded to speak.

"An underground passage. You're saying there's such a secret place in the Serendel Palace? Or if you're talking about the underground waterway..."

"Ah, no. Not in Renar-Tirone. It's more like, further down."

"Further down?"

"The underground cavern where the World Tree's roots extend."

Hans couldn't help but ask.

"Underground cavern? Aren't you mistaking it for the one in the capital?"

"Of-of course there's one in the capital too, but there really is one under the World Tree."

"No, rather, under a living World Tree such a thing..."

"...might exist."

The one who interrupted Hans's words was Vierano.

Although he had been more surprised than anyone at Bellaruna's words at first, something soon crossed his mind.

"The World Tree is an enormous tree. How much water do you think such a massive tree needs to survive?"

"That's..."

"People usually think trees absorb water and nutrients from the soil. But in fact, trees extract most of their water from bedrock. That's how deep and wide their roots spread. If that's true for ordinary large trees, how much more so for the World Tree?"

There must be a naturally formed massive underground cavern beneath the World Tree's roots.

"So that's why they tried to grow the World Tree in the capital's underground cavern."

Rudger also nodded as if understanding.

The massive underground cavern that existed beneath the capital was originally an artificial space created to grow the World Tree.

At first, they thought it was meant to grow it secretly underground, but that wasn't it.

It was made that way because it was the environment necessary for the World Tree's growth.

"I think I've seen something about this in old books too. The area beneath the World Tree's roots is a forbidden place where no one should enter carelessly. It's said to be even more dangerous than something that shouldn't be touched. I had dismissed it as just baseless rumors or legends, but to think it was actually true..."

"It-it really exists."

"How on earth did Miss Bellaruna come to know about this?"

"Well...I discovered it while secretly hacking the World Tree. No one can chase us if we escape that way."

"..."

Seeing Bellaruna casually admitting to committing a crime, Vierano was conflicted about whether to scold or praise her.

However Vierano decided to accept it as a good thing for now in their current situation.

"But is it possible to directly approach the World Tree through such a massive underground cavern? It wouldn't be easy to find a path among the complexly intertwined roots. Plus, the scale must be considerable."

"Th-that's fine. I still remember the core route. I thought I might need to sneak back there again sometime. Hehe."

"That..."

"Do you have something to say?"

"...No. It's nothing."

Vierano thought he had a rather righteous and upright personality, to the extent that he wouldn't hesitate to sternly admonish a student who had strayed onto the wrong path but the moment he saw Bellaruna, Vierano felt his breath catch.

This was beyond his ability to handle.

She was the first of her kind he had ever met in his life - someone who didn't know normal ways of thinking because she was warped like chaos from birth.

He had an instinctive certainty that no matter what he said, this elf could never be reformed.

He couldn't help but look at Rudger.

-How on earth do you manage to handle this child?

-...

Rudger avoided that gaze.

At that moment, Alex asked a question.

"But can we climb up to the World Tree's main body using the underground roots? There should be ground blocking the way in the middle."

"With-with something as massive as the World Tree, there should be gaps big enough for several people to pass through. And that's easy to find if we connect to the World Tree in real-time to check the route."

"Oh. Then there's a chance to go straight into the palace's center."

"But we can't put blind faith in that. Bellaruna has been away from the kingdom for several years. We can't rule out the possibility that the kingdom's elves noticed the weakness and set up defenses during that time."

Hans's counter argument was also right.

"It's right to keep it open as one possibility."

As Rudger muttered this, an announcement echoed throughout the cabin.

[Ah ah. This is your captain. We'll soon arrive at our destination. Ladies and gentlemen, please remember to collect all your belongings. Note that we don't deliver items left behind.]

Alex let out an amused chuckle.

"He's an interesting fellow."

"...It seems we'll have to continue our strategy discussion when we arrive at our family's place."

Looking out the window, they could see the sky stained in pitch darkness.

The sky was studded with twinkling stars of various colors.

It was a jewel-like light that couldn't be seen in Leathervelk, which was full of smoke.

"Although it's dark, there are few clouds and the night is full of starlight. At this rate, we might be spotted by the forest's perimeter guards."

"You won't have to worry about that."

It was Rudger who allayed Vierano's concern.

The reason would soon become clear.

[Ah ah. The aircraft will shake briefly, so please hold onto the handles tightly.]

No sooner had the announcement ended than the aircraft began to vibrate slightly.

One of the special aircraft's functions was revealed at this moment.

-Chiiik.

Pure white steam was sprayed around the aircraft, it transformed into clouds and swallowed up the aircraft's massive body as if embracing it.

"This is..."

"This is the stealth camouflage function of this Chaplin aircraft."

The cloud-shrouded aircraft crossed the forest's boundary line and reached above it.

In broad daylight it might be somewhat noticeable, but at midnight it could even deceive elven eyes.

Thus, the aircraft was able to cross much further than the originally planned destination.

The aircraft stopped at just the right point, as going any further would risk detection.

The area that could be called the forest's heart was visibly more densely wooded and more massive than the outskirts.

It would be impossible to reach there without being detected.

[This is as far as I can take you.]

"That's enough."

Rudger said this as he got up from his seat and headed to the aircraft's exit.

"Professor Rudger. What are you..."

Just as Vierano was about to ask what he was doing, Rudger flung the door wide open as cool wind flowed inside.

In a situation where one step would lead to a fall of hundreds of meters, Rudger turned only his head back and said.

"Let's go."

"Go? Surely not..."

"Didn't I tell you that we'd get off by ourselves when we reach our destination?"

Rudger said this while arranging his hair that was fluttering in the wind with his fingertips while Vierano was speechless.

So that's what he meant by getting off by themselves?

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