“That would be a distraction, and then I would use a precast teleportation spell to move us closer to the border where we can cross quickly,” Doma said with a smile.

“How about you let me speak instead?” Isdis grunted, sitting beside Lydia, “I came here to speak with the elves in the first place,” She stood, “It’s a diplomatic problem, isn’t it?”

“They could take you as a hostage. Remember the tension between you and us?” Aella stared at her, “You’re hearing it from an elf. Humans’ lives are far shorter, and our higher up won’t care about playing dirty.”

“Humans won’t live long to remember it, and even if they did in history, it could easily be forged as fake.” Doma’s voice came from Arad as Isdis sat down, “I know,” She sighed.

“With that decided, Doma would prepare for the worst-case scenario, and we will try to achieve our goal with as little conflict as possible. Anyone has any ideas?” Arad asked.

Jack scratched his chin, “Well, I have an idea,” He looked at the tent door, “The elves traveling with us. They were kidnapped from villages close to the border. We can just guide them close enough and watch them go to one of those villages.” ｎ𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

Arad blinked, “Are you saying we won’t need to take them all the way into a village?”

“Yeah, we only need to get them close enough. It’s not like they are injured or can’t walk. We’re merely protecting them.” Jack waved his hand.

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m here on a diplomatic trip. We’re going all the way to the Elvish capital and meeting the queen,” Isdis growled.

“That’s definitely not going to fire back at us, not with a century-old witch with bad blood between her and the elvish queen. They would surely ignore that,” Aella waved her hand, looking at Isdis, “We can’t get that close to them,”

Arad sighed, looking down, “I guess, not elvish support,” He remembered his conversation with Jack. Getting the elves’ support and running for the throne. It all looked too good to be true.

“They won’t be able to feel my presence unless they touch Arad directly, and the one who does it needs to know me well,” Doma said, “So unless the queen touches Arad’s skin directly, I can make sure they never knew I’m there.”

Everyone looked at each other, “How much is the chance of Arad touching the queen? She won’t let a random adventurer close to her, right?”

Aella scratched her chin, “Depends on how the queen sees him,” She looked at Arad, “If the reverse of the worst scenario happened, and the elves welcomed us like heroes. You might end up standing before the queen as an honored hero.”

“I don’t want to deal with that,” Arad sighed, “Won’t a ceremony like that take a lot of time?”

“It usually takes two days. We can stay that long, can’t we?” She looked at Arad with a smile.

“Can’t we just have Jack be the leader and attend?” Arad scratched his head, “I can’t get close to the queen, can I?”

“But you’re the leader,” Isdis stared at him, “You can forget it, I’m the leader, and I will deal with the queen.”

Jack shook his head, “I would prefer it if Arad is the one speaking with the queen,” He wanted Arad to get the elves’ favor as the hero that saved their people. He can’t let Isdis take credit only to keep Doma hidden.

But then, even if Doma gets exposed, we’re are stuck in trouble. He looked at Arad’s face, “We’re between the hammer and the anvil,”

Arad looked at Aella, “Is there any way to avoid the queen’s audience?”

Aella thought about it for a few seconds, “The only thing I can think of is if the queen sees you as an equal, or at least a power to be reckoned with,”

“Can you listen to me for a second?” Isdis stared at Jack, “I’m the princess of the human kingdom. I can speak with the queen while putting Arad as the powerful hero that saved the elves.”

“HAAA!” Eris sighed, staring at them, “It’s like I’m listening to a bunch of kids thinking this through,” She stared at Arad.

“Right?!” Doma said with an excited face, “Do you have a better plan?”

“Of course,” Eris looked waved her hand as her eyes glowed red, “We walk in, and meet the queen as expected.” Eris approached Arad, “If she asked you to kiss her hand for a reward, just say that problematic for you. She will understand,”

Arad looked at Eris confused, “What will she understand?”

“A hero usually doesn’t pick a side. If you’re calling in life is saving and helping people, you won’t care if it’s an elf, a human, or anything else.” Eris approached Arad, “A hero saves people equally. Having you like that will make it easier for the elves to use you as a mediator between them and the humans.” She smiled, “You will get their support, without actually needing to server them directly.”

“Do you think it would work?” Aella stared at her.

“If the humans are already helping Arad without tieing him down, the elves would lose face in front of other kingdoms if they tried to control him,” Eris explained with a grin. “Be a good asset to everyone, and you will get all of their support.”

“You’re right. With that, the kingdom that first make a move to control Arad would look like bad guying trying to harm peace, and they could get shunned.” Doma laughed, “As expected from a long-living vampire, how old are you?”

“Don’t ask a woman about her age,” Eris sighed, “But I’ve seen enough to know,”

Jack nodded, “She’s right. Arad was already walking down the path of a dragon mediator. A neutral power that everyone should respect. But I will see if there are any thieves contact here to help us out,”

“Please do,” Arad nodded, “So the plan is like this,”

“Deliver the elves to the capital. Meet the queen. Get her support. Don’t touch her. Leave without a fight.” Arad sighed, “Let’s hope everything will go according to plan.”

***

On the other side, an elf sat inside a tent with two soldiers facing him. “Where are they?”

“Sir!” One of the soldiers stood firm like a log, “They have entered the bleak wood forest. Monsters strangely avoided them, so there is a possibility they hold a powerful monster or an item.”

“We’ve spotted half of the missing elves alongside them with a woman suspected to be the fourth princess of the Alseria kingdom. We suspect they are here on peaceful business.”

The commander rested his chin on his hands, “Should we risk it?” He sighed, “Our sensors are screaming blood magic. There are at least two, maybe three vampires in there. Add to that the extra lycanthropic and vague curse magic around them, and the giant cobra sneaking behind. I doubt they are here for good reasons.”

“Sir, do you think they intend to attack us?” One of the soldiers gasped.

“Even if we aren’t on good terms with the humans, we know they never steep too low to work with friends. My guts is that princess is double to lure us out,” the commander looked at the soldiers, “We shouldn’t fall for it. There are villages full of civilians behind us, and they won’t be able to fight such fiends.”

“What if she’s the real princess?” One of the soldiers looked at the commander with a pale face.

“We still trust the humans. She must be captured and forced to work with them. Our priority should be to save her and our people.” The commander stood, “Kill everyone besides the princess double and our people.”

“As you order!” The two soldiers saluted him.

The commander smiled, “By orders of her majesty the seventh queen and under the guidance of the first Queen Sylph Ways. We shall return evil with goodness, and save the human princess for them.”

He walked out of the tent, brandishing his sword and pointing it at the sky. “By the queen’s name and for the future peace! Give up your hearts!” He shouted, and the rumbling of ten thousand elvish soldiers shook the ground as they stomped and shouted.

DING! DING! A ringing sound killed their voices. Sitting aside beneath a tree, a single monk with short black hair sat beneath a tree.

The comander paled, “Herald, You’re here?”

“That man,” The monk rang his bell, and Arad’s image appeared in the air, “Do I get to suck on the queen’s toes if I brought his head,”

The commander sighed, “No, you weirdo. We’ve been telling you no for decades. Get over it. She will never look at you no matter what.”

The monk looked straight, tearing from his closed eyes, “How saddening, how discouraging. How unfortunate.” He stood, “The spirits of the tree are crying for I don’t get anything.” He started praying.

“But, I shall remain strong,” The monk smiled, “One day, my wish will be granted, and his head I shall bring,”