Elves who were used to freedom found it a bit hard to accept this all at once.
Of course, more than anything else, they just felt completely confused.
A lake appeared out of nowhere, and then a mirror appeared out of nowhere on top of that.
And just with these things, they were supposed to undergo special training?
They couldn't understand it.
Only Cocotte stared closely at the mirror with some concern, her pretty eyebrows lifting slightly.
From this mirror, she sensed something unusual.
Viktor waved his hand, and the mirror as a whole began to tremble slightly.
Then, a crack split open across the surface of the mirror. Shards broke off and floated up from the surface, hovering around the frame.
The elves looked toward the center of the mirror. Inside the empty frame, it seemed as though a pool of purple, illusory mist was swirling, looking extremely eerie.
They gathered together, staring at the constantly rolling mist in front of them, filled with curiosity.
Viktor's voice sounded from behind them, "From today onward, you can use this mirror to train yourselves."
"Trust me, it won't put you in any danger."
Hearing Viktor's words, one elf couldn't help but feel curious.
She stretched out her hand and cautiously reached toward the void that had turned into a vortex.
In an instant, a powerful suction force surged out from the mirror.
As if she were being twisted and pulled in, the entire elf was sucked into the purple void and vanished from the real world.
Vinia, who saw everything from the side, froze. Her voice stuttered as her body trembled while she asked, "S-s-she… where did she go?"
Viktor looked at the mirror and said calmly, "Don't panic. She just went into the world inside the mirror."
In order to better make use of the mirror demon, Viktor had made a small optimization to this mirror.
People who entered the mirror would no longer be forgotten by others.
It was now just a simple tool.
Cocotte also felt somewhat surprised by what she was seeing.
Sitting on her cloud, she drifted over and leaned closer to the mirror, looking it up and down.
"Huh? How did you do this?"
Viktor glanced at Cocotte and didn't explain much, only saying calmly, "You'll know in a bit."
Hearing that, Cocotte felt her body shudder slightly.
She had a bad feeling shooting straight up to the top of her head.
Viktor stopped paying attention to Cocotte and casually snapped his fingers.
As if receiving some kind of signal, the elf who had been swallowed by the mirror due to her curiosity was "spat" back out.
She landed on the grass with a thump, and when she saw the worried gazes of her fellow elves all focused on her, she stuck out her tongue, scratched the back of her head awkwardly, and looked embarrassed.
In an instant, countless elves swarmed over and surrounded her.
Chirping voices rose one after another.
They were basically all asking what it felt like to go inside.
Viktor paid no attention to the restless elves and simply spoke, "Next, Leon will lead you through your training."
"Once you start getting stronger and can freely use your natural energy, you'll be able to do what your queen can do as well."
At this moment, Viktor reached out with one hand and grabbed Cocotte off her cloud.
"Huh? Ah?!"
Cocotte felt herself leaving the cloud beneath her and immediately struggled, "Hey, Viktor, what are you doing?!"
"If you've got something to say, then say it, why are you grabbing me?!"
However, Viktor completely ignored her struggle and held her steadily with one hand.
Meanwhile, after hearing Viktor's words, the other elves' eyes lit up.
The elves greatly admired their queen.
In the elves' world, only the queen could reproduce elves, so they worshiped her without thinking.
Although times had changed, and now any elf could have children, the queen's status in their hearts had not diminished at all.
Being able to become as powerful as the Elf Queen?
Their hearts immediately started itching with anticipation, their eyes full of excitement.
Viktor was very satisfied when he saw the elves' reactions.
This counted as a good start.
Using Cocotte to stir up the elves' fighting spirit was quite effective.
The elves' talent wasn't bad, it was just that an overly comfortable life had made them forget that they themselves possessed the power to fight.
At this moment, Vinia pointed at herself and asked Viktor, "M-me too? Do I need to join as well?"
Viktor turned his head and glanced at her, saying calmly, "No, you don't."
As the Elf High Priestess, and one of the few elves who remained clear-headed, Vinia needed to lead the other elves in the Elven Forest.
More importantly, she needed to handle trade between the Elven Forest and the Empire.
Since Cocotte didn't do any work, everything had to be handled personally by Vinia.
This included preparing the goods the elves wanted to trade, those weren't even ready yet.
The elves had taken an interest in export trade and establishing diplomatic relations with a nation, finding it all very novel.
As a result, the enthusiastic elves wanted to export far too many things.
Not just fruit wine and jade dew, but also fruits unique to the Elven Forest.
Some elves even wanted to sell the leaf-made underwear they wore close to their bodies.
But overall, if they wanted to free the elves' thinking, contact with the human world was necessary.
"Prepare the goods for your first trade with the Empire. Before long, I'll be returning to the royal capital."
Viktor made the announcement to the elves, which also served as a reminder to Vinia, 'time was tight, so hurry up and prepare the goods.'
Vinia nodded seriously and replied, "I understand."
At this moment, however, Cocotte, who was dangling in the air, swaying back and forth in Viktor's grip, had something to say.
"Hey, could you stop grabbing my clothes? I feel really tired."
Viktor glanced at her slightly and said calmly, "This is to prevent you from running away."
"…?"
Those words alone left Cocotte completely stunned.
Run away? Why would she run away?
Viktor continued holding her and extended his other hand forward.
A fierce wind burst forth from the center, sweeping up the surrounding weeds.
Blue fluorescent light gradually spread out, and patterns began to extend across the area.
A massive blue stone gate was constructed out of thin air from the formation, swaying continuously with a shimmering aura.
Powerful magic surged outward along with the wind, blowing head-on against Viktor's black coat.
Cocotte blinked blankly at the gate.
From the other side of the teleportation gate, she sensed a familiar feeling.
It seemed to lead straight into the interior of the divine tree.
Viktor dragged her along and slowly walked toward the portal, calmly saying to Cocotte, "Tomorrow is the academy's opening day."
"As the teaching assistant I applied for, you should understand what you need to do."
Cocotte blinked blankly, then suddenly widened her eyes and cried out, "N-no… don't!"
She flailed her arms, becoming extremely agitated, her eyes filled with despair.
But being held by Viktor, she had no ability to resist at all.
She could only listen as Viktor calmly spoke words that plunged her into despair, "Get ready."
"You're working overtime."
Viktor dragged Cocotte and forcibly stepped through the teleportation gate.
Seeing its master leave, the cloud hurriedly chased after Cocotte and followed her into the blue portal.
After that, the gate closed once more, and the raging wind gradually died down.
Only a group of elves remained, standing in place and staring at one another.
At this moment, the pair of purple eyes on the mirror opened once again, shooting out two beams of strange light.
The mirror opened wide, like another gate to hell, waiting for them to enter.
Leon looked at the elves and issued a stern command, "It's time to begin today's training."
"Elves."
———
In the vast living hall of the Clavenna residence, the servants had already prepared the tea and brought it in.
Gwen sat on the sofa, wearing armor and carrying a red longsword, seated upright.
After pouring the tea, the servant politely nodded to Gwen, and Gwen returned the gesture with a nod and a word of thanks.
A few minutes later, Liya walked down the stairs step by step.
The pink nightdress she had been wearing earlier had already been changed into her usual clothes, and she had applied a light layer of makeup to her face.
Her whole body now gave off a capable, professional air.
After coming downstairs, Liya went over to Gwen, who was sitting on the sofa.
She moved closer and sat down across from her.
Gwen happened to look up at the same time and meet Liya's gaze.
Then Liya asked first, "How did you get here?"
"Last night, I rode through the night. As soon as I arrived in Bryeston, I came straight here."
Hearing Gwen's words, Liya finally noticed it.
There was clear fatigue and weariness on Gwen's face, the obvious result of not resting all night.
Looking at Liya, Gwen continued, "I was very worried about you, so…"
Liya sighed, "Even if you were worried, there was no need to rush over overnight."
She understood Gwen's anxiety.
After all, she had experienced it herself once.
After forgetting Viktor, that sense of urgency caused by the gap in her memories was unavoidable.
Liya spread her hands and said, "Tomorrow is Monday."
Her meaning was simple, if she wanted to see Viktor, there was no need to run all the way to Bryeston.
After all, Viktor would be returning to the royal capital tomorrow.
But Gwen raised her head seriously and straightened her back, "I can't calmly sit and wait for news."
"If I don't see it with my own eyes right away, I can't feel at ease."
Liya sighed, understood what Gwen meant, and called upstairs, "Henny!"
A burst of hurried footsteps came from upstairs.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Henny took quick little steps and ran to the top of the stairs.
She leaned out from upstairs, looked at Liya, and asked,
"Miss Liya, what do you need?"
Liya looked up at Henny, spread her hands, and said with a teasing tone, "Take our knight."
"To go see her oh-so-important fiance."