# "Do Elves Not Believe in Gods?"
"Do you mean they disbelieve in their existence, or that they don't worship them?"
"The latter."
"We don't believe."
Beolgrin gazed at the crumbling fortress and spoke calmly.
"Do gods exist? Of course. But worship them? Hardly."
"Because elves believe they're superior to gods?"
In Ivan's mind, there could be no other reason. This was a world with personified deities who directly bestowed their mighty powers upon their worshippers.
In such a world, being "non-religious" couldn't be explained by anything else. When simply believing could grant you divine power, what rational reason could there be not to believe?
But Beolgrin shook his head.
"Can any race, or any individual within it, claim to be greater than the gods? Of course not."
"Then?"
"If the gods had remained silent, we would have gladly become their flock. If they had just stayed in the heavens. If they had quietly observed... But Ivan, from the moment an existing god intervenes with mortals, that god is no longer great."
Beolgrin turned his gaze to Ivan.
"Why should we worship beings that need faith and respect? Gods certainly exist. But elves only worship 'that which is truly great.'"
"And what's that?"
"Accumulating wealth, the ambition for higher positions, the magic dormant in all things of the world, and reason and rationality."
Following Beolgrin's gesture, magic stirred. A demon who had been pretending to be dead while watching from afar rose into the air and was crushed.
Beolgrin laughed as he dusted off his hands.
"Kalion is paradise. No invasion dares cross Kalion's seas, and no being can disrupt Kalion's peace. Our distant ancestors created a god with our own hands long ago. The Milestone. A great filtering device that projects infinite magic... that alone is the mystery we should rightfully worship."
It was a magnificent relic of antiquity that could never be recreated. The Milestone was a mystery that couldn't be designed even with extremely advanced modern technology.
If there were a god, it would be something like that. Something that projects unlimited magic to everyone, yet exists impartially without any will or intelligence of its own. Nature itself.
No personality is perfect. Therefore, a personified god inherently contains imperfection. How could one entrust their fate to the capricious mercy and wrath of those great celestial beings?
Gods exist. But gods are not great.
"Well, just look at the Seven Dragon Generals."
"Did they call those fellows gods? Hahaha, then humans might as well be called faithless too!"
"What?"
"They're puppets mimicking the shadow of gods. Of course, they've copied fragments, but can those things truly be called gods?"
Beolgrin burst into laughter as he got up and dusted himself off.
Enormous magical power swirled around him before converging on his chest. The flow was so distinct it was visible to the naked eye.
Ivan lamented inwardly. How nice it would be to have that kind of power. Such overwhelming strength, unreachable through individual effort.
Beolgrin turned to face Ivan's gaze.
"When believers reach out their hands, sometimes the gods capriciously take hold of them."
In the form of divine power and miracles.
"So perhaps someday, one might be able to face the hand that's been grasped, here on earth."
The words that followed, spoken while looking up at the dark sky, were so quiet that even Ivan's hearing couldn't catch them, and that was the end of the conversation he remembered from that day.
Beolgrin continued to look up at the night sky for a long time afterward, until he rejoined the group.
The sky over the demon realm was always covered with clouds. Thick, dark storm clouds. Under those terrible clouds that seemed to refuse even a single ray of light.
What celestial signs was the elven high astronomer trying to read by staring at the sky for so long?
Ivan was a 21st-century person who despised prophecies, magic, and superstition. Therefore, the Ivan of that time did not admire Beolgrin's artificial "mysteriousness."
Perhaps.
It would be fair to recall that he was afraid. After all, this was a primitive pre-modern fantasy world where prophecies, magic, and superstition actually existed.
Afraid that some ominous prophecy like "You shall never return to your homeland" might flow from the lips of that great wizard.
# 27. Astronomy
"The Astronomy Society has been royal advisors since ancient times!" Elfihera sang out cheerfully on the deck, enjoying the fresh air. Since returning to Kalion, she had been in an unprecedentedly excited and energetic state.
Kalion's environment provides elves with the most suitable air quality and magic distribution. Like a fish in water, Elfihera was thoroughly enjoying herself.
Edel, whose age made her emotions difficult to read, showed no particular reaction. She too seemed to prefer Kalion to the cold Krasilov, but it was hard to be certain.
It's always difficult to know what's in an old person's mind.
"Edel. Will the Alchemy Faction really be of help?"
"Wait, Lord Yeremov. Are you completely ignoring what I'm saying?"
"Of course. Even after internal turmoil, such enterprises aren't common."
Ivan ignored Elfihera, who was fuming beside him, and turned his attention to Edel.
"If they still have strength left, wouldn't it have been better to eliminate future trouble?"
"You mean completely annihilate the Alchemy Faction? Besides the time issue... we couldn't avoid the attention of others. Before we could finish the job, every navy in these waters would come rushing in."
Edel shook her head with a slight smile.
"You can assume every enterprise has spies from their competitors. Yesterday's incident? That level of conflict ends as a 'laughing matter.' They were defeated after getting involved with Beolgrin and me. But total annihilation is different. If we had killed all the elves on that island, or even if we had killed both barons, arrest warrants would have been issued immediately."
For the time being, Baron Chesterhold will have no energy to spare for reorganization. His competitors won't simply stand by and watch the Alchemy Society's internal strife.
He can never fully recover with his own strength. The foundation has collapsed, research infrastructure has disappeared, and one of the privy councilors responsible for research has even died.
In a situation of this scale, he could naturally raise the issue with the Privy Council. But would he really sue Edel, who had "persuaded" her way into learning the Alchemy Society's secrets?
Edel is the master of the Shadow Sword. Moreover, Beolgrin's daughter is present here as well. If he makes an issue of it, he would have to turn all of them into enemies. That would be difficult for the Alchemy Society's weight class.
"So he has to choose to quietly endure it."
"He won't be so docile."
"Elves don't let emotions ruin the bigger picture, Yon. If he opposes us, his situation will become worse than it is now."
"The Shadow Sword and Beolgrin must have enemies."
"Ah, the enemy of my enemy? You think he'll join hands with them?"
Edel shook her head with a slight smile.
"That became impossible the moment he let us leave safely. The other privy councilors aren't fools. From the moment we left the Alchemy Society without any problems, they'll think Baron Chesterhold has joined hands with us. That's actually more advantageous for the baron."
"Advantageous...?"
"He'll be evaluated as cunning enough to eliminate a long-time colleague and take over the entire Alchemy Society alone, and politically skilled enough to even bring in the formidable Shadow Sword and Beolgrin."
There will be no criticism for betraying a long-time colleague. That's a compliment meaning "excellent political skills and devious scheming."
In elven society, it could never be considered a fault.
In other words, the fact that they escaped safely despite being surrounded by numerous troops means that Baron Chesterhold was also aware of this situation.
So Edel reclined comfortably in her chair.
"Don't worry unnecessarily, Yon. Elven politics are different from human politics. Did you think we should have imposed some kind of contract or restriction out of fear of future trouble? Or that we should have killed him too?"
"Hmm."
"Such one-dimensional actions would definitely be detected. Magical restrictions can be detected from the outside, and drugs can't bind the head of the Alchemy Society."
But profit is different. Baron Chesterhold is not foolish enough to give up profit out of anger or humiliation.
Such people could never be listed in the Privy Council.
"If it's this easy, why don't others attempt it?"
"Hm? What?"
"Launching a surprise attack, taking hostages, interrogating them, extracting information, and then threatening them."
"That's obviously impossible! Didn't I say there are many watching eyes? It would definitely be detected!"
"But I did it."
"That's because it's you."
Edel waved her hand dismissively.
"When you attacked the Alchemy Faction's foundation, all the 'elves' in our group were quietly waiting on the ship, weren't they? Only two humans infiltrated, and as a result, Baron Ashcliffe and all his subordinates were killed. How do you think that looked to other elves?"
Elves acknowledge humans as intelligent beings. However, they don't consider them "equal" intelligent beings.
If Edel, or even Elfihera, had directly attacked the Alchemy Society from that ship, they would certainly have made an issue of it. Even if the Alchemy Society remained quiet, other enterprises would have seized the opportunity to criticize the Astronomy Society.
But only two humans disembarked, and as a result, Baron Ashcliffe and his subordinates all died.
From an outside perspective, this would be impossible without Baron Chesterfield's help. This wouldn't be seen as the Shadow Sword and Astronomy Society suddenly attacking the Alchemy Society, but rather as Baron Chesterfield purging his partner after political infighting within the Alchemy Society.
What human could single-handedly cross the Alchemy Society's walls, slaughter elves, and return alive?
Especially a human whose name isn't even known, about whom there is no information.
"By now, other enterprises must be frantically gathering information."
"About me?"
"Yes. They'll be wondering who on earth you are, that the Shadow Sword and Astronomy Society would use you as a mercenary. Where did they find you?"
Ivan's expression grew serious at her words.
As he had reflected before, elves are masters of foreign intelligence. They are experts at extracting information through memory distortion (playing tricks) and mind control (becoming friendly).
If they put their minds to it, tracking Ivan's activities wouldn't be difficult. If it were revealed that he was an agent of Krasilov, it could impact his home country.
"Don't worry."
"Hmm?"
"Until someone meets you directly, no one knew you were alive, Yon. Your country's 'erasing of your traces' was perfect even by elven standards."
Ivan's expression relaxed at her words. He nodded calmly.
"Was I ever mentioned in elven society during that time?"
"Of course. Cu-Geamhradh (Winter Hound). You were one of the few humans we were wary of."
"That's good."
"Huh?"
Edel tilted her head at Ivan's response. His tone didn't suggest he was pleased about being known to elves.
Rather, it sounded more like he found it useful.
Ivan offered no further explanation. He quietly turned his gaze to watch the drifting clouds.
No one would discover his identity until they met him directly. That was good. It meant he wouldn't burden Krasilov.
Krasilov, now facing winter, had to rely entirely on imports for essential resources. With Tilles' granary burned down, this winter would be particularly harsh.
In that situation, if elves were to check Krasilov as well, it could be damaging. It means the problem wouldn't end with just that one issue.
But if they didn't know his identity, that was good. It meant his range of activities would be much wider.
And.
'I can't hide it forever anyway.'
No matter how the operation proceeded, he needed to meet privately with Beolgrin, have an audience with the Elven Queen, and track down Alexandr's hidden activities.
In this process, his "human" identity would be too conspicuous. The elves would certainly raise all their antennas and dig into his past.
No matter how perfect Krasilov's measures had been, Ivan had done many things since returning to active duty. It's impossible to hide everything.
Someone would realize his identity. It wouldn't take long either.
And Elorvandi. As the dwarven ruler had said, authority comes from fear.
In those days, nobles of every country feared the Annihilation Squad. And elves were no exception.
The only man who killed a Dragon General without being part of the Hero Party.
Even without such impressive achievements, they would realize that the sole survivor of the Annihilation Squad had arrived.
'Alexandr. Let's see how much longer you can hold out.'
If the elves who discovered his identity were intelligent enough, they would certainly approach Ivan.
Since the demise of the Annihilation Squad was such a famous story, Alexandr would be too delicious a bait for the "survivor of the Annihilation Squad."
Someday, and someone, would definitely approach him. And it wouldn't be in the distant future. It had to be made that way.
Ivan gazed at the horizon with sunken eyes.