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The Spring’s Appearance (2)
I didn’t wait for the envoy to explain. Instead, I resolutely voiced what I wanted to say: “The church’s matters have nothing to do with me. I can put the past incident behind, as I’ve killed all those who were involved. Therefore, what came after has nothing to do with you. I don’t believe in your religion, either, so I don’t want to be involved with you in any shape or form. I don’t know if you’re trying to ingratiate yourself with me or if you’re worried about me. In short, you can just proceed with the usual process. I trust you won’t try anything under Her Majesty’s watch.”
The envoy hesitated for a moment then awkwardly chortled: “Regardless, the Pope holds you in high regards, or rather, our entire church holds you in very high regard. Your child’s baptism is a very, very important matter to us. That is why we thought it was absolutely necessary to inform you.”
I stood up: “If I didn’t blow up your castle, I probably wouldn’t have your respect. I don’t believe you’re just here to inform me. I don’t know what happened, but I told you that I don’t believe in your religion. If you have something to say, come out with it. What exactly is it that you want?”
I saw the face of a fox on a human.
“Conducting your child’s baptism is incredibly important to us, so we needed to notify you. Additionally, there is one more thing. We hope to acquire the elven spring water.”
“The elven spring water?” Mommy Vyvyan frowned subtly: “Our elven spring water is useless to you humans. You won’t be able to use magic even if you consume it. You, therefore, can save yourself the trouble of asking for the the spring water from me. It’s useless to you.”
“No, we merely want to prove the existence of our god.”
“Your god and our god aren’t one and the same. In fact, you humans don’t even believe in god.”
Mom revealed a disdainful smirk when the topic of god came up. Humans had no right to speak of religion and God to elves because, unlike elves, humans weren’t a god’s creation. Humans didn’t create religion for God; they created it for their own purposes.
“We have our beliefs.”
“What you believe in isn’t God, so traces of your god have nothing to do with us. Our god gave us our holy spring water. Our water wasn’t granted to us for you to prove your non-existent god exists. Human, I need to inform you of something: to us elves, our spring water is holy. It’s not a commodity for trading, and it’s not for you to fabricate the existence of your non-existent god!”
Mom angrily got to her feet. Elves considered their spring water to be the holy mark of God. It was comparable to their mother. Further, elves revered God – that was, of course, besides an elf such as Mommy Vyvyan, who personally ripped God up with her hands. Still, not even Mommy Vyvyan would give away the holy spring water to humans for them to fabricate a lie, as that’d be an insult to the elves’ mother and God. Therefore, the envoy’s request was one that would never be approved.
I had half the blood of a human, but, on the elves’ soil, I valued my elven lineage more. As an elf, I had to obey Mommy Vyvyan’s decisions. Moreover, I didn’t want to give the holy spring water to humans, either. Needless to say, Mommy Elizabeth’s spring water was another matter.
After hearing our refusal, the envoy apparently lost his mind and yelled, “But, but, did you not give it to those people?! Are you going to abandon us again?! You destroyed us before, and now you are going to do so again?! We did not do anything to your wife in the end, yet you are still not willing to help us?!”
Mommy Vyvyan formed a row of ice picks with an aggressive wave of her hand and thrust them into the luxurious carpet in front of the envoy: “Though I don’t like Castell for the reason that he’s a crafty fellow, he’s a more capable envoy than you are. He, at the very least, understands what manners are.”
A bead of sweat slowly coursed down the envoy’s forehead. I didn’t know if it was because he failed to achieve his goal or if Mom scared him.
I questioned, “Tell me everything. What are you talking about? The elven spring water would never be given to you humans, so what do you mean by we gave it to ‘them’?”
Elven spring water would never be given away. That was absolute. Mommy Vyvyan would never give the elven spring water to humans, a fact which was evident from her response to the envoy. Mom’s attitude wouldn’t possibly change because somebody else made the request. It was because they were human. Not even Castell would have a chance of getting his hands on the spring water. Logically, I was certain the elven spring water would never reach the hands of an outsider.
I never gave the elven spring water to an outsider, so was he saying that somebody stole it? A human entered the elven capital of Duargana, sneaked into the centre of the imperial palace’s underground to reach the elven spring? Imperial guards aside, Mommy Vyvyan was also around. That was not to mention the magic soldiers guarding the spring down. I didn’t believe for a second somebody could steal the spring water.
“We have people opposing us. We have an opposing religion that doesn’t preach of the same god as ours. They managed to obtain the so-called elven spring water, and then they began their acts of deception. They are deceiving the people and our original believers. The water has been proven to be effective. It can melt gold and instantly heal wounds when poured on them. Therefore, everyone is claiming it is holy water. But nonetheless, we think it is the elven spring water. Only the elven spring water, which contains mana, could perform such feats!”
Mom frowned: “That’s impossible. Our elven magical spring water is ineffective on you humans. You should be well aware of that. You can’t utilise magic. While the spring water can heal wounds, it doesn’t allow you to deploy magic. How could our spring water be effective on you?
Let’s go, Son. Let’s go take a look at the spring. We would never give the spring water to humans. I need to check to see if there is a problem with the spring. Let’s go, Son. As for you, guards, take the envoy to the envoys’ room.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”