Led by the receptionist, they were guided down a corridor to one of the cylindrical rooms among the great number lined up within the building.
In the center of the cylindrical room, something similar to a crystal ball was placed on a pedestal, with half of it embedded inside. When the female guide touched the crystal ball, it slowly began to emit a faint light.
Without much warning, the floor of the cylindrical room rose, moving without any sound as it ascended higher and higher.
Before long, the rising floor came to a stop, reaching its intended level, with the connecting passageway leading to the tower’s outer part. With a window running along the entire outer circumference, it offered an unbroken view of the entire city.
Just facing the west, all of the Maple would appear at one’s feet, with an enormous lake spread out on the horizon. Even looking at the north, or at the south, the lake’s edges can’t be seen.
Called the Great Slave by the founding patriarch, the huge lake was the city’s precious source of water, providing furthermore an abundance of fish to catch ─ a treasure house.
While looking at the glittering scenery with the morning sun reflecting off the Great Slave lake, sparkling, they advanced through the corridor and finally arrived at their destination.
Before long, they arrived before a set of large double doors. After the female clerk opened one side of the doors and informed the person within of the arrival of visitors, she stepped aside, prompting the two to enter.
Ariane and Dylan nodded at each other and passed through the doors.
There were no splendorous decorations or the like inside; rather, the atmosphere within the large room was quite subdued. There was a large round table placed in the center of the room, with eleven men and women seated around it.
The seated people were almost all elves, but the figures of a dark elf and a dwarf can also be seen. This was the central governing council of Maple’s ten grand elders, with the third generation patriarch, Brian Boyd Evangeline Maple, assembled with them.
The current patriarch had genealogy that can be traced back to the founding patriarch, Evangeline, though it was unusual for an elf to inherit and call themselves with the first generation’s name.
“Elder Dylan of Raratoia, is it already time to report the results of the recent rescue mission? Why are you here to report it in person?”
A person sitting in the back of the room calmly asked Dylan those questions.
The man with the calm atmosphere looked to be in his forties and had long green-tinged blonde hair that was tied together with a braid colored with complex patterns. He was Patriarch Brian, the third generation head.
In response to the question, her father spoke with a rarely shown expression of nervousness, leading Ariane to occasionally glance at Dylan’s state with curious eyes. When the conversation reached the part about the feudal lord, his expression darkened slightly and his eyes were lowered.
When Dylan finished his report, the noises in the room disappeared, filling it with a quiet atmosphere, making the slight movement of someone standing up seem extremely loud.
“Well, for the time being, the prisoners were rescued, and the two other unidentified people’s safety were secured as well.”
When one of the great elders said this to start up the conversation, it was like a dam had broken as opinions began to be exchanged, thrown in rapid succession.
“The problem is the fact that the two rescued were held by the feudal lord. Isn’t this matter a little troubling?”
“However, they personally violated the binding treaty from 400 years ago. Considering this, then there’s no grounds on which the other side can protest in this matter…”
“Wait wait, the feudal lord participating in the kidnapping this time is a legitimate reason to start a war! Have they already forgotten that, 600 years ago, they made war on us and split their country in the process!?”
“The tale of the war 600 years ago that we heard about from our parents is enough for us, but it’s nothing but a story written in history books for the humans… It truly seems impossible to build a lasting friendly relationship with them.”
“Humph, the opposition may not be able to say anything if we talk about supplying them with a bounty of magic stones…”