The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

Ides of March (Part 1)

***The Saint's Tree, Cherwoods***

In contrast to the relative silence of the trees in its surrounding forests, the palace complex and official home to the Elf Saint stirred. On its inner grounds, members of Her Holiness' Life Guards scoured every nook and cranny of the place, each group accompanied by palace officials.

"Her Holiness isn't here!" one would shout that line heard all over the courtyard as a sign to the others searching.

"What about her maid, Meanor? Where is she?"

"Her quarters are empty, yet her personal effects are still there!"

Outside the palace complex, separated by ancient walls made of tree trunks, twisted old vines, thick overlapping leaves, and double lines of elf soldiers of the Life Guards, were the angry mobs of elves hailing from the frontiers of the region of Cherwoods. They all demanded an audience from their saint, and wished for her aid in combatting the encroaching desert, as the proposals to build a network of canals from the Gulf of Cherwoods to the endangered elf cities remained idle.

"We're going to die! At least try to help us!" the elves pleaded from the line of elf guards that stood between them and the Saint's Tree.

"Her Holiness is leading us into ruin!"

"Let's make her hear our calls for help!"

The shouts grew louder and angrier the longer their demands were ignored. The guards were agitated as well, for they were not spared from the abusive words and gestures of the mad elves. They were only prevented from taking action by an earlier decree of their mistress not to start violence, at least, not inside and in the immediate areas around the tree palace.

In a far distance, at the steps of the main tree palace, the senior palace officials led by the Holy Lord Chamberlain, Lord Alvis, held their breath as the search parties completed the places where they suspected the Elf Saint was hiding. As their options were getting smaller, so were their nervousness going higher. Even as nobles, some of them couldn't keep themselves from chewing on their nails, and others walked back and forth while waiting for any news.

The Lord Alvis, sensing that they were heading to trouble, asked the head maidservant of the Elf Saint, "Have you looked under those heaps garbage in Her Holiness' room?"

"Y-Yes, milord," the head maidservant replied; her shaky voice betrayed her 'calm' demeanor. "H-Her Holiness' servants are now cleaning her room as we speak, removing anything that can hide the saint from us. If...If they find her buried under those stashes, someone will come and update me immediately on the matter."

"Well, you better hurry then!" the Holy Lord Chamberlain bellowed, and muttered to himself, "Better if Her Holiness is buried underground than to make us suffer like this! Such life is a shame."

"Did you say something, milord?" the head maidservant queried.

"Nothing of your business!" he snarled. "And get back to your search; dig the grounds if you have to! Those angry mobs outside the palace won't wait for Her Holiness to get back!"

The head maidservant bowed and quickly left. Once she was gone, the other senior palace officials gathered around the Holy Lord Chamberlain.

"Milord," one of them began, "we've been discussing this issue with each other, and..."

"And..." the Lord Alvis never hid his displeasure; still, he was inclined to listen to them. Perhaps someone knew how to resolve the predicament they were in. "What issue is it that you're talking amongst yourselves?"

"We concluded that the disappearance of Her Holiness might be a scheme of that human 'guest' of hers."

"Human guest? You mean Mister Kuro of Arles?"