Lone and Sophie followed Letty into a large open chamber that was well decorated with wooden sculptures of various High Elves, as made obvious by their long ears which was the easiest way to distinguish them from the various other races of Elves.

Also in the room were thirty chairs that were on an elevated platform. Sat on each one was a High Elf, Wood Elf or Fairy.

Lone recognised quite a few people. There was Elder Luckful whom Lone had been acquainted with for some time, King Ele'hunda, The powerful Elder Lipsilk that Lone hadn't seen even once since his arrival to the tree, all of the other elders from his keeper tests, and, last, but most definitely not least, Elder Shan'len, Lone's favourite Elder.

'He's refused to even see me since I first came out of the dungeon alive, so I wonder why Elder Shit'len suddenly has such a smug look on his face, hmm?' Lone thought a bit playfully.

Perhaps today would be the day that he could drag that Elf's name and reputation through the mud in the very same way that he had been so desperately trying to do so with Lone's image.

King Ele'hunda had a very displeased look on his face, but his eyes shone mysteriously. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand, Nine-tails?"

Lone noticed that a smile had surfaced on Elder Shan'len's smug face upon hearing the King talk down to him. "Well, for starters, both of the 'crimes' I've been charged with are entirely false."

"Do not lie to me, Nine-tails! The very fact that the tree had suddenly started to decline in health is evidence enough considering your team is the only one going into the dungeon every single day!" King Ele'hunda roared as he kept his gaze fixed on a certain man.

Lone sighed. "Don't be a retard. Ask Elder Luckful, I've been doing the exact opposite."

King Ele'hunda turned, and his gaze landed on the small Fairy in question. Noticing this, Elder Luckful spoke, "It is, indeed, true that Lone has been helping me with my restoration efforts..."

At that point, Elder Shan'len butted in. "That was nought but a ruse by this outsider. Of course he would work hard to earn our trust, however, is it not also a fact that his team was the last one to enter the dungeon, and that this new corruption had only begun to spread from there two days ago, the exact same day that they last ventured into it? That's very suspicious if you ask me..."

Elder Foru, the High Elf in charge of the age and strength measuring keeper test, felt that it was time for him to point out the other crime. "I wish to know what you two have done to Scratchy, the most promising new keeper in the history of our world tree! We already know that you possess her barrier badge, Human!" he yelled as he pointed at Sophie.

Sophie shrunk back in fear and hid behind Lone as she grabbed some of his tails. Lone had an expressionless look on his face as he held his chin. 'The both of them, huh? I was wondering how that ancient soul in a Homunculus' body was able to cheat the tests... It makes sense now.'

"Hey, you," Lone rudely called as he looked at a particular Elf.

Elder Talion was surprised to be singled out by Lone. "Yes, Nine-tails?"

"You can detect lies, right?" Lone asked. He clearly recalled that being her job during the character test as she asked morality-based questions, so surely he could use that ability of hers to his advantage?

Elder Shan'len interrupted her before she could reply. "There's no need for that, let's judge and punish these traitorous fools right now!"

"How exactly are we traitors?" Lone asked.

In truth, Lone was very much so enjoying this situation. he could barely contain himself at the thought of proving Elder Shan'len and Elder Foru wrong in front of the entire council.

Elder Shan'len's face flushed from his anger. "Royal Guards! Seize these outsiders and wipe their memories this instant!"

Elder Shan'len expectantly waited for Lone and Sophie to be apprehended by the numerous SS-ranked warriors and nature mages that made up the Royal Guard, however, nothing happened.

An awkward silence hung in the room until it was broken by Lone's laughter. King Ele'hunda frowned. "Do not order my men ever again, Elder Shan'len. You should know that they listen to no one bar myself."

Once more, Elder Shan'len's face coloured over with a shade of red, however, this time it was out of embarrassment. Lone narrowed his eyes and grinned at this.

"Hmm... Did you forget who the king was for a second there, Elder Shit'len? Perhaps you envisioned someone else on the throne..." Lone teased before he looked at Elder Foru who began sweating, "Perhaps with a trustworthy right-hand man by your side?" he added with a smirk.

Congratulations! The host's skill [Intimidation] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 3.

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Lone couldn't help but laugh internally. 'That was a lot easier than I thought. It all makes sense now...'

Elder Shan'len stood up and stormed down to Lone and Sophie where he stopped short of Lone by a mere few feet. "I am more loyal to His Majesty than anyone else, that, anyone can attest to! I will not allow a criminal like you to disrespect myself nor my peers!"

Lone didn't reply for a moment and simply began thinking. 'The King isn't going to interfere? Maybe I don't know the full picture... Well, whatever, I'll dance for you, Ele'hunda.'

"You're pretty needy, Shit'len," Lone sighed.

"Again! You called me that agai-"

Lone cut off the fuming High Elf as he looked at the group of Council members who still weren't entirely convinced that he and Sophie were guilty, hence the need for this 'trial'. "I made a promise to try my best to heal the tree to Her Highness, and if someone can shut this man up for a few minutes, I'm happy to answer any and all questions the King has about the missing keeper and the new corruption whilst Elder Talion detects if I'm telling the truth or not."

Immediately, the previously silent Elders began speaking and discussing the matter.

"He makes a valid point."

"It certainly isn't fair to trust Elder Shan'len one-sidedly."

"I agree with his proposition. After all, the only harm it will cause is Elder Talion will have to use some of her MP."

"I concur."

Like a wave, twenty-seven of the council elders agreed to Lone's idea verbally while Elder Foru and Elder Shan'len remained silent.

Great Elder Lipsilk nodded his head happily before he looked at King Ele'hunda. "Let's give the lad a chance, shall we? Regardless of if he and the Human are guilty or not, we won't learn anything about this new corruption if we rush things and wipe their memories before expelling them."

"I see no problem with that," King Ele'hunda announced. He looked at Elder Talion and said, "If you would be so kind, Talion."

Lone smiled as he looked at the crumpling expression of Elder Shan'len.

Congratulations! The host's skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 6.

Lone ignored this skill level-up as he watched Elder Talion step down and walk directly in front of himself, Sophie and Elder Shan'len. 

Elder Shan'len wasn't satisfied, but he couldn't do anything, so he chose to simply stand aside in the small lowered area to watch the proceedings closely. 'We should still be fine, after all, I have my trump card if I need to use it...'

Elder Talion closed her eyes briefly before she opened them a few seconds later and her pupils were shining with the familiar golden glow from the tests. "Your Majesty, I am ready. Please ask him your questions."

Nodding briefly, King Ele'hunda placed his chin in his hand a smiled mysteriously as he looked at Lone. "I only have two questions for you, Nine-tails. They are neither complex nor incriminating, so, please, feel at ease as you answer them. First, why does the Human behind you possess the Unhcegila Descendant's barrier pass?"

Lone grinned. "Well, I mentioned how she attacked me last night to you, didn't I?"

The group of Elder murmured amongst themselves while the King replied, "Indeed, you did say as such in our meeting yesterday evening."

"Well, after you refused my request, I dealt with it myself, and in the end, the best option for Scratchy was to leave the tree," Lone said a bit dismissively.

The King smiled lightly and looked at Elder Talion who nodded, confirming that Lone was telling the truth. "Please, Nine-tails, detail things more clearly for me." 

"Sure. Since she didn't need the badge anymore, Sophie kept it. Mind you, I gave her several options, one of which was to remain on the tree so long as she never tried to hurt my friends or the tree itself. She technically chose to leave by herself, since it was either that, or stay and cause no harm, which she apparently wasn't able to promise," Lone explained with a calm shrug.

"Lies!" Elder Shan'len, not being able to remain silent, shouted at Lone. "There's no way someone as pathetically weak as you could subdue her!"

Lone frowned before sighing. "King, how many times do I have to tell you to tame your dogs properly so they know when to bark and when not to?"

"You-"

"Silence!" King Ele'hunda roaded at Elder Shan'len. "Elder Talion, is The Nine-tails telling the truth?"

A bit startled by the volatile atmosphere, Elder Talion weakly replied, "Y-Yes, he is, Your Majesty..."

Elder Shan'len tried to refute her only to find that he couldn't physically move his mouth. Lone noticed this and glanced over at Great Elder Lipsilk who smirked and winked at him. 'Scary. I wonder if he's stronger than King Ele'hunda? He is the only other XXX-ranker here, so maybe he actually is...'

"Very well," King Ele'hunda said as he scratched his beard. "Nine-tails, pray tell, why were such drastic means required in your little dispute with the Unhcegila Descendant?"

"I already told you why," Lone responded as he looked at the King like he was an idiot. "She was a servant of Ythmagobla who tried to kill me. So after I defeated her, I tried to use a unique form of contracting magic that I possess to force her to swear on her soul that she would never try to harm the world tree or my friends, and in exchange, she would be allowed to attack me as often as she liked and I wouldn't tell anyone who she really was."

Lone enjoyed the gasps of shock that ran through the gathered Royal Guards and Council Elders before he continued. "She adamantly refused, showing that she clearly had plans to harm the tree in the future, which I obviously couldn't allow, so I ended up decided to send her far away since it would have been impossible to normally kill her when her body was a Homunculus'. I wanted to get a technique that allowed me to damage or extract souls from the technique hall, but someone refused that request."

Lone smiled sarcastically at the King who looked a little bit flustered. Sophie, behind Lone's back, squeezed one of his tails as she admired him internally. 'Sneaky Lone. You could have killed her with Mental Destruction, but that isn't normal, so you're not lying even though you're not being truthful... I wish I could talk that well...'

"Impossible! I tested herself myself! She's not a Homunculus!" Elder Foru exclaimed with a clearly angered tone to his voice.

King Ele'hunda ignored him and looked at Elder Talion. "He... He's being honest again..."

A lot of eyes fell onto Elder Foru who had spoken up just a second ago. He wanted to hit himself for his verbal slip. "Your Majesty, I suspect that Elder Talion is a traitor and is secretly a servant of the Darkness Dragon," he said as he bowed slightly.

"Hoh..." Lone made a sound of appreciation. "You're smarter than Shit'len is, that's for sure, but really, I mean, even a child could figure out that you're the traitor, not her," Lone said with a shrug and a laugh.

King Ele'hunda's smile deepened. "What do you mean, Nine-tails?"