Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

"Let me confirm first," Ning lowered herself to be at Yan's height, "You're not here to cause trouble, are you?"

"How...how is this possible?!" Yan exclaimed hurriedly. "I came here voluntarily! I was trapped here voluntarily too! I originally wanted to talk to that guy, but who knew that the four of them would rush up without saying a word!!"

Voluntary? Let's talk? Four?

Because he spoke in a flustered manner, his words sounded fragmented, but Ning only caught the general meaning.

“This…” Li’s eyes gleamed with golden light as he pointed at the stone and said, “It’s Wuzhi Mountain.”

"...Are you kidding me?" Ning looked incredulous.

“Oh right…” Li nodded, even she found it hard to believe, “Because that’s what the Magic Eye showed it to say… Where did this come from…”

"Hey! What on earth is that?!"

Because Ning and Li's reactions seemed so exaggerated, Yan was now in a panic. The thing on his body called Five Finger Mountain sounded pretty powerful, and with those expressions they made, things were probably not looking good.

Waaaaaah~~~ I only reluctantly went in because I thought Xuanze's words would be more convincing, but I never expected that he would set a trap for me, that devil!

At this moment, Yan's heart was in turmoil. Her calm demeanor was completely feigned; in reality, she was panicking terribly. Moreover, she was the kind of person whose emotions were always written on her face. Ning was deliberately trying to trick her; now, by observing her expression, he would know almost everything.

“Is Wuzhi Mountain...something from your world?” Elise immediately made the connection.

“Sort of…” he explained. “Five Finger Mountain is a mountain in our world’s legend used to suppress the protagonist. It’s a very powerful thing. The protagonist was suppressed for a full five hundred years until a destined person came to rescue him. That’s how it is according to our legend. But strictly speaking, this big rock only has the shape of a mountain, but it can’t really be called a mountain…”

"Wait?" Sevi asked. "Are you referring to the kind of mountain that, if it actually appeared here, would flatten the entire duchy?"

"Yes, it means exactly what it says. It's just that it looks like this now."

"Thank goodness..."

What had initially seemed like a rather insignificant boulder to Savi suddenly transformed into a terrifying time bomb after hearing Li and Ning's words. Concerned, he checked with the two of them to confirm. They had barely made it to today; if they were to encounter another misfortune like this, Savi wouldn't be able to handle it.

"I guess this is probably the effect of the Divine Weapon List..." Ning thought for a moment and said, "That's the only way to put it."

"So what is this thing?! Tell me quickly!!!" Yan was so anxious that she was about to cry.

Seeing her like this, Li couldn't bear to tease her any longer: "Ning, is there a way to untie this?"

"Hmm~ Yes, there is~" Ning thought for a moment and said, "But I think it's not bad to keep her like this for now. At least it won't do any harm, and she can't go out and endanger others."

"Hey! What do you take us elves for?!" shouted Blazing Earth. "I'm not some monster! I'm not going to eat you! Why are you treating me like this?!"

"But you elves attacked my country, didn't you?"

"------!"

Alice's words instantly calmed Yan, his expression darkening. Li looked at Alice with concern; she was undoubtedly the most indignant about the elven attack, and among those present, she had the most authority to speak on the matter. Her question left Yan speechless. Li and Ning, who knew the situation, couldn't bear to see the atmosphere become so tense, so they intervened.

"Alright, alright," Li said with a smile, "Let's get down to business. We've actually spent quite a bit of time talking about things that aren't really helpful without realizing it."

“Alright…” Alice sighed, “Sorry for taking up so much time, let’s get down to business.”

Having successfully diverted attention, the assembled group temporarily set aside the High Elves and began their talks. The main topics of discussion, of course, revolved around the alliance and the external situation. Sevi listened to all these matters and made the right decision. Taking advantage of the fact that all the forces were now gathered together, they finalized the alliance through a pact.

Under the witness of the Time-Space Dragon King's Crest, Edman, Alice, Li, Savi, and Xuanze, who was awakened by Ning, representing the five different forces, swore an oath to the contract. The details were provided by Ning, and the other representatives also confirmed them. Only after all this was completed did the contract officially take effect.

"I'll leave things to you from now on," Sai said, extending his hand.

“Please take care of me.” Alice also extended her hand.

“Although our country has not yet been rebuilt, we will never forget this kindness.” Edman also extended his hand.

“zzzz…” Xuanze fell to the ground and fell asleep.

“Uh…” After thinking about what he should say, he stretched out his hand. “I don’t know what to say either… but we can definitely restore this world to its original state.”

Everyone smiled knowingly. They were survivors of a desperate battle with the kingdom; if they cooperated, restoring the world to its original state wouldn't be a big problem. Ning, standing to the side, glanced at Li, signaling with her eyes that it was about time Li spoke about that matter.

"Ahem..." Li coughed, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Well... actually, we encountered a bit of trouble on our journey, and it was quite serious, so I felt it was necessary to tell everyone about it."

"...Is there anything else?" Lihua was already feeling a bit tired.

“Go ahead and say it,” Alice said, listening attentively. “Since you’ve all put it this way, I think it’s necessary to hear your opinions.”

“Ah, me too,” Saivi agreed.

“Please tell us,” Edman said. “We’re already partners on the same side, so these things are meant to be resolved together, aren’t they?”

“Well… listen carefully… because it’s too complicated to explain, I’ll keep it simple.” Rie reorganized her thoughts. “The problems caused by Seric back then aren’t over yet. The damage from that day is severe enough to plunge this world into a state of slow death. The explosion that day—I only tried my best to prevent it from directly destroying the world—but its power was beyond our imagination. The core of the world’s abilities was damaged… the magic power supporting its operation overflowed onto the surface, causing a worldwide phenomenon of magical transformation. Because of the core damage and the overflowing magic power, it can no longer function properly to support this world. Therefore, in some border areas, the phenomenon of world collapse has already occurred…”

"—!? What?! Wait a minute!!! Has the Honkai already happened?!"

Upon hearing Li's explanation, Yan couldn't help but exclaim. Honkai? Although Li didn't know how to name the phenomenon, she felt she and Yan were thinking of the same thing, which confirmed to her one thing: the spirits did indeed know about Honkai, and knew it in great detail. Yan's shout was so loud that even Selection was startled awake.

“Yes,” Li nodded, “what I mean by the collapse of the world is that the world suddenly becomes a negative, then shatters into a large number of fragments that are sucked into the void. In such a place, almost everything we can use based on magic is ineffective; rather, it is nothingness.”

After hearing Li's explanation, the expressions of the unsuspecting crowd immediately turned serious. Even Xuanze, who had only heard a little of it, became solemn. If what Li said was really true, what were they supposed to do?

"...Since you've discussed this with us, it means there's a solution, right?" Alice was clever; she quickly understood what Li meant.

“…Yes,” Li said truthfully, “only the elves know this method.”

"An elf—?"

For a moment, everyone in the office focused their attention on the only elf present, especially Alice, whose expression was now quite complicated. Aside from Li and Ning, the others probably found it hard to accept this fact; their expressions clearly showed their skepticism.

With mixed feelings, she asked, "When did the kingdom get attacked back then...?"

"Perhaps it was done to save the world..." This sentence was almost forced out.

“Miss Li…” Edman said with some doubt, “Is what you said true? And how did you learn about these things? How can we confirm this with the elves…”

"Are you kidding me?! ...

A hysterical roar silenced the office. The one who shouted it was Yan, who was imprisoned under the Five Finger Mountain.

"You can argue all you want—but don't waste my time here!!"

The Five Finger Mountain gradually heated up, turning into a scorching crimson.

"The world has become like this!!! This is all your own doing!!! Just like the Dragon King said! We elves have a way to save the world! Believe it or not!! But now, please let me go right now!! I don't have time to play around with you little brats————!!"

This anger was genuine. Everyone here knew why Yan, who seemed so kind, would be so furious.

“Xuanze…” Li looked at Xuanze, “Could you please help me…”

“Untie the Five Finger Mountain, right?” Xuanze snapped his fingers.

The Five Finger Mountain turned into light and dissipated, freeing the dangerous high elf from her bonds, but no one at the scene was afraid of her anymore.

"Do you know...?" Li asked tentatively.

"Who do you think captured her?" Xuanze shrugged. "I already knew."

Chapter 17 Secrecy

"Don't rush off." Xuanze stopped Yan, who was about to leave.

"What are you doing?" Yan glared at him.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to lend you a hand." Xuanze pointed behind her.

Turning around, she saw that Saiwei and the others had apologetic expressions on their faces. At that moment, she realized that she had probably gone too far and hadn't really tried to communicate with them.

"I'm sorry..." Yan bowed his head first. "It was my lack of consideration. Although I can't speak for all elves, I want to apologize to that golden-haired princess here. Our actions back then killed many people. It was truly a last resort..."

“...Haa…” Alice sighed with a complicated expression. “I can’t forgive you so easily right now, but after hearing what Li said, I feel that there is a reason for everything this time, so let’s leave it at that for now…I will talk to you about the specifics later. Right now, we are facing the same thing.”

Alice wasn't the petty type. Many in the kingdom had indeed died that night, and the dead couldn't be brought back to life; dwelling on it wouldn't change anything. Rather than dwelling on the past, she needed to focus on the present. And with such a massive crisis threatening the world, she couldn't afford to prioritize only her country's interests.

If this world ends, their new kingdom of Alyas will hardly be spared.

However, in reality, Alice didn't want a complete falling out with the elves, because she had also considered another possibility: cooperation. Yes, cooperation with the elves, using their power to rebuild the new kingdom of Alyas. If she could get the elves' help, future development would definitely receive a powerful boost; they, like reason, are a new force.

Although Elise didn't intend to reveal her thoughts yet, she believed she needed to observe for a while longer. Moreover, Yan had just said that she represented herself personally and not all the elves. As a high elf, she couldn't speak on behalf of all the elves. In other words, there were beings of even higher status above her. Thinking about this, Elise felt an indescribable excitement.

She seemed to be able to understand the feelings of the book spirits.

She wanted to learn more about elves, and she wanted to know what the power of elves could bring to this world.

"Sorry~" Li said apologetically, "We knew these things but didn't tell you directly... We wanted to wait until you were mentally prepared before telling you. Also, it was unexpected that Xuanze would bring back a high-ranking elf, so we thought it would be better to take this opportunity to clear up this misunderstanding."

“Heh, I didn’t even expect this myself.” Xuanze shrugged and said, “At first I just wanted to bother the elves, but who knew this girl would come out on her own and pester us to discuss something with us, and want to come with us or something.”

As an Earthling, Xuanze's understanding of the other world was no less than Li's. Moreover, he had never seen such a routine before. This development was too sudden. Furthermore, he learned even more incredible things from Yan. He didn't even know where to begin complaining about this abnormal world.

The Demon King isn't a Demon King, the Hero isn't a Hero, and the protagonist isn't either—it's the slightly dim-witted treasure chest monster beside him. However, Xuanze had to admit that almost all the events revolved around this girl and her friends; that was the standard protagonist setup. Xuanze accepted this without question, especially since he wouldn't have minded such things in the first place.

He'd be happy to delegate troublesome tasks to others, and he'd be content with a peaceful life.

"Then, could you please explain this to us?" Ning asked to confirm, "How much do the elves actually know about this matter?"

"As far as I know, you certainly know much more about this than we do."

This is also the thing Ning is most concerned about. The information obtained by Li is unclear, so the goddess directly dumped this mess on the elves. According to what the goddess said, the elves had been in contact with matters related to the core for a long time. If that's the case, the elves should know these things better than anyone else. In that case, wouldn't it be more convenient to ask them about these details?

"Of course I will explain it to you, but..." Yan frowned, and said doubtfully, "Can you really help us?"

"Hey~~" Ning gave a noncommittal smile. "So, you mean you're worried about us?"

“Of course,” Yan said. “We elves have always been the guardians of the world’s core, dealing with the dense magic there year-round. I think you should know that this dense magic is a deadly poison to ordinary people. And if you want to repair the core, you must face this dangerous magic.”

Leaving aside Li and Ning, among those present, only the two of them are non-human; the rest are ordinary humans. They are completely helpless against the dense magic. According to Yan, their repair work also revolves around this magic, making it impossible for ordinary people to interfere. Although they said they would help the elves, putting it into practice will be extremely difficult.

"I have a way to solve the problem of magic."

Just as everyone was starting to lose heart, Alice suddenly said something surprising.

"...Do you have a way to solve this?" It took Yan a long time to realize what was going on.

“I’ve been preparing for this ever since I returned to the kingdom.” Elise smiled. “Because the surrounding environment is becoming increasingly demonized, I started preparing for this shortly after I took power. I thought that one day the whole world might become demonized, so I wanted to at least make something that could resist the demonization before that happens.”

"As expected of the owner of Sangu Workshop, he has great foresight..." Edman praised.

“No, it’s probably just a coincidence,” Elise said with a wry smile. “That thing is still being kept at the Sanko Workshop. We’ve confirmed that it can have a certain effect on large amounts of magic power, so it should be able to help us this time, barring any unforeseen circumstances.”

"Speaking of which, what is that?" Li asked.

“Yes, it’s a type of ore that can absorb magic,” Elise explained. “This ore is usually ground into powder and used in exorcism barriers. It’s also used to recast and make slave collars, but I have explicitly forbidden that kind of thing.”

"Wow... Well done."

Li immediately recalled some unpleasant memories. She had also worn that thing, but because she was imbued with various negative effects, she couldn't clearly feel the effects of the slave collar, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. After saying this, Alice used her Magic Eye to search for the raw materials of typical slave collars.

She quickly found the metal used to make slave collars: Hollow Iron. This was a magical metal, said to have been transformed from a monster yearning for magic, thus reacting intensely to it. When the magic accumulated within the metal reached a certain amount, it would transform into a high-grade metal: Magic Iron. It certainly seemed like a very convenient and environmentally friendly option.

However, in reality, transforming a piece of empty iron into magic iron is extremely difficult. Magic iron is the product of ordinary metal being bathed in magic power for a long time, while empty iron is actually an inferior metal. The amount of magic power required to transform it into the superior metal, magic iron, is beyond imagination. Unless someone like Ning forcibly injects magic power into empty iron, it would take several years.

That's why this thing was used on slave collars...

"Is it that kind of metal called 'empty iron'?" Li asked.

“Yes, that’s the metal.” Alice nodded.

"I see. Since it's that kind of metal, I think it should be fine. We can try it again later." Ning also felt there was no major problem.

The other three people present, who knew nothing about metal, didn't quite understand what they were talking about, but since they mentioned slave collars, and it was one of the materials used in slave collars, it should also have some effect on magic, so there shouldn't be any problem.

"Although I don't quite understand what you're talking about..." Yan asked again to confirm, "Are you really sure you want to do this?"

“Of course,” Xuanze smiled fearlessly, “I love meddling in other people’s business, how could such a small matter stop the Demon King?”

"Oh, right," Ning called out to her, "come here for a second."

"What's wrong?" Yan, caught off guard, followed Ning out of the room.

"Sorry," Li smiled apologetically and followed him out. "Savie, please use the room next door for a moment. We have some things to confirm."

"Uh...oh."

The three of them left the office and went into the next room, locking the door. Ning quickly set up the magic circle needed for their secret meeting, and Li even added a layer of power to isolate the room. Now, only the three of them were in the room, and they could talk about serious matters.

"What exactly are you two trying to do?" Yan frowned.

From the first time Yan met these two, she felt their behavior was different from others; to put it bluntly, it was special. Just by looking at them, she could feel an unusual aura emanating from them. Yan couldn't understand what they were up to.

"You know the goddess, right?" Li asked.

"Goddess?" Yan tilted his head. "Or rather, is there anyone who doesn't know her?"

“That’s not what I meant,” Li quickly said. “I meant that you elves should all have had contact with the goddess, right? She asked you to protect the core, didn’t she?”

"...? How did you know?" Yan asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Well, you might not believe it if I told you…” Li said with a wry smile, “I’m now the goddess’s agent… She also asked me to find you guys and help repair the core before the world collapses.”

"Hey~" Yan said with a hint of disbelief, "The goddess's agent?"