Exit Pursued by a Bruised Ego
Exit Pursued by a Bruised Ego
When the observer fired the signal flare to announce the battle's end, the guard forces who had been waiting outside soon entered the territory and began checking various things.
It was apparently to assess the damage and factor it into future tax collection. It wasn't something I needed to worry about, so I didn't pay much attention. With me, Count Mekelin's son, and the observer all sitting together, there were plenty of people listening even if I didn't.
"...Therefore. As a result of the legitimate duel, Eldmia Ega, this is the compensation the Mekelin family pays to you."
The pouch the somber-faced servants had brought from the castle and placed on the table was hefty. Since I'd watched the observer verify the contents one by one, I gave a short nod and tucked the pouch of jewels—my compensation—into my clothes. Whether he'd cried himself empty and reached some state of enlightenment or not, Count Mekelin's son, whose name I still didn't know, simply watched the whole process in silence with an utterly impassive face.
"From now on, the Mekelin family and territory will carry out no reprisal whatsoever, and this shall be guaranteed in the name of the Kaldar royal family."
Saying this, the observer also handed over a document stamped with the royal seal. Teeth, horn fragments, daggers, and now even a certificate to stuff into the pouch. In any case, I'd have no use for this, so it'd be better to store it separately once I return home.
"...May I ask one thing?"
Mekelin Junior, who had been watching me even as I folded and stowed it away, looked at me with lifeless eyes and spoke. Since this was effectively the first time he'd opened his mouth since sitting here, I nodded, curious what he'd say. After hesitating for a while, Junior slowly opened his mouth.
"If my father hadn't targeted you, I wonder if this would not have happened."
"It would have happened someday. In a far bigger form than this, actually."
"...Why do you think so?"
"Because you got involved in a business that preyed on elves."
'Unjust' enslavement was illegal, but slavery in this world was legal. The fact that the main commodity of the giant desert kingdom across the sea was slaves was a major factor, and they had not yet escaped the benefits that cheap slave labor provided. Though I was a reincarnated soul, I was undeniably a person of this world, so I had not the slightest intention of ignorantly criticizing the slave system and starting something like a slave liberation movement. That was a problem time would solve.
But elf slave traders were a different matter. From the moment Asilie appeared in my life, those bastards were nothing but monsters that had to die by my hand every time I saw them. Naturally, the ones profiting from or sponsoring them behind the scenes were the same. Since there was no need to explain all of that, I gave a suitable answer. Upon hearing my reply, a peculiar light began to flicker in Mekelin Junior's lifeless eyes.
"...Because it was a wrong thing to do?"
"No? It's more because my acquaintance is an elf, and that acquaintance was unjustly captured by slave traders once."
I gave an indifferent answer, thinking what an absurd misunderstanding this was, and the guy's eyes clouded over again. He even seemed a bit flustered.
"Th-That's the only reason? Not because it was a righteous act, or to punish a villain?"
This time it was my turn to be flustered. Because he'd been vaguely believing I had moved for such a trivial reason. I wondered if this guy might be blind, but since he had been moving around fine on his own this whole time, I unconsciously looked around at the bloodbath surroundings. Would a righteous bastard do this? The absurdity was so great that words slipped out without any filter.
"If there's a son of a bitch who commits this kind of massacre and then spouts justice, I'd say there's a lot wrong somewhere in a corner of his head."
Was this guy the type who'd grown up reading too many novels? Seeing a guy who was now going to inherit and run the territory acting like that was a bit dumbfounding, but I decided to give him my answer anyway.
"I absolutely hate it when harm comes to me or those around me. That's just the reason."
I respected kind and polite people, and I tried to live that way myself, but that was merely my conscience inherited from my past life and a learned habit. That didn't mean I disliked it, either; I simply believed people should live that way, so I only intended to keep practicing it. Righteousness or evil was a meaningless standard. What mattered was whether it was shitty or not.
With Mekelin Junior looking at me with a dazed expression and no further questions coming from his mouth, I shrugged lightly and stood up. I had no intention of threatening or warning Mekelin Junior. Causing this mess had already been enough. If here, that bastard's eyes turned crazy and he ignored even the royal family to target me, I could just pile on an appropriate price once more. Now it was time to set out on the journey again with Cellevian's group.
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When Eldmia charged at the territory's castle wall, Cellevian had the reasonable suspicion that the human he'd thought was sane might actually be a tremendous lunatic. Even when Asilie had attacked the three elf hunter brothers' camp alone, it hadn't been like this. The valor he'd shown was definitely remarkable, but even so, a duel between one person and a territory was the kind of combination that would make even a braggart storyteller laugh hollowly and shake his head. That was why, when he suddenly scaled the wall in an instant, climbed over, and disappeared beyond it, he thought either his eyes were wrong or something had gone strange with the world. The nearby comrades and the prisoner Ozweol also had the same reaction.
It was impossible to know whether Eldmia, who had unilaterally broken through the territory's greatest advantage in an unimaginable way, was fine or not, but given that the duel-end signal flare the Kingdom of Kaldar observer I'd briefly encountered yesterday hadn't been fired, it was certain he was alive. From then on, Cellevian let out a deep sigh and reevaluated Asilie. Even if he hadn't seen it directly, her personality clearly hadn't gone anywhere. Seeing that she had taken such a reckless person as her companion, the old saying that birds of a feather flock together wasn't wrong at all.
"Even if I encountered Mr. Ega barehanded in the forest, I don't think I could win, Squad Leader."
The squad members, who could not share such personal feelings, simply marveled at Eldmia's martial prowess and clicked their tongues. They too were skilled raiders who had stood at the vanguard in the fight against the elf hunters, but still, comparing them to a human who picked a fight with a city was a stretch. Perhaps because they had accompanied him for a short while and seen what he'd shown, surprisingly, no voice of concern for his death came out. Realizing this belatedly, Cellevian noticed that he, just like them, had not been thinking Eldmia might die, though he might return heavily injured, and let out a hollow laugh.
At the same time, a streak of light shot into the sky in the distance. It was the signal flare the observer had mentioned.
"...It's over."
Seeing the royal men who had been waiting outside heading into the territory confirmed it. Some of them approached Cellevian and requested the handover of Ozweol, and as he had heard from Eldmia, he gave Ozweol a bit of money before handing him over to the royal men. Ozweol, who had been threatened with his life, taken prisoner, forced under threat to write a document, and then received payment for that labor, disappeared into the territory with the royal men, wearing a world-weary, complicated expression. And before long, Eldmia Ega walked out of the city.
"...He's fine."
"...He really is fine."
Compared to before he entered the city, he had indeed gotten dirtied with blood and dust. His face also showed slight signs of fatigue, and he even yawned deeply as if truly tired, but it was clear he had no trouble walking. With the long axe handle draped across his neck like a laundry pole and both hands resting on it, Eldmia came trudging along, looking more like a woodcutter returning from chopping wood than someone who had fought a territory. Even seeing it, it was unbelievable. He had truly won a duel against a territory and returned alive with all his limbs intact.
"Really, Asilie... she's traveling with an incredible human."
At the fact that they had indirectly witnessed a major event that would leave a great mark on the history of the western kingdoms, the elves all burst into hollow laughter without anyone leading. So that human was going to marry Asilie later?
"If Miss Asilie just asks that guy, wouldn't that wipe out every last hunter bastard in the north?"
"It's amazing that such an absurd story feels realistic now."
At Eldmia's nonchalant attitude as he met his eyes from afar and lightly waved, Cellevian finally burst out laughing. Just the fact that he no longer had to tell Asilie that her future companion had dueled a territory and died was enough for him to laugh with relief.
"You look tired. How was the Mekelin territory?"
When the distance closed somewhat and he asked lightly, Eldmia briefly stopped walking, rolled his eyes, and thought. It wasn't a long time, but Cellevian and the elves were curious how he would evaluate that city. Would he say it was strong and show respect? Or would he sneer, saying it was pathetic? After a brief moment of thought, Eldmia gave a slight shrug and answered as if it was no big deal.
"That place sure was proud."