Chapter 134: Stepping into the Light - 6
Chapter 134: Stepping into the Light - 6
Morning.
They ended up going at it two more times.
Jiha lay beside Asira in bed.
"......."
"......."
They opened their eyes to the sound of birds, and their gazes met.
Asira didn't know what to say.
Last night, she hadn't just stopped being a virgin. She'd kissed Jiha through the night and used her hands on him.
Under his gaze, she flushed as if the full realization had only just struck her.
When Jiha stroked her forehead, she tensed up.
"......."
Jiha chuckled, withdrew his hand, and got up.
"I have things to do today, so I've got to head out. You should rest for a few days. It must have been rough for you in more ways than one."
"Mm."
"Tell Lijin if you need anything."
*Peck.*
As he got up, Jiha kissed Asira on the forehead.
After spending the night kissing her so deeply and obscenely, now he was playing innocent and acting friendly.
Dumbfounded, Asira touched her forehead.
At that, Jiha poked the exact spot he'd just kissed with his index finger and grinned.
"......."
Small touches and teasing could sometimes strike a chord between a man and a woman.
Hearing her flustered groans, Jiha said pointedly.
"Tell me to go safely."
"......Huh?"
"I'm asking you to see me off."
At Jiha's words, Asira hesitated before speaking.
"......Be careful."
"No goodbye kiss?"
"......."
"It's a joke, don't be scared."
Of course, Asira wasn't scared, just flustered.
Jiha playfully pressed her forehead once more, then pulled his hand away.
Asira wore a blank expression.
She had seen Jiha ruthlessly cut down enemies, and she'd seen the male pressing in on her like a beast starved for lust, but she'd never imagined him acting this familiar and playful.
But this was hardly difficult for Jiha.
He was a savage out there, but alone with his woman, he dropped the act.
Women were always weak to this kind of thing.
As Jiha gathered his clothes and dressed, he felt eyes on him.
Sitting up in bed, Asira was staring at him vacantly.
Still looking dazed.
On the battlefield she was a swift knight, and to Yura she was a kind yet firm protector, but alone with a man in bed, she was just a naive girl.
"I'm going. See you later."
"......."
"You're supposed to answer."
"Ah, o-okay."
Asira just nodded dazedly.
With a face lost in a dream.
Gazing at Jiha with empty eyes.
Like a girl who had fallen in love for the first time.
In the afternoon, after handling some minor tasks, Jiha walked the streets with Enril.
As they walked down a deserted alley, Enril, who had followed silently, abruptly asked.
"Are we going to the Pleasure District?"
Enril hadn't been told their destination.
The blatant contempt she'd received from the lower classes while following Iroha to the Pleasure District seemed to be a deeply unpleasant memory for her.
Knowing that, Jiha teased her mischievously.
"You don't like it?"
"......I can't help it if we must go."
Enril's face showed reluctance.
She meant she would endure it, if it was Jiha's will, even if she hated it.
She no longer defied him but followed him.
Since they had time to kill, Jiha deliberately turned on the charm.
"Why would I look for a random woman on the street when I've got you?"
"......."
Enril stared at him, dumbfounded.
The sudden cheesy line left her at a loss for words.
"......Stop teasing me."
It seemed Enril thought Jiha was just dodging the question.
Jiha thought for a moment and then stopped walking.
Enril, who had reflexively stopped too, looked at him quizzically.
"Are you about ready to answer me now?"
"......."
At the sudden question, Enril's face stiffened.
It was a follow-up to their earlier exchange about Jiha's true goals.
Enril had already figured out, to some degree, that Jiha wasn't simply trying to climb the grades.
Even without knowing the concrete methods, she knew he was preparing a grander scheme—a plan to overturn the existing world.
And Jiha knew that Enril was starting to catch on.
'She knows too much.......'
He had taken in Yura and Leticia, killed Kamain, and dealt with the elves.
Now he'd boiled Asira down to submission too.
Even if Enril didn't know every winding detail of these events, she had been watching Jiha from the very beginning.
"......What happens if I refuse?"
Enril asked, extremely tense.
Jiha answered calmly.
"I'd rather you didn't."
"......."
Anyone who went against Jiha's plans, no matter who it was, would have to be dealt with.
She hesitated for a long time before shaking her head.
"......This isn't something I can decide on my own."
"Then?"
Jiha asked lightly, and Enril answered heavily.
"If the safety of the entire dark elf tribe and Her Majesty the Queen is guaranteed."
"You know that's an unreasonable request, right?"
Jiha's path would spill blood.
Wishing that only the enemy's blood would be spilled was an excessive hope.
"I know. I know, but... I can't yield on this."
"How about the opposite? If you don't fall in line, I kill every last dark elf?"
At Jiha's words, Enril's face went pale.
She reflexively grabbed the sword at her waist before barely letting go.
"......That's a joke, right?"
"No."
Jiha stated it flatly.
He had killed elves, so there was no reason he couldn't kill dark elves.
"You've seen what I've done so far. You should know. To me, there are only enemies or allies. I've never left anyone neutral. Enemies are eliminated, and allies are protected as much as possible."
"......."
"I get that you cherish your own kind...."
Jiha calmly reached out his hand.
As his hand approached, Enril reflexively tried to step back, then barely held still.
Staring straight into her blue eyes as she tried to hide her agitation, Jiha spoke in a low voice.
"Don't try to bargain with me. Just decide which side you're on."
Jiha grabbed her chin so she couldn't avert her eyes.
The man's fingers stroked her chin as if soothing her.
It was a touch used to tame a pet, but instead of anger, it made Enril afraid.
She couldn't be sure his hand would stop there.
"W-wait a moment...."
Out here on the street? In broad daylight?
Didn't Enril know better than anyone that nothing Jiha did would surprise her?
When Enril flinched and turned her head away in fear, his fingers followed, tickling her lightly.
"N-no, not here. Someone might walk by...."
"Should we find an inn, then?"
Jiha, who had come out with a purpose, had no such intention, but realizing Enril's misunderstanding, he teased her.
"That's...."
Enril hesitated briefly, then shook her head.
If Jiha and Enril shared a room at an inn in Waris, rumors would spread instantly.
"Then shall we do it right here?"
"......."
Even if there were few people around, right here in broad daylight?
It was absurd, but having experienced it with Jiha, part of her felt it could actually happen.
Thinking she had to give a reply that would satisfy Jiha, Enril spoke hastily.
"......At my house would be fine."
"I thought you didn't like me coming over?"
When Jiha reacted with exaggerated surprise, Enril suddenly looked irritated.
"You just left without a word last time."
"......."
"Ah...."
It was an emotional reaction, and Enril seemed to think she'd made a slip of the tongue, quickly covering her mouth.
Jiha was surprised too, but he laughed.
"Were you upset I left without sleeping with you that night?"
"N-no...."
"Is that so? I was planning to drop by tonight, but I guess I'll pass."
"......Ah."
Enril's face briefly flickered with disappointment.
When Jiha watched her with a grin, Enril forced herself to speak, haughtily.
"......If you have nowhere to sleep, I don't mind if you come."
"Hmm."
Jiha deliberately drew out his response before letting go of her chin and stepping back.
Enril stared at Jiha with a complicated expression.
Dropping the teasing act, Jiha deadpanned.
"If your kin are that precious to you, think about which side is more advantageous for you to join."
"......."
"For your sake, I can consider the dark elves, to a certain extent."
The carrot after the whip.
Enril was dazed by Jiha's deft combination.
"Let's go."
Jiha left Enril standing there and strode ahead.
'If she hesitates to join me for the sake of her kin, reverse it and pressure her that joining me is the only way to save them.'
Enril herself was already following Jiha.
But she took pride in being a dark elf, and this pride alone hadn't broken, even as she submitted to him.
'Breaking it is one method. But leaving it alone and using it works just as well.'
If things went smoothly, the dark elves would willingly come under Jiha's banner.
Unlike Leticia, Enril had significant influence among the dark elves.
If you could grab the whole pumpkin and the vine together, shouldn't you give it a tug?
As Jiha strode on with a grin, Enril's footsteps fell in behind him, as if it were the most natural thing to follow his path.
Blue Seal and Purple Liberation, who dominated Waris, didn't exactly draw clear territorial lines to rule them.
There were no clauses stating that a certain area was enemy territory and shouldn't be entered.
But there were unspoken rules.
"......Jiha."
Enril, who had been following silently, called out in a fed-up voice.
"This is...."
The place Jiha had brought Enril to was the elf residential district in Waris.
Young elves could be seen climbing and leaping across the trees lining the streets.
Passersby, street stalls, even housewives airing laundry—it was all elves.
They all stared curiously at the sight of a dark elf and a human.
Children, finding Enril fascinating, toddled after her.
"Miss, why is your skin so black?"
"Miss, are you really an elf?"
"......."
Enril kept her mouth shut and quickened her pace.
Even with her loathing for elves, she found it hard to be harsh toward children.
Walking beside Jiha, Enril asked quietly.
"What on earth are you planning...."
She'd follow without complaint if it was Jiha's doing, but the current situation was beyond her imagination.
Elves and dark elves had a historically bad relationship.
They were the same race? Yet during the Thousand-Year War, they were even fiercer, intent on killing each other on sight.
As a Unique, she wasn't in any personal danger, but violence could escalate politically.
"What, a human?"
"A human?"
Humans were outright treated as an inferior species.
"......Why are a dark elf and a human here?"
The deeper Enril and Jiha went, the more hostile the elves' mood became.
Perhaps alerted by the news, a young elf with a club hanging at his belt blocked Jiha's path.
He was Normal Grade.
"Hold it, stop. I don't know what business you have...."
*Whack!*
Without even listening, Jiha just threw a punch.
He kept walking without even glancing at the young man who'd been sent flying in one hit.
The elves watching stared, mouths wide open, and started murmuring.
"W-what the?"
"Did you see that just now?"
"Where is he going?"
Forget that Jiha was a human—he'd subdued a Self-Defense Force member far too easily.
Elves' group psychology was much the same as anyone else's. Curious about Jiha's identity and purpose, they gradually trailed behind him.
Having heard the news, three members of the Self-Defense Force blocked Jiha's way.
"St...."
*Whack! Whack! Whack!*
Jiha disposed of them as easily as twisting a child's wrist and kept walking.
The spectators who had figured out what lay ahead were horrified.
"U-uh...."
"I-isn't that the Round Table Council Hall?"
Jiha, with Enril in tow, entered the Round Table Council Hall where elves gathered for important decisions.
Inside the clearing surrounded by trees stood a round table made of oak.
Seated in the chairs before it were all elves: seven men and one woman.
Jiha waved at the familiar face, the blonde beauty.
"I'm here."
"You came...."
Leticia, who had looked back with eager delight, reflexively frowned upon seeing Enril.
Enril, who had been anxiously tailing Jiha's actions, also looked deeply displeased at the sight of Leticia.
Meanwhile, the seven men who had been spouting passionate words at Leticia looked flabbergasted at the sight of Jiha, Enril, and the trailing elves.
"What in the world is the meaning of...."
Ignoring the men entirely, Jiha pulled out a chair at the round table and sat down.
Not only the spectators, but the seven men also gaped.
"What is this, human?"
"Are you crazy?!"
"This round table is a sacred place where only elves may sit! How dare a lowly human set foot here?"
"What the hell is the Self-Defense Force doing, not stopping this mad human?"
After each getting a word in, the men all looked at Leticia.
The Unique, the strongest present, Leticia, was being asked to deal with this human.
The onlookers also fixed their gaze on her, naturally expecting Leticia to subdue Jiha.
"Ugh...."
Under the barrage of elven stares, Leticia broke into a cold sweat inwardly.
She'd heard Jiha was coming, but she'd never dreamed he'd show up like this, let alone bring Enril along.
Resting his chin on his hand and watching the situation unfold, Jiha tsked.
"All that bluster, and all you do is push it onto a woman? If you don't like me, why don't you pricks just take me on yourselves?"
"This son of a bitch...."
"Know that you won't leave here alive today."
The male elves attending the meeting rose to their feet and rolled up their sleeves.
Jiha sneered.
"Is this a flex-off now? You lining up to jump me in order of who's got the thickest arms?"
To Jiha, who had waded through seas of blood, deception, and murder, their posturing was child's play.
"This...."
As the male elf who appeared to be the eldest started to speak, Jiha nodded.
At the same time, he drove his raised heel down onto the round table.
*Craaack!*
A low, long impact echoed... and a crack shot across the round table before it crumbled into a heap.
"Wh...."
The watching elves were all struck speechless, their mouths agape.
The male elves who had been about to lunge at Jiha also froze, unable to move.
This oak round table had been sent by the Elf Council. It was a priceless heirloom used for centuries among the elves residing in Waris.
And some human had just up and smashed it to pieces!
Even Leticia, who knew Jiha well, could only blink in utter disbelief. How much greater, then, was the shock for the other elves?
As the crowd of over a hundred elves fell silent, Jiha spoke calmly.
"Breaking the wood is a one-time thing. The next thing that gets cracked will be the skull of the next bastard who steps out of line."
It was a warning to think before acting.