Chapter 30: Expanding Power - 2
Chapter 30: Expanding Power - 2
The elf Unique had been singled out.
Leticia stared at him in disbelief before letting out a hollow laugh.
"Haha... Pamin, did my ears just fail me? Or did this human's language comprehension collapse during summoning?"
"That's..."
Pamin wore a complicated expression, then shook his head.
"I apologize, Lady Leticia. Would you please withdraw? I will handle the negotiations with this human personally."
"No, no... Now that it's come to this, I'll have to rip this lunatic's throat out. Let him keep running his mouth."
Leticia gave a slight nod and glared at Jiha.
"Even a lowly human deserves time for last words."
"Did I say something wrong? Why so prickly?"
Jiha's feigned innocence made Pamin speak up in dismay.
"Sir Jiha, have you no intention of negotiating? Lady Leticia is a high elf, a young lady of a family qualified to attend the Elf Council. She is also a Unique Grade key figure in charge of Purple Liberation's political affairs."
"Oh, was she?"
Jiha widened his eyes in mock surprise, and Pamin nodded.
"Yes, and to speak so outrageously to such a person..."
"Ah, I didn't know. That's on me."
Jiha sneered.
"I wasn't too familiar with Warsland's ways, so I'm just learning how grand elves are. Do I need to remember that going forward?"
"..."
Leticia looked like she'd bitten into a bug.
Even a three-year-old could tell Jiha was blatantly mocking her.
As the two elves stood uncertain how to respond, Jiha's smile vanished.
"If you want to enslave others, fairness dictates you risk becoming a slave yourself."
"Excuse me? That's..."
"This generous offer you brought boils down to making me your slave, doesn't it? Am I wrong?"
"..."
Commons were the lowest class in Warsland, with no freedom of residence or occupation.
Jiha tossed back his drink.
"If I lose, I'll be your slave. But if I win, that bitch becomes mine."
"You're utterly insane..."
Leticia looked so flabbergasted she'd gone limp.
Jiha spoke calmly.
"Warsland runs on survival of the fittest, right? Seems like a perfectly reasonable proposal."
"...I can endure this no longer."
Pamin, who'd been trying to keep the conversation afloat, hardened his expression.
"If you're so intent on picking a fight, I'll face you as a man. Step outside."
"I'm talking to the woman. Why are you butting in?"
Jiha tilted his head with a puzzled look.
Pamin said, his expression grim,
"As Lady Leticia's fiancé, I can't tolerate such insolent insults any further."
Jiha looked between Leticia and Pamin with exaggerated shock.
"Oh, were you now? You two are a thing? Didn't seem like a matching pair, so I never noticed."
"..."
Leticia frowned ambiguously.
"Fine. Shall we settle this between men, then?"
As Jiha rose, Pamin turned his back to leave.
Turning your back on an enemy—is he an idiot?
Jiha snatched a bottle and smashed it into the back of Pamin's head without hesitation.
Crash!
The bottle shattered, and Pamin reeled.
As Pamin turned, stumbling, Jiha let out a theatrical sigh of admiration.
"Whoa, still conscious after one hit?"
"D-dishonorable..."
Pamin tried to muster his Mana, but Jiha threw a straight punch.
Crack!
"Gaah!"
With the sound of his nose breaking, Pamin clutched his face and collapsed.
"Fists are faster than Mana."
Pamin writhed in agony, unable to move.
In raw physical terms, elves were no different from humans.
No—Jiha, hardened by rough living, had better physical specs than Pamin.
Add the element of surprise, and Jiha's dominance was inevitable.
So even a Rare Grade is about this level...
Truthfully, in a head-on fight where Mana was fully mobilized, Jiha wouldn't have overwhelmed him so easily.
High-grade combat in Warsland was fundamentally built on channeling Mana even into hand-to-hand fighting.
But reinforcing the body with Mana came with a slight activation delay.
Calculating that elven bodies were essentially human, Jiha had broken his nose with a clean punch.
"..."
As Pamin slumped, Leticia looked genuinely surprised.
But, just as Jiha had guessed, she didn't intervene.
If she'd intended to, she wouldn't have left Pamin at Rare Grade in the first place.
"Alright, can I talk to you now?"
"What a thoroughly absurd human..."
Leticia nodded as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"I figured any creature rolling under a fallen dark elf would be filthy, but you surpass expectations. Crude, rude, violent, and with no sense of rank."
"Yeah?"
Jiha smiled.
He'd gotten something out of Leticia's words.
If this were a simple recruitment, she could've sent underlings. Why come see me in person?... It's the dark elf Enril. Bad blood between them? The way she talks, she's definitely aware of her.
"At any rate, I'll be filing a formal protest with Blue Seal on this matter. The crime of a lowly Common daring to use violence against a higher grade—surely you don't think this can be overlooked?"
Leticia smiled cruelly.
It was the gaze of someone looking down at a pitiful pig about to be slaughtered.
But Jiha was no pig in a pen. He was a wolf of the wilds, a beast baring its teeth to devour the world.
Jiha shrugged.
"Oh? Let's hear what the man involved thinks."
"L-Lady Leticia..."
Pamin, still clutching his nose on the floor, forced the words out.
"P-please stop. This matter will not be made public."
"What? What do you mean?"
Leticia looked incredulous, and Jiha laughed.
This woman doesn't understand men at all.
He'd stepped up for his fiancée's honor and gotten brutally beaten for it—right in front of her.
If word of that spread, as a man, Pamin might as well be dead.
Even in a world of female dominance, male thinking wasn't so different from what Jiha knew.
They just hid it in front of strong women.
"Pamin, if we publicize this insolent Common's disregard for rank and rampage, we can extract an official apology from Blue Seal. We can also press charges against his supervisor, Woniak. Naturally..."
Thud!
Jiha calmly kicked Pamin in the stomach.
Pamin, unable to brace himself, rolled across the floor with a groan.
Jiha spoke evenly.
"Guys throw punches sometimes. That's how they get close, drink it off together, right?"
"...Ugh."
"Am I wrong? Don't feel like answering?"
Jiha prodded him with his foot, and Pamin nodded in humiliation.
Leticia looked like she couldn't comprehend how things had taken this turn.
"I suspected as much, but talking with a lowly human is pointless. I'll speak with your supervisor, Woniak."
"So you absolutely won't deal with me?"
"Such an absurd proposal..."
"Scared, maybe?"
Jiha taunted her, and Leticia's eyebrow twitched.
"Is Unique Grade high elf Lady Leticia Yormun too frightened of a lowly human to accept a wager?"
"...Fine."
Leticia spat out the word, murder in her eyes.
"But if I win, I will absolutely tear you apart alive. Come at me if you're prepared for that."
"I'm getting the short end of the stick, but I'll let it slide since it's our first deal. A wager needs a witness, right? Enril will do."
"...Fine. Good. I have some pointed questions about just how she trained her slave."
Leticia rose abruptly, radiating displeasure.
"I'll visit soon. Prepare your last words."
"If you're going to be my slave, arrive with body and mind spotless."
Jiha shot back. Leticia ground her teeth and strode out of the room.
"Don't just sit there. Follow, Pamin."
"..."
Pamin staggered to his feet and trailed after Leticia.
Garaon, who'd been watching without touching the food, asked with concern.
"...Chief, are you sure about this?"
"You think I'll lose?"
"No, it's just..."
Garaon trailed off.
A Purple Unique would be undeniably powerful.
"I haven't even decided what kind of wager this is yet."
"Think that'll fly?"
Jiha shook his head.
"That was just me talking... It won't. Women who only understand strength have to be broken with strength. The question is what kind of strength."
Establishing the hierarchy firmly would suffice.
As Jiha was gathering his thoughts, Uben entered.
From his expression, he'd passed the elves on the way in.
"...Something major must have happened."
"I'm going to smash that elf bitch."
Jiha explained why he'd steered events this way.
"Once I do, Purple's Commons will fall in line obediently. And to swallow this city, I need intel on Purple's upper ranks and their movements. Having a Purple executive who submits to me seemed necessary—worked out nicely."
"I understand the intent, but... isn't it dangerous?"
Even if Jiha had that design, Leticia was a Unique.
"I trust you've thought this through, Chief, but Leticia Yormun isn't someone to underestimate. She's rated as possessing exceptional fist and foot techniques even among elves..."
"Her kicks were fierce, I'll give her that. She'd do well running a taekwondo dojang."
The two subordinates blinked at Jiha's words, which they couldn't understand.
"I'm not taking this lightly either. Uben, investigate that man, Pamin."
"The male?"
Both looked confused.
"I'll look into him too, but you dig up everything you can."
Uben nodded, though Jiha didn't explain the reason.
I only realized they were in a relationship after hearing it...
Close men and women inevitably had different glances and attitudes toward one another.
Even if Pamin's extreme deference was due to personality and grade difference, the atmosphere was all wrong.
The man was rolling on the floor after a beating, and she didn't even flinch...
They were supposedly engaged, but the vibe was anything but.
The man was unilaterally walking on eggshells, groveling to appease her, while the woman treated it as her due.
"It's usable."
Jiha had been steadily building his strength, but he still needed more time to overwhelm a Unique Grade head-on.
Even if he could win by going all-out, there was no need to show his full hand.
If he set the stage right, he could win with minimal effort.
"To capture the king, you have to sacrifice the chariot and the cannon."
"Huh?"
Jiha didn't elaborate, issuing specific orders instead.
"Investigate Pamin's past, how his relationship with Leticia looks from the outside, the family dynamics, and whether he makes any special moves after today. Do it without pause."
"Understood. Then..."
"You came all this way, so eat and drink."
After the beating Leticia gave them, there was no need to check on Purple's Commons right now.
Once Leticia was dealt with, Purple's Commons would submit to Jiha on their own.
"Oh, Chief, the tavern owner wants to treat us."
"For stopping a Unique from wrecking the place?"
"Yes."
"So tonight's drinks are free."
Jiha nodded.
"Might as well go big. Call all my people."
No reason to turn down a free company dinner.
It was time to let his people cut loose.