Chapter 64: King of Slaves
Chapter 64: King of Slaves
After receiving the message, Jiha returned to the barracks at once.
He needed to meet the informant, but first Jiha received a situation report from Uben in the mess hall.
They were alone.
"We haven't told the others yet. No telling where the information might leak."
"What's the enemy's scale?"
Galak's faction numbered thirty in the meeting room, but there could be more.
"Around thirty. Nine of them are Rare Grade."
"Not many, then."
"But it's too much for our people alone. And if we give them time, they could grow."
Nine Rare Grades and twenty-one Commons—greater numbers didn't guarantee victory.
"They won't all come rushing into the barracks. If I'm away, they'll split their forces to send after me."
After all, Galak absolutely had to kill Jiha.
"True, but if it comes to a clash, we'll take casualties too."
"They'll give up on buying Mana weapons now. The warning must've scared them off."
Jiha hadn't threatened Galak for nothing.
If the elves brought Mana weapons to the fight, the Commons' losses would be high.
"Even so, the Rare Grades will be tough."
"Then we set traps."
Jiha laid out the details.
"The point of storming the barracks is to kill Deubang in the detention cell. When the elves rush in, don't fight them head-on. Encircle them."
"That means we'll need ranged weapons, then."
"Get them as quietly as you can."
Jiha had sized up the elves' impulsiveness perfectly.
"They won't want to stay long inside the barracks, so they'll be in a hurry. Kill Deubang, get back safely, and be hailed as heroes by their own camp. Avenge one of their own and they'll be recognized as a replacement for Pamin."
A reckless act driven by young blood—the hero complex was obvious.
"If they come charging in and cause chaos first, we'll have justification. If it comes to it, we can kill them all."
"Understood. Then we won't inform the Unique?"
"......."
Jiha sank into thought for a moment.
Should he tell Enril or Yura in advance and have them deal with it?
"No. If a Unique is at the barracks, not even idiots would attack. We'll respond after the fact. Have three fast Commons on standby. The instant the elves break in, send them straight to Enril."
"Why three?"
"The elves can't be that stupid. They might post lookouts to keep anyone from leaving the barracks. If three go at once in different directions, they won't be able to stop them all."
"All this information we've gotten so far—did the informant give it to you?"
Uben nodded.
"We cross-checked. It's reliable. We don't know who they are, but they said they need to see you, Chief, face to face."
"Fine, then I'll meet them......"
Jiha started to rise and stopped.
"Enril's still at the barracks, isn't she?"
"Yes, she should be here, but......"
"......."
It was slightly past quitting time.
Jiha considered briefly, then spoke.
"Uben, you go to Enril and tell her she can leave for the day. And tell her to go about business as usual for a while."
"......Me, sir?"
"Has to be you. Explain enough, and drop my name. If you don't know what to say, fudge it."
"......."
Uben looked pained.
He didn't know the nature of Jiha and Enril's relationship, but Enril was a Unique.
For a Common like Uben, the gap in rank meant he wouldn't normally dare broach even a word.
Still, Jiha had a reason. He always did.
There had to be a design behind sending Uben, specifically, to deliver the message.
"Understood. I'll have Okram guide you."
Uben bowed his head and withdrew.
Jiha coolly organized his thoughts.
'Enril will probably want to see me in person. She'll be curious how I resolved things, and also...... she'll have some personal feelings to sort out.'
She'd been the one who climbed on top of him earlier, hadn't she?
Right now, Enril's emotions would be in turmoil inside.
And she'd want to see Jiha to untangle it all.
A typical woman wants reassurance from the man, wants things made definite.
'But for now, it's better to keep Enril in ambiguity. Even if I leave her to agonize and fret over me, Enril is cold-headed enough that she won't do anything rash. And Uben will understand my intent and explain it well.'
Enril was wavering, unable to find her emotional footing on her own.
Jiha planned to make good use of that, too.
For a more certain victory.
Following Okram's guidance, Jiha headed for the library.
The library was the least-trafficked place in the barracks—ideal for a secret meeting.
As if by prior arrangement, even the librarian Bisel was absent.
"I'll be waiting outside. Call if anything happens."
"Right......"
Jiha only nodded at Okram's stiff but loyal manner.
Not acting like old times even when they were alone was Okram's own self-restraint.
Gain one thing, lose another.
Jiha had become the commander of the Commons, but he'd lost the ability to have Common friends.
Once inside, a seated figure caught his eye.
A slender frame—likely a woman, her face hidden beneath a hood pulled low.
"You're the one who brought the information?"
As Jiha approached, the woman lowered her hood.
At the beautiful features and the pointed ears, Jiha offered a flat assessment.
"An elf, of course."
"......How did you know?"
"Someone this intimately informed is likely an insider."
Jiha looked at her sideways.
"So what you want from me is murder by proxy? Wipe out Galak's gang in your place?"
"You don't hold back the nasty talk, human."
"Then speak up, female."
"......."
The elf woman looked appalled, and Jiha grinned.
"You were talking to me like I'm a beast. I just returned the favor."
"I'd heard stories, but you really do...... have a filthy mouth, human."
"I get that compliment a lot. What's your name?"
When the elf hesitated, Jiha shook his head.
"You've shown your face, so hiding it now is meaningless."
"......I'm Jadrun, of the Hashar family."
Jiha gazed at her—Jadrun Hashar—in silence, tapping the table slowly with his fingertips.
Tap, tap.
When Jiha said nothing, Jadrun spoke rapidly.
"The young elves are rallying behind Damod Galak. Lady Leticia, who should be reining them in, is standing idle. The situation is spiraling out of control."
"Hard to believe."
He'd already confirmed it through cross-checking, but Jiha pretended otherwise.
Jadrun took that as suspicion and bristled.
"This isn't something that started just yesterday. Ever since the elves were killed by the Commons on this side, it's been a constant refrain. Today it suddenly gained momentum."
Meaning the elves Jiha had humiliated in the meeting room had all swung furiously into the pro-war camp.
"There was a plan to buy Mana weapons in bulk and move, but they've abandoned that. Still, the raid itself is going ahead as planned. I managed to delay them from attacking tonight, but I can't hold them much longer."
"Oh, how very kind of you to hold back the people trying to kill us. Since you were feeling generous, why not just kill them all for us?"
"......The elves have three targets. You, the kobold Deubang hidden here in the barracks, and the half-elf who attended today's meeting."
When Jadrun finished, Jiha asked quietly.
"Why betray your own kind?"
"It's not betrayal. I'm doing this out of consideration for my kind's future. This plan is far too reckless. Even if it succeeds, tensions between the two camps will flare, and the elves will have to take responsibility."
"So you'll leak us the information in advance, and we deal with it ourselves?"
"Report it to the Unique Grade dark elf. Then the higher-ups will negotiate a compromise on their own."
That wouldn't do at all.
Seeing Jiha only watch her with a crooked look, Jadrun grew anxious.
"Hurry up and move. Time is short."
"Do any other elves agree with you?"
"......The majority are men. They won't listen to me."
"I thought Warsland was a female-dominant society?"
Jadrun shook her head.
"That's a relatively recent social trend. Elves, who live long lives in a closed society, cling to tradition. In practice, even Lady Leticia, who is Unique Grade, can't suppress Damod, who is nothing more than a Rare Grade. He may be lacking in martial strength, but he's a member of a family with a seat on the Council, and he's a man. If you confine the scope to elf society alone, Lady Leticia's influence is rather weak."
Warsland had become a female-dominant society over the course of several hundred years.
But that hadn't been enough to change the closed society of elves who lived for a millennium.
Jiha chuckled.
"Now, move quickly, human."
"Wait."
An informant who'd come to him freely with top-secret information was right in front of him.
He fully intended to make excellent use of her.
"If I tell Enril about this, what happens?"
"Before armed conflict breaks out, the two camps would reach a dramatic compromise......"
"Knowing Enril, she'd pretend not to notice, and the moment the barracks were attacked, she'd rush over and butcher every last one of them."
Jadrun's face hardened.
Elves and dark elves were hostile to each other, and if the elves stormed the barracks, they'd have no right to complain about getting killed.
"We're so scared of an elf raid that we'd compromise with elves? How arrogant can you be? Even if a mob of you comes swarming in, Enril on her own could handle the lot of you. So why should we compromise with elves we detest?"
"......."
Jadrun looked as though she was struggling for a rebuttal, but no words came out.
Reluctantly, she nodded.
"I was too worked up and thought too shallowly. I see. Then I'll try to do something from my end......"
"Hold on."
He couldn't let this elf go off on her own.
That would ruin Jiha's plan of luring them in and sweeping them away.
"What are you planning to do?"
"I'll try to persuade Damod again. If that fails, I'll go to Lady Leticia, and if that doesn't work either, I'll have to request Lady Dudinel's mediation."
"That won't do any good."
Jiha coaxed her smoothly.
"The elves are already worked up, and they won't listen to anybody. You're in the minority with your 'find reason and talk it out' opinion. The more you insist, the more criticism will land on you. They'll say you're just spoiling the mood when they're about to pull off a big move."
"......."
Jadrun's expression clouded over, as if she'd already experienced exactly that.
Before sneaking into the enemy Blue Seal barracks and spilling every detail, she must have tried everything she could.
"......Then what in the world am I supposed to do?"
"In this matter, follow my instructions."
"You? Why should I trust a human like you?"
Jadrun's tone said the idea was absurd.
"Because you have no one else to trust. Your fellow elves won't listen to a word you say. Tell Enril, and she'll see it as a chance to wipe them out. I'm the only one with any will to resolve this moderately."
"......."
Jadrun's face was half-doubt, half-enticement.
When the winds of war picked up, the hawks in any group gained power, while the doves inevitably shrank.
A dove picked on by her own group went sniffing around here and there to prove her worth.
Under the name of diplomacy, she wouldn't even mind opening a channel with the enemy.
'Still, why is she so eager?'
She could have stayed out of it. There had to be a clear reason she was willing to bear the stigma of a traitor.
Unless he knew that, he couldn't use this woman properly.
'She's been calling Galak by his name, Damod, instead of his family name.'
Jiha guessed on a hunch.
"Afraid the man you pine for might get himself into danger?"
"How did you......."
She took the bait instantly, and Jiha inwardly cheered.
"There are signs everyone else can see. Except the people involved, apparently."
"......Damod isn't that remarkable a figure. When Master Pamin didn't step forward, he saw his chance and let greed get the better of him."
Jadrun shook her head darkly.
Sometimes, the person watching from the side knows a man far better.
"Even if he somehow succeeds, it won't last. And if he fails, he'll face heavy discipline, and in the worst case, he could lose his life. I couldn't bear to see......"
"And when you tried to talk him out of it, he probably just scolded you to stop nagging, being a woman. If Galak succeeds, there's a good chance he'll become Leticia's new fiancé."
"......."
Jadrun's face grew darker still.
"If you trust me and cooperate, I'll guarantee Galak's safety."
"......Truly?"
"The harder you work, the better the odds get."
"......Fine. It doesn't sit well with me to join hands with a human, but I have no choice."
When Jadrun accepted, Jiha smiled to himself.
"First, go back to your faction and quietly feed us their movements."
"That alone won't stop the raid. Even if I object, I've reached my limit. They'll move within the week."
"Don't stop them. Let them."
Jadrun looked incredulous, but Jiha told her in earnest.
"With things like this, trying to stop them just makes them push back harder. They need to fail once before the man you love will actually take your advice about not acting rashly. And he'll look at you in a new light."
"Is that so......"
Jadrun nodded, half-convinced.
"Then return, and tell us when there's movement. And when I tell you our side's movements, you pass them on to Damod."
"......I will."
Jadrun pulled her hood back on and rose from her seat.
Left alone in the library, Jiha smiled with satisfaction.
Jadrun was acting out of a desire for Galak's safety, a wish that he not be placed in danger.
But had there been zero trace of a wish not to see Galak put forward as Leticia's new fiancé?
And had Galak not known the heart of the woman beside him? Or had he known and ignored it?
Either way, it was no concern of Jiha's.
"Love makes the eyes go blind."
Galak hadn't managed the people around him properly, and for that, he would fall.
In truth, preventing the elves' attack beforehand was simple.
Post the Unique Grades, Enril and Yura, at the barracks.
No matter how much the young elves' eyes had rolled back in their heads, they wouldn't do anything rash in the presence of Unique Grades.
But Jiha had deliberately kept this method off his lips.
He could obtain intelligence from the enemy's side, and in turn plant false information.
Why refuse a fight you were guaranteed to win?
All that remained now was how cleanly the victory would come.