Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Insulin (2)
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No matter how it played out, Suhyun had nothing to lose. As soon as he shared his thoughts, Scott panicked and tried to talk him out of it.
“It’s fine. Our forces won’t crumble just because I’m out for a bit, right? Team Leader of Team 1 is there, so handle things as usual. Don’t tell me you’re not confident facing the dark elves?”
“That’s not it, but...”
From Scott’s perspective, if Suhyun went off alone and got injured, there’d be no way to clean up the mess. Just imagining it was horrifying.
“Then I’ll be off.”
“W-W-Wait...!”
Without even waiting for a reply, Suhyun moved out with Shaia.
* * *
“For now, I’ll approach first. They won’t attack right away since I’m a fellow dark elf.”
“Dark elves don’t exactly go easy on their own kind, do they? You sure about this?”
“Yeah, that’s true, but... Hold on, how do you know so much about this?”
“Never mind that. If it’s too risky for you to go alone, let’s just move together.”
“If I’m a fellow dark elf, I can at least buy enough time to talk. But bringing a human along might make that impossible.”
“If they don’t want to talk, we can always let our fists do the conversing. I wonder what kind of armament these dark elves around here have...”
“They’d probably have the latest weapons on the market, right? We had them back when I left.”
“Figures.”
Logically speaking, weapons from humans shouldn’t flow to hostile races like dark elves, who weren’t elves or dwarves. But in reality, it was the opposite.
Merchants who loved money didn’t care about any of that. And dark elves didn’t give a damn who made the weapons, as long as they were strong.
‘Merchants are always causing trouble everywhere they go.’
If dark elves were still fighting with just bows and arrows, dealing with them would be several times easier.
The two climbed a low sand dune and crouched down. Below them lay the dark elves’ village. The white-painted, exotic-style buildings gave off a touristy vibe, but Suhyun knew better. He was well aware of how vicious the ones inside could get.
Shaia cleared her throat once, then stood and walked out. The moment she revealed herself, there was an immediate reaction. Dark elves at the village entrance hopped on motorcycles and sped toward her.
“Halt. Who are you?”
“Uh. I’m...”
“A human?!”
“Do I look human to you?!”
Shaia yelled in disbelief, then realized they weren’t even looking at her. She glanced back to see Suhyun casually stepping out.
“Hey, I said I’d approach first!”
“Doesn’t seem like much difference. So, what’ll it be, dark elves?”
“Don’t provoke them! Idiot!”
Despite Suhyun’s blatant taunt, the dark elves just scowled without reacting. Their hands twitched toward their waists, itching to draw their guns.
“Something must’ve really happened.”
“Can you please lower your voice...?”
“Don’t worry. The fact they’re not shooting right away means they won’t attack unless provoked.”
“Why are you hanging around with that human? Did they capture you?”
Deliberately ignoring Suhyun, the sentries addressed Shaia.
“No, he’s a comrade.”
“A comrade? A human and a dark elf?”
“You guys are so narrow-minded and prejudiced. How do you even survive on Cameron with that mindset? That pistol on your hip right now? It was made by humans.”
“Hmph.”
The dark elves turned their heads without responding.
“We don’t care why a human and dark elf are traveling together. It’s probably something sleazy anyway.”
“What?”
This time, Shaia bristled. Suhyun, listening from the side, recalled how Shaia had ended up traveling with him.
‘Because of money?’
Hard to argue with that.
“You little... You think you can just spew whatever crap comes to mind?”
“Shut up. Traitor—Guh!”
The dark elf who suddenly took a hard hit to the solar plexus groaned and dropped to his knees. His comrade looked around in confusion, unsure what had hit him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Suddenly, something...”
Shaia glanced at Suhyun. It had to be his telekinesis. Suhyun whistled innocently, pretending not to notice.
“Hah, huff... Anyway, human, stop being annoying and get lost!”
“Why so hospitable?”
“What?”
“Normally, you’d have put a bullet in me by now, right?”
“......”
“Something’s up. Mind sharing if it’s not too much trouble?”
“Why would we...”
“Didn’t the dwarves who came first tell you? We’re not alone. You’ve scouted us, so you know our strength. We could make your lives hell if we wanted. Looks like trouble’s brewing—want to add more work to your plate? Or will you play nice and talk?”
Threatening worked the same no matter the race: grab their weakness and squeeze. The dark elves looked like they were barely holding back a torrent of curses.
“...Wait here!”
As they vanished back down the dune, Suhyun turned to Shaia.
“Think we can get in?”
“No idea. But they might come back with reinforcements, so be ready to bolt.”
“You’re awfully distrustful of your own kind.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Does this look like a situation for trust? Dark elves fight among themselves plenty.”
“Fair point. Humans do too.”
While the two chatted, the sentries returned. They gestured reluctantly.
“They say come in.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Suhyun used telekinesis to yank a dark elf off his motorcycle, then hopped on and pulled Shaia up behind him.
“?!”
The telekinetically dismounted dark elf finally realized what had hit him earlier.
“You, you bastard...”
Before he could finish, Suhyun ignored him and rode down.
* * *
Suhyun entered prepared for anything—threats, deference, whatever. He’d get what he wanted. That’s what he’d steeled himself for.
Until Shaia gasped from behind him.
“Grandma?!”
“What? Grandma?”
Suhyun halted the motorcycle in shock. In the middle of the road stood a dark elf glaring at them, arms crossed. Her age was obvious at a glance, but her dignified posture showed no hint of frailty.
“Long time no see, Shaia.”
“Wh-Wh-Wh-What... How are you here?!”
“Get off first and we’ll talk. Since when did you forget your manners?”
The dark elf didn’t wait for a reply and strode inside. Shaia hesitated, staring at the large domed building she’d entered. Suhyun had never seen the fearless Shaia shrink like this.
Fascinated, he asked,
“You okay?”
“Does it look like I am?!”
“Didn’t you say this was an unfamiliar place?”
“Dark elves don’t always stick to one spot... Looks like they moved here after I left.”
Shaia’s teeth chattered as she tried to bite her nails. Suhyun shook his head and grabbed her hand.
“I don’t know the situation, but if there’s bad blood, you don’t have to get involved. I can handle it alone. Want to head back?”
“No... It’s not that.”
“Not that? You look like you’re about to snap from stress.”
“Ugh, if Grandma’s here, that means the rest of the family is too... I really don’t want this...”
“Aren’t you coming in?!”
A loud voice boomed from inside. Suhyun grimaced and moved to enter first. He wasn’t about to let them seize control.
But Shaia grabbed his wrist.
“Let’s go in together.”
“If talks go south, we can just cause a scene. That’s half the reason we came anyway.”
“...Don’t.”
The building seemed to be the village meeting hall. Several dark elves were already seated inside, eyeing Suhyun with clear hostility.
Of course, Suhyun wasn’t one to cower.
“We called you in because a human intruder showed up with a dark elf, but to think it was my granddaughter.”
“H-Have you... been well?”
“Yes. Though you’ve given me plenty of grief. But healthy.”
“Save the family reunion for later.”
The seated dark elves erupted at Suhyun’s rude interruption.
“Who do you think this is?!”
“Show some respect, filthy human!”
“You think you can strut in just because we let you?!”
A swarm of angry shouts. Suhyun dug in his ear, looking annoyed. As they kept yammering, he stomped his foot.
Boom!
“!”
“Were dark elves always such loudmouths who only yap? If you’ve got a problem, come at me! I’ll take on anyone.”
“You insolent cur...!”
“Enough. He’s right. If you can’t back it up, don’t open your mouth.”
“Selina!”
Shaia’s grandmother ignored them and addressed Suhyun directly.
“So, why’d you come here?”
“Seemed like the dark elves had some trouble.”
“Seemed like? Surprising. Never thought a human would worry about us.”
“Wasn’t really worrying... I want something too.”
Selina let out a hearty laugh. Amid dark elves glaring murderously, a human speaking like that took real guts, no matter how confident he was.
“Fine, what do you want?”
“On the surface, passage rights through the area. More precisely, a peace accord with the local dark elves.”
“Ambitious. If that’s surface level, what’s the real ask?”
“I heard dark elves have a superpower enhancement potion.”
Selina shot Shaia a glare. Shaia yelped involuntarily and tried to duck behind Suhyun. He held her back and said,
“Shaia didn’t tell me. If you want the leaker, check who suddenly got rich among you.”
“...We need to tighten security.”
Realizing what he meant, Selina nodded.
“Too many young fools without discipline... So, you need the enhancement potion? Why?”
“Why? If its effects are real, anyone would want it.”
“True. Anyone would. But not everyone marches in demanding it.”
Shaia poked Suhyun’s side.
“?”
“Can I tell them you’re a mage?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Suhyun’s a mage.”
“!”
The dark elves’ gazes shifted. They’d assumed the human rep had some strength, but a mage?
“A mage?”
“No way, a human...”
“We don’t even have one right now.”
“She wouldn’t lie about something so easily disproven. My granddaughter’s not that stupid.”
Seizing the murmur, Suhyun quietly asked,
“Was there a reason to say it?”
“We respect the strong.”
“Right.”
“A mage...? So you plan to use the potion yourself?”
“Don’t ask how it’ll be used before you even offer it.”
“Hmm... Fine. Suhyun, was it, human? With luck, we might both get what we want. Didn’t we ask what’s going on with us?”
“Selina, telling an outsider...”
“It’s fine. It won’t change anything or cause issues, right?”
Her respected status among the dark elves was clear from the room’s reactions. Given their tribal, clan-based customs, such positions usually went to prominent family members.
‘Shaia’s from a decent clan, huh?’
Suhyun glanced at Shaia. She tilted her head.
“Why?”
“Nothing.”
“Our problems always come from the same place. Outsiders.”
“Outsiders causing issues? Hard to imagine.”
The dark elves glared at Suhyun. Though tensions had cooled, hearing that from a human they’d once clashed hard with irked them. But Selina continued unfazed.
“Normally, a monster or two wouldn’t faze us. The area’s mostly clear anyway. But this time, it’s serious.”
A monster even dark elves couldn’t handle. Suhyun felt tension spike.
“What is it? The monster?”
“An ogre.”
137