Chapter 76: Are You Going to Talk, or Not?!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 76: Are You Going to Talk, or Not?!
Fuck a dark elf virgin?
Honestly, I could resist drugs, but this was hard to pass up. Still, one thing bothered me.
“...She's not an adult?”
The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Isn't this... risky?
“Huhu, you don't have to worry. The dark elf coming-of-age ceremony is different from the human one.”
“How is it different?”
“A human ceremony celebrates reaching a marriageable age, but for dark elves, it's a tribal ritual to determine if one can pull their own weight. I've heard that because of this, there are quite a few who haven't had their ceremony even at an advanced age.”
Iris's clear explanation dispelled my useless worries, but that didn't mean I had decided to take the woman.
Just as there's a subtle difference between permission and acceptance, just because Iris allowed it didn't mean she had accepted it deep down.
“Hyun-woo?”
I let out a heavy sigh internally and clenched my jaw so hard I thought my teeth would break.
No matter how I thought about it, this seemed to be the right answer.
“I'm not going to do it.”
“What?”
“It's true I like women, but I'm not so crazy about them that I'd check out another girl right in front of you.”
I pulled Iris into a tight hug.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed, but if I lived diligently, another chance would come along.
For now, I believed without a doubt that the best course of action was to follow the advice my high school Korean teacher had given me.
-Listen up, you damn fools! I tell you boys that if you just study hard, you'll get a prettier wife, right? But a truly good woman doesn't just come along 'cause you've got money. What's really important! Is to take charge of your woman and know exactly what she wants, and give it to her. Not that knuckleheads like you would ever understand a woman's heart, anyway.
I thought this was that very moment.
Iris might have given her permission verbally, but maybe there was something else she wanted more, and she was subtly waiting for me to notice.
“...I'm really okay with it.”
As Iris buried her face in my chest, the corners of her lips softened more than ever before.
I cheered inwardly.
Ah, my Korean teacher... you've saved me again.
He was a great teacher, aside from the fact that he beat students whenever he got the chance.
However, rumor had it his wife was cheating on him and he was preparing for a divorce. If the person I knew who understood women best ended up like that, my own future couldn't be guaranteed to be bright.
If I didn't want to get a knife in the gut when I eventually came out with my harem, I needed to lay the groundwork properly instead of just randomly adding women.
“Mmph, mmph...”
Just then, the dark elf woman woke up.
“Iris, why don't you go rest in the tent? I'll finish up here and be right there.”
Looking disappointed, Iris hugged me with all her might.
“...Please don't be too long.”
The moment Iris pulled away from me, I couldn't help but be stunned by the sight before me.
“I'll be waiting for you, awake♡”
Suddenly, Iris tugged at the front of her clothes with her finger, revealing her breast and its light pink nipple.
That alone was enough to make my head spin, but her expression was more seductive than ever, the corners of her eyes curving as she tempted me.
In this very moment, Iris wasn't an Elf Queen, but a seductress enchanting a man.
Even her back as she returned to the tent was utterly lewd; she was deliberately swaying her hips to entice me.
Who on earth had turned the once-innocent her into this?
That's right, it was me.
I felt a strange sense of superiority knowing that the woman who would confidently stand at the very front if you lined up all the women in the world by looks was mine.
Once Iris was out of sight, I shifted my gaze to the dark elf woman.
“You're awake.”
Panting heavily as if exhausted, she was still glaring at me. I met her gaze.
I had a good idea of what she was thinking.
She was probably worried about her chastity.
But that chapter had long since closed.
“We're both busy, so I won't drag this out.”
Beneath the moonlight that peeked through the clouds, the blade of Gilenium gleamed.
“If you value your companions' lives, answer my questions.”
The tip of my sword was pointed at the neck of another elf tied up right next to the dark elf woman.
Out of consideration for Iris, I had subdued them without injury, but I no longer had the luxury or the reason to do so.
Even though I'd said I wouldn't touch them sexually, I had still asked Iris to leave. There was no way she didn't understand the meaning behind my words.
The fact that she left without trying to stop me meant she had given her tacit consent.
“I'm going to untie the rope over your mouth now. If you hesitate instead of answering my questions, I'll kill your companions one by one.”
“...”
I slowly untied the rope gagging her and pulled out the piece of cloth.
“Ptui.”
With a vivid red mark around her mouth, the dark elf spat on the ground and looked at me with defiant eyes, but she didn't try to kill herself like before.
Perhaps with time, the weight of her companions' lives had begun to sink in.
“...If I answer your questions, will you really not harm my squad members?”
“Of course.”
“How can I believe that?”
“We'll make a Mana Vow.”
A Mana Vow.
It refers to an oath made by pledging one's right to wield mana as collateral.
The moment one breaks a promise made through this vow, they lose the ability to wield mana for the rest of their life, and naturally, they can no longer use magic power, which uses mana as fuel.
“I will ask a total of three questions, and you will answer them truthfully and diligently, to the best of your knowledge. Furthermore, you will not tell anyone that you found us. Even if one of your companions is awake now and heard our conversation, you must prevent what happened today from being known to anyone else, no matter what. In return, I swear not only to spare your life and the lives of your companions, but to not lay a single finger on any of you.”
“...I accept.”
With the conditions, the price, and the agreement of both parties, the vow was established.
As proof, a blue light flared up over each of our hearts.
“First question. Do you know a way to get to the Santala Kingdom while avoiding the Peledeian Capital Defense Force?”
“...The Santala Kingdom?”
At my question, the dark elf woman seemed to ponder for a moment before quickly nodding.
“The fastest way would be to go straight through the Great Forest to the Santala Kingdom, but it's absolutely impossible to avoid the Capital Defense Force's surveillance that way.”
“Then?”
“If you travel southwest from here for about two days, you'll be able to exit the Great Forest and reach a plain. Follow the road there, and you'll arrive at Wavel, a border city of the Veilhaven Republic, a nation adjacent to the Peledeia Kingdom.”
At the dark elf woman's gesture, I untied the ropes binding her.
Of course, just in case, I only untied her hands.
She didn't seem to expect me to untie her legs anyway, and she continued her explanation by drawing a picture on the ground.
“The best way would be to go through the Nivia Kingdom and the Orsia Duchy, which are east of the Veilhaven Republic, to reach the Santala Kingdom.”
“...You're bad at drawing, aren't you?”
“Shut up.”
In contrast to her murderous tone, the dark elf ducked her head as if embarrassed.
“Anyway, I'll have to cross a border to get from the Great Forest to Wavel. Isn't there a Peledeian Border Guard?”
“No. The Great Forest itself serves as a natural border. However, you'll have to cross three borders on the way from the Veilhaven Republic to the Santala Kingdom, and that will be the problem.”
On the map on the ground, several kingdoms and city-states of various sizes were drawn above the Great Forest and the Santala Kingdom.
And standing alone was the Northern Empire, boasting a territory larger than all those nations and the Great Forest combined.
“Right now, the Northern Empire has declared war on the Peledeia Kingdom. Judging by the Northern Empire's past actions, we can't rule out the possibility that they'll declare war on neighboring countries after conquering Peledeia. No, there's a high probability they will. In such a situation, it would be a natural move for the borders of the Veilhaven Republic, the Nivia Kingdom, and the Orsia Duchy, all located south of Peledeia, to be sealed. The same goes for the Santala Kingdom, of course.”
Due to the Mana Vow, the dark elf woman was answering as diligently as she could with what she knew. Thanks to her, I learned quite a lot about the international situation I hadn't been aware of.
By the way, how does a scout team leader know so much?
“Is there any good way to cross the borders?”
“Is that your second question?”
“...No.”
After a moment's thought, I decided not to waste a question on that.
The Mana Vow only required her to answer diligently based on what she knew; it was useless against someone who knew nothing.
I couldn't be sure, but it seemed unlikely the dark elf woman would know about this issue.
'Besides, the fact that the borders are being sealed means the situation is likely to keep changing. It would be better for me to go to the border region and find a way myself.'
If it really came down to it, I could just force my way through.
Even if they formed a pursuit team, with a war on the verge of breaking out at any moment, it was unlikely they would send anyone strong enough to threaten Iris and me.
“Second question. Tell me everything you know about Peledeia's domestic situation.”
“...Are you serious?”
The dark elf woman stared at me with a look of disbelief.
“If I were to explain everything I know, it wouldn't be enough time even if we talked until dawn. If we don't return by then, another scout team will be dispatched.”
She shrugged, as if asking if I was okay with that.
Now that I heard it, she was right.
I was already short on time.
Iris was probably waiting anxiously for me, and it was a waste of time to be dawdling here.
“...Then just summarize what you know about the current Elf Queen.”
“A murderer unparalleled in history, a crazy psychopath, a kinslayer. Need I say more?”
I just gave a slight nod without a word.
“Two hundred years ago, I don't know what tricks that crazy woman used, but from the day she deposed the former queen, Her Majesty Iris, and ascended the throne, Peledeia has never had a day free from hell.”
Her voice was agitated.
The traces of killing intent leaking from her eyes were even thicker than when I had fondled her chest.
“She raised taxes to build worthless temples and conscripted young men. Many of them never returned.”
An increase in taxes without consideration for the people's lives, and forced labor.
If Iris heard this, she'd probably foam at the mouth and faint.
“Is that all? Under her silent approval, the corruption and tyranny of the nobles grow worse by the day. The reality is that those who oppose them simply vanish onto the execution block.”
After that, the dark elf woman continued to spew curses and criticisms at Resilia.
At this point, it seemed less like an answer to my question and more like she was just saying whatever she wanted, but it felt awkward to stop her, so I just kept listening.
Then, she brought up how Resilia was forcibly conscripting young men for the war with the Northern Empire.
“It's ridiculous. If that bitch hadn't sent reinforcements to the Santala Kingdom 200 years ago, this war with the Northern Empire wouldn't even be happening.”
With that last remark, which was more of a lament, her answer to the second question concluded.
It had gotten a bit long, but thanks to her, I was able to get a rough idea of the situation in Peledeia.
After 200 years of continuous exploitation, the entire country was devastated. What war? It wouldn't be strange if a rebellion broke out right now.
And I had a feeling the war might come even sooner than I expected.
If the Northern Empire knew about Peledeia's internal situation, rather than worrying about military formation, it was more likely they would push for a swift, decisive victory.
Slightly adjusting my future plans, I posed my final question.