Flexing on a Cat (2)
The single sentence that slipped out of the Elder's mouth.
That cold, twisted voice was more than enough to turn every doubt simmering inside me into an unshakable conviction.
In that instant, my brow furrowed deeply of its own accord, and my heart began to pound.
The conclusion flashed through my mind as if it were the most natural thing in the world: he was planning something, and he intended to use me to do it.
He looked almost human — different only in race — so how could he spit out words more beastly than a beast's without so much as a flicker of shame?
This was not the elf I had imagined.
"W-Was it really that displeasing to you…?"
The moment the Elder saw my expression twist, he began stammering worse than ever, his face crumpling into open embarrassment.
"……."
But I gave him no answer.
No — the very thought of exchanging words with him disgusted me.
"No, Elder. Lady Levinia likes me."
Right then, a soft, innocent voice rose at my side. It was Rune.
"She held me so tenderly just a little while ago─."
"Ah, is that so! I should have kept my composure — I simply panicked, that's all…!"
The Elder's voice shot up abruptly.
He was clearly scrambling to paper over his blunder, but the awkwardness bleeding through his expression only made him look more like a treacherous schemer than before.
"W-Well then…. I have committed a grave discourtesy. Please forgive me…."
"……."
"In any case, I'm truly glad our gift was to your liking. What an auspicious day."
Whatever I looked like through their eyes, I didn't particularly care.
No matter how much of a human heart I carried, the fact remained that my race was vampire — that would never change.
But using a young child who knew nothing of the world as some kind of tool? That was a violation of everything decent.
"You know, Elder…. I tried to settle things on my own, but the conversation didn't go well. I'm sorry…."
"Hm? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Lady Levinia doesn't trust us yet."
"She doesn't trust us? Then why on earth would she—"
"So I invited Lady Levinia to the village. I thought if she came here herself, she might come to trust us just a little─."
At Rune's cheerful explanation, the Elder's face stiffened bit by bit, his brow knitting tighter with every word.
Apparently he had assumed I'd accepted their proposal, and now he couldn't seem to regain his footing at all.
"…E-Elder?"
That aside, even this brief glimpse was enough to give me a fair idea of how Rune was treated in this village — by the Elder and everyone else.
And at that realization, I couldn't help letting out an utterly incredulous laugh.
"Which means… you brought her here, to me, without anything having been decided at all…."
"That's quite a problem for you, isn't it? Did I come by too suddenly?"
When I let my voice out slowly, easing my lips apart after keeping them sealed, the Elder jolted so hard his whole body flinched, panic radiating from every inch of him.
"N-No, not at all…!!"
"Then I'd like to head into the village now, if we may."
"Of course. Right this way…."
"No. Rune will continue showing me around. And right now, I need somewhere to rest."
"…I'm sorry?"
At my flat, decisive words, the Elder was struck speechless for a moment, blinking stupidly.
Even then, he kept straining to hold onto that awkward smile of his, and I found it thoroughly revolting.
But dawn would break soon, and the kids looked to be reaching their limit, so for now, getting into the village and resting came first.
"Tonight, I will give a courteous answer to the proposal you all made. Until then, do not come looking for me unless it's truly necessary."
And so, guided inside, we entered the elven village of Loen.
But we had no time to take in the sights. We went straight to the lodging the Elder had prepared and laid our exhausted bodies down.
"Zzz…."
"Fwee…."
"……."
The kids were completely knocked out.
On the road they'd been full of anticipation and excitement, bouncing around at every step — but by the time we actually arrived, the night had grown late and fatigue had crashed over them so hard that they dropped straight off to dreamland the moment their heads hit the pillows.
They must have been looking forward to quite a lot, too….
Knowing them, they probably wouldn't so much as open their eyes until well past noon.
"……."
"Rune?"
Unlike the kids drifting through dreamland, Rune — for whatever reason — hadn't even lain down on the bed. She sat on a wooden chair in the corner of the room, blinking blankly at nothing.
Her shoulders hung slack, and she looked utterly despondent.
"…I think I made a mistake."
"What do you mean?"
"The Elder glared at me like I was such a disappointment…."
Apparently she'd been dwelling on the Elder's behavior from earlier this whole time.
"Does it weigh on you that much?"
"Yes…. I never expected him to be that angry…."
Rune's deflated voice echoed softly through the spacious room.
Watching her, unable even to rest comfortably in bed, endlessly turning the earlier scene over in her mind — it was simply heartbreaking.
"Do you truly love this village, Rune?"
At my question, Rune gave only a small, silent nod.
"Why?"
"Because it's where I live."
"And besides that?"
"……."
Rune's mouth snapped shut.
A peculiar silence settled between us for a moment, and the already heavy atmosphere turned a shade more awkward — but still, I waited calmly for her answer, blinking slowly and steadily.
And then—
"They seem kind enough, I suppose."
Out of that heavy quiet, where nothing stirred but stillness, Rune's small voice drifted gently through the room.
But those words were something I could not possibly understand.
Because the Elder's behavior, as I had witnessed it, was nowhere near anything resembling kindness.
"I'm sorry?"
When I tilted my head in confusion, Rune hesitated briefly, then went on carefully.
"I don't have any talent. The other children my age have already mastered archery and go out hunting, but I can't even draw a bowstring properly."
As her story went on, Rune's head sank lower and lower.
There wasn't a trace of confidence in her sullen bearing.
Her shoulders had shrunk as small as they could go, hunched in on themselves as if she were bracing for a scolding.
"Nobody pays attention to me now, but I still think that if I work hard, someday they'll recognize me."
Those words were, without question, sincere.
And yet within that sincerity lay a quiet sorrow — the sorrow of someone straining to hide her own inadequacies.
"……."
I swallowed a sigh.
Because I had no way of knowing just how deep a well of loneliness and self-blame every one of Rune's words had been drawn from.
Any careless comfort, I felt, would only prove a harsher poison.
"…Rune, is it recognition you want from this village?"
"Yes."
There was a mountain of other things I wanted to ask, besides.
But watching her curl in on herself more and more, I found I couldn't press her any further.
"That's why I'm always gathering herbs in the forest."
"……."
"They're nothing special right now, but one day, I'll become an elf this village truly needs. I just know it."
"……."
"I'm sure of it."
It felt like a confession — solemn, hushed, and quiet.
Rune was trying to prove her worth not through the hunt, but through the herbs she gathered.
And yet, tragically, the elves of this village had never acknowledged her for it.
Worse — they had tried to hand her over to me as a sacrifice. That was how they meant to make use of her.
Why?
All Rune had ever wanted was a little recognition, a little praise.
So why had these quarrelsome wretches tried to use her as an offering?
"Could this village ever truly become a good place for Rune?"
"…?"
"There's no particular reason I'm asking. I'm just curious."
Truthfully, unless it was happening on the land I lived on, I had no great desire to concern myself with matters across the river.
And it made sense — my own actions might well come across as hypocrisy, after all.
Besides, simply caring for the children at my side was already more than enough to keep me occupied.
I had no room to spare for anything else.
And yet, in spite of all that, the reason I had come all this way with my own two feet was none other than—
"What good is recognition from people who judge others however they please and pass their own verdicts on them?"
Because it had been so utterly absurd — not just how they'd viewed Rune, but how they'd looked at the children I care for as well.
"The way I see it, this place is nothing more — and nothing less — than barren ground for you, Rune."
Anyone could see she looked like a demon, so a misunderstanding was more than fair.
But it hadn't stopped there. The Elder's very first words — openly sending her out as a living sacrifice and then asking if I wasn't pleased—
That alone said everything about just how rotten this village was, and rot it was.
"W-What are you saying all of a sudden…?"
"That's all I can offer you right now, Rune. The rest, I hope you'll think through on your own."
"…I'm sorry?"
A single piece of calculated hypocrisy — the first and the last I would ever hand to Rune, who still knew nothing.
But from this point on, everything would change dramatically depending on the choice she made.
"You're doing just fine, Rune. You have no reason to feel small. Even if the elves never acknowledge you — I will."
Of course, that choice applied just as much to the Elder as it did to Rune.
After all, it was this village's Elder who had gone out of his way to provoke me while I was living peacefully, minding my own business.
He, especially, had better make the right choice.
"You are a true elf."