Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Forging the Alliance
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The last of the fog cleared, and we returned to the valley.
The orc chieftain was gasping for breath in front of me.
I grabbed him by the hair and forcibly yanked him to his feet.
“What’s your name.”
“Grrraaah. You damned human bastard!”
Thwack!
“What’s your name.”
“Haaah.”
I swung Dragon Fang and stabbed it into his thigh.
Crunch!
A scream echoed through the forest.
“What’s your name.”
“Huh…. Huh…….”
“Kabata. Is that your name?”
“…… Ha…. No.”
I pulled the fang from his thigh and jammed it into his neck. The orc chieftain thrashed around without even managing a scream.
I dunked his face into the valley stream, then kicked him out cold with my foot.
He went limp.
[Congratulations on successfully completing the sudden quest!]
[You obtain a ‘Job-Exclusive Skill Book’ as a reward.]
“……”
The dwarves whispered as they looked at me.
-Isn’t that guy something? How’s he so strong?
-Is he really human? No way a human’s got that kind of power.
-He’s no human. Look at that evil aura pouring off him. Gotta be a demon.
The dwarf king walked toward me.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
“…… I hope you’re well.”
I greeted him politely.
“I hope you’re well, sir.”
“You seem human, but why did you get involved in our fight?”
“…… I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yes.”
He tilted his head curiously.
“The only thing a human would ask a dwarf for is…. something to craft, right?”
I shrugged.
“No. It’s a different favor.”
He looked into my eyes.
“A different favor…. Well, first off, thank you for helping us.”
Dniru extended his hand to me.
I shook it and bowed my head slightly in respect.
It was the courtesy I knew he deserved.
“You’re Dniru, king of the dwarves, correct?”
“That’s right. You know me.”
“No human who’s come to this world doesn’t know you.”
“…… Is that so?”
“Yes.”
I summoned all my forces waiting in the forest and showed them to him.
“Dniru. Can I continue with that favor I mentioned earlier?”
“…… Go ahead.”
“As you can see, these guys behind me are all my summons, and I’m a necromancer.”
Dniru looked over my summons.
“…… And?”
“There’s been a misunderstanding with Queen Charlotte, so I can’t enter Elf Helm.”
“Elf Helm….”
“I’d like you to arrange a meeting with her.”
* * * * *
Dniru personally visited Elf Helm and set up a meeting with Charlotte.
He informed her that the scene shown in the prophecy orb had been nothing but a mishap, and that the orc forces who had invaded Elf Helm had been completely wiped out with my help.
Dniru said,
“Queen, do you know why we came to help the elves even after that last summit ended the way it did?”
“……”
“Our son. If it hadn’t been for Don Vito’s dying words, we never would have come.”
“……”
“Now you know. To maintain peace, you need power to match it.”
“Dniru—”
“I’ll leave it at that. How you proceed from here is up to you.”
Charlotte bowed her head deeply.
Dniru cleared his throat a few times, then continued.
“Is Sylvia doing well?”
“Yes. Sylvia, Sylvia, Sylvia!”
Sylvia came running.
“Did you call me?”
“…… Dniru is asking about you.”
Sylvia glanced at Dniru cautiously before speaking.
“Oh, hello….”
“Ha ha ha ha—yes, and you’re doing well?”
“Yes….”
“Have you not been eating? You sound so deflated.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. As long as you’re well, that’s enough.”
Dniru rose from his chair to leave.
Charlotte stood with him and said,
“Thank you, Dniru.”
“…… Save your thanks for that fellow. Without that necromancer, we would’ve taken heavy losses too.”
I grinned.
Charlotte gave me an ambiguous expression, neither a smile nor a frown, and said,
“…… Thank you, Kim Cheonjae.”
“No problem. So, can I stay in Elf Helm now?”
Charlotte hesitated to answer.
Dniru rested his chin on his hand and watched us.
Sylvia jumped into the conversation.
“Of course! If it weren’t for Cheonjae, Elf Helm would be gone!”
Charlotte replied.
“That’s not true.”
Dniru looked at her.
“No, Sylvia might be right. If Kim Cheonjae hadn’t told us, we wouldn’t have come here.”
“…… What?”
“I didn’t know either. The human in our valley had been in contact with this necromancer named Kim Cheonjae.”
“In contact….”
“The human in our camp told me Elf Helm was in danger, so we were able to come.”
“……”
“Charlotte, think it over. It’s true he wields dark powers, but he’s no villain. Isn’t it clear just from the fact that he’s allied with us orcs or no?”
Dniru laughed heartily and left Charlotte’s house. Blant assessed the situation and guided the dwarves out of Elf Helm.
I stayed behind.
“My queen, do you still suspect me?”
“…… Yes. A little.”
“Then should I leave Elf Helm? It might be convenient for me to stay, but if my presence makes everyone uncomfortable, I’ll go.”
Sylvia said,
“Mother, if it weren’t for Kim Cheonjae, Elf Helm might already be gone.”
“Sylvia, be quiet.”
“Mother….”
Charlotte closed her eyes as if pondering. Sylvia sidled up and took her hand.
Charlotte opened her eyes, looked at her, and stroked her hair.
“Kim Cheonjae.”
“Yes.”
“What have you been doing since leaving Elf Helm?”
“Just that. Eating and sleeping in the forest.”
“…… Did you go to the orc fortress?”
I was caught off guard for a moment.
She knew about my scouting of the orc fortress, which I hadn’t told anyone.
“How did you know?”
“…… Why did you go there?”
I gathered my thoughts and answered.
“To gauge their numbers and figure out why they’re attacking Elf Helm and the dwarf valley.”
“Why they’re attacking?”
“Yes. I wanted to know why they’re targeting this place in such a vast continent.”
Charlotte looked intrigued.
“Did you find out why?”
“…… Yes.”
“Why?”
I pretended to hesitate.
To stoke her curiosity further.
When I didn’t answer, she asked again.
“Can I know the reason?”
“It’s…. power.”
“…… Power?”
“Yes. More precisely, the dwarves’ advanced smelting techniques and the elves’ unique spirit magic.”
“Even if they’re told, they couldn’t learn those things.”
“It’s complicated to explain. What I’ve said so far is just their surface goal.”
“…… So there’s a real goal beyond that?”
I pulled a cigarette from my pocket.
“Mind if I smoke?”
“No. Smoke outside after we’re done talking.”
“…… Then I’ll finish the story later. I’m feeling tired and need some rest.”
Charlotte clasped her hands as if in prayer and chanted a spell.
Sparkling dust emerged from the nearby trees and enveloped my body. The fatigue I’d felt these past few days vanished, along with the pain in my joints.
I flexed my shoulders and knees to check my condition.
‘Incredible.’
“Can I hear the rest of the story now?”
“…… Yes. Just don’t be shocked.”
* * * * *
I told her what I’d seen at the orc fortress and the facts I knew.
The orcs’ true goal.
No, the goal of their chieftain, Kabata.
Charlotte was aghast.
“The orc chieftain is being manipulated by a demon?!”
“Yes. He’s a subordinate of a guy named Lucifer.”
“No….”
“The other orcs don’t even know and are building strength here to reclaim lands taken by demons.”
“That can’t be….”
“My queen, what do you plan to do now?”
“…… About what?”
I scrunched my brow, wrinkled my nose, and stretched my mouth wide with both hands to make an orc face.
“The orcs. They’ll keep coming, and you can’t hold them off with just your forces here.”
“……”
“The orcs we took out today are less than half their strength. The dwarves said they had minimal losses, but everyone’s exhausted from the constant fighting.”
Charlotte sighed heavily.
“I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“You need to decide. Ally with the dwarves and fight the orcs, or Elf Helm falls.”
“……”
“Maybe not now, but given time, the orcs will overrun this place. They’re constantly expanding their forces.”
Blant interjected.
“You’re saying we need to prepare for war?”
“If you don’t want to see Elf Helm fall. Do you think the dwarves will keep protecting you? Their valley will be in danger soon enough.”
“…… Do you think if we elves and dwarves unite, we can take down the orc fortress?”
“We’ll know if we try. But if not now, there won’t be another chance.”
Blant clamped his mouth shut at my confident answer.
He knew it too. The other elves would have to admit it.
Just a fraction of today’s orc invaders had nearly brought Elf Helm down.
Charlotte continued.
“Kim Cheonjae, can we trust you?”
“That’s for you to decide, my queen.”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to fight for the sake of peace.”
“You want peace without fighting. Is that it?”
“…… Yes.”
I glanced at Sylvia.
She was watching me with an innocent smile.
This was awkward.
“My queen, will peace come if you don’t fight in this situation?”
“……”
“Will peace come if you fight and win?”
“……”
“You have to find the answer to that yourself, my queen. No one else can give it to you.”
“It’s difficult.”
“Nothing easy about it. I’ll take my leave then.”
Having finished the conversation, I left Charlotte’s house. Blant followed and asked,
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“…… Make it quick.”
“Yes.”
Thud.
Blant did something unexpected.
He knelt before me and bowed deeply.
“Kim Cheonjae, forgive my earlier rudeness.”
[From this moment, all of Blant’s misunderstandings toward you are cleared.]
The elf knights following him looked flustered, not knowing what to do.
When Blant didn’t raise his head, the other knights knelt toward me as well.
-Forgive us!
“…… Get up, Blant.”
“I know. I know you can provide the answer to this problem, Cheonjae.”
“No, I can’t make it. You have to do it yourself.”
“…… Please. Help the queen just once.”
It was awkward.
Dozens of elf knights were kneeling and watching me.
And their leader, Blant, had formally requested it.
“…… Blant.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s talk about this tomorrow.”
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