Chapter 351: Bread and Dagger (49)
Chapter 351: Bread and Dagger (49)
The emotions Avian harbored toward me were clear.
Fear, and hatred.
Either way, they were not the kind of feelings a comrade you’re supposed to trust with your back should have—especially when stranded as a pair in an unfamiliar, remote wilderness.
Of course, that was strictly from my one-sided perspective.
To Avian, this wasn't enemy territory. On the contrary, it was a place where allies waited to rescue her from the hands of a wicked villain.
She was a girl who had once claimed to be my maid. However, that cooperation hadn't been won through sincerity; it was merely the result of succumbing to repeated violence and pain.
This meant she had no reason to be attached to me.
If anything, it would be more natural for her to seek revenge.
As proof, Avian’s face had already brightened with a sense of triumph.
Conversely, my own expression was growing grim.
"Hmm," I let out a low groan, sinking into thought for a moment.
In truth, I wasn't particularly afraid or anxious.
The restraints were at a level I could cast off whenever I pleased, and my injuries had improved significantly. I was confident I could escape this place on my own.
However, a few things weighed on my mind.
First, I didn't know where I was.
Even the Yurdina family hadn't been able to find the location of the elf village. It was only natural that I should have no idea of its direction, let alone its coordinates.
I had only assumed it was somewhere within the coniferous forest.
Therefore, even if I escaped the village, the chances of me successfully returning to Yurdina City were slim. The coniferous forest was not only a labyrinth of complex paths but also a place where countless dangers lurked.
I needed a guide.
Second, combat wasn't always the right choice.
This was the heart of enemy territory.
There was no telling what kind of monsters might be lying in wait. For instance, what would happen if I encountered two or more enemies on the same level as that Snow Leopard Majin?
At best, fleeing would be my only option.
If I met an even stronger foe, there was no question about the outcome.
Given the circumstances, it was better to find a more indirect approach.
The problem was only one thing.
How was I going to secure Avian’s cooperation?
Avian was an elf. She had only hidden her pointed ears to disguise herself as my maid; our positions were fundamentally different.
To make matters worse, her feelings toward me were at their absolute worst.
I could see nothing but a future where negotiations would hit a dead end.
The proof of that manifested shortly after.
"Pfft, aha… Ahahahaha!"
A triumphant laugh echoed through the storehouse.
I never knew Avian was capable of laughing like that.
My eyes drifted toward the elf girl. Her blue pupils met mine.
There was a hint of madness in her gaze.
"How dare an inferior human like you lay a hand on me?"
The sound of teeth grinding grated against my ears. Her trembling body revealed the sheer scale of the hatred she harbored.
The girl, still bound from head to toe, struggled and shouted.
"Serves you right! Now that your hands and feet are tied, what are you going to do? We elves never forget a grudge. I’ll make sure to return more than the pain I received…!"
As she spoke, Avian curled the corners of her mouth as fiercely as she could.
She seemed desperate to intimidate me, but to my eyes, she just looked adorable. Being an elf, she was beautiful, and her stature was small.
Above all, Avian was making a crucial mistake.
She seemed to think I’d be frightened just because I was tied up with rope.
In reality, my mind was perfectly at peace.
I had only been slightly flustered when I first opened my eyes. My spirit, having crossed countless lines between life and death, was tempered like steel.
Avian’s threats weren't even laughable.
In fact, I even found a clue within her threats.
The key to overcoming this obstacle.
If Avian didn't want to cooperate, I just had to make it so she had no choice but to cooperate.
Just as I had always done.
The corners of my mouth quirked up into a smirk.
"Is that so? I’m looking forward to it."
"Hmph, keep bluffing… Soon, you’ll pay the price for a mere human daring to touch an elf…!"
"To have an elf as my final companion—as a noble of the Empire, I’m honored."
At my words, Avian’s body flinched.
She turned a blank stare toward me.
It seemed that in her excitement, she had forgotten an important fact.
So, I decided to remind her.
"Don't you remember your necklace?"
Only then did Avian look down at her neck with a look of realization.
Not that she could see it, but she certainly became aware of its presence.
It was an accessory that looked like a choker. It was hard to distinguish by appearance alone, but that necklace was an extremely dangerous object.
A mana restraint device that would explode the moment a designated person recited the trigger word.
It even had a function to detect surrounding mana, so it would explode if the designated person wasn't sensed for a certain period of time.
It was a masterpiece of the Imperial Household's technology.
And the only people designated for that necklace were me and Senior Neris.
"If I die, you die too."
In other words, the power over her life and death was still in my hands.
The triumphant girl’s face turned pale in an instant.
She stammered, trying desperately to deny my words.
"M-my kin are here! I’m sure they can remove this necklace…!"
"Your fellow elves? Removing a necklace forged with the Empire’s cutting-edge technology?"
I let out a chuckle.
It was absurd.
One look at the primitive hearths they were using told the whole story. After centuries of war, the declining elves had been alienated from civilization.
There was no way they had the ability to disarm that necklace.
"You know it too, don't you? You’ve lived in the human world, after all."
There was no need for a long-winded rebuttal.
With that brief persuasion, Avian’s complexion became as sallow as it could get.
Elves naturally have a strong attachment to life.
While that 'Evil Cult' seemed to be shifting their values, it would take time for the roots of a race's traditions, spanning thousands of years, to change completely.
Besides, hadn't Avian harbored an aversion to the cult from the beginning?
I waited leisurely for Avian’s response.
Her spirit had already been broken once.
The psychology of a person is no different from a tree. Once it has been snapped once, it can be broken again with even less force.
The only variable was that sometimes, the human heart is more resilient than an ancient tree.
After agonizing for a long time, Avian grit her teeth.
With a look of determination, the girl shouted.
"I-I’ll just die then!"
Her voice was trembling.
It was obvious to anyone that Avian was terrified. Nevertheless, I let out a faint exclamation of admiration at her firm resolve.
The courage shown by a hero and the courage shown by a coward are different.
The latter was clearly more difficult.
Internally, I upgraded my evaluation of Avian.
"Y-you are too strong and cruel… You’ve already killed so many of my kin! So, I’ll sacrifice myself. Your threats won't work on me!"
I had killed elves.
Dozens of them.
As I became conscious of that fact again, a throb of pain rose in my chest. I suddenly recalled the scene when I faced the 'me' from the future.
Hands drenched in blood.
I still had some clumsy parts left in me. To think I could be this shaken just because the opponents were sentient beings, after having taken so many lives until now.
Of course, I didn't have the luxury of wallowing in sadness.
I silently listened to Avian’s continuing outburst.
"If you understand, then quietly prepare for your final moments…!"
"Why would you be the only one to die?"
Avian’s eyes widened at my nonchalant tone.
As she stared blankly, wondering what I meant, I decided to show her the proof.
I lifted my bound wrists so Avian could see them clearly.
What followed was simple.
I merely exerted a bit of strength.
Snap.
The rope made an ominous sound as if it were about to break at any moment.
Avian’s pupils began to shake violently.
"Plenty of others will die besides you. Dozens? Hundreds? I wonder how many will have to die for them to subdue me."
I didn't mean it. I wasn't bloodthirsty enough to massacre elves.
But the effect was more than certain.
Faced with an unimaginable threat, Avian couldn't even speak properly.
She just gulped and looked at me with a different kind of gaze.
That look was somewhat familiar.
It was the look she had when she first succumbed to me.
It was almost time. Sensing this, my tongue moved even more threateningly.
"My weapons were taken, but I’m confident I can kill any number of people with my bare hands. Eventually, I’ll be able to seize a weapon… and after that, you know what happens, right?"
As I spoke, I intentionally flashed a sinister smile.
To be honest, I didn't want to fight. The sensation of killing an intelligent being was the worst. Even if I did fight, I intended to keep the killing to a minimum.
But if I showed weakness now, I would lose.
I had to break Avian completely. I continued my uncharacteristic acting.
"What will it be?"
At my relaxed voice, Avian’s eyes turned toward me again.
Her gaze was pitiful, as if she were still hesitating. At the same time, her fear of me seemed to have been resurrected.
The moment our eyes met, she hurriedly cast her gaze down again.
It was only a matter of time.
My threat was for my sake, but it was also for Avian’s.
Avian would want to live.
No one truly wants to die. Even those who commit suicide don't do it because they want to die.
It’s just that life has become too difficult to bear.
So, I provided Avian with an excuse.
It’s not your fault. It’s just the result of a rational choice.
It was a wonderful condition that allowed her to save her life while also satisfying her affection for her kin.
"……W-what."
There was no way Avian would refuse.
"What… what do I have to do……?"
Hearing the polite speech return, a smile played on my lips.
It worked.
Only then did I lay out the detailed plan to Avian.
Hoping that Veneta’s advice was still valid.
* * *
Two elves, a man and a woman, were looking on with displeased expressions.
They were looking down at Avian and me. The two, who would be classified as handsome and beautiful anywhere, had faces full of immense distress.
There were several reasons for this.
First, they had realized that Avian was an elf.
And second, the hard-to-believe testimony that came out of Avian’s mouth.
Making no effort to hide his headache, the elf man pressed his temples and asked again.
"So… you are a spy dispatched to the south, but your identity was discovered, so you relied on that human man to come all the way here? And that man lost consciousness while fighting a demonic beast?"
"Y-yes. That’s right……."
For someone who was supposedly a spy, Avian was even squeezing out fake tears. It was a fairly immersive performance.
Unless one was an expert, it would be difficult to discern the truth.
Naturally, the two elves were the same.
The two briefly locked eyes, then went to a corner to whisper to each other. It was a scene that had been repeated several times already.
And the conclusion was always the same.
Eventually, the two returned to us. It was to ask yet another question.
The elf woman cleared her throat to get our attention. Her sharp gaze seemed intended to intimidate me.
A cold voice flowed from between her lips.
"And you… you have amnesia? Who on earth are you?"
Her voice was full of distrust. Indeed, suddenly claiming 'amnesia' did seem a bit too convenient.
But what could I do?
I didn't have a proper excuse anyway. Furthermore, even if Avian and I claimed so, they had no means of verifying it.
I just put on a vacant look and stared at the ground without saying a word.
After a long silence.
"I don't know… Who am I, exactly?"
Slap.
The elf man dragged his hand down his face.
That’s right.
I had decided to fake amnesia.
In order to blend into the elf village, even if only for a short while.