Chapter 352: Bread and Dagger (50)
Chapter 352: Bread and Dagger (50)
Veneta had told me once.
She told me to remember "Bread and Dagger."
Elves repay bread with bread, and daggers with daggers. There were no exceptions to that principle. Even for a human they loathed, the rule held firm.
There was even a living witness to this.
Leoric, the head of the Evil Cult.
It was unknown why he, a former chaplain of the Yurdina army, was now allied with the elves. The circumstances that led him to fall into the cult were also a mystery.
However, one fact was clear: he had long been accepted as a member of elven society.
Despite being human, it was for the sole reason that he had saved an elven girl.
I intended to replicate that narrative.
Of course, there were minor differences.
It was for the sake of authenticity. If I copied too many details, it would likely arouse suspicion instead.
So, I tailored several parts of the story to fit myself and Avian.
First, Avian was a former spy in human society. This could be proven by revealing the "Blessing" inherent in her body.
Gaining their trust after that was simple.
A spy who had received a "Blessing" would have no reason to lie just to defend a human man.
That complacent logic suppressed their doubts. Added to that were Avian’s vivid tales of hardship, describing how she nearly had her identity exposed.
The two elves who came to interview us were moved to solemn expressions by the end of it.
Of course, I was the perpetrator in most of those "hardship tales."
I wasn't particularly smart, nor was I a gifted actor.
That was why I intentionally added the "amnesia" setting.
Through this, I could project the image of a harmless weakling; furthermore, it wouldn't be strange for me to know nothing.
It removed any reason for them to interrogate me for information about human society.
At the end of that long process, the two elven companions finally declared their surrender.
They had decided to believe our story.
That left only one problem.
I could hear the two of them whispering in the corner.
They had lowered their voices as much as possible for the sake of secrecy, but they couldn't deceive my keen hearing.
"Hey, hey, what are we supposed to do then? We were obviously planning to exile him or send him to headquarters."
"What do you mean, 'what do we do'? We kill him, obviously!"
"To a man who crossed the continent just to save one little elf?"
Generally, the man was the one defending me, while the woman expressed the hardline stance.
The woman fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words in the face of the man's logic.
The man shook his head with a frustrated expression.
"No matter if he's human, we can't mistreat a benefactor... and there's no way an elf who received a 'Blessing' would be a traitor."
The elven woman bit her lip, unable to find a rebuttal. She remained silent for a long time before attempting one last, timid act of defiance.
"Still, Old Man Pope is going to hate this..."
"The village gave us full authority."
It was a futile resistance.
The man tapped the woman's shoulder with a bitter expression.
The woman couldn't meet his eyes.
"So we have to decide, Isha. You know, right? Bread for bread..."
"And a dagger for a dagger... I get it."
Avian looked slightly anxious, as if she couldn't hear their conversation.
And when the man approached with a dagger, her face turned visibly pale.
If I died, she died too.
To her, that dagger must have looked like the weapon that would end her life.
I intentionally kept my mouth shut and said nothing.
"W-Wait a minute! You can't! This person did so much for me...!"
Snap.
The ropes were cut.
Only then did I feel a sense of relief, repeatedly clenching and unclenching my fists. The elven man proceeded to untie Avian as well.
Realizing her plea had been unnecessary, Avian’s face turned bright red.
Seeing this, the elven man let out a chuckle.
"Young lady, you must care for this man a lot. Are you two lovers, by any chance?"
"N-No, we're not!"
Avian denied it desperately, but he wasn't listening.
Instead, the man just kept poking the woman’s arm, blathering on with things like, "See? What would we have done if we'd killed him?"
It was a relief.
For now, they didn't seem to have any intention of harming me. I would stay in the village for a while under the pretext of "amnesia," learn the layout, and then leave.
According to Avian, there were many elven villages.
There was a place called "Headquarters," a sort of main base where Leoric stayed, but most villages were separated from one another. Much like the military camps of the Yurdina army.
It was to prevent the entire race from being wiped out at once.
If these people died, the "elf" race would cease to exist on this continent.
The only descendants left would be the elven slaves traded secretly in the Southern Kingdoms. If that happened, elves would forever remain a "slave race."
It was a rational strategy.
Unlike the woman, who kept a cold expression toward me, the elven man showed a fairly jovial side. Just looking at his easygoing smile made him seem like a good person.
"My name is Luguet, and this grumpy-looking one is Isha... Oh, come to think of it, I haven't heard your name."
"I... I can't even remember my name..."
If they heard the name "Ian," there was no telling what rumors might start.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to know my personal details. I had already confirmed this through the elves who failed to recognize me during the last battle.
If they had known who I was in the first place, they wouldn't have made such a stupid attempt to restrain me with such loose knots.
So, I decided to claim I had forgotten even my name.
For the record, the story was that even Avian didn't know my name. The reason given was that I had been worried about my family being harmed if I were branded a traitor to humanity.
For a lie cooked up in a hurry, it was surprisingly airtight.
While I was feeling proud of myself, Luguet fell into thought for a moment.
"Right, a name... what should we do about a name? Hey, Isha. Do you have any ideas?"
"Just call him 'Human' or whatever."
Her voice was dripping with discontent.
She still refused to even glance at me. Her face made it clear she loathed even the idea of contact with me.
It was understandable.
I was human, and she was an elf. Humans, in particular, were known to capture female elves and do terrible things to them.
Strictly speaking, Isha was the normal one, and Luguet was the outlier.
Luguet didn't seem ignorant of that fact either.
With an awkward smile, he casually moved the subject along.
"Sure, that works! Since he's the only human in our village... Haha, it must be a burden to represent your entire race all by yourself."
"Not at all. I actually like it. 'Human'... it has an interesting ring to it."
Avian looked at me with an exasperated gaze.
She seemed shocked by my composure, already cracking jokes with Luguet. I was actually nervous on the inside, but thinking of this as enemy territory didn't feel too bad.
A taut string of tension keeps the mind sharp.
Engaging in careful conversation, I eventually found myself entering a small shed outside the warehouse.
"Well, we gathered your belongings here. Actually, we were planning to keep them, but I suppose we should give them back, right?"
My sword, my hand axe, and even the Spatial Expansion Pouch I kept in my coat.
The Spatial Expansion Pouch, in particular, was an obvious luxury item. It even bore the symbol of the Imperial Family.
However, perhaps because they lived so far removed from civilization, they didn't seem to recognize it.
It was lucky for me.
As I reached out to take the hand axe first, Isha suddenly raised her voice.
"I-I'm still uneasy...!"
My hand froze at those words. Luguet, Avian, and I all looked at Isha with questioning eyes.
She spoke in a trembling voice.
"I-I've heard rumors... that a crazy human appeared, carrying a hand axe and smashing everything from Fiends to mythical monsters! What if he's that person? Won't we all die?"
"Isha..."
Luguet couldn't take it anymore and let out a deep sigh.
He began to soothe Isha in a serious tone.
"That's just a ridiculous rumor. It's probably some exaggerated story from headquarters that got distorted. Logically, could such a human even exist?"
"W-Well, that's true, but..."
Isha eventually hung her head, looking dejected. She seemed to think Luguet was right.
Meanwhile, I—the actual protagonist of that "ridiculous rumor"—was breaking out in a cold sweat.
So the rumors had spread even all the way here. Then again, it wasn't like Avian was the only elven spy.
Thinking I should be even more careful, I cautiously gathered my belongings.
Avian did the same.
What I was most curious about was the state of the contents inside my pouch.
I was worried it might have been looted in the meantime, but surprisingly, the interior was intact. Had they not even touched my belongings?
It was while I was peering intently into the pouch.
Isha shouted at me in a sharp voice.
"Hey, you, human! We're letting you live for now, but watch yourself. If you do anything even slightly suspicious, I'll put an arrow right between your—!"
Thump.
I reached into the pouch and pulled out a piece of food I had stored.
It was bread.
Thanks to preservation magic, the bread was still soft and moist. It wasn't steaming hot, but for it to be in this state after several weeks...
The performance was truly impressive.
Just as I was once again savoring my gratitude toward the Princess, I suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
The surroundings were silent.
Not a sound could be heard. I was certain Isha had been saying something to me.
When I glanced toward Isha, I saw a woman staring at the bread in my hand as if she were possessed.
I could even hear the sound of her gulping down her saliva.
Isha asked me cautiously.
"I-Is that... by any chance, bread?"
"Yes, it's bread."
Can't she tell by looking?
At this point, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
"Have you not looked inside the pouch?"
"No, we wanted to... but strangely, it wouldn't open when we tried."
That was Luguet's explanation.
To think it even had a function like that. I found myself once again calculating just how much this single pouch was worth.
It was a sum far beyond my station.
However, Luguet and Isha didn't seem to care about my pouch at all. They were only staring at the bread in my hand.
Come to think of it, did someone say the elves' food situation was bad?
Anyone could tell just by looking at those desperate eyes. Isha clearly wanted to eat that bread.
So, I offered it to her. It was an act of pure goodwill.
"Would you like some?"
"Y-Ye— Ack! N-No! I won't accept anything given by a mere human! And, well, since there's only one, asking for it would be..."
Isha had almost nodded reflexively before she caught herself and shook her head vigorously. Seeing her strangely concerned about her pride made her quite an enigmatic character.
She said she hated me because I was human, yet she felt bad about taking the bread because there was only one.
She was a complicated woman.
So, I decided to make Isha understand in a more intuitive way.
Thump.
I shook the pouch, and another loaf of bread fell out.
Luguet and Isha’s eyes widened. Based on the size of the pouch, it didn't look like there was room for even two loaves of bread.
The elves, isolated from civilization, didn't seem to know what a Spatial Expansion Pouch was.
"A-Another loaf of bread...?"
Hearing that dazed murmur, I handed the two loaves of bread in my hands to Isha.
At first, Isha hesitated.
However, the smell of the bread was too much to resist; she eventually squeezed her eyes shut and took the bread. Then, as if afraid of the temptation, she quickly handed one loaf to Luguet.
The two of them seemed to have a very good relationship.
Even though there was no need.
In front of their eyes, I shook the pouch a few more times.
Every time I did, another loaf of bread fell out.
"O-One, two, three... t-there are eight of them!"
"Just how many do you have, huh? C-Could you possibly share more?!"
And as they watched that spectacle, Luguet and Isha showed an incredibly dramatic reaction.
Their enthusiasm was comparable to monks granted an audience with a god descended to earth.
I could only swallow a dry laugh.
Was there a lot of bread?
Of course. Not just bread, but biscuits, meat, and all sorts of provisions were stored inside the pouch.
Because the quality of meals changes everything when you're sleeping in the dew.
I had plenty of food left over from the rewards I'd invested heavily in last time.
This felt like a development I'd seen somewhere before.
Did I... perhaps come to another world?
To think I could get such an enthusiastic reaction with just bread and a Spatial Expansion Pouch.
But even this didn't seem to have reached its peak yet.
"W-With this much, maybe everyone in the village could have a piece of bread...!"
"Incredible..."
At Luguet's speculation, Isha sank to the floor as if overwhelmed with emotion. She covered her mouth, and a faint glint of moisture appeared in the corners of her eyes.
Are all elves like this?
I looked at Avian, dumbfounded. Avian just scratched her cheek with a slightly flushed face.
"W-Well, the elves' food situation is really dire... especially for elves, 'bread' is a food with a very significant meaning."
Even so, I was wondering if this wasn't a bit much when Avian sidled up to me and cleared her throat.
"Ahem. By the way... just how much fits inside that pouch?"
It seemed Avian was just as curious about the Spatial Expansion Pouch as they were.
In that moment, I had a realization.
The fact that the elves were living lives far harder than I had imagined.
It was a moment when my values, having lived my entire life as an Imperial noble, were shaken.
*
At that same time, Seria arrived at Yurdina City with a heart full of anticipation.