Chapter 360: Bread and Dagger (58)
Chapter 360: Bread and Dagger (58)
I had settled into a new routine in the elf village.
It was a peace I hadn't felt in a long time. I wondered if I had ever spent a more leisurely time than this over the past few months.
And for good reason. Ever since the love letter from the future arrived, my life had been nothing short of a battlefield, rife with blood and torn flesh.
Compared to that, these days were quite happy.
This remained true even though this was the cold, dry North, and an elf village where even food was scarce.
In truth, the environment wasn't particularly harsh for me.
The cold of the snowfields couldn't pierce my skin. Moreover, the lack of food could be remedied as much as I wanted, depending on my efforts.
For instance, by hunting a large number of snow leopards.
That fact had already been proven during the last banquet. The snow leopard meat I had hunted back then was still being used as a vital food source.
In many ways, that event had served as a significant turning point.
Since that day, I had been firmly accepted as a resident of the elf village.
However, because my martial prowess was so overwhelming, there were still those who kept me at a distance.
Thus, I deliberately chose to maintain a proper distance from them. I didn't try to show off my strength, either.
I didn't want to create a sense of unease within the village.
I simply tried to adapt to the elven way of life. It was part of my effort to quietly blend into the village.
How many days had it been since I silently took on the village's chores?
Before I knew it, the elves and I were at a point where we could exchange jokes without hesitation. Even if we weren't close friends, our relationship was perfect as neighbors.
I no longer had time to feel lonely.
As the trust of the village elves grew, so did the responsibilities I had to shoulder.
In particular, incidents occurring outside the village were my sole responsibility.
The elf village was located within a coniferous forest. Since the area just outside the village was full of danger, it was an unavoidable situation.
After all, I was the strongest person in the village.
The reason Luget came to see me today was related to that.
"A fire broke out last night?"
"Yeah. Smoke was spotted about half a day's journey away. It's not that large, but I thought I should let you know."
"Hmm," I hummed, swallowing a groan as I shifted my gaze slightly.
Of all places, it was half a day's journey away.
Wasn't that roughly the same location where I had found traces of humans during the last hunt? It seemed I would need to visit Old Man Pope to learn the detailed geography of the area.
As my expression darkened, Luget quickly noticed my concern.
He asked me with a bitter smile.
"Will you be okay? You're a human. It might be better for you to return to the embrace of your own kind."
"Ha, who would take in a traitor who's cozying up with elves?"
I dismissed the advice with a snort, but inwardly, I felt a pang of guilt.
What exactly was I doing here?
As Luget said, I was a human.
My home was not this coniferous forest. It was the prosperous and cozy East, and my precious family and comrades were all in the South.
There was absolutely no reason for me to endure the cold and lonely North.
The only excuse I could muster was the hollow claim that I hadn't yet fully grasped the elves' situation.
It was nonsense.
What more information could I gain by staying in this village?
These people were merely ordinary villagers who had to worry about their daily meals. They were far removed from the elves at the 'Headquarters' where the evil cult was said to be rampant.
Yet, I was deliberately turning my eyes away from that fact.
If I left, there would be no one to protect this place.
Since they couldn't hunt snow leopards in large quantities, the residents would go hungry again. Moreover, there would be no one to pass on the advanced civilization of humanity.
I did intend to return.
Yes, I would have to go back someday. It was just that today wasn't that day.
I still had work left to do.
Ridiculously enough, I had grown fond of the elves.
To think a noble of the Empire would become friends with elves.
It was shameful. Furthermore, it was brazen. Wasn't my hand already stained with the blood of many elves?
Every time I recalled that fact, it was hard to suppress the urge to gag.
I quickly emptied the cup of cold water in my hand.
Luget was still watching me intently, perhaps wondering if I would change my mind.
But my answer was always the same.
I reaffirmed in a low voice.
"I'm not leaving, not yet... though I might someday."
"You're always so honest."
Luget also wore a faint smile as he raised his cup.
There was no such thing as tea.
If we looked, there might be plants in the coniferous forest that could be used as tea leaves, but we didn't have the luxury to search for them right now.
We were simply sharing a conversation over cold water.
This, too, was the elven way of life.
"To be honest, I was anxious at first. I was the one who decided to let you into the village... but now, I feel it was a very good decision."
"Why are you being so cringey?"
At my disgusted tone, Luget's smile grew even more bitter.
The main point was brought up shortly after.
"One of our villagers has gone missing."
I remained silent.
My eyes quietly scanned Luget's complexion. The vitality had vanished from his face, which was usually full of energy.
In a tone of desperation, my friend asked me.
"They were on their way to gather moss. But a fire broke out there... They must be dead, right?"
So, I had no choice but to answer like this.
"……I won't know until I go there."
Time was of the essence in searching for survivors.
I decided to prepare to visit Old Man Pope immediately.
My luggage was simple.
Most of the items necessary for survival were already inside my pouch. A spatial expansion pouch was truly useful.
I was about to leave the hut after roughly strapping my weapons to my waist.
That is, if Avian hadn't stopped me.
"Where are you going?"
It was a question she threw out as she suddenly popped out of her room.
She was a girl who had been living with me for quite some time now. She had every right to know my destination.
I spoke as if it were nothing.
"To the forest. An elf has gone missing."
I tried to take a step forward after saying that, but Avian was faster.
I could sense her frowning slightly.
When I turned my gaze behind me, Avian had already approached right next to me.
"Is it the place where the fire broke out?"
"Yeah, it's a bit suspicious."
"It's, it's dangerous!"
Avian cried out in shock.
She was an elf with far too many worries. There was a time when she even hated me.
I soothed Avian with a bitter smile.
"What's there to be dangerous? I'm just going to take a look around."
"What if you run into humans……."
"I am also a human."
In the end, it was Avian who ran out of things to say.
As she lowered her gaze slightly, she looked somewhat dejected. I felt a strange emotion in that look.
Worry, anxiety, and nervousness.
Eventually, I sighed and turned around.
I placed both my hands firmly on Avian's shoulders.
"Don't worry. I don't plan on leaving for a while... and I don't plan on dying either. If I'm gone, you'll die too, won't you?"
"Why do you go that far?"
However, the question Avian threw was beyond my imagination, and for a moment, I was at a loss for words.
"You said elves are the enemy, didn't you? You treated me so harshly too... so why are you pretending to care for elves now?"
My breath hitched.
Avian's voice seemed devoid of emotion, but I could tell just by looking at the tears welling in her blue eyes.
She was confused.
By my fluctuating attitude, and by my appearance of caring for the elves after having killed dozens of them.
Even I thought it was artificial and contradictory.
My mouth felt bone-dry. I pondered for a long time about what I should say.
Nevertheless, the single sentence I managed to squeeze out was pathetic.
"I don't know either."
Avian's brow furrowed slightly. I couldn't bring myself to meet her gaze.
"Humans are just like this. Our lives are so short that if we don't act on our whims, every day feels like a waste."
It was a side of a certain orphanage director I had seen.
At the time, I might have thought he was cowardly. A villain I could understand but never forgive.
However, duality is an attribute everyone possesses.
I was no exception.
I slaughtered countless enemies, yet on the other hand, I couldn't discard my pity and sympathy.
And so, a human who suffered every day stood here.
I didn't expect the person I'd confess those inner thoughts to would be an elf.
There was no reply to my sigh-filled confession. After a long silence, Avian also opened up about her past.
"I don't know who my parents are... I only have memories of almost being bitten to death by a snow leopard when I was a child."
Come to think of it, Avian was particularly afraid of snow leopards.
I listened to Avian's story without saying a word.
"Since that day, my younger sister and I have lived relying only on each other. I trusted and loved my kin, but to survive, I had to become a spy. But why do you protect me?"
"Just because."
It was the second time I had given that answer.
No further explanation was needed. Avian bit her lip, her eyes wavering with hesitation.
"……Could you perhaps save Betty too?"
"Sorry, I don't know."
Avian's younger sister was at the 'Headquarters.'
There was no way I could guarantee that I could save her. At my honest answer, Avian wore a bitter smile as if she had expected it.
And then, the girl began to reveal information I had never heard before.
It was information she hadn't disclosed even under violence and threats.
"My younger sister has gray hair just like me. And blue eyes, too."
She spoke as if that held a special meaning.
While I maintained the silence, Avian's outpouring continued.
"You asked me before, didn't you? About the two-headed snake that lives in the Great Southern Forest... There's a woman who brings those two-headed snakes to the 'Headquarters.' And gray hair is proof of being born with that woman's blood."
Was there a woman who could break through that vast distance alone?
I was so baffled that I was about to ask a follow-up question.
That is, if three syllables hadn't come out of Avian's mouth first.
"……They call her a 'Vampire.' The person who passed her blood down to me."
It was a name I had heard far too many times.
My lips naturally pressed together.
"Gray hair and blue eyes are the proof. Please, save my younger sister……."
Suddenly, certain people came to mind.
I wondered if my companions were still worried about me.
Just as Avian was pleading through her tears.
My story was moving toward a new phase.
The girl with gray hair opened her eyes.
Her gasping was faint. Her blue eyes, hurriedly scanning her surroundings, were pitiful.
Beside the sickbed, a woman with silver hair was sighing.
"I told you it was too much……."
Her voice was gloomy.
The girl pressed her hand to her forehead at the throbbing headache. Memories came flooding back along with the splitting pain.
Right, there was a fire.
After that, there was a loud explosion. It was the sound of all the strategic supplies they had prepared blowing up.
But how on earth?
It was a path she had taken leading the elite few of the Yurdina family. Not to mention Seria herself, even the keen senses of her companions hadn't detected any suspicious presence.
However, Seria's doubt didn't last long.
A girl with brown hair urged Seria on. The woman with a small frame was twirling her side hair with her index finger.
"Hmph, what would a brat like her know? Acting all big without knowing her place, only to come crawling back to the main house relying on a scroll... Do you think we're the only ones who don't want to save the Master?"
With every word, Seria found it hard to suppress her rising emotions.
The identities of the two women mocking her were clear.
The Saintess and Elsie Lainella.
They were undoubtedly the strongest among the forces that had accompanied them to the North. To exaggerate slightly, it wouldn't be wrong to say that those two accounted for more than half of their total strength.
They were monsters capable of turning the tide of war single-handedly.
Would the result have been different if they had come along?
Seria bit her lip, but she only realized her own inadequacy once again.
She felt she finally understood why 'he' from the future hadn't wanted to take Seria with him.
Regardless, the conversation between the Saintess and Elsie continued.
"Don't be so hard on her... Sister Yurdina did her best in her own way."
"Do you think we formed a subjugation force because we didn't do our best? With the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and even the private army of the Yurdina family... Ugh, now we can finally start doing this properly."
It seemed the two had been planning a new formation in the rear.
It was a force literally meant to sweep away the coniferous forest.
A combined army of the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Yurdina family?
However, Seria knew one fact that they didn't.
Perhaps this could be a wrong choice.
"……I found him."
The voices of the two women, who had been talking, abruptly stopped.
When their questioning gazes turned toward Seria, she cried out as if having a fit.
"I said I found him! Senior Ian is still in the coniferous forest……."
"What nonsense is that?"
Elsie's voice turned menacing.
She strode over and grabbed Seria by the collar with her small hand.
A growling sound scraped past Seria's ear.
"You found him, but you came back alone? Are you crazy?! There's no way that……."
"He said he lost his memory."
A single sentence gasped out along with tears.
Elsie's face went blank. The Saintess was the same.
"He lost his, hic... memory, and he thinks the elves are his kin……."
Clear tears fell in streams.
Elsie remained silent for a while, then finally let go of the hand gripping the collar.
Thud. Seria regained her freedom, but the girl's tears did not stop.
Elsie looked down at her empty hand and whispered quietly.
"……He lost his memory?"
Did that mean everything had vanished?
All the precious memories they shared, the emotions, and the memories of having loved each other.
It felt as if someone was tearing a piece of flesh from her chest.
The threads of the story were accelerating, constantly intertwining.
Soon, a rupture would arrive.
The Saintess found herself thinking that instinctively.