Chapter 363: Bread and Dagger (61)
Chapter 363: Bread and Dagger (61)
In the snow-covered village, only the crackling of the fire echoed.
The old knight stared at me in silence. He was a man with a blood-stained face and a fierce, curving smile that left a lasting impression.
Looking back, he had always been this way.
He was bellicose, he loathed elves, and he never hesitated to use violence.
So, his current behavior wasn't exactly a surprise.
Sir Alex was nothing if not consistent.
One only had to look at Old Man Pope, who had been tossed aside, covered in blood. During a previous skirmish with an elf scouting party, Sir Alex had beaten one of them into a pulp.
The situation was the same as then.
The only thing that had changed was me.
I hadn't felt much of anything when the scouting party was taken down, but seeing Old Man Pope suffer like this made a surge of anger rise within me. It was a transformation that surprised even myself.
I couldn't expect Sir Alex to sympathize with my feelings.
Nevertheless, I attempted to persuade him first.
"Sir Alex, what is the meaning of this...? The elves of this village have never attacked humans. Since when has humanity launched preemptive strikes against elves?"
"Ha, you said you lost your memory... but you don't quite sound like it."
Despite my counterargument, Sir Alex’s voice remained perfectly composed.
His hand slowly moved toward the sword strapped to his back. Then, a heavy thud as he stepped firmly onto the ground.
For a moment, it felt as if the very earth shook.
Suffocating screams leaked from among the elves. With a single gesture, he made them huddle together, trembling in fear.
It was the skill of a knight who had reached a level of mastery.
Even a casual movement, done merely to vent his mood, was enough to strike terror into the hearts of the weak.
The sound of their whimpering groans was particularly unpleasant. I fought to suppress the churning in my gut.
Sir Alex planted his sword upright in the ground and spoke leisurely.
"It is as you say, Young Master. We humans never 'attack' elves first. We merely engage in 'preemptive strikes.'"
"Preemptive strikes?"
To anyone's ears, it sounded like a flimsy excuse.
It was so absurd that I couldn't help but scowl.
But Sir Alex looked perfectly dignified. As if stating the obvious, the old knight added an explanation.
"Aren't all elves potential hostiles anyway? It's better to nip them in the bud. Or would you rather we wait to draw our swords until after they've slaughtered our neighbors?"
"That's a reckless assumption...!"
I gritted my teeth as I spoke.
"You think they would attack humanity? How? These elves can barely find enough to eat, let alone leave this coniferous forest."
"It's not impossible."
"By that logic, we'd have to kill every elf in existence."
"Yes, that is correct."
His answer came without a moment's hesitation.
Every one of those words reeked of the scent of blood. Even so, Sir Alex merely clicked his tongue and looked at me with pity.
It was the look one gave a naive fledgling.
In my heat, I tried to argue further.
But I was cut short before I could speak, as Sir Alex dug up the past I had tried to bury.
"Young Master, do you still not understand? Elves are nothing more than devils wearing beautiful shells. Have you already forgotten what that cheap sympathy of yours led to?"
My breath hitched.
The memory of the day I fell into the elf village came rushing back.
I had saved elves once. The lives of Veneta and her scouting party.
Sir Alex had tried to kill them then, too. They lived because I opposed him, but in truth, Veneta had been tagged with a tracking device.
That blunder led to a battle.
An ambush under the cover of night. Not just elves, but several soldiers of the Yurdina army must have been wounded or killed.
The price of those lives was on my head.
As I fell silent, Sir Alex let out a low sigh.
The old knight’s heavy voice continued.
"Young Master, do not forget... you are human."
It was an undeniable truth.
Against the backdrop of the elves' desperate gazes, the old knight stood as cold as the dawn frost. His tongue continued to lash out like a winter gale.
"You are not an elf... Your family, your friends, your acquaintances! Can you truly abandon them all?"
I bit my lip hard.
Yet, no answer came to mind.
I wanted to save the elves.
But could I abandon those precious to me for their sake?
My family, my comrades, everyone I loved and who loved me.
Siding with the elves meant exactly that.
It meant turning my back on humanity and enduring the shame of being a traitor to my own kind.
It was a harsh price to pay for saving elves I had known for barely a few weeks.
Though I couldn't hide the resentment in my eyes, I ultimately offered no rebuttal.
Only then did Sir Alex show a satisfied smile.
His hand, encased in a thick gauntlet, gave a signal. At that, the soldiers resumed their movements with disciplined precision.
I let out a long breath and looked up at the sky.
Damn it.
"Agh, aaaaah! Stop, no... help me!"
Who was she calling out to?
Even with my eyes closed, the screams were vivid. The heat searing my skin, the clanking of armor, and even the snickering mockery.
One soldier burst into laughter.
"What, help? Pfft, hahahahaha! You, how dare you! Heh, a mere elf... are you insane?"
Thud. A kick followed.
I could tell just by the groans. It was Isha.
The young village hunter who was always prickly but couldn't hide her kind nature.
That woman was now forced to endure violence without even being able to resist.
Her bow had long been broken, and her arms and legs were bound.
The soldier’s panting voice rang out.
"Do you have any idea who that man is? He's someone you backwater elves can't even hope to be compared to! Have you heard of him? 'Ian Percus'..."
"Stop."
It was a low restraint.
The word, tossed out with a sigh, was too quiet to reach the soldier.
Instead, the soldier went as far as to grab Isha by the hair. From her eyes, forced upward, despair seeped out like droplets of water.
"Have you heard? He's the man who smashed through fiends and demonic beasts alike with a single hand axe! Ha, he's the rising divinity of humanity. I heard his conferment of peerage is already a done deal..."
"I said, stop!"
At my shout, the soldier flinched.
Finally, my eyes turned toward them. Toward the soldier and Isha, who was collapsed and coughing.
I spat out the words through gritted teeth.
"...That's enough."
No further orders were necessary.
The soldier immediately bowed deeply as if apologizing for his rudeness. Then, he began to move Isha again.
I opened my mouth to tell him to treat the elves more gently, but I stopped myself.
It was shallow hypocrisy.
In the end, this was the conclusion I had reached.
I was human, and there was nothing I could do about it. How could I live after betraying my own kind?
Friendship between humans and elves had been impossible from the start.
I wasn't the only one who realized this.
The gazes the elves had directed toward me had grown quiet.
Only feelings of disappointment, despair, understanding, and pity were transmitted to me in turns.
There was even a hint of a strange emotion in their eyes. They seemed startled to see even the soldiers of the Yurdina army showing me such respect.
A high and rugged wall stood between me and the elves.
My hand unconsciously toyed with my hand axe. I had intended to end this by somehow ensuring the village elves were only taken as prisoners.
Until I locked eyes with someone.
It was an elf with gray hair. Those blue eyes stared blankly at me.
It was Avian.
A memory suddenly surfaced.
Ned, the boy who died to protect his younger sister, had left me his last words.
That he was glad a great knight didn't lie.
I had said I would protect them.
Tink. A tiny impact hit the dam of my thoughts.
It was a faint ripple, as if a small pebble had been thrown. But within that tremor, a chain of thought followed. It was a very simple association.
Gray hair, blue eyes.
Seria.
Yurdina.
Senior Delphine.
Why am I...
A fragmented question escaped my lips.
"...Senior Delphine."
Sir Alex, who had been adjusting his gauntlet, turned his eyes toward me.
In that unwavering gaze, a strong conviction was evident. A dignified attitude that suggested he had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
That was why I hadn't been able to ask.
"Does Senior Delphine know about this?"
Sir Alex’s movements came to a sudden halt.
Once again, a desolate wind blew between us. The cold northern wind tried its best to penetrate our very bones. Yet, the master swordsman did not budge an inch.
"Young Master."
As if exhaling a held breath, Sir Alex merely wore a solemn expression.
"I will tell you another time."
With those words, Sir Alex turned his back.
Standing before the elves once more, his hand gripped the hilt of his sword. His voice rose as high as the terror in the elves' eyes.
"The executions begin now! The charge is the crime of daring to covet human territory and murdering our families and neighbors!"
"W-we didn't do that!"
The elves screamed and pleaded, but no one was listening.
The soldiers each gripped their weapons and glared at the elves. Once those swords and spears were thrust, flowers of blood would bloom on the snowfield.
Sir Alex seemed very eager to see that sight.
There was even a hint of madness in his shouting voice.
"Kill them all! Leave them as food for the beasts!"
"Yes, sir!"
Just as a soldier was about to thrust his spear following that thunderous reply—
Strength flooded into my hand holding the hand axe.
Snap. The world seemed to tear.
The sheer rebound force was enough to crush the fluttering snowflakes. A silver trail, launched without even the sound of a sonic boom, struck the spear shaft in a straight line.
Crack! The wooden spear shaft exploded.
The soldier recoiled, gasping at the sudden interference. He wasn't the only one who stopped.
Everyone froze.
It was as if the northern wind had sucked away all momentum. The only thing still moving was the hand axe spinning rapidly in the air.
As I raised my hand, the axe snapped back into my palm.
I didn't want to hesitate anymore.
"Everyone, take your hands off the elves... Do not touch a single hair on their heads."
At my growled warning, Sir Alex let out a hollow laugh.
The chuckle that escaped him represented his feelings.
He shook his head once more.
"You are still soft, Young Master. I've told you time and again that you mustn't be... Unfortunately, I must decline that request."
Sir Alex gave a hand signal to continue.
At that, the soldiers hesitated for a moment before beginning to creep toward the elves again.
That was when my body launched forward.
Thud. My feet kicked off the ground, and I was propelled at high speed. My hand was already reaching for the hilt of the sword at my waist.
It was a lightning-fast draw.
A sudden strike that was impossible to counter; if the person before me had been some nobody, the duel would have been decided by this single sword strike.
But my opponent was a veteran of a hundred battles.
Clang! The old knight’s greatsword tore through time to clash with my blade. The downward swing of his sword pressed heavily against my edge.
There was almost no time between him turning and swinging his sword down.
But he couldn't have been completely unfazed.
My foot slammed into Sir Alex’s solar plexus.
Because of his armor, it wasn't a fatal blow. Nevertheless, the impact was enough to make him stumble backward. Even then, my other hand still held the hand axe.
Once again, a silver arc traced a circle.
"Gah!"
"Ugh!"
With successive cracks, the spear shafts were shattered one by one. Furthermore, by striking the flats of their blades, I forced several soldiers to drop their swords.
It didn't take long to neutralize everyone.
Sir Alex roared.
"What is the meaning of this, Young Master!"
"Sir Alex..."
I said, securing the hand axe that had returned to me.
"This isn't a request or a suggestion."
Both my hands gripped the hilt of my sword firmly. The cold sharpness of the blade felt as if it were piercing my bones. It was a tension I hadn't felt in a long time.
The sensation that only returned when facing a powerful foe.
"I warned you. Do not touch the elves anymore."
Sir Alex’s face immediately contorted, and the soldiers exchanged bewildered, frantic glances.
And even the elves merely stared at me with stunned eyes.
I couldn't help it.
Because a great knight doesn't lie.
As if to prove this, Avian closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
Snow was falling on the village.