Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Detestable Race (2)
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The back alleys north of Bondales formed one massive slave market.
Every element making up those alleys could be seen as part of that enormous single entity.
In such a place, rescuing a specific slave without any issues was an incredibly daunting task.
The market would thoroughly conceal the slaves' existence to protect buyers' rights, and amid that, the slaves would be swept up in a massive flow, covered in grime.
Katría worried most about that very point and desperately prayed.
Her brother Drian, who had become a slave and been sold into the black market.
She prayed nothing would happen to him until she could save him.
Of course, mere wishing and praying wouldn't make it happen.
It had to be as swift and precise as possible, while also being discreet.
That was the reality of a Dark Elf sneaking into a human city uninvited to operate in secret.
Thus, Katría's concerns only deepened.
Even if she used her family's influence to aggressively overturn the entire back alleys, she couldn't guarantee her brother's safety.
And in this situation, she had to pretend to be a slave and rely on a slave trader.
Sure enough.
Katría's fears came true.
The place they arrived at following their first lead.
Drian was not there.
What the slave trader held was not a slave ownership certificate, but the payment for selling it.
"..."
The hard-won dramatic reunion.
There wasn't a shred of joy in it.
It was a day over a month after Katría had stayed in Bondales.
She had finally recovered her lost brother.
"Drian..."
His pupils had lost their light, and desperate calls elicited only moans from a self stripped away.
The Dark Elf's body was covered in traces of abuse and mockery.
On top of that, his skin was hideously ruined beyond recognition over his entire body.
It was the side effect of a drug that temporarily bleached Dark Elf skin to make them look like regular elves.
Once they had ruined him to the point he couldn't even "impersonate" an elf anymore, they discarded him without hesitation.
Like the final use of a consumable with limited applications.
Katría could easily imagine the treatment Drian had received from humans.
To them, he had never been treated as a proper being for even a moment.
That was what she had come to bitterly realize in the human world.
"..."
Katría carefully laid her brother's body on the floor.
Then she looked at Reisha, the slave trader who was also her slave.
"Ah. Ahh..."
Despair settled on Reisha's face as their eyes met.
In a way, it was an inevitable outcome.
The discrimination and irrationality surrounding them was beyond any individual's power to change.
Rishir's concerns ran deep.
From what he'd heard, the back alleys north of Bondales were themselves a massive slave market.
Was it possible to pinpoint and find one specific slave in a place like that?
And before any problems arose?
"Rishir! We think we've found the Dark Elf slave you mentioned!"
It was possible.
"Already? Kal, why are you so capable?"
"No, it's thanks to you lending your name, Rishir!"
"My name has that kind of power?"
"These are Alstain and Keaara, who helped with this! They wanted to greet you, so I brought them!"
"Rishir! It's an honor to meet you in person!"
"I'm Keaara! I'm so happy I could help you this time!"
"Ah. Back alley sweet back alley. Full of good people."
Back alley friends who multiply just by breathing.
Thanks to them, Rishir easily met the Dark Elf slave 'Drian'.
His condition was perfectly intact.
In the terms of his former slave status, 'brand new'.
It was possible because the back alley slave market had been paralyzed for 'some reason'.
"...Mr. Tia?"
"Yes? Ah."
Tia—
No, Katría barely snapped out of it.
A series of unexpected developments had left her mind more confused than ever.
'Drian? How does that human know about Drian?'
'And what was that question? If I got a chance to escape with my kin, what would I do?'
Katría considered every possibility but found no clear answers.
Even gauging his intentions was overwhelming.
And rightly so—he was human.
The detestable race that didn't see Dark Elves as equals.
'I can't let my guard down...'
The premise formed from countless experiences thoroughly obstructed her thinking.
Katría kept her guard up against Rishir and answered.
"Why are you asking me that...?"
At Katría's response, Rishir flashed his usual mild-mannered smile.
"I thought a topic this provocative might get you interested in talking to me."
"What do you..."
"Don't you remember? Yesterday, when I said I wanted to know more about you, Tia, you were totally against it."
"..."
'That was his way of suggesting a conversation?'
In context, it made sense enough.
But the speaker.
He was human.
A human with pure curiosity toward a Dark Elf?
Katría couldn't imagine it.
"What are you curious about?"
Still, she couldn't help but be tempted by his offer.
As he said, the topic he'd just brought up was too provocative to ignore.
The obedient slave act was over.
Katría directed all her wariness at the human before her.
"A lot. But I'll stick to the essentials you probably want. Tia. I'll help you become a free person."
"Why?"
"Pardon?"
"What do you gain from it?"
All the human kindness she'd encountered so far had been malice disguised as goodwill.
Katría assumed this was no different.
"What do I gain... Hmm. Self-satisfaction?"
After a brief moment of thought, Rishir gave an awkward smile and began his explanation.
"You remind me of my mentor. She's a Dark Elf like you."
A human with a Dark Elf mentor.
It was absurd.
Even the humans who'd tried to deceive her with malice hadn't spun such a tall tale.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I know. It sounds weird. That my mentor's a Dark Elf, so I help another unconditionally. But... sigh, yeah, but how do I put this? Seeing you reminds me of her so much I can't just leave you alone."
"..."
"My mentor is the benefactor who changed my life. I'm living a life my past self couldn't even imagine. It's all thanks to her. She approached a nobody like me first and gave me an undeserved chance. Doesn't this feel similar to our situation? Is that too much of a stretch?"
"Of course it's..."
A stretch.
Too much of one to believe after everything she'd been through.
But why?
Katría couldn't doubt his words.
Because as he recalled some unknown Dark Elf, he wore the most vibrant smile.
"..."
Her mind was a jumble; she couldn't make sense of it.
"Drian..."
Amid it all, her feelings for her blood kin remained crystal clear.
"Why bring up someone named Drian?"
"Reisha asked me to help find him—a Dark Elf slave. Same owner. Same Dark Elf. Maybe someone you know."
"...Did you find that child?"
That day.
Among the merchants Rishir had met, Reisha ranked low in priority.
For example, there was no reason for Rishir to prioritize 'finding the Dark Elf slave' over other humans' requests.
Yet somehow.
Rishir nodded emphatically.
He had prioritized finding the Dark Elf slave above all else.
As if feeling urgent.
As if worried for the Dark Elf.
Huff.
Huff.
Katría was breathing heavily before she knew it.
She tried not to look at what Rishir held in his hand.
As if denying what had already happened.
"Where... where is that child now?"
Katría squeezed out the words in a trembling voice.
Rishir silently guided her.
In a bedroom of another lodging within the Magic Tower grounds.
A young man lay on the bed, resting.
"Drian!!!"
Katría rushed to Drian and embraced him.
Then immediately pulled back to check his condition.
"He just lost consciousness briefly, so no need to worry."
Rishir explained the circumstances to Katría.
Thus, she learned.
That right after yesterday's meetings ended, Rishir had immediately begun searching for the Dark Elf slave.
That when Drian was found, he was under mental domination magic and had lost his sense of self.
That Rishir had cured that mental domination magic.
That Drian had been examined by a priest residing in the Magic Tower and arrangements made for him to rest in the Tower's lodging.
"..."
As the story reached that point, Katría could no longer focus on his voice.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Fierce heartbeat.
It sank her consciousness deep within.
A feeling like floating in oil.
"...Mr.?"
A human voice pierced the heavy silence.
Her heart pounded hard.
"Tia?"
Thump!
Her heart pounded even harder.
Even now, the human desperately called the fake name with meaningless worry.
"Ha!"
How foolish it was—Katría burst into laughter without realizing.
Her laughter didn't stop there.
She covered her face with both hands.
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
Mad cackles leaked through her fingers.
"Tia?"
What a fool of a human.
Oblivious to his situation, he called the fake name laced with concern.
Katría lowered her hands to confirm his ridiculous expression.
"...Are you crying, by any chance?"
Her face, twisted in manic laughter, could have looked that way.
"Me? Why? Is there a reason? In this... this joyful situation? Rishir, thank you so much. Truth is, that child's my little brother. You're his savior."
Savior.
Katría savored the word and laughed again.
"Rishir? What should I do now?"
"...That other man with Reisha—do you know him too?"
"You mean Kairen? Of course! He's an acquaintance. Funny, right? A slave's bodyguard knight."
"So you, your brother, and Kairen make a party of three?"
"Yes. Exactly. The three of us are together."
"Got it. Then I'll take measures to get all three of you free somehow. Until then, can you trust me and wait?"
"..."
The boisterous energy around Katría subsided.
With unfocused eyes, she asked softly.
"How long? How long do I have to wait?"
"As fast as possible. I'll try to settle it within a week."
"A week... a week... a week..."
Finally, Katría smiled brightly at Rishir.
"Yes. I'll wait. Gladly."
In the dead of night when all slept.
Katría rose from bed and headed somewhere.
To where the foolish human slept.
Rishir.
Lying in bed asleep, he looked utterly at peace.
But Katría knew.
Only she knew.
That a 'tainted truth' now flowed through his body.
By tomorrow, he would lose his self and become a husk reacting only to commands.
Katría tried to deny it.
But—
"..."
She pulled a vial from her bosom and held it to the moonlight.
Exactly half.
The pale purple liquid that had filled it was unmistakably reduced.
The precise amount.
Thus, no matter what, the tainted truth flowing in his body would not be neutralized.
He would meet ruin at the hands of the Dark Elf he'd shown respect and goodwill to.
The human trying to pass on the goodwill he'd received from one Dark Elf to another.
The Dark Elf trying to pass on the hatred she'd received from humans to another human.
Thanks to that, she realized.
How misguided her own ways had been.
How immature her response to their hatred had been.
Now she knew clearly.
But it was far too late.
Thud.
Katría's body crumpled weakly.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Sitting dejectedly with her head bowed, she made unstable noises like a broken music box.
Soon, she rose and looked down at Rishir.
Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the room.
The Dark Elf's pale pink eyes brimmed with moonlight.
Yet they remained darkly dead.
The Dark Elf's fingers hovered faintly around the man's face.
"Don't worry..."
A hollow voice devoid of highs or lows.
"I'll take responsibility for you."
The Dark Elf wore a radiant smile.
A smile as precarious and alien as it was bright.
Title: What the hell is up with this Dark Elf??; [Photo]
Talking and smiling to a stuffed corpse?
Is this that necromancy thing?
The Dark Elf pocketed the vial she'd taken out to leave the room.
That was when.
Moonlight illuminated the liquid inside the vial.
"..."
The substance that had lost its unique properties and energy, becoming harmless liquid.
"How..."
Something unknown had purified the poison's nature.
Crunch.
Her hand gripped the vial tightly.
"Perhaps..."
Perhaps it wasn't too late to give up.
Something in the human world that neutralizes Dark Elf poison.
Something in the Magic Tower.
She had to find it and stop it.
"No matter what..."
Tears flowed endlessly.
The Dark Elf's dead eyes regained their light.