A Single Thin Shield

A single thin membrane of a shield sprang into being and threw itself across the path of Yujun's sword.

A crack snapped across it.

It was a shield sturdy enough to withstand even his overwhelming attack power. Yujun swept his gaze around, searching for whoever had conjured it—and then his eyes went wide.

Braced against the wall of the hut, barely managing to stay on her feet, stood a single dark elf.

The Dark Elf Queen?

The dark elves who had been hiding and watching his battle with the demons startled and rushed toward the figure they took for their queen.

"Your Majesty!"

"H-how could this have happened..."

"Call the elders!"

In an instant the place was in an uproar. Yujun's face twisted with distaste as he raised his sword to finish the demon Pierre. And in the moment he meant to bring it down—

"Wait!"

The Dark Elf Queen cried out. Her voice was badly cracked, as if she had not used it in a very long time. Yujun turned his head.

"You must not kill him now!"

"What do you mean?"

"That demon planted a strange detonator in my body."

"A detonator?"

Had the Tower of Infinity ever had such a thing?

"More precisely, it's a curse."

"Weren't you under the curse of eternal sleep?"

"I was. But the curse on me isn't only one. There are two. If Pierre dies, I die with him."

She had forced the words out all at once, and the Dark Elf Queen was left gasping for breath.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

He could not simply leave the demon to recover. The moment that creature came back to his senses, he would have a way or two out of this place.

"At the very least, you have to lift the curse before you kill him."

"And how am I meant to lift it? Do you have a method right now?"

At Yujun's question, the Dark Elf Queen's face darkened.

"...I don't."

"Hah."

Utterly without a plan. Yujun let out a sigh. There were certainly any number of ways to break a curse, but when the curse in question was a powerful one, matters grew exceedingly thorny.

"Two curses... you said?"

"Your Majesty..."

"I'll go fetch an elixir at once! Please wait!"

"Everyone, calm down. I'm all right for now. There's nothing seriously wrong with my body at the moment."

The dark elves had sunk into gloom when Yujun spoke.

"For now."

He opened his inventory.

"I have a way."

At his words, not only the dark elves but the queen herself startled.

"What? You have a way? The curses on me are high-grade. No ordinary skill would even come close..."

"I'm sure they wouldn't."

Which was precisely why the Dark Elf Queen had fallen into the demons' hands. She was clearly not so weak that she would have been taken down so emptily by the demons Sheira and Pierre, the ones Yujun had just cut down.

"You don't happen to have an elixir, do you?"

At the Dark Elf Queen's question, Yujun shook his head.

"Hardly."

"Ah. Of course not."

Disappointment showed plainly on the queen's face.

In truth, he did have an elixir. Elixirs were precious things, and he had no desire to spend one on a complete stranger. But he could hardly say so outright. Yujun drew a single item from his inventory.

"It isn't an elixir, but this should work as well."

It was a flask of pure white liquid. Nothing about it stood out, and it bore no particular mark, yet it gave off a clean, noble feeling.

"That is...?"

"See for yourself."

As Yujun walked slowly forward, the dark elves watched him with wary eyes. He stopped at a certain distance and spoke again.

"I can't give this away for free, though. It's an expensive item."

It was an item capable of resolving both of the high-grade curses on the Dark Elf Queen in a single stroke. Naturally, he could not simply hand it over.

"What is it you want?"

The Dark Elf Queen asked. Yujun produced the answer he had prepared in advance.

"I want an apology for the dark elves' attempt to kill the elves."

"...What happened in the meantime?"

At Yujun's mention of an attack on the elves, the Dark Elf Queen's expression hardened into something grave. The dark elves around her grew uneasy and began to murmur.

"What do we do...?"

"Her Majesty doesn't know a thing."

"Should we explain first?"

They spoke as if whispering, but the gist of the conversation was easy enough to guess. Nor did the queen seem to be acting.

So they moved without the queen's knowledge. As I thought.

She had been held captive by the demons, so it was only natural she would not know what was happening outside. That she had awakened the very moment she slipped their surveillance was a stroke of absurd luck. Or perhaps, when the demon Pierre was gravely wounded, the power of the curse laid upon the queen had weakened.

"In order to save you, the dark elves launched attacks on the elves—and on me as well. They meant to steal the World Tree Seed I was carrying."

"...What does the World Tree Seed have to do with me?"

"The demons wanted it. They said that if the seed was brought to them, they would release you."

The Dark Elf Queen turned, one eye narrowing. The dark elves—the elders in particular—flinched.

"And you believed that?"

"We had no other way!"

"If we hadn't, Your Majesty would have been in danger."

Even at the elders' excuses, the Dark Elf Queen's expression did not change.

"Even if that were so. You should never have attacked the elves, with whom we were on friendly terms. That crossed the line—and then some."

Her words were firm. They had bickered over the mine, yes, but until now they had only argued. They had never actually fought with the intent of taking one another's lives. And so the Dark Elf Queen was angrier than anyone had expected.

She approached Yujun and bowed at the waist.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"On behalf of my kin—no, on behalf of the entire dark elf race—I apologize. The same goes for the elves... the Hwaripul Tribe. I will go to them in person and apologize directly."

"Very well."

"Is there anything else you want?"

At her words, Yujun laughed inwardly. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The real point began now. The Dark Elf Queen begging the elves' forgiveness meant nothing to him. Quietly expectant, he opened his mouth.

"By any chance, do you have blue dolle grass?"

"Dolle grass?"

"Yes."

"We do. We always keep one or two stocked in the village. But why do you need dolle grass?"

The Dark Elf Queen asked, puzzled—and understandably so. Dolle grass was an ingredient the dark elves used when making the sauce they served alongside vegetable dishes, the better to enjoy fine food. Humans could barely even taste that sauce, and almost no one knew the recipe. Even the elves, it was said, did not know how to make use of dolle grass.

"No particular reason. I have a hobby of wandering the Continent and collecting all sorts of things. I wanted to add a dolle grass to the collection. As you know, races other than the elves don't come across that grass easily."

That was not the real reason, but he brushed it off for now.

"Considering the kindness of saving me from the demons, that's nothing difficult. All right."

The Dark Elf Queen offered a faint smile. Yujun handed her the bottle he had been holding.

"Can this really remove the curse?"

"Read the item description."

The Dark Elf Queen nodded and opened the item information.

A Legendary-grade consumable. Its effect was all but guaranteed even without reading the option. Having read the item's properties, the Dark Elf Queen opened her eyes wide.

"Legendary grade...? You're giving me this?"

"Yes. If you give me the dolle grass and keep the promise you just made."

He had already handed over the potion, but Yujun trusted she would keep her word. Neither dark elves nor elves were the sort to break a promise once made, as a rule.

"Very well. In any case, we're in no position to refuse that offer right now."

Even as she said it, the Dark Elf Queen's expression was bright. To their eyes, it would look as though Yujun were making a losing trade—and no wonder, for to them dolle grass was hardly an important item. But Yujun absolutely needed the blue dolle grass. It could only be obtained in a dark elf village, so there was no better chance than this.

"Then the deal is struck."

It was a trade in which both sides gained. Yujun owned a great many Sacred Detox Potions. Giving up one of them cost him nothing at all.

The Dark Elf Queen swallowed the Sacred Detox Potion without hesitation. The potion slid down her throat and completely extinguished both of the high-grade curses upon her. With that, the queen's complexion brightened at a startling speed. From her gaunt, wasted state, she recovered the dignified, beautiful features that had once been hers.

"Haa... Thank you. I feel as though I've only received help one-sidedly, so if there's anything else you want, please say so."

With the curses resolved, the Dark Elf Queen's expression grew markedly more at ease. He had been planning to ask for more compensation anyway. How convenient that she offered first.

"Do you happen to have something like an elixir pill? The kind that grants a trait or a skill."

"...Hm."

The Dark Elf Queen considered for a moment. What Yujun had asked for was an item of considerable value. And yet she did not hesitate for even an instant.

"I'll give you one. As it happens, I have one left in my inventory."

Elves were much the same, but dark elves were thorough about debts of gratitude and grievance. She held out an Aged Elixir. Yujun, who had honestly expected her to fetch it from a storehouse, accepted it in a bit of a daze.

"Thank you."

"Not at all. I'm the one who should be grateful."

It was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠item somewhat different from the Long-Aged Elixir. As the name suggested, it could be considered a step below that one.

Even at S-grade or below, there are plenty of useful traits.

Yujun carefully stored the elixir in his inventory for the time being. After that, he approached the demon Pierre, whose body was still regenerating, and swung his sword. Pierre's neck came off in a single stroke of that keenly cutting blade.

Alchemy materials.

Both a Demon's Essence and a Lesser Demon's Horn were excellent material items. If he asked Paranet, the skeleton could probably make something quite decent out of them.

Now it was time for a last farewell to the dark elves.

"I'll be going, then."

"Yes. Thank you again for everything that happened here."

The Dark Elf Queen was sincerely grateful. To them, Yujun was a benefactor without equal. It was only natural. He exchanged messenger contacts with the Dark Elf Queen as well.

Will I really have occasion to stay in touch with a queen?

With that thought, Yujun left the dark elf village.

That worked out.

At first he had thought he would end up completely at odds with the dark elves. But the recording orb he had set up in advance had paid off: he caught the demons and earned an achievement. On top of that, he had received compensation from the dark elves. In more ways than one, installing the orb had been worth it.

Good thing I peeked.

Yujun returned to the residential zone of the Tower of Infinity. He had more than enough points from selling a few junk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠items at the shop, so he took the most expensive room at the inn. Once he had washed the demons' blood clean from his body, Yujun opened his inventory.

It was the Aged Elixir he had received from the Dark Elf Queen.

No need to save this one.

Without hesitation, he tipped the elixir into his mouth.