Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Elves
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Elves.
They were a race almost identical to humans, but with superior physical abilities and overwhelming beauty that transcended gender, once making them the object of human admiration.
Sion didn't know much about it, but it was said that in the distant past, there were even humans who worshiped elves as gods.
In any case, the elves Sion had seen since coming to this world were a tragic race silently marching toward inevitable extinction.
Dwarves shared similar concerns about extinction, but they integrated well into human society and were in a more favorable position for preserving their kind than elves.
Elves, however, were different.
Elves' beauty was initially the target of admiration and longing, but it gradually turned into an object of desire. And once it became known that they were heading toward extinction, it shifted to an object of "collection."
The era of elf hunting had arrived.
Sion had come to this world right in the midst of that era.
Elves had physical abilities superior to humans. But their numbers were far too few compared to humans.
100 to 1? Not even close—it was at least 10,000 to 1.
If there was an elf tribe of about a hundred members, more than ten times that number of humans would try to capture them.
In the end, the remaining elves hid in deep mountains and dense primeval forests that were hard for humans to access.
Of course, not all humans gave up because of that.
But in those deep mountains and primeval forests, at most a few dozen hunters could enter, and even large-scale groups numbered only in the hundreds.
And there, the hunters were killed off by elf warriors who made up less than a tenth of their numbers.
At least in the mountains and forests, the hunters and the hunted had swapped places.
This was precisely why elves became known as the "forest race."
But the elves' peace was far too short-lived.
The era of the Demon Dragon had come.
Monsters influenced by the Demon Dragon increased exponentially.
Even the elves, natural-born hunters, couldn't handle the monsters that were multiplying exponentially and growing more ferocious.
In the end, the elves had no choice but to leave the forests that had been their home and sanctuary.
At least humans desired and collected elves rather than killing them like monsters.
And so, among the elves who emerged from the forests to face the Demon Dragon era, one tribe happened to encounter an immortal superhuman.
The elves who would later be given the surname and tribe name "High Mountain" came to trust this superhuman, who unlike other humans neither lusted after them nor thought of collecting them.
The superhuman, too, took a liking to this tragic race that calmly accepted their fate of extinction yet fought fiercely until their final moments.
They were indifferent but brave, rude but honest.
To the superhuman, who had wandered for decades and grown weary of human greed and betrayal, elves were a far superior race to humans.
Thus, the superhuman led the elves to join the anti-Demon Dragon forces.
They killed monsters influenced by the Demon Dragon and even humans who lusted after elves despite the ongoing war.
During this long journey of war against the Demon Dragon and the monsters it commanded, more and more elves followed the superhuman, and after finally defeating the Demon Dragon, he became a hero and led them to his own territory.
About thirty percent of all surviving elves in the world had become part of one faction.
And over the next seventy years, the number of elves in this world continued to dwindle, making it extremely rare to see one.
This was especially true in regions where many elves had been "collected" in the past or where deep mountains and dense forests were scarce.
The Galen County fit all those criteria.
* * *
“Gulp….”
The knights of Sauden glanced toward one spot and swallowed dryly.
Their eyes had turned reddish at some point, and they all felt their hearts pounding and a thirst building.
It wasn't just the alcohol.
Over there, sharing seats with the high nobles, were female knights with unbelievable beauty.
The Sauden knights' breathing grew increasingly ragged as they stared at them.
“I heard elves still live in the Sion Dukedom… I can't believe it's true.”
“The direct descendants of the ducal family must take turns… enjoying those elves. Damn it! I'm jealous.”
“Tch. Why don't we have any elves on our side?”
“Ha! Sir, are you really asking that? Don't you know how many elf sex slaves the great-grand lord from three generations ago kept? Even if I were an elf, I wouldn't set foot near our great territory.”
No one in Galen County had actually seen an elf for several generations since the Demon Dragon War.
In other words, the Sauden knights and mercenaries below Zaitz attending today's banquet were among the first people in Galen County to see elves in person in nearly half a century.
“But doesn't that girl know about the old history? Why is she acting so friendly with that puppet kid?”
“Hmm. It's ancient history, and since that elf was born and raised in the Sion Dukedom, she might not have any particular feelings toward the Galen count family.”
“No, even granting that, it still doesn't make sense. Does she have unusual tastes? What's so good about that dead-fish-eyed brat?”
“I don't know about that either.”
The Sauden knights felt both jealousy and disbelief.
At the start of the banquet, all five elf female knights had been present.
As the banquet progressed, they slipped away one by one to their lodgings, until only one remained.
Among the elf female knights, she was the one with the most beautiful and mysterious aura—the one with golden bobbed hair.
Despite constantly drawing gazes from the Sauden side, she oddly stayed in one spot.
Right next to Zaitz Galen, the acting lord they called the puppet kid.
“Staring like this makes me feel shitty.”
“Same here. Huh? Sh-she's looking this way.”
“What?”
At one knight's words, the others whipped their flushed faces in that direction simultaneously.
Under hair shining like starlight, the elf female knight with deep, graceful eyes like a lake stared toward where the knights sat.
And then.
“Gasp!?”
“Ugh!”
The knights groaned and widened their eyes.
The elf female knight, whose beauty seemed otherworldly, had winked toward them!
“Did you, did you see that? Everyone saw it, right?”
“Yeah, we did. What does it mean?”
The knights' hearts pounded even harder.
A beautiful female knight winking at them—cool and proud ones like themselves (in reality, they all looked dazed from the booze)?
No need to think about it!
“It has to be me, right!? Even a beauty recognizes a true man!”
“What bullshit is that, you beta male sir? It's obviously a signal to me, the acknowledged alpha among alphas.”
“Ha! You're all eating soup before the bread's even baked. The only one who can satisfy that mysterious, starlit beauty here is me… Gasp!?”
Now she was even sending a seductive smile along with the wink!
Of course, in reality, her eyes weren't smiling at all—it was an awkward, creepy smirk that went beyond awkward—but to the drunken, aroused males, it was the most tempting and bewitching smile in the world.
Heh heh….
The Sauden knights gaped with jaws dropped, drool dripping.
Then, a male elf warrior staggered toward their table.
“Hic! Ah. Sister Stella. At it again. With that bad. Habit of yours. Whenever you. Drink alcohol. One man. Isn't enough. For satisfaction. This. This. Tonight's gonna be. Troublesome.”
Priel, the (mecha)elf putting on robotic acting beyond even foot acting, staggered away.
But to the drunken, aroused males, Priel's appearance just now was method acting worthy of an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“Yeah, loud and clear.”
The Sauden knights' eyes gleamed with lust.
* * *
Zaitz couldn't believe this situation.
When he first saw her, he thought she was just an incredibly beautiful woman, but she turned out to be an elf!
Moreover, even after knowing he was a direct descendant of the Galen count family that had done "this and that" to elves long ago, she didn't seem to care and stayed by his side from start to finish.
But.
“Um, Lady Stel….”
“Squad member Stella. How about stopping the drinking now?”
“Yes. I think so.”
That instructor guy kept getting in the way between her and him.
Just one more step, exactly one more step, and he could have an elf as a sex slave—no, a lover—like his great-grandfather!
If that happened, all the men in the family would look up to him!
Fueled by alcohol, lust, jealousy, and now anger, Zaitz's gaze openly turned toward Stella and Sion.
Seeing that gaze, the old monster chuckled inwardly.
It looked like the bait had fully set.
“Aah. I'm drunk. Instructor. Could you. Escort me. Back?”
“…Sure.”
Sion had never done any acting beyond playing a tree in elementary school, but seeing Stella made him want to coach her acting.
Of course, it didn't seem necessary right now.
Because.
“I-I'll escort you as well, Lady Stella.”
It was because of this bastard wagging his tail like a horny dog, fully buying the godawful foot acting as if it were perfect.
Zaitz Galen genuinely believed Stella was drunk and sending him all sorts of "signals."
It was a situation that defied common sense.
Sion had initially thought this guy had some scheme and was pretending to fall for the foot acting on purpose.
But as time passed, he realized the foot acting had genuinely worked on him.
‘He's never actually seen a real elf before in his life….’
And the first conversation he had was with Stella and Camilla, who vied for the top spots in weirdness among the female elf squad members of the Sparrowhawk Unit.
It was because his first encounter started with weird elves and a weird "conversation" (questionable if it even qualified as one) that such foot acting worked.
“Here, lean on me.”
“Yes. Instructor.”
Stella, who had been gazing at Sion with that devouring look (clearly not drunk to anyone watching), leaned against him.
For a moment, Sion was startled.
‘Why is this so natural?’
Was it because Acting (S) suddenly appeared in his status? Sion was dumbfounded by how naturally Stella rested her face on his shoulder.
“Hoo, hoo….”
On top of that, she was even panting like a clearly drunk person?
‘Did her acting skill really level up out of nowhere?’
It was highly suspicious, but to avoid ruining the stage he had set himself, Sion naturally placed a hand lightly on her waist and started walking.
“Squad member Stella, you should cut back on the drinking. I heard that if you overdo it, you sleep so deeply that you wouldn't notice even if someone carried you. What if something bad happens?”
Sion spoke loudly enough for Zaitz, following a bit behind, to hear.
“Th-that's fine… No problem.”
“Hmm? What was that?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
Sion tilted his head once, then resumed walking, and they arrived at Stella's room (specially arranged).
“Can you get in and sleep alone?”
“Yes.”
Sion found her reaction odd—she wouldn't lift her head unlike before—but he glanced back at Zaitz behind him.
“Well then, let's go drink more, Sir Zaitz. We can clear up any misunderstandings too.”
“Uh… Well, you see.”
“Ah, are you a bit drunk? Shall we talk tomorrow then?”
“Ah, yes. That's right. Since alcohol might make me say silly things, it might be better to meet with clear heads tomorrow.”
“Alright then. See you.”
“Yes.”
“Goodbye. Instructor. And.”
Creak.
Like a robot, Stella's head turned toward Zaitz.
“Sir Zaitz Galen. Too.”
Wink.
“……!”
Turning her face at an angle visible only to him, the wink she sent made Zaitz's heart race again, his lower body swelling heavily.
No doubt about it.
That seductive elf was tempting him tonight.
(To be continued)