Chapter 204: Reunion with an Elf
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 204: Reunion with an Elf
The feeling of floating vanished, and the vortex of blood subsided. I found myself standing in a field with the Holy Kingdom in view. Elize had sent me here with her magic.
The Holy Kingdom, which had been noble and sacred just moments before, had turned black. Blood-red clouds were gathering in the once-clear sky.
The ominous atmosphere was reminiscent of the apocalypse. Even without a system notification, I could tell something had gone terribly wrong.
It was because I had failed to completely liberate Elize.
‘This feels a bit unfair.’
I had a rough idea of where things had gone wrong.
This, too, was due to the differences from the original game.
Most of Elize’s story unfolds from her perspective. That means her psychological state is also described in text.
(Elize is slightly confused.) Something like that.
But without the ability to read minds, I had no way of perfectly grasping what Elize was truly thinking.
Now, thanks to the system messages and Elize’s own words, I could understand the worries she was harboring. But it was already too late.
‘I'm sure I told her to speak up if she had any worries.’
If she had just told me, it would have been much easier to resolve. She wanted salvation, yet she suffered in silence and ended up ruining everything.
No, maybe she did show signs, and I just failed to notice.
‘What should I do?’
Just because I failed doesn't mean I can retry like in a game. I have to find a way.
Just living in this world is an option, I suppose, but I can't stand the thought of not liberating my poor slaves.
It would be one thing if she didn't want it, but that's not the case. I know Elize desires salvation.
If I give up here, I don't deserve to be their master.
‘Charging in blindly won't work.’
How could I possibly break through a place that looks like a city from hell? I should be grateful she sent me out in the first place; I can't expect such mercy a second time.
And I had no intention of giving up on returning either.
The rule imposed on me is that I can't place shackles on a slave I've already liberated, but...
‘There is a way, though.’
A certain little witch who ignores the system's rules and puts on shackles with her own two hands.
My destination was set.
“We've caught the Slave Reaper!”
But my plan fell apart the moment I arrived in the next city.
It would take several weeks by carriage to reach my destination. Having been all but kicked out of the Holy Kingdom, I needed a means of transportation.
I arrived at a nearby city to find a carriage. As usual, the guards demanded I prove my identity, and I presented my ID from the Slave Traders’ Association.
Soldiers in this world are poor. The honest and upright ones starved to death long ago. These men were nothing more than salaried workers.
I offered the gatekeepers a sum of money they wouldn't find disappointing. An amount so large that no one could refuse it unless they were the youngest son of a chaebol family, soldiering as a hobby.
But it didn't work.
It wasn't because they were noble soldiers.
“I've finally caught you, you rat!”
A familiar face.
But not one I was happy to see.
“It's been a while, Count Bryan. Have you been well?”
Narsha's father.
It was Count Bryan.
What was a man who should be in the capital doing here?
“Been well? Since you spirited my daughter away and vanished, I haven't had a single moment of proper sleep. But that ends today. I've put a bounty on your head and even hired mercenaries to catch you!”
“I can feel just how much you've missed me, Count. But spirited your daughter away? I believe I escorted the young lady home safely, did I not?”
I think I'd heard a rumor about it.
That Narsha had suddenly disappeared and the Count had put a bounty on my head.
“It's a bit late to be asking for after-sales service. The warranty period has expired.”
“Hmph! I won't be fooled by your silver tongue any longer. You are sentenced to death!”
Eh.
*
Honestly, I thought it was a hidden camera prank.
First Elize's deception, and now Narsha's supposed escape.
I could somehow understand the former, but the latter was incomprehensible. Why was he blaming me for his own daughter's decision to run away?
I expected it to end with a “Ta-da! It was all a lie!” I thought maybe he was finally trying to reward me for saving his daughter.
“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”
Until my neck was on the guillotine.
From the city gate to the prison.
From the prison to the execution ground.
It all happened in an instant, without even a trial.
There wasn't even a chance to use an item to escape.
I was bound so tightly I couldn't move. Above, the guillotine's blade gleamed. Before me, a crowd of men, women, and children cheered.
I was in a situation straight out of the beginning of a villainess romance fantasy novel. The kind where if you die, you either regress in time or get reincarnated as a middle-aged man on Earth.
But if I die here, will I really regress?
I'd rather just wake up and realize, ‘Ah, fuck, it was all a dream.’
But that wasn't going to happen.
I knew because I'd already died at Heukbi's hands.
Even if I could be revived, I didn't want to die.
‘What did I do wrong?’
My only crime was liberating slaves.
Sure, some people died in the process, but this is a world where if a passing noble says, “Split in half and die,” you die.
They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Shouldn't self-defense be taken into consideration?
But no matter how much I complained, no one would listen to my grievances. I was a slave trader, and he was a noble.
The height of absurdity.
“Carry out the sentence!”
I'll curse you all.
When I die, I'll change my class from Slave Reaper to a real Grim Reaper and cut you all down.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Swish!
It was then that I heard a sharp sound cutting through the air.
At first, I thought it was the sound of the guillotine falling.
But it was thinner than that.
Just like the sound of an arrow being fired.
BOOM!
An explosion rang out.
A gentle wind enveloped me.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“It's a terrorist attack!”
Could it be my followers?
Right, with ten thousand members in my church, at least one of them might come to save me.
As I had that thought, the scent that ironically drifted into my nostrils was that of a forest. A refreshing forest aroma that cleared my head the moment I breathed it in.
I've been to many forests in my life, but I was certain there were only two beings who could exude such a fresh forest scent in the middle of a city.
The World Tree.
And the elves of the Great Forest.
Puzzled, I opened my eyes.
While the crowd scattered in terror, a forest elf descended gently on the wind, fluttering like a leaf.
“Master!”
Was that a title or a casual address? Anyone hearing it would think my name was Master.
But none of that mattered in the slightest.
“Miss Alfia?”
Alfia Liliand, the playful flower.
This wasn't some vision flashing before my eyes right before death.
The distinct forest scent of an elf that wafted over me as Alfia landed by my side left no room to mistake her for a hallucination.
I hadn't mistaken her for someone else, either.
She was wearing the Laurel Wreath of the World Tree on her head.
It wasn't some other elf; it was the Alfia I knew.
I was dumbfounded.
“Uh... Miss Alfia, why are you here?”
“Why? Because you never came, so I went looking for you. The spirits nearby were trembling for some reason, so I came on a hunch, and here you are.”
I didn't understand what she was talking about.
Instead, it suddenly occurred to me that I might be a worse person than I thought. Otherwise, there's no way everyone in the world would be chasing after me.
Narsha, Alfia, Mirabelle, and one is even imprisoned.
She must have gone through a lot to find me, as the dark circles under her eyes were deep, but her face was still lit up with a bright smile.
A smile that seemed to say, ‘I finally caught this bastard.’
Thanks to her, my life was saved, though.
“Stand aside, elf! I don't know why you're interfering with this execution, but even an elf will be subdued by force if you break the laws of the Traul Kingdom!”
Alfia, who had been giving me a beaming, flower-like smile, suddenly wore a chilling expression.
“By force? You? Me?”
“Hk?!”
“If you want to catch me, you'll need to bring more than just a city. Try the entire kingdom.”
“Is that a declaration of war?”
“No? It's just me. A personal deviation.”
She wasn't bluffing.
A young elf who has just tamed a spirit is treated as being on par with a mid-tier mage, if not better. And Alfia, who commands a Servant—a being superior to a spirit—is by all accounts the strongest elven warrior.
This was the same Alfia who had annihilated an entire merchant group with a single arrow. There was no way these men could subdue her.
“Wanna bet on who's right? Of course, I won't be betting anything. It's fraud to wager on something when you already know the outcome.”
She must have really liked that line.
Seeing as she still remembers it and is using it now.
“Miss Alfia, thank you for saving me, but let's not escalate the situation any further. Of course, you're not my slave, so this isn't an order, but a request.”
“They were trying to kill you, and you want me to let them go?”
“Our opponent is a noble. The head of the House of Count Bryan. Killing a noble will cause a lot of trouble.”
“Count Bryan? So that man is Narsha's father?”
“Yes, he is... But Miss Alfia, how do you know Narsha?”
“Because I was just with her.”
“?”
What's that supposed to mean?
Why is the missing Narsha with Alfia?
“So he's Narsha's father. I don't particularly care, but if you're telling me not to, I guess I have no choice.”
Alfia said to Count Bryan.
“If you're looking for Narsha, go to Noctar. You should be able to meet her there.”
“My daughter is in Noctar? Is that true?”
“Yep. Though, I doubt you'll have the touching reunion you're imagining.”
“How can I believe that? And even if it's true, I cannot let the Slave Reaper go! That man is a villain who holds children hostage to threaten their parents!”
“Believe it or not, that's up to you. But if you try to harm this person, I won't hold back. I'm only being this patient because you're Narsha's father.”
Ssk.
Alfia placed her hand on her bowstring.
Her hand had been empty a moment ago, but now a light arrow was nocked.
A technique exclusive to elves.
It was a spirit arrow.
The knights surrounding us glanced at the Count, who gave a silent signal. He had judged that fighting an elf was suicide.
“A wise choice.”
Alfia crouched down and turned her head to me. An invisible blade of wind sliced through the ropes binding my wrists.
“Let's get out of here first, Master. Too many watching eyes to properly enjoy our reunion.”
“Hmm....”
“What's with that look? Don't tell me you don't want to be alone with me or something? If it weren't for me, your head would've been rolling on the ground by now.”
“Of course not.”
She saw right through me.
But I have no idea what she might do to me.
She wasn't always this perceptive.
She's gotten a little scary in the time we've been apart.
Taking my hand, Alfia rode the wind and quickly escaped the city.
We landed on a nearby forest path.
Still, she didn't let go of my hand.
Her fresh smile showed no signs of fading.
She stared at me intently, not taking her eyes off me for a second.
“I was too confused earlier to ask properly. How on earth did you know I was here and come find me?”
“She told me. The Ice Princess... hmm, was it Azyeth?”
“You met Miss Azyeth, too?”
“Yep. Though she's hibernating.”
“...?”
What the...
She's not a bear, so why would she be hibernating?
I started the story by waking them up in the first place.
I have no clue what could have possibly happened while I was gone.
“You look like you don't understand. Alright, I'll tell you what happened, step by step.”
Alfia began her story.
