Chapter 209: Alfia, Who Wants to Suffer Forever (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 209: Alfia, Who Wants to Suffer Forever (1)
“And on my way to the Holy Kingdom, I stopped here and ran into you!”
Alfia's long tale came to an end.
I now knew the details, but my thoughts were far from organized. If anything, I was just more confused.
Let's think about this one step at a time.
Not long after I left Noctar, Narsha showed up.
Considering the timing, it meant she followed me right after I left the Bryan estate.
Without a word to her family. That must be why Count Bryan pointed his finger at me.
‘So the Merchants of Death were operating under my name?’
I knew the merchant group existed. A new merchant group that appeared out of nowhere and quickly expanded its influence using elves.
I never dreamed it was a joint venture between Narsha and Alfia.
No, more importantly.
‘While their master was working his ass off, they were having fun playing tycoon by themselves?’
I've been holding myself back from doing what I want!
Those ungrateful slaves.
No, wait. They aren't my slaves. Let's not get confused.
“You. What on earth were you thinking, calling yourself the Elf Queen's husband? Do you have any idea what a mess that caused in elven society?”
“Hahaha. It just sort of happened.”
“…Don't tell me you like the queen?”
“Of course not. I've never even seen her face. I just needed to have a friendly conversation, so I told a little lie. There were no ulterior motives.”
“Then that's fine.”
I understood why Alfia had set out on her journey.
It was because of me.
No, I'm the victim here. I was just messing with that Snow Elf. How could she take it so seriously?
She should have known better.
“Sometimes, the way elves overreact is worse than the dwarves.”
“What?”
“Just kidding.”
For a moment, Alfia's gaze was murderous.
Right. She's an elf, too. She must hate being compared to dwarves. I'd better be careful.
‘Next up is Azyeth...’
Just thinking about it made the back of my neck ache.
I told her to follow me if things got too tough, and she said she was fine. I can't believe she actually froze herself.
‘She calls it hibernation, but it's basically eternal sleep.’
This means I have no choice but to go back to Eisengar. I have to go after I finish my business here.
If I leave her like that, she might never wake up.
“Haaah…”
I can't let my guard down for a second with these troublesome slaves.
If the liberated ones are like this, I wonder what Elize is up to.
I need to get things back on track as soon as possible.
“So? Aren't you glad I came? You would've been in big trouble without me, right?”
Alfia asked, lowering her head slightly, her eyes full of expectation.
“Yes. If it weren't for you, Miss Alfia, my head would probably be decorating a public square by now.”
“Heehee. You can praise me more. Since it's you, I'll give you special permission to touch my ears.”
Alfia smiled brightly.
Watching her was like the arrival of spring, but unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of idling about.
“Miss Alfia, didn't you say the spirits were trembling?”
Disappointed that I didn't touch her ears, Alfia clicked her tongue with a short, “Tch.”
“Yeah. The spirits were fleeing from the direction I was headed. I smelled blood. Even without that, I can tell something's happened.”
Alfia gazed toward the distant sky. The heavens in the direction of the Holy Kingdom were as red as blood, and that crimson energy was slowly expanding.
“It's related to you, isn't it? Didn't you say you went to the Holy Kingdom?”
“That's right. I was there until a few days ago, but an incident occurred. I think I need to stop by somewhere else first.”
“Where are you going?”
“Vestia.”
In that moment, I had the illusion that the surrounding temperature had dropped.
No, it wasn't an illusion. The ice spirits, reacting to Alfia's emotions, were emitting a chilly aura.
Alfia's gaze on me was sharp. She spoke, her voice lowered as much as possible.
“Vestia? Again?”
“Yes. There's someone I must meet.”
“That fox?”
“Not her, but I'll probably run into her if I go... What's wrong?”
Did I say something wrong? Was there anything in our conversation to cause a mistake? It wasn't a complicated discussion. I had no idea what it could be.
Smack!
Alfia snatched my wrist, squeezing it tightly.
“Vestia? No. You are absolutely not going.”
*
For Alfia, reuniting with Karami was like rain in a drought.
If a wilting flower met the rain and bloomed once more, this is exactly how it would feel.
It had been nearly a year since she'd parted with Karami. To Alfia, it felt like a thousand years of waiting.
What a difficult time it had been.
With her own hands, she had carved wounds into her jade-like skin, creating a reason for him to stay by her side.
She had endured by smoking cigarettes, something she never thought she'd be associated with, and even turned to drugs. It was the only way to soothe her loneliness.
Now, she had reached a point where she couldn't function in daily life without smoking at least once a day. Even though she was an archer, she found it difficult to draw her bow.
‘And now he says he's going to Vestia?’
Vestia. The source of all these problems.
If only Karami hadn't gone to Vestia, none of this would have happened.
She had once sternly told her past self: if she could go back to that day, she must not fall asleep, and she must hold on to Karami.
Fortunately, the opportunity had come not to the Alfia of the past, but to the Alfia of today.
“You are absolutely not going.”
Was it true that parting makes the reunion sweeter?
It was true, just as Karami had said, that meeting again after being apart was all the more welcome, but one foolish act was enough. She had no intention of repeating it.
“Um, what's wrong? Did I make some kind of mistake?”
“You told me you were going to Vestia, but then you wandered off somewhere else instead of coming back.”
“I did go to Vestia. I finished my business there and then went to take care of other business.”
“Are you playing word games with me? Then you should have come back, gotten my permission, and then left again.”
“Is there any master who lives his life asking for his slave's permission?”
Alfia pressed her lips shut.
It was a sound argument, but to Alfia, it didn't matter at all anymore. The corners of her mouth twisted into a crooked smile.
“You know what? Thanks to someone lifting it, there's no contract between us anymore. If I stop you from going, what can you do about it?”
“I suppose I can't do anything.”
“And you're still determined to go?”
“Because there's a slave waiting for my help.”
Alfia bit her lip.
A wave of sorrow washed over her. She hated Karami for wanting to go somewhere else, for not even wondering about the state she was in right in front of him.
Alfia unwrapped the bandages that were tightly bound around her arm.
“See these? These scars?”
Her arm was covered in scratches and cuts.
Wounds she had shown to no one. They were signs of self-harm.
Even though she could have healed them with water spirits, she didn't. Whenever the wounds began to heal thanks to the high elves' regenerative abilities, she would harm herself again.
“You said you'd free me from my suffering. I'm in pain. I'm in so much pain. So please, don't go anywhere. Stay by my side. Okay?”
“Miss Alfia.”
“You'll stay with me, right? You'll keep your promise, right?”
At some point, a smile tinged with a madness she herself didn't realize had appeared on her lips.
Faced with Alfia pleading before him, Karami showed a troubled expression.
He could accept her following him, since all the others had done the same, but he'd never imagined she would resort to self-harm.
After all, what kind of slave was Alfia? Eternally Suffering Alfia.
She was the one who was supposed to be kidnapped, abused, and then sold at the slave market once her value dropped. He had attacked the mercenaries and saved her before that tragedy could occur.
But as if by a twist of fate, Alfia had ended up covered in scars anyway. And by her own hand.
He couldn't fathom what had gone wrong, or where, or how.
‘I can't just ignore this.’
Besides, it wasn't a situation he could ignore in the first place. Just as Alfia said, Karami currently had no way to get rid of her.
“Can't we go to Vestia together?”
“……”
“Alright. We'll go to Vestia later. Let's just hang out, the two of us.”
Only then did Alfia's face brighten. She reacted instantly, as if she'd been waiting for those words.
“Should we?”
Karami sighed inwardly.
The time it would take was about the same, whether he traveled by carriage or played along with Alfia for a bit and then rode her spirits.
He figured he just had to humor her for a while. Once she was satisfied, Alfia would let him go.
There was a time when Karami, too, thought that.
“By the way, the master was hiding some expensive stuff, you know? So Narsha and I sold it all off. The look on the master's face was hilarious.”
In a quiet part of the forest.
They were camping, having insisted on it after buying supplies in a nearby city.
A campfire crackled charmingly.
The two of them lay on sleeping bags inside a simple tent. The tent was so cramped that they were close enough for their arms to touch.
Why did he have to endure such discomfort?
Karami had wanted to stay at an inn, but he had no choice due to Alfia's strong insistence that camping in the forest was quite pleasant.
For an elf, maybe. For Karami, it was an unfamiliar place to sleep.
He occasionally flinched at the illusion of bugs crawling on him.
Fortunately, there was no need for a night watch.
The spirits were protecting them.
The only problem, if you could call it that, was that his ears were starting to hurt from Alfia chattering ceaselessly beside him.
“Being like this reminds me of sleeping at the master's house. Don't you think?”
“It was terrifying. I was worried I might never wake up.”
“…Did you really think that?”
“Of course. Even now, I worry I'll wake up with an arrow in my neck.”
“…I'm going to sleep.”
Alfia turned her back to Karami.
“Are you sulking…”
“I'm not sulking!”
She's definitely sulking.
Well, thanks to that, my hearing was saved.
Then, as he was looking at Alfia, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
“When elves lie on their side, don't their ears get squashed?”
You know how it is. When someone with broad shoulders lies on their side, their head doesn't reach the pillow.
So, do long-eared elves' ears just fold up neatly?
Unfortunately, since Alfia didn't answer, he would never know.
*
Inside the tent, only the sound of shallow breathing could be heard.
A rustling sound was heard, and soon after, Alfia sat up.
“Master. Are you asleep?”
There was no answer. The sound of his breathing was steady. He was definitely asleep.
After confirming Karami was asleep, Alfia exited the tent with careful movements so as not to wake him.
She staggered badly on her way out of the tent but managed to avoid falling.
Outside, fire spirits were chatting inside the campfire, keeping the flames from going out.
Alfia thrust her hand in, pulled out one of the chattering spirits, and went deeper into the forest.
Her hand trembled against her will.
Overcome with extreme anxiety, Alfia bit her fingers until they bled.
Familiar withdrawal symptoms.
Normally, she would have taken her drug by now, but because she was stuck to Karami, she had missed the time.
Leaning her back against a tree, Alfia rummaged through her pockets, pulled out the ingredients, and skillfully rolled a cigarette.
Just looking at the finished cigarette brought a wave of relief.
All she had to do was put it to her lips and light it with the fire spirit.
“What are you doing?”
She was so close...
Karami, who should have been asleep, appeared from behind her.
Alfia's sensitive hearing should not have missed him, but all her attention was focused on the drug.
Karami's black eyes glinted coldly in the darkness.
“Miss Alfia. Don't tell me you're smoking a cigarette right now?”