Chapter 33: The First Step
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 33: The First Step
On the streets of Noctar.
Roperman’s secretary, Neil, strolled through the city. He was under orders from Roperman to find an elf.
To that end, Neil had visited the Adventurer’s Guild and even spoken with some underground organizations, but he had come up completely empty-handed. As expected, there were no elves in Noctar.
Even if he did find one, that would be a problem in itself.
This wasn’t like swatting a mosquito that had gotten into his room. Could he really just catch an elf the moment he found one? Unless it was some bottom-of-the-barrel elf, it would be far from easy.
I’ll just kill some time and head back.
Neil was good at finding the easy way out.
As he wandered aimlessly, a group of people caught his eye.
They were children. A group of grimy, disheveled kids was talking with a group of clean ones.
What’s this?
Were they commoner kids teasing the slum kids?
Well, it was true what they said—human malice is at its peak in childhood. But things like that were always fun to watch.
Pretending to be a passerby, Neil casually walked toward them. The children’s voices grew clearer.
“I’m telling you, if you become Master Karami’s slaves, you can sleep in a warm place too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s true. Look, we’re all clean now, aren’t we?”
Neil couldn’t help but be impressed by their method of persuasion. To take children as slaves, raise them, and then use those slaves to create new ones.
It was a revolutionary idea.
This Karami fellow was no ordinary man.
But to think they would try to sell out their friends, even if their master was the one behind it. Like master, like slave. These kids were something else, too.
“Hey, don’t fall for it. Everyone knows if you become a slave, you just work until you die.”
A large boy stepped forward, retorting.
Matthew shot him a look of disinterest. “You couldn’t become a slave even if you wanted to. Master Karami only takes girls.”
Ignoring the boy, he turned his gaze to the girls next to him.
“Think about it, girls. You won’t have to give money to those scary older boys and girls, and you can dress up all pretty. Look.”
Matthew pointed at Hanni. Startled, Hanni quickly struck a pose. A V-sign.
The girls looked tempted.
The boy, deciding he might lose the girls if this continued, shoved Matthew with his arm.
“You, cut it out. Slaves… they only take broken, crippled people. You’re all just cripples.”
At the blatant insult, Lala strode forward, hands on her hips.
“Nuh-uh! Only amazing people can become Master Karami’s slaves! Even a pretty elf lady is his slave!”
“Hey! Master Karami told you not to talk about that!”
“Oops!”
Lala quickly clamped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late. A long shadow fell over the girl.
“Oh? An elf slave, you say? How interesting. Could you tell me a little more about that?”
*
The unremarkable days repeated themselves.
I’d eat breakfast and head to the forest with Alfia. Then, we’d shoot arrows until the sun went down.
Of course, it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Alfia would occasionally complain of pain and down the alcohol I’d brought from the tavern. Her tipsiness would force us to stop training.
The training could only proceed in the narrow window after her elven detoxification ability purged the alcohol, but while her spirits were still groggy.
It was a cumbersome and tedious process.
One would think she’d be exhausted from her mind constantly wavering, but Alfia never complained and dedicated herself to the training.
Alfia shot an arrow.
It flew wide, missing the target tree by a large margin.
But she didn’t seem to mind the miss. At least it wasn’t plunging into the ground or soaring into the sky anymore. In just a few days, her arrows were flying straight and steady. If she could just adjust her aim a little, hitting the target would be a breeze.
I’m glad Alfia is starting to find this interesting.
At first, she had radiated dislike for the activity, but a change of heart seemed to have occurred, and even her expression had softened.
When she narrowly missed, she would let out a sigh of disappointment. When an arrow flew off in a completely wrong direction, she would pout her lips in frustration. Then, with a serious look, she would correct her posture.
Given the circumstances, I hadn’t been able to find her a teacher, but even without anyone to instruct her, Alfia knew what she had done wrong.
To say her skills were improving by leaps and bounds was an understatement. For someone self-taught to be this good, it was more fitting to say a reincarnated master archer had picked up a bow.
“Hoo…”
Alfia nocked an arrow on the bowstring.
She drew the hand holding the fletching back to her face.
She felt the flow of the wind.
She let out a small breath, then held the rest.
The moment she became perfectly still.
Twang.
Alfia released the bowstring smoothly.
Swwwish!
The arrow shot forth with a sharp cry, tearing through the air.
Its speed seemed to defy gravity itself.
Carving a straight line instead of a parabola, the arrow flew toward the target in an instant.
Thwack!
It embedded itself in the tree.
“Wow!”
An exclamation escaped Alfia’s lips before she could stop it.
It wasn’t a bullseye.
It was on the very outer edge.
But it had hit the tree. That was all that mattered.
She spun around to look at me, her already large eyes even wider in surprise.
“I hit it!”
“You did.”
“I hit it!”
“Yes, Alfia, you hit it.”
“What do I do? Don’t tell me I was actually a master archer all along?”
Alfia was beside herself with joy. It seemed she had let her serious demeanor fly away with the arrow.
“What a shame. I guess I won’t get to see you looking all dejected about missing anymore.”
But the boisterous Alfia suddenly grew quiet. Her cheeks flushed red as she began to twirl a lock of her hair. She glanced at me shyly.
“…It doesn’t matter, as long as it exists in your memory.”
Oh…
That was a surprisingly romantic thing to say.
I never thought Alfia would say something like that. She must have been thinking about what I’d said before.
It meant the invisible wall between us had crumbled a little. The expensive alcohol was worth it. That sounds a bit strange, but anyway.
“Hmph! I’m going to shoot again, so don’t bother me, okay?”
Alfia raised her bow again.
As if not to forget the feeling she’d just had.
And this time, she was clearly smiling.
*
“I just had this feeling, you know? Like, bam! A feeling that if I shot right then, the arrow would hit. So I let go of the string, and just as I thought…!”
On the way back to the city.
As if her excitement hadn't yet dried up, Alfia gestured in the air, mimicking the act of shooting a bow.
Was she really that happy about hitting the target?
I didn’t understand why she’d been so reluctant if she was going to enjoy it this much. Well, I suppose she didn’t know it would turn out like this.
“Still, that was just the first step. We’ll move on to the next stage after you’ve completely made it your own.”
“I know that. Does it kill you to let me enjoy it for a bit?”
Alfia grumbled, kicking at a stone on the ground as she walked.
A brief silence fell between us. I could feel Alfia’s gaze flickering toward me.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“Huh? Oh, um, well, you see…”
Alfia’s lips trembled as she debated whether to speak. Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she asked cautiously.
“Did you… do anything while I was sleeping last night?”
…What’s this?
Did she find out I touched her ear?
Elves were a species with sensitive ears. For some, they were even an erogenous zone. She had been groaning in her sleep, so I was stroking her head, but I couldn’t overcome my curiosity and touched her ear. Was she actually awake?
No. If she had been awake, she would have yelled at me for touching her. Judging by her state, she herself wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not.
“No. I didn’t do anything.”
“Really? Hmm, then what could that have been…?”
Alfia tilted her head, lost in thought. Thankfully, it seemed she’d been successfully fooled.
With Alfia’s question unresolved, we returned to The Peacock’s Night Gathering. I was about to sneak down to the basement as usual… but the atmosphere felt strange.
The customers who should have been there were gone.
Instead, the children were in the tavern, looking as if they’d committed a crime.
The old man stood beside them, as if protecting them.
Sitting at a table was a man with a heavy build, and standing next to him was another man who appeared to be his attendant.
I knew him.
To be precise, I only knew his face.
Roperman, leader of the Desert Rose Merchant Group.
The very man who, in the original story, had kidnapped Alfia and broken her. Roperman had come to The Peacock’s Night Gathering. And with him were several other men with menacing faces.
Why was he here?
Something was wrong.
“Why is everyone standing around like that? Your legs must be tired.”
“M-Master Karami. It’s just…”
Lala fidgeted with her fingers, unable to sit still. She looked like a child about to confess to her mother that she’d broken a plate.
That alone was enough for me to guess what had happened.
She told them about the elf.
I had considered that it would be difficult for children to keep a secret. I just always assumed Matthew would be the one to slip up, not Lala.
Sorry, Matthew.
“G-greetings. I am Roperman, leader of the Desert Rose Merchant Group. So you’re the famous S-Slave Reaper. I’ve heard much about you. T-to think you were actually in Noctar.”
I knew from the text that he stuttered, but he stuttered when he spoke, too. It was amusing to listen to.
“Haha, I’m honored that such a great man knows of me. But what brings the leader of a merchant group to a place like this?”
“It’s nothing much, I just heard that among your slaves, th-there’s an elf. Could it be the one beside you…?”
Roperman looked at the robed Alfia.
There was no point in trying to lie my way out of this. I gave a slight nod to Alfia, who was glancing at me nervously. She slowly removed her robe. Her hidden golden hair cascaded down, and her pointed ears perked up.
“Ooh…! U-unmistakably an elf!”
Roperman’s eyes, now wide, were fixed on Alfia. Displeased by his gaze, Alfia narrowed one eye.
“Master Roperman.”
“Ah, ah. Right. Forgive me.”
At his attendant’s words, Roperman finally managed to tear his eyes away and turn back to me. He tried to adopt a serious air that didn’t suit him at all.
“I-I’ll ask you directly. Y-you. Where did you get this slave?”
The first wind stirred by the butterfly had arrived.