Chapter 106
The hero was eloquent.
"She's a pet."
"W-what?"
At my words, the elf queen lost all composure and shot back in casual speech. I felt a thrilling rush of pleasure at the sight of Isabela glaring at me with a mix of disgust and contempt. It was like I'd stripped away the mask of haughty elegance she always wore.
"Fine. Let's keep it casual like this from now on."
"Th-that was a slip. Even so, a pet? Hero, enough with the jokes."
Isabela donned her mask again, fixing me with a sharp glare as she spoke. I shrugged at her, feeling a twinge of regret.
"Jokes? I have no idea what you mean."
"Human! How dare you lie to the queen! Everyone knows that beastkin you dragged in is from the demon king's army!"
I stared silently at the male elf who'd butted in, clenching my fist. Elves were an annoying race to begin with, but male elves made you wonder why they even existed. As I eyed him with a look that screamed should I just kill him?, he flinched and stepped back.
"W-what? Planning to go to war with the elves?"
"War? Sounds good. But you seemed pretty overwhelmed by the demon king's forces already. Got the spare capacity to take on the empire too?"
"Ha? You think we don't know your position in the empire? There's no reason for them to pick a fight with us over the likes of you!"
I flashed a sly grin at the male elf, who spoke with arrogant confidence, backed by the other elves around him. He wasn't wrong, anyway. The empire had no reason to step in if I died, and that crown prince Aaron—who'd even tried to assassinate me—might be thrilled. No, from what that male elf just said, it was clear there was some shady connection between Aaron and the elves.
"Oh? So the elves, who love nature and harmony so much, are pretty well-informed about imperial affairs?"
"W-what did you say?"
At my words, the elf queen's expression turned icy. The male elf who'd carelessly spilled that info looked flustered under her gaze. But backing down now would only confirm my suspicions, so he started lashing out.
"Elves like us can tell that much at a glance."
"And what makes you an elf like that?"
"Argh! Don't change the subject! It's an open secret you're not that important in the empire! Now that your bluff's called, apologize to the queen, human!"
I shrugged at the red-faced, shouting male elf.
"You're right. I'm nobody in the empire. But what about these guys?"
"What?"
"Oh, right—I haven't introduced my companions yet. This is Marian, the one and only saintess of the Gaiana Church. This is Karen, the Magic Tower's genius. And this blonde miss here is the lady of the Darius Ducal House—right next door to your territory. If trouble starts, the entire Darius army would probably come torch the Great Forest, yeah?"
The elves' atmosphere shifted dramatically at my taunt. They were already losing ground against the unexpectedly strong demon king's army; if the empire turned on them too, their doom was sealed. No one believed the Light Sword would side with them against the empire, even if he favored the elves. In fact, he was just watching our verbal sparring with amusement, staying neutral.
"U-using your companions to pressure me? How petty, hero. But would they really back you up?"
"What the fuck?"
I spat a curse at the elf smirking at me, a foul feeling bubbling up.
"Saintess, Magic Tower disciple, and Lady of Darius—mind stepping out of this?"
The male elf smiled at my companions behind me as he spoke. That's when I realized why I'd felt off—he was banking on his looks, assuming Marian, Karen, and Jena wouldn't side with me. Sure, I wasn't bad-looking, but elves had the edge. And that fact only fueled my rage.
"Word is, you're not that close with the hero, right?"
I could guess where he'd heard that. Probably from Crown Prince Aaron's mouth—Aaron knew next to nothing about what had gone down between me and my party.
"Fucking big-eared bastard, who asked you?"
"...Exactly. The hero's got something really big that's important. Thinking about it again—haah!"
"...Fuck."
Jena was first, gripping her sword and aiming it at the male elf. Then Karen summoned mana as she spoke. Marian—for some reason—cursed coarsely and pulled out her staff. The male elf's face stiffened at their unexpected reactions. My party looked ready to start a war with the elves right there.
"That's enough. I won't tolerate more rudeness."
Isabela finally stepped in to defuse things. But my fired-up companions weren't backing down—they were even directing killing intent at her.
"Hmph, no more rivals needed."
"...I don't really care, but more people means my turn gets pushed back, and I hate that."
"These bitches are the worst! Damn it!"
Jena, Karen, and Marian muttered under their breaths again. The elf queen stared at me, pale-faced, utterly lost by their contextless words. But since things were getting fun, I just watched with arms crossed.
Isabela's gaze flicked to the Light Sword, but he pretended not to notice.
"Pinonur. You've offended important guests. You're confined to your residence."
"Q-Queen!"
The male elf protested indignantly, but Isabela was firm. He slunk away, ears drooping, and I turned to the elf queen with a relieved sigh.
"Elves have houses too?"
Isabela's brow furrowed at my blatantly dismissive tone. Thanks to that, Dalshinyang's issue quietly got buried.
**
"Hahat! That was fun. Who'd have thought the hero's party were such wildcards, huh?"
The Light Sword Frank approached us after our audience with Isabela, chattering away shamelessly. He was annoying, but since I owed him a small debt, I couldn't just shoo him off.
"A cursing saintess, a weird mage, and Capella's daughter to boot. If I were just a bit younger, I'd wanna join your party."
Even if he begged, I had zero intention of adding him. His skills would help, sure, but dragging around an old geezer on adventures? Not a chance.
"...Calling someone else's dad 'that guy'? You're a crazy old bastard."
Jena snapped back at Light Sword Frank's words. She'd mellowed a lot since hooking up with me, but she was originally full of elitism with a bitchy personality. No way that shit attitude vanished just because it was the Light Sword.
"Ho? You've got your old man's temper, huh? Didn't he tell you about the past?"
Frank grinned at Jena. As I'd mentioned before, the story between her father Capella and Light Sword Frank was known across the continent—Jena surely knew it too.
"Shut up, old man."
But Jena drew her sword on him. She respected her dad Capella, but didn't hate him or anything. No kid tolerates their father being insulted.
"You drew first, but sparring you again is beneath me. Hmm, how about facing my disciple first?"
I saw Frank speak as he eyed Jena gripping her sword. His disciple, who'd been sighing behind him, scowled but grabbed her sword.
"Disciple, you ready?"
"...Yes, master."
"Heh. Don't go easy. Capella's girl aside, the hero doesn't seem ordinary."
I snorted in disbelief at Frank trying to drag me into it too. So the Light Sword Frank had approached us on purpose to pick a fight.