Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Hero and the Elf Princess
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"Robin. Why are there so many monsters?"
"Huh? Ah, are you alright, my lord?"
This guy seemed out of his mind too, so I gave up on questioning him. I never really expected Robin to give a proper answer anyway. I silently stared at the smoke rising from the ground. When the soldiers stared at me blankly, I wordlessly handed over the ogre corpse I'd been sitting on.
In this world's lore, ogres were monsters about the height of basketball players with gorilla-like builds. They averaged level 35 to 40, serving as mid-field bosses capable of crumpling knights' armor like paper with their brute strength.
Without me, these bastards would have turned the territory into a wasteland. I gazed down at the burning ogre corpse for a moment before spitting on the ground. My mouth tasted bitter from all the ash I'd inhaled. Then I slumped down, feeling the warmth radiating from the burning ogre. These monsters, who seemed utterly devoid of blood or tears, gave off a comforting heat when they fell and burned—as if embracing the entire world.
Quite a bit of time passed in waiting, but all around us was silence. After a full week of subjugating monsters along this border, we'd finally succeeded in wiping them out. That left my next task simple: get back to the mansion as fast as possible and stockpile some stamina.
"Village chief."
"Yes, my lord."
"We'll head back for now. Strengthen the fences."
"Understood."
After instructing the village chief to bolster the defenses, I led the knights and soldiers back to the mansion. This monster raid had claimed quite a few lives from the territory's people. Three civilians died, so we held funerals, and four soldiers perished while five more were left permanently disabled.
Most had fallen to ambush attacks before I arrived. I flopped roughly onto the returning cart and reached out to Sieri, who was still watching the wounded. Sieri clutched bandages in her hands, gazing at the exhausted soldiers. I forcibly pulled her down beside me and whispered.
"You've done enough. Rest."
Priest and nun healing magic consumed stamina, so pushing this far reduced its efficiency. For someone as worn out as me or Sieri, it would've been more effective to just shout, "Pain, begone!"
I wanted to get back to the mansion and crash hard. Sieri tried to return to the patients, but I gripped her tighter and made her stay put. She immediately went still. Curious, I glanced over and saw she'd already closed her eyes, fast asleep.
She was snoring softly, clearly exhausted. I shifted to get comfortable beside her and drifted off without realizing it.
"Get... off... quick...!"
"I'm... sorry...!"
"Do you... have any... idea... how much...?"
It was noisy. It felt like I'd only closed my eyes for a moment, but the surroundings were in chaos. Frowning, I sat up. Sieri, who'd been lying next to me, was already gone.
"What the...?"
The sight that greeted me as I rose was quite the spectacle. A yellow-haired elf was grabbing Robin by the collar and shaking him violently. Robin's face was bruised purple, like he'd taken a solid hit, and the elf's eyes blazed with murderous intent.
Without hesitation, I snatched the nearby mace and smashed it into the elf's head. Almost simultaneously, the elf turned to me and thrust out her hand. With a clear clang!, she was sent flying backward.
I was inwardly surprised her skull hadn't cracked. I'd swung to kill, exhaustion be damned. For her to fly off unscathed like that, she must have some protective blessing or defensive magic.
The elf tumbled across the dirt, rolling several times before regaining her balance. That was when I finally got a good look at her features. Yellow hair, green eyes. Ample breasts matched by voluptuous hips and thighs. A short skirt flaunting those thighs, and a low-cut top plunging deep.
I knew exactly who this elf was.
Someone was sprinting toward us from afar. Jet-black hair in a Japanese host style, a long sword strapped to his back. He wore light plated armor on top, tough leather pants gleaming with polish below. White greaves over the pants screamed high quality at a glance.
And I knew exactly who this man was too.
The elf was Erina, princess of the elf kingdom. The man was the Hero—the one who defeats the Demon King in this game and brings peace to the world. A true playboy who could build a harem of up to fifteen.
"Erina!"
"You rude bastard! Do you even know who we are before attacking? As expected, you're all in league with the Demon King..."
"Erina, calm down! It's the lord!"
I tilted my head at the Hero's words. The elf princess didn't recognize me, but this guy did? The Hero formally dropped to one knee and bowed.
"Forgive our rudeness, my lord. We're on a journey to defeat the Demon King. I am the lowly Hero Aei, and this is the elf Erina."
"...What was that name again?"
"Aei."
"Aei? Like the AA in AA batteries?"
"I don't know what batteries are, but yes, my name is Aei."
What kind of father names his kid Aei? While I short-circuited over the Hero's bizarre name, Erina spoke to me in her usual high-and-mighty tone.
"You! If you know my station, kneel at once. How dare a filthy half-elf fail to greet a princess?"
She was consistently insufferable. Elf Erina was infamous in the original game as the bitchiest heroine. You met her early in the scenario, but her sex scene unlocked latest, and if favorability dipped too low, a harem route was impossible.
Her lover event required saving her from monsters at the elf forest's entrance early-game, making her impossible to pursue right now—unless the Hero croaked first.
"So, what brings you here?"
I resolved to ignore Erina completely. Even if she were the elf queen herself, she couldn't harm me, and buttering her up wouldn't get her legs open either.
"Ignoring me, you arrogant half-elf scum!"
It wasn't that elves in this world hated half-elves in general. Just Erina. Raised around pureblood high elves her whole life, she saw half-elves as dirty. That's why there was an event where bringing Erina to meet Lucius triggered her rude remarks—but of course, Lucius overlooked it.
I glanced at Erina and opened her status window.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
Name: Ahildern Erina
Level: 30
Occupation: Princess of Ahildern
⚡ Strength: 68
💨 Agility: 120
🧠 Intelligence: 70
🍀 Luck: 57
Traits
Elven Adaptability
>Action speed increases in forests, swamps, mountains, and plains.
>Receives penalty at sea.
Arrogant Demeanor
>Opponents lower level than self enter [Terror] status.
Wind Archer
>When firing arrows, borrows sylph power to launch additional small magic arrows.
>Damage proportional to Agility.
There was one regrettable fact for Erina: I wasn't that nice guy 'Lucius'.
"Those are some very displeasing remarks."
I said, twirling my mace. And I thought: You've caught me at just the right time.
Thinking about it, it was strange. Elves in this world generally didn't hate humans unless they'd been enslaved. Erina didn't hate humans either—in fact, given that she spreads her legs for the protagonist, she might even like them.
So why did she despise half-elves, who were clearly born from human-elf flings? Was she just chasing irresponsible pleasure?
"What if you're displeased? We're the Hero's party, and I'm the princess of the elf kingdom. You're in no position to do anything!"
"You're right about that, Princess Erina. So, what brings you here?"
For now, I held back from challenging her to a duel on the spot. Her stats were no joke, and she handled spirits too. Maybe in top form, but in my current near-death state, it'd be certain defeat.
Nothing infuriates like losing unfairly to a winnable foe. And these weren't mere passing travelers who'd flee after a brief stop.
Their purpose here was obvious anyway. In the original game, the Hero's party came for the previous Hero's relic. For reference, that relic was enshrined in my mansion's warehouse, with a tooltip saying [Hero Only Equip], so I couldn't use it.
"We've come for the [Hero's Relic] said to have been used by the previous Hero."
"The relic?"
I widened my eyes in feigned surprise. Erina chimed in from the side.
"That's right. Now hand it over, you filthy half-elf."
"Erina!"
The Hero scolded her with a stern face and bowed his head once more.
"My apologies. I'll keep her in check..."
"Don't apologize, Aei! I..."
"Handing over the relic isn't difficult, but I'd like you to grant me one request."
"A request?"
"Mmph...! Mmph!"
As Erina started freaking out again at the word "request," Aei clamped a hand over her mouth. She thrashed in his arms, so he hugged her tighter and addressed me.
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