Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: But I'm an Elf (4)
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Asha had requested to join in on the chess game.
She waited for a reply, but the men just stared at her with blank expressions, saying nothing.
'What's wrong with them?'
Asha tilted her head slightly to the side and spoke in a cautious tone.
"If I'm being rude..."
"No, no, no! Of course not! Please, have a seat here."
The man who'd just suffered back-to-back losses stood up, saying it was the perfect time for a break anyway.
Asha sat down lightly on the chair, mindful of her skirt just as she'd learned the day before.
Her posture was so refined that no one could possibly suspect a thing.
Not even that inside the soft fabric, Asha was still awkward in her clothes and fidgeting her legs.
At least on the surface, she looked every bit the noble elf lady.
She basked in their gazes, fully exuding her elegance and poise.
In other words, as long as she didn't commit any rude breaches of etiquette...
The watching man swallowed hard.
'She must know... at least the rules, right?'
Even the elves in the Knight Order had at least that much refinement as nobles.
They just didn't bother with it.
Elves were a bellicose race that trusted in personal strength and martial prowess.
They saw no need to rack their brains over tactics and strategy.
Sometimes, an elf laid up with boredom from a serious injury would join a game.
The results were always the same.
They'd charge pieces forward aggressively, only to crumble helplessly the moment calculations got complex.
And they'd always say the same thing afterward. "A true knight proves themselves on the battlefield, not a board!"
It was true they were reliable allies on the actual battlefield...
But that didn't make them fun chess opponents.
"Black or white?"
"Hm... White okay? It's been a while for me."
"Fine by me. I'll take black then."
The opponent neatly arranged the pieces with practiced hands.
Deep down, he was already dismissing the elf girl before him. It's been a while? That alone made the outcome obvious.
'Yeah, figures.'
Anyway, predictable ending. Might as well speed it along.
He spoke up with a brazen grin.
"How about a speed game? Rely on intuition and instinct."
"Speed chess?"
"Yeah. Hesitation-free decisions are a knight's virtue, aren't they?"
Asha let out a soft hum from her nose.
She didn't know about knightly virtues, but it sounded fun.
'He must be confident in his skills.'
Asha nodded and made her first move quickly, as befitting speed chess.
Watching her reaction, the man smirked.
Elves were elves, after all.
"Check."
"...!"
"Aren't you taking too long?"
"Ngh..."
The man groaned.
His earlier confidence was gone; he ruffled his hair roughly.
He glanced up briefly and met the eyes of the elf girl staring right at him.
Her serene blue gaze held not a shred of emotion.
She'd been like that from the start.
This elf wasn't even looking at the board. Just his face.
As if the entire chessboard was mapped out in her head!
'No way!'
Something utterly incomprehensible was happening.
Losing to an elf at chess—speed chess, no less—was bad enough for his pride.
But she was ignoring the board entirely, playing like it was blindfold chess!
Those contemplative eyes fixed on him.
Just her gaze felt like it was choking him. His breath came short.
"Hrrgh..."
The man rubbed his arms. Goosebumps prickled his skin.
His time limit had long expired.
Yet the girl didn't press him or claim victory. As if magnanimously giving him leeway.
That arrogant mercy only scraped at his pride more. He gritted his teeth and moved a piece. Clack.
Clack!
Almost simultaneously, her piece moved.
His time limit ticked down mercilessly again.
'Damn it, does she have precognition or something?!'
He screamed inwardly and slapped down a hasty move.
Clack, clack.
The pattern repeated.
Clack... His mind froze, and he made another unthinking move.
Constant time pressure had worn down his nerves into anxiety.
Only then did the girl's movements stop.
She tilted her head curiously.
The elf girl finally tore her gaze from him and calmly looked at the board.
After fully using her own time, she moved her slender finger.
To him, it looked exactly like pronouncing a death sentence.
And in truth...
"Checkmate."
"...I lost."
The game ended in just a few moves.
Victory to the elf girl, Asha.
"Whoa, insane..."
The man who'd lost twice earlier and stepped aside to watch nearly let slip a curse before catching himself.
'No way that's "it's been a while" level.'
...Or was it?
He replayed the game in his head.
The progression was standard, but surprisingly, the pace kept shifting.
Normally, games slow down as calculations deepen, but this elf accelerated instead.
Like she was just warming up!
In the end, relentless time pressure shook his comrade into a fatal blunder.
The result? Prey devoured one-sidedly by a predator.
And this was on a rules-bound chessboard, not a real battlefield!
Was this really an elf?
He glanced at her long ears and, for the first time in his life—
"Miss! Your skill is truly outstanding!"
—sent sincere praise to an elf.
It was honest admiration. The game she'd just shown deserved it.
His defeated comrade hunched his shoulders but offered no excuses or protests.
A knightly acceptance of defeat.
But he wasn't fully beaten yet.
"Miss, you're waiting for Lady Valtline, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Hm, hm! The report's taking a while. How about another round?"
At that, others chimed in.
"What? Errun lost?"
"For real?"
"No mistake?"
Knight onlookers crowded around to watch.
Asha scratched her cheek awkwardly and asked Errun the same question he'd asked her.
"Black or white?"
"Naturally blac—"
He cut off and squeezed his eyes shut.
"White... please."
Got to win somehow first. Maybe that'd change things.
Something like that.
Asha smiled brightly at him.
Her adoptive father from her past life had unusually raved about her dynamic vision. At full focus, Asha could analyze even eye movements and gazes to read possibilities.
Board games, face-to-face, only amplified it.
For reference, even her adoptive father Min Hyeong had blindfolded himself when playing chess with her.
Around that time, Elysia was crossing the hallway with Vice Knight Commander Roderick Kreutz.
The Knight Order headquarters was vast, and stopping to chat with those they passed along the way had eaten up quite a bit of time.
"We're almost at the break room."
"Yes, ma'am."
"It's awfully rowdy back there, though..."
'No duels breaking out, I hope?'
She swallowed her worry and opened the door.
"Please! One more game! I'll win this time!"
"Hahaha! Errun down, and now Brita too!"
"Three in a row!"
"Someone beat that elf miss!"
"I bet five silver on the elf miss again next round!"
The noise went beyond lively—total chaos!
Vice Commander Roderick's face twisted in confusion.
'Did these guys all take something?'
His bewildered gaze went to the center of the commotion.
Elf girl Asha.
Amid the hyped-up knights, only she maintained her noble poise, calmly awaiting her next opponent.
Free City of Beck.
Lately, an intriguing rumor had started circulating here and in nearby areas.
"Heard there's a warrior who took down a Woodhorn barehanded, solo."
"Oh, that one! Yeah, I heard. They say he smashed it in one go."
Defeating that massive deer monster instantly!
Barehanded, even!
"Isn't that just hype? No superhuman could pull that off."
Right?
Hunting basics start with wearing down the prey, then finishing with a weapon when weakened.
Even mana users stuck to those fundamentals.
"Weren't Woodhorn horns and hides up at auction lately? And the hides were top quality!"
"True. One was definitely taken down recently."
Then a newcomer joined the rumor-mongers.
"About that rumor—I got it from some mercenaries. Turns out the hero's an elf!"
"What? An elf?"
"Don't elves gear up with fancy equipment?"
"That's why this rumor's juicy! One casual gesture, and the Woodhorn's head slammed into the ground!"
"One gesture!"
Oohs and aahs erupted everywhere.
Rumors inflate by nature, but this was spreading wings already.
What insane sight had the witnesses seen to spin it like this!
The gossips pictured their ideal elf in their minds.
How mountain-like must she be?
"Ripped muscles, right?"
"Elf-style: perfectly sculpted ones."
"Maybe an unusually hulking elf. Humans vary, after all."
And so, rumors of an elf named Asha began spilling beyond the city walls.