55 – 55. Taboo
They did it again.
This time, they smoked it through a pipe.
As soon as they took a deep drag, a sense of ecstasy washed over them. Tears streamed down their faces, but they didn’t even think about wiping them away.
It was just so good.
“Heroin truly is the best.”
Marcela looked at the pipe with a proud expression.
It had only been five hours since she and her subordinates had touched heroin since leaving the human city.
Someone suggested skipping it?
That wasn’t the case. It was just a coincidence that I happened to meet the subordinates while walking.
Marcella’s closest confidant and friend, Lurde, opened his mouth wide and squinted his eyes, and the other subordinates nodded while watching their reactions.
Is there a reason not to do it?
No, there isn’t.
Should we smoke it?
Yes, we should.
Communication through eye contact alone.
Immediately after, I opened the gift box and confidently put the heroin into the pipe with a cute-sized spoon, then lit it with magic.
Even before inhaling, it was already enchanting, and the actual taste was even more amazing than imagined.
It was fantastic even when drinking tea, but it could be even better than that!
Sitting on the grassy hillside without a care in the world, I didn’t feel stiff at all.
Instead, it felt like I had become one with the forest, doubling the joy. It was natural since elves were a race that lived in the forest.
“I love the forest. I love heroin.”
While saying this, Lurde, Marcella’s confidant, called out to the drowsy Marcella.
“My lord… but.”
My lord? Marcella was about to say something in response, but then decided against it. Thanks to the comfort brought by heroin.
“What is it?”
“The heroin, isn’t it?”
“Yes. How about we keep it among ourselves and not give it to the elders? After all, we fought the hardest, and the gifts we received are ours. In the end, it’s a kind of loot. If we monopolize it, we can smoke it for a longer time.”
It was a remarkably fair and reasonable proposal.
A smile appeared on Marcella’s face. Her subordinates, who had been scattered on bushes and dirt, all turned to look at her.
“Yeah, if we smoke it among ourselves, it’ll last quite a while.”
Thirty grams for eleven people.
According to the instructions, it was an amount that one person could smoke or consume more than 200 times.
Perhaps we could enjoy it for two or three months? During that time, we could embrace the euphoria in the arms of heroin.
“Do you permit it?”
Marcella was about to reflexively answer affirmatively to this question.
But, of course, she stopped herself after uttering “Yes.”
Heroin itself was undeniably excellent, but the fact that the quantity was too limited dawned on her belatedly.
Thirty grams were quite a substantial amount, but it wasn’t sufficient.
‘What if it runs out?’
Thinking about a future without heroin, she felt fear creeping in already.
While she had no intention of insulting heroin, sometimes, something too excellent and beautiful could become a problem.
Unpleasant as it was to admit, it wasn’t the elves who created heroin but humans. And, Alan Maydolf, even hostile to elves, was the alchemist who concocted the substance.
‘We can’t keep giving heroin. He’s a human who hates us.’
After about thirty minutes of repeated contemplation, Marcella finally spoke.
“No to heroin. We might need to think about it, but we can’t give it to the elders either.”
“Yes…? What nonsense is that?”
“Of course, heroin is excellent. But it’s so excellent that it becomes a problem instead. After we run out of the supply we just received, we’ll be in a lot of trouble… Because it’s not something we can easily obtain.”
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“Why do we have to worry about that already…! Let’s just enjoy it for now.”
“We have to worry about it now. If we become too dependent on the excellence of heroin, the separation will be even more difficult later. It’s really painful, but it’s true.”
The faces of the elves looking at Marcela began to harden. There was even an elf who opened his eyes wide with an expression of disbelief.
“It will be painful. I’m struggling too, but what can I do?”
However, even though it was difficult, there was no other choice.
It was certain that it would be even more difficult later if one falls in love with heroin. It’s already this painful with just two doses.
It was better to make a decision now.
“I think it’s better to stop taking heroin.”
Marcela twisted her face and closed the lid of the pottery jar.
Then, one of her subordinates began to sob with a lost expression. Honestly, even Marcela seemed to be falling apart.
Nevertheless, she decided to endure.
Because she had a premonition that if she didn’t endure now, something bad would happen.
**
The day after stopping the usage.
“I was right after all.”
Marcela, who was still wandering around the outskirts of the dense forest, looked at the goosebumps on her arms.
In the forest, elves move as fast as the wind, but now she was dragging her feet and forcing herself to move forward.
It was all because of the phenomenon that started about half a day after stopping the use of heroin. It was hard to explain, so they simply called it a phenomenon.
It started with cold sweat.
Continued were sneezes and muscle aches.
Even within the oppressive Great Forest, a persistent chill was felt. This was the most troublesome part.
Although Marcela herself managed to endure it reasonably well, thanks to her robust physique surpassing the limits of an elf, her subordinates were in serious condition.
Looking back, ten undead were slowly following her.
“Heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin.”
“Marcela, please, can’t you just smoke it? If heroin runs out, you can ask humans for more, right? Oh my, instead of that, since humans want to be friends with us, we can demand it as the price. Humans are all scaredy-cats.”
“Fighting skillfully just to hog it all for herself…”
Watching that scene, Marcela gained confidence rather than doubt.
Heroin shouldn’t be smoked or eaten.
While taking it brought immense pleasure, it took a toll on the body in return.
Now, heroin seemed like a somewhat inadequate substance…? Of course, denying its positive aspects was not absolute, but still, if it were a perfect dru*g, it wouldn’t make people so miserable. Wise not to indulge, no matter how tempting.
“Honestly, I still want to smoke right now.”
Even in the midst of it, the desire for heroin lingered.
It was frustrating to hold it in her hands and not be able to smoke. Where else could such an unjust situation occur?
She would rather throw it into the forest, but there was one reason she couldn’t. If discarded, her subordinates might go completely insane.
Already, their attitude was becoming increasingly disrespectful. They even used informal language and insults towards her. It was unprecedented, even when facing the Britannian Imperial Army.
‘Just endure a little longer.’
She was about to arrive at the teleportation magic circle.
Upon reaching the domain of the World Tree, Marcela planned to explain only the regrettable aspects of heroin to the elders and find a way to dispose of it.
It wouldn’t be an easy decision. However, no matter how difficult, the thought that it was the right thing kept recurring.
“After taking a momentary break, Marcela positioned herself at a distance from her agitated subordinates. While she could have hurriedly gone ahead on her own, unlike her weakened comrades, she was relatively strong. However, she didn’t want to leave behind her exhausted kin, even if it meant a slight delay. It would be better to take them along.
Marcela tightly grasped the ceramic bottle in her hand, deliberately ignoring the complaints of her subordinates. She believed that they would eventually understand, even if they grumbled now.
At the same time, a sudden wave of drowsiness overwhelmed her. Marcela decided to surrender to it and rest for a while. At least during sleep, she could temporarily erase her craving for heroin. Yesterday, due to the “phenomenon,” she couldn’t even sigh in relief, but now she was grateful that sleep had come.
“I want to smoke. I want to eat. But I have to resist.”
Marcela suppressed her overwhelming desires and closed her eyes, barely managing to do so.
…
After Marcela fell asleep –
Her elite subordinates began to murmur with venomous expressions.
“She wants to have it all to herself. It’s obvious.”
“Look at her, holding onto it tightly even while sleeping. Wow.”
Soon, twelve pairs of eyes turned towards the sleeping Marcela. More precisely, they gazed longingly at the ceramic bottle in her hand.
Their minds were dominated by an intense craving for heroin.”
Furthermore, there was a suspicion that if things continued this way, Marcela would monopolize heroin on her own.
Even logically thinking, it couldn’t be helped. If Marcela alone possessed 30 grams of heroin, she could indulge in pleasure for a whole year. It was obvious that she would pretend not to know her subordinates who had rebelled against the Britannian Empire and enjoy all the pleasures alone.
“Did she fight alone? Dangerously.”
Even though everyone knew, actively protesting was impossible due to Marcela’s position as the top warrior and the power she held. Even if they somehow managed to steal it, the aftermath was the problem.
Still, where there’s a dilemma, there’s a way out.
Rurde, the second in command, who had been glaring at Marcela as if to kill her, suddenly made a proposal.
“Let’s steal it and offer it to the elders. Then, we can at least take on the role of handling the smoke.”
“Just between us.”
“It’s safer to involve the old folks. That person from the beginning… Alan Maydoff also said not to touch heroin and to convey it to the elders intact. If even the elders are on our side, there will be more ways to obtain heroin later on. Definitely.”
“I-Is that so?”
Ongoing discussions, plans gradually taking shape.
It didn’t take long for the elves to emerge at the forefront.