5. Bread and dagger (68)
Even if I dried up Elsie right away, would you go with me?
It was a decision not like Delphine.
At this point, Elsie couldn’t help but look suspicious.
However, Delphine’s expression was unconcerned. There was no hesitation in the gesture of sitting upright and tilting a glass.
It meant that the proposal she threw was sincere without a single point of concealment.
In the end, Elsie hesitated and had to carefully ask Delphine.
“you you… By any chance, is that rumor true?”
“What rumors?”
At Delphine’s flirtatious question, Elsie looked even more worried.
It was inevitable that the girl’s voice would rise.
“Lord, what a strange relationship you have with the master! Isn’t that why you’re trying to save it?!”
“Hmph, I said something else… … .”
Delphine, however, only snorted as if it were absurd.
A slightly drunken voice continued.
“Could you please stop that petty jealousy? There is no evidence.”
“Your bed smelled like Master!”
Delphine’s body stiffened at the words Elsie shouted while stamping her feet.
Does it smell?
Of course, the bedding was washed every day. The same was true of the blanket wet with all sorts of bodily fluids that day. But the smell of Ian, what does this mean?
However, the agitation was only fleeting.
Delphine sighed deeply and put her hand on her forehead. And even the pitiful eyes.
“Rinella… Are you really helpless? Are you going to smell other people’s bedding now?”
Now it was Elsie’s turn to harden.
“Oh,” her body stiffened after making a panicked noise.
It didn’t take long for the startled girl to jump up and down.
“Oh no! I didn’t do it on purpose, and somehow it smelled nostalgic… That’s why I was just engrossed for a while! Gee, I didn’t really mean it!”
“I get it, I get it… By the way, I have no intention of bringing a pervert into the room. Do you want me to leave soon?”
Elsie babbled and made excuses for a while, but Delphine only looked at her with contempt. In the end, Elsie had to leave, blushing with shame.
While making a firm promise to go rescue Ian.
Left alone, Delphine finally got up and buried herself in the bed.
I didn’t even know why I was doing this.
Since Marquis Yurdina was weakened, Yurdina’s pillar was herself. I couldn’t leave my seat recklessly, and even more I couldn’t take risks.
Even so, why?
Did he really even like that guy?
Delphine smiled wryly, saying that it was nonsense, but inadvertently put her nose on her futon.
Ian didn’t smell.
“… … After all, it’s a dog that never fails.”
In the silent room, only the lamentation left a faint aftertaste.
Delphine’s face, as she fell asleep like that, reflected a vague emotion.
regret, longing.
No one knew the woman’s true intentions.
even himself.
and after a few days.
Delphine and Elsie were ready to leave with a small group of troops when an unexpected guest came.
“I want to go too.”
A woman with auburn hair, Emma.
She said with a look of strong determination in her eyes.
“I want to meet Ian.”
That’s how the ‘Ian Rescue Team’ was formed.
**
At my suggestion, the elves remained silent.
It was a hidden hideaway in a coniferous forest. It turned out that the elves had prepared a safe house that no one knew about.
Was it insurance for emergencies?
It was said that no one knew its location except the village elves. Even I didn’t know of its existence, so there was no doubt about its security.
It’s just that I looked a little sad.
Ruggett, who had a band-aid on his face before he knew it, smiled awkwardly. he said to comfort me.
“Ian, you know? I wanted to tell you, but I just haven’t had a chance… … .”
“I don’t know.”
“Hey, are you really like this?!”
After such bickering, the time is now.
Having summoned the elves, I got to the point.
I want to go to ‘Headquarters’.
It was where the core power of Leoric and the elves was staying.
Of course, the elves’ reaction was skeptical.
“Will headquarters accept humans? Even you, what is that… government service? Bongjak? He said he was famous enough that even such a thing was scheduled.”
It was Ruggett’s opinion.
It was a valid argument, so I kept my mouth shut and nodded.
“Human, do you really have to go to headquarters? Let’s just build a new village here and live… There are a lot of trees around!”
What followed was Isha’s plea.
The village was burned, and she almost lost her life, and she was depressed. The heart of not wanting to take risks or commit any more incidents was conveyed.
It wasn’t that the heart couldn’t fathom it.
So I was silent again.
Afterwards, the elves of the village, from Uncle Dolph to Aunt Miera, usually spoke out against it. Some seemed to be afraid of leaving me, the core force of the village.
At last the turn went to old Pope.
Only then could I hear the story I wanted to hear.
“because.”
It was a straightforward question.
At that defiant tone, several elves peered between me and old man Pope with uneasy eyes. It was a scene that revealed how much my status had changed.
Originally, the elves didn’t look at me.
A competent outsider rolled in from somewhere and was just proud that he was adjusting well to the village. But in just a few hours, my position changed drastically.
I was now the village’s benefactor and only guardian.
It was impossible to overcome the invasion of mankind without me.
However, Pope’s inspiration was still the same. He didn’t even look at me at all.
On the contrary, it was to the point of harassing me with a straightforward, distinctive tone.
“You are well aware that headquarters is dangerous, right? And the villagers will be anxious without you… Do you have any reason to go to headquarters right away?”
“… … Senior Neris.”
Instead of answering, I called senior Neris.
Then, senior Neris bowed respectfully. A crow hopped over her shoulder, standing behind me.
The elves looked at the crow with eyes full of questions.
Why did a crow appear out of nowhere?
Neris-senpai gave explanations as if to clear up the question.
“This crow is a kind of familiar. It has the ability to save the scenes seen and heard and deliver them to the caster. The details are a secret of the Imperial Intelligence Department… … .”
Neris-senpai’s fingers snapped with a clear sound.
As if responding to this, the crow cawed. Soon, those black eyes flickered blue and began to project images into the air.
At first, the elves were fascinated by the new technology they had never seen before.
And as the video continued, their expressions hardened, and in the past, most of them swallowed saliva or looked distrustful.
Among them, the one who reacted most violently was old Pope.
“It was manipulated! Hey, do you believe this woman?! She said she was sent from the Empire!”
“If you think about it, I’m not only a member of the Empire… Pope inspiration.”
I said in a voice mixed with a sigh.
“To put it bluntly, the elves here are of no use to you. There is no reason for Neris to fool us.”
“Maybe they’re deceiving you, not us… … !”
“I believe in Neris-senpai. He is one of the few people I trust.”
It was a statement of strong conviction.
At my firm tone, old Pope finally fell silent. With confused eyes, he alternately looked at the image floating in the air and Neris-senpai.
Actually, senior Neris was blushing as if he was embarrassed about my trust.
Anguish flashed across his face.
Old Pope was a zealous follower. It was unclear whether they would be able to understand even if they applied logic and evidence like this.
It was because religion was the realm of faith, not reason.
In my heart, I predicted that old man Pope’s resistance would be a little longer.
As if to prove this, he made a tearful face and even glared at me. What do you know? It was the eyes that even buried the desperate spirit of rebellion.
But this is also temporary.
The gaze of old Pope, who was making eye contact with mine, suddenly fell.
He knew too.
I saved the village even turning my back on my own people. I had no reason to lie.
A weak lament flowed from old Pope’s mouth.
“It can’t be, Leoric-sama attacked humans… So, is that why mankind is so intent on catching us?”
“It looks half and half. I wonder if the two forces, led by Sir Alex, and those led by Leoric were alienating each other.”
Old Pope was just as mesmerized.
The remaining elves also couldn’t hide their painful feelings. ‘Headquarters’ was their spiritual pillar.
The only place you can lean on anytime.
However, that place was actually connecting the chain of hatred.
It was a fact that was hard to accept. I also understood their feelings.
Because that was how I felt when I cut Sir Alex.
However, the first person to come to his senses was Ruggett.
With a face that is still confused, he asked me cautiously.
“There is no problem with telling us the location of the headquarters. But it’s a place where even elves have a hard time getting into it… What are you going to do?”
It was a reasonable question.
And it was even more important than that.
To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing, but I deliberately put on a confident smile.
It was to give you faith.
“I don’t have to go in.”
“… … ?”
Ruggett still had a puzzled look on his face, but I didn’t intentionally tell him the answer.
He intended to reveal the plan only after they had been convinced.
However, I secretly gave someone a glance.
A gray haired elf girl who is deeply troubled.
It was Avian.
And even the crows that cast fire in the air.
My strategy relied entirely on these two. If there is anything to worry about, will Avian betray the ‘headquarters’ and follow me?
I felt like my lips were drying out.
In fact, apart from this, there was one more thing that bothered me.
My comrades at Yurdina Castle, are you okay?
I wonder if Leoric’s obscenity is putting my heart on edge.
I let out a long breath with a heavy feeling.
This too was only for a moment. By the time you return to the ‘headquarters’, you will find a way to resolve the misunderstanding.
Until then, I just hoped that my colleagues wouldn’t suffer too much.
*
The princess looked like she was about to go crazy.
It’s my fault, everything.