5. Bread and Dagger (70)
The coniferous forest is a vast aviary.
It was a structure that a passerby who came for the first time had no choice but to get lost. Well, if you see similar scenery everywhere you go, wouldn’t everyone be like that?
Even my sense of direction was blunted.
Snow, trees and animal footprints.
That was the only sign that could be seen. The placenta is meaningless data, and in fact, the three above were scattered everywhere in the coniferous forest.
Therefore, when moving in the coniferous forest, a guide must be accompanied.
It was a job that required subtle differences, a natural sense of geography, and years of training.
There were not many people who could carry out the guide mission. But fortunately, I happened to know a person who was optimized for a guide.
It was the elves.
Not only do they live hundreds of years, but they are also very observant. It was because they valued gathering as much as they pursued a life in harmony with nature.
And the one I was following was an exceptional guide among the elves.
Avian, the girl with gray hair.
She was a woman who lived as a spy in human society from a young age. He must have not received professional training, but his basic skills were excellent.
For example, a long eye.
It had been half a day since I had already moved. In my eyes, all the landscapes look similar, but Avian was firmly leading the way.
Am I really on the right path?
In case you didn’t know Avian might change his mind and try to sell me out.
While worrying so needlessly, I smiled bitterly. It was useless to doubt Avian now.
I was just asking Avian a question.
“Avian, how much time do you have left?”
“We are almost there.”
I think I got a similar answer a few hours ago.
I looked suspiciously at him, but I didn’t brush Avian any further. It was because of the faint fatigue on the girl’s face.
In fact, her feelings seemed more complicated.
He volunteered to be a spy for his people and spent his whole life drenched in pride as an elf. However, they are in danger of betraying their own people out of nowhere.
No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t ‘betrayal’.
On the contrary, it was Leoric and the cult that betrayed the elves. Didn’t the Elves suffer even more as they continued to separate the Humans from the Elves?
Even so, the inside must be complicated.
Moreover, Avian’s younger brother said that he was staying at the headquarters. If you didn’t know Leoric’s true nature, you’d have seen it before.
A troubled mind can’t help it.
I coughed and asked Avian.
“… … Is it hard?”
Avian did not return an answer for a while.
I just silently took my steps and headed somewhere.
The girl spoke only after a few minutes.
It was just before I freaked out.
“Ever since childhood, me and my brother have been treated differently. have you said that before? I was called the child of a ‘vampire’… … .”
Gray hair, blue eyes.
Those who inherited the blood of vampires were said to have such characteristics. I suddenly remembered a girl with the same color tone.
Seria, what is she doing now?
Before long, Delphine also came to mind. The man she had a night with disappeared, and she wouldn’t feel comfortable either.
I hid my depressed heart with silence.
“Everyone respected us, but they were scared. The ‘vampire’ was such a being. It gives off a thick smell of blood that is hard to approach.”
“By the way, did you give birth to a child?”
“Precisely, blood was sucked. Then that elf becomes a member of the vampire’s family.”
No matter how much I heard it, it was the same characteristics as the great forest vampire.
However, the great forest vampire was trapped in the barrier of the great witch. I couldn’t move freely, much less come to the coniferous forest on the opposite side of the continent.
At least that’s what it would be if we used normal means.
I quietly picked up Avian’s words and stored them in my heart.
“Actually, that’s when I realized. ‘Ah, I’m an elf, but I’m not an elf.’ Isn’t it funny? Our own people are our only family, and even they keep away from us.”
“You seem to love elves a lot.”
“Because I didn’t have a choice… … .”
I seemed to know what it meant.
How many people can two orphaned children depend on?
Elves with strong kinship would have been the only alternative. It was too cold in the north to live without relying on anyone.
It must have been a miserable feeling.
More than anyone else, they crave love for their fellow countrymen, but the hearts of those who are shunned by their own people.
“Maybe that’s why he volunteered to be a spy. Only among elves is a body that is called a ‘vampire’, but in human society, you can just be an elf, right?”
“You were desperate.”
“Yes, but now… it’s okay.”
It was a pretty sudden confession.
My gaze slipped to Avian. It was a refreshing face that matched the calm voice.
“Are you a human, an elf… In fact, there may not have been a need to differentiate. If anyone has someone who stands by me, wouldn’t that be my family?”
“Then I will be your family too?”
It was said as a joke, but Avian did not deny it.
He only blushed and turned his head slightly.
After hesitating for a while, Avian gave a small answer.
“… … That, is that it?”
‘Family’, I didn’t know that Avian would use such a heavy word.
But at the same time, her heart was also understood.
For Avian, ‘family’ was synonymous with ‘kin’. It must be because, in the first place, he had never had a family other than his younger brother.
Then it wouldn’t be bad if I became Avian’s family.
I wanted to believe that even though I couldn’t boast of being that close, I still had enough power to comfort a lonely elf girl.
Looking back, it was too much of a relationship.
The girl who interrogated me to death at first, now considers me family.
I said with a wry smile.
“Okay, let’s… family. But can humans and elves also be a family?”
“I told you, humans and elves don’t really matter… … .”
Crispy, and somewhere, there was the sound of stepping on the frozen snow.
My gaze moved there at once. Because the epicenter was far away, Avian looked puzzled for a moment, but soon his ears perked up.
It wasn’t long before Avian realized my intentions.
She took the lead again, and put her index finger to the tip of her nose.
“… … Shh.”
and the glances that followed.
It meant hiding.
I climbed the tree as if flying. Then, holding his breath, he hid himself among the stinging leaves.
It didn’t take long until Avian and the mysterious elf met.
An elf man trudged toward Avian.
“Who is it? This is near the headquarters. Elves are also allowed to enter only those whose status is guaranteed.”
“This is Avian.”
Hmmm, the elf man stroked his chin. With her eyes closed, it was as if she was rummaging through her memories.
He opened his eyes as if he had just remembered.
“Ah, that spy! I heard that the funds sent to the headquarters have decreased lately. Did you return to the headquarters because of that?”
“Yes, that’s how it is… Also, I have something to report to Leoric.”
if so, what
The elf man nodded and turned his back. It seemed that it was intended to guide them to the elves’ headquarters.
But he stopped walking after a while.
Wow, the awl made of magical power pierced the elf man’s neck.
He did not grasp the situation until the blood dripped down from him. Stuttering, the last glance looked down at my neck.
It was an instant death.
Panting, Avian staggered backwards. The girl who had just killed her comrade had a pale complexion.
I was startled and immediately jumped from the tree.
“Avian! it’s okay? Until you kill… … .”
“My identity was exposed.”
It was Avian’s reason.
No, maybe it was an excuse or an excuse.
As much as it was true, it was true.
Leoric was able to see the past of the place through an unknown means. In the process, the scene where Avian was with me would have been exposed as well.
In other words, Avian could not infiltrate the headquarters with his body.
“So I have no choice but to borrow an identity… It’s okay, it’s for the ‘family’.”
It was a word that felt strong enough to be heartbreaking.
I thought about what to say for a while.
Soon he let out a deep sigh and sighed.
“… … There was no need to overdo it.”
“You killed your own people for me too.”
Silence again, my eyes turned to Avian’s trembling hand.
“Was it like this then, too? With such a terrible feeling… … .”
“That’s why I didn’t want to make you want to know.”
“Chin,” I concluded as I placed my hand on Avian’s head.
“… … Let’s get ready. Headquarters soon.”
As a signal for this, a cawing sound rang out from somewhere.
A crow flew in and quietly landed on my shoulder.
Now it was time to win.
**
Delphine’s steps, which had been advancing ahead, stopped abruptly.
It was in the middle of a long walk through the coniferous forest. With Delphine at the head, the steps of Elsie and Emma, who were leading the party, also stopped.
The puzzled eyes of the people in the left turned to Delphine.
But right after that.
Pak, and a golden straight line was engraved in the world.
It was a lightning-like footsword. And what was exposed in that trajectory was an arrow flying from somewhere.
The searing heat set the arrow on fire with the air. The blazing fire fell to the ground in a shabby parabola.
Delphine finally smiled.
“… … found.”
Beyond that bloody gaze, an elf that appeared to be a boy was slowly revealing itself. Another elf woman with a nervous expression appeared after her.
Delphine’s smile grew wider.
now we can meet
The man who took the Delphine maiden.