Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11
After giving Reina a few requests, I arrived at the reception room, where a woman in a black robe stood up and greeted me.
"Greetings to the young duke of the great House of Moner, protector of the Forest of Demonic Beasts."
An elegant gesture and a voice that spread like a melody.
The being under the black robe was clearly an elf.
"It is an honor to meet a resident of the western forest."
Contrary to my words, I ignored her outstretched hand, walked past her, and plopped down on the sofa, looking at her with a bored expression.
"Well, it's not a pleasant meeting, but let's try to make it a good one."
"I… suppose we can."
As the elf, flustered by my cold attitude, sat down, Ian furrowed his brows and asked.
"So, what do you want?"
"You're very direct. This could simply be a visit for the sake of friendship."
"Is there another race for whom conversation is as much of a waste as the elves? My father always told me to be wary of the forest. He said there is no existence as selfish and self-centered as the forest."
This was a saying in Lost Chronicle.
Beware the forest.
In the early stages of the game, when I had started looking for hidden pieces to clear the seemingly impossible game.
I couldn't describe how happy I had been when I met the elves, thinking I had finally found a hidden piece.
Even the Ian in the game had thought that the honest, gentle, and kind elves were the key to clearing it.
However, the elves suddenly joined the monster army and stood on the opposite side of humans.
The most absurd ending, which I couldn't believe even after seeing it.
<Bad Ending No. 002 The Whispering Forest>
After getting a game over due to the elves’ sudden betrayal, I learned for the first time that one could feel a sense of betrayal from a mere in-game race.
‘It’s okay. I’ll be well-prepared this time.’
I was even well-prepared for this sudden meeting.
Just in time, Reina entered the reception room with a few knights from the main castle, carrying a jar.
The elf, who had glanced at the knights entering the reception room in full armor and exuding a powerful aura, frowned and asked.
"Is this a threat?"
"Isn't it natural for knights to protect their lord? To be precise, this is self-defense. As you can see, I have almost no martial strength. I'm well aware that all elves are practically killing machines, so shouldn't I be prepared for any eventuality?"
The knights, who flinched at those words, quickly positioned themselves behind Ian.
"If I had intended to harm the young duke, I would not have come so openly."
"Of course. If you were to harm a single hair on my head, the House of Moner would burn the entire forest to the ground."
Frowning once more at the blatant threat, she rebuked Ian in a cold voice.
"I have heard that the young duke of the House of Moner is not well-mannered, but you are rude. War is not something that can be mentioned so lightly."
"Not well-mannered? Mad scoundrel, son of a bitch, bastard who deserves to die, devil-like bastard. Do you think I haven't heard worse while being in this position? The House of Moner does not fear war. We are fighting against that vast Forest of Demonic Beasts, so there's no way we would be afraid of a mere forest race."
Ian straightened his back and looked the elf, who was sitting with a ramrod straight posture, up and down as if to appraise her.
"Let's stop with the pointless talk. If you came to see me, tell me what you want."
The reason she had come to see the scoundrel, not the regent.
The elf stared intently at Ian, who was sitting crookedly in a rude posture.
"If you don't want to talk, I'll start. I hate all elves. This is a matter of personal preference, so it can't be helped. They are selfish and self-centered, but they are good at hiding their true nature. Ah, except for the dark elves."
At the mention of dark elves, her eyes flashed from under the hood covering her face.
"Don't ask me why. I know very well what kind of image dark elves have on the continent. Elves tainted by demonic energy, a race that commits murder, theft, and lies, and there are even rumors that they eat human flesh. I don't believe a single one of those. That's why I'm sitting in this seat."
"How……."
The elf's sharp, surprised voice echoed.
"The fact that our tribe is made up entirely of dark elves was a fact that even the Duke of Moner did not know."
The spirits, sensing her emotions, trembled from the spirit realm, and the surrounding air resonated with her anger.
"Dark elves are hated by all. Our tribe has settled in this land for a long time, fleeing from hatred and persecution. A place unknown to anyone."
The elf, who was staring intently at Ian, continued.
"But elf hunters have swarmed to our forest, targeting us."
The clear killing intent she emitted constricted my body.
The knights standing behind me quickly tried to draw their swords, but Ian raised his hand to stop them.
‘As expected.’
"So that's why you paid a visit here? To confirm if we sent those hunters?"
"They moved as if they knew the way. The only ones who know the location of our tribe are those of Moner blood. Around that time, your maid also came to visit our tribe."
Tsk, so it was a misunderstanding caused by the timing of Reina's visit to the western forest overlapping with the appearance of the hunters.
Using the Ghost Absorption Method to forcefully endure the constricting killing intent and mana, I opened my mouth as if nothing was wrong.
"Unfortunately, it wasn't me. However, I know very well who sent the hunters."
Despite Ian's calm explanation, the elf did not let down her suspicion in the slightest.
"Did you release the information to move others? To enslave the captured elves and satisfy your own vile nature?"
As expected.
They hadn't come to find an answer.
They had only come to confirm the answer they had already found.
This was a foreseeable event.
The dark elves were being harmed by elf hunters around this time and would be desperate to find the culprit.
The elves, who had heard rumors about the young duke of a nearby domain, would naturally have their suspicions grow.
Logically, I could understand it completely.
If my own people were to disappear, I too would suspect the monsters.
Since my reputation and that of the monsters were not so different, the elves' suspicion was more of a justified inference than a mere suspicion.
After closing his eyes for a moment to organize his thoughts, Ian nodded and said.
"No matter what I say, your suspicions will not be erased. Still, if you don't want a war right now, calm your hostility."
Even amidst the sharp killing intent and pressure, he looked at the elf before him with a still calm expression.
This was an opportunity.
An opportunity to gain an unexpected ally.
"I do not wish for a war with the dark elves. On the contrary, I want a strong and unbreakable alliance."
That was why he was sitting in this seat.
Even though he knew they would never let go of their suspicions.
‘Because I know who the real culprit is.’
I knew the culprit who had exterminated the dark elf tribe, which was said to have numbered over several hundred.
The elf still exuded a menacing aura, as if she would unleash magic at any moment, but Ian paid it no mind and calmly accepted her hostility.
"Now, let's make a deal."
"What kind of deal? We don't need anything."
Despite her sharp, cold tone, Ian smiled slyly.
"Of course you do. Don't you want to know who the real culprit who unleashed the elf hunters is?"
"I'm sorry, but even if there is a separate culprit, I don't think I would believe the words of the young duke."
"You never know. I believe in the wise forest race."
As if he found his own words absurd, a sneer escaped him.
‘The wise forest race.’
Could there be a more unfitting combination of words?
"A deal is a deal. I will reveal the culprit and provide a way to avoid that culprit."
"A way to avoid? We dark elves have spent our entire lives fleeing and hiding, running to the ends of the land permitted to us. Where else can we possibly flee?"
"You can decide that after hearing the information. It's a meaningless deal anyway if you don't trust me. But let's make this clear."
Swallowing the saliva that was about to overflow at the sight of the delicious-looking fruit before him, he continued.
"In return, I want all of your bows and daggers."
In that instant, the air around her grew cold.
"I hope you mean the weapons we possess."
"Of course, I'm talking about the dark elf rangers. Spirit tamers, mages, and swordsmen are all good, but what I want are the rangers. Support me with all your rangers."
The elf closed her eyes and then opened them again, and her calm, subdued black eyes flashed.
"I've wasted my time. I will be on my way now."
"Are you sure you don't want to hear the information? You'll regret it for a long time."
Despite Ian's attempt to stop her, the elf had already stood up and was about to leave the room.
‘As expected, she won’t believe me with just this.’
But he had no intention of trying to persuade her with a long-winded explanation.
As long as the 'Scoundrel' title remained, it was unlikely they would believe him no matter how truthfully he spoke.
Ian spoke to the back of the elf leaving the room as if it were no big deal.
"When you return, ask the World Tree. Why it wishes for the extinction of the dark elves."
In that instant, the elf turned around, her mana exploding.
"How dare you!"
Colorful, shining spirits materialized around the elf.
‘A Salamander, a Nymph, and a Sylph. She was a higher-ranking one than I thought.’
Of course, this side had been fully prepared since before entering the reception room.
Ian, who saw the spirits gradually revealing themselves in reality, clicked his tongue, raised his hand to stop the knights who were about to charge, and looked at Reina.
Crash!
As Reina threw the jar she was holding, smoke spread from the broken jar.
The mana in the air wavered from the mana-suppressing poison made from a mixture of mandrake root and insulation grass.
"What is this!"
Although it was just smoke that would only cause a brief bout of acute respiratory distress in a mage, there could be no more deadly poison for the spirits who breathed with mana.
The spirits that had just been summoned to reality were reverse-summoned back to the spirit realm as quickly as they had materialized.
"You should stop there."
Despite Ian's warning, the elf's eyes flashed as she lunged, and the knights who had been guarding Ian's back until now instantly shot forward and subdued the elf.
‘What? They subdued an elf this quickly?’
To think they had subdued a dark elf, who was born with outstanding physical abilities thanks to the blessing of the shadows since birth, at an invisible speed.
After looking at the knight with surprised eyes, he sneered at the subdued elf and said.
"Have you calmed down a little?"
"How dare you insult the World Tree!"
"The World Tree? Who?"
As Ian asked, looking around as if he were genuinely surprised, killing intent exploded from the captured elf's black eyes.
"You!"
Unable to contain her anger, the elf struggled to shake off the knight, but her already subdued body did not move in the slightest.
"Me? No way. Did I?"
At the sight of Ian shrugging and looking at the knights as if he really didn't know, the elf flared up and shouted.
"The World Tree is the parent of all elves and is no different from a god! You have dared to insult the World Tree with your mouth, so I will surely kill you!"
This was why it was better not to talk to elves.
Where had that modest and upright demeanor from before gone, and now look at her, cursing with the veins on her neck bulging.
"Hey, elf. The reason I haven't asked for your name yet is because I think this meeting is that worthless. There's no benefit in knowing a madwoman's name. Isn't that right?"
"You talk a lot for someone with a mouth!"
The conversation wouldn't progress like this.
Wasn't the basis of a conversation to listen to the other person's story?
He walked towards the elf, whose arms were being held, grabbed her by the hair, and then slapped her cheek with a hand filled with mana.
Slap!
"How dare you!"
Slap!
"The wrath of the western forest……!"
Slap!
"Th-the forest will be enraged……."
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
His mana-filled hand burned as if on fire, but he swung his palm without rest every time the elf opened her mouth.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Slaaap!
With a full swing that used all his strength, the elf's blood splattered on the reception room floor, and at the same time, the elf's desperate cry echoed.
Ian, who saw her face, which was already swollen beyond recognition, smiled with satisfaction and said.
"Now you're quiet."
Slaaap!
Ian, who slapped her one last time for making him waste his energy, dusted off his palms and crouched down in front of the elf.
"Now, I'll say it again. The House of Moner does not fear war. Just for the reason that you tried to kill me here, we have gained a justification to start a war. The continent will surely cheer for a war with the dark elf tribe. The reason you are alive in a corner of this land's forest is entirely due to the tacit permission of the House of Moner."
To convey his sincerity, he stared intently into the eyes of the elf, who was glaring at him with a cursed gaze.
"I swear on my family's name, the moment a single one of your arrows is aimed at the people of the domain and the domain itself, we will stop the northern pioneering and start a war."
Of course, I had no such power.
In the first place, I wasn't even sure if the House of Moner would move if I died.
They might even throw a festival, saying the scoundrel had finally kicked the bucket.
However, the elf before me would know nothing of the internal affairs of the House of Moner.
He pressed his index finger firmly on the forehead of the elf, who was staring at him blankly, and continued his threat.
"The flames of war will engulf the forest until not a single tree remains. How many elves do you think can survive under the banner of the House of Moner?"
The elf could only clench her fists until they bled, lower her head, and remain silent.