Chapter 129: Dark Elf
Five days had passed since the Rakian army began their invasion.
As the war progressed, Finn noticed something unnatural about the Rakian army's movements. Deducing that their true objective might lie within Orario itself, he left the frontline in the hands of the Freya Familia and led his troops back to the city to investigate.
Tsuna, however, chose to remain on the battlefield to continue his search for clues regarding Celua. Because there was a possibility Celua might appear in the city, Reborn had accompanied Finn's group back to Orario.
"Finn told me to come get my orders from you," Tsuna said.
"That infuriating Pallum," Hedin scoffed.
Tsuna was currently reporting to Hedin. Upon hearing Tsuna's explanation, the White Elf made no effort to hide his deep irritation at Finn casually dumping his responsibilities onto him.
"Fine. The truth is, having someone like you around is highly convenient for us."
"Convenient?"
"It is simple. This Familia possesses zero concept of teamwork, and the vast majority are battle-crazed idiots who only know how to charge straight ahead. With you, I do not have to worry about such idiocy. It saves me a considerable amount of trouble."
"R-Right…"
Though Hedin spoke in a flat, clinical tone, Tsuna didn't miss the prominent vein bulging on his forehead. Realizing Hedin was suffering from chronic stress trying to manage his chaotic Familia, Tsuna felt a pang of sympathy.
"Before I give you your orders, I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"What was your impression of Lady Freya?"
"Why are you asking me that here?"
"Just answer the question."
"…I thought she was a Goddess with an incredibly large heart, and that the rumors about her captivating beauty were completely true."
Though Tsuna had no idea why Hedin was interrogating him about this, he offered his honest, unfiltered impression.
"However…"
"What?"
"Even though she has the aura of a grand queen, there was something… sad about her. She felt incredibly lonely."
"I see…"
"Are you satisfied?"
"Yes. Your first assignment. Further northwest from here, you will find a Dark Elf named Hogni. Group up with him and force the enemy to retreat."
"Got it."
Tsuna ignited his flames and blasted into the sky, heading toward the coordinates Hedin had provided.
As I suspected, this man saw straight into her true nature… Hedin thought, watching Tsuna fly away.
─────
Northwest Battlefield.
"…"
A dark-skinned male elf with a heavy cloak, light silver hair, and pale green eyes stood on the battlefield. With an expressionless face, he slaughtered the charging Rakian soldiers with slashes invisible to the naked eye.
This man was Hogni Ragnar, an executive of the Freya Familia and the First-Tier adventurer known by the alias [Dainsleif].
Everyone is staring at me!! I want to go home!! I want Lady Freya to pat my head!! Despite being one of the few First-Tier adventurers in Orario and an executive of the most feared Familia, Hogni suffered from extreme social anxiety and crippling stage fright. Even though his opponents were weak, enduring the collective stares of an entire army for days on end was nothing short of psychological torture.
I can't take it anymore… I'm using my magic… Hogni possessed a unique spell called Dainsleif, a magic that forcefully altered his personality. Similar in concept to Finn's morale-boosting magic, it acted entirely on the mind, offering no physical stat enhancements. However, its psychological effect was absolute self-modification. When activated, his crippling timidity vanished entirely, replaced by the persona of a ruthless, cold-blooded warrior.
"Eh…!?"
Just as Hogni was about to invoke his magic, the Rakian soldiers charging him suddenly screamed in terror and scrambled away in a panicked retreat.
Hogni stood frozen, unable to comprehend why the enemy was fleeing when he hadn't even done anything.
"I guess controlling the consumption rate really is difficult…"
Hearing a voice behind him, Hogni turned around to see Tsuna approaching, trailed by a massive illusionary horde of giant caterpillar monsters. A second later, the monsters dissolved into mist and vanished.
On the first day of the invasion, Tsuna had used Goliath, but the flame consumption had been too severe. He reasoned that generating a massive swarm of the caterpillar monsters he had encountered in the deep floors would be more efficient, since they were individually much smaller than a Floor Boss. While it certainly burned fewer flames than Goliath, the cost was still higher than he would have liked, leaving him with a dissatisfied expression.
Eh!? Why is he here!? Hogni panicked internally, completely bewildered as to why Tsuna was operating on the Freya Familia's frontline.
"Are you Hogni?"
Though Hogni was the only Dark Elf in the immediate vicinity, Tsuna asked just to be certain.
"…K-Kukuku… Indeed. You are sharp to have seen through me. I am the dark hunter who protects the silver Goddess reigning over the labyrinth city. I am Hogni Ragnar."
Hogni plastered a fearless smirk on his face, covering half his visage with his hand as he delivered his dramatic response.
Because his extreme social anxiety made normal communication impossible, Hogni had developed a terrible habit of adopting an edgy, chuunibyou persona to cope. As a result, almost everyone who interacted with him considered him a deeply painful individual to be around.
"Hedin sent me. I'll be fighting alongside you guys for a while, so I'm looking forward to working with you."
"Hmph. A joint front with a fated rival against a despicable foe. I suppose this, too, is the destiny decreed by the heavens."
"…"
W-What!? Why is he staring at me in silence!? Did I do something wrong!? Seeing Tsuna suddenly fall completely silent and stare at him intently, Hogni's internal panic spiked to critical levels.
"Are you… not very good at dealing with people?"
"Wha!?"
"I thought so. No wonder the way you talk felt so unnatural."
Tsuna's Hyper Intuition had instantly pierced through Hogni's edgy facade to see his true, terrified nature. Hogni was completely rattled that his deepest secret had been exposed in a matter of seconds.
< You don't have to force yourself to talk. Just nod or shake your head. >
For my sake…!? Using his Mist Flames, Tsuna constructed glowing Koine letters in mid-air to communicate, sparing Hogni the stress of speaking.
Hogni was utterly stunned. Not only had Tsuna refrained from mocking his social anxiety or cringing at his painful dialogue, but he had actively gone out of his way to accommodate his weakness.
Because of his fragile mental state, Hogni was often secretly mocked as a "trash-tier elf" by his peers. When he used his edgy persona, he was met with cold stares. The Gods laughed at his chuunibyou antics, and even Hedin bluntly called him a disappointment.
"W-Why… how did you know I was bad with people…?" Hogni asked softly, his edgy persona completely dropping. He found an inexplicable sense of comfort in Tsuna's presence, allowing him to speak normally.
"Even though you were talking confidently, your entire body was completely stiff. And I just felt that your words weren't matching your true feelings. That's all."
"T-Then… why are you being so considerate of me…?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I can't just force someone who hates talking to people to keep talking."
Eh… Could this person be my one true, unparalleled best friend? Hogni thought, stars practically forming in his eyes.
The only person who had ever shown him this much kindness after learning his true nature was Freya. But Freya was the Queen he had sworn to protect, and he was her vassal; they could never stand on equal footing as friends. But with Tsuna, Hogni truly felt he might have finally found a real friend.
"Anyway, let's head back to Hedin for our next orders. Grab onto my leg."
"O-Okay…"
Tsuna switched his flames from Mist to Sky, floating slightly off the ground. After a brief moment of hesitation, Hogni kicked off the earth and tightly grabbed Tsuna's right leg.
─────
Freya Familia Encampment.
"I routed the enemies in the northwest. What's the next order?"
He actually managed to open Hogni's heart? Hedin was internally stunned that Tsuna had managed to break through the cripplingly shy Dark Elf's walls in such a short amount of time.
I suspected as much during the War Game, but this boy… Seeing the effortless, equal dynamic Tsuna had established with Hogni confirmed the lingering suspicion Hedin had harbored for a while.
"You. You possess the qualities of a King."
"What are you talking about?"
"Do not play dumb. That idiot is highly skilled, but he suffers from a catastrophic social defect. Aside from Lady Freya, no one has ever managed to get him to open up this quickly. Unless someone naturally possesses the charisma of a ruler, it is completely impossible to earn that idiot's trust in such a short timeframe."
"…People around me keep pushing that on me, but I have absolutely no intention of becoming a King. As long as I can live a peaceful, quiet life, that's enough for me."
Realizing he couldn't deflect Hedin's piercing gaze, Tsuna offered a surprisingly honest confession.
"Fine. Next, force the enemies in the southwest to retreat."
"Got it."
"And I forgot to mention this earlier, but the Pallum quadruplets and that foolish cat hold a deep grudge against you for humiliating them. They are not currently stationed in the southwest, but if you wish to avoid unnecessary trouble, be extremely careful not to cross paths with them."
"…"
"What is it? If you have something to say, spit it out."
"No… You guys went out of your way to ambush us while hiding your identities, so I'm just surprised you admitted to it so casually."
"If you and those idiots were to clash, it would only prolong a battle that is already a complete waste of time. Furthermore, even if I did not explicitly confirm it, you were already fully aware that we were the ones who attacked you, and that I was watching from a distance."
"True."
"Which brings me to my question. Why did you agree to fight alongside us? Even though you repelled our ambush, you have every right to harbor a grudge against this Familia."
"I still haven't forgiven you guys for trying to put my friends in danger. But holding onto a grudge only leads to ruin. If I hold a grudge against you here, my friends might end up in danger again. I have to avoid that at all costs. Besides, I couldn't think of a fast way to end this war on my own. But you've fought these guys countless times, and even Finn acknowledges your tactical brilliance. I knew you'd have the best strategy to end this as quickly as possible. I just thought it was better for us to cooperate rather than bicker with each other."
"Bringing up that infuriating Pallum was unnecessary, but it seems you do possess the eyes to accurately assess a battlefield."
Hedin realized that Tsuna was an incredibly rare breed of warrior—one who never allowed his emotions to dictate his actions, and who could perfectly evaluate a situation with cold, rational logic.
With their conversation concluded, Tsuna launched into the sky, heading toward his next assigned coordinate.
"…Hey, Hedin. If he had become our King, do you think things would have been different…?" Hogni murmured quietly.
Hogni was recalling the days before they joined the Freya Familia.
Long ago, Hogni and Hedin were born on Hjadning, an isolated island nation consumed by an endless, bloody war between the White Elves and the Dark Elves.
Because of his terrifying innate combat talent, Hogni had been forcefully crowned the Warrior King against his will. Despite the title, he was treated like a glorified slave, forced to endlessly slaughter enemies on the frontlines. If he failed to produce results, he was mercilessly abused and worked to the bone.
Hedin, blessed with an unparalleled intellect, was forcefully crowned the King of Reason. Though he viewed the entire conflict as utterly foolish, he flawlessly fulfilled his duties as a ruler.
In that living hell, the two Kings recognized each other as fated rivals, their sole motivation for survival being the ultimate goal of defeating the other.
That was until Freya descended upon the island. Disgusted by the horrific state of Hjadning, she orchestrated its downfall, liberating Hogni and Hedin from the wretched burdens of their crowns. Out of immense gratitude, the two former Kings pledged their absolute loyalty to her.
"…Who knows."
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