The coniferous forest is a vast cage.
First-time travelers are bound to get lost without a doubt. After all, if all you see is similar scenery wherever you go, wouldn’t anyone feel the same?
My sense of direction was dulling.
Snow, trees, and animal footprints.
Those were the only signs within my view. Most of it was meaningless data, for the above three could be found anywhere in the coniferous forest.
Thus, when moving through the coniferous forest, it’s essential to have a guide accompany you.
It was a task requiring subtle differences, an innate sense of geography, and years of training.
Few can perform the role of a guide. However, fortunately, I happened to know someone well-versed in guiding.
They were elves.
Not only do they live for hundreds of years, but they also possess excellent observational skills. As they pursue a life harmonious with nature, they place great importance on foraging.
And the one following behind me was an exceptional guide among the elves.
A girl with gray hair, Abiyang.
She had lived as a spy within human society from a young age. While she might not have received formal training, she possessed a natural talent.
For example, her sense of direction.
It had already been half a day since we started walking. Everything looked the same to me, yet Abiyang continued to lead the way unwaveringly.
Were we really on the right path?
What if she had changed her mind and planned to sell me out?
Engulfed in such pointless worries, I forced a bitter smile. It was pointless to distrust Abiyang now.
I merely posed a question to her.
“Abiyang, how much longer do we have?”
“We’re almost there.”
I felt as though I had received a similar answer a few hours ago.
I gazed at her with doubt, but I didn’t push her further. There was a faint hint of fatigue on the girl’s face.
In truth, her feelings seemed more complex.
She had volunteered as a spy for her kin, taking pride in being an elf all her life. Yet, she suddenly found herself in a position where she might betray her own kind.
No, to be precise, it wasn’t ‘betrayal.’
Rather, it was Leorick and the act of socializing that had betrayed the elves. By persistently sowing discord between humanity and the elves, the elves had only suffered more hardships.
Still, the inner turmoil was bound to be complex.
Besides, Abiyang’s younger sibling was said to remain at the headquarters. It was one thing not to know Leorick’s true nature, but Abiyang had witnessed that madness firsthand.
Her troubled heart was inevitable.
I cleared my throat and asked Abiyang.
“…Is it hard?”
Abiyang did not answer for a while.
She simply continued walking quietly, heading somewhere.
It was only after several minutes that the girl finally opened her mouth.
It was just before I felt awkward.
“Since childhood, my brother and I have been treated uniquely. I think I mentioned this before? We were called the ‘children of a vampire’…”
Gray hair, blue eyes.
Those who inherit the blood of a vampire supposedly bear such traits. I suddenly thought of another girl with a similar coloring.
Ceria, what was she doing now?
Shortly after, I also recalled Senior Delphine. The man she had spent a night with had disappeared; she too would not be at peace.
I hid my melancholy heart behind silence.
“Everyone respected us while also fearing us. ‘Vampires’ are such beings. They emit a deep smell of blood, making it hard for anyone to approach.”
“But did that mean you were born to it?”
“To be precise, it was about being drained of blood. Then that elf becomes a retainer of the vampire.”
No matter how I looked at it, this shared characteristics with the vampires of the Great Forest.
However, the vampires of the Great Forest were confined within the barrier of the great witch. They could hardly move freely, let alone reach the coniferous forest on the opposite side of the continent.
At least, it would be so if normal means were employed.
I quietly gathered Abiyang’s words in my heart.
“The fact is, I realized then. ‘Ah, I’m an elf but not an elf.’ Isn’t it funny? Our only family is our kin, yet they still keep their distance from us.”
“You seemed to love elves a lot.”
“I had no choice…”
I understood what that meant.
How many would there be to rely on for two orphans who had lost their parents?
The elves, with their strong kinship, would have been the only alternative. The northern region was too cold to live without any dependence.
It must have felt miserable.
Longing for a kinship more than anyone, the heart of one who is regarded with fear by their own must be.
“So, maybe you volunteered as a spy. Even if you were called a ‘vampire’ among elves, you could simply be an elf in human society, right?”
“You were desperate.”
“Yes, but now… it’s fine.”
It was quite a sudden confession.
My gaze subtly turned toward Abiyang. Her refreshing face matched her calm voice.
“Whether human or elf… perhaps it wasn’t necessary to distinguish too strictly. If there’s someone who protects me, isn’t that what family is?”
“Then I guess I’d be your family.”
It was a remark made in jest, but Abiyang did not refute it.
She merely turned her head slightly, reddening.
After quite a while of hesitating, Abiyang quietly replied.
“…Y-yeah? That would be the case?”
‘Family.’ I never thought Abiyang would bring up such a heavy word.
Yet, I also understood her feelings to some extent.
For Abiyang, ‘family’ equated to ‘kin.’ After all, aside from her younger sibling, she had never had a family.
Then it wouldn’t be bad for me to become Abiyang’s family.
I couldn’t claim we were that close, but I wanted to believe I had the capacity to comfort the lonely elf girl.
Looking back, it was a strange relationship.
A girl who had once interrogated me with the intent to kill now considers me family.
I forced a bitter smile and said.
“Okay, let’s be… family. But can humans and elves really become family?”
“I told you it doesn’t matter if you’re human or elf…”
Crack! From somewhere, the sound of frozen snow being crushed reached my ears.
My gaze instantly shifted there. Because the origin was at a distance, Abiyang wore a perplexed expression for a moment, but soon perked up her ears.
Before long, Abiyang picked up on my intentions.
She stepped ahead again, placing her index finger to her nose.
“…Shh.”
Then a gesture followed.
It was a sign to hide.
I climbed the tree as if leaping. Holding my breath, I concealed myself among the prickling leaves.
It didn’t take long until Abiyang met an unidentified elf.
An elf male approached Abiyang with heavy steps.
“Who are you? This is near the headquarters. Only those with guaranteed identities among the elves are allowed entry.”
“It’s Abiyang.”
Hmm, the elf male stroked his chin. He seemed to be rummaging through his memory, eyes closed.
Then, as if he had suddenly recalled something, he opened his eyes wide.
“Aah, that spy! I heard the funds being sent to the headquarters have decreased lately; are you here to return because of that?”
“Yes, that’s about it… Also, I have matters to report to Mr. Leorick.”
If that’s the case, then…
The elf male nodded and turned around. He seemed about to lead to the elf’s ‘headquarters’.
However, he quickly stopped walking.
Suddenly, a spear made of magical energy pierced through the elf male’s neck.
He didn’t grasp the situation even as blood trickled down. His last gaze was one of confusion, looking down at his own neck.
It was instant death.
Staggering, Abiyang stepped back. The girl who had just killed her colleague looked pale.
I was taken aback and jumped straight down from the tree.
“Abiyang! Are you okay? You didn’t have to kill him…”
“My identity was exposed.”
That was Abiyang’s reasoning.
No, maybe it was an excuse or a pretext.
While that claim was indeed true, it didn’t change the fact.
Leorick could see the past of that location through some unknown means. During that process, the scene of Abiyang being with me would have been exposed as well.
In other words, Abiyang couldn’t infiltrate the headquarters in her true form.
“So, I had no choice but to borrow an identity… It’s okay; it’s for ‘family’.”
There was a sense of strong determination in those words that felt heart-wrenching.
I pondered for a moment about what to say and then sighed heavily, expressing my exasperation.
“…You didn’t have to push yourself.”
“You killed a kin for my sake.”
Once again, silence fell, and my eyes landed on Abiyang’s trembling hand.
“Was it like this then? Did you feel this terrible during that time…?”
“And that’s why I didn’t want to know.”
Placing my hand on top of Abiyang’s head, I concluded.
“…Let’s prepare. We’ll be at the headquarters soon.”
As if in response, somewhere, the sound of a crow echoed.
A crow flew in and quietly landed on my shoulder.
Now was the time to face our fate.
Senior Delphine’s steps suddenly came to a halt.
Having walked through the coniferous forest for quite some time, Elsi and Emma, who were leading the group alongside Delphine, also stopped.
The gathered onlookers’ curious gazes turned toward Delphine.
However, right after that.
Bang! A golden line was etched into the world.
It was a lightning-fast blade. Exposed in that trajectory was an arrow that had flown in from somewhere.
The searing heat burned the arrow along with its surroundings. The blazing flames descended in a pitiful arc onto the ground.
Only then did Delphine smile.
“…Found you.”
Beyond that blood-red gaze, an elf boy slowly revealed himself. Following behind him was another elf woman with a nervous expression.
Delphine’s smile grew even brighter.
Now, she could meet the man who took her maiden.
