Chapter 250

Chapter 250

Gentle, and not angry… If I lose to Elfride like this, I’ll lose a lot. No matter what I feel, Elfride will mistakenly believe I like her. Even the reason why I’m seeing Luna could be absurdly interpreted as an attempt to forget her. Of course, these are merely Elfride’s assumptions and misunderstandings, but if I lose like this, there’s no doubt that in her mind, I’ll always be that kind of person.

There’s no way I can tolerate something like that. So, amidst all sorts of mental turmoil and likely consequences, including beatings or curses, I moved my hand. The direction of my hand was toward the long and baggy skirts that healers like Elfride wore.

Slurp.

As my hand moved toward the inside and touched her cold yet soft thigh, Elfride was utterly shocked and screamed.

“What, what are you trying to touch, you idiot!”

It was as though a human’s hair could stand up like a cat’s fur. Elfride’s hair stood on end as she glared at me. Her hand was tightly gripping my wrist, preventing me from touching the area between her thighs.

“Are you really out of your mind? You idiot! Do you think you’re going to attack me because you’re about to lose? I’ll k*ll you!”

Fazit, Fazizit.

An overwhelming aura that seemed to pierce my skin emanated from her.

This is probably a unique form of mana dispersion or energy manipulation of hers. I can feel through my skin that she’s angry from head to toe. If I were the Hassan who used to be a slave, I would have bowed my head low and begged for forgiveness. But I am Hassan the adventurer, who has much to lose.

I can’t back down here.

As I gradually increased the pressure on my hand, moving toward the inside of her thigh, I spoke nonchalantly.

“What? It’s just a massage. Is there a problem with that?”

“Are you crazy? Where do you even see this as a massage!? Even you must know how absurd that sounds. Shout now if you want, set this place on fire—just take your hand off immediately.”

Gaaaah.

I could feel the strength in Elfride’s hand gripping my wrist increase.

Not only was she firmly gripping my wrist, but she was pressing down with her sharp nails. It hurt.

Yet, I am not one to back down here.

“If I do anything, won’t you not even feel it? Are you scared now?”

“…Scared? Who’s scared? What about you? Huh?”

Despite her loud reprimand, I could sense the bravado in her voice as she stumbled with her words.

The only way to know if she’s excited or not is by touching her directly. And so, I touched her.

With that simple algorithm in mind, my hand soon passed over her knee, over her thigh, and toward her hip, where the lymph nodes were.

“Get out! Out of my skirt!”

As I moved toward her like a snake, Elfride twisted her body as though it were covered in thorns.

Ding.

「Name: Elfride Desmund Lv. 35

Strength: 12 → 8

Agility: 11 → 8

Vitality: 12 → 9

Attributes: Sadism, Separation Anxiety, Atheist

Status: Shoulder Strain, Cold Limbs, Irregular Menstruation」

Currently, her level is lower than mine, and with a strength comparison, her numbers are 4 points less. There is absolutely no way she can stop my actions.

Slurp, Slurp slurp.

Thus, my hand finally moves toward the inside of her thigh.

With my fingers hesitatingly pressing into the deep part of her thigh, Elfride screams.

“Idiot! Moron! You lost! Admit it, you lost! Just admit it, you lost!”

Her state was like a dog being dragged to the slaughterhouse. With her white teeth exposed, her already red eyes were filled with bloodshot veins—a terrifying sight indeed.

But ignoring all of that, I moved my hand up her thigh, pressing her shoulder with one hand while aiming higher with the other.

“What, why is your strength so much stronger?! You, you just need to lie down beneath me! You slave, barbarian, uneducated brute-!”

Hearing her insults, as my hand reached the warm part above, I moved my fingers to gently stroke the space between her legs.

Just that alone made my erection stand upright.

It was certain that I had lost the bet. However, Elfride was so distraught with being forcibly touched she didn’t even realize my state of arousal.

Thus, my hand reached her underwear. In the instant where I tried to embed the sensation into every fingertip of mine…

“Meowwwww-!”

Elfride’s face, red as if it were about to burst, screamed as though a thunderclap were breaking through.

“Ifrith-!!!”

With harsh incantations, my ears and sight were overwhelmed by flashes and ringing sounds.

It’s as if everything was enveloped in red flames in an instant.

*

Fire is something that everyone knows is dangerous.

When one reaches a certain age, there’s no need to explain how dangerous large fires are. But for the majority of people, this is only out of experience or knowledge-based caution.

People know fire is dangerous and scary, but rarely get to witness its danger firsthand.

I was one of those people too.

But watching a true blaze envelop everything, all I could think of was to escape.

Sizz, Sizzle—.

Everything around is engulfed in fire.

The acrid smoke and the heat that burns my face and arms leaves me dizzy. After the escape from the gladiator arena, I thought I would never have to deal with flames like this again.

“This is cr*p, what’s suddenly going on? Fire! Fire!!”

“Evacuate the people! Hurry!”

“An explosion just happened, it seems! Hurry, call the guards! Bring the firefighters!”

“Over there, someone’s still in that bedroom—.”

The cries and the sounds of collapsing structures are deafening. With flames suddenly roaring in a place meant for healing the sick, panic and fear are understandable reactions from everyone.

I, too, was deeply troubled.

In front of me stood Elfride.

In this situation where everything is ablaze, she had her mouth wide open, sporting an eerily scary grin.

Elfride’s gone mad.

Even though I was well aware of this, I never imagined she could go so far as to set fire to a treatment facility filled with civilians.

Well, this is the woman who set the world tree ablaze, revered by the elves.

It seemed trivial for her to set fire to civilian homes where people lived. Now I understood why the elves were chasing her.

They might not have come just to punish her sins.

Could the elves have chased Elfride here to prevent the catastrophe that befell Albrheim from repeating itself?

Elfride must be stopped.

“Hey, Elfr—.”

As I extended my hand to stop her, swinging it around amidst the flames, a loud explosion happened—”Kwagagak”!— throwing me violently backward into the air.

With my posture compromised, I was thrown far back. Pieces of debris dug into and collided with my shoulder and back, causing sharp pains.

When I finally regained my senses, only the roaring flames were in front of me, and Elfride’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

She’s escaped. The broken window implies she fled through it.

“d*mn it!”

It’s a mess.

After the fire subsides, the damage to the clinic might be mitigated somewhat. However, with Elfride running amok through the city, setting things ablaze, it could quickly escalate to a point of no return.

Elfride was like an armed grenade.

A dangerous substance prone to exploding when touched. Even untouched, there was a chance it could randomly explode. Here, it did, and it seemed I triggered it.

It’s a mess.

To be honest, fire will eventually be extinguished.

This isn’t the west slums nor the wealthy eastern gate district. Skilled guards, firefighters, and water-attribute mages will quickly contain the fire.

But when a fire breaks out, an investigation always follows. Tracing back to why Elfride set the fire might eventually lead back to me. It’s certain I won’t escape blame.

Feeling a strange chill running down my spine amidst the roaring flames, I realized Elfride needed to be caught and stopped before she caused further damage.

Escaping the burning room, I noticed red flames clinging to the walls like lizards, flicking their tongues.

“Help me!”

I spotted a woman, with a handkerchief covering her nose, crouched on the floor, crying out to be saved. She must have been one of the healers who guided me just a moment ago.

“Help! My legs, I can’t move because my legs are trapped!”

Looking closer, I noticed her legs were pinned by a giant pillar. Though stopping Elfride was urgent, I couldn’t overlook her cries for help.

“sh*t!”

Swearing under my breath, I rushed toward her and began to lift the pillar pinning her lower body.

“Ugh…!”

Whatever it’s made of, this pillar is unimaginably heavy.

“It’s a steel pillar! It’s too heavy for you to lift alone! Hurry, call someone else over!”

“Ughh…!”

Clenching my teeth, with every vein in my neck popping out, I exerted myself to the fullest, forcing the heavy pillar upward.

The heat made it feel like the steel pillar could scorch my hands off, but the pain only fueled more strength.

“I can’t hold it long, get out quickly! Move, move! sh*t…!”

She seemed to grasp my urgency and wriggled out from beneath the pillar. However, she turned to shout again as she moved away.

“Over there, in that room! People are trapped inside! They lost consciousness and couldn’t escape!”

“d*mn it.”

Since it’s my fault, it’s my responsibility to clear the mess.

If anyone dies or gets injured because of this fire, it would be a never-ending spiral of misfortune. Getting dragged back into slavery again? d*ath by s*icide would be preferable.

Woom—.

Just then, the entrance to the room the healer pointed out caught fire. Black smoke exploded outwards, making it look incredibly dangerous.

“It’s too late…!”

The healer’s face grew solemn.

But I was already moving without much thought. Breaking through the remnants of the flames with bare hands, I entered the room.

Inside, exactly as the healer described, four unconscious people were lying on their beds, being roasted alive.

“sh*t! Everyone, wake up! Quickly!”

I dragged and balanced them on my shoulders and back before stepping back outside.

The toxic gases I had inhaled made my vision blur, and each breath felt like lead pressing on my lungs.

“d*mn… What a shitty life.”

“Cure, Cure!”

A strange vitality surged through my body. The healer I had helped must’ve used her healing magic on me for free.

It helped me regain a bit of clarity.

“Let’s get the people outside first!”

I collaborated with the healer, moving everyone—the unconscious, the injured—out of the burning building and into the open. Everywhere, people groaned and screamed, having suffered burns.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Among them was Delphina from the Rose of Silver, who looked extremely upset watching the treatment center burn down.

“This is way beyond scolding! What in the world happened between you and Samaritan? Why did Elfride burn this place?”

It seemed she realized Elfride ignited the fires. As I silently braced for the inevitable confrontation, I felt someone approaching from behind.

“Ah… We thought we’d give you until midnight, but with this development, catching her is crucial now.”

Turning back, I saw a short gray-haired female elf, staring at the flames just like I was. It was Mimir, one of the elves pursuing Elfride. Standing beside her, arms crossed, was Rane, an elf paladin with sharp features.

What brings them here?

Has the pursuit already begun? As these questions ran through my mind, Mimir spoke.

“The fire of destruction, Surt’s flame. The unmistakable traces of a witch. Unable to control herself, she eventually spiraled out of control.”

Swoosh.

Mimir tilted her head toward the night sky, her eyes reflecting the rising heat and dark smoke spreading everywhere.

“We should catch her before the city burns. I know where she’s headed. Though earlier than planned, shall we go, Daltor?”

Shreeeek.

At that moment, a sharp metallic whistle split the air.

Just before Mimir’s head, three sharp sword tips whizzed past. Turning her head, Mimir saw Delphina standing there, weapon-equipped and ready. Wiping the bl**d from her cheek, Mimir asked.

“What’s going on? Do you know who we are?”

“Hmm. Just two irritating pointy-eared people, aren’t you? Samaritan, why are you hesitating? Hurry up and go stop her. The city’s burning. Aren’t you trying to be the city hero?”

Delphina swung her sword, flinging the bl**d off the tip with a whistling sound. Behind her, Liri and Edwin, similarly equipped, stepped forward.

Seeing this, the short-cut elf woman, Mimir, pulled out a strangely curved dagger from her robe’s folds.

“Showing bl**d to me means it’s no longer an ordinary matter.”

The elf pursuit squad and the Rose of Silver faced each other with weapons drawn, poised for battle in front of the burning clinic.

I, caught in the middle, turned my head upon hearing the distant explosion again. Gazing at the intensifying smoke clouds, I sped off like the wind.

[Afterword] Originally, this was meant to be a quick wrap-up episode acting as a bridge. But as Hassan and Elfride delved into their mutual grievances, they started lengthy exchanges, and before I knew it, the chapter count reached ten… But now, it’s really the end!

Hiding deep beneath the water, holding my breath…

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