Benedetta spoke to me.
“Remember the bread and the dagger.”
For elves, bread is repaid with bread, and a dagger is repaid with a dagger. There were no exceptions to this principle, even when it came to the humans they hated.
There were witnesses to this.
The head of socializing, Leorick.
I could not fathom why he, once a priest of the Urjina Army, was now with the elves. Nor the circumstances that led him to fall into socializing.
However, one clear fact was that he had been recognized as a member of elven society long before that.
Simply because, despite being human, he had saved an elf girl.
I intended to repeat that narrative as well.
Of course, there were minor differences.
It was for the authenticity of the story. If I copied too many parts, it would only arouse suspicion.
So, I adjusted a few paragraphs to fit both me and Abiyang.
First of all, Abiyang was originally a spy from human society. This could be proven by the ‘blessing’ inherent within them.
From then on, gaining trust was simple.
A spy blessed would not lie for the sake of defending a human man.
Such complacent consciousness suppressed their suspicions. Along with a vividly told tale of Abiyang nearly being discovered.
The two who came to interview us even wore solemn expressions.
Of course, most of that suffering story had me as the perpetrator.
I wasn’t particularly clever or skilled at acting.
That was why I deliberately added the setting of ‘amnesia.’
Through this, I could present myself as an innocent victim, and it also wouldn’t be strange for me to know nothing.
There would have been no reason to extract information about human society through interrogation.
At the end of that long process, the two elven men and women ultimately declared surrender.
They had decided to believe our story.
Then, the remaining problem was one.
I could hear the two whispering in a corner.
They had lowered their voices, proclaiming it to be a secret, but they could not fool my keen hearing.
“Hey, hey, what do we do? Obviously, that man was supposed to be exiled or sent to the headquarters.”
“What do you mean, what do we do? Of course, he needs to be killed!”
“To someone who crossed the continent just to save a little elf?”
Generally, the defense of me was voiced by the man, while the firm stance came from the woman.
The woman seemed at a loss for words in response to the man’s argument.
The man shook his head with an expression of frustration.
“No matter how much you say he’s human, you can’t treat a benefactor carelessly… Surely an elf who has even received ‘blessing’ couldn’t be a traitor.”
The elven woman fell silent, perhaps at a loss for words. After a while, she attempted a timid rebellion.
“Still, Pope Eyong would really hate it…”
“The village entrusted us with absolute authority.”
Of course, that was a futile resistance.
The man sighed with a bitter expression and patted the woman’s shoulder.
She could not meet his gaze.
“So we have to decide, Ishya. You know? Bread is repaid with bread…”
“A dagger is repaid with a dagger… I understand.”
Abiyang seemed slightly anxious, as if they couldn’t hear the conversation between the two.
And when the man brought the dagger, his face was noticeably pale.
If I were to die, she would die too.
That dagger must feel like a weapon ready to end her own life.
I deliberately kept my mouth shut, not saying a word.
“Wait! No, you can’t! This person has done so much for me…”
Immediately after, a rope was abruptly cut.
Only then did I feel a lightness, repeatedly balling and unballing my fist. The elven man quickly released Abiyang’s restraints as well.
Abiyang’s face flushed red as she realized it had been a futile plea.
Seeing her, the elven man chuckled.
“Miss, it seems you care for that man a lot? Are you perhaps lovers?”
“N-No!”
Abiyang desperately denied it, but there was no way to convince him otherwise.
Instead, the man kept poking her arm, chattering about how they would have been in trouble if she had killed him.
It was a relief.
For now, it didn’t seem like he intended to harm me, and I would use the excuse of ‘amnesia’ to stay in the village for a while, familiarize myself and then leave.
According to Abiyang, there were several elven villages.
There was a place called the ‘headquarters,’ where Leorick resided, and most villages were separate from each other. Just like the camps of the Urjina Army.
It was to prevent the entire race from being exterminated at once.
If they died, there would no longer be a race known as ‘elves’ on the continent.
The elven slaves traded in the southern kingdom would be their only descendants. That would mean elves would forever remain a ‘slave race.’
It was a rational consideration.
Unlike the woman showing me a cold expression, the elven man exhibited a rather hearty demeanor. Just seeing his melancholic smile made him seem like a good person.
“My name is Luget. The girl making that grumpy face is Ishya… Oh, by the way, I didn’t catch your name.”
“A-I can’t remember my name…”
I feared the name ‘I-an’ would spark some rumors.
Fortunately, they did not know my details. I had confirmed that already through the elves who had not recognized me during the last battle.
If they had known who I was, there wouldn’t have been such a foolish attempt to restrain me with such loose knots.
So I decided to claim I had forgotten my name altogether.
For reference, it was also set that Abiyang did not know my name. It was because they worried that if I were branded a traitor to humanity, it might harm my family.
It wasn’t a bad excuse for a hastily spun lie.
As I felt a bit of pride in that, Luget fell into some thought.
“Right, name… What should we do about your name? Hey, Ishya, do you have any thoughts?”
“Just call him ‘human.’”
Her voice dripped with displeasure.
She still wasn’t even casting glances my way. Her expression indicated she was reluctant to make contact.
Understood.
I was human, and she was an elf. Especially since humans sometimes did horrifying things to elven women.
If anything, Ishya was the normal one, while Luget was the odd one.
Luget didn’t seem unaware of that fact.
With a vague smile, he changed the subject.
“Sure, that works! There’s only one human in our village… Haha, it must feel burdensome to represent your race all on your own.”
“Not at all. In fact, it feels nice, human… It has a fun sound to it.”
Abiyang looked on with a weary expression.
It seemed they were already shocked by how casually I was joking around with Luget. While I was internally anxious, the thought of this being enemy territory didn’t make me feel bad.
A taut thread of tension sharpened my awareness.
Continuing the careful conversation, I eventually entered a small shed outside the warehouse.
“Hmm, we’ve gathered your belongings here. Actually, we were planning to keep them, but we’ll have to return them, right?”
There were the sword and handaxe, along with the space expansion pouch that had been guarding my possessions.
Especially, the space expansion pouch looked high-quality just at first glance. It even had the symbol of the royal family engraved on it.
However, it seemed they couldn’t even recognize that, likely because they had lived so far removed from civilization.
That was a relief for me.
As I reached for the handaxe, Ishya suddenly raised her voice.
“Ah, I’m feeling uneasy…!”
At her one comment, my movements halted. Luget, Abiyang, and I all exchanged puzzled looks.
In a trembling voice, she spoke.
“I’ve heard of it… A crazy human with a handaxe appeared, smashing everything from mages to mythical monsters! What if that person is him? Are we all going to die?!”
“Ishya…”
Luget sighed aloud, seemingly at his wit’s end.
He began to soothe Ishya in a serious tone.
“That’s nonsense. It’s just a rumor that got exaggerated from someone at the headquarters; logically, there can’t be such a human.”
“W-Well, that may be true…”
Ishya soon drooped her head, seeming dejected. It seemed she thought Luget was somewhat correct.
Meanwhile, I, the protagonist of that ‘rumor,’ was breaking into a cold sweat behind them.
Word had spread even to this place. Well, it’s understandable; an elven spy like Abiyang couldn’t be the only one.
Thinking I needed to be even more cautious, I carefully collected my belongings.
Abiyang did the same.
Most concerning to me was the state of what was in my pouch.
I worried it might have been rummaged through, but surprisingly, the interior was intact. Did they perhaps not touch my belongings at all?
As I was studying the inside of my pouch closely, Ishya suddenly shouted at me with a sharp voice.
“Hey, you human! We’re letting you live for now, but be careful. If you do anything suspicious, I’ll shove an arrow right between your brows…!”
Tap, I pulled out one of the food items I had stored.
It was bread.
Thanks to preservation magic, the bread was still soft and moist. Though it didn’t release steam, it was impressive that it had retained this condition even after weeks.
That was an impressive performance.
As I was once again reflecting my gratitude towards the Imperial Princess, a sense of déjà vu hit me.
The surroundings had grown still.
I didn’t hear any sound. Certainly, Ishya had said something to me.
When my gaze flickered to Ishya, I found her staring, mesmerized, at the bread in my hand.
I could even hear the sound of her swallowing.
Ishya cautiously asked me.
“Is that… bread?”
“Yes, it is bread.”
Can’t you see that?
At this point, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
“Have you not seen what’s inside the pouch?”
“No, we wanted to, but for some reason, whenever we tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.”
That was Luget’s explanation.
I never imagined it would have such a function. It suddenly made me reflect on how valuable this single pouch was.
It was a value that was way beyond what I could handle.
However, it seemed that Luget and Ishya were entirely uninterested in my pouch. They were only focused on the bread resting on my palm.
I recalled that elves had struggled with food supply.
Anyone could tell by their desperate gazes that Ishya wanted to eat the bread.
So, I offered her the bread. It was a pure gesture of goodwill.
“Would you like some?”
“Uh, yeah… Wait! No! I won’t accept something from a human! And, anyway, it’s just one… it’d be too selfish to ask for it…”
Ishya, who had almost instinctively nodded her head, abruptly shook her head in surprise. She was quite an enigmatic person for oddly caring about manners.
She claimed she disliked me for being human but didn’t want to accept the single piece of bread either.
A complex woman.
So, I decided to be more direct in helping Ishya understand.
Tap, I rummaged through my pouch and another piece of bread fell out.
Luget and Ishya’s eyes widened in surprise. Given the size of the pouch, there didn’t seem to be room for two pieces of bread.
It seemed that the elves, living so far from civilization, were unaware of the existence of space expansion pouches.
“Another… piece of bread…?”
As I heard their awestruck murmurs, I handed both pieces of bread to Ishya.
Initially hesitant, she ultimately couldn’t resist the smell of the bread, shutting her eyes tight and accepting it. Then, she quickly passed one piece to Luget in an attempt to share.
They looked like they were getting along quite well.
Even though there was no need for that.
I, before their eyes, rummaged through the pouch a few more times.
Each time, another piece of bread dropped out.
“W-What? One, two, three… eight pieces!”
“How much is even in there? Can you give more?!”
Watching the scene unfold, Luget and Ishya reacted dramatically.
Their enthusiasm could be compared to meeting a deity descended upon the earth.
All I could do was stifle a chuckle.
Did I have a lot of bread?
Of course. Not only bread but also biscuits, meats, and various supplies were stored in that pouch.
It had certainly made a difference in the quality of my meals when camping.
I had invested a lot into food supplies from the reward money I received last time, and I still had plenty left.
This felt eerily familiar.
Could I have possibly come to another world?
How could just bread and a space expansion pouch elicit such enthusiastic reactions?
Yet it seemed even that had not reached its peak.
“If it’s this much, maybe each person in the village can have a piece of bread…!”
“That’s amazing…”
With Luget’s speculation, Ishya dropped to her knees, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion. Her eyes, covering her mouth, glimmered with a hint of tears.
Are all elves like this?
I gazed at Abiyang in disbelief. She, in turn, scratched her cheek with a slightly flushed face.
“Y-You see, elves really are struggling with food supply… Especially, for elves, ‘bread’ holds significant meaning as a food…”
But isn’t this a bit too much? I pondered as that thought crossed my mind.
Abiyang stealthily approached, clearing her throat softly. Then, stealing a glance at my pouch, she asked one question.
“How much can that pouch actually hold?”
It seemed Abiyang was just as intrigued by the space expansion pouch.
At that moment, I instinctively understood.
Elves lived lives that were beyond my imagination.
It was a moment that shook the values I had lived by as a noble of the Empire my entire life.
