“Are you really going to go with me even though we should be stopping Elsi immediately?”
It was a decision that clearly wasn’t like Delphine at all.
At this point, Elsi looked so lost that her gaze became suspicious.
However, Delphine’s expression was completely calm. There was no hesitation to be found in her posture as she sat straight and tilted her glass.
It meant that the proposal she threw out was genuinely heartfelt without any hidden intentions.
In the end, Elsi hesitated and carefully had to ask Delphine.
“Are you… is that rumor true?”
“What rumor?”
At Delphine’s nonchalant response, Elsi’s expression became even more anxious.
It was inevitable that the girl’s voice would rise.
“That you have a strange relationship with the Master! Is that why you’re trying so hard to save him?!”
“Hmph, what nonsense are you spouting now…”
But Delphine merely scoffed as if it was absurd.
Her slightly tipsy voice continued.
“Can you stop with your silly jealousy? You don’t have any proof, do you?”
“I could smell the Master’s scent on your bed!”
At Elsi’s frantic outburst, Delphine’s body stiffened.
There was a smell?
Of course, the bedding was washed every day. The blankets soaked with all kinds of bodily fluids that day were the same. But to say that they smelled of I-an, what did that even mean?
However, her agitation was only fleeting.
Delphine sighed deeply and pressed her hand against her forehead, looking utterly foolish.
“Rainelle… you really are hopeless, aren’t you? Now you’re even smelling other people’s bedding?”
Now it was Elsi’s turn to be dumbfounded.
With an “Ah!” of surprise, her body went rigid.
It didn’t take long for the shocked girl to jump up.
“N-no! I didn’t smell it on purpose; it just happened to have a nostalgic smell… I was just a little lost in thought! I-I really didn’t mean to!”
“I get it, I get it… But I have no intention of letting a pervert into my room. I would like you to leave soon.”
Elsi rambled and made excuses for a while, but Delphine only cast her a scornful glance. In the end, Elsi had to leave with her face flushed with shame.
Making a firm promise to go rescue I-an.
Alone, Delphine then rose and buried herself in her bed.
She didn’t even know why she felt this way.
Now that Marquis Yuridina had weakened, she was the pillar of Yuridina. She couldn’t just leave her post recklessly, and she certainly couldn’t take risks.
And yet, why?
Had she really started to like that man?
Delphine smiled bitterly, calling it absurd, yet unconsciously brought her nose close to her own blanket.
It didn’t smell of I-an.
“…In any case, how much of a dog am I?”
In the still room, only a lament lingered faintly.
As she fell asleep, a vague emotion reflected on Delphine’s face.
Yearning, longing.
No one could know a woman’s true heart.
Not even she herself.
And a few days later.
As Delphine and Elsi prepared to leave with a small military force, an unexpected guest came.
“I want to go too.”
A woman with chestnut-colored hair, Emma.
She said with a gaze that clearly expressed her strong will.
“I need to see I-an.”
Thus, the ‘I-an Rescue Team’ was formed.
The elves were silent in response to my proposal.
This was a hidden base in the coniferous forest. It turned out the elves had prepared a safe house that no one else knew about.
It was an insurance policy in case of emergencies, they said.
The location was said to be unknown to anyone except the village elves. Even I didn’t know of its existence, so there was no doubt about its security.
I just felt a bit disappointed.
Soon, Luget, with bandages plastered all over his face, gave an awkward smile. He spoke as if to comfort me.
“I-an, you know? I wanted to say this, but I just didn’t have the chance…”
“I don’t understand.”
“Hey, are you really doing this?!”
After some playful banter, time moved on.
I gathered the elves and abruptly introduced the main topic.
“I want to go to the ‘Headquarters.’”
It was the place where Leorick and the core strength of the elves were staying.
Of course, the elves reacted skeptically.
“Will the Headquarters accept a human? Especially you, the one who is famous enough to have a title…”
That was Luget’s opinion.
It was a reasonable claim, and I merely kept quiet and nodded.
“Do we really need to go to the Headquarters? How about we just build a new village here… We have plenty of trees around!”
Next was Ishya’s plea.
After the village burned down and she nearly lost her life, she seemed very dejected. Her desire to not take anymore risks or provoke any more incidents came through clearly.
I didn’t find it hard to understand her feelings.
So I kept silent again.
Then, from Uncle Pope to Aunt Miela, the village elves mostly expressed their opposition. Some seemed afraid of my potential departure since I was the village’s core strength.
Finally, it was Pope Eyong’s turn to speak.
Only then could I hear the words I wanted to hear.
“Why?”
It was a direct question.
Some elves exchanged anxious glances between me and Pope Eyong at his challenging tone. It was a scene that revealed how much my position had changed.
Originally, the elves didn’t pay attention to me.
They just thought it was commendable that a capable outsider had come and adapted well. But in just a few hours, my status had shifted dramatically.
I was now the benefactor of the village and its only protector.
It was impossible to overcome humanity’s invasion without me.
Yet Pope Eyong acted as he always did. He didn’t watch my expressions at all.
Instead, he urged me with his typical blunt tone.
“You do know the Headquarters is dangerous, right? And the villagers will be anxious without you… Is there an urgent reason to go there?”
“…Neoris (Female – Senior).”
Instead of answering, I called out to Neoris (Female – Senior).
At that, Neoris (Female – Senior) bowed her waist politely. A crow jumped up on her shoulder from behind her.
The elves gazed curiously at the crow.
Where did this crow come from all of a sudden?
As if to resolve their question, Neoris (Female – Senior) began explaining.
“This crow is a type of familiar. It has the ability to store and relay the scenes it sees and hears. Detailed information is classified by the Empire’s Intelligence Department, but…”
With a snap, Neoris (Female – Senior)’s finger generated a clear sound.
In response, the crow cawed. Soon after, its pitch-black eyes flickered blue and began to project images into the void.
At first, the elves were transfixed by the unfamiliar technology.
As the images continued, their expressions hardened, and many ended up swallowing their breath or displaying distrustful gazes.
Among them, the one with the most intense reaction was Pope Eyong.
“It’s been manipulated! Do you believe this woman?! She is someone sent by the Empire!”
“Technically, I’m also part of the Empire… but, Pope Eyong.”
I spoke in a voice tinged with a sigh.
“To put it frankly, the elves here don’t contribute to our strength. There’s no reason for Neoris (Female – Senior) to deceive us.”
“Maybe she’s trying to deceive you rather than us…!”
“I trust Neoris (Female – Senior). She’s one of the few people I can rely on.”
Those words were filled with strong conviction.
At my firm tone, Pope Eyong eventually fell silent. He looked back and forth with confused eyes between the images appearing in the air and Neoris (Female – Senior).
However, Neoris (Female – Senior) was blushing as if embarrassed by the trust placed in her.
A sense of turmoil crossed Pope Eyong’s face.
He was an enthusiastic believer. It was uncertain whether logic and evidence would satisfy him.
Religion belonged to the realm of faith, not reason.
I had anticipated that Pope Eyong’s resistance would last a little longer.
True to my prediction, he glared at me with a flushed face. His eyes radiated a desperate defiance, as if to ask what I knew.
But this, too, was only momentary.
Pope Eyong’s gaze, which had been locked onto mine, dropped suddenly.
He knew as well.
I had saved the village even at the cost of turning my back on my own kind. There was no reason for me to lie.
A powerless lament escaped from Pope Eyong’s lips.
“That can’t be true, Leorick has been attacking humans… So did humanity really intend to hunt us down like that?”
“It seems to be half-and-half. There are two factions—one led by Sir Alex and another led by Leorick—that have been sowing discord.”
Pope Eyong seemed to lose his senses.
The other elves couldn’t hide their distress either. The ‘Headquarters’ was their mental pillar.
The only place they could lean on at any time.
But that place was actually perpetuating a chain of hatred.
It was a hard truth to accept. I understood their feelings.
And that’s how I had felt at the time when I had to slay Sir Alex.
The first to regain his composure was Luget.
With an expression still full of confusion, he cautiously asked me.
“It’s fine to tell us the location of the Headquarters. But that place is hard for even elves to enter… What are you planning?”
It was a pertinent question.
And more importantly, an essential issue.
To be honest, I felt a bit troubled, but I forced myself to smile confidently.
It was to instill trust.
“I just won’t go in.”
“…?”
Luget still looked perplexed, but I intentionally didn’t provide the answer.
I planned to reveal my strategy only after they understood.
However, I subtly cast my glance towards someone.
The gray-haired elf girl, deeply lost in thought.
Abiyang.
And the crow projecting images in the void.
My plan entirely depended on these two. My only concern was whether Abiyang would betray the ‘Headquarters’ and follow me.
My lips felt parched.
In fact, aside from this, I had another worry.
Would my companions in Yuridina Castle be alright?
Were they not anxious due to Leorick’s machinations?
I exhaled a long breath with a heavy heart.
This was only temporary, too. By the time I returned from the ‘Headquarters,’ I would find a way to clear up the misunderstandings.
I just hoped my companions wouldn’t suffer too much until then.
*
The Imperial Princess felt like she would go insane.
It was all my fault.
