episode_0064

Ravani grabbed me and pulled Kona’s arm into the house, quickly closing the door behind us.

“Who are you… really? What’s your relationship with that child?” Ravani asked.

“…Excuse me.”

I let go of his hand.

Ravani also didn’t resist and let go of my hand without hesitation.

“Do you know who this child is?”

Of course, since Kona brought me here, it’s natural that they know each other.

But I still hadn’t heard specifically what their relationship was.

“Kona… right? An elf hybrid… no, a dark elf hybrid.”

“You know well. What’s your relationship with him?”

“He’s my nephew.”

I looked silently towards Kona.

“Hello…”

Kona hesitated and bowed his head to Ravani.

“Uncle. You still have family.”

“Hmph. What family.”

Ravani snorted.

“Where’s Jeron? What was my damn brother doing that he sent you to me alone?”

Jeron.

Is that Kona’s father’s name?

“My father… he’s dead.”

“What…?”

Ravani’s eyes widened, and he gaped like a goldfish.

“What… when…?”

“Two months ago…”

“…”

“Mi… Milena? Even if Jeron, that bastard, died, your mother is a dark elf, so she’ll live a long life. Did Jeron really abandon you because he died?”

Oneroi’s younger sister and Kona’s mother.

She…

“Oh, my father died… he jumped off a cliff…”

“Damn it.”

Ravani covered his face with his hands and let out a deep sigh.

“I see. I see… so, who are you?”

“For now, I’m Kona’s guardian.”

“Guardian? Are you a mercenary by any chance?”

“I’m an adventurer.”

“An adventurer? Hmm… then you must have a house. And your armor doesn’t look like a hand-me-down. You seem like quite the well-off gentleman.”

Ravani looked me up and down.

“That’s the case. I have enough to support Kona.”

“I don’t know about that. Even if he’s a hybrid, he’s a dark elf. You might still be a young man when you’re an old man.”

“…”

“You can’t keep him with you until you grow old and die.”

“Is that so?”

“You have to find where the dark elves live and take him there. Ugh… I’ll chip in some money, so…”

“It’s okay. I’m a friend of Oneroi’s sister’s friend.”

“Oneroi? The librarian who works at the library, Milena’s sister?”

“Yes.”

“Friend of that woman’s friend? Is that friend also a dark elf?”

“An elf.”

“Well… that’s fortunate.”

“…”

This man…

He seems rough, and his relationship with Kona seems strained, but he genuinely cares about the child.

I can trust him, right?

There’s no need to mention that I’m from the Eboni tribe.

“Well, elves or dark elves, they both live long lives. I’ve heard their relationship isn’t bad either.”

“You seem to know a lot about elves.”

“Well, I haven’t met them in person, but I know a bit about them.”

Since my younger brother’s wife is a dark elf, it’s not strange.

Their relationship doesn’t seem good, though.

Considering what that damn Jeron said earlier…

“Anyway, as long as there are elves, it’s fine. I can relax a bit. It’s really good.”

“…”

Kona seemed more dejected at Ravani’s words.

“Of course, raising a child is a lot of work… but do you really have no concern at all? After all, he’s your blood…”

I was a little concerned.

Kona seems to know that their relationship isn’t good, so why did he come here?

“Ha! Blood? Blood?!”

Ravani’s face twisted in anger.

“He’s the one who shattered our family’s business, and you call him blood?!”

“Business?”

“Hmph! My mouth was itching to tell you anyway. My father, Corbus Santen, was a renowned artist even in Brigal. I inherited my father’s work, and Jerome, that guy, became a royal aide who supported my father.”

“The royal palace? Don’t tell me the library…”

“No, not that. He was the aide to a high-ranking secretary who had a much stronger salary.”

“Oh…”

If he was a secretary, he was a very high-ranking official in charge of the administration of the state.

“Well, that’s all fine. While meeting several high-ranking nobles there, I also promoted our family’s works. Everything seemed to be going well… until Jerome, that guy, met Milena!”

You might think that’s a good thing…

But I already know their ending.

“Well, he somehow got involved in setting up an orphanage and did some shady things, or rather that stupid guy hosted a banquet with Milena and Kona! Do you know how much I suffered because of that?! The orphanage… I mean, it’s effective in ‘procuring’ ‘materials’ for artificial monsters.”

It may be inhumane, but orphanages are the most effective in ‘procuring’ ‘materials.’

So, does Jerome also know about artificial monsters?

…Of course he does.

His daughter received that treatment.

“What was he thinking…”

“That’s exactly it! What was he thinking, abandoning everything and leaving the country?! Everyone came to me, asking where that son of a Jerome had disappeared to, how much I had to beg to find out! Even the nobles who supported us cut off their support because of that incident! The rumors got so dirty that even other guests stopped coming!”

That must have been tough.

But if he was a famous artist who had been supported since his father’s time, he must have had some savings…

“And that mithril mine!”

“What?”

“He somehow bought the mining rights of a mithril mine to secure some money, and even invested in it, but suddenly everything went wrong and he lost all the remaining money!!”

“Oh…”

A mithril mine…

That person must be really unlucky.

Well… no matter how bad the situation is, investing a large sum of money recklessly to make money is his own responsibility.

“Haa, haa…”

Ravani paced back and forth, took a deep breath, and then calmed down again.

“Anyway, I can barely make ends meet now. It was difficult to raise that damn brother’s kid. If the household and that, what’s his name, pointed ear friend raised him, I would be fine.”

“…If the situation wasn’t favorable, would you have raised Kona?”

…”

Ravani crossed his arms, raised his head, and fell silent for a moment.

“…I would have handed him over to Othello first, and if that didn’t work out, I would have taken care of him for a while. Until I found another dwarf.”

“You would do that much? Why? It seems like you have a bad relationship with your brother.”

“It’s bad. If that guy came back now, I would have beaten him to death… ”

Ravani walked over to the table, picked up the bottle of liquor on it, took a sip.

“Pfft… But brothers are brothers… Damn. I didn’t want to say this… but the truth is, Jerome inherited more of father’s talent than I did. But he pretended not to be able to distinguish colors properly for my sake. Thanks to that, I inherited the business, and he ended up doing something else…”

He took another sip of the drink.

“And I’m not a fool either. A commoner who couldn’t even inherit the business working in the royal palace? He must have been groveling and cleaning the asses of the upper class… He must have suffered a lot too…”

The liquor dripped down Ravani’s chin and fell to the floor.

“Sir…”

Kona called him.

“Hmph! Don’t look at me with those eyes! I won’t forgive that bastard Jeron! But… there must have been some reason. I know you left the country to protect me. And I… I have my own child too. So, I’m just trying to uphold some basic decency…”

Lavani turned her head and placed the bottle of alcohol on the table.

“…You don’t need to worry, Kona. Both I and my friend have enough time to take care of you.”

“Alright then… it’s none of my business now… Oh, right. Earlier, you mentioned sandalwood and resin, right?”

“Yes.”

“Is that for… a hairbrush?”

“Oh, you really know your stuff.”

“I’ve made one before too. It was just a commission, of course. Anyway, if you’re planning to gift the hairbrush to that elf friend, stop.”

“…What?”

“Some noble wanted to cut down trees in the forest owned by the elves, and for some reason, he heard that a hairbrush is an important gift for the elves. So, he asked me to make an exquisite hairbrush for him. But the negotiations fell through. The elf got so angry that he almost killed that noble. It’s only natural, though.”

“Oh… Elves are quite picky about hairbrushes.”

“What?! Are you doubting my skills now?! I’ve never made a more exquisite hairbrush in my life. It was a top-notch product made of the finest wood, carefully coated with resin, and adorned with three expensive jewels by the best goldsmith in town! My work was flawless!”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

It seems quite impressive for a hairbrush.

It’s fit for royalty or a luxurious gift.

But Misty didn’t like such extravagant things.

She believed a hairbrush is just a hairbrush and didn’t need such elaborate decorations.

Of course, it’s just Misty’s preference, and other elves might have different tastes.

Despite her simple taste, she was quite sensitive to the quality of the wood.

Of course, she never asked other elves about hairbrushes, but for elves, it seemed like an important matter.

“No, I know a bit about elves. I didn’t mean to criticize your work. I apologize if there was a misunderstanding.”

“Hmph, you think you know? You seem to know a little bit.”

“Exchanging hairbrushes is a common practice among elves. It’s a way for the elf who caused trouble to make amends. It’s important, but not the first item to be exchanged.”

“Oh? Well, that’s true, but… it’s a more delicate matter than that.”

Huh?

A more delicate matter than exchanging hairbrushes?

Does an elf’s hairbrush have a different meaning?

“Don’t give gifts like hairbrushes. You could even have your promise to take care of Kona canceled.”

“Why shouldn’t I give a gift? Misty was the one who asked for it in the first place. She even instructed me on how to cut her hair with a sword, and she evaluated the hairbrush very seriously and strictly for seven years.”

“I think you really don’t understand… Giving a hairbrush to an elf is very delicate. Unless it’s between spouses or a promise of marriage, exchanging hairbrushes is not done. So, that’s why the negotiation fell apart.”

“…?”