Ch.109109. Change

The morning after the battle.

Silvina the elf, who had entered the inner fortress late after helping collect bodies, stared intently at the object in her hands.

A bow made from a branch of the World Tree.

Though less frequent now, until a few months ago, she would take it out almost daily and stroke it like a cherished doll. Doing so would bring back some of the few good memories in her life.

Now it had become easier to recall those good memories through the bow.

This was thanks to having repaired the broken bow limb after coming to the border.

She had asked the proxy transaction mage, now deceased, to restore it.

It looked absolutely flawless on the outside.

The restoration wasn’t perfect. It would break again if used in actual combat. But in appearance, it looked exactly the same as when she first held it. When it was first repaired, she felt so proud that she even sipped beer to celebrate.

But why? Now, even holding the bow didn’t bring back good memories.

Instead, it only made her feelings more complicated.

Though she didn’t know the exact reason, it seemed to have something to do with “The Hero” currently resting in the fortress.

‘Erick Wellesley. Who would have thought that man would become The Hero.’

That itself was surprising. She still vividly remembered Erick Wellesley treating Gwon Heejin like a dog before sending her to the stake. She also remembered how he had smirked viciously when sending her to the border command.

But now, her resentment toward him was gradually fading.

It wasn’t because of the new Hero’s tremendous power that her thoughts had changed.

What had a greater impact on her change in perception was the conversation among humans who were watching the Hero with her yesterday.

“Hah. I’m grateful, but how much better would it have been if he’d arrived a bit earlier.”

“You idiot. Do you know how far it is from the Imperial Capital to here? It’s normally a ten-day journey even riding horses and sleeping on the road—ten days! Before the roads were built, it was a twenty-day journey.”

“Still, since he’s The Hero now, he should have…”

“If he was going to come, he should have come sooner”—this kind of response was mild compared to others.

“Damn. I’ve been waiting for that bastard to fall flat on his face, but now that seems unlikely.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to try to get on his good side and ask him to spare us? One word from him and I could leave this place.”

“Ah, I want to go to the Imperial Capital!”

Declarations about begging for mercy from a man they had wished would fail. Naturally, these came from the mouths of the penal battalion soldiers.

Many other comments reached her ears as well.

Since he’s here, maybe he’ll bestow something; I hope he kills all the beastkin while he’s at it; my cousin said he made over 10 billion from Hero gambling despite being The Hero himself; it might be hard to approach The Hero directly, so let’s try to get close to his party members.

Because he’s The Hero.

Because he’s The Hero, of course he should.

Everyone was chattering so naturally. The penal battalion was especially noisy. She had let it go in one ear and out the other at the time, but thinking about it now, something felt off.

What was this unsettling feeling?

Having lived a life mostly distant from contemplation, Silvina found it difficult to find an answer.

But just then, someone who might give her a hint caught her eye.

A nun’s habit with occasional bloodstains, perhaps from helping treat the wounded; a cute face beneath a white veil; black eyes and black hair.

Saintess Gang Hannah, who was said to have been summoned from another world, was passing by. When their eyes met, she even gave a slight nod.

As if seeing an elf for the first time, she looked at Silvina’s ears and let out an impressed “Wow.”

Thanks to that lack of wariness, Silvina addressed her without hesitation.

“Saintess.”

“Yes?”

“If you permit, I’d like to ask you a question.”

“Um…”

The Saintess nodded, albeit awkwardly. She even smiled uncomfortably as if apologizing for her hesitation.

“Saintess, did you know before coming to this world that Erick Wellesley was designated to be The Hero?”

“Yes. The Goddess told me.”

“Did the Goddess approach him in any way? Even through a revelation?”

“No, I don’t think so… From what the Goddess told me, I thought he was someone living with a strong sense of mission, but when I actually met him, that wasn’t the case. I’m not sure if I should say this, but The Hero seemed quite shocked at first.”

“Does he now seem pleased with his duties as The Hero?”

“Definitely not. He seems to understand why he was chosen, but he doesn’t seem happy about it. That’s my impression.”

Though she called it a personal impression, she seemed quite certain.

Silvina was about to ask, “Then why does Erick Wellesley perform his duties as The Hero?” but she kept her mouth shut.

She could guess what the answer would be.

‘…Because it’s something he has to do, that’s why he does it.’

Though she couldn’t explain it clearly, there was a high possibility that his cruel treatment of Gwon Heejin in the past had been for the same reason. The thought also crossed her mind that she might have been directing her anger at the wrong person all this time.

Right after, she naturally thought of Gwon Heejin.

Gwon Heejin, who was cheered wherever he went despite being a Hero lacking in both power and character, and Erick Wellesley, who took on a great responsibility despite not particularly wanting it.

Erick Wellesley was even facing public criticism.

‘So that’s what it was.’

Silvina closed her eyes for a while before opening them again. She saw the Saintess still looking at her without hostility.

“…Saintess, I’d like you to deliver a message.”

***

Gang Hannah came early in the morning.

It was when I was contemplating my future schedule.

“Saintess? What brings you here at this hour?”

It would be a lie to say I was glad. In truth, I had more than a few headache-inducing concerns.

The missing Unicorn Party in the Kingdom of Ether, the refugees from neighboring territories flowing into my domain (which Ember said was killing her), and the disposition of the beastkin who hadn’t shown their faces in this battle.

The beastkin issue took priority over the others. Though we were currently in a truce, that agreement would end by the end of the year. If the Demon Lord’s army had any sense, they would be considering ways to drive the Beastkin King onto the battlefield.

I was debating whether it would be better to attack and deal with the beastkin now, or to employ other means. Despite the Geas oath being an issue, with my current power, I could overcome even that penalty.

‘Still, I can’t ignore the Saintess now that she’s here.’

I offered her a seat. Judging by her worn appearance, the Saintess had been helping with the aftermath all night.

I shouldn’t assign such tasks to a novice, but the current situation at the border fortress wasn’t relaxed enough to allow rest for a Saintess with powerful holy power. Moreover, the Saintess seemed to have some knowledge about nursing.

At first, she began by mentioning an unfamiliar term.

“I think His Excellency the Archbishop passed away from… what I would call a cerebral infarction.”

“Saintess, I’m sorry, but I don’t know what a cerebral infarction is.”

“I apologize… I thought you might know, unlike others.”

I didn’t mind her using unfamiliar terms. It was something I experienced often when I was with Gwon Heejin. Fortunately, the Saintess’s business wasn’t about cerebral infarctions.

“Silvina asked me to make a request to you.”

Silvina.

From what I heard, she had achieved considerable military merit in the past few days. Thanks to her early detection of enemy movements, they were able to request reinforcements in time, and she had personally eliminated over a hundred undead during the days of battle.

She wasn’t asking for a reward for fighting so diligently, I was told.

“She asked me to inquire on her behalf whether there’s any possibility of sentence reduction for Yuni and someone named Millia, even if it’s in the future. Though they’re not officially criminals, they’re treated as such, which is why she used the term ‘sentence reduction.’ It seemed like an easy favor, so I accepted… Did I make a mistake?”

It wasn’t particularly a mistake.

However, I was somewhat surprised that Silvina would make such a request through the Saintess. I had heard she was living a relatively happy life at the border, but I had assumed her hatred for me would still be strong regardless.

‘And she’s not even asking for a reduction, but just inquiring if there’s a possibility? And excluding herself?’

It meant that the elf who couldn’t let go of her attachment to Gwon Heejin even after his downfall had finally accepted reality.

Given elven characteristics, I had thought it would take at least 40 or 50 years for her to change her mind, but my prediction was wrong.

“Oh, right. She also asked if you could find out how the previous Saintess is doing, if possible.”

I thought she was making quite a lot of demands, but Silvina had enough decency not to ask the Saintess for free.

Silvina had given the Saintess several bottles of wine, high-quality ones that were hard to find at the border. She said she had obtained them by bartering marten fur that she had hunted herself.

An elf dealing in fur trade. She probably wasn’t doing it for money but had tried her luck with merchants passing through the border. It was strange. I wondered if a stubborn race like elves could change so quickly.

The Saintess, perhaps misunderstanding that I was annoyed, smiled awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. I’ve added to your worries unnecessarily.”

In reality, I wasn’t relaxed enough to look after the former Hero’s party. Still, I didn’t find it annoying.

Rather, it seemed like it could provide a clue to solving my problem.

“It’s fine. The former Hero’s party members will be free someday as long as they don’t die. That time might come sooner if the tension at the border decreases. There’s no need to think about it right now.”

“Really?”

I confessed honestly to the puzzled Saintess. I told her that since I had come this far, I was thinking of dealing with the beastkin before leaving, though I was still considering how to do it. I didn’t hide that her words had influenced my thinking.

“Actually, I was considering a swift resolution with the sword. It would mean attacking a party with whom we have a truce agreement, but this is no time to worry about good faith. However, I just changed my mind.”

“Are you perhaps thinking of an alliance… or something like that?”

“It’s worth trying.”

Honestly, I tended to believe that people don’t change. That’s why I didn’t try to persuade gambling addicts with kind words.

However, the Beastkin King, caught in a sandwich position, might be different. We had already made a truce agreement, so there was no reason we couldn’t go further.

‘If he refuses, I’ll have to use other methods.’

Either way, I intended to deal with one more of the Tetrad before leaving.

I immediately put my plan into action as soon as I finished formulating it.