Ch.148Remaking the NPC. (3)

*Thud, thud, thud. Creeeeak.*

“It’s been a long time, Grand Elder.”

“…Yes, Green Stone. You’ve returned.”

Black hair, black eyes. Green Stone, transformed into human form. His body was tinged with a slightly different color than usual.

*Swoosh, thud.*

“Now only you remain, Grand Elder.”

“Hmm. Lit Gwen, is it? So, did you kill the other two as well?”

The blonde elven elder sitting on the bed looked at the gold and red-streaked head that had fallen between him and Green Stone, asking without showing any emotion.

And seeing this, Green Stone thought.

‘…As expected, the Grand Elder is broken somewhere.’

He had always been this way, but for the past 3,000 years, his complete disregard for elven “lives” had always troubled Green Stone’s conscience.

All the while, he preached to the elders and elves about “working for the elves” while only teaching and fostering hatred toward humans.

He was indeed the only one who had “directly” experienced the persecution by humans thousands of years ago, but there should be limits to everything.

Recently, the Grand Elder had been moving like a “mechanism” solely designed to spread hatred and anger toward humans.

“Yes. All your elders are dead.”

“What do you mean? You still remain, don’t you?”

“I am not an elder for you. And Lit Gwen said before he died that I am no longer an elder of the elves.”

“Heh heh. That’s just the words of a child who let emotions rule his thoughts. I still consider you an elder.”

“……”

The Grand Elder’s kind smile as he looked at the one who had stained himself red with the blood of the elders and thrown an elder’s head before him seemed utterly alien even to Green Stone, who had lived for 4,000 years.

“…What amuses you so much that you smile?”

“Haha. How could I not be amused by my child’s growth?”

Anyone could see that Green Stone was a traitor who had come to rebel against the Grand Elder.

He had deliberately come to [The Grand Elder’s Tree] in human form without reverting to his original appearance, as proof of this.

Yet the Grand Elder, despite knowing this, still referred to Green Stone as his child, which only confirmed how broken he truly was.

“If I am still your child, then the other elders, and Lit Gwen too…”

“Lit Gwen was about to reach his limit and meet the Spirit Tree Lord. That’s the only regrettable part. But if one has lived long enough, one should have made enough effort, yet he was defeated by you who hasn’t lived even half as long as him. How could I blame you?”

“…You are so generous to me, to elves. Why can’t you be the same toward humans?”

Is there any need to continue this conversation?

Green Stone felt absurd at his own words and gazed emptily at the Grand Elder, who let out a small groan.

*Shing.*

“A human I met told me this: To change something, you first need to uproot what’s at the bottom, to overturn what’s been built up.”

Though he had only vaguely heard how Jack’s plan would unfold, this was clearly the intended outcome.

He didn’t know what drove Jack’s actions or the source of his determination.

But he had never seen Jack make a wrong choice, and the fact that despite being “human,” he targeted only the elven leadership rather than “Siltra” and came along this time was enough for him.

At the very least, Jack never showed hatred toward the “race” that had been falsely blamed for his crimes.

He was genuinely a human who treated elves, and “us,” as people, as proven by how he treated my master.

So there was no need to unnecessarily stain Jack’s hands with elven blood; I would act directly myself.

“…I see, so all my elders are dead, as you say.”

“You forgive me for killing the elders, but not for quoting a human?”

“Tsk, tsk. I thought you had been away for a long time, but to think you’d return like this, dead inside.”

The old man slowly got up from the bed, and Green Stone approached with his sword drawn.

He had already neutralized the knight commander who guarded the elder, and all that remained was one old man who had aged visibly despite being a long-lived elf.

How to explain this to the other elves afterward? Whether I should become the Grand Elder—various thoughts tangled in my mind.

But what mattered now was removing the leadership that continued to threaten the humans who occupied more than half the continent.

That was the starting point.

“With your death, we will sow the next seeds. Please be ‘uprooted’ so that the next crop may grow well.”

“……”

The Grand Elder gave no response to Green Stone’s words. Looking at the obviously weakened old man, Green Stone erased the heterochromia from his black eyes and swung his sword.

*Splat.*

The Grand Elder’s room was stained crimson.

*

After chasing the old woman called an elder, we couldn’t go straight to the chieftain…

Instead, we were first invited to the elder’s house.

In the slightly too-large hut for someone living alone, we sat around the table as the elder approached with cups of tea.

“Here, tea I made myself. The journey was long and tiring, wasn’t it? This has many ingredients that help a weary body. It’s quite my specialty, so try it.”

[Tea brewed by the Beast-folk Elder: Helps improve virility. -My husband who couldn’t get it up anymore, with just one cup…-]

“Haha! It’s fine. I had tea at home before coming here.”

“Huh? Jack, when did we have tea… mmph?!”

“Oh? You two had tea without me knowi—mmph?!”

After lightly covering both their mouths with my hands and smiling, I noticed the old woman’s black eyes gleaming intensely.

Hmm. It’s not killing intent, but she seems to be testing me somehow?

“Hmm, is that so? That’s a shame. This is really good for men, you know. My old man passed away before I started making this.”

“I see. You must have suffered greatly.”

“That’s really true! I married him thinking he was a stubborn bear, but he turned out to be a dog in heat. With my own hands, I caught him with that cheating bitch…”

Wow! That was information I really didn’t need to know!!

As the old woman suddenly started sharing TMI, I redirected my thoughts without listening to a word.

I never knew that being unable to think about two things at once due to low intelligence would be such an advantage!

‘…This Miho, Chikuyo, and even this elder grandmother—all three have the profession of Player. What exactly is going on here?’

[Striker] [Magic Swordsman] [Martial Artist]

While other beast-folk appear normally as -Rabbit Beast-folk- -Dog Beast-folk- -Bear Beast-folk- -Monkey Beast-folk-, why do these three have Player as their profession?

I’ve never seen NPCs with user professions in the game.

Even Rayman merely went from -Fallen Swordsman- to -Given Swordsman-, and Ragni only changed from princess to slave.

I even have ‘NPC’ attached to my Forester title, yet these three have Player professions.

I can only see Miho’s stats right now, but if that elder or Chikuyo wanted to join our party, I would surely learn more about their stats…

[-Profession Magic Swordsman-: Level 185 Name: Chikuyo. Age 22.]

[Strength: 162]

[Agility: 351]

[Intelligence: 88]

[Luck: 99]

[HP: 3,300]

[MP: 405]

[Skills: Cunning Blade. First Strike Victory. Territory Sensing. Good Wife. Mental Fortification. Protect the Pack.]

[Cunning Blade Effect: All normal attacks generate a follow-up attack. (Currently +1)]

[First Strike Victory Effect: If the first attack is preemptive, all subsequent attacks deal additional damage equal to Luck X0.3.]

[Territory Sensing Effect: Activates in beast-form. This character cannot currently use this.]

[Good Wife: When acting for the partner you’ve chosen, all stats +20 are added. (HP, MP vary depending on the situation.) Target: Forester Jack]

[Mental Fortification: You have resisted strong mental attacks for a long time. Automatically resist all mental attacks weaker than those you’ve experienced so far. Consumes 5 MP per resistance. Currently resisting: Miho’s mental attacks.]

[Protect the Pack: You can overcome any hardship for your pack. When acting for your pack and facing fatal damage, all your status remains fixed at its previous state for 60 seconds. Pack designation targets: Miho, Jack. (Can be used once)]

Wait, what the fuck? Did I just see…?

*Slide.*

“Wha?!”

“Hmm. Looking again, are you?”

“Hoho, why such alarm? I just held your hand because you seemed distracted while I was talking.”

My thoughts returned to reality as the elder lightly touched my hand resting on the table.

No, wait. Just a moment. Why can I see all of Chikuyo’s stats?! Partner?! Good Wife?!! And what’s this pack designation?!!

The status window had read my thoughts and displayed Chikuyo’s status. I forcibly fixed my eyes on the elder instead of letting them drift toward Chikuyo sitting beside me.

And you, old woman! Is there some reason you need to keep touching me?!!

Trying to phrase my thoughts more politely than I felt, I watched as the elder’s eyes crinkled as she spoke.

“Hoho. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a young male. What do you think? Though I look like this on the outside, inside I’m still…”

Fuck!! Tactical nuke HAL-KAS strike prohibited!!!

I jumped up from the table in shock, and Miho immediately leaped in front of me.

“Grrrr!!! I won’t forgive you if you target Jack!! Stop it!!!”

“…Elder, please stop with the old stories and jokes. Let’s get to the point. We’ve finished our tea.”

“Hoho. It’s not a joke…”

*Thud!*

“It SHOULD be a joke.”

“My, my. Our cute little ones have become so possessive now that they’ve found their male.”

As I stared in disgust at the old woman who kept trying to use HAL-KAS, Miho raised her eyebrows and Chikuyo slammed down her teacup, both directing hostility toward the elder.

Wait, but who’s whose husband?! People, I’m taken!! I already have two people plus a golem attached to me!!!

*Slurp.*

The elder laughed at their behavior as if finding it cute, finished her tea, and then spoke.

“The chieftain asked me to bring you at a specific time. Were you annoyed waiting with nothing to do?”

“I’m sorry, but we’re quite busy. If the chieftain wanted to see me, then please…”

“The chieftain said this.”

The old woman cut off my increasingly irritated response and rolled her pitch-black eyes to look at me, making me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

What exactly is this old woman? Even in the game, there wasn’t someone like…

“If the [Forester] is not brought at the specified time, that forester will die. That’s the [revelation] I received.”

…I don’t think I ever introduced myself as a forester to this person?