Ch.174Running Through Time: NPC (1)

After the battle ended, the aftermath was handled quickly.

To begin with, only elves had died. Thanks to the elders, Miho, and Chikuyo revealing the Grand Elder’s true identity, the beastfolk had only moved to protect the elves before the war could even start, so there was no reason for casualties.

Thanks to the battle ending without major incidents, we were able to rest without any problems…

“Move aside!! This is absurd!! Get out of the way!!!”

“Now, now, elf friends. Can’t you be reasonable? Even after seeing everything with your own eyes…”

“Shut up!! The Grand Elder sold his soul to a demon?! Don’t spout nonsense!! It’s all, all because of that human…!!!”

…yeah, right. The world is vast, there are plenty of lunatics, and people who blame others exist everywhere.

As Great Sage Jirobo once said, gather five people and you’re guaranteed to find at least one piece of trash.

Just looking at the number of elves gathered… I’m not sure. There might be about 50 pieces of trash among them.

“Ho ho, this is quite troublesome. Their benefactors…”

“Who’s a benefactor?! You beast woman!! Are you in league with that evil human?! You must have trapped the Grand Elder!!!”

“That’s right!! The Grand Elder is a great elf who protected the Spirit Tree and Siltra for 10,000 years!! This is clearly all the fault of that human and the beastfolk who brought him here!! Bring him out!!!”

The beastfolk village hospital.

Standing on the second floor looking down, I can see Elder Perna laughing incredulously while blocking about 50 elves with beastfolk warriors.

The content is as you just heard—they’re calling me the evil human who manipulated that idiot.

“Sigh, isn’t the Elder in poor health? I’ll just go down.”

“Eh? W-wait! If Jack goes down…”

“Are you planning to kill them all? I think that would be fine, but…”

Miho and Chikuyo, who were watching out the window with me, can’t even make proper eye contact as they trail off with somewhat reddened faces.

Hmm, but killing them all? I’m not some crazy murderous psychopath.

“Then what are you planning to do? Most elves are currently confused, unable to accept today’s situation, and those ones have gone beyond confusion to something like madness.”

“U-um, sister. Madness? Aren’t they just a little excited…”

“Get out of the way!!! I’ll kill you!! I’ll kill all of you who sided with that evil human and killed the Grand Elder!!!”

“…They are crazy.”

Eventually, as some elves began drawing their swords, the beastfolk warriors prepared for battle with bewildered expressions.

Looking at the levels shown in my status window, these raging elves could be handled by just three of the beastfolk warriors present.

It seems the Salt Non and those knights who came to Chikuyo’s house before had relatively high levels.

Wait, is it right that these creatures who live for thousands of years all have levels in the late 90s to early 100s? Do they really just waste their lives without fighting monsters?

“Well, looking at them, they definitely won’t back down. And I don’t need to watch beastfolk and elves fighting because of me, so I’ll go down.”

“Ah, then I’ll…”

“No need. You stay and rest.”

“Yes, Miho. The doctor said your broken hand hasn’t fully healed even with the potion. Leave the fighting to your sister.”

“No, I’m not going to fight! Chikuyo, stay here too.”

“Eh? B-but…”

“It was Miho and Green Doll who brought me here. You never know, there might be elves trying to sneak into the hospital room without my noticing. Chikuyo, please guard these two here.”

“Okay…”

Somehow drooping her tail at my words, she shifted her gaze to Green Doll sleeping across from us.

After the battle, he had collapsed into sleep.

The demonic energy that had infiltrated his body had weakened but not completely disappeared. And the wound on his slashed shoulder, while treated with potion enough to prevent life-threatening issues, still needed proper healing.

If he could get up right now, he would have put those lunatics in their place and ended this annoying situation. Really unfortunate.

So I went down to the first floor alone.

“Ho ho, do you really want bloodshed here?”

“Everyone, draw your weapons!! Let’s avenge the Grand Elder against the evil human and the beastfolk!!!”

“For the Grand Elder!!!”

“For the elves!!!”

I approach the direction of these pointy-eared bastards who are drawing swords and shouting as if staging some kind of righteous uprising.

Some beastfolk warriors guarding the building try to stop me with gestures, but I just smile at them and continue forward.

“Elder, warriors, please step back for a moment.”

“…What are you planning by coming down? Surely you’re not going to kill them all?”

Perhaps sensing my presence, she spoke quietly while looking at the elves shouting with bulging veins, without turning around.

But seriously, both Chikuyo and the Elder—what do they take me for? I’m not some crazy murderous psychopath, I keep telling you!

“Ho ho, your earlier display must have been quite impressive.”

“Huh? What was I like earlier…”

“Ah!! The human!! It’s that human!!!”

“It’s that gray human from before!!!”

“A demon’s underling!! Kill him!!!”

“Stand back!! If you approach any further, we will respond…!!!”

“No, let them be.”

So much for a quiet conversation with the beastfolk elder.

Those idiot elves started squawking as soon as they noticed me, and I slowly walked forward past the beastfolk warriors guarding the entrance for us.

They seemed confused by my actions and looked back at the elder, but I was allowed to stand before the elves without any interference.

“Well, here I am since you were looking for me. What now?”

“What?”

“I’m asking you, since you had the loudest voice. What are you going to do?”

Standing in front of the largest elf male among them, he stares at me blankly, stunned by my words.

Golden eyes, golden hair. The elves are all beautiful, but how should I put it… they don’t feel natural, more like copy-paste. Like they’re all plastic surgery beauties?

After observing the elves’ appearance for a moment, I stood still, feeling a slight sense of superiority and regret that our ladies are prettier than these elf women.

“E-eek! The demon’s underling!!!”

*thump*

I caught the sword he swung in frustration with one hand.

They’re ridiculously slow. No lie, catching a flying mosquito would be more difficult.

“Y-you bastard!!!”

“So, you swung your sword. You did so prepared to die, right?”

“Th-this!!!”

He tries desperately to move the sword I’m holding, but it doesn’t budge at all. It’s like catching an ant and watching it struggle to escape between my fingers.

I feel absolutely nothing from his actions, and I opened my mouth while looking at them.

“Blaming others is convenient. It’s my fault your Grand Elder died. And I’m even an evil human like a demon—it’s really easy to divide things into you being justice and me being evil, isn’t it?”

“Demon!! Trash!!!”

“Kill him!! Help the captain and kill him!!!”

What? This guy is the captain? Was it really a seniority-based civil service system?!

Shouldn’t a long-lived species know better?

I felt momentarily deflated seeing someone with a lower level than the vice-captain I met before, but with these guys shouting and pointing swords and spears at me, I had no time to think deeply.

I grabbed the face of the guy whose sword I was holding and started using him as a shield against the sword tips of those showing hostility toward me.

“Stab him, what are you waiting for? Stab.”

“Y-you coward!! Release our captain!!!”

“You evil demon’s underling!! Let our captain go!!!”

“You’re all full of shit. Weren’t you all watching what your grand~ elder did to Miho? Does this really look cowardly to you?”

“””Ugh!!”””

They hesitate momentarily at my barrage of facts. But unable to contain their boiling stupidity, they continue spewing all sorts of nonsense. Looking at them, I—

*crack*

“Th-the captain’s sword!!”

“H-he broke the sword with his bare hands?!”

“C-captain!!”

“Let’s not talk like assholes, okay? I’m trying to be nice here. Your stupidity is really starting to piss me off. Your captain’s jaw is next.”

“Kuk…!!”

“W-what do you want?!”

What? What do I want? Hearing these guys suddenly talk as if I’m some kidnapper makes me feel like I’ve been hit in the head with a hammer.

Wow. I thought I’d experienced all kinds of unfair treatment in life, but I guess I still have a long way to go.

“What do I want, you morons? Do you really have holes in your heads? You’re the ones who came to this hospital and caused trouble, while I’m very peacefully talking to you. You drew your swords first and swung them first. Don’t you understand?”

“That’s because you, to our elves…!!!”

“For you, are ‘our elves’ just that Grand Elder who sold himself to a demon, you idiot?”

“What are you saying…”

Seeing these guys painted with genuine bewilderment and fake anger, I sighed deeply.

Yes, what these bastards are doing is fake hatred, fake anger. Setting aside the Grand Elder, Er Jim showed quite persistent hatred and behavior toward me as a human.

In fact, he personally beheaded his subordinate who was painted with fake anger, and he had proper reasons for his hatred. But these bastards don’t show even a speck of that, and moreover—

“If you say I turned the Grand Elder into a demon, then what about your elder Green Doll, who fought with all his might to protect you from such a Grand Elder, even losing an arm? He’s collapsed here receiving treatment. What the hell are you guys doing?”

“””……”””

“‘Our elves,’ you say? Is fake hatred and fake anger toward humans more important to you elves than worrying about your fallen comrades?”

“Y-you, what do you know about elves…!!”

“I know plenty, damn it. A reclusive, loner species stuck in the mountains for thousands of years. Knowing nothing about the outside world and unable to care about it, just clinging to the past and whining. You’re all even younger than Green Doll, right? So none of you have even personally experienced anything bad from humans?!”

“……”

I acknowledge the importance of proper historical perspective and ideology. But times have changed, people have changed, and culture has changed.

In the outside world, elves are now treated as just a tiny minority of spirit-like beings living in mountains, and beastfolk are treated as a minority species stronger than humans.

In fact, I’ve never met beastfolk outside of Aigram.

The World of Trials. In the world of the past, I didn’t see elves, but having witnessed the history of that world where even marriage with actual beasts was accepted among humans, I can’t understand the ideology that one must hate so intensely because of events from thousands of years ago.

Above all—

“Green Doll, despite being older than all of you, built a friendship with me, a human, and acted hoping to show you morons how much humans on the continent have changed, how the world now views elves, and that you could adapt and change in such a world.”

“History? Sure. It’s good to remember and not forget. But when did I ever harm you? The only elf I’ve killed since coming here is that idiot demon-elf who sold himself to a demon. The reason you’re getting hurt and dying now is because your precious Grand Elder teamed up with a demon out of petty revenge!”

*BANG!!!*

After pushing the captain I was holding back toward them and shouting while swinging my fist in the air as if venting, they stare at me with dumbfounded expressions.

Yes, there’s only one reason I’m not killing or beating you with this fist but trying to reason with you.

“Because Green Doll asked me to. He said he wanted to show even reclusive loner shut-ins like you what humans are really like. That’s why I came here, and that’s why I’m enduring your nonsense. If Siltra’s laws punish not just criminals but their families, bloodlines, and entire species, then I’ll acknowledge your fake anger and hatred. Well?”

I’m really glad I went through the trials. With my previous brain, I would have needed to write down everything I just said.

At my rapid-fire barrage of facts, they all became speechless, and I turned around.

There I saw Elder Perna smiling contentedly at me.

“Elder, what do you think? Does Siltra practice collective punishment?”

“Ho ho ho. Of course not. Whether elf, beastfolk, or demon race, only those who commit crimes are punished.”

“Then, have there been any recent cases of humans invading Siltra and kidnapping citizens?”

“Well, I haven’t heard of any during my lifetime. Ah! Speaking of recent events, I did hear about Miho almost being kidnapped and raped by ‘elves.'”

“Th-that…”

At the elder’s words, the so-called captain I had grabbed stammered in confusion, and the other elves’ eyes began to wander.

I heard about it too when the kids were getting treatment. That idiot Grand Elder confessed everything himself. Yet these morons were still going to side with the Grand Elder.

*clench*

“You stupid idiot elves, you have only two choices.”

I showed them my clenched fist, suppressing the rising irritation and anger, and the elves swallowed dryly as if finally remembering that I was the human who beat the Grand Elder to death.

Seriously, my elf-hatred graph is about to break through the ceiling.

“One. Clash with me, a human, with that fake hatred of yours and be buried today along with your Grand Elder.”

At my lowered voice conveying genuine irritation and anger, some of them start backing away hesitantly, but honestly, that doesn’t matter.

Ignoring those trying to escape, I continued speaking.

“Two. For Green Doll, who collapsed fighting to protect you from demonic energy, go outside [Siltra] and bring back a priest. The higher-ranking the priest, the better. Now, choose. I’ll give you five seconds.”

Fake anger and hatred from indoctrination, and racial solidarity possibly engraved in their DNA.

I counted to five, suppressing an excruciating curiosity about what they would choose.