Ch.196196. Fairy (5)

The four Wood Elf patrollers captured by Vlad, including the female elf Syndra who was part of their group, were imprisoned in an underground cell.

This underground prison was completely made of smooth stone (concrete) except for the metal door with iron bars, making it entirely gray—a perfect environment to drive someone mad. The condition of those confined here was truly miserable.

Metal restraints limiting the use of aura and magical power were attached to their limbs, and metal collars connected to the ceiling were fixed around their necks, preventing escape.

Naturally, all their equipment had been confiscated, and they were given only a few ordinary clothes. Syndra looked no different from any common prisoner.

At least they were fed three meals regularly, so they weren’t starving, and surprisingly, proper mattresses had been provided for their beds.

However… a prisoner is still a prisoner.

The metal chains connected to the ceiling were of an awkward length, making movement constantly uncomfortable, and having been unable to wash for quite some time, their bodies were in a rather unpleasant state.

Moreover, elves sold as slaves to humans were quite notorious, so Syndra couldn’t help but worry about her future…

One day, as she was distinguishing the passage of time only by meal deliveries while completely isolated from the outside world, unable to tell day from night.

……..Clank! Rattle!

“———?!!!”

Just as she was resting after finishing a meal, the chains in the ceiling suddenly retracted, shortening until they were just loose enough not to strangle her.

Clunk, Bang!!

The steel door that had seemed permanently sealed suddenly swung open, and two people entered the room, looking at Syndra.

One was the exiled half-elf monster, the vampire Selim Felburg, and the other was… a human in black clothing who exuded a strange atmosphere.

She wore tight-fitting clothes made of leather dyed completely black, with light armor and a black leather coat draped over them.

From inside the glossy coat came the clinking sound of metal objects colliding, which, from Syndra’s observation, seemed more like tools than weapons.

A skull censer emitting a slightly sour scent hung at her waist, and on her back, she carried what looked like a large execution sword.

Though her face was covered by a special mask, making it impossible to see what lay behind it, the swollen chest and thin jawline revealed that this person was a woman.

But… from this woman’s appearance, Syndra sensed an ominous aura.

The powerful magical aptitude innately possessed by elves was taking effect, warning her in the form of instinct.

The two beings before her were truly dangerous entities.

Clink!

As she struggled, Syndra suddenly felt strength draining from her body.

“·····?!!”

Her legs gave way, leaving her instantly hanging by the chains, her upper body going limp and beyond her control.

‘……..The scent!’

By the time she realized these strange symptoms were caused by the fragrance emanating from the skull censer, Syndra was already sagging, barely standing thanks to the chains.

But even so, Syndra still maintained clear consciousness.

‘You… No matter what you do to my body, you will never subjugate my mind!’

So she struggled to keep her drooping eyelids open, making no attempt to hide her hostility as she glared at Selim-Vlad, who was slowly approaching.

However, since there was nothing Syndra could actually do, she could only watch Vlad approach and observe his actions.

“······.”

Vlad, wearing a slightly displeased expression, soon lowered his head and began to stare at Syndra persistently with his blood-red eyes.

At first, Syndra glared back at him, but suddenly, looking at his face, she had a fleeting thought.

‘….For a Venesik, well. He is handsome.’

And at the exact moment this thought crossed her mind.

Suddenly, Vlad’s eyes turned an enchanting purple color.

A purple flash shot out from his violet eyes———

“……..Ah, aaah. M-master?”

With eyes now completely different from before, dripping with honey-like affection, Syndra looked at Vlad with a gaze of submission, panting like an obedient dog.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Vlad von Dracula.”

“Not at all, I should gladly cooperate when needed, Inquisitor.”

The Inquisitor, who gave a bitter smile toward Vlad with his indescribable expression, bowed respectfully to him.

“….Let’s begin.”

At the same time, she looked with contempt at the elf who had transformed into a panting dog, and then began the “interrogation” with Vlad.

※ ※ ※

Several hours later.

“Thank you for your work, Vlad von Dracula.”

“I merely used the power of my eyes from the side, it is you, Inquisitor, who truly worked hard.”

After the interrogation of the four Wood Elf patrollers was completely finished, the Inquisitor thanked Vlad for assisting with the vampire’s magical eyes and slowly began to organize the information obtained from this interrogation.

The Eyes of Charm (Magical Eyes of Charm) that vampires naturally possess had excellently bewitched them, making them reveal everything they knew without reservation.

First, as expected, these four Wood Elf patrollers were dispatched from the Wood Elf nation to check on the status of the Fairy Kingdom.

Their primary objective was to confirm the condition of the Fairy Kingdom where something had occurred, and secondly, to directly identify the unidentified group that had invaded the forest.

The reason they were assigned to check on the Fairy Kingdom was because the Fairy Kingdom was essentially a colony of the Wood Elf nation.

The Wood Elf nation, hidden deep in the great forest by magic, was not satisfied even with this level of isolation, being both closed-off and paranoid.

Therefore, they employed fairies as a kind of biological alarm system, similar to canaries taken into coal mines.

Just as canaries are kept in mine shafts to serve as oxygen pressure gauges, these fairies’ role was to fight against intruders.

If they won, that was good because the intruders in the forest would be eliminated; if they died, that had its own usefulness.

Just as the death of an oxygen-sensitive canary alerts miners to danger, they included a high-ranking fairy to assess the power level of intruders.

The Wood Elves, judging that the stupid fairies wouldn’t cause any trouble anyway, spread them around without any control mechanisms…

In the end, this careless thinking caused all these problems. Things had already escalated to a point where it was difficult to turn back.

The Inquisitor fell into contemplation.

While the Wood Elves were the fundamental cause of this whole situation and should be held accountable, their closed-off nature, as confirmed through interrogation, was quite peculiar.

Using all sorts of magical means, they had created a pseudo-otherworld within the great forest, and by magically twisting the structure, made it nearly impossible for outsiders to find the entrance.

Only those of middle rank or higher in public service could go outside, and even then, no one could leave without a mission.

Even if they legally went out on a mission, if they were captured during the process, they would immediately lose their access rights and be exiled, never to return.

Therefore, those known as Wood Elves in the outside world were either exiles or those who voluntarily left because they disliked the closed internal environment.

Of course, being of the same race, they still provided some support to each other.

After compiling these facts and reporting them to the head of the Inquisition, which was then forwarded to Imperial Chancellor Ben Gaitenpeng, how much time had passed?

An official position regarding the Wood Elf forces was communicated to the organization’s senior members.

While invasion was deemed highly unlikely to succeed due to their special defense systems and the environmental characteristics of the great forest, they still had to pay for their crimes.

If His Majesty Emperor Bjorn Wolfson of the Dawn Empire were to personally intervene, he could simply wipe out not just the Wood Elves but the entire great forest.

But His Majesty couldn’t personally attend to such a trivial matter, and one-sided massacre was completely contrary to the ideals espoused by the Empire.

Therefore, the Imperial Administration requested that a letter be delivered to a nearby exiled Wood Elf village, asking to make certain requests to the Wood Elf leadership.

Soon after, the Wood Elf nation formally apologized and respectfully presented the severed head of the project manager.