Ch.216216. Friend or Foe (2)

“Since that’s the situation, I’m sorry for coming to you with this kind of talk as soon as you woke up… But I wanted to discuss something about Ianet. Is that alright, Ray?”

Of course.

“I appreciate it.”

From what I’m hearing, the situation seems to be going to hell.

What on earth did they do? Why would she even use a wind spirit to prevent her voice from spreading?

She mentioned Ianet’s mischief.

What the hell did those pointy-eared bastards do to make Friel, who had been trying to cooperate with Ianet, simmer with such cold anger?

As I quietly waited for her to unfold her story, Friel let out a deep sigh and slowly began.

“I just mentioned it, didn’t I? That you, Ray, were asleep longer than I was, even though my chest was slashed. That slash happened because I was protecting Ianet’s forest guardian.”

“Ah—”

“Until then, I had no suspicions whatsoever. No matter how poor the relationship between our Arielt and Ianet… if they were in their right mind, they wouldn’t make a move in such an intense battlefield. We’re elves, aren’t we?”

Friel’s lips curved downward.

“At least among ourselves, we’re elves who understand honor, dignity, and harmony.”

With her green eyes clouded, her usually somewhat bright demeanor completely reversed, making her overlap with Pleta’s decadent atmosphere.

“But this incident finally convinced me. That damned woman, since becoming the head of the family, Ianet has undoubtedly gone completely insane.”

Her smile was chilling.

The forest guardians of House Arielt who were close enough to hear Friel’s story simply closed their eyes silently and contemplated her words. Their silence contributed to dragging the atmosphere into a quagmire.

It was a loaded silence.

In that heavy silence, Friel cleared her throat with a small cough and looked into the distance. I followed her gaze.

‘That place…’

It was where Airine and Ianet were gathered.

“When I first regained consciousness and woke up, the first thing I saw was our forest guardians and none other than Airine. At that time, I didn’t suspect Ianet. Rather, that damned Airine—”

Her brow furrowed.

“…separately handed over her share of potion to our forest guardian and ordered him to pour it on my chest.”

It was an expression of love and hatred.

“Well, after that, I lay in bed quietly listening to the conversations around me… and when I was well enough to walk a little, I saw it. The problem wasn’t with Airine, but with those damned servant bitches.”

The love-hate quickly cooled and disappeared as if it had never existed.

Only hatred remained, making the observer feel a piercing coldness.

This was the anger displayed by a forest noble who had lived a long life.

“Those damned women subtly and thoroughly avoided Airine while having meetings among themselves. With a large wound in my chest, there was nothing I could do… so as a cripple, I focused only on digging into their conversations. The outline of the situation became clear.”

“By outline, you mean…”

“Airine is a puppet. A puppet that moves as directed.”

“……”

“The problem is that forest guardian bitch hiding in Airine’s shadow, following the family head’s orders…”

Friel gritted her teeth.

“…that bitch is the main axis and cause of all problems.”

Friel’s hands trembled.

“With the help of Piel and our forest guardian, I heard the story. Ianet always cleverly avoids battle but strikes the enemy.”

“They’re strangely passive in battle. They seem to treat us as expendables. There were some who hid in the bushes, only taking the enemy’s life and disappearing again. The only one who steps forward to thoroughly eliminate the enemy is Airine. These are all words from our forest guardians.”

“You know what’s even funnier? When Chelnis and Arielt’s side brought up retreat and reorganization, the one who most strongly advocated for the subjugation of the remaining half-demon was none other than Ianet.”

An ally who is selfish and doesn’t share the same understanding is more exhausting than a strong enemy.

If Friel’s words were the unvarnished truth.

The current unit was harboring an internal enemy worse than anything else: Ianet.

This wasn’t good.

No, what were they thinking in a place where that monstrous half-demon woman and demons were lurking?

“After spending hundreds of years steeped in peace, engaging in armchair discussions and power struggles… their minds have finally hardened… to the point they can’t even discern right from wrong. And what’s more important—”

“……”

“The one I saved while getting my chest slashed was none other than that damned shadow bitch. Whether she intentionally threw herself in harm’s way or accidentally showed such a defenseless appearance to receive my help, I don’t know… but if it’s that shadow bitch, she probably had a scheme behind it all.”

“……”

“I have a lot of circumstantial evidence. The problem is that there’s no solid physical evidence to prove those damned ones’ machinations.”

Friel was furious about this situation.

“If your words are the unvarnished truth, then there’s no harm in being wary of the members of House Ianet.”

It’s not just a matter of no harm—one never loses by being cautious of those whose intentions are unclear.

It would be better to keep a close eye on them.

If what the elf before me says is true, I might also get my chest slashed like Friel if I’m not careful.

“That’s right. Now that retreat and return have been decided, there’s no harm in keeping a watchful eye until we leave the forest. But that’s not enough—”

Friel crossed her arms and tilted her head askew.

“After all the hardship I went through, I can’t let that damned Ianet slip through the cracks she cleverly created. With so much circumstantial evidence, wouldn’t it be too bland to just let it slide?”

“Are you saying you have some kind of plan?”

She gently nodded.

“There’s still one person in Ianet who might become an ally or an enemy. If we have her testimony, it would be enough to question Ianet about this matter even after our return.”

“Ah—”

There was one woman whom Friel had spoken of with relatively less hatred.

“Oh, you’ve already figured it out, I see.”

“Are you perhaps referring to Lady Airine?”

“That’s right. She’s already a foolish woman who’s too late for everything… but maybe, I saw a possibility. She might at least be recyclable trash rather than completely useless garbage.”

Airine Ianet.

“There seems to be a division within Ianet. Even so, it’s a fight between Airine and everyone else…”

Friel lifted her chin and looked again in the direction where Airine was.

“For the first time, that woman held a knife to her shadow’s throat. With her usual disgusted expressionless face. So—”

Friel stopped mid-sentence and pressed her lips tightly.

Suddenly, she began to put on a fresh, sly smile while checking between me and the distance several times.

I also looked in the direction of her gaze and saw a pointy-eared one with Ianet’s emblem on their shoulder blade, returning this way with Sione and Diolia.

Friel spoke in a calm voice.

“Thanks to the World Tree’s blessing, our family’s tea also has healing properties. If we return safely, I’ll personally serve you tea—”

“……”

“It wouldn’t be bad to check for yourself.”

“…It would be an honor, Lady Friel.”

As I bowed my head deeply in response to her words.

An Ianet woman who had been reading the atmosphere approached Friel, bowed her head once like I did, and spoke.

“We will begin retreating swiftly from now on. May you have a safe return—”

With the forest guardian’s words, the steps for retreat finally began at that moment.

For some reason, Sione, who wanted to express her displeasure quite intensely, started poking my side with her elbow, her cheeks puffed up with a bit of wind.

But this was actually quite forceful. Finding it quite annoying, I stared at Sione and asked.

“…What’s the matter?”

Only then did Sione narrow her eyes and look at me.

“…What’s this about drinking tea together?”

“Ah, that—”

“Someone was dying from exhaustion, unable to sleep while nursing you the whole time. And someone else is making tea appointments with others as soon as they wake up.”

“I can explain this later—”

“Ray, your tongue is getting long.”

“……”

I glanced at Diolia, and Diolia also looked at me and shook her head.

“…Even I think you were in the wrong here, Ray.”

So I had to endure Sione’s cold gaze and her sudden pokes for a while.

* * *

“Sis, really?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I said so.”

“Really, really?”

“Sigh…”

“Hurry!”

“Yes, it’s true, you brat!”

“Uwah—”

Tania grabbed the spirit’s cheek and stretched it.

As the spirit’s cheek was stretched by Tania’s hand, tears began to well up in its round, bright eyes.

“Ack…! Sis, wait! Hand, hand, hand!”

“Hmph.”

Finally releasing her hand at the spirit’s plea, the spirit rubbed its cheek and said.

“…Why are you bullying me again? Dad said siblings should get along…”

“What siblings? Is there any blood mixed between you and me?”

“But… you and I both received the same mana from Dad—”

“Gross, what’s with calling Shinwoo ‘Dad’? And you deserve it anyway.”

Tania crossed her arms and glared at the spirit.

“Do you know how many times you’ve asked the same thing over and over?”

“…But Dad always answers kindly no matter how many times I ask.”

“Sigh… you fool… That’s just because Shinwoo has given up on you.”

“No, Dad wouldn’t do that. Sis, you’re lying again—”

“Oh my, this friend still hasn’t come to his senses.”

Tania casually approached and put her arm around the spirit’s neck.

With a sly act, she sighed deeply, looked up at the sky, and began to speak as if complaining.

“It’s because you always show such a frustrating attitude that he ended up contracting with a new wind spirit.”

“Ugh, that’s not true…! There were circumstances…”

“For someone like that, he summons me just fine… eats with me… introduces me to new spirits… Meanwhile, you don’t even mention his name once as if you’ve forgotten. What do you have to say about that?”

“T-that’s…”

“Listen carefully. This is the last chance Shinwoo is giving you. If you don’t want to be abandoned, you need to show Shinwoo that you can do well too, without being wishy-washy this time. Got it?”

“……”

When no answer came from the spirit, Tania patted its shoulder and asked.

“Hey, trust your sister. I have some affection for you. I’m more comfortable with you than with complete strangers.”

“Really?”

“Really. How long have we known each other?”

“…I’ll trust you, sis.”

“Good, now repeat after me. My rival is the low-level spirit, Ornada.”

“No, even so, sis, calling a low-level spirit your rival is—”

“Tsk. You’re not going to follow my words? You don’t want my help anymore?”

“Fine, I’ll do it—”

“Tsk, what’s with your attitude toward your sister?”

“…I’ll do it, okay?”

After appeasing the whining spirit, Tania gathered strength in her core and spoke in a clear voice.

“Now repeat after me. My rival is the low-level spirit, Ornada.”

“My, I mean, rival is…”

“Louder.”

“Yes, my, rival is…!”

“More clearly and distinctly!”

“My rival is!”

“Good! You’re doing well!”

“The low-level spirit, Ornada!”

Tania showed a satisfied smile at the top-tier wind spirit’s voice resonating throughout the spirit realm.

“Good, then our Changsik. Shall we prepare to meet Shinwoo?”

“Yes!”

Just before Elvis, the wind spirit, began preparations to cross the boundary between the spirit realm and the current realm.

As if something was bothering him, he turned around again with a sulky expression and whined.

“By the way, sis.”

“Yes?”

“Can you stop calling me by that nickname, Changsik…? I don’t like it…”

“No, I don’t want to. It’s my choice.”

“…That’s mean.”

Elvis released the powerful wind he held with a dissatisfied expression.

So that whenever his contractor called for him, he could break through that narrow passage and advance to his side.

And yet, Elvis quietly whispered.

“Hmph…”

I’m going to tell Dad everything about how you bullied me.

Elvis was filled with anticipation.

Not noticing Tania snickering behind him.