Ch.217Heading Home: An NPC. (1)

“Damn that Spirit Keeper bitch, she said there wouldn’t be a penalty. What the hell is this? Fuck, if I don’t get proper compensation later, I’m seriously going to snap off one of her roots.”

“Do you remember Knight Bersan? After they returned, they were urgently looking for you, a human adventurer. You completely disappeared for several months, so we thought you’d left without even telling the elves or beastkin.”

“And then, Volle Lu. Our young elf saw you entering the Grand Elder’s mansion, so we wondered if you might have gone to see the Spirit Keeper and have been searching for you here.”

“What are you talking about? Who is Bersan?”

I remember Volle Lu is that elf kid (estimated mid-30s) I met the day I went in there, but Bersan? Who is that…

“Don’t you remember the female elf who said she’d go to Ponia to bring back a cleric?”

“…Oh. Did she mention her name?”

“Hehe. I’ve heard that human men are fond of female elves, so I was a bit worried, but you really weren’t interested at all, were you?”

As Miho reminded me about the monster breeding memories, and Chikuyo made that playful comment, I just shrugged my shoulders.

I’ll admit female elves are beautiful, but honestly, by my current standards, they’re just slightly different from kanpus and elves. In terms of appearance, our girls are much more distinctive and prettier anyway.

“Anyway, so. What’s this all about?”

“Ah, the three people who just returned from Ponia were urgently looking for you, Jack. They’ve gone to fetch them, so please wait a moment.”

“Um, you must be tired from your long journey, but may I ask one more thing? That ghoul behind you…”

Somehow unlike the day I went to the Grand Elder’s mansion, the elves were treating me unusually politely. While finding their behavior puzzling, I answered their questions.

I told them this ghoul isn’t an enemy, and that I brought it along for a reason after speaking with the Spirit Keeper. And if possible, to contact the beastkin village and bring Elder Perna here.

“Yes! I’ll go right away!!”

“Ah, yes. Please do. Oh, and Salt Non?”

“Hmm?”

“You must be tired, so go ahead and rest. For some reason, the elves don’t seem to want to fight with us either. And I feel bad dragging an injured person like you around any further.”

“…Right, I could use some rest. I’ve had too many strange experiences today and I’m honestly tired. Besides…”

Salt Non lowered his voice so only we could hear, saying that after three months, he was worried about Elder Green Doll’s condition. To be honest, I was extremely worried about that too, and I figured someone as perceptive as Salt Non would act that way.

“Chikuyo. Go back to the beastkin village with Salt Non first.”

“Kiii… me?”

When I pointed at her, Chikuyo drooped her ears pitifully and tilted her head questioningly. It was incredibly charming, but also way too artificial.

“Nothing’s going to happen if I’m alone with Miho. Besides, we won’t be alone anyway. Go.”

“…I wouldn’t mind if something did happen, but fine…”

“See you later, sister.”

After sending Chikuyo and Salt Non ahead, Miho and I sat down in front of one elf, waiting for the female knight elf called Bersan to arrive.

“Jack sir!! F-Finally!!”

When the female knight elf who had returned from Ponia exclaimed with great joy, Miho and I gave her questioning looks. She immediately ran up to us, bowed her head in greeting, and began speaking.

“I successfully brought a human cleric from Ponia. Thanks to that, we were able to purify all the elves who were corrupted by demons! Moreover, Elder Green Doll…!!”

“That’s good. But you didn’t spend days looking for us just to report that, right?”

“No! Of course not. It’s really urgent news…!!”

From her report, I confirmed that Green Doll had risen from his sickbed, which was a relief. However, what followed…

“Currently, a Seven Deadly Sins demon has appeared in Ponia! And Elder Green Doll, as soon as he recovered, headed to Ponia, and the cleric we brought immediately went to Ponia as well! This happened exactly two weeks ago!!”

“…Wait, I can understand the cleric, but why Green Doll? Why would a patient who just recovered chase after a demon?! And you just let him go?!!”

“W-Well, that’s…”

I jumped up in astonishment, accidentally pulling up Miho who had been subtly wrapping her tail around my arm. She let out a small yelp as she was dragged up, but the elf maintained her serious expression and continued speaking.

“He said that since Ponia is your hometown, the one who saved Siltra, how painful would it be if your homeland was destroyed while you were gone. He said he would hold them off even if just for a moment.”

“…No, fuck. That’s…”

Honestly, I couldn’t care less if Ponia was destroyed. I sincerely think that country’s disappearance has nothing to do with me. If anything, I’m more concerned about the possibility that the demon who appeared there is Lust, Luxuria. But Green Doll went to stop it? And two weeks ago? If he traveled quickly, he would have arrived by now! And…

“Look, setting aside what happened to Ponia, you just let Green Doll go in his condition…”

“N-No!! W-We were preparing to deploy too!! Th-This elf here, don’t you recognize him?!”

Do I need to know all you copy-paste kanpus? The only elves I care about are Green Doll, Salt Non, and Volle Lu. Honestly, I just heard your name again but I’ve already forgotten it.

“A-Ahem! I-I am the captain of the 3rd Knight Division who was corrupted that day along with the Knight Commander and behaved rudely toward you, Galt…”

“Alright, I get it. No need for names or introductions. So, what about this elf?”

“I’m telling you that the elves who were corrupted that day have been preparing for deployment and searching for you!”

The female elf hurriedly explained the situation.

Green Doll had risen from his sickbed, heard reports of a Seven Deadly Sin appearing in Ponia, and immediately drank a bunch of the potions I had made to recover his strength. Then he grabbed his sword and went to Ponia, saying he would hold out there.

And he told the remaining elves that if they had any sense, they should think about what it means to let demons who had done such things to the elders and Grand Elder run rampant across the continent. Then he rushed off to Ponia with the cleric who had helped him recover.

Sigh, fuck. Green Doll, just go back to your casino!! I appreciate you looking out for me, but you’re not Shanks!! You’re Shanks from East Blue without Haki!!! If you meet a Seven Deadly Sin, which is basically a Sea King, you’ll lose another arm!!!

“…Um, just wondering, what about Elder Perna and the beastkin…?”

“Ah! The beastkin are also preparing for deployment with us. To be precise, should we call it the Siltra Alliance? Beastkin Elder Perna is sitting in the temporary position of Grand Elder and commanding. Of course, the demon tribe has also agreed to join.”

“…Perna.”

At the elf’s answer to Miho’s question, the ghoul who had been silent until now softly uttered Elder Perna’s name. The two elves’ eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting the ghoul to speak.

What? Worried now that your daughter’s name came up?

“What are you going to do? Elder Perna is preparing for battle again, and you’re just rolling around with your limbs cut off?”

“…Perna will be coming here soon, right?”

“Well, judging by the reaction of the elf who ran off to call her…”

“Ah, eh? Oh! Yes. Elder Perna is actually already here in this village, Siltra…”

The female elf who seemed disoriented by my casual banter with the ghoul stammered but confirmed that she was directing operations from this village. Ha, she’ll be here soon enough.

“Well, it’s your family business. Whether you’ve lost your anger or not, apologize to your daughter for all the terrible things you did. After that, if you still want to talk about suicide, go ahead. Then I’ll really smash your head in…”

“Hohoho, family business, terrible things done to a daughter. What an intriguing conversation.”

Hearing the elderly voice I’d grown familiar with recently, Miho and I turned our heads to see her approaching without making the slightest sound as usual. In the distance, an elf was returning, panting, apparently having successfully found and brought the elder.

“It’s been a while, I should say?”

“Hoho. It’s been three months, so it has been a while, but judging by your expression, it doesn’t seem like much of a while to you?”

“There’s a deep, deep… no, not that deep but irritating story behind this. I’ll tell you later.”

“So, what relationship does this ghoul have with me?”

“……”

As Elder Perna approached the ghoul behind us and tapped on its damaged helmet, the ghoul sealed its lips as if playing dead. Sigh, this is really exasperating.

“Elder. You two should have a conversation. And ghoul, speak properly yourself. If you keep your mouth shut and try to avoid this, I’ll tell her everything myself.”

“……”

“Hoho, are you saying the ghoul can speak?”

“Yes. It might be hard for you to believe, Elder, but this is a ghoul you absolutely need to know about.”

Smiling at the elder’s question, Miho nodded seriously in response, and I told the elves in front of us to send away the surrounding elves and stepped away from the two of them(?).

I should at least give them some time for a family conversation. If the ghoul acts like a jerk, I’ll act like one too.

“So, the reason you were looking for me. You’re going to Ponia now, so you wanted me to come along to kill the demon, right?”

“Ah? Oh! No! We thought stopping the demon that harmed Siltra was our duty too, so we were planning to deploy even if we couldn’t find you. Rather, we thought we needed to deliver another really important piece of information…”

“You’re talking too much. Keep it short and concise.”

“Yes sir!! The Empire, Ponia, Neiti, and Aigram are preparing for war! It seems war will begin within the next two months!!”

“Hey you!! Empty-headed idiot!! You should have said that first!!”

How can kanpus fail to maintain an upward trend for even 10 minutes?!!