Ch.36Dark Elf Mercenary Red Hood #7

“Hah.”

A dark elf sighed as she gazed up at the sky.

Brushing back her long white hair, she wore an expression of swirling complex emotions, as if savoring her solitude.

The dark elf was a woman named Ellen.

Though she had become famous by the name Red Hood, she herself wasn’t particularly fond of that title.

She merely tolerated it because it was far better than being looked down upon.

She was troubled.

After participating in Bluenail’s civil war several years ago, she was growing weary of being bound to this battlefield until now.

Being tied to one place for too long and endlessly witnessing blood and flesh irritated her.

But she remained only because finding a new battlefield to call home would be too troublesome.

Though accustomed to war, she didn’t enjoy it; she merely accepted it with indifference after spending many years in it. That was the true feeling of Ellen, known as Red Hood.

“What are you doing alone in the corner?”

Ellen turned toward the tickling voice and smiled.

It was Olivia’s all-too-familiar voice, so there was no need to be on guard.

“You know I hate crowded places; they’re too noisy. When I rest, I want to rest quietly.”

“We’re not criminals, are we? If anything, considering our achievements, there are no more loyal subjects than us… Ellen, you’re too passive.”

“Even so, to them, we’re still filth. They might acknowledge our skills, but they still hate to praise us or get close to us.”

Filth. Ellen chuckled, thinking there was no better word to describe the current state of dark elves.

At this, Olivia frowned and then slumped her shoulders in resignation.

She had no choice but to get used to Ellen’s attitude, as it wasn’t anything new.

“Ah. I brought someone who wanted to meet you.”

Olivia suddenly remembered why she had come here and clapped her hands.

Her previously slumped shoulders were now filled with strength, and her expression was quite lively.

“Meet me? A staff officer, or maybe a guerrilla general? Or someone even higher up?”

“No. They said they’re from Soter.”

“Soter…? A human from Soter came all the way here?”

For a moment, Ellen’s eyes gleamed with unusual interest at the mention of Soter.

While visitors from other countries or distant territories occasionally came, not a single person had set foot in this fierce battlefield.

“Do you know their name?”

Perhaps due to the situation that couldn’t help but pique her interest, Ellen’s voice began to show signs of vigor. It was purely out of curiosity.

She was also somewhat pleased, as she had been bored with repeating the same routine day after day.

“Yes. Jion Altram, do you know him? He seemed like a nobleman’s son.”

“Altram… Altram…”

While Olivia and the mercenary group had little interest in their surroundings, Ellen was different.

As a woman who had started her mercenary life alone, and as the head of a mercenary group, she needed to stay informed about the news around her.

Otherwise, she couldn’t continue to wander the battlefields consistently.

Ellen repeated the somewhat familiar name several times before her eyes widened. She had heard rumors about Helena.

It was like the saying that a rumor travels a thousand miles without legs—news of Helena’s duel had reached Bluenail, which was burning in conflict.

“I know him. I heard he’s the lover of that Swordmaster Krauser.”

“Krauser?! He’s no ordinary big shot, and this guy is his lover? I’m shocked.”

No wonder he seemed so noble. Olivia nodded as she recalled Jion’s appearance.

It made sense in many ways that the man was Krauser’s lover.

The only issue was whether such a nobleman could treat dark elves with such ease.

“But why would such a nobleman not show any disgust when dealing with dark elves? It’s really strange…”

Olivia’s question was perfectly reasonable.

She had never seen a human who treated “filth” kindly, and it didn’t make sense logically.

After all, it was the established theory of this world that dark elves were born with ominousness and negativity.

“Tell me more about what’s so strange.”

Therefore, it was only natural that Ellen tilted her head and gave a sharp look.

◎◎◎

I’m sleepy.

Just as there are breaks even on battlefields, if there’s no sign of a night raid, the nights here aren’t much different from usual.

Yawning might seem too relaxed, but with dark elves standing guard, there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger of death.

“You must have quite a bit of war experience?”

Dana spoke to me in the quiet night.

Thanks to her, my brain, half-drowsy with sleep, seemed to wake up. Her tone was stiff, unlike when dark elves spoke among themselves.

However, while I don’t have war experience, I do have combat experience.

Perhaps that’s why I feel less tense.

“No, I don’t.”

“You don’t? Yet you can be so calm, dozing off and yawning?”

“Maybe I’m just too loose. Besides, we’re not at war right now, are we? It’s quiet.”

Dana seemed quite bewildered by my nonchalant response.

It was understandable, as someone with no experience was incredibly calm in the heavy atmosphere unique to a battlefield.

I suppose if I didn’t have God’s blessing, I would have been stiff with tension the whole time.

“It’s quite remarkable that you can say that yourself.”

“Thank you.”

When I accepted her words as a compliment and expressed gratitude, Dana’s expression became even more contorted.

Not out of anger, but as if she didn’t know what to say. In other words, she seemed conflicted.

“…Ahem. Anyway, it’s quite surprising that you came all this way to meet Ellen.”

“It must be surprising. But I was desperate. That’s why I came here.”

People can defecate in their lives. No, they are inevitably designed to do so.

So I thought it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that a person’s level is determined by how they clean up that excrement.

Of course, there are cases where trying to clean up excrement leads to making an even bigger mess.

In such cases, one inevitably gets cursed at, but I didn’t think there was no hope at all.

At least the mindset is better than someone who defecates and runs away.

Ah. That’s not to say that the anger of people dealing with the excrement disappears.

“What’s this desperate reason of yours?”

“I’ll tell that to the woman approaching from over there. You can listen along with her.”

I held my breath as I heard the hoofbeats gradually getting closer.

Five dark elves, including the somewhat familiar Olivia, were riding horses toward us.

Ellen’s mercenary group consists of six members, with her as the leader. And the number of dark elves, including Dana standing next to me, is also six.

In other words, among the women approaching now, there was also the woman I was looking for.

“Yes. She’s coming.”

Dana seemed to understand my intention and nodded quietly.

Given that dark elves have much better hearing than humans, she probably heard the hoofbeats shaking the ground before I mentioned it.

“Whoa, whoa.”

Eventually, they controlled their reins to stop the horses’ movement, let them rest briefly in the grass, and then stood on the ground.

They were close enough that I could touch them with just a slight movement.

Fortunately, they seemed friendly, with no immediate intention of doing anything to me.

“Are you the one who wanted to meet me?”

Among the five, a small, girlish woman spoke up.

The aura surrounding her was arguably the best among them, but her body wasn’t.

Setting aside beauty, she lacked in various aspects of physical condition.

However, judging by her manner of speaking and the reactions of those around her… it was hard to deny that this girl was Ellen.

“Yes. I’m Jion Altram. And you are Ellen, correct?”

“You’ve got a good eye. Yes, I’m Ellen.”

The girl, Ellen, nodded and squatted down.

It was to make eye contact with me as I leaned against a tree.

“I’m glad I guessed right. Anyway, seeing that you’ve come all this way, I assume you’re willing to talk?”

“I’m willing to hear what you have to say. But, predictably, you’re looking for me because of the duel with Duke Albus Killinear, aren’t you?”

I tensed my eyes upon hearing Ellen’s words. I was surprised by how she spoke as if she knew everything.

I had expected that news of my friction with Albus would spread through people.

After all, this kind of gossip is what people love the most.

Especially friction between dukes—it was deliciously perfect for chewing on and enjoying.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

I hadn’t thought it would reach as far as the battlefield of Bluenail, which was in chaos due to civil war, let alone a fierce battleground where blood spilled daily.

“You seem quite surprised. But even on a battlefield, we don’t fight all day, and rumors spread through people’s chatter just like anywhere else. Moreover, it’s not just supplies that come in through provisions.”

“Even so… I wouldn’t expect everyone to be as well-informed as you.”

“I don’t know that much either. Anyway, if you’re thinking of dragging me into that famous duel… we’ll need to negotiate.”

Ellen seemed to know all the circumstances even though I hadn’t brought it up.

It might be understandable with a little thought, but it was surprising that she had such leisure in this battlefield.

Perhaps it was a composure gained from spending a long time on the battlefield.

“That’s fine.”

The quick progression of the conversation was exactly what I had hoped for.

Moreover, I saw hope in the fact that she didn’t reject me outright but mentioned negotiation.

It might be too hasty a thought, but it seemed she might accept my proposal depending on the conditions.

“Let’s see… if I were to accept your proposal, the opponent would naturally be an expert-level fighter. In a one-on-one situation, unlike on a battlefield, it would be quite a difficult opponent. Consider that when stating your offer.”

Ellen was very kindly trying to help with the cost estimation.

It didn’t seem like she just wanted to wrap things up quickly; she seemed to have some other hidden agenda.

Wishing I had some mind-reading ability, I decided to first present the compensation I had in mind.

My head felt like it might explode if I kept speculating about her intentions, which I couldn’t read.

“I’ll give you land.”

I couldn’t know the inner thoughts of Ellen and the other dark elves.

However, I knew they had been driven out of villages because they had nowhere to stay, and that’s why they were wandering the battlefield now.

As a result, I concluded that providing them with land where they could rest comfortably might be a good offer.

The Altram family doesn’t have a separate territory. At most, they have the mansion and its surroundings, along with the area where the guild building stands.

So while I couldn’t immediately give away a large piece of land, it was possible to purchase land for them.

I had already obtained permission from Chess for this.

“Land… you say.”

Ellen murmured in a small voice and fell into thought.

It was an ambiguous response, neither positive nor negative, but the fact that she was considering it seemed quite successful to me.

If it wasn’t even worth considering, she would have scoffed or rejected it outright.

I swallowed dryly as I listened to my heart beating increasingly roughly.

Though it might have been just a moment in terms of time, it felt like an eternity to me.

And as that time passed, Ellen’s tightly closed lips opened. That action itself was very welcome.

“What kind of land? Are you talking about some corner suitable for a waste disposal site, a barren wasteland not even worth a grain of wheat?”

The only issue was her frost-like voice and sharp gaze.