Ch.46The Farming Nation of Elves #1

“P-please, j-just this once, spare my life…!”

Her appearance was utterly pitiful—wearing a plain dress without any accessories, looking miserable at first glance.

I secretly shook my head as I watched Agnes, who had fallen from being a duke’s daughter to a precarious position.

Even though she was a woman I resented deeply from my perspective, seeing her end like this made me feel somewhat sorry for her.

But that didn’t mean I intended to plead for her life.

All decisions had to be made solely by Helena, who sat cross-legged before her.

“You’re asking me to spare you……”

Helena folded her arms and tapped her upper arm with her fingers.

Judging by the lifeless look in her eyes, a disaster could break out at any moment, yet strangely, she seemed to be deliberately taking her time to consider.

Though she had brought Agnes here with the stated intention of beheading her personally, she didn’t necessarily have to kill her.

Saying she would behead Agnes meant that Helena would hold the power of life and death over her.

Albus Killinear knew this and accepted it, and the result is what you see now.

“But even if I spare you, there’s nothing to gain. You can no longer rely on the prestige of House Killinear, nor do you possess any useful skills…”

“I-I can! I will! I’ll do anything! Please, just spare my life…”

There wasn’t even a shadow of the once proud and arrogant woman.

With tears streaming down her face, she begged for her life with gestures and a voice that couldn’t be more servile.

Stripped of her noble facade, Agnes was just an ordinary commoner like any other.

“So if I told you to live as a prostitute for the rest of your life, could you do that?”

“T-that’s…!”

The lowest of the low. Helena’s eyes remained ice-cold as she demanded Agnes become the lowest among slaves.

What she meant wasn’t just being a simple prostitute, but one who wouldn’t earn a single penny, with all income taken away.

Naturally, Agnes, desperate to live, hesitated—but this moment became the decisive factor determining her life or death.

“You said you’d throw away all pride, but that was a lie? A woman like you would only cause trouble if kept alive, so…”

“N-no! I’ll do it! No, please, just give me the order! If you just tell me to…”

As if deaf to Agnes’s belated cries, Helena drew the sword from her waist and swung it.

The gesture was as light as swatting away an insect, but the result was far from light.

The white, razor-sharp blade plunged deep into where Agnes’s heart had been.

“Cough! You… damned… bitch…”

The dying woman coughed blood and glared with all her might.

She had returned to her originally arrogant self, abandoning the unseemly begging from moments before.

Perhaps she thought there was no need to be servile anymore since she was going to die anyway.

“That’s not wrong. I am Zion’s bitch, after all.”

“Crazy… woman…”

I was startled by words that could turn a household upside down if overheard, but fortunately, I realized there were no other ears to hear and could finally relax.

It’s remarkable that I could have such thoughts while someone was dying.

“You should never have crossed me. This is all your own doing.”

“Go to… hell… you damn…”

Agnes breathed her last while staring at Helena, who maintained a bloody smile throughout.

Though she couldn’t finish her words, it was easy to imagine what she wanted to say.

“Well… now I should clean up this piece of meat neatly, right?”

Helena muttered as she pulled her sword from Agnes’s corpse.

She treated Agnes not as a person but as a mere piece of meat, with an indifference that was unparalleled.

Even considering that the shock of killing someone had long passed, her attitude was chillingly cold to the point of being eerie.

“Zion, it would be uncomfortable for you to… no, to clean up a corpse like this. It would be better to burn it first and then handle the aftermath.”

I was secretly shocked by Helena’s words.

While cremation wasn’t unheard of in this world, I had thought she would at least return the body, as there was no point in holding grudges against the dead.

Still, it was commendable that even in this situation, she was considerate enough to spare the servants from cleaning up the corpse.

Unlike Cain, who had the justification of attempted poisoning, this corpse was purely the result of personal feelings.

“You’re not going to leave any trace?”

“Hmm? Of course not. She was a beast who dared to lay hands on Zion. She doesn’t even deserve to be buried in the ground.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to at least leave the body?”

I tried to gently persuade Helena, as I didn’t want to desecrate the corpse.

My primary reason was selfish—I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable—but I also wanted to quietly put to rest the final moments of this woman who had once been such a troublemaker.

Above all, if we reduced her to ashes and scattered them without leaving anything behind, it would weigh on my conscience even after returning to the divine realm.

“…Sigh. Zion, you’re too kind. Fine. I’ll have her buried in a common cemetery or something.”

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, Helena accepted my request and decided to bury the body.

Though it meant dealing with some inconvenience, it was far better than living with discomfort for the rest of my life.

Even though things had spiraled to such an extreme, there was no need to take it to the very end.

◎◎◎

And so, I spent quite busy days afterward.

Starting with cleaning Helena’s room, I washed the corpse, applied fragrant oil, and finally visited an undertaker to have it buried in a suitably sunny spot.

The matters concerning House Killinear were also handled very quickly.

According to Helena, weakening the noble faction was just a plausible pretext; in reality, the condition was offered simply to teach them a lesson.

In that sense, Helena designated the third son of the family as the next Duke Killinear.

With the man furthest from the line of succession becoming duke, it seemed there would be no peace for some time.

The third son would struggle to strengthen his power, while the eldest son and others, suddenly finding themselves in a disadvantaged position, would employ all sorts of schemes to reclaim the position.

“A vineyard?”

“Yes. We’ll plant some trees too, but I was thinking you could make and sell wine.”

One day, after finishing all those nauseating tasks…

I was gathered with the dark elves on the land they had received, having a leisurely conversation.

The land was too vast for just six people to live on, so we needed to do something with it.

It would be too empty to just build a single house on this wasteland.

“Even if we make wine, who would buy it? There aren’t many eccentrics like you around.”

Ellen smiled bitterly as she voiced a very practical objection.

The other dark elves seemed to agree, nodding silently, and I privately thought the same.

However, I couldn’t just leave these people who had finally come to live within the same fence.

I wanted to ensure that, at least within Krauser territory, they wouldn’t be treated like filth.

The quickest and easiest method would be a single command from Helena, but forcing compliance would clearly have no effect.

Rather, it seemed likely that even more sinister and contemptuous gazes would follow them than before. In other words, it would be quick but ineffective.

“That’s true. That’s why I thought we could grow grapes, make wine, and initially only serve it within the Krauser mansion.”

“So you’re asking us to make luxury items for nobles as a pastime.”

“That’s right. If we make wine so excellent that it turns heads, and serve it to guests, wouldn’t people naturally start seeking it out? I think that would improve how people view you all.”

“We appreciate your concern, but… can we even make such wine?”

A practical objection followed by a practical question. Perfectly reasonable.

Though dark elves are still elves, they’ve never made wine before, and moreover, they’ve spent most of their lives on battlefields.

It was natural that they had little connection to cultivation.

“Of course, I plan to invite a separate wine technician. Combined with the grapes you grow, I’m sure we can succeed.”

“Do you really think so…?”

“I do. Although you’ve wandered battlefields and been treated like filth, I believe your roots as elves who love nature and find joy in growing plants haven’t changed.”

In a way, I might be imposing my own thoughts.

Nevertheless, seeing their expressions of evident emotion with sparkling eyes, I was newly convinced that my thinking wasn’t wrong.

Though their tendencies and appearances might differ somewhat, they are still elves after all.

◎◎◎

After receiving Helena’s approval, I immediately set to work on the plan.

Building homes for the dark elves and cultivating this desolate land.

The houses were made from logs with simple processing.

Originally, I wanted to build small, ordinary-looking houses, but accepting their request for wood, we ended up making log cabins.

The next important task was cultivating the land, and this was when I most keenly realized that dark elves are indeed elves.

Whether helping workers transplant trees from the outskirts or planting and growing grapes… their growth rate was truly extraordinary.

The trees grew large and lush as if claiming this place as their own.

It was like watching someone grow taller even after their growth plates had closed.

The first grapes harvested after several months were indescribably delicious. They had a clean, crisp yet rich sweetness that made one truly understand what that meant.

They seemed so good that they could be sold as is, without even needing to make wine. Perhaps this taste came from being cultivated directly by elves.

“Wow… how is this so delicious?”

The land, cultivated over a considerable time, was no longer a wasteland.

Perhaps because the elves’ touch reached every corner, it was fantastically reminiscent of a well-tended forest village.

“Is… is it that good?”

“Yes. At least among the grapes I’ve tasted, this is the best.”

Although I had rarely eaten grapes in this continent, the taste clearly confirmed these were premium quality.

Even I, not particularly fond of grapes, was eating them one after another.

Ellen blushed and smiled broadly, pleased by the praise.

Unlike her companions, she had a slender, small build, giving the impression of a truly delicate young girl.

“This is my first time tending fields or trees with my own hands, so I was worried… I’m really glad.”

“It’s more than just ‘glad.’ I just thought… if we sold these without revealing the growers, they’d become famous instantly. Then revealing your identity later might not be bad…”

For a moment, I considered using a trick, but soon shook my head and abandoned the idea.

I couldn’t even imagine the backlash that would follow such a sneaky act, so it seemed better to progress slowly, even if uncomfortable.

If it didn’t work out, we could always use them just for ourselves.

“I don’t know much about business, but… honesty is probably best, right?”

“Yes. We have plenty of time, so it’s fine to take it slow. This lifestyle already feels like a dream… honestly, I don’t want to ask for more.”

As if not only Ellen but all the other dark elves listening nearby felt satisfied with the current situation, they all nodded in unison.

Despite their reputation for being fierce, they showed an incredibly unassuming demeanor.

“I understand. From my position, it’s hard to accept not wanting more… but let’s take it easy.”