Ch.6969. Subjugation Force (3)

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“…”

“…”

Tatiana and Elia were silently staring at the ground across from the crackling campfire.

Given that they couldn’t possibly ask two high nobles to prepare for camping, despite their status, they had taken on all the camping preparations themselves.

“Tent, sleeping bag, preserved combat rations. Wow, brings back memories…”

“…Have you done this before?”

“Many times. Not at the Campbell Barony though.”

“…?”

Though Darwood’s explanation was somewhat cryptic, it seemed his words weren’t empty boasting, as he had skillfully finished setting up camp with the group.

And now he had disappeared with the Grand Duke and the Margrave, saying he would devise a “subjugation plan.” The two left behind were on watch duty.

‘What kind of person was he before?’

He was someone with suspiciously many hidden talents.

Weren’t these the kinds of skills one would learn in the military?

‘…Come to think of it.’

She remembered that the initial reason she became friendly with him was because she had forcibly inserted herself into his life out of curiosity about what kind of person he was.

She had definitely approached him thinking he must have some connection to the Tristan Dukedom.

At some point, rather than that reason, she found herself spending more time around him simply because she thought he was fascinating.

‘What kind of relationship do these two have?’

She thought this while watching Elnore poking at the campfire with a stick.

They were definitely close. It was obvious even from observation that they were the first to rely on each other in urgent situations.

If so.

Why did that man…

-Leave Elia completely to me. I promise you won’t regret it.

Why would he say such a thing?

Elia widened her eyes and barely managed to calm the heat rising to her ears.

‘…No, no, I don’t like him or anything like that yet!’

Anyway, her “grudge” against the Tristan Dukedom was still intact.

Though that man often said or did things that strangely pierced her heart, if she thought she had fallen for him, that would be a big misunderstanding!

Until that issue was resolved, she had no intention of accepting him…!

‘…Wait a minute.’

Was she just assuming that she would accept him if only that issue was resolved?

‘No, no, that’s not it…!’

While she was gathering excuses for no one in particular, Elnore suddenly jumped up from across the fire.

She was trembling as she grabbed her sword, clearly terrified. It was fascinating how her expression remained unchanged despite this.

“…!”

Elia’s gaze sharpened in response. If this person was reacting this way, there must be a threat nearby-

“…”

Elia’s expression went blank when she saw what Elnore was pointing her sword at.

“…What are you doing with that bug?”

Elnore looked down at the ground in disbelief.

There was a creature about the size of a human palm wriggling there.

“…This is a bug? Not the remnant of a magical beast?”

“Country bugs all look like that. Is this your first time seeing one?”

“…”

What kind of demonic realm was the countryside?

While such thoughts crossed Elnore’s mind, Elia walked over and casually picked up the creature.

It was a beetle. A particularly large one.

“Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these.”

“…A while?”

“They were common in my hometown. I used to play with them like this.”

Elia smiled brightly as she handled it skillfully.

The bug crawled up her arm, wriggling.

“…”

Seeing this, Elnore staggered backward.

The bug even crawled up to Elia’s face, but she just giggled as if it tickled.

“Don’t get caught by scary people and live a long life~”

After playing with it for a while, Elia finally released the bug, waving her hand with an amused expression.

“…Student Council President? What are you doing?”

She then noticed Elnore crouching far away, trembling and seemingly denying the world’s existence.

She was holding her head and shaking violently, looking as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Stay away from me, you monster…!”

“…”

What kind of nonsense was this from someone who could slice people up without changing her expression?

‘Is she afraid of bugs?’

She pondered this thought as she plopped back down in front of the campfire.

It was a precious sight, though.

When she had always seen her at the Academy, she had only projected an expressionless, stern atmosphere, so she never imagined she would have this side to her.

She had seemed like someone who would calmly cut off the head of a demon with her own hands if one appeared.

“…”

She watched as Elnore hesitantly returned to the campfire.

If she had thought as she always did…

That all people from the Tristan Dukedom were trash no different from demons, and had avoided approaching them altogether…

She would never have discovered this side of them.

‘…This too.’

It was all because of that man.

If not for him, there wouldn’t have been any opportunity to become entangled with them.

“Excuse me, President.”

She suddenly spoke up because of these thoughts.

It was a question she would never normally ask, but she had a strong feeling that if not now, she would never have the chance.

“Are you on bad terms with the Grand Duke?”

Elnore’s eyebrow twitched at the question.

“…What is your intention in asking?”

“If it’s rude, you don’t have to answer. But.”

She looked directly into Elnore’s eyes as she continued.

“I’ve been trained by the Margrave since I was young, getting beaten up a lot. So while he’s scary, still.”

“…”

“I definitely feel that he cares for me. Just the fact that he rushed here immediately for this incident despite being busy shows that.”

High nobles are people whose mere absence from their positions becomes gossip-worthy.

Even though they have deputies to handle affairs in their territories, they are still the final decision-makers.

The fact that he flew here just because of a letter shows how much he values her.

And that’s despite their relationship being adoptive father-daughter, not blood-related.

But the relationship between Elnore and Gideon…

“…It seems like you view him as an enemy.”

Gideon’s attitude toward Elnore is terrifyingly consistent.

Disregard.

He shows no reaction to her presence, as if he doesn’t even recognize her existence.

Elnore’s attitude is somewhat similar.

However.

Unlike Gideon, unmistakable hostility flows from her eyes whenever she looks at him.

“It’s strange. I wonder if there’s a reason for a child to look at their parent that way.”

“That is indeed a very rude question, Elia Krisanax.”

“…”

That’s true.

Elia nodded with a bitter smile.

“But I can answer simply.”

Really?

Elia looked at her with round eyes, and Elnore continued in a calm voice.

“…There are several reasons.”

From the harsh training since childhood to the near-abusive indoctrination of all the norms a noble lady should follow.

From any perspective, these memories would make it difficult for a child to like their parent.

“…”

Yet, reflecting on childhood memories.

She remembers that her relationship with her father wasn’t all bad. Rather, it was harmonious.

Clearly, until a certain point…

“But the biggest reason… well.”

That memory was still vivid.

“The Tristan Grand Duke killed my mother.”

Elia’s breathing suddenly became shallow.

What was this person saying?

“What do you mean, killed…?”

“Exactly what I said. There’s nothing to add.”

It was a summer day.

Blazing sunlight. Father’s study.

A much younger Elnore had run there with a bright smile, wanting to show something to her father.

She couldn’t even remember what it was. Perhaps a drawing she wanted to show off.

And then.

The smell of blood flowing out from beyond the door.

Her father holding a blood-stained sword. And on the floor…

“…”

Elnore closed her eyes briefly in silence.

But when she opened them again…

“That man.”

Her voice remained calm. Her expression remained unchanged.

“Is not my parent. He’s merely an opponent I will one day bring down.”

There was no time to ask why it happened or why he did such a thing.

The hostility in her eyes as she spoke was so terrifying that even Elia couldn’t move.

“Does that answer your question?”

“…”

A heavy, frozen atmosphere settled around them.

Elnore herself was poking at the embers with a placid expression despite having said such things.

‘…This person.’

She had only thought of her as an enemy.

But she clearly harbored much more complicated circumstances than appearances suggested.

To the point where she wanted to know more deeply.

As Elia was thinking this while looking at her, Elnore suddenly spoke.

“Now that I’ve answered your question, may I ask one of my own?”

“…Huh? Yes?”

“You. How far have you gone with Darwood?”

“…”

Gone where?

“…What is your intention in asking that?”

“Hmm.”

Elnore stroked her chin and exhaled through her nose.

“I’ve only gotten as far as hugging him.”

“…What?”

“Well, I’m half resigned to the fact that he goes around charming women as he pleases. It seems to be in his nature.”

“…”

“However.”

Elnore continued in a chilling voice.

It was enough to make Elia, who had been listening quietly, flinch.

“It’s not acceptable to confuse flirtation with something ‘real.’ Having another woman get ahead of me is a bit troublesome. I might not be able to tolerate it.”

“…What would you do if you couldn’t tolerate it?”

“…”

Elnore fell silent in return, stroking her chin again.

She seemed not to have thought that far.

“Ah, I see.”

She eventually spoke as if she’d had a good idea.

“How about killing that woman?”

“…”

“I can’t kill Darwood, after all. Don’t you think that would be best?”

What’s best about that?

Is this person insane?

“So, I asked how far you’ve gone. Seeing that Darwood has already made plans to go to your hometown with you before me seems quite suspicious-“

“…I, I haven’t even held his hand yet!”

It was a lightning-fast confession.

It was a bit sad to admit this, but survival took priority.

“…”

Hearing this, Elnore quietly nodded.

That seemed acceptable to her.

“I’ll allow hand-holding.”

“…”

“But no hugging. That’s as far as I’ve gotten. Understood?”

“…”

I see.

Trisha would heave a deep sigh if she saw how eagerly she had sent Elia here, but Elia decided to just nod.

Well, competition aside, survival came first.

The noble lady before her truly seemed like she would kill any woman who became too entangled with Darwood.

“Whoa!”

“Aah!”

While pondering this,

Two people suddenly fell from the sky.

“…”

Somehow, being around this man often led to experiences of other people suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

She narrowed her eyes at the two who had landed with a thud on the ground.

“That man, really! Just giving us coordinates and telling us to jump over there! I’ve felt this before, but he’s incredibly harsh when using people!”

“Sister, you say that but you did everything Darwood told you to do.”

“…Be quiet, Yuria.”

Elnore’s eyes widened as she saw the two people getting up while grumbling.

“Saint Lucien?”

“Oh, Tristan Duchess?”

Lucien tilted her head as she dusted off her clothes.

Given their positions, they had passed each other at official events even if they hadn’t spoken directly.

Therefore, Elnore, knowing what a significant figure the other was, couldn’t help but ask in an uncharacteristically flustered voice.

“What brings you here?”

“…Originally, I came to mediate when I heard that the Tristan Grand Duke and the Kendrid Margrave would be gathering.”

Lucien looked around the camp as she said this.

She would need to see the parties involved to confirm, but judging by the number of people, they were definitely “camping together.”

That meant they weren’t in a life-or-death confrontational mood.

“…From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like I need to do that. I have a feeling he called us here to make us do something else…”

“Where is Darwood?”

Yuria’s words cut off what her sister was saying.

She seemed to care about nothing else.

“…”

Elnore flinched at those words, but Yuria continued looking around, unconcerned.

Her hand was nervously fidgeting with her collar.

“…I’d like him to touch this.”

“…”

“Or he could grab me and throw me around like usual…”

“…What kind of habit have you developed?”

While Lucien was objecting with a voice suggesting vertigo,

Elia, watching this scene, felt a chill down her spine and quickly turned her head.

Elnore’s body had gone from twitching to trembling.

“…May I ask your name?”

“Hmm?”

Yuria turned her head toward Elnore at the question.

“I’m Yuria Greyhaunter. And you are… the Tristan Duchess?”

“Pleased to meet you, Yuria Greyhaunter. As you said, I am Elnore Erinarise la Tristan.”

The sentence was polite enough. But Elia’s spine was growing increasingly cold as she watched Elnore.

“May I ask what your relationship is with Darwood Campbell?”

Yuria tilted her head.

She seemed to be carefully considering how to express it.

“…Someone very important to me?”

“…”

A crack seemed to appear in Elnore’s expression.

“Then, that collar, what exactly…?”

“Darwood put it on me.”

“…”

“It makes me feel at ease when I wear it. Before, when he used to grab it and pull me around-“

By the time she heard that, Elia was having flashbacks of the sentence she had just heard.

-It’s not acceptable to confuse flirtation with something ‘real.’ Having another woman get ahead of me is a bit troublesome. I might not be able to tolerate it.

Someone who couldn’t tolerate another person hugging that man…

Meeting a woman who says she likes being pulled around by that man with a collar on.

“…”

She let out a small “hmm.”

‘…Darwood is in big trouble, isn’t he?’

Indeed, he was.

●

“…I found it, but.”

I put away the magical engineering telescope.

Gray energy can be seen sporadically flowing from the middle of the mountain.

“It’s going to be much harder to catch than I thought.”

The fact that magical energy is visibly emanating like that means the demon fragment has deeply fused with the magical beast.

This could raise the difficulty level of the battle higher than we anticipated.

“Looks dangerous. We’d have a hard time without a holy power specialist.”

Krat said this, but I just let out a small laugh as I came down from the high rock.

“I’ve already invited one.”

They should have arrived at the base camp by now.

‘Speaking of base camp…’

There’s a reason I only brought Gideon and Krat this time.

< System Log >

[ Targets ‘Elia’ and ‘Elnore’ have a sincere conversation with each other. ]

[ The bond between the two characters has increased slightly! ]

[ Forming parties with members who have accumulated bonds provides various stat bonuses! ]

That’s right.

During side quests like this, if you leave party members together, “bond-forming” events often occur. Especially if you put them together in the same “lodging.”

Considering that main quests usually happen quickly within a few days, while side quests tend to stretch out longer, the system seems designed that way.

“Hey, scholar. Why have you been so quiet?”

“…”

While I was pondering this, Krat threw those words at Gideon, who was standing blankly beside us.

Gideon just silently clenched and unclenched his fist instead of answering.

“…Don’t interfere, barbarian.”

With that curt response, Gideon turned and walked off somewhere.

“What’s with him? Where’s he going?”

“…I’m going to hunt some magical beasts nearby.”

It was a declaration that he was going to engage in unnecessary combat right before tomorrow’s subjugation, but neither Krat nor I tried to stop him.

Because we knew that man needed to cut something down to feel satisfied in his current state.

“Hey.”

Krat looked at me with a slightly lowered voice.

“You know his condition is serious, right?”

“I know.”

“And you’re plotting something with that?”

“…How did you know?”

“You’re not even pretending to hide it, you bastard.”

Krat chuckled as he answered.

“I can tell just by looking. You don’t seem like a thoughtless guy, yet you brought someone who’s clearly out of control all the way here.”

He continued with a sigh.

“You know about the curse on that scholar’s family, right? If we make a wrong move during this mission, we could all die because of him.”

“…”

I know.

But.

Mediating between Elnore and that man is one of the essential steps I’m thinking of to break that family’s curse.

For that purpose, it’s actually much better for Gideon to maintain his current state.

“…If you help me, it might be resolved more easily than you think.”

“Whatever. Since I’m already involved with you, I’ll see what you can do. I’ll follow along as far as I can. Use me however you want.”

Krat turned to me with a smiling face.

“But.”

Though his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“If you mess up and Elia gets hurt, you’re dead, understand?”

“…”

As always.

This person is an extreme daughter-doting father.

‘…Calivan would be pleased to see this.’

I think this as I look at the amulet on my wrist.

The reason this person is so devoted to Elia is also because of a “promise” he shared with the person inside this.

Well, whichever it is, that story will all be resolved in Chapter 4, which revolves around Elia.

Establishing a relationship with Krat now will definitely help then.

“…That won’t happen, so let’s head back. We need to rest well for tomorrow’s subjugation.”

I turn around with that thought. Now that we’ve finished what we needed to do, we just need to finalize the plan.

Tonight might be spent somewhat leisurely-

[ A crisis situation has been detected. ]

[ It is judged to be a direct threat to life. ]

[ ‘Skill: Dire Straits’ will be applied at EX rank. ]

< System Message >

[!Warning!]

[ It is recommended that you return to camp immediately! ]

“…”

What now?

●