Ch.84Kanpf’s Raid #1

“Damn it…”

Albert Oberon, one of the gatekeepers of Oberon Village, frowned as he leaned against a sturdy tree.

Though his duty of sitting on a high branch and looking down below might seem boring, the thought of boredom never crossed his mind. It was thanks to all elves enjoying their time breathing in the forest air freely.

“Hey, Albert. Time’s up. Come down.”

Was it already time for the shift change?

Albert was inwardly surprised at how long he had spent dwelling on his anger, and slid down the tree with practiced ease. It was something he did regularly, so the motion was second nature to him.

“Already time to change shifts? Time flies. Good work.”

“Hmm. Indeed. By the way, when you return to the village, go straight to Lady Eileen’s house. She’s asking for you.”

Silan, his replacement, smiled slightly as he delivered this unexpected message.

The instruction to go straight to Chief Eileen’s house troubled Albert, but he had no choice but to go. With that thought, he hastened his steps.

The village was beautiful as always, and the trees—larger, more majestic, and sturdier than in any other village—were Albert’s pride. The fact that this was the most prosperous among all elven villages only heightened that pride.

Perhaps that was why he felt that Eileen, the female chief of this village, was like a queen of the elves. Though the leaders of each village were said to be equals, it appeared differently to his eyes.

Beautiful even among elves where beauty was the norm, with long light-green hair neatly braided down her back, Erillen Oberon was nothing short of an idol.

“Welcome. You must be tired after finishing your shift. I’m sorry for calling you like this.”

“Not at all. If the chief calls, I must come. But, may I ask why…?”

Albert maintained an excessively formal and stiff demeanor out of respect.

Eileen looked at the man with a slight smile at the corner of her lips, then led him into the living room. A cup of tea, commonly enjoyed by elves, was offered as a bonus.

“Thank you.”

Was she suggesting he take a sip first to calm his mind? Or did she want to take her time?

I couldn’t tell, but I couldn’t rudely refuse her hospitality.

That much was certain, thought Albert as he drank his tea and listened attentively to Eileen, who seemed to be taking her time. He was focused on whatever she might say.

Clatter.

When the teacup was half empty and the hot steam had cooled to lukewarm, Eileen finally spoke.

“Albert. You remember the dark elf who visited a few months ago, don’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Why was she suddenly bringing up that incident?

Albert unconsciously furrowed his brow, showing his discomfort. Though everyone was wary, dark elves were still elves after all.

It wasn’t like an invasion by completely unrelated outsiders, so he remembered it had been resolved with just a few days of probation.

Could it be that she thought the punishment was insufficient and now wanted to impose additional penalties?

As Albert nervously swallowed and was about to be consumed by his growing paranoia, Eileen’s voice brought him back to reality.

“I’m not trying to interrogate you about that incident. But… things have taken a rather peculiar turn.”

“What do you mean by ‘peculiar turn’?”

“That dark elf you sent away has apparently obtained a Legacy.”

A Legacy?! Albert momentarily lost his composure and slammed his hand on the table with a loud thud.

He, who had always strictly maintained proper etiquette before the chief, had caused a commotion. That’s how shocking the news of obtaining a Legacy was to him.

“Is that really true?!”

Despite failing to notice his own breach of etiquette, Albert raised his voice, but Eileen nodded calmly, seemingly unbothered. It was news that would surprise anyone, not just him.

“Ellen, was it? The dark elf you had no choice but to let in challenged the Legacy and emerged safely. Other villagers who saw someone in a robe walking out from the Legacy site probably thought they were just returning from sightseeing. Because those who survive the Legacy challenge can be counted on one hand throughout the long history of elves.”

That’s why no one would have imagined that someone calmly walking out from the relic site had actually obtained a Legacy.

The trials of the Legacy were considered fatal for everyone who attempted them.

And now an elf had actually broken through those trials and gained power. And it was that filthy dark elf!

Albert’s mind was a jumble of confusion and anger, leaving no room for calm thought.

Eileen, having experienced the same shock when she first heard the news, could fully understand why he stood there dumbfounded.

However, she couldn’t wait forever, so she decided to slowly continue with the next part of the story.

His ears seemed open, so he should be able to hear, Eileen concluded.

“At first, I was skeptical. Since we couldn’t hear any news about the woman who had gone in to challenge the Legacy trials, I assumed she had died on her own. As you know, when someone challenges the Legacy, they disappear without even leaving a corpse within seconds.”

Whether burning in fire, being eroded by wind, dissolving in water, and so on…

Though the phenomena differed, the result was always the same—death without leaving a corpse.

“That’s right. It happens instantly, and they vanish instantly.”

“Yes. But according to news brought by family members who work outside, this Ellen you mentioned is apparently still alive and well. And she’s at none other than the Krauser Duchy.”

“A duke?! Are you saying she’s voluntarily serving as a human’s guard! Well, I suppose it makes sense for someone who’s always been covered in dirty blood.”

Albert was shocked first by the news of Ellen’s survival, and then again by the fact that she was attached to a human duke.

His disgust grew even stronger.

While elves don’t generally look down on humans, the situation of seemingly lowering oneself to curry favor with them didn’t sit well with him.

“So I quietly sent spies to confirm this information, and they recently returned with news. The information was proven true, and the dark elf is currently staying in the Krauser territory with a mercenary group she’s part of.”

“Is that so? But why go to such lengths…?”

No matter how persecuted dark elves might be, they wouldn’t disrupt the entire elven community with a Legacy.

Albert thought this based on the arrogance common to all elves, but Eileen didn’t seem to share his view.

“Because I believe that power could pose a significant threat to us elves.”

“A threat? Do you really think so?”

“Yes. It’s not simply because she’s with humans. I’ve judged her dangerous because she loves a human.”

Eileen explained that the object of Ellen’s affection was Zion Krauser, husband of the Duchess Krauser and a Grand Duke himself.

While she couldn’t fully grasp Ellen’s madness, she could confirm that Ellen harbored romantic feelings for him.

“Zion Krauser is a human with quite a good reputation. I hear he’s also quite strong. But humans are beings who can reveal their inherent greed at any moment, and that makes them dangerous.”

“Yes. You’re absolutely right.”

“If that human ever develops greed for our elven territory or for elves themselves, he will undoubtedly wield the power of the Legacy at his side without hesitation. That would pose a major threat to our safety.”

“Hmm…”

He never would have thought such circumstances existed.

For Albert, the idea of a dark elf falling for a man was equally inconceivable.

Objectively speaking, dark elves have been persecuted by both elves and humans.

In such an environment, it would be difficult to harbor even slight affection for humans, let alone love.

Yet this seemingly impossible situation had become reality.

Behind it all, the human named Zion Krauser must have had a profound influence.

Otherwise, a woman who distanced herself from all races except fellow dark elves wouldn’t have fallen in love.

After organizing his thoughts, Albert slowly spoke.

“In that case, what do you plan to do, Chief?”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure myself.”

She spoke as if she had something in mind, but then offered no conclusion.

Albert couldn’t hide his disappointment, but he found himself nodding involuntarily at what she said next.

While he and most other elves were unfamiliar with human affairs, they knew well how threatening a Swordmaster could be. Moreover, the fact that this Swordmaster was a duke whom a woman like Ellen was wrapped around made the situation all the more troublesome.

A Swordmaster and an elf with a Legacy.

Albert felt his mind going blank at the thought of such a formidable combination.

“But I don’t live in this world alone. So, though it will take some time, I’ll immediately dispatch messengers to all elven villages. We need to gather all the chiefs for a Grand Council.”

The Grand Council—convened only to discuss matters of utmost importance, such as the survival of the entire race.

Eileen, as both the chief of Oberon Village and the chairperson of the Grand Council, resolved to gather all thirty village chiefs.

Albert nodded in agreement, seeing the logic in her decision.

If what Eileen had suggested came to pass, all elves would be in danger.

“Albert. Please go to the military camp right away and select thirty swift individuals to dispatch to each village. It’s urgent.”

“Yes! I’ll go right away!”

◎◎◎

It took several days to deliver the news to the chiefs of the twenty-nine villages besides Oberon, and several more days for them to arrive.

In total, it took about a week.

And now, they were spending even more time trying to reach a consensus in the rarely used Grand Council chamber.

Except for times spent eating and resting, they fiercely exchanged and divided opinions on the newly raised issue.

Given the nature of the matter, reaching an agreement was proving to be far from easy.

Some argued that the full force of the elves should be mobilized, while others opposed this, saying it risked shaking the very roots of the elven race.

Some suggested they should simply observe, likening intervention to poking a quiet beehive.

They seemed close to reaching a conclusion but never quite got there, and the precarious balancing act continued.

Ellen’s power alone was enough of a headache, but another massive obstacle stood firmly in their way.

It was only natural that opinions were divided.

Amidst all this, the number of those who agreed with Eileen’s opinion was gradually increasing.

They too understood how dangerous it was for an elf to be deeply in love with a human, especially one with elven power.

—So then…

—No, if that happens, then…

The problem remained unsolved, with only more potentially negative possibilities being raised.

As all the chiefs grew weary from the unprecedentedly long Grand Council, one elf put forward an idea that caught everyone’s attention.

Everyone was tired, so they were inclined to accept anything that sounded reasonable.

Kidnap Zion and take control of the reins.

Since both the Swordmaster and the elf with the Legacy were devoted to one man, they should use that man—this idea made everyone’s eyes sparkle.

Rather than negotiation, they were considering kidnapping, magic, and items to brainwash him.

They didn’t trust human greed enough for negotiations, so they sought stability through more definitive means.

And all the chiefs gathered there agreed.

They would watch for an opportunity to kidnap Zion, who seemed relatively vulnerable.