Ch.91Humanity with Humanity #3

I headed to the barracks where the elves were being held as soon as I finished my breakfast.

I used a carriage since I wasn’t stable enough to ride a horse or walk yet.

The fuss about how terrible it would be if my healing wounds reopened was still ringing in my ears.

“The Duke and the Grand Duke, visiting so early in the morning…!”

When we reached the checkpoint at the entrance to the barracks, the soldier on duty muttered in surprise.

It was understandable that he was shocked, as people who rarely visited the barracks had arrived in a group first thing in the morning.

I cautiously poked my head out of the carriage window and offered an apology.

After all, I was causing a commotion in what should have been a quiet barracks from early morning, even if I had no choice but to move.

“I’m sorry for causing a disturbance so early. Now that I can move around a bit, I’m itching to see those elves who ambushed me with my own eyes.”

“N-not at all! You’ve suffered greatly because of those damned creatures, so it’s only natural!”

“Thank you for understanding. May we pass through?”

I waved to the visibly tense soldier who cleared the way, and we entered the barracks.

A moment later, the slowly advancing carriage stopped in front of the building where the torture chamber was located.

It looked quite sturdy and was quite spacious, probably because it also served as a prison.

“Grand Duke, please let me carry you. Just relax and leave it to me.”

“I’ll carry you too, so come down without worry.”

I declined the two women who quickly got out of the carriage and extended their arms, instead accepting their light support as I stepped down.

They were being overly attentive despite my injuries not being severe enough to require such care.

“Welcome. I see the Grand Duke has joined us today.”

As we entered the building, a soldier serving as a guard bowed his head in greeting.

He seemed relatively composed despite a hint of tension, probably because Helena had been visiting daily.

I suppose even the highest-ranking humans become less intimidating when seen frequently.

“Yes. I’m feeling a bit better, so I came to visit. Are those damn bas— I mean, those elves inside?”

“They are. As a matter of note, they’re trembling at the thought of being tortured soon.”

Trembling, he says.

Hearing that, I felt a tiny bit of sympathy, but only a tiny bit.

Inwardly, I felt much more satisfaction.

“Ah… I see. Have they been fed properly and sufficiently?”

“As per the Duke’s instructions, they’ve been well fed. Following Lady Ellen’s advice on the menu, they haven’t shown any signs of being picky.”

Ellen’s position as a guest of the Duke’s family and my bodyguard was quite high.

In the past, when dark elves were viewed with contempt, this wouldn’t have been the case, but since those attitudes had faded, she was receiving proper treatment.

Of course, this was limited to within the Duke’s territory, but Ellen would bow her head as if even this much was more than she deserved.

Besides, it was impossible not to treat her well, as rumors had spread that she could match Helena in combat.

“It’s not the most pleasant place, but please stay as long as you wish.”

The soldier picked up three chairs from a corner as if being considerate of me, then immediately bowed and left.

He seemed to be good at reading the atmosphere, leaving without being asked to do so.

“Twelve of them? That’s quite a number.”

I pulled a chair near the iron bars and sat down, expressing my amazement.

I had expected there to be several of them since magic and arrows had been flying continuously, but I hadn’t thought there would be more than ten.

Not to mention the bandages wrapped around various parts of my body.

“It seems they planned for an armed reconnaissance from the beginning.”

Ellen, sitting to my left, muttered while glaring at those inside the cell with contempt.

She called it “armed reconnaissance” since they had conducted reconnaissance that required force, and it sounded quite plausible.

“And they’re huddled in the corner like that, terrified. After just one day.”

Helena sat down on my right and spoke in a cold tone.

I could see she was fidgeting, clearly wanting to cling to me.

She seemed to be restraining herself because we were in front of the elves. Ellen was doing the same.

“All of you, come over here now.”

When Helena spoke with mana infused in her voice, the elves who had been cowering in the corner all turned around at once.

They looked quite pitiful, huddled together and trembling, their expressions crumbling with fear and shadow.

The two women by my side must have been quite intimidating.

“I-I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything, so please spare our lives!”

Clank! They instinctively clung to the iron bars as soon as they saw Helena’s face.

Their eyes were desperate, as if their lives would end if they couldn’t escape right now.

Their voices were equally urgent, and they shook the bars violently as if trying to break them down.

The noise was so loud that I unconsciously furrowed my brow slightly, but this turned out to be an unintended mistake.

“You beasts worse than animals! Stop that right now!”

Whether she thought I was in pain from my wounds or she read my mind about the noise being irritating, she shouted in anger just because I had furrowed my brow.

With mana infused in her voice, it was like a lion’s roar.

What was surprising was that this loud voice didn’t actually ring in my or Ellen’s ears.

She must have controlled the direction of the sound even while shouting.

There was no other explanation for this strange phenomenon.

“Eeeek!”

At that, the elves immediately let go of the bars and cowered intensely.

They were far from the proud forest people who lived with dignity.

Of course, Helena’s fierce aura would be frightening, but their reaction was extreme.

They seemed to be suffering from PTSD… post-traumatic stress disorder.

Anyway, thanks to Helena, the atmosphere finally calmed down.

I gently stroked her back in gratitude.

“First, relax. Today, instead of torture, I’ll ask the questions you’ve been desperately hoping for.”

Having heard from them that torture was being carried out more to vent frustration than to gather information, I first reassured the elves.

They showed happy faces as soon as I said there would be no torture. The carrot approach seemed quite effective.

I pointed to the elf clinging to the leftmost part of the bars and spoke in an arrogant tone.

Having multiple people trying to speak at once would only create noise.

“It would be too noisy if all of you spoke at once. So you will answer. Understood?”

“Y-yes…! I’ll do anything, anything!”

Judging by his desperation, he seemed willing to give me his liver, gallbladder, or anything else.

I felt he might even kindly reveal secret information about elf villages or hidden paths if I asked.

“Good. Then I’ll ask my first question. Who sent you?”

“T-the elf village, no… the elven race!”

“Since you are elves, it’s easy to assume elves sent you. You know very well that’s not what I’m asking. Answer clearly.”

“W-well…! Ah! It was the collective decision of the entire elven race!”

In human terms, that would mean an entire kingdom conspired together.

It was quite surprising.

If they had been sent from a single village, I might have accepted it, but that wasn’t the case.

Outwardly, I frowned and looked displeased, but inwardly I was extremely surprised.

“I’ve heard that you live scattered in various villages. Are you saying all of you gathered and came to a consensus?”

“Yes! Eileen Oberon, the chief of Oberon village, convened a grand council and led this mission!”

Oberon village is where the artifact is located, and it’s also the village Ellen visited.

In that sense, I might not be completely unconnected to them, but we’ve never even seen each other’s faces.

“Eileen, you say. The name sounds like a woman’s… is that right?”

“Y-yes! Eileen Oberon is a woman!”

“I see. But why did this Eileen woman lead the effort to capture me? Is she so stupid that she couldn’t predict what would happen if she provoked me?”

While asking about their motives, I simultaneously belittled the chief with contempt, but they didn’t seem to mind at all.

Some even nodded slightly, as if implicitly blaming Eileen.

That’s understandable.

“F-first of all… targeting you, noble sir, was for the purpose of controlling the dark elf beside you.”

“Ellen…? For what purpose?”

“Because she obtained the power of the artifact.”

Despite his trembling, the elf answered quite clearly and concisely.

They wanted to manipulate Ellen, who had obtained the artifact, and since they couldn’t do it with their full power, they thought of using me.

It was a fairly logical strategy.

Ellen is attached to me and was willing to risk her life to be loved.

If the elves knew this, it made sense that they would target me, seeing me as relatively vulnerable.

If things had gone well, they could have gained great benefits.

But as things turned out, they failed completely.

“What was the reason for wanting to control her? Was it to gain benefits by manipulating Ellen?”

“N-no. The grand council was concerned that a dark elf who obtained the artifact might use that power against elves someday, following the greed of the human man she’s fallen for and stays beside.”

“Oh. That’s an interesting thought. And it sounds plausible too.”

Being able to control natural disasters at will is indeed dangerous.

Especially in this era, as these creatures said, one could start wars according to one’s desires, achieve certain victory, and exploit the continent.

Probably anyone would think that way at least once.

Moreover, they don’t know what my disposition is like or what my goals are.

So I didn’t think their idea of preparing in advance for a potential future threat was entirely wrong.

It’s just that from the perspective of the victim, it’s disgusting and infuriating beyond measure.

“But you know what? You failed in the end, didn’t you? Thanks to you, I nearly died, and I’m still recovering. Though I can move now, exercise is still difficult… I can’t even properly enjoy my daily routines.”

I put my arm around Ellen’s waist and spoke in the coldest voice possible.

As a result, I could see Ellen’s cheeks turning red with delight, and Helena looking at her with jealous eyes.

It felt like experiencing two extremes at once.

Gulp. The elf who had been quietly watching swallowed dryly and asked.

“By daily routines, you mean…?”

“That’s none of your business. And you don’t have the luxury to worry about it, do you? As soon as my body recovers, I’m thinking of acting according to the very justification you were concerned about. It would be quite fun.”

Embracing Ellen conspicuously and enjoying their reactions while smirking was a calculated move.

It was also a threat that this is the kind of person I am, and since they provoked me, they would pay the price in blood.

The elf seemed to realize this and began to stammer in great confusion.

“T-that is…!”

“Ah. I don’t need any more information. Ellen knows where the elf villages are, and I plan to go there to collect my dues. It would be nice to sink the entire village under water or sweep it away with a typhoon using Ellen’s power that you fear so much.”

If you dare to provoke a Grand Duke of a country, you must pay the price. Conveying this intention, the elves’ faces turned deathly pale. I had no intention of making them pay with their lives, but I wanted them to feel more fear this way.

“P-please spare the village at least…!”

Was it greed that grew once they felt relieved?

The word “village” flowed from the mouth of an elf who had been begging only to spare their lives or not to torture them.

Either the village was that precious to them, or they had gained some composure.

“Spare? Did that abominable mouth just say ‘spare’?”

I drew up as much mana as I could, though it was minimal, and displayed my anger.

Of course, this too was an act, but the atmosphere had become so tense that they were visibly terrified.

That was fine, but what I didn’t expect was that Helena and Ellen, sitting beside me, also withdrew their fierce gazes and looked scared.

It made me briefly wonder if I should have pursued acting as a career.

“You dare to ask for mercy after provoking a Grand Duke of a country?! How utterly abominable!!”

After threatening the elf as if I was ready to wage war right now, I slowly breathed and pretended to calm down.

“Haaah—. Come to think of it, a request from the likes of you won’t protect your village. What can a mere scout like you do?”

I decided to start dropping bait, giving these creatures an opening.

“So bring me all your leaders. Every single one of them, without exception.”