Ch.92Humanity with Humanity #4

“Listen well. One month. You have one month to bring me all of your heads. As for what will happen if you don’t… well, you know very well.”

When you escape one hell, another awaits you.

Nevertheless, they had no choice but to enter that hell.

Heads—meaning the village chiefs—must be gathered, or it would be considered a declaration of war.

The elven scouts, shuddering at Zion’s cold warning before being released from prison, hastily rode their horses back to their forest.

Not a gesture of goodwill, but rather a whip driving their urgency even further.

The scouts knew him well, so they rode faster, trying to go even a little quicker.

Before the final hell blocked their path.

.

One month. A rather generous timeframe, considering how long it would take for the village chiefs to gather and come here.

According to Ellen, there are thirty elven villages in total, each with its own chief.

That means one chief per village, with the villages irregularly spaced apart.

It would take several days to reach Oberon Village or the nearest village from here.

Then, using the village that received the news as a base, dispatching messengers to gather them, and finally having them all travel here would take considerable time.

Though I had threatened to start a war if they were even slightly late, I sincerely hoped they would arrive on time.

Despite my blood boiling at the thought of nearly dying at the hands of those Ganf bastards.

Since coming to this world, I had taken several human lives and even killed elves to use as shields.

I had long since moved past feeling guilty about killing.

I might have to kill people, or similar races, to escape dangerous situations in the future.

Nevertheless, the reason I offered a grace period was simple—I wanted to avoid becoming a mass murderer if possible.

That was also the fundamental reason for my reincarnation in this world.

“Haaah…”

I cut off these gloomy thoughts and stretched in the balcony’s dawn air.

While the elves were frantically moving about, I focused solely on recovery, and thanks to that, I was able to fully heal about a week after sending them off.

After receiving a clean bill of health from the apothecary, who serves as this continent’s doctor, I went wild satisfying my pent-up desires.

Today too, I had just left behind two women convulsing in bed with their eyes rolled back.

During this time, I had given gifts to Olivia and the mercenaries as a token of gratitude, and also sent care packages to Eve, who now lived in the newly built house next door.

She looked so pitiful, apologizing for not being able to help.

Afterward, I spent time handling backlogged work and receiving training from Helena, trying to normalize my routine.

“Ugh!”

I frowned at the smell dissolving in the wind and immediately headed to the bathroom.

I wanted to quickly get rid of that pungent, foul odor.

As a result, I finished an untimely bath in the early dawn.

“Ah, ahhh…”

After showering, as I was putting on formal attire that had become as familiar as jeans and t-shirts, I instinctively turned my head toward the moaning sounds from the bed.

Faces flushed red as if savoring the afterglow despite having fainted.

The slightly convulsing bodies were quite impressive.

They would wake up if I washed them, and it seemed unkind to leave them as they were.

So I carefully wiped their bodies with warm, damp towels, then dried them with dry ones.

I put away the soiled bedding for washing and covered them with fresh blankets.

Fortunately, everything had happened on top of the covers, so I only needed to change those.

It was still dark, but dawn was approaching.

This massive mansion was still asleep, but soon it would come alive as if nothing had happened.

“Hmm?”

While walking alone through the mansion grounds enjoying the cool air, I noticed a strange commotion outside the mansion.

It was almost the end of dawn, not a time when people would normally visit.

Could someone be climbing over the wall?

I tilted my head and leisurely walked toward the main gate.

The presence I felt growing stronger as I approached wasn’t particularly threatening, and my body was in good condition.

Also, though it’s nothing to boast about, this was an easy place to escape from.

Unlike when fleeing from the elves’ attack, I had reliable women right in front of me.

However, the man whose eyes met mine as he was trying to climb over the high mansion wall was someone I never expected.

“Holland? What are you doing there?”

A man with a handsome beard and brown hair swept back.

Though his manner and appearance might make him seem like a playboy at first glance, he was actually Holland, the knight who commanded the duchy’s military forces.

“Oh, Your Grace. Perfect timing.”

“Heave!”

As if he’d been waiting, he climbed over the high wall and jumped down without hesitation.

It was a height that could cause serious injury if one simply jumped.

Holland was fine only because he was at the Expert level; an ordinary person wouldn’t dare attempt it.

“Perfect timing… Why were you trying to climb over the mansion wall at the crack of dawn?”

“I had urgent news, so I came as a messenger myself. The mansion gate won’t have staff until morning, right? I was considering waiting until then to send someone, but…”

“So you decided to just go ahead and do it.”

I unconsciously sighed and shook my head, then asked Holland what this urgent matter was.

“Anyway, what is this matter?”

“Those elf bastards who attacked you before. They’ve come in a group.”

“What?”

The elves have come.

The moment I heard those words, my scattered emotions settled down calmly amid the bewilderment.

Holland, knowing this, dropped his smooth manner and assumed a properly formal posture.

He too must have known about everything that had happened so far.

“Tsk. Coming at such an early hour. They truly have no manners. They have no right to despise dark elves as filthy.”

I could understand that they had spent a lot of time gathering and discussing opinions, and I wondered how urgent it must have been for them to visit at such an early hour.

The problem was whether I could fully accept that.

And since I found it difficult to accept, I naturally felt irritation rising.

If I hadn’t been taking a dawn walk, Holland might have stormed into the mansion causing a commotion, and it could have been a truly unpleasant morning.

“…Sigh. So, where are they?”

“They came to the south gate, so I had them accommodated in the barracks there, and after hearing the news, I headed straight here.”

“How many are there?”

“According to reports, forty.”

Forty, huh. With thirty chiefs, the remaining ten must have come as escorts and attendants.

It was natural for the delegation to be small since they weren’t sending an official envoy, but it seemed their vanity hadn’t completely drained away.

“I understand. I need to go there right away.”

“Without an escort?”

Holland suggested with concern that I take an escort, but I shook my head, saying there was no need.

It felt more comfortable to face them alone, and by simple calculation, it didn’t seem problematic.

Unlike the isolated farmland where they had attacked before, they were now in barracks teeming with soldiers.

If they caused trouble, they would find themselves surrounded by soldiers on all sides.

It was a very disadvantageous environment for them to try to kidnap me again.

Also, even if they did attempt a surprise attack considering all these factors, it would be fine.

While village chiefs might be superior to ordinary elves, they were still at the level of ordinary elves.

Even estimating their abilities highly, they were clearly inferior to Ellen.

The elves’ arrival meant they wanted to avoid war, but even considering the worst-case scenario, I could easily escape.

“I’d feel bad waking Ellen who’s sleeping exhausted. I’ll leave a quick note, so let me stop by the mansion office first.”

I went into the mansion office with Holland and left a note saying I was heading to the south gate.

I pinned the note with a dagger at the visible mansion entrance and immediately ran toward the south gate without a word.

Using mana, I could run faster than a horse, saving time.

Of course, continuous running would be very tiring, making it difficult to travel long distances.

But the south gate of the duchy was within a distance I could reach just as sweat began to form.

In the end, I saved time and avoided the commotion that would have occurred if I had brought a horse.

“Not just the captain, but even Your Grace at such an early hour…”

As I reached the entrance of the south gate barracks, the sentry on duty muttered with his mouth wide open.

It was understandable to be surprised, seeing me running and sweating from early dawn.

“I came running after hearing that the elves had arrived. Everyone has worked hard with this untimely commotion.”

It was a time when they should have been getting sufficient sleep and rest.

The unsettled atmosphere with soldiers patrolling in shifts proved this without a doubt.

To this, the soldier firmly replied that this was their duty.

Judging by his eyes, it seemed sincere, but I felt he would have given the same answer even if it wasn’t.

Inevitably.

“Thank you for saying so. But it’s true that you’re all being troubled by my personal affairs. So Holland, please arrange about five days of leave for all the south gate soldiers.”

“L-leave?!”

The soldier’s eyes widened in surprise at the mention of leave.

It was a moment that showed the incredible power of reward leave in any era.

“These guys hit the jackpot. Understood. I’ll remember and take care of it today. Though we can’t send everyone out at once…”

“That can’t be helped. If all troops left, the south gate would be empty.”

I nodded with a slight smile as I heard Holland’s trailing voice.

It was a natural decision since all soldiers couldn’t be sent away at once.

“Well then, I’ll excuse myself first.”

With nothing more to discuss, I bowed and immediately headed to where the elves were said to be waiting.

There was no worry of getting lost as several soldiers who recognized our faces came to guide us.

However, I never expected to find them waiting in prison cells, neatly lined up.

“Did they willingly agree to be imprisoned?”

I asked the guard at the prison, and he answered firmly that they had.

Apparently, they initially stood with straight backs, claiming they had come to negotiate, but the south gate commander had pointed this out and put them in this state.

“Vermin who ambushed and tried to kidnap the Grand Duke wanting to negotiate? That’s laughable even to a dog. They are criminals who should be begging for forgiveness with their necks on the line. Once we made that clear, they behaved.”

Is this how my actions as Grand Duke are being repaid?

Or is their loyalty simply that great?

I couldn’t tell, but in any case, just rounding up the elves was praiseworthy enough.

“So. You must be the village chiefs.”

I sat in a chair that had been prepared in advance and looked over the elves in prison as I began.

Normally, village chiefs of elven communities would deserve respect, but as the south gate commander said, they were criminals.

So there was no need to be humble; rather, I intended to be arrogant and forceful as I waited for their response.

Of course, while keeping my nerves on edge, ready to respond to any surprise attack.

“Yes. We are the representatives of each village.”

And after a brief wait, a woman in the middle of the group broke the heavy silence and answered.