Ch.93Humanity with Humanity #5

“You… could it be?”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Eileen Oberon.”

The woman with hair resembling ripe rice bowed her head.

Being an elf, her beautiful appearance was only natural, and she exuded the dignity befitting a leader of her group.

It was also curious how the typically strong elven pride seemed unusually subdued in her.

“Oberon, is it? So you’re the one who arranged that precious council meeting to try to provoke me.”

“Yes. As you said, Grand Duke, I was the one who called the Grand Council.”

Though she wasn’t solely responsible, she was undoubtedly the instigator.

Eileen acknowledged this fact while responding calmly.

Even though her words could have easily provoked rage under different circumstances.

I appreciated this in my own way, while keeping my eyes lowered to show that I was still angry.

“You speak so boldly of things that should rightfully cost you your head.”

“If my head were to roll, it would have done so already. But you didn’t take it. Perhaps because there’s something you want instead of my life?”

“Hmm. Impressive comprehension from the same head that conceived the foolish idea of kidnapping me. Or perhaps this is simply the expected response since I made it easy enough for even someone as dim-witted as you to understand.”

Flinch. Eileen’s eyes twitched, seemingly hurt by my provocation and disparagement.

It was a quintessentially elven reaction, but she composed herself rather quickly.

As if nothing had happened, she bowed her head submissively to appease me.

Was it because she was naturally composed?

Or was it possible because she was in a position where she had no choice but to beg for her life?

Either way, or perhaps both, it seemed to prove that I held the upper hand.

“Whatever the case, your plan failed, and I am still here. Because of that, it took time to heal my wounds, and before that, my life was in danger.”

“I… know that.”

“Do you really? Or are you just saying whatever you can to escape this unfavorable situation?”

I sneered while cutting down the group’s pride, and several of them began to show obvious signs of discomfort.

Though still subtle, their discomfort was noticeable enough.

“What? Does that bother you? Did you truly expect to kidnap a Grand Duke of a country and get away with it? You’re ridiculously arrogant to the point of absurdity. You should be trembling and begging for your lives from the moment you met my eyes.”

“No. We know we’ve committed a capital offense, and we also know there’s no room for excuses.”

For someone who committed a capital offense, she was remarkably calm.

Perhaps in some corner of her mind, she was complacently thinking that since all the village chiefs had come, I wouldn’t kill them.

“Yes. You understand well. You’ve committed a capital offense. So all of you, offer your necks. Right now.”

“W-what…?”

When I casually leaned back and made this bluff—this strong move demanding their necks—there was an intense reaction.

All the elves who had been silently watching began to murmur among themselves.

Eileen, at the center of the commotion, was just as bewildered as the rest.

Offer your necks. In other words, die.

While few humans could remain calm after hearing a death sentence, their reaction was particularly intense.

It was as if petty criminals who assumed they wouldn’t die had just received a death sentence.

“Us! Weren’t you going to spare us! If not, why did you summon all the village chiefs!”

One elf shouted at me indignantly.

Though they all appeared to be young men on the surface, making it difficult to gauge their age, from his manner and appearance, he was undoubtedly one of the village chiefs.

Most of the group were chiefs, so it couldn’t be helped.

“You kidnapped me to manipulate me as you pleased, and didn’t hesitate to attack me! That crime wouldn’t be fully paid even with all your elven lives! Yet I’m saying I’ll end it with just the lives of those responsible instead of exterminating your entire race!”

Bang! When I stomped the ground with my mana-enhanced leg, the floor cracked, and a loud reverberation shook the entire prison.

Though the vibration itself was mild, the deeply cracked floor and the tremor seemed quite effective.

By then, the noisy elves had fallen silent again.

“Or would you rather go to war right now? If so, I’ll specially release you and send you back to your village.”

Unless I had stationed Ellen or the mercenary group in advance, I lacked sufficient forces with just myself and the few knights to face them.

In such a situation, if war broke out immediately, many people would die needlessly, so I left room for sending them back to their village.

I thought that if I opened an escape route, they might leave for their village to prepare for war.

However, if the cornered elves went berserk… I thought I’d have to move as quickly as possible to minimize casualties.

“T-that is…!”

“You don’t like that either? Then what the hell did you come all the way here for! You’re not prepared to offer your necks! You don’t want to go to war! How are you any different from children!”

“If you spare our lives, we’ll do anything.”

To draw out those words, I pretended to be angry and stomped my foot once more.

The floor cracked deeply, and the displaced dirt scattered in all directions.

The elf who had shouted cowered, and the other elves hung their heads with subdued spirits.

It was evidence that my bluff was working well.

The silence spread to all the elves, creating an atmosphere where it was difficult to speak. It was as if everyone had become mute.

“…please.”

After a long silence, a woman’s voice began to break it.

At first, it was so faint that I thought I had misheard, but it was definitely a woman’s voice.

But I deliberately pretended not to hear, tilting my head and snorting.

“Hmm? I thought I heard someone speak, but did I mishear?”

“…Spare us, please. We’ll do anything, please…”

This time, a voice tinged with fear was clearly audible to everyone in the prison.

The person speaking was Eileen, who appeared to be the actual leader of the group.

Finally, the moment has come.

I clenched my fist, hiding my urge to wiggle my behind in excitement, and asked casually.

“Oh? You’ll do anything? But is that something you alone can decide? Unless you’re their king, you’re just the chief of one village, aren’t you?”

“The other chiefs… probably think the same. Don’t you?”

“Don’t you all feel the same as me?”

When Eileen turned to the crowd with that implied question, the elves who had been listening silently nodded in response.

“As you can see… everyone seems to share my thoughts.”

“I see. So that’s how it is. You’ll do anything if I spare your lives…”

Finally, finally, the time to extort them has arrived.

The thought made me want to laugh, but I somehow twisted my lips to change my expression.

This seemed better for applying pressure than showing naive joy.

“Rejoice. Since you’ve shown that level of determination, I’ll give you time to breathe. I’m tired from dealing with you since dawn, so I’ll give you my answer tomorrow.”

So, until then, make sure you’re firmly resolved to do anything.

I left the prison with Holland after saying that.

“Wow. I didn’t expect the Grand Duke to act like that. Your manner of speaking and everything—you seemed like a completely different person!”

Holland started talking as soon as we left the barracks with our horses.

He must have been itching to speak.

“Partly because I was angry, but more than that, I wanted to show them I was an arrogant nobleman.”

I answered lightly, relaxing my stiff shoulders and tension.

I was a bit sleepy after all that fishing for that one statement, but not enough to collapse.

“To avoid being looked down upon?”

“Yes. And to intimidate them too. If I spoke like I do with you and the others, it wouldn’t seem very tense, would it?”

“Certainly… it was a bit chilling.”

For a knight like Holland to find it chilling.

Though I outrank him, his flattery is too obvious.

I couldn’t help but smile slightly—it was so blatant that it was almost amusing.

“Aren’t you being too flattering for a military commander? Should I give you some pocket money behind your wife’s back?”

“Huh? I wasn’t joking? Of course, if you offer a reward, I’ll gratefully accept it, but I really mean it.”

“Ah, yes…”

Under the dawning sky, we exchanged untimely jokes as we went our separate ways.

He to the west gate, and I to the mansion.

.

Perhaps because our conversation ended early.

The Krauser mansion still maintained its tranquility.

Seeing the dawn breaking, people might soon start waking up, but it seemed I had timed it well.

“Zion.”

“Grand Duke.”

Or so I thought, but two women were in the bedroom, arms linked, glaring at me.

Judging by the faint scent of perfume tickling my nose and their neater appearance, they seemed to have bathed.

It was like the situation of a husband coming home late after drinking, but strangely, I didn’t feel embarrassed.

“I’m back.”

Normally in such situations, women would flare up in anger if a man touched them.

At least, that’s what I had seen or heard.

But the reality I faced was different, and even if it weren’t, I was confident in handling it.

I showed my fatigue and unhesitatingly wrapped my arms around the two women’s waists.

I looked exactly like a dissolute nouveau riche.

“Ah…”

“Sorry for worrying you. But I’m tired now… could we just sleep together?”

As I whispered pleadingly while holding the surprised pair in my arms, they trembled as if they had been waiting for this.

In a way, it was similar to countering an angry person by getting even angrier, putting them in a difficult position.

“Oh, yes! Let’s go to bed quickly. Ah, you need to change clothes first.”

“Grand Duke, please wait. I’ll help you change.”

In such situations, there’s a risk of escalating the commotion by fighting fire with fire, but fortunately, things went well.

As if nothing had happened, they pulled my arms, seemingly competing to see who could care for me more actively.

Thanks to them, I changed into comfortable clothes and climbed into bed with the two women, able to relax comfortably.

“Ah. This feels good…”

Holding their soft bodies like bolsters made me feel like my fatigue was completely gone.

I felt energized enough that I didn’t even need to sleep.

Perhaps it was because my body was young, but the response was quite fast.

The natural tensing of my arms was due to this reason.

“Mmm… Zion, does your arrival mean you’ve finished talking with those damn bastards?”

After letting out a sweet moan, Helena asked with a sharp tone, as if she had never been otherwise.

The change was so abrupt that I wondered if she had a split personality.

“You read the note I left?”

“Yes. Not long ago. When I realized you were gone, I hurriedly got ready to go out and saw the note at the main gate. So I waited.”

“I see.”

I nodded in understanding and then answered Helena’s question.

I told them that the elves had said they would do anything, and that I would give them my answer tomorrow after thinking it over for a day.

“What do you plan to demand, Grand Duke? Of course, considering their crime, even enslaving their entire race wouldn’t be enough…”

Ellen, who was nestled against my chest, asked while tilting her head.

I noticed that her rubbing her cheek against me resembled a dog marking with its scent, and she seemed quite satisfied.

However, stimulated by this, Helena began to do the same thing, as if she had suddenly realized she should.

“Enslaving elves seems a bit much…”

I trailed off while stroking Helena’s waist area as if petting a puppy.

Perhaps because my fatigue hadn’t completely dissipated, my brain was refusing to think, and I couldn’t come up with anything good.

Of course, I was enjoying touching something nice, but that was a different matter.

So,

“For now, I want to sleep on it.”

I’ll make my decision after I get some rest.