Chapter 108

Geron looked at Dario with a disgruntled expression as he staked his father’s life without the slightest hesitation.

Even if his father’s life was invaluable, to stake it in such a situation…

“… It seems words slipped out wrongly due to the urgency of the situation.”

“Ah, I’m sorry! An old habit just unconsciously…”

“?!”

When Wendigo pointed out Dario’s mistake while shaking his head, Dario came to his senses and apologized with an awkward smile.

Of course, this was incomprehensible to Geron, who prided himself on being a person of common sense.

How common could it be in the world for a human to have a habit of selling out their own father?

Unaware that his evaluation had dropped a level in Geron’s heart, Dario pointed with his thumb at the warriors holding his arms.

“Well, you know? So could you please tell these fellows to let go of my arms?”

“Isn’t it a good experience? If you cause trouble in the future, you’ll be facing them again.”

When Wendigo refused his request with a smirk, Dario looked at Geron while sweating profusely.

From Dario’s perspective, Skadi and Geron seemed to be the kindest people in the palace as he was being ground down.

Wouldn’t Geron take pity on him and request his release?

“I didn’t know you valued the life of your own flesh and blood so lightly.”

“Ah, no! My father is certainly my father by bloodline, but mentally…”

Dario, who never dreamed he would receive such an evaluation from Geron, was startled and tried to explain.

Wendigo watched this scene and assessed the current situation.

‘At least judging by his reaction, it seems he’s not connected to the elves’ intrusion.’

After all, unless Dario had shared joys and sorrows with the elves for a long time, he had only shown them hospitality at most.

Dario wasn’t foolish enough to take risks for such a connection.

After watching Dario and Geron’s idle talk for a moment, Wendigo waved his claw left and right, ordering the warriors to release Dario.

The warriors looked at Dario reluctantly and offered loyal advice to Wendigo:

“Your Majesty, trusting someone who staked his own father’s life is…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to ascertain the truth through a more proper interrogation?”

Dario, who never expected even the warriors to misunderstand, looked at Wendigo with great resentment.

Wendigo clicked his tongue as he looked at Dario’s tearful face.

Why did this guy who usually wagged his tongue so well make such a mistake…

“I heard all about Dario’s family situation in the process of recruiting him. There’s nothing strange about having discord with his father, so don’t be too suspicious.”

“If the king says so, we’ll follow.”

At Wendigo’s words that he had personally confirmed, the warriors bowed respectfully and released Dario’s arms.

As the warriors who had finished their task withdrew, Dario glared at the door they had exited while stretching his stiff shoulders.

“I don’t know about anything else, but the warriors stationed in the palace are inflexible to a fault.”

“We call that loyal and steadfast. A virtue you can’t be expected to have.”

When Dario grumbled, Wendigo chuckled and defended the warriors.

How could one hate those with such deep loyalty that they offer direct advice to the king?

A loyal subject who can offer one word of sincere advice is more precious than a flatterer who speaks a hundred sweet words.

Dario couldn’t deny this fact either, so he just pouted while tidying his clothes.

“Spirit, no matter how I think about it, this is strange. What reason could the elves possibly have for settling at the end of the world?”

“It’s certainly strange. As far as I know, I’ve heard that elves rarely leave the Great Forest…”

Wendigo was just as perplexed.

At least from what he had learned from Skadi, elves were a race that lived in the Great Forest across the sea, not on the continent.

Even the elves who appeared on the continent mostly returned to the Great Forest after obtaining necessary items at ports.

“It seems we should ask someone who knows elves well…”

“Uh, I’ve met elves before but I don’t know much about them.”

When Wendigo’s gaze turned to him, Dario waved his hands and avoided eye contact.

He had focused on building connections with the elves and refrained from digging for information from them as much as possible.

Thanks to that, he had formed a connection with the elves… and because of that, he had been dragged out by warriors early in the morning.

“… Then there’s no choice. There’s one most suitable person, so we’ll have to ask them.”

“Spirit, do you have someone in mind?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a person… Dario.”

“Yes, do you have a task for me?”

At the words “not a person”, Dario tensed up and waited for Wendigo’s order.

It wouldn’t be strange if Wendigo ordered him to bring some strange spirit or monster from somewhere.

After all, Wendigo himself was a being whose status as a spirit was questionable, and the ogre he was friends with was a creature that spoke and acted like a person…

“Go and bring Freyja. She said she’s been playing in nearby villages recently because she’s bored, sneaking out without Syr knowing, so it should be easy to find her.”

“Pardon? You mean her?”

Dario asked Wendigo back, puzzled by the unexpectedly familiar name.

It was fortunate that it wasn’t as troublesome a task as he had thought.

It was fortunate, but…

“No, why me of all people when there are servants?”

Dario pointed at himself with his finger and asked Wendigo in trouble.

Honestly, for such a task, it could be ordered to subordinates, so he wondered why he had to go.

Wendigo answered the question as if it were obvious:

“Then should I or Geron go? And if we send servants, it’s obvious they’ll suffer being enchanted by that unruly one.”

Dario realized that Wendigo highly valued his mental fortitude.

However, he wasn’t very pleased. He didn’t want to personally meet a spirit just for such a reason.

Bluntly speaking, if his mental strength was weaker than expected, he might become a plaything enchanted by the spirit.

“Though Freyja lacks sense, she’s not foolish enough to mess with my people. Don’t worry and go.”

‘Then you could send someone else!’

Dario swallowed his complaints and heaved a deep sigh.

No matter what, it wasn’t polite to keep complaining when the king had directly ordered.

As he trudged out of the audience hall, Geron, who had been watching, asked Wendigo curiously:

“Dario’s opinion wasn’t really wrong, so why did you do that? Usually, you would have just ordered the servants.”

“One reason is that guy’s usual slipperiness. He’s capable but too clever, so he picks and chooses to avoid troublesome tasks.”

How could a person’s character change overnight?

At least as far as Wendigo knew, such cases were almost non-existent unless one had been to the brink of death or died and come back to life.

Of course, Dario’s character wouldn’t change easily either. Always doubting people and seeking only his own benefit was like a habit for him.

So shouldn’t he be made into a proper person by making him suffer like this?

“Still, it seems a bit pitiful to make him meet Lady Freyja. She’s a bit… bad-tempered.”

Geron smiled and joked, at least glad that it wasn’t unlike Wendigo to want to torment someone.

Wendigo chuckled in response.

“Well, he’ll have to keep talking with such people in the future. Wouldn’t it be fortunate if he takes his first step with Freyja?”

“… Pardon?”

“It’s not that surprising. Do you think things will be quiet from now on?”

At Wendigo’s question, Geron thought for a moment and shook his head.

Gods who had been banished for the crime of disturbing the world were showing themselves again.

Those who had awakened new powers began to stride about as heroes or villains.

Those who had been quiet until now began to show themselves to the world for their own reasons.

It was unreasonable to expect the world to be quiet in such circumstances.

“I suppose not. So Dario will be dealing with such people in the future?”

“Well, if his character improves a bit, it will be so. Right now he still has old habits… What are you doing?”

As Geron, who had been listening, took something out of his breast pocket and began dividing it into other pockets, Wendigo asked curiously.

Geron carefully counted the number of berries in each pocket and answered Wendigo nonchalantly:

“Since he’s bound to suffer in the future, I’m planning to give him some berries that are good for mind and body in advance. They’re quite sour, so it takes a while to get used to them.”

“……”

---

Freyja, who returned with Dario, seemed to be in an unusually good mood.

However, Dario, who had brought Freyja, was exhausted and looking at Wendigo resentfully.

“Judging by Dario’s condition, did you cause trouble again?”

“What trouble~ I just gave this little one quite a rare memory, that’s all.”

Freyja cackled and slapped Dario’s back with her palm.

Dario moved away from Freyja in horror, showing how chilling that laughter was to him.

“Get away! In all my life, this is the first time I’ve been chased by people because of a spirit!”

“Did you think it would be easy to bring such a beautiful woman?”

Dario shuddered as he recalled the process of bringing Freyja.

At first, she seemed like she would come along obediently, so he thought she was a benevolent spirit like the king, but he had greatly misjudged.

The moment they got on the horse together, the spirit suddenly screamed!

“Thanks to that, even warriors came chasing and I almost died!”

“Come on, you think I would have left it at that? It seemed like Wendigo finds you quite useful… Ow!?”

Wendigo, who had been listening, sighed and approached Freyja to flick her forehead.

Freyja clutched her forehead at the flick she hadn’t received in a long time, and Dario watched with a satisfied expression.

Still, knowing she had committed a wrongdoing, Freyja huffed but didn’t get angry.

“So why did you call me? Usually you only call yourself and Skadi, not me.”

“This time it’s a bit of an exceptional situation. Do you know elves well?”

“Of course. I’ve tried to seduce them so many times. Well… I failed most of the time, but still. Even now, I regret it.”

Freyja spoke while gazing into space with melancholic eyes, as if talking about old memories.

Honestly, it was quite an absurd story from the listener’s perspective.

To put it nicely it was seduction, but to be direct, it was no different from attempted kidnapping.

Considering that her main stage was the north, it was as vicious a kidnapping as one could get.

“… I don’t really like the reason you know them well, but it’s fortunate you do know.”

However, whatever the reason, it was certain that she knew elves well.

Wendigo pointed at Freyja with his claw and announced:

“You, you’ll have to come with me to meet the elves.”

“… What?”

Freyja looked at Wendigo with an incredulous expression.