Chapter 177: Defending the Elven Village, Part 3

The four of us finished dinner.

As I’d expected, it was a humble meal: nuts, something resembling soybeans, and a small amount of meat.

Everything was lightly seasoned and not particularly to my taste.

But they’d shared their meager food with us. I ate gratefully.

Afterward, I wanted a somewhat more candid conversation with the village chief.

I asked the guard—no, our escort—standing outside our room to arrange a meeting.

He looked to be in his twenties, but there was no spring in his movements. He carried himself more like an elderly man as he walked away.

“The chief said only the elderly and children remain… Do they merely look young despite being old?”

My mutter drew Tamei’s attention.

“That’s true. But the chief alone looking his age doesn’t sit right with me either…”

“Perhaps there’s something unique to elves.”

“…A bad habit of mine. Spend your life as a scout, and secrets become impossible to ignore. Exposing them rarely brings much good, though.”

Tamei spoke with an unusually philosophical expression.

“Surviving matters more than elven secrets right now. We need the chief’s cooperation on our assignments and on interpreters.”

“Right. And once we survive, you’ll take me to the capital. I’m already looking forward to the pleasure quarter.”

At Tamei’s words, Beret visibly narrowed her eyes… at Gar.

“W-what does that have to do with me? Tamei said it!”

“Where did you go after the welcome party for the new knights? You weren’t in your room.”

“I-I’ve told you countless times. I drank with the recruits in their room until morning…”

“…”

Oof.

Gar was already under her thumb.

Apparently, the women of Blue Ring being the best and strongest wasn’t a lie.

Before long, the escort returned with an appointment, and we followed him to the chief’s chamber.

I pretended not to hear Gar whisper, “Saved.”

A warrior’s mercy.

“Chief, I have brought the guests.”

“Let them enter.”

The escort turned to me.

“Honored guest, please go inside.”

“Thank you.”

“Gar, Beret, Tamei, let’s enter.”

We stepped into the room.

“What brings you here, Royal Shadow?”

In Elvish, I explained the roles we’d just decided.

“Oh, that would help greatly. Thank you.”

“There is one problem.”

“If it lies within our ability, we will do anything.”

“We have little time, so I’ll be direct. We need interpreters who speak the human language.”

“…”

“At this point, we have no time to probe one another. If you absolutely refuse, we may have to withdraw.”

“…Haah. You put every card on the table at once. I cannot tell whether the Royal Shadow is a master negotiator or an inept one.”

“…Thank you.”

“Please keep this matter confidential. Our rule is to reveal the ability only after someone is judged worthy of trust.”

“Understood.”

“Then I should provide interpreters for all three?”

“No. Only these two: Beret, our healer, and Gar on the front line. Tamei will move independently as a skirmisher. He’ll need freedom to roam the building.”

“I see…”

“When all of this is over, we will formally apologize for any offense. For now, I wanted to inform you in advance…”

“Understood. Seeing tomorrow’s sunrise must come first…”

“Yes.”

We took our leave.

Now we could at least coordinate with the elves at a basic level.

I wanted to ask many other questions: How many fighters did they have? How strong were they individually? How sturdy was the building? How much food remained? What medicines from their supposedly unique tradition did they have, and in what quantities?

But obtaining interpreters had been this difficult.

Further questioning would probably waste time.

“The three of you should do everything you can, but preserving your lives and your comrades’ comes first. That’s the minimum condition. If it can’t be met, retreat.”

“Understood.”

“Yes.”

“Got it.”

Though it was summer, the sun had set and the sky outside the window was growing dark.

The Mantises were gradually gathering in one place.

“So they wait like that for dawn… It would help if they kept doing so after the lord releases them.”

“Unlikely. Ordinary Mantises remain active at night.”

“I see…”

“Yeah…”

Gar’s reality left me feeling grim.

On a wholly different subject, something occurred to me.

“What happened to the horses we rode from Sandra?”

“Three are inside the building. The one you rode isn’t. When I collected dinner, they asked to use the supplies loaded on their backs.”

I turned to Tamei.

“Can you release the horses outside and use them to draw the Mantises away?”

“If there’s a clear route for them to run through, yes. The horses should be faster.”

“I see. We’ll probably use them to buy time.”

“Can’t be helped.”

Tamei loved horses enough to volunteer for their care. He couldn’t feel good about using them as bait.

But now we would use every resource available.

One by one, we did everything we could to improve our chances of survival, trusting that the accumulation would become something significant.

—Much earlier, just after Elphas’s group separated from Aldo—

Elphas, Ashera, and Rafina had left Sandra through the western gate and were traveling toward the Great Serpent Forest.

“Mother, what should our plan be?”

“Let’s see. The fastest method would be to have you and Al fire Condense Ray into the forest from outside. But apparently that would destroy the mana spot.”

“Ao mentioned that before.”

“Yes. Unlike labyrinths, mana spots aren’t things we should casually destroy… So we have no choice but to kill the lord.”

“The problem is that if we kill it before taking the mark, another monster may become the new lord.”

“Exactly. Ao said that sometimes the mark remains after a lord dies, but…”

“That isn’t guaranteed…”

Talking with Mother confirmed what I needed to do.

I would use sonar and sever the mark from the lord myself.

Ashera and Mother would clear the other enemies away while I did it.

If I said that directly, they would probably object.

First, I had to consider how to persuade them.

Brother was truly skilled at wrapping these two around his finger—cough, cough—persuading them.

Thinking about how he would say it, I spoke.

“Mother, Ashera, I’m about to ask something reckless.”

“What is it?”

“Elphas, what?”

“I’ll use sonar on the lord and locate the mark. Until I can take it, will you hold off the other Mantises?”

The two looked at each other.

Had I made a mistake?

“Well, that’s a reasonable plan.”

“Understood.”

Apparently, I’d gotten it right!

Thank goodness!

We discussed the finer points.

“El, do you intend to use ultra-vibration to take the mark?”

“Ao said each individual chooses which abilities receive the blessing. I’ll use it if necessary.”

“Good. Time will probably be crucial. Don’t hold anything back.”

“Yes.”

Mother was right.

Even if we attacked at night while the Mantises slept, battle would naturally wake them.

The question was how quickly we could take the mark, withdraw, and meet Brother at the elven village.

Once the mark was gone, the lord would lose its power.

Then we could slowly clean up the Mantises and liberate the mana spot after everything ended.

The problem remained that the instant we took the mark, every lesser Mantis would be released.

In a sense, during the goblin incident we had been fortunate that several Kings remained alive.

If that many goblins had moved without order, the devastation nearby would have been terrible.

We couldn’t say that too loudly, given that one of the escaped Goblin Kings was probably connected to this Sandra disaster…

“We withdraw immediately after taking the mark, correct?”

“Yes. Imagine standing in the middle of the goblin army from last time. Lingering can bring nothing good.”

“Understood. We’ll regroup later and liberate the mana spot…”

“Yes. With the mark in hand, we can liberate it whenever we please. Monsters will be drawn to the mark, but we’ll have to accept that as a necessary cost.”

“Yes.”

Our general strategy was decided.

Everything depended on how quickly I could obtain the mark.

My fighting style was defensive.

Brother’s style was probably ideal for this mission.

“Mother, I think I’ll use a one-handed sword and knife this time.”

“…Yes. That may be best.”

“Yes.”

“If I hadn’t seen your recent mock battle with Al after you exchanged weapons, I would have forbidden it outright.”

“That battle is also why I believe I can use Brother’s style.”

“I see. Even Al does something useful occasionally.”

Mother laughed.

“What will you do with your shield?”

“My back already carries the Vernier unit and my pack, and I have a mana shield. I planned to leave it with the horse.”

“No. The horses may flee or be killed.”

“That’s true…”

“I’ll carry it.”

“You, Mother?”

“Yes. It will protect my back too. Two birds with one stone.”

“It’s heavier than it looks.”

“I served in the magic corps. I can fight with a shield on my back.”

“But you’ll be using Vernier while carrying it. Are you certain?”

“You worry too much, El. I’ll be fine. If it truly becomes too difficult, I’ll discard it.”

“…All right. But don’t push yourself. If it’s hard, really do throw it away.”

“I understand.”

And so we continued toward the Great Serpent Forest.

Battles with Mantises became more frequent the closer we drew, and their numbers far exceeded our expectations.

In the end, after eating a lunch Brother had prepared—a sandwich resembling a hot dog—we abandoned the horses and continued through the air using Vernier.

With a faint unease in our hearts, we steadily approached the Great Serpent Forest…