“I guess it’s a story I’ve never heard before.”
After seeing the ancient Elven language translated by the Witch of Resentment and Remir, I headed to the holding cell where Krah was. The trial was still dragging on, which meant that Krah hadn’t been released to return to the Elven Village yet. Just to be sure, I had asked Ramihi about the situation in the Elven Village, and while there were still many places under reconstruction and a ton of work to be done, it seemed the village itself wasn’t paralyzed.
Unlike other regions that had a form of government, the Elven Village still maintained a sense of community. Even if one elder was absent, it wouldn’t lead to a complete standstill for the village.
Well, if everything comes to a halt because a captain is missing, it indicates a systemic problem rather than a scale issue.
In fact, Krah’s trial was not about hiding the truth of the Elves but whether he had attempted to kill me, the Saintess. Naturally, such a terrible truth had never leaked out, so there was no reason for the Elven Village to be in panic. Rather, they probably thought, “There’s no way such a thing happened; you’ll come back safely.”
…Safely, huh.
“Do you really think it makes sense to say you’ve never heard of this?”
After hearing Krah’s words, my last ounce of disbelief evaporated, and I let out a dry laugh, prompting him to reply, still with a stiff facial expression.
“Is it so strange that I wouldn’t know? This is a record from 500 years ago. There are even older records. The language we use now differs from it in many ways.”
“But this was kept in the Elven District, right? Only the Elders had the authority to read it, and even their families, who might become part of the Elder Council in the future, didn’t have the right to read it.”
Well, even if they wanted to read it, they wouldn’t have been able to. The best way to hide such information is to not teach people how to read it. Of course, just like there are many similarities between Hangeul and Hunminjeongeum, which would allow modern Hangeul speakers to read some of Hunminjeongeum and roughly guess its meaning, modern Elves could probably also read those ancient records and infer their meaning.
So, keeping people from reading it must have been the priority.
Above all, it doesn’t make sense that a member of the Elder Council, especially the highest-ranking member, couldn’t read those books. They were a heritage preserved while their entire race escaped from the original world. There’s no way they let such a heritage languish.
These were people who took immense pride in their culture. In an age when cars raced across the land and planes soared in the sky, they still chose to cultivate trees and live inside them. Even if the Elder Council suppressed the village’s development, they would never try to erase their old memories.
“Were they not worried about the implications those books could have on modern society? If the ‘Great Elven Empire’ were to be revived and the Elves were persecuted and driven away, that would be the end.”
Right. That’s what the books stated.
Among the ancient texts, there were indeed some that dated back to the Elven Empire era that had been preserved until now, but many were written during or after the escape. Books take up a lot of space and are heavy. Naturally, they would have tossed out everything that wasn’t truly important.
But the Elves at that time had hope.
They believed that while they settled in this world, they would someday defeat the Demons and return to their original world to restore their civilization and revive the Elven Empire. Thus, the survivors tried to preserve their knowledge. As a result, the histories and cultures of the Elven Empire could be recorded in detail in most of the subsequent books.
“However, now, the likelihood of that seems almost nonexistent. Those directly fighting the Demons are mostly humans, and the only race providing real help is the Gnomes.”
Beastfolk have recently started to adapt to human society. Naturally, they focus on their region’s development, so they have little capacity to support military efforts elsewhere.
The Elves are even worse. They minimize contact with other races and live in their own closed spaces. Honestly, if I didn’t feel like I was on a sightseeing trip, I would think it looked like a place out of Innsmouth. Fortunately, there were some friendly Elves around me.
“…Don’t you think, outwardly, you say we should return to the original world while deep down believing it’s impossible?”
“Nonsense.”
Krah gritted his teeth at my comment.
“Only weaklings like Remihar, who have forgotten the past, think like that. I truly wish to return to our original world. Even if it’s impossible in our generation, it will definitely happen in a few decades or a few hundred years!”
“And then you plan to continue oppressing and exploiting other races?”
As I delve deeper into history, the bitter stories about the Elves just keep pouring out. Yet the most repugnant part is this. The Elves did whatever it took to maintain their empire. To raise Arlil, which was as crucial as the pillars of that empire, they kidnapped priests from other races and sacrificed them later. And eventually, they even sacrificed their own kind.
That mindset didn’t change when they came to this world.
They cooperated with the Church, nurturing Arlil with the help of the saints. Of course, saints and saintesses cannot be sacrificed carelessly. If they did, the Church would consider all Elves heretics and launch a massive war. Even now, the number of Elves is small. No matter how strong each individual Elf may be compared to humans, they cannot overcome such a numerical disadvantage.
…But if they were to rebuild the Elven Empire.
Regardless of whether it’s possible, if they rebuilt it, wouldn’t that lead to sacrificing humans? If they gained enough power to disregard the words of human nations, they might start kidnapping human priests to sacrifice them to Arlil.
No, it might not even stop at just kidnapping. The Elves have created special bloodlines to produce saints among their own. They selected those capable of withstanding magical power from among the Elves, made them have children with one another, and continued that pattern with their descendants.
They might even raise humans like livestock. Perhaps they would try to create more beings with divine powers by breeding more magically endowed humans.
“…”
Krah shut his mouth. But his demeanor made one thing clear.
This truth isn’t something ‘no one knew.’ It’s the truth ‘hidden by a few who are aware.’
“The Church…”
As I continued to glare at him, he couldn’t hold back and opened his mouth.
“The Church knew, didn’t they? Saints and saintesses claimed something was seen within Arlil. They said it was something even we couldn’t see. The truth. Yet, wasn’t it the Church that hid it for 500 years?”
That’s right. While the Church might not have known the absolute truth, they had to have approached it to some degree. The fragmented consciousnesses of countless Elven saints piled within Arlil, and amidst those consciousnesses lay the consciousness of the Witch of Resentment, waiting for human saints to arrive.
Remihar, so it seems, there was no saint or saintess who died during the sacrifice, but most would never participate in Remihar again. They probably didn’t want to witness such a sight ever again.
“Not anymore.”
At my reply, Krah’s eyes widened slightly.
“I will reveal everything and think of countermeasures going forward.”
“What—”
“There will never be a resurgence of an evil organization like the Elven Empire in this world again. No matter what it takes, I will block all possibilities.”
I placed both hands on the desk and stood up. I leaned slightly towards Krah and glared at him with all my might. Though I looked like a fifteen-year-old girl, Krah seemed to sense something from me.
“Arlil is not the guardian deity of the Elves. It’s just an ordinary carnivorous tree that consumes people and excretes divine power.”
“What does that mean—”
Krah opened his mouth, but I slammed my fist down on the table. BANG, the loud sound echoed in the room.
“If such a monster exists within human society, isn’t it the government’s job to exterminate it?”
Only then did Krah finally understand my words, and his face paled.
*
September ended and October began.
While it couldn’t be called summer, the hot weather during the day had now turned completely chilly.
Since the big victory celebration last month, the world seemed to be running smoothly without any significant events. Now that there were no witches left, contrary to some experts’ claims that Demons would directly invade next, there were currently no signs of anything like that.
There were no reports of anyone dying on the battlefield, and we no longer heard of major battles or heroes defeating Beasts.
However, the St. Ariel Academy in the 21st District had yet to return to normal.
To be exact, it was the A-Class of St. Ariel Academy.
There had been four empty seats for over two weeks now.
Clara, Rina, Aurora, Linea.
These four still hadn’t returned to the academy.
Everyone knew that the four of them were safe. All four even appeared on the broadcast of the victory celebration. Thankfully, they seemed to be unharmed.
“She said there’s no way she’s quitting.”
It was Selena who said that.
After school, during the now-routine training session.
The club members continued their activities even though Clara and Rina, the original participants, weren’t there. Initially, the club aimed at Clara and Rina’s sparring, but it evolved into a venue where they could share stories that they couldn’t finish during class.
Of course, they didn’t skip sparring. After fiercely clashing with someone and releasing some energy, it felt refreshing. And it was beneficial to improve their skills. There were swordsmen who surpassed humans as well as competent Elves in this group. Feeling their skills improve while studying countermeasures brought them great pleasure.
“When did you hear that?”
Erica, who wasn’t always around but had become an almost regular visitor, asked. Selena, who had just gulped down her energy drink, responded.
“During a call yesterday. She sounded super busy. It felt like she was barely holding onto that call. Even when she sighed wearily, she seemed serious about continuing at the academy. Since she doesn’t really say things she doesn’t mean, it has to be sincere.”
“I see… thank goodness.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
Selena made an ugh sound while stretching out her legs in the chair.
“She didn’t say what she was up to. She said the conversation got really long and wanted to talk when we meet. But she didn’t even say when she’d come back.”
“Is it because she’s a saint? With the victory celebration and all, she caught most of the witches herself, right?”
“For sure….”
Selena replied with a light sigh. Then she straightened her legs and sat up straight. She clasped her hands above her head and stretched luxuriously.
“Well, even if we worry, it won’t reduce Clara’s work. If she can come back, she’ll come back on her own. She hates work more than anything in the world.”
It was a bit funny that she created new tasks just to avoid work.
She might think she has a quiet personality, but when something happens, she’s the first to jump in, argue, and gets anxious trying to smash her opponent’s face in. Observing her, it would be easy to leave behind the image of a priest who quietly prays and blesses people.
No, it wouldn’t be surprising if it had already changed.
One thing was for sure: after Clara stopped coming to school, the atmosphere in the classroom had become strangely dull. The two students who used to occupy one corner and frequently clashed with Rina while yelling had disappeared at once, making all incidents in the classroom seem boring.
To be honest, I missed it. Occasionally getting caught up in nonsensical events was enjoyable when I was hanging out with Clara.
After releasing her pent-up energy, Selena relaxed and sat comfortably.
On the platform Erica and Selena were looking at, two girls were in a standoff.
On one side was a girl with pointed ears and light green bobbed hair. On the other was a girl with long blonde hair and even longer pointed ears than the girl she was squaring off against.
Though now they seemed a bit too grown up to call them girls. Both were of the same age as Selena.
Of course, the girl with the bobbed hair was Satsuki, and the one facing off against her was Ramihi.
A half-Elf versus a pure Elf.
In fact, it’s not easy for a human to win against an Elf in one-on-one sparring. No matter how much “humans have superior stamina,” if the Elves end the match swiftly with their overwhelming physical abilities, there’s no time for a human to react.
But maybe because Satsuki had been sparring with Ramihi every day, she was “holding on.”
Satsuki’s breathing was uneven. She focused on dodging attacks while buying as much time as possible on the stage. As a result, their match was lasting much longer than the sparring between Jian and Selena. Even though Jian’s sparring was more akin to training.
Having inherited both human and Elven blood, Satsuki was managing to avoid a swift defeat against Ramihi.
And because she was holding on like this, there might even be a chance of winning.
“Ha…”
Ramihi, facing off against her, displayed a rare sight. She took a deep breath. At first glance, it appeared to be a sigh, but those assembled recognized it as a sign that she was catching her breath.
Over the time they faced each other, Satsuki had struggled to leverage her advantages to overcome Ramihi. If she couldn’t win in a short time, then she’d need to improve her stamina, which was inadequate among Elves to endure Ramihi’s onslaught.
And that was indeed working.
Ramihi’s expression was no different from usual. Her arms and legs weren’t trembling.
But the difference was that her forehead glistened with sweat. The blonde strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, and her clothes clung to her skin.
Elves can unleash explosive energy all at once, but their stamina consequently declines.
As long as they could endure until the Elves’ stamina ran out, there remained a chance of victory.
“Hu…”
Seeing Ramihi’s condition, Satsuki steadied her breath. Then she summoned all her remaining strength and dove toward Ramihi.
CLANG!
The sound of two swords colliding rang out—
And it was Satsuki’s sword that went flying.
“Ha…”
Gazing at her empty hand, Satsuki let out a light sigh. Although she lost, her expression was refreshingly cheerful. It made sense. Although she lost, Satsuki’s skills were progressing day by day. In fact, witnessing her advance this much in such a short time showcased her innate talent.
“…Impressive.”
Ramihi said with a slight smile, sweeping her damp hair back.
“Thanks.”
Satsuki replied happily, accepting the compliment.
“Amazing indeed.”
Jian, who was watching from a distance, sincerely remarked. …Even though he had the ability to overcome everyone present on the platform, he felt no need to mock or express negatives about Jian’s words. Everyone here had learned that lesson throughout their school days with Jian.
“Right? Truly amazing.”
“…Huh?”
Then, from a bit further away, someone spoke, causing Selena to whip her head around.
There stood—
“Rina?”
At Selena’s words, everyone in the auditorium, except for Jian, turned around in surprise.
Rina, wearing her school uniform, slowly walked toward the platform.
“I feel like my skills have actually decreased. If there’s easy power, I end up relying on it.”
“Are you back?”
Selena asked, and Rina shrugged her shoulders lightly.
“Only I’m back. The others are still in the 1st District. They have a ton of work to do, apparently. Well, since they volunteered for all of it, can’t blame anyone else.”
“By ‘others,’ you mean Clara,” thought Selena. She could easily imagine Clara, who was overwhelmed with self-created work, complaining about it. Clara had even done that back at school.
“Are you disappointed that I came back alone?”
“Huh? Oh, not at all.”
As Selena flusteredly replied, Rina giggled.
“Honestly, I want to stay here longer.”
Then, with a straight face, she lamented and slumped her shoulders.
“Do I have to return?”
Jian asked, to which Rina exaggeratedly sighed before responding.
“That villain of a boss isn’t going to let me rest while I’m just hanging around.”
Selena couldn’t help but easily envision Clara clinging to Rina as she attempted to leave.
“I’m just back for a quick favor. To be honest, I wanted to ask you—”
Rina glanced at Jian as she said that, then looked back at Satsuki and Ramihi on the platform. Alternating her gaze between them, she lifted one corner of her mouth slightly, as if she had a brilliant idea.
“Somehow, I feel like there could be a better method?”
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