「…Ah. There is one more thing. This one’s directed at you, Sui Hatano.」
At Hajime-san’s next words, I—no, all of us—were left speechless.
「They have a request for Kazuteru Hatano’s son and would like to invite you to the Elven Nation of Alfheim.」
A long silence fell. It must have lasted around ten seconds before I could finally manage to say something.
「Huh…?」
I was bewildered.
Wait—what?
A request? An invitation?
I couldn’t make sense of it, and more importantly—
「…So, that’s it? That’s all the Council had to say?」
「Yes, that’s everything.」
「No explanations about everything that’s happened?」
Nothing about the Athenak settlement.
Nothing about the Crucible Breaking Ritual.
Nothing about why they’d been tasked with such a duty, or what the home country’s stance on it had been.
We were left in the dark about everything we’d wanted to know.
「I’m sorry, everyone… we tried our best to press them.」
Rick-san said with a heavy sigh.
「We got nothing from the Council. Anything about Athenak or the ‘Crucible Breaking’ was shut down with just the phrase, ‘state secrets.’」
「It’s ridiculous. They refuse to tell us anything about Athenak, yet demand that Dolce come to Alfheim for an engagement… as if they think we’d ever agree to that.」
Noemi-san followed suit.
The anger in the twins’ voices was unmistakable. Naturally. Their answer and demand—they couldn’t seem more dismissive of us.
And yet, Karen, who had been the most furious just moments ago, now appeared the calmest of us all.
「Hmm. That’s the kind of country Alfheim is, and that’s the kind of organization the Council of Elders is. It’s not surprising.」
She said, glancing at her fellow elves, from Rick-san and Noemi-san to Dolce-san, and to Hajime-san, in turn.
「They won’t tell Rick and Noemi the details because it’s classified. They want to marry Dolce and me because they don’t want the Six Founding Clans’ blood to disappear. They’re calling for Sui because something about him has become necessary to them. Each decision on its own is rational… The problem is that they don’t care about the people involved, that they don’t connect the issues to create a compromise. And…」
Next to her, mother took over with an exasperated sigh.
「…that they’re absolutely terrible negotiators.」
「Hmm. It makes you think they might just be idiots.」
What they exchanged wasn’t a look of anger anymore; it was one of sheer exasperation.
Karen and mother both looked like they couldn’t fathom why that country was the way it was, their brows furrowing in unison.
「I mean no offense to the emissary of an allied nation, but I feel the same way… Laying out nothing but their demands without consideration or compromise—that can’t be called negotiation. It’s far too crude.」
「Agreed. Even us beastkins, known for being hot-blooded, would say something a bit more considerate.」
Noah and Parker-san voiced their views with grimaces; despite being in the public eye, they were royalty, after all…
「Do you think it could be a trap, inviting me over? Maybe they’re looking to remove an obstacle or use me, luring me into a web…」
「If they think they could pull that off, it’s only because they don’t know you like we do. If any threat comes your way, you can bet neesan here would have something to say about it.」
「Not to mention Karen. Seriously, there’s no way it’d go the way they’re hoping.」
Berde-san and Schnei-san commented with a grin.
And from Karen’s lap, where he was sprawled out comfortably, Chocola gave an enthusiastic
「Bark! Bark!」
As if to say, ‘You called? I’m ready!’
「Hmm. Chocola’s not going to stay quiet, either. Right, Chocola?」
「Bark! Rrr…!」
「Thanks, boy. I’m counting on you.」
As I patted my clever dog’s head, Cliche-san spoke up, sounding slightly indignant.
「Honestly, not putting in the request through the Adventurers’ Guild is another poor choice. Sui, you’ve got your adventurer’s card, don’t you? Right now, the easiest way for them to reach you would be through the Guild.」
「Does the Elven nation Alfheim have a Guild branch?」
「Of course. There aren’t many, but even some founders should be working there.」
‘Founders’ referred to people without distinguishing racial traits—essentially humans like us. It’s not an official racial designation, but it’s convenient when distinguishing between elves, dwarves, beastkins, and the like.
I was surprised to learn that non-elves lived in the Elven Nation of Alfheim, but in any case…
「This is getting confusing… Rick-san, Noemi-san, you didn’t receive any information, right? And on top of that, Alfheim is making these one-sided, unreasonable demands. What happens if we just ignore them?」
After some thought, Rick-san answered.
「Nothing… I doubt the homeland could do anything, anyway. Their only defense is being an airborne, impregnable fortress—they don’t have any real military power to speak of. Sure, elves are better at handling magic than most races, but even so…」
「Yes, and setting aside Karen, it’s been at least twenty years since one of us was even recognized as a ‘witch,’」
「Hard to imagine they’d try to abduct us by force, huh… Especially since Karen and I mostly stay deep in the forest.」
I was still worried about Dolce-san, who lived in town and lacked the ability to fight, but—
「There’s no need to worry about Dolce. She’s properly registered with the Guild, since we employ her at the Consommé factory. Plus, Noah here is her official guarantor as a guest, and with the third prince of Sorx backing her, I’d like to think they wouldn’t be foolish enough to attempt an illegal kidnapping.」
Both Cliche-san and Noah had taken solid measures to ensure her safety.
But—all of this only left us stuck.
They were making impossible demands without any means to enforce them, while refusing to provide any information.
Could it be that this was all just a ploy to draw us to Alfheim? But would they go as far as to anger us to make it happen?
We all exchanged puzzled looks.
And it was, as expected, the one among us who had information—Hajime-san—who broke the stalemate.
「If I may, I have one last thing to say.」
When we nodded for him to go ahead, he continued.
「I’m here as an envoy from the Elven nation Alfheim. Therefore, I must refrain from any personal comments, nor can I divulge information that could put my homeland at a disadvantage. However, there is one message, separate from my mission, that I was entrusted with. It’s from Emishi Aquano… my father.」
Not with the look she’d had when delivering the initial news, bracing herself for our anger, or the expression she wore when she’d steadied herself to fulfill her duties, but rather…
With a peculiar, almost bewildered expression, she spoke.
「These words… I don’t fully understand them, but I’ll repeat my father’s message verbatim: ‘He wants revenge for Luis and Exea.’」
「…!」
In an instant, Karen stood in a daze, while mother shot to her feet.
「? …Viole-sama?」
「Emishi… What does he mean by this?」
Mother muttered, her tone filled with shock, confusion, and a barely contained fury.
Leave a Reply