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143 The Result of the Choice – Part 2

 

「We want a forest. A small, peaceful one—an ‘Elven Forest.’」

「Elven Forest…?」

「We want a new homeland. But wherever we go, there’s always someone who says, ‘This is my land.’ And the next words out of their mouth are always either ‘Get out,’ or ‘Pay this outrageous tax.’」

「…Borders get drawn arbitrarily. Even unexplored lands end up belonging to someone’s country.」

「Exactly. Even if we try living deep in the mountains where no humans tread, there’s no telling when we’ll be discovered. You should know how that feels, King of the Werewolves.」

「All too well.」

I thought of the faces of Shizuku and the others I’d left back in the village.

Even before their existence was made public, the land where the Werewolves lived had already been claimed as part of the Abik domain. That’s why they’d survived in secrecy, holding their breath—so they wouldn’t be found, so they wouldn’t be driven out, so they wouldn’t be killed.

「We elves don’t like war. No one among us spoke of fighting to take land. At first, we just tried hiding somewhere in the mountains. But there’s a limit. We will be found eventually. That’s why—before that happens—we decided we have no choice but to win a country of our own.」

「Still, targeting an entire neighboring country seems a bit overambitious. And you were awfully quick to abandon the Abik domain. Almost unnaturally so. …Don’t tell me—you never intended to live there, did you?」

「Sharp as ever. That’s right. Our real client is the government of Narshe.」

That was Remonde’s plan.

Collapse our country through drug warfare and facilitate an invasion by Narshe. In exchange, they’d be granted some mountain or forest land—where they could finally found a nation for the Elves and live quietly with a few companions.

Even if it meant burning the Abik domain to the ground.

「…So Narshe was the true mastermind.」

「If we succeed, we’ve been promised the land stretching from the outskirts of Fathie to the mountains. Once that happens, no one’ll call us ‘creatures of the shadows’ again. Out on the open road, between the trees, by the babbling brooks—we’ll shout it to the sun without shame: ‘This is the Elven Forest! This is our country!’」

「And to make that happen, you’re offering up an entire nation to Narshe?」

「Humans don’t settle for less.」

「In the end, it’s always the takers who profit.」

I’d thought this was a Elven invasion, maybe payback for their exile a hundred years ago. But it turned out to be a land-grab orchestrated by Narshe, with the Elves on the front lines, just trying to secure a place to call home.

「Humans are greedy. When we ask for one parcel of land, they say ‘Bring me ten.’ And even then, they only give us one back. But we had no choice but to cling to even a deal like that.」

「And for that, you were willing to use your own people as expendable tools?」

「Sure. Impressive, isn’t it? I bet there’s no one else in the world who could sneak up on you without detection—trained assassins whose [Stealth] skills were sharpened to that level. I never thought we’d get thwarted twice, in Kinui and Fathie. That girl was burning for revenge, but she ran into the wrong opponent.」

「…I wanted to end it without killing her.」

「How kind of you. Too bad we can’t afford such luxuries.」

「Still, you’re awfully talkative. Why tell me all this?」

Now that the conversation had reached a lull, I voiced the question.

Even if she thought she’d already won, why speak so freely? It didn’t feel like mere bragging—especially considering how much effort she’d put into staying in the shadows until now.

「You’re thinking, ‘Why’s she spilling her guts like this?’ aren’t you?」

「I have a few ideas.」

「Let’s hear them.」

「First reason: you think I’m going to die soon.」

「Not think—know.」

「Second reason: because it’s already too late to stop what’s begun.」

There’s only ever one reason to reveal your trump card.

Because you’ve already played it.

Remonde took a deep swig and laughed triumphantly at my answer.

「Correct! The artificial dungeon break has already been activated! The horde of monsters lured out of the dungeon The Vigil’s End is already on its way to Kinui!」

「I thought so…」

「No point rushing now. Kinui surely has been destroyed by this point. Your hidden village in the mountains won’t fare any better. Unless you have a time-reversal skill hidden up your sleeve?」

Remonde chuckled, swirling her drink, but there was no mirth in her eyes. Only the grim resolve of someone fighting to secure a home—for herself and her kin.

「That dungeon was inhabited mainly by beast-types. Creatures that kill and devour by instinct alone. You can imagine what happens when monsters like that flood into a town.」

According to Remonde, the dungeon The Vigil’s End was home to wolf- and bear-type monsters. Towering beasts, bigger than houses, now surged toward Kinui and its surrounding areas. The hidden village of the Werewolves nestled in the mountains would be no exception. The death wave would consume everything.

「We threaten the Abik domain from the west, while Narshe’s main army loops in from the south to strike from the east. That’s the plan to crush the neighboring country all at once. The government, already weakened by the drugs, won’t be able to resist. If only the Duke of Abik had defected, we wouldn’t have needed this approach… but what’s done is done.」

「So it’s a strategy born of the duke’s integrity.」

「If the great Marge-sama had been there, perhaps the people would’ve had time to flee. But history doesn’t deal in ‘what-ifs.’」

「True enough. But the future isn’t written in stone either.」

「Sure it is. Death is inevitable. Especially for you short-lived humans.」

「Not now, it isn’t.」

It’s true—I can’t make it in time. I can’t stop the monsters headed west.

But Kinui and the Werewolves’ hidden village aren’t defenseless.

Before I could say it, a commotion approached, with hurried footsteps.

「Mom! First smoke signal reports from beyond the mountains!」

「That was fast. Good. Let’s hear it right here.」

「Y-Yes Mom…」

The report came hesitantly, and Remonde—sensing something was wrong—urged him on. The messenger straightened his back, sweat beading, and shouted:

「Two white plumes, one red! That means: ‘Ambush executed, but enemy resistance met. Minimal results.’ In other words, failure!!」

「What!? The monster luring failed!?」

「N-No! The expected number went as planned!」

「Then why!?」

「That’s all we know—the smoke signals can’t say more…」

Smoke signals were a simple but reliable form of communication. By chaining them across multiple points, one could send a message from one end of a country to the other in a very short time. They were especially effective in mountain ranges.

The downsides: personnel must be pre-positioned, they don’t work well at night, and complex or unexpected information is hard to convey.

「Damn it. Avoiding comm-based skills backfired… We chose smoke signals thinking it’d be more reliable than magic, since our drugs don’t pair well with precision-based skills… This your doing, Marge!? What did you do!?」

「Nothing. Honestly, this time I really did nothing.」

「Who else could it be!?」

「Shizuku and the others are there.」

「The Werewolves!? Ha! Maybe the wolves of the golden days. But now? They couldn’t possibly… I’ll ask again—what did you do!?」

「And I’ll say it again—I did nothing. All that’s there are Werewolves who’ve fought to regain their harvest.」

Even as Remonde glared, unwilling to believe the ambush failed for any reason but my meddling, I stood up and brushed the dust from my clothes.

「Your mistake was not knowing the younger generation in the village had grown strong enough to protect it.」

「Impossible! Y-You shouldn’t even be standing yet…」

「Thanks for the valuable intel. Koe-san, Angelina—did you catch all that?」

「Yes, Master. I heard everything.」

「…………」

「Angelina?」

「Zzz…」

「Angelina-san was quite exhausted, so…」

Seems like she fell asleep. Well, lying down makes people sleepy—it’s only natural.

Now that Remonde saw all three of us safe and sound, her confusion deepened. And people thrown off like that… tend to crumble quickly.

「Even the women…!? Why?! That poison—just one sip should’ve been fatal!」

「You underestimated a twisted man’s pride, Remonde Vehl. If being turned into a puppet to kill me was the only choice, he’d rather burn it all down. That’s the kind of man Altora is.」