She was kind of like the old man, except that, as she said, we shared a strong bond, and also, she wasn't an old geezer tapping into her seventies. Yes sir. She wasn't. Rather, she was a fair and pretty maiden flower who, by these times of intense rain and storm, would blossom splendidly rather than drown. Her silver green bangs were low on her forehead as the rain soaked—no, flooded her, and the wind blew past her.
When she, at last, undid her slight bowing, the boy who saved her had turned back to her, had walked up to her, and now placed a warm hand on her head. In the two-headed silence, where no voice spoke but the heavy rain and wind, she gazed into my bright, blue eyes, as I gazed into hers. With my hand still on her head, now, I saw her again. The feeble, helpless elven princess of the inn. She was here. Her silky, pale skin was exposed to my devouring eyes. Her wide eyes and long eyelashes.
All of her was here. I shook my head at that. As all of herself was here, the sadness and distress I read on her face was here, too. Black circles under them, her eyes were reddish with tiredness, and her gaze was cast downward. I only shook my head to disapprove of her sorrow, but she might have understood the gesture the wrong way.
In the patient silent, and her chest hollow, she faintly uttered that she was sorry. Weren't we similar? She also said she couldn't help it. That was exactly my words to her back in the inn, when I 'took' her life. Warmly patting her head, I made her look back at me. I beamed with blatant happiness at her and told her it was fine. I repeated it many times, just as she did back then.
Catching up onto my voicing the words she had once said to me, her very own words, to herself… something snapped in her—she burst into tears, jumped at me, and hugged me tightly. I chuckled at that. It made me happy.
With the rain still heavy on us, I hugged her back and she cried on my shoulder. "You've been brave enough," I said, and repeated many times. "Now, you can rest." In response, she only sobbed more and more, up until she finally grew silent. When she did, I seized her shoulders and made her back off just enough that we could see each other's faces.
The elven maiden's face was totally red, at this point. Meek and bashful, she averted my eyes, clearly embarrassed. In my confusion, seeing her like this, I cocked my head to the side but said what I had to say anyway. "I like you," I blurted out. "That's why… we'll make our family together. That way, we'll both have a home to return to. ...Okay? Okay." I confidently nodded like what I proposed was already decided in my state of euphoria.
It was needless to say, at the time, I had little to no awareness of the declaration I just made. But I just did as the kind ma'am would have me—that is to say, find my home, the monster's home, belong to a place. Belong with a person. Belong to a family. In my deep blue eyes, a light arose. Innocently, I smiled at her, happy with my words.
Her embarrassment was over the top—the two ends of her pointy ears turned redder than ever, and then, to my very words, she fainted in my embrace, as if my words had been a coup de grace. Well, she was feverish a lot, after all. It was about time she rested.
When she passed out, in my embrace, her forehead leaned to mine and they touched. Damn, I thought, it's hot. Is that what they call 'fever'? It must be. What do I… Hm, the old man will know what to do.
Holding her like the princess she was, I walked to a nearby tree and let her rest there. I couldn't allow myself to leave her for too long: her state was aggravating and her breathing seemed laborious and uneven enough. Well, I'd just need to make it quick. Standing back up, I turned to the elf. "White-haired."
The man stood in front of me, all for the sake of his cheerless mission. "You've been respectful enough." It had been long since he got back to me and the elven girl. As painful as it may have been, he still could walk after I sent him flying. "I held back, at the time," I told him. "Presently, I won't. You've been respectful enough. I thank you for that. You didn't disturb us. …Now what?" This elf—when I first saw the gray stormy sky, and the heavy rain, I knew he would be the one to drown in it. He had to drown. A life had to be given in exchange for another. For the princess', I'd take his.
"...Her name… The princess' name is Cetha. It was Cetha Ren Benelloan, but if she runs away, she will have to abandon that name." He was a distance away from me. As the deluge soaked him, his cold yet warm, calculating eyes plunged into mine. With a pained expression, as usual, he spoke with shame and self-resentment. If I was to describe his life in a few words, I'd say 'A righteous elf with too harsh a life.'
"You're the flower who'll have to drown, then?"
"Indeed so. I cannot go back."
"So her name's Cetha."
"Yes. …In the end, I couldn't understand what you were."
"You didn't."
"But… I trust I at least know one fact… about yourself, whatever you may be."
"And that is?"
"You've got power and guts."
"I do."
"Please, protect the princess I couldn't."
"I will."
"The demons… they'll go after her. You'll have to grow stronger."
"Hm..."
"And you'll have to protect her. Please. Her name is Cetha. You tell her to forget the Ren Benelloan part—she cannot wear such a wretched name anymore. She'll be in danger otherwise. But you… you'll protect her. I failed at my mission to do so. …And now, I'll fail at the second mission I was given. …I'll die here, and may the Sacred Forest protect my miserable people."
"..."
"...Promise me you will protect her."
"White-haired, I swear to protect her." Yes, I meant to protect her. She might have been the most precious person in the world to me. Though I couldn't explain the feeling, I could confidently say that I desired her.
"I thank you for that."
"...You did great out here." I meant it. I'd remember this elf as a good man. In the end, he didn't succeed, but hey, he and I both knew he had tried a lot. He was a great guy.
"...I'm reassured, truly. If it's you then… maybe her fate will be different. …Take care of her for me— No… Not for that bastard; not for me. Do it for her."
To his last words, I nodded. The elf meant it—he would also fail at the second mission he'd been given. In the first place, if they only wandered around the land, in and out of the forest, it was for the sole purpose of stalling for time.
After the war was lost, the royalty had been evacuated at once. Soon, it was known to the new temporary leader that the leader of the demons merely desired the true heir to the forest for whatever project the demon lords had. From this point on, though it was heavy on the elf, his mission changed radically. Rather than protect and evacuate the royalty, for the time being, he had to deliver her back to her people, after which she would be handed over to the enemy as a necessary sacrifice.
That was the content of the man's mission—he chose to fail at it. Yes, that also meant he would die.
Holding back the tears of regret and frustration within himself, the elf said he needed them not for what was to come. Instead, he needed to muster up his rage and anger. The dagger he held was pointed at me. Tightening his grip on the weapon, he glared at me with icy eyes.
From deep within himself, rather than tears, the roar of a cornered beast came out and shook the earth, and then, in his fury, the elf rushed at me.
He was closing in fast.
At the very last moment, before his dagger was stabbed in my chest, I slithered to the side, held onto the man's dagger, yanked it off his grip, aimed it at his heart, and pushed it in.
The weak faded away and the powerful survived.
"Oh ho ho…"
With ceremony, I held the dying elf in my arms when he sank to his knees, patted his back, and told I would take over things, so from now on, he could go... and rest. As his face radiated a smile of light, the smarting pain in his chest made him groan, and he passed quickly. My friend did. After that, I let him lay on a bed of grass, where he would forever lay.
"I recognized you took a long time, son."
"Old man. A lot happened."
"Should you take the time to weep for the elf's death?"
"...No."
"Not even a tear!? My grandchild has already become a hardened man of war—"
"Sh-Shh! Don't be so loud, you silly old man. Look here. You can't wake her up. She's sick. She needs your help. But… Aaah, we shouldn't have burned your house down—I now regret it."
"Ho ho… The young lady indeed seems unwell. Worry not about the abode, son. We only need shelter. The girl…"
"Cetha."
"Cetha will need some rest."
"She will? What happened to her anyway? I can't comprehend—"
"Well… It is… For now, young man, let us depart."
"Sure," I said. The old man had also seemed to go through 'a lot'. The rain made a neat job of washing off the blood from his white, majestic garb, but red stains still were showing. Across his silhouette, many other signs of many battles were visible.
Coldly analyzing me as I did him, he walked to me and placed a hand on top of my head. For a moment, he switched to the cold and icy old man mode. When he did that, he truly seemed like a completely different person.
Needless to say, it was unsettling. "Congratulations, by the way, son. I see you have acquired the Character, hm… Ha ha ha…" Laughing a laugh of Ha ha instead of Ho ho, his icy eyes bore into mine, caressing my black hair with elation.
'That' old man employed the gaming terminology of the System and said 'Character'. The problem was, I never had, even once, mentioned the term 'Character' to the old man.
Who was that two-faced old man, really?
Before long, we departed.
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…Ring! ❮ A new Main Quest has been obtained — Act I, Chapter I, 'Demons and Humans' — Yet another war breaks out at the border of the Roerden Kingdom. A faction of the demons' power—the demi-humans, mostly orcs—has had enough of Roerden's fearless dominance, has gone on a rampage, and attacked the mighty Human Kingdom. Whose favors will the Player earn from partaking in this conflict? The humans' or demi-humans'? Maybe both? Complete the quest and find out! ❯
…Ring!
❮ Main Quest 'Demons and Humans' — Head out of the Forest of Benelloan by the North. There, let the Player meet with the two armies. 0/1 ❯
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Afterword: Hi. I like dots. It's me, the author. I thank you for reading my story this far on webnovel. This is the end of this series' first book. I'm looking forward to having you read what comes after and have you accompany me on the MC's fantastic journey across the Outside World. I mean it though: many, many thanks to you who have been reading to this point. Being a writer and author is what I've always longed for, so I appreciate your support dearly. At first, with this afterword, I planned to make a point of diving into the main ideas I had to make this book a reality, talking about the broader concept of it in general, and laying out the foundations of my work, but I thought better of it. Instead, if you have any questions regarding the story's concept, origin, or anything meaningful, like questions about characters, where you think the story will go, and any kind of stuff, feel free to ask them in this chapter's comment section. I will try to take some of my time to satiate your curiosity. Hoping you will stick around and read more. See you.
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