STGAAB Novel MTL - Chapter 778
Chapter 778: 13th Month (5)
What is the path I must take? I haven’t found the answer to that question yet, but I’m now walking down a path. And it’s not in the holy land of the Barbarians, but that of another race.
Step, step.
The street was a blend of the familiar urban structures but exudes an exotic atmosphere, somehow harmonizing with nature. Just by looking up a bit, the giant tree in the distance explains exactly where you are.
The holy land of the Elves, Varharium.
Naturally, this place too was in the midst of a festival, but it felt significantly different from the barbarians’ celebrations. While it wasn’t quiet, it had a certain sense of order, unlike the chaotic energy of the barbarians. Even the background music was different. The barbarians favored drums and percussion, while here, the gentle, lively sounds of string instruments dominated.
‘No one’s fighting, either……’
Hmm, is this a cultural difference? It was my first time witnessing a festival from another race, so I found it quite fascinating. But I wondered if Erwen, walking alongside me, was familiar with this scene.
“Hey! Don’t you think it’s so nice here? There’s no burning smell at all!”
Erwen seemed to enjoy this aspect more than the festival itself. Well, it’s not like I disliked it either.
“The air is clean, I’ll give you that… but how did they manage that?”
Though the festival was in full swing, the burning smell from the large fire in District 8 still lingered throughout the city. Even District 5, with its daily operation of air-purifying magic circles, couldn’t completely get rid of the smell, so how was the air here so clean? Erwen pointed at the distant tree as her answer.
“It’s thanks to the Sacred Tree over there. Outsiders don’t know this, but the Sacred Tree has the power of purification.”
Ah, right…… I feel like I remember such a setting.
“Anyway, enough sightseeing. Let’s go that way now.”
“Huh? Didn’t we come here for the festival?”
“What? Why would I? What’s fun about a boring festival like that……”
“Then why are we here?”
“Just follow me!”
Erwen quickly picked up her pace and guided me forward. However, since we were still at the entrance of the holy land, we had no choice but to pass through the festival area for quite some time.
“…It’s the Blood Spirit.”
“And who’s that human next to her?”
“If he’s standing next to the Blood Spirit… Could he be Baron Yandel?”
“But he looks too small for that.”
Unlike the festival in the city, even though I’ve reduced my size by wearing the ‘Crimson Evening Suit,’ I drew attention with every step. It’s because other races are rare in the Elven holy land, and the person beside me was far too famous……
“…That snake-like woman.”
“Even though she took the pureblood, she abandoned her duties to follow a man?”
“After abandoning her tribe, how dare she show her face here……”
The hateful words aimed at Erwen reached my ears. Traitor. Snake. The shame of her clan……
‘No wonder she hasn’t come to the holy land in a long time… Was this why?’
Voices of criticism echoed from all directions. Just as I began to wonder if this was really alright, Erwen tugged at my sleeve.
“Let’s hurry……”
Hah… Right. It would be strange for me to step in when she’s staying quiet. I swallowed my frustration and quickly followed Erwen.
But……
“Tsk, just look at that.”
Who said elves are all honest and pure? And who said elves, unlike humans, are far from being insidious? Such questions were meaningless now. Whoever it is, if they say such things to me in the future, they’ll get a beating.
“Look at her pulling that man’s hand like a prostitute from the red-light district—.”
“Behell—aaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“……!!”
I immediately deactivated the Crimson Evening Suit’s effect, using both [Union] and [Giantization], and let out a roar.
[You have used Wild Outburst. Your threat level is increased by times 3, and your Physical Attributes increase in proportion to that value.]
As my threat level spiked from using [Wild Outburst], the roar I unleashed echoed through the air, carried by the wind. Within a 50-meter radius, not even a rat dared to move.
“……”
“……”
Dozens of people around me stood frozen, as if a single twitch could cost them their lives. It’s a bit ironic. I hadn’t even used a stun skill, I just increased my ‘threat level.’
‘If they were going to cower like this, why did they bother stirring up trouble in the first place?’
It’s hard to understand, but this behavior proves that even elves are still just people. Luckily, barbarians specialize in handling people.
Thud-!
As I strode forward, shoving aside the frozen crowd, I came face to face with a middle-aged elf whose face had turned ghostly white. His eyes, wide with fear, looked up at me.
“I……”
He wanted to say something, but he was so terrified that he couldn’t even move his lips properly. I demanded from him.
“Say it again.”
“……”
“What did you say about my comrade just now?”
“……”
He said nothing in response to my question. That was fortunate. Had he repeated what he said, I likely would’ve hit him before thinking twice. Seeing that he had some sense of self-preservation, I decided to offer him some advice.
“Keep your mouth shut if you want to live a long life.”
“……I-I will.”
The elf man nodded quickly, as if clinging to a lifeline, and with that, the incident was over.
“Mister……”
Erwen quietly approached me, cautiously taking hold of my sleeve and pulling me along.
But……
“Damn it.”
“Why is he here?”
“Is it even right for him to act like that in someone else’s holy land?”
“That ignorant fool… Does he not even think about the diplomatic issues this could cause……”
The whispers behind me continued unabated. Did they think I’d lose my temper again?
“Don’t pay attention to them. Let’s just go. Come on.”
“Alright.”
Pretending to be defeated, I let Erwen lead me along. It almost felt like I was some delinquent trying to keep his cool in front of his girlfriend. But I had no regrets. Why would I? This was their fault, not mine. If they said something like that where a barbarian could hear, of course this would happen—.
“…Still, it seems like he does care for her since she’s his woman.”
“How strange of the Blood Spirit. What does she even see in a barbarian like that……”
Ah, for crying out loud.
Thud.
Apologizing to Erwen in my heart, I stopped walking and glanced at the crowd around me. The same people who’d been talking behind my back suddenly fell silent and avoided my gaze.
‘Now she’s getting insulted because of me. I can’t just let this slide.’
Making a quick decision, I shouted loudly.
“Listen up! I swear on all the honor I have! Here and now, I, Bjorn, son of Yandel, swear that I have never slept with Erwen Fornacci di Tersia!”
I shouted in hopes of silencing any more strange rumors, but I quickly realized I needed to correct myself. In my rush, I made a bit of an error.
“Ah! No, wait! To be clear, it’s not that we haven’t slept together……! I mean, we didn’t do that, we just slept! I swear on all the honor of my mom and dad as well!”
A barbarian’s oath, carrying nothing but the pure truth.
“……”
Uh… but why isn’t anyone saying anything? Wait, could it be because I was too vague about saying we ‘didn’t’ do it?
But even for me, it would be too vulgar to mention it directly……
“Ah, um, well……”
For a moment, the extreme option of taking out the doll again crossed my mind, but I quickly discarded that idea. Instead, I hastily opted for Plan B.
“……Er-Erwen is a virgin!!”
Of course, there was still a flaw in this statement. From a quantum mechanics perspective, I hadn’t observed it myself, so technically, two parallel possibilities could exist simultaneously……
“Ah, probably……!!”
Well, that should do it.
***
“……”
“……”
After my shocking declaration, silence fell over the entire street.
“L-Let’s go……!”
Feeling a strong intuition that I’d just made a huge mistake, I swiftly grabbed Erwen by the wrist and dragged her away from the crowd.
And……
“Umm… Erwen……? I didn’t mean for things to go like this……”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.”
“No, really……”
“I mean it. It’s fine.”
Was it really fine, though? If she were Misha or Amelia, I probably would’ve gotten smacked by now. Her voice didn’t sound angry at least……
“Rather, I’m grateful. You stood up for me, didn’t you?”
“Y-yeah… that’s right?”
“So it’s okay. Though, I did feel a bit embarrassed.”
……I had nothing to say about that part. Therefore, I quickly changed the subject.
“There’s not a lot of people around here, huh?”
By the time we’d left the crowd behind, we found ourselves deep in the woods.
“This place isn’t a residential or commercial area. During the festival, not many people come all the way out here.”
“I see…”
“Since we were going past this place anyway, it doesn’t really matter. Shall we continue?”
“Okay.”
Once we entered the forest, Erwen slowed her pace, and we ended up walking through it like we were on a leisurely stroll.
‘Wait, where exactly are we going?’
That thought popped up belatedly, but I decided to ask something else first.
“So, uh… Erwen?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“……Does that happen often?”
“Oh, you mean that? Well, it’s inevitable. I’ve received the pureblood but haven’t fully dedicated myself to the tribe……”
I see, that explains it. I quickly asked one more thing. It might be an uncomfortable question for Erwen, but I had to know.
“Are there people who think they need to kill you and pass the pureblood on to someone else?”
“…I know there are some. Especially in times like these, they need more power. Well, you don’t need to worry about it. Thanks to you, even the elders can’t openly criticize me anymore.”
“I see……”
Looking at Erwen’s awkward smile, clearly trying to reassure me, a thought crossed my mind.
‘I should resolve this issue before it gets more serious……’
Of course, I can’t return the ‘pureblood,’ so I’ll either offer something of equal value in exchange or help the elves when they’re in danger to settle the debt.
“By the way, where are we going now?”
“Oh, we’re almost there.”
Wherever the destination was, for Erwen to bring me to the elven holy land despite facing such treatment must mean it had to be important.
“Alright.”
I didn’t ask any more questions and just followed Erwen silently, taking in the scenery. Soon, I noticed something peculiar.
“This place… isn’t just an ordinary forest, is it?”
When I stopped and asked, Erwen smiled awkwardly.
“Ah… did you notice?”
“The magic circles carved into the trees, the soft ground that makes it difficult to run, and even the branches arranged perfectly for ambushes from above. It’s all set up as a defense, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It is now.”
“…Now?”
“Actually, this place used to be a residential area. But after an invasion left the holy land in ruins, it was transformed into this.”
An invasion. I didn’t need to ask for details. It had to be about the ‘Dragon Slayer’ incident. From what I heard, Erwen lost her parents during that time.
“We used to live here too…… It’s strangely similar yet different from back then.”
“Is that so?”
“……Hehe, let’s stop talking about this and hurry on.”
I could tell it wasn’t the happiest memory for her, but there was no point dwelling on it now. We continued walking quietly through the forest, almost like we were on a casual stroll, until we finally reached our destination. In front of us was a small house by a tiny pond.
“This is my home. Where I, my big sister, and my little sister used to live. Well, neither my big sister nor I live here anymore.”
“So it’s empty now?”
“No, my little sister still lives here. Actually, the reason I brought you here was because of her……”
“Because of your sister?”
From what I’d heard, Erwen doesn’t get along with her little sister very well. After Daria died and I went missing, Erwen had neglected her family, focusing entirely on revenge. That’s also when she gained the title ‘Blood spirit.’
“I’ve been visiting her since I came back from the first basement floor. Our relationship has improved quite a bit….. But she’s really curious about you.”
Hmm, I think I understand what she means.
“I guess she must be worried that I’m some sort of strange person.”
“Well… it’s more that our race tends to have certain prejudices against barbarians…… I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. It’s my responsibility to begin with.”
“…Huh?”
“Your family is like my family now, isn’t it? And I’ve taken this long to come meet her. Is your sister inside? Let’s go in.”
Whatever her sister’s attitude might be, it was important to meet her sooner rather than later.
…Before word of what just happened in the village reaches her.
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