Ch. 275
Rovenin didn’t budge from where he stood, even though all this commotion had been caused by him.
His expression—unreadable as ever—didn’t change.
He didn’t seem particularly interested in the fact that the prince had apologized and been humiliated in his place.
“Human, is it true that this trash is a high-ranking noble to the point that killing him would cause problems?”
“It’s true that he’s trash, and it’s true that he’s a high-ranking noble.”
“To what extent can it be smoothed over…?”
I silently conveyed with my eyes that it was impossible.
Regrettably, Rovenin was the eldest son of the Fedri Dukedom, which held power comparable to the royal family.
If we openly killed him, it would inevitably become troublesome.
It would have been better if Rovenin had been born a commoner, but even then, it wouldn’t change the danger.
He was such a genius that Elan would have surely treated him like an intangible cultural asset and protected him.
I beckoned Zekarda closer with a flick of my hand, then whispered into his ear.
“But there’s good news. He’s not like that only to you. The entire continent knows he has a bizarre hobby of picking fights with anyone who looks strong. So, even if he dies somewhere remote one day… Hehe.”
“Hoo… What about the agreement?”
“You’re my slave right now. And you’re under obedience magic. We can say you were inevitably manipulated. Then it’s not a problem between Dark Elves and humans, but a problem between humans.”
“…I like it, but wouldn’t that put you in trouble?”
Judging by his concern for me, he still didn’t know me well.
“A perfect crime is innocence. And I’m a perfect crime expert.”
[No matter how you look at it, you’re just a crime expert, aren’t you?]
“It sounds like bullshit, but it’s plausible!”
Zekarda and I, having found a common enemy, quickly became united in spirit.
As we shook hands, Ash muttered in despair, like he was staring down every trial in the world.
“…Geenie. I can hear everything.”
“Why are you eavesdropping!”
“Just by looking at your expression, I can tell what you’re plotting. Really… What kind of ordeal is this? Unifying the continent would be easier.”
“I can hear you too!”
“Young Master, come here. And Zekarda… Apologize to him. It’s all your fault.”
Ash, face serious, grabbed Rovenin’s arm and tugged him toward us a bit roughly.
Rovenin came along without resisting, and faced Zekarda with an indifferent expression. Looking closer, Zekarda was slightly taller.
The body of Zekarda, whom I’d thought was quite muscular when I hugged him earlier, suddenly seemed slender—probably because Rovenin was more physically imposing.
Zekarda had that elongated, characteristic Elven build.
For some reason, I enjoyed appraising men’s muscles.
It was while I was rolling my eyes, expecting a fight to break out, as Rovenin and Zekarda clashed in a silent battle of wills.
“Immediately! Apologize properly.”
Ash—smallest of the three—slapped Rovenin on the back to urge him on.
“…?”
“…?”
Zekarda and I both wore equally dumbfounded expressions at the sudden appearance of a parental figure, but Rovenin nodded like it was nothing.
“I apologize.”
“More properly!”
“…Um, I didn’t know you were not with the slavers.”
The fact that a guy who looked like he’d never apologize even with a knife at his throat did it so easily had the side effect of making me feel even dirtier.
“If you had said you were being chased by slavers, I would have waited for later.”
“…Is this guy crazy?”
“Yeah. You know that now?”
“Hey, blondie. I just had a thought—wouldn’t it be a perfect crime if we killed this guy and this guy too?”
Zekarda pointed at Ash and Rovenin in turn.
This guy—he wasn’t planning on remembering my name, was he?
“No way.”
“Why? It seems possible if you and I join forces.”
He thought just like me.
“Let me give you some eye-level education. You can’t kill this ordinary-looking human with brown hair because he’s someone I cherish.”
“You have unusual tastes.”
“If you want to commit a perfect crime here, you’d have to kill me too. But you can’t kill me, can you? So it’s a failed plan.”
I pointed at the Suppression tool on Zekarda’s neck with the hand wearing the master’s ring.
Zekarda immediately frowned.
“Dirty world…”
While one Dark Elf choked on the bitterness of the world,
While Ash was strangely blushing and clearing his throat,
Rovenin made a confusing sound—like he was grasping the atmosphere, or not—and spoke in his monotone.
“As an apology, I will help wipe out the slavers.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“I’ll eradicate them.”
I’d felt this absurd sensation earlier too, I think.
Like I’d just heard something I wasn’t supposed to hear.
Rovenin was a strange guy who joined when he should have left, and left when he should have joined.
“…What? Why is he like that!”
[He’s gone crazy!]
“Did Ash give him the wrong medicine? Ash! What did you feed him again?”
“Hmph, medicine, you say. The Young Master is merely not missing an opportunity to see blood.”
“…Ah?”
“It seems he thinks it’s a good opportunity to stretch his limbs…”
Ash rubbed his temples like he had a headache, groaning like something was boiling inside him.
Now that I thought about it, Rovenin had a history of wiping out bandits in Heidrike.
To Rovenin, criminals were just an excuse to cut people down without being scolded.
I agreed with him on that point.
“I thought he was saying something human for once…”
[He just wanted to use his sword.]
“So it’s not really an apology!”
It was a natural reaction, but Zekarda looked just as disgusted as I did. Rai too.
“Who would ever! Unless I’m crazy, that would never happen!”
Wiping out the slavers was revenge, and Rovenin was the one who decisively caused that revenge.
The very idea of going together was absurd…
‘Or is it?’
I subtly stepped on the tip of Zekarda’s foot as he was rejecting it fiercely.
Then eyes of mysterious color, with narrow pupils, looked down at me in question.
‘Kill him if you see an opportunity. Take him.’
I raised my thumb and made a throat-slitting gesture.
My expression was more serious than ever, and Zekarda’s pupils contracted sharply once.
That meant he understood.
“Did I ever tell you that I’m called a madman in the forest?”
“I think I know even if you don’t tell me! You look like one!”
I readily agreed.
Rovenin was crawling back into the pit with his own feet after Ash had painstakingly pulled him out.
“Young Master? They’re openly plotting to kill you right now… Are you really going?”
“All the better.”
“You’re still… desperate to die.”
“There’s nothing more enjoyable than that. Besides, I’ve been holding back from killing what I want to kill lately, so my body is stiff.”
Rovenin’s gaze flicked over my face.
His eyes were so intense my heart pounded.
‘Should I go with them to wipe out the slavers?’
[…You said it was a hassle!]
‘I think my life would be easier if I just killed him. Killing him in a way that looks like an accident.’
[Weren’t you going to get close to him to let his guard down… What about that plan?]
[Ah, that was an impossible plan from the start.]
The theory was perfect. The practice was impossible.
It had been a long time since my body followed my mind, so things didn’t go as planned.
Rovenin and I stubbornly stared at each other, as if the first one to blink would lose.
He was right in front of me, but I couldn’t touch him, couldn’t kill him—so where else could I put this frustrating feeling?
I ended up confessing it.
“You know, Rovenin? My heart beats so fast whenever I see you. Do you know how special you are?”
“You’re special too. There’s never been anyone in my life I’ve wanted to kill as much as you.”
“Oh my, how delightful. We feel the same way!”
“God… This isn’t it… It’s really not. It’s too much of an ordeal.”
Only Ash—the only one trying to stop it, in a relationship where both sides were desperate to kill each other—was getting thinner and thinner.
That night was unusually long and noisy.
For a certain prince with good fortune, one day might have felt like a year.
—
Since we didn’t have any equipment necessary for camping, we couldn’t sleep in the shelter.
We abandoned the iron cage and headed to a nearby village in the cart.
But it was such a small village that there were no inns, and even the bed-and-breakfasts were closed because it was late.
The only option left was sleeping in the stable, but luckily, we were able to borrow an empty house from the village chief, who heard us whispering and came outside.
It was more accurate to say we were lucky because the village chief had a good nose for money.
“It’s a house where two people used to live, so there’s only one room, but it’s enough to sleep in for one night. I don’t have anything else to give you, but I can bring you some dry straw. And the lodging fee is prepaid.”
Renting an empty house cost more than most mid-range inns, but it didn’t matter as long as there was a roof.
I didn’t want to wake up soaked with morning dew.
I also hated being kept awake by bugs crawling over my lips.
Travelers usually avoid camping because of monsters, but in my opinion, monsters were rather cute.
A little better than bugs?
Since I can kill them both with one finger anyway, it’s the same thing.
“It’s better than I thought?”
“The village chief must have taken good care of it.”
The house—emptied when the owner moved to the capital—had been maintained in preparation for renting it out to travelers.
It was neatly cleaned, and there were dishes and pots too, though they were old and chipped.
Naturally, the only room became mine.
The men spread straw in the kitchen and made places to lie down.
“Young Master, move the chest in the cart inside. I’ll light the fire in the fireplace.”
“What should I do?”
“Just stay still. That’s helping.”
“How is that helping?”
“You’re contributing to peace.”
While Ash used Rovenin like a servant and told Zekarda not to do anything, I looked around the room—but there was nothing to see besides a single bed.
Even that bed had straw and thick cloth spread out instead of a blanket, so it didn’t look comfortable.
Still, it was better than bare ground, and above all, I was tired, so I crawled onto it, thinking I’d lie down for a while.
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