Chapter 217: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Peaceful Elf Village Part 1

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“Al-sama! Are you unharmed?”

Sonia, who had landed right after me, rushed over with a worried look on her face. I lightly raised a hand and replied.

“No problem! More importantly, where is the Star Guide-sama?”

I asked while glancing around restlessly. After all, she was a member of a different organization, and the very position of Star Guide carried considerable status. In a situation like this, she was someone who needed to be protected first and foremost.

“I’m right here~”

At that moment, the Star Guide-sama flew over with a fluttering sound. Like Bishop Fiorenza, she belonged to the Winged Folk. While not as capable as the Birdfolk, she could still fly on her own.

“Oh, thank goodness. I apologize for dragging you into this trouble, Star Guide-sama. We will protect you at all costs, so please do not stray from us.”

Given that she had provided support and intelligence, I could judge that the “Legitimate” faction was not our enemy but I still could not fully trust them. For now, it would be best to stick together. Besides, Winged Folk had the disadvantage of “dead weight” like arms, meaning their flight ability was significantly inferior to that of Birdfolk. Flying carelessly could easily get her hunted down.

“Yes, yes, I’m counting on you.”

Despite having entered an intense combat zone, the Star Guide-sama did not look shaken at all. Thick-skinned, or perhaps just fearless… It was hard to say.

“Alright, then let’s first rendezvous with the ground forces. With only two combatants, it’s not even a conversa—”

“Who are you lot! State your names!”

A sharp voice cut in just as I was about to give Sonia instructions. Looking over, I saw a group of elves aiming drawn bows at us. They were all wearing leather armor, with quivers at their waists and the elves’ distinctive wooden swords strapped to their sides. An elven warrior unit. I restrained Sonia, who was about to step forward to protect me, with a hand and shouted out.

“I am Albert Blondin, Castellan of Liseben! I request that you give me your official name as well!”

“Liseben, you say? That’s Lady Lyutikainen’s country, ain’t it! Oi, lower yer weapons! These ain’t enemies!”

At the command of what appeared to be the unit’s leader, the elves all lowered their bows at once.

“I’m Fezaria Orphan, the leader of the Legitimate Elfenia Empire.”

“Oh! So you are the one…”

It seemed I had unexpectedly run into the leader of Legitimate Elfenia right away. I took a good look at her. She appeared slightly younger than me, with platinum-blonde hair tied in a ponytail and a dignified, resolute expression.

If I remembered correctly, she claimed to be a descendant of Elfenian royalty. I didn’t know whether that was true, but she certainly had an air of nobility about her. She really looked the part of an elven princess-knight.

“You’re a man, ain’t ya, wearin’ that armor. I’ll have my women guide ya. Fall back to a safe place for now.”

“That won’t be possible. I still haven’t linked up with the knights I dispatched yesterday. I cannot abandon my subordinates and flee.”

“…Well, suit yourself. Follow me, then.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, Orphan gestured for us to come along. It seemed she was willing to guide us to where my subordinates were.

“How are my women? Are they safe?”

“We can’t go lettin’ our guests come to harm. They’re waitin’ in the rear for now.”

…These elves were a lot more rational than I expected. I was sure they’d been forced straight into the fighting. Personally, I didn’t want to get involved in this battle if I could avoid it. There was little to gain, and if that crow’s words were true, the ones they were fighting now were the ‘New’ Elfenia army. I wanted to avoid starting hostilities and ending up at war with them.

“I see. Thank you for your consideration. …Forgive me for asking so many questions, but who exactly are you fighting right now? Are they the ones calling themselves the New Elfenia Empire?”

I asked while directing my gaze toward the center of the village. Fierce fighting was clearly underway there. Screams, shouts, the clash of blades, and even the roar of what sounded like magically generated gales filled the air.

“That’s right. They’re the usurpers. …We flew too many crows and dragons lately, and they figured out where our hidden village was.”

…Wow. This was a full-blown civil war. A real firebrand of a situation. I didn’t want to touch it, but… Oil. I really did want oil. …Setting that aside, she mentioned flying crows and dragons too often. The “dragons” were probably our wyverns. That meant the village’s location being exposed was partly our fault as well…

“We were just about to harvest the elf potatoes, too…I guess abandonin’ the village can’t be avoided now.”

“There’ll be more people starvin’ to death again…”

The battle-ready elves muttered among themselves. Orphan’s expression hardened into a grim scowl as she snapped back.

“Don’t go sayin’ such pathetic things in front of a man!”

This was a brutally harsh situation. Sure enough, every elf around us was painfully thin. Their nutritional condition was clearly terrible. No wonder public order had deteriorated. Even in Japan’s past, riots had broken out whenever famines struck.

“Hii—!?”

Just as I was thinking that, several arrows came flying in with a sharp cutting sound. Instinctively shielding the Star Guide-sama, I drew my saber and knocked down the arrows that were on a direct collision course. My hand tingled violently from the impact. They had clearly been fired from extremely powerful bows.

“Tch—new ones!?”

The elves immediately bristled with killing intent, raising their wooden swords and bows. Looking toward where the arrows had come from, I saw a group of about twenty elves aiming at us. They were almost certainly from the “New” faction. They loosed another volley all at once. The elves on our side chanted magical incantations in a sing-song voice, generating a violent gale. Every single arrow was blown away by the wind.

“Chesto—!”

But the enemy had anticipated this. With savage cries, they drew their wooden swords and charged forward in unison. It was an aggressively headlong style of combat.

“I take it you’re Orphan-don! I’ve come to claim your head!”

An elven soldier at the front shouted this as she lunged at Orphan.

“You think the likes of you can take my head so easily!?”

Roaring back, Orphan caught the enemy’s blade with her own wooden sword. The instant their weapons collided, an explosive gale erupted, blasting the enemy elf away. It seemed the enchantment embedded in the wooden sword had activated. So Dalaiya-san’s claim that every elven wooden sword was a magical item was true after all.

While that crossed my mind, I tightened my grip on my saber. The enemy showed no hesitation in attacking us as well.

“Star Guide-sama, please hide behind those trees. Once the melee starts, I won’t be able to protect you.”

“O-okay! Oh wow, how scary…”

After evacuating the non-combatant, I raised my saber and shouted at the enemy elves.

“I am Albert Blondin, Castellan of Liseben! Your actions are endangering our safety! If you continue your attack, we will retaliate in self-defense!”

If these really were the “New” elves, recklessly attacking them would be dangerous. I made our position clear and attempted to stop them. …But their response was merciless.

“That’s a man! Hey, d’ya got contraceptives!?”

“They got moldy, so we threw ’em out!”

“Well, whatever! If it happens, it happens! It’s been ages since we had a man… Take him alive!”

Wow. Sex was literally the only thing on their minds. Even though getting hit would make them lose the elves’ characteristic agelessness… 

No matter how I think about it, aren’t they being way too short-sighted?

“I take those words as a declaration of war!”

Even so, I couldn’t just let myself be violated. …I mean, honestly, I was curious but as a feudal lord, that would be unacceptable. With no other choice, I raised my saber. The polished blade caught the dappled sunlight and gleamed sharply.

“We are prepared to intercept! Kyeeeeeeh!”

Offense was the best defense. I kicked off the ground and charged straight at the enemy. Sonia shouted, “Al-sama!” but I ignored her. In my fighting style, letting the enemy take the initiative was far more dangerous.

“Gwaah!”

Even those savage elf warriors hadn’t expected a man to suddenly charge at them screaming. Taking advantage of their momentary hesitation, I cut down the frontmost elf soldier in a single stroke.

One down, but there were still plenty more…

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