Chapter 35 - Ties from the Past (2)

「Eyes that resemble starlight」

「Lips that seem brushed with pomegranate」

「Cheeks that seem coated in honey」

「A forehead as lovely as that of a newborn child」

「A voice as fresh as a chirping bird」

The most beautiful creature made by God.

「Artless purity」

「Unstained innocence」

「Unfallen altruism」

A good-hearted race that would never harm even the smallest life carelessly,

「A flower that remains green even after hundreds of years」

「Life force like a thousand-year-old giant tree」

The gardeners of the forest, who lived anywhere from three hundred years at the shortest to one thousand years at the longest.

「Beautiful」 「Good-hearted」 「Fresh for ages」

That was the being people commonly thought of as an elf.

And there was a fatal error in that.

Elves were never pure, never innocent, and never altruistic. They were sinister, calculating, and at the same time, terribly self-righteous.

The rumors about good and benevolent elves were nothing more than fantasies made up at will by people bewitched by their angelic appearances, and I knew that better than anyone.

I had experienced it several times in the past.

The ends of those bewitched by elves were mostly not good. They were a cruel race that used beauty as bait to drive others to ruin.

And among such elves, there were some who were especially more dangerous.

「High Elf」

A race like thousand-year flowers that bloomed first and withered late, the [Heroes] of the elven race—that was what they were.

And yet that High Elf was standing right before my eyes.

Not just any High Elf, either, but an Elder High Elf who had lived for nearly a thousand years.

「Sigrun, the Dancing Magic Swordsman」

Sigrun had been a member of the expedition that had slain the mad dragon in the past. And she was also a lunatic who had tormented me, back when I was a sword, to a truly horrifying degree.

That Sigrun was looking at me with the exact same appearance she had four hundred years ago.

Her gaze was still clear and transparent, and at the same time, it was also tenacious.

Gulp.

With hundreds of years of life as a sword behind me, I had nothing to fear, but Sigrun was different. This elf was truly out of her mind.

["If your master dies, will you come with me?"]

["I'll make sure you're never bored for the rest of your life."]

["So what if you're a sword? I like you even better because you're a sword."]

When I recalled her blissful expression as she kept stroking my sleek body, I felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Sigrun parted her lips.

"I never thought there would still be someone who remembered the poems."

I realized my mistake.

I had used the power of a Poem of Martial Deeds without ever imagining that she might be here. And of all things, I had recited the [Poem of the King], which she also knew very well.

I racked my brain. I spun my mind furiously, trying somehow to escape this unpleasant reunion.

But fortunately, that was needless worry.

"The descendant of the Dragon Slayer has not yet forgotten the transmission."

Only after seeing Sigrun's face, showing not even the slightest trace of suspicion, did I realize that fact.

My current appearance was completely different from the past appearance she knew.

I was not a sword, but a human, the eldest son of the Leonberk family.

A sigh of relief escaped me on its own.

At the fact that I would not have to be harassed by her like before, I could not help but stroke my chest in relief.

"My greetings are late. I am Sigrun, the representative of the delegation visiting to confirm our friendship with the kingdom."

"Adrian Leonberk."

I accepted her greeting as calmly as I could.

Sigrun tilted her head.

At that innocent look, the noblemen clutched their chests and made a fuss as though they would die.

I felt sick.

The behavior of those men, fooled by her beautiful appearance, made me uncomfortable.

What kind of faces would they make if they learned that what was inside that fresh shell was a thousand-year-old monster?

I quickly brushed away my curiosity. I had no intention of provoking Sigrun just to satisfy some worthless curiosity.

She was one of the strongest beings I had known in my hundreds of years as a sword, and at the same time, she was the most unpredictable.

I did not want to stake my future on something so trivial.

Ugh.

It seemed today's banquet was ruined as well.

Yesterday, the ambassador from the empire had turned my stomach, and today, a mad elf had latched on to me. My luck was truly terrible.

It was enough to make even the grand recitation of a Poem of Martial Deeds feel meaningless.

I was trying to quietly withdraw when Sigrun strode closer.

"By the way."

She brought her face so close I could feel her breath and asked.

"Have we met somewhere before?"

For a moment, chills ran down my spine. I hid my goosebump-covered hand behind my back and shook my head.

"How strange. Why do you feel so familiar?"

"This is the first time I've seen an elf with my own eyes."

At my words, her eyes narrowed.

"Really?"

"Really."

At that clear gaze that seemed to see right through me, my spine turned cold.

High Elves were beings born with the grade of a [Hero] from birth. As I was now, I could not even begin to guess how high her grade, which had already been impossibly lofty four hundred years ago, might have reached by now.

I could only hope that her grade had not reached the realm of insight that saw through all things.

"Lie."

At Sigrun's words, my heart dropped.

"It's the truth."

When I spoke while forcing myself to appear calm, she shook her head.

"The reactions of humans seeing an elf for the first time are usually one of two things."

She spoke with a face that seemed as though it might melt.

"They are either enchanted."

I frowned at that unpleasant coquettishness.

"Or they are wary, like Your Highness."

Ordinary people fell into the former category, and only those who had occasionally reached a fairly high personal realm fell into the latter.

"But as I see it, Your Highness does not yet appear to have reached such a high realm."

Sigrun said it with a bright smile.

"My tastes are just a little unusual."

It was nonsense. An elf's appearance was something transcendent that allowed no likes or dislikes. Even rough orcs acknowledged the beauty of elves.

To bring up taste in front of such absolute beauty. What a desperate excuse it was.

But what could she do? When the person in question said so, it would be rather undignified to shriek that there was no man who would not fall for her.

And the Sigrun I knew was never a woman with so little pride.

Tap.

She took a couple of steps back.

"I was very glad to meet you, however briefly."

Pulling her hood back over her head, she took a place in one corner of the banquet hall.

"Ah..."

As her face sank into the shadow of the hood, sighs flowed out from every direction. When I looked around, numerous men were following Sigrun with their eyes as though enchanted. Among them were gazes twisted with greed and desire.

They would ruin their families at this rate.

If they were fooled by that innocent shell and tried something, not even a foundation stone would be left. The elves who stepped forward for retribution had no mercy, and their wrath did not distinguish between men and women, old and young.

I clicked my tongue once and turned around.

I saw my maternal uncle's face. His expression showed that he had not noticed in the slightest how extraordinary the elven woman who had been right in front of him was.

Well, who would dare notice the aura of an Elder High Elf who had deliberately hidden it?

Even so, he looked so defenseless that a sigh slipped out.

If Sigrun had come here today with ill intentions, this country's fate would be over as well.

"Now entering: the rightful ruler of Leonberk, the most noble and wise of all, the benevolent and beautiful consort of His Majesty King Lionel Leonberk, Queen Margarita!"

While I was briefly lost in thought, the Queen appeared.

Her bearing, splendid yet never losing its dignity, was quite impressive.

The somewhat disorderly atmosphere was arranged at once. The nobles all knelt or bowed their heads before the noble lady.

"Ian."

Escorted lightly by a female knight, the Queen arrived before me and looked proud.

"Seeing you like this, it is as though I am looking at His Majesty in the past."

It seemed she was quite pleased with my carefully adorned appearance.

"Come here."

She took my hand and headed for the dais.

"Do not even think of slipping away early today."

Moving her lips quietly as though ventriloquizing, she sat in the chair prepared on the dais. I, too, took a seat beside her.

I saw the empty chairs on the dais. They were the seats of the King and the other royals.

"His Majesty is scheduled to attend tomorrow."

After saying that, she added one more thing.

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that today is a place for you, so simply enjoy yourself."

The Queen sprang up from her seat and bestowed a brief blessing upon the nobles. At her words, which were nothing particularly special, time in the banquet hall that had briefly stopped began to flow again.

Music flowed out. The great lords and nobles approached in turn and paid respect to the Queen. Their actions and words were completely different from when they dealt with me.

This was the true dignity of royalty.

Seeing the nobles come and bow their heads on their own, without any need to borrow the grade of a Poem of Martial Deeds, I smiled bitterly.

I still have a long way to go.

I was not disappointed. If I continued toward completion and Transcendence, a lofty grade would follow eventually anyway.

"How was she?"

"Pardon?"

While I was lost in thought, the Queen asked.

"The child just now."

I unconsciously followed her gaze. I saw a little girl who looked perhaps ten years old. When our eyes met, the child twisted her body shyly.

"Her family is excellent, and her character has no faults. I hear she is also more than sufficiently endowed with the accomplishments of a lady, so she would be more than suitable as your spouse."

Only belatedly understanding what the Queen's question was asking, I made a startled face.

"She's too young."

A young lady who was embarrassing to call even a girl, let alone a woman—when I gave my honest appraisal, the Queen launched into a long scolding.

I let her words go in one ear and out the other.

"Tsk."

Clicking her tongue, the Queen presented another candidate to me.

She was older than the first child, but likewise, there was not a shred of maturity to be seen in her.

I shook my head.

The candidate and the woman who appeared to be her mother turned away. For some reason, the mother and daughter seemed relieved.

After that, several more candidates passed before me.

Seeing young ladies who were all not merely youthful but not yet fully grown, I kept sighing.

The Queen also sighed along with me.

How long had we been at that?

A hooded group strode up before the dais. It was Sigrun and the elves.

"Sigrun of the Mistletoe Clan greets the beautiful Queen Margarita."

Sigrun greeted her with a fresh face.

"It has truly been a long time since elves visited the kingdom, so I can only be surprised."

Although the Queen was surprised by the elves' visit, she was very pleased, saying that honored guests arriving on a day like this was a good omen.

"From what I see, it seemed Your Majesty was searching for a woman to become His Highness's spouse. Am I correct?"

Sigrun stepped one pace forward and asked. When the Queen nodded, she showed a bright smile.

"In truth, when the king sent us here, I could not understand the reason. But after coming here, I think I know why the king sent us to this place."

She looked at me.

"What does Your Majesty think of our race?"

"I think of you as unobtrusive neighbors, and beings who may become friends at any time."

At the Queen's answer, Sigrun's smile grew deeper.

I became uneasy, and soon realized the nature of that unease.

"Do you not think family is better than friends?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I may not look it, but I am a High Elf. In human language, you could say I am a noble from a fairly venerable family."

Good grief. I had complained that the Queen was presenting candidates who were far too young, and now the oldest bride candidate in the world had appeared.

"As it just so happens, my age is not all that different from His Highness's."

The detestable Sigrun spun her lie. Without even wetting her lips.