Chapter 124
"We almost faced the enemy's forces first!"
"Huh. Is it so strange to encounter enemy forces during a war?"
"...That wasn't our plan."
Apart from the threat to withdraw troops immediately, the fact that the humans who had been quiet expressed dissatisfaction was a dangerous situation for the Este Kingdom, which was at a crossroads of existence.
Vittorio, sweating profusely, desperately made excuses to Blake, who looked full of anger.
"The movements of those turncoats were too strange. If we had stayed still, they might have inflicted damage on us and slipped away easily."
"Even if that's true, shouldn't you have informed us? Without any contact, expecting us to move accordingly on our own?"
"I can explain that too. It's..."
Trying to at least avoid the dwarves' antipathy, Vittorio explained while suppressing his pride as much as possible.
"Isn't our Este Kingdom and your Ecrini Kingdom in the same crisis? We need to join forces."
"Hmm..."
Blake, frowning, inwardly enjoyed the sight of Vittorio fidgeting anxiously.
"..."
The elves who had seen Vittorio on the verge of exploding with anger before Blake arrived were overwhelmed by his mask-like appearance and just frowned as they listened to the humiliating conversation.
After a long exchange,
"...I hope such a situation doesn't arise again."
"..."
He left, satisfied with the elves' submissive attitude.
-Thud. Thud. Thud...
After confirming that Blake's clumsy footsteps had receded far enough, Vittorio stood still for a few minutes in the quiet tent, then,
"Salvatore."
"...Yes."
He called for Salvatore Sordi, the reconnaissance team leader with a position close to deputy corps commander.
Sensing the reason, Salvatore silently walked in front of him and gritted his teeth.
-Slap!
"Ugh..."
Vittorio slapped his cheek with full force.
"Hah... Put some strength into it."
"..."
-Slap!
"Kuh."
With an expression like a demon, he silently swung his hand with full force until both of Salvatore's cheeks turned bluish.
For several minutes, Vittorio's rough breathing, Salvatore's groans, and the cruel sound of slapping cheeks filled the elves' tent.
"Hah... Do you know why I'm doing this?"
After expressing his anger for a while, Vittorio touched his tingling hand and asked Salvatore, who had his head bowed with gritted teeth.
"...I'm sorry."
"Tsk..."
However, Salvatore's inarticulate answer didn't satisfy Vittorio at all, and,
"What do the others think? Do you think I'm just venting my anger because I'm upset about lowering my pride?"
"..."
The other elves around were also just carefully avoiding eye contact, afraid of being swept up in his anger.
"...Hah. And they call themselves elves."
Vittorio muttered softly, then,
"Aren't you angry?"
Suddenly changing his tone of voice, he started questioning them.
"You saw me crawling to those shorties, and you had no thoughts at all!"
"..."
The elves were just frustrated because they couldn't open their mouths due to the terribly depressed atmosphere.
No one could argue against Vittorio, whose eyes were bloodshot.
"Even though our country is in crisis, isn't this too cowardly? Even if the world oppresses us, we shouldn't forget the intentions we hold in our hearts! Couldn't one of you have stepped up and said something!"
"..."
"I was prepared to accept any criticism of my attitude, but to be this disappointing."
Thinking everyone's silence was affirmation, Vittorio shook his head in disappointment, and,
"Hugo."
"...Yes."
"What kind of race are we?"
"..."
"Answer."
"We elves are from the southern part of the continent..."
"No!"
He shouted at Hugo's ordinary answer.
"Elves are the most noble and superior race on this continent! We're wiser than humans, more elegant than dwarves, and stronger than orcs!"
Some elves who were friendly to other races frowned, but,
"..."
"Are you just going to endure this terrible situation where those bastards look down on us?"
Vittorio's continuous shouts without even breathing ignited the inflated pride that most elves harbored.
"We must make sure this never happens again. Even if those fools run away, we must repay this humiliation."
"Oh..."
"..."
Vittorio's madness gradually infected the elves.
The elves, inspired by his shouts, nodded their heads with burning enthusiasm.
"But we need their support..."
"Support? Renato. Did you just say we need support?"
When Renato Servi, who had been advocating cooperation with other countries from the beginning, tried to pour cold water on the situation, they all glared at him as he stepped forward.
"You seem to have forgotten today's battle. They only think of using us. If we naively move according to their will, elven blood will flow like rivers."
"But..."
"Why? Do you want to live forever bowing your head to them? If not, there's no reason to say such things."
"...No, that's not it."
With Vittorio's rebuttal and instigation added to this, he had no choice but to step back again.
"Of course, you might be worried. Even if we rush to their tent right now and insult them, we'll only lose usable troops."
"..."
"So, I'll take on the shameful role."
Vittorio drove the final nail in.
"I'll humor them. I'll endure the humiliation of bowing my head."
"...Commander."
"So please, take the fruits of that. Show those who look down on us exactly what elves are."
As he volunteered for the role that would inevitably be the most painful, the elves nodded firmly towards him.
"...Isn't that our specialty?"
"That's right!"
Even Salvatore affirmed with a slurred voice, and the elves raised their spirits as if they had never been depressed.
"For now, let's wait for the right time."
Satisfied with such reactions, Vittorio pondered how they could take revenge.
---
"We currently have scout units sent to and secured these points and these points. Judging from the direction of the enemy's retreat, I think it's correct to assume that the enemy is slowly marching along the central path."
"...I see."
From the day after he was humiliated by me, Vittorio participated in meetings very cooperatively, as if he had repented.
"Since orcs are limited in their mobility in the forest, your role will be important."
"We've already greatly reduced the Labria Republic's forces, so we'll do our best."
He actively shared the reconnaissance information of the scout units he had been hiding, and even towards Blake, his nemesis, although his expression was stiff, he maintained a neutral tone.
This meeting proceeded without any problems.
There was no comparison to the meeting just before, and even compared to when he visited the tent, the temperature difference was too extreme.
The expressions of the elves with him were somewhat strange, so.
"...Do you know why that bastard is acting like that?"
"Hmm..."
"Has he gone completely mad because his anger is too great?"
"...Whatever the reason, isn't it good that it's good?"
"That's true, but... I don't know."
Although we had set up strategies assuming cooperation,
When Vittorio wasn't present, even Blake expressed doubt to me.
"The depths of Adige. I see."
"We'll talk about detailed tactics slowly."
We dispersed after concluding to engage in full-scale battle in the forest for now, but.
"We might need to revise our guidelines too. We might unnecessarily provoke them if we're not careful."
"That's right. If they perform their role properly, they're the most reliable allies in the forest."
It was certain that the elves' behavior was strange, so the officers asked how to deal with the elves rather than about the operation.
Looking at the situation itself, it's good that the elves are cooperative, and our distrust might actually have a negative effect, but.
"Do you trust the elves?"
At least I don't think so.
"For now... aren't they allies? Until now, they've been using our trust, but..."
"I absolutely cannot trust those creatures. If they repent for all their past wrongs, I might consider it, but that's impossible."
"Still, it's a fact that they're useful forces. Wouldn't it be fine if we utilize them well like we did this time?"
"I've heard your opinions."
Although the officers' opinions were divided,
"As they actively participate, the elves' proportion in the operation is increasing. These are the elves who used to retreat as soon as they encountered the enemy to preserve their forces."
"..."
"Did you see Vittorio's eyes when he turned back after barging into our tent? He was already showing hostility towards us."
Originally, diplomacy is nearly impossible with elves if the races are different.
Above all, since red dots started mixing in the elven camp from yesterday, they could turn into enemies at any time.
"There's a reason why we haven't been able to interact with the Este Kingdom despite sharing a long border. We must never let our guard down."
"...Understood."
"How about preparing for a preemptive strike? It seems better than letting them roam around our flanks and rear."
"...It's not that stage yet. Let's prepare alternative strategies."
Although the operation wasn't complete yet, we prepared responses to the elves' potential sudden actions in advance.