Chapter 130
Benedetta's arrival brought about enormous changes in the elf camp.
"Hey, where are you going during guard duty?"
"Lady Bianchi has summoned me."
"...Alright. Go. Angelo! Come stand here for a bit!"
At first, it was just a few elves being called by Benedetta, but,
"Hey, where have all the guards gone!"
"Lady Bianchi said she wanted to adjust the position of the trees..."
"Did you know Viktor came and complained? You should at least set up replacements!"
"The Commander-in-Chief..."
"I know, all hell breaks loose if we're even a little late! Make sure to inform everyone around properly!"
"...I'll keep that in mind."
"Hah..."
Transplanting plants, pruning branches, watering, bringing new trees, etc.
Once she had somewhat adapted,
Benedetta called dozens of elves through mental communication several times a day, selected in an almost random manner, to work for her.
"Commander-in-Chief?"
"Lady Bianchi has called for me."
"Huh, ha, ha..."
Even Vittorio was called and had to do pruning himself, so,
"...Is a tree growing a bit strangely important enough to urgently call in troops guarding the outskirts?"
This got worse as days went by, to the point where young elves who didn't know much about High Elves started voicing complaints, but,
"No matter how urgent, at least finish the handover..."
"Hey."
"...Yes, Reconnaissance Captain."
"You should never, ever say such things in mental communication. Understand?"
"Why is that?"
"Because she will hear it."
"...What?"
The elf officers instead warned the soldier who had voiced complaints.
"If she's reinforcement, does that mean she'll fight?"
"Didn't you see her when she arrived? She didn't look like she had any muscles or anything. I know she's an important person, but what is this during a war?"
"Is that so? Still, I feel like there must be something."
Accordingly, distrust towards Benedetta began to circulate among the younger elves, and,
"The elves these days are a bit strange."
"Hah, tell me about it. Yesterday, they emptied out an entire sector, can you believe it?"
"Without a word."
"Yeah! Ah, the more I think about it, the more irritated I get."
As they intermittently left their posts, dwarves and imperial troops who were indirectly affected also expressed complaints, but,
"Enemy forces estimated at 5,000! All presumed to be orc assault troops!"
"Deploy forces to the top of the walls!"
The opportunity to change perceptions came in the near future.
"We need to close the gate!"
"What? It's still open?"
While everyone was preparing for defense, they were all flustered by an elf officer's report that the gate of the temporary wall hadn't been closed, but,
"Right now..."
"I gave the order. Not to close the gate."
Vittorio stepped forward boldly, stopping the elf who was about to rush out of the tent urgently.
"You gave the order directly?"
"That's right. That way, those foolish orcs will rush to the center, won't they?"
"Of course they'll rush in! The gate is open!"
Towards Blake, who couldn't hide his bewilderment, Vittorio raised his index finger and waved it.
"No, it's not open. Because our great High Elf, Lady Benedetta Bianchi, is here."
"...What?"
"If you see for yourself, you'll understand what I mean."
"Huh... You're confident, aren't you? Alright."
The officers followed Vittorio, who was walking vigorously, up to the watchtower, and,
"..."
-Crack! Crunch!
They could see the devastation unfolding around Benedetta.
"...It's a storm."
At the murmur of an imperial officer, many surrounding officers nodded in agreement.
A reddish wind rotated strongly around her, to the extent that Benedetta and the small forest in the center couldn't be seen, and,
-Thud! Splash!
"Ugh..."
"The expression 'foolish' seems accurate."
The orcs who blindly charged towards the open gate were swept up by the wind and literally torn apart.
-Thwack!
"Eek!"
"Be careful with the arrows! They're getting sucked in too!"
The powerful wind even drew in arrows fired from around, sending them flying at even faster speeds than when they were shot.
The number of orcs she had killed had already surpassed several hundred, and,
"The enemy is retreating."
Less than an hour later, the battle ended with the orcs' retreat.
"..."
The wind that had been raging for a long time even after all the orcs had retreated only subsided after several more minutes.
The forest at the center of the storm mostly maintained its original form, but some plants on the outskirts had withered.
"Commander Blake?"
"Ah, yes... We'll start inspections right away. Check if there are any collapsed areas!"
"Yes!"
"It's Lady Bianca's order! We'll go right away!"
"Ah, alright."
The officers, who had seen the majesty of magic they had never witnessed before, only came to their senses and began to clean up after the storm stopped and Benedetta, with a frowning expression, went back into the forest.
Vittorio, with his hands on his hips, watched the dumbfounded officers with a triumphant look, and,
"Impressive, isn't it?"
"...The word 'impressive' seems insufficient."
Viktor, who had been appreciating Benedetta's majesty with a constant faint smile, left leisurely with Anna.
And that night,
"...It's heavier than I thought."
Viktor, carrying a huge bucket full of something, came looking for Benedetta.
---
High Elves are actually closer to untouchable local dignitaries in their area rather than great and noble leaders.
They possess overwhelming combat power, but due to various restrictions including their characteristically closed-off habits, they are rarely utilized in the game except in the early stages when individual troops are scarce.
Benedetta is a case in point.
Despite being the High Elf most suitable for use as a force among High Elves, with the ability to move to desired points, albeit limitedly,
"They're carrying soil around?"
"Yes. We'd like you to provide some carts."
"...Take them."
"Thank you."
As soon as a small battle was fought, more than a hundred elves had to go around replacing soil and plants and providing care.
If I were an elf, I wouldn't have thought of using her, but,
-Slosh, slosh.
"Tsk. Maybe I should have brought just one person."
Just as a friend's dog and cat are the cutest,
With the elves taking on all the hard work, there's no reason for me to just leave it be.
"Hah..."
I headed towards her domain carrying the heavy bucket.
Thinking they might stop me if they knew what I was trying to do, I made an excuse to Anna and left her behind.
As I moved after confirming there were no elves, there was no one around.
"..."
Perhaps recovering her energy, unlike before, she was hiding her body inside the large tree in the center.
"Just a little more, just a little..."
Feeling I had reached about 50 meters, I inched forward while watching the gray dot in the mini-map, and,
"Oops, whoa!"
The moment the gray dot turned red, I took a big step back.
-Splash.
"..."
Although it wasn't pleasant to have water from the bucket spill and wet my feet,
As expected, no attack came.
High Elves are greatly attached to their domain, but conversely, this means they really don't care about anything outside their domain.
Unless someone rushes into their domain like the orcs or launches a preemptive strike for conquest, the possibility of her suddenly attacking is very low.
Confirming that the dot had turned gray again, I took a slight half-step forward, and,
-Thud.
I carefully put down the bucket and quickly stepped back.
"Phew..."
And after checking that Benedetta remained quiet, I returned to the fortification.
"General, where have you been?"
"I went to see Benedetta Bianca a bit."
"What? Such a dangerous thing!"
Anna reacted strongly, but,
"If you just keep what needs to be kept, it's not that dangerous. And, no one dislikes gifts."
"She's not a person..."
For me, who receives help from the mini-map, giving her a gift isn't dangerous.
There's also some need to show off that it was me who gave the gift.
"...So, what was the gift? Is it related to your wet legs right now?"
Anna seemed to give up on scolding and changed the subject of conversation with a small sigh.
"It's rice water."
What I had carried in the bucket was the water from washing rice that I had asked Anna for earlier.
"Rice water? Ah, ah..."
Benedetta was set up to use a plant-like nutrition method, to the extent that green hair for photosynthesis had grown.
And seeing how they were replacing the soil that had lost its fertility and the withered plants that had lost nutrients today, it doesn't seem different.
"I heard rice water is good for plants. It seemed a bit wasteful to just drink or throw it away, so I wanted to give her some."
I can't be certain she'll like it, but,
"...I see. Still, next time, please take someone with you. It's dangerous."
"That seems difficult. Taking someone would be more dangerous."
"..."
"My safety is also the top priority, so there's no need to worry too much."
"...Yes."
It doesn't seem like she'll dislike it, and it's not difficult to just hand over some rice water.
"Prepare it again tomorrow."
"Understood."
I have a conscience too, so I'm not hoping for anything big.
My wish is to be seen as a guest who occasionally brings snacks.
---
The night Viktor left the bucket,
"Ugh, what is it at this hour..."
An elf staggered out of the fortification, responding to Benedetta's call resonating in his head.
"...Is this it?"
He picked up the bucket, placed it in front of the tree where Benedetta was staying, and then returned, and,
"..."
After that elf left,
Benedetta, with a strange expression, slightly emerged from the tree, took the bucket, and went back inside.