Chapter 17
Thwack!
The elf brought down the rock in their hand with all their might.
Thud!
The elf kicked with all their strength.
The revenge of elves unjustly enslaved was exceptionally cruel.
These were elves who already harbored a dislike for humans.
It seemed as if they were unleashing all the emotions they had bottled up until now.
But even that didn't last long.
Gidrick, who was bearing the brunt of their anger with his body, had long since breathed his last.
Franz spoke to Hera.
"So in the end, that token of trust was real?"
"Indeed. Only elves would know, but this is certainly my brother's."
Hera's hand tightened around the necklace.
Her expression was colder than ever before.
Franz could only feel sorry for her.
She had been driven to this point, betrayed by her family and closest friend.
Anyway, they couldn't dwell on the past forever. It was time to decide on their next move.
"Hera, what are you planning to do now?"
"Well... First, I plan to return to the Great Forest and set things right. Now that we have evidence."
Certainly, as Hera said, addressing the root cause was the priority.
No matter how many enslaved elves they rescued, if the other side kept selling them, it would be like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
But.
'Will it really be that easy?'
Hera's brother had likely already secured power through manipulation and fabrication.
Conversely, Hera would be branded a traitor who had betrayed her own kind, with numerous false charges against her.
They had decisive evidence and witnesses, but that would only be effective if the other side was willing to listen.
No amount of talking would get through to someone who refused to hear, covering their ears.
'Of course, that's assuming the worst-case scenario.'
Ordinarily, the evidence and witnesses should be enough to restore the authority of the Great Forest.
But could they be certain it wouldn't come to the worst?
If it did, the choice Hera would make at that point...
'Would she become a villainess who leads the world to ruin?'
Franz opened his mouth, hoping the elves weren't complete blockheads.
"When are you planning to leave?"
"It's a bit much right now, so I was thinking of leaving at dawn."
"Then let's get some sleep."
"Hm? Aren't you going back?"
Hera's head tilted slightly to the side.
Strictly speaking, going back would be the right thing to do.
After all, the request on the job posting only mentioned rescuing the enslaved elves.
But if Hera were to become a villainess while he was gone, it would only complicate matters further.
So, well, what else could he do?
"I've helped this far, might as well see it through to the end."
Besides, he'd be too anxious to sleep if he left now anyway.
In response to Franz's words, Hera predictably gave an old-fashioned reply.
"Franz, I appreciate your sentiment, but I cannot incur any more debt. The job posting only went this far, so you may return now."
"Forget it. I'm doing this out of genuine goodwill. I'd feel uneasy if I left you like this."
A moment of silence fell between them after those words.
Then, Hera's sigh broke the silence.
"You seem unwilling to budge. Very well, do as you please."
Finally giving up, Hera turned away from Franz and headed towards the elves.
She muttered, barely audible:
"If only all humans in the world were like you..."
To that, Franz shrugged and thought:
'A world where everyone's like me, huh...'
It didn't seem like it would be a particularly pleasant world to live in.
* * * * *
Hera found a suitable room in Gidrick's mansion.
The other elves were with her.
Although she had said it was fine for them to sleep separately, they were still too anxious and didn't want to be apart.
So, the long-eared ones were huddled together in one room.
Suddenly, someone spoke up.
It was a small, young elf.
"Lady Hera, why did you save us...?"
"What do you mean, why...?"
"Well, recently Chief Heris said that you were colluding with humans and—mmph?"
Before the words could be finished, someone's hand covered the little elf's mouth.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry. The child is still young..."
"I see, that must be it..."
Hera gave a bitter smile.
The little elf had only spoken what was on everyone's mind; wariness still lingered in the eyes of the other elves.
No, perhaps it was better that it had been said out loud.
At least then she could defend herself against the unjust accusation.
'What exactly went wrong?'
Was it leaving the Great Forest?
Or was it saving the world?
The answer to the question she had been pondering since that day remained elusive.
Hera addressed the elves:
"I'm not sure if you'll believe me, but this was all orchestrated by my brother, Heris."
The elves merely blinked, seemingly confused.
Their ears were moving up and down vigorously, expressing their bewilderment.
"First, let me show you this."
Hera pulled out a necklace from her pocket.
It was the token of trust she had received from Franz.
Upon seeing it, the elves' ears began to twitch up and down rapidly.
"Oh... This belongs to the chief..."
"This was in possession of that bald pig who kidnapped you. You know what this means."
"So, did the chief really...?"
Hera nodded slowly and said:
"According to the chief, I was the one who sold you. But if that were true, why would I have any reason to rescue you?"
"Maybe you sell us, rescue us, then sell us again to make lots of money—mmph?"
"I-I'm so sorry..."
The one who had covered the little elf's mouth bowed deeply in apology.
The little one was indeed innocent, or perhaps just childish.
The problem was that Hera couldn't find it in herself to laugh.
"Anyway, that's how it is. Tomorrow, I plan to go to the Great Forest to set things right. I intend to drag down the traitor who's been selling our kin and bring them to justice."
At Hera's words, the elves exchanged glances with each other.
Then they all spoke up at once.
"Is, is there anything we can do to help?"
"That's right. We want to help."
"I-I'm pretty good at throwing stones...!"
It was the first time in a year she had felt such kinship with her people.
Hera felt a lump forming in her throat.
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes at any moment.
But she swallowed it all down and spoke:
"Stand by my side. I promise that if you do, I will ensure that something like this never happens again."
It was time to pay back those traitors who had sold their own kind.
* * * * *
In the early dawn, before the sun had risen.
When the sky was still a deep indigo.
Franz's eyes snapped open as he sensed the movement of mana around him.
'I knew it.'
The mana belonged to Hera and the elves.
He had expected Hera to leave earlier, not wanting to be a burden, and his prediction had been spot on.
As expected of an old elf, she was stubbornly old-fashioned.
Franz immediately got up from his bed.
He went outside and headed towards the elves.
"Franz...?"
Hera shook her head in dismay upon seeing Franz.
Not to be outdone, Franz responded in kind.
"Come on, really? You were just going to leave without me?"
"We already owe you a great debt..."
"I told you, it's not a debt! Kindness should be repaid with kindness. Why do you keep trying to make it a debt? Someone might think I'm a loan shark."
At that moment, a small elf approached Franz.
"Loan shark! Bad person! Human! Bad! Don't bully Lady Hera!"
"Franz, did you hear that? They're calling you a bad person."
Hera said this and burst into laughter.
For a moment, Franz felt a surge of anger.
It wasn't the treatment he deserved after all the help he had given yesterday.
But he decided to laugh it off.
He didn't know how old the little one was, but it was just a child's words.
More importantly, Hera's expression was completely different from yesterday.
'Yesterday she looked like death warmed over.'
If her mood had improved, the chances of her destroying the world would decrease too, so it was all good, right?
"Hey, are you just going to walk? The Great Forest is quite far from here, isn't it?"
"What else can we do? It's not like we have a carriage."
"What's the point of having a mage if you don't use them at times like this?"
Franz snapped his fingers lightly.
A complex magic circle began to form beneath their feet.
In truth, teleporting multiple people at once wasn't an easy feat.
It consumed an enormous amount of mana, and the construction of the magic circle was far more complex.
However, for Franz, it was a simple matter.
"Alright, everyone gather round. We're departing."
With Hera at the lead, the elves hesitantly stepped onto the magic circle.
As Franz snapped his fingers, everyone vanished from the spot.
When they reappeared, they were right in front of the Great Forest.
Dense trees that seemed to touch the sky stretched before them.
One tree in the distance actually did reach the sky.
'This place is always impressive.'
Franz inwardly marveled at the sight of the Great Forest, which he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Huh? This, this is the Great Forest."
"It really is...?"
"My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, right?"
The elves expressed their surprise with wide eyes.
Their ears were twitching up and down excitedly.
That's when it happened.
"Who goes there!"
"We won't let you harm the elves!"
In the distance, figures of elves began to appear.