Chapter 30
High noon, with the sun at its zenith.
A knight on guard duty reported that a group of elves was approaching.
Truth be told, I'd only suggested meeting at noon tomorrow without getting a definite answer, so I thought we might not meet today.
If they're willing to talk with us, that's something to be happy about.
If possible, I'd have liked to throw a festival to welcome them, but we had neither the food nor the resources for that. So we decided to at least show our goodwill.
Myself, Ivanna, and others with important roles in this pioneer group all came out to greet the elves.
To avoid appearing threatening, we didn't carry weapons like swords and were practically unarmed.
Perhaps sensing our efforts, the elves' reaction wasn't too bad either.
The number of elves who came for negotiations was ten in total.
That child from before was included, and the rest were mostly young, around their twenties.
There were a couple of middle-aged elves, but only two, which was surprisingly few.
As far as I know, long-lived races like elves age similarly to normal humans during childhood, but from young adulthood, their aging slows down.
However, middle and old age progress much like humans, with about 40 years of life expectancy remaining.
I'd heard that elf elders were usually middle-aged, but for that, there was only one visible.
Keeping this in mind, I led them to the large tent we were using as a makeshift conference room.
Of course, we took a slight detour to avoid giving the refugees any strange ideas.
"I apologize for the humble accommodations. We're still in the midst of pioneering, so we couldn't prepare a proper place."
"No, your intention alone is enough for us."
Like when the elves first came, it was the young girl who stepped forward this time too.
A young girl who, in the kingdom, would have been running around playing tag with peers her age, acted proudly as if she were the representative of this group.
Despite her behavior that might seem disrespectful, none of the elves reprimanded her.
Even the pioneer group, ignorant of the aging process of long-lived races, didn't question this situation. I was the only one feeling perplexed in this setting.
...Is this their culture?
Maybe there's some racial characteristic I'm unaware of.
Thinking this, I took my seat.
As the elves also took their seats, the stage for dialogue was finally set.
"...To get straight to the point, as I mentioned the other day, we're not the owners of this mountain, so we have neither the intention nor the right to oppose your pioneering efforts."
However, the elf girl paused for a moment before continuing.
"If you truly wish to coexist with us, you must also abide by the rules of the forest."
"The rules of the forest..."
At the mention of rules, everyone's eyes filled with unease, wondering if we were about to be forced to follow unreasonable laws.
However, what came out of her mouth next was utterly sensible, leaving no room for objection.
"Pregnant magical beasts must not be hunted."
Pregnant magical beasts are vulnerable to attacks, but killing them while they're carrying offspring would greatly impact the ecosystem.
Naturally, for the same reason, killing magical beasts caring for weak offspring was also forbidden.
It wasn't an incomprehensible rule.
We all knew the consequences of unrestrained hunting.
More rules followed, such as leaving plant colonies for herbivores even if discovered.
Just as the tension was starting to ease and an atmosphere of "we worried for nothing" was beginning to form, she said:
"And once a year, we must offer a sacrifice to the Mountain God."
"Mountain God?"
Everyone flinched momentarily at the mention of a mountain god and sacrifices, but quickly calmed down.
It was a rational judgment that after listing all these sensible rules, they wouldn't suddenly introduce a brutal rule like human sacrifice.
The sacrifice would probably be something like offering a hunted game to the mountain god. Such offerings to old gods are common in rural areas.
If there were a priestess here fervently devoted to the Goddess, she might have frowned at this, but neither I nor the knights cared much about the Goddess's faith.
If they'd said monthly or daily, some might have objected, but once a year...
We could do that much out of respect for this land and its culture.
But that wasn't it.
"For the sacrifice, what kind of magical beast..."
"It's not a magical beast."
What came out of her mouth next was the worst possible answer, far exceeding expectations.
"...We must offer people as sacrifices. The Mountain God is merciful, so he doesn't care whether the sacrifice is old, young, sick, or healthy."
"......"
"Twenty people every year. Until now, our tribe has offered them all, so from now on, how about we share the burden and each offer ten?"
"Don't spout bullshit!!!"
Baron David reflexively reached for the sword that should have been at his waist.
Banning swords was the right decision.
If he'd had a sword, he would have immediately drawn it and cut down that elf girl in one stroke.
"You've shown your true colors!"
"You long-eared bastards!!!"
"Ugh...!"
As Baron David's knights also erupted in anger, the elves moved the girl behind them, stepping forward like shields.
In this threatening atmosphere, like a bomb with its fuse lit about to explode at any moment, only I and Ivanna maintained our composure.
"...Calm down."
A single word was enough to pacify them.
As the mana carried by my voice directly affected their hearts, their violent emotions, like surging flames, began to be extinguished.
Everyone, startled by the sudden change in their emotions, reflexively turned to look at me.
"...Calm down."
"B-but, Your Excellency."
"I'm not accepting the sacrifice."
If they had asked us to offer ten sacrifices every year to a non-existent god, I might have immediately blown the elves' heads off.
But I had seen it.
Something raising its head beyond the burning forest in that memory.
"It seems the conversation will be long with so many people. Shall we talk just the two of us?"
"...Very well."
The elf girl surprisingly agreed readily.
Baron David and the knights seemed somewhat dissatisfied but accepted it.
Trust in me.
Or distrust towards themselves, or the sense of powerlessness that had dominated their hearts for a long time.
I'm not sure which moved their hearts, but they accepted it without any complaints.
"...I'll explain later."
"...Please do."
As Baron David and the knights left, the elf group also began to leave one by one with disgruntled expressions, leaving just the two of us in the tent.
"Well then..."
Where should I start this conversation?
*****
"Can you tell me your name?"
"...Why such a thing?"
The girl's doubt was justified.
There's no point in exchanging names when we might end up killing each other depending on how this conversation ends.
In fact, not knowing each other's names might be beneficial in reducing guilt.
"...Just curious."
Was it an expression of my desire not to kill the girl?
Despite knowing this fact, I asked for the girl's name as if I were obsessed.
"I keep thinking of you as 'the girl' or 'her' in my head because I don't know your name, and it's a bit uncomfortable."
"...I see."
After hearing my admittedly weak excuse, she finally told me her name.
"It's Pina."
Momentarily unable to continue speaking due to the unexpectedly childish name, I stared at her intently.
Is this some kind of trial?
It felt as if Bel Zuma was asking me if I could kill a child for the sake of my people.
If so, I need to find a way to overcome this trial.
"Miss Pina... What is this Mountain God?"
First, the fundamental issue.
Mountain God.
What is the identity of that black shadow that presumably appeared in the memory?
"...The Mountain God is our guardian deity who has protected us since ancient times."
"While demanding sacrifices?"
"He ended with just twenty people when we all could have died. And I've heard from the elders that down the mountain, those called lords demand food or labor from their residents."
Adding that many die while preparing food or following the lord's orders, the girl asked, seemingly genuinely confused:
"How is this any different?"
"It is different. Taxes or military service don't presuppose death."
Unless that so-called Mountain God needs human souls to exert its power.
Demanding humans, not magical beasts, as sacrifices is a kind of entertainment for it.
It probably feels some kind of pleasure or sense of superiority from the act of families offering their own to it.
Just imagining that scene filled me with indescribable disgust, making me feel like I might vomit.
I hate it. I really hate it.
I hate this girl's worldview where sacrifices are seen as natural as taxes, and I hate their reality where they can't survive otherwise.
"...Are you alright?"
Pina, the girl, expressed concern, perhaps because my expression had crumbled enough to worry her.
I nodded that I was fine and composed my expression.
When the disgust that had been touching my throat finally subsided, I blatantly changed the subject as if trying to ignore the previous revulsion.
"Thank you for your concern. Come to think of it, you said the sacrifices prioritize the elderly or sick, right?"
"Yes, that's right. It's not absolutely necessary, but that's generally how it goes."
"...From what I've seen so far, you seem to be the representative of the elves, Miss Pina. Is it because you're the youngest?"
Usually, the older one is, the more power they have, but if the elderly are prioritized as sacrifices, inevitably, the leader has to be young.
If the leader were old, they would exclude themselves from these sacrifices.
Unless the god doesn't actually exist, even the leader can't escape this rule if it does exist.
When I voiced this simple thought, she half-denied and half-affirmed it.
"It's as you guessed, but that's not the only reason. Our clan has been doing this for generations."
"...Doing what?"
"Selecting the sacrifices. I took this position after offering my mother as a sacrifice."
"......"
"After selecting my mother as a sacrifice, I became the next priestess. It's thanks to this position that I have the opportunity to talk with you like this."
Pina spoke about offering her mother as a sacrifice with such pride.
It was so grotesque that I didn't know what words to offer.
At the very least, it wouldn't be consolation.
To console her for this would be meaningless; this girl and her tribe have gone too far.
"...Don't you resent it?"
What finally came out of my mouth was an ambiguous question without even a subject.
Pina flinched for a moment but then shook her head as if it were nothing and said:
"Resent what? No matter what happens, I would never resent the Mountain God, our tribe's guardian deity."
"I never asked if you resented the Mountain God."
"......"
The fact that the Mountain God immediately sprang to mind at the question of resentment was probably a reflection of her subconscious.
There's no way she could love an entity that forces her to sacrifice her family, her mother.
I wasn't the only one who immediately reacted to her honest response. From outside the tent, sounds of great agitation penetrated the cloth and reached us inside.
Perhaps that sound restored her reason, as her greatly shaken eyes calmed, and serenity quickly returned to her voice.
"I misspoke. Please forget it."
"...No. More importantly, you said sacrifices are needed every year, right?"
"Yes. One month from now. We must offer twenty sacrifices, regardless of gender or age."
It was a demand to select quickly, given the tight deadline.
As the knights raged outside, just as the elves had been agitated earlier, I spoke:
"Those sacrifices... Would it be alright if I did it?"
"...What?"
"The sacrifices, I mean. And there's no need to wait a month."
It doesn't matter even if it's right now.
I stared at the confused and angry Pina, facing an entity I hadn't even properly confirmed yet.