Vol 4: Chapter 65
After spending the night in the woods, we returned to the dark elf village—the former site of the village around noon the next day.
I noticed an unusual amount of smoke rising from around the village. I rushed over there, wondering if the early summer birds had returned.
「Oh, the High Elf-sama is back!!!」
I heard the bustling voices of many people .
There were thousands of underground people.
The smoke was rising from cooking. They were eating the meat of Forest Eater. I was amazed at the appetite of people. The mountainous Forest Eater’s meat was so tremendous that I was wondering if it would even be possible to eat it all. But the bones have already begun to appear.
「Um… what is going on here?」I asked the chieftain who came over.
「Knock preached to them about how wonderful our High Elf-sama was. So they came here to get the High Elf-sama’s guidance.」
The chieftain said proudly, but I couldn’t understand the notion at all.
Does he mean a race with such a large number of people suddenly decided to join another race?
「…You are Reiji-dono, right?」
The man who was called Marshal in the Underground city appeared before me.
It seemed that we were going to have a serious talk, so we moved away from the crowd. Six people were present there; Asha, I, Knock, the chieftain, the Marshal, and the staff officer. Kimidori Gorn-san and Punta-san were exhausted from the trip and fell asleep on a bunk bed with a grass blanket.
「I was entrusted by Sarume-sama to lead the Underground city.」the Marshal said.
The city has already been destroyed by the Human Mimic. It is almost impossible to repair it.
The Human Mimic might have been manipulated by the mediator, but from the underground people’s perspective, it has become their unforgivable bitter enemy.
The environment of this world is too harsh for thousands of people to drift in the wild. So the Marshal brought the underground people to live with the dark elves if they would welcome him.
However, about 30% of the people opposed the Marshal’s decision and lashed out that they would rebuild the underground city, and remained around the vicinity of the city.
「You made such a significant decision…quite quickly.」I said.
「Yeah…」the Marshal nodded, with a sour look.
…Is there some other reason? Looking through【World Ruler】, which I had already absorbed back into my body, there was no noticeable reaction that the Marshal was lying. So it seemed unlikely that he was waiting for an opportunity to attack the dark elves or something like that.
「…It is because of me.」
The staff officer next to the Marshal spoke out.
「When Sarume-sama died, I heard something about the… Covenant of the race? …I know this might sound like nonsense to you.」
I had taken out【World Alliance】, but the information on the Covenant still remained in my head. Until now, when I had only【World Ruler】, information on the Covenant would become vague. But now, I can remember it clearly.
「”Covenant for the Covenant”…correct? You have become the head of the Underground race.」
The staff officer looked at me with a startled expression.
「…Well, that makes it easier then. It seems that I will have to offer something called “pure person’s blood” in the near future. I didn’t know who my parents were even though the underground city is a small place. Ah, but I know who my mother is, but my dad… he was probably someone of Sarume-sama’s lineage.」
I recalled the “Holy Blue” of the Kruvan Holy Kingdom. It is said that the “Holy Blue” does not manifest in someone if they are too far away in the family tree. I don’t know if it works the same way for the underground people, but it seems that the staff officer’s father was someone closely blood-related to Sarume.
Well… I don’t know if it truly is the same as “Holy Blue”, and the staff officer doesn’t sound like she wants to find her father, so I didn’t say it out loud.
「I heard that “pure person’s blood” means that that person mustn’t have used a skill orb.」I said
「That’s right… The day I learned of the Covenant, a black shadow calling himself “Mediator” appeared in front of me and said that. But I have already used a skill orb, so I can’t offer my life——」
「You don’t have to die. The Covenant is ridiculous. To think that you and Sarume-sama have to die because of that…」the Marshal said, interrupting her.
At that time, a certain hypothesis formed in my head, so I carefully examined the staff officer. According to【World Ruler】, she showed clear signs of pregnancy.
Judging by the Marshal’s reaction, I think he might be the father.
Since the staff officer had already used a skill, she does not fit the criteria of “pure person” to fulfil the Covenant. So the next person would naturally be… the child in her womb.
The Marshal who now knew everything was rebelling against the Covenant to protect the child. He doesn’t care if their entire race becomes divided because of that.
(I don’t know if it is the right decision or not.)
Staying in this world is dangerous for their race. That was my conclusion after learning much about it.
But the Marshal decided that without learning all of that information. He probably didn’t tell anyone about the pregnancy. If it had been made public, he would have said it to us here.
If it was later known that the staff officer’s pregnancy was hidden, he would be accused of “sacrificing the entire race for the sake of his child”.
(The same was true for His Majesty the Holy King.)
His Majesty the Holy King was against sacrificing Prince Kluvshrat until the very end, and eventually chose Louis instead.
From House Rozier’s perspective, His Majesty the Holy King killed Louis to spare his own child. However, if Louis hadn’t raised his hand at that time, His Majesty the Holy King might have actually sacrificed Prince Kluvshrat.
I learned a very important lesson in this world. What is right, and what is wrong, depends on the person’s perspective.
「I have a suggestion. Asha, is that okay?」
Although I didn’t say what exactly it was, Asha seemed to understand my intentions immediately, and nodded.
「We came from another world and have been looking for a way back the entire time. That world is exactly like this world, and there are people suffering from the same Covenant as the staff officer-san. Would you like to go there with us?」I said.
「————」
Both the marshal and the staff blinked in astonishment.
It was probably because my offer was too outlandish. However, questions immediately popped up from the Marshal.
About what will happen to the Covenant? The monsters there. The people who live in that world. Food supply–.
There was no point in worrying about that right now. Before I could politely say that to the Marshal,
「…Please, by all means, we would like you to take us with you.」
The Marshal deeply bowed his head.
