Chapter 29

Chapter 29. "The Dark Elf, the Dwarf, and a Single Rose." 9

Rene smiled brightly at the brown-haired young lady, who was staring at her in shock with both hands covering her mouth.

Beside her, the two men who had found the young lady’s reaction strange only now began paying attention to the so-called lady.

Their gazes moved back and forth between Rene and the young lady, and then, after finally seeing it properly in Rene’s appearance, it did not take long for all three of them to wear the same expression.

A moment later, the brown-haired young lady, whose astonishment was plain on her face, closed her eyes and drew a deep breath before looking back at Rene and barely managing to speak.

"…You are an elf?"

"Yes. I am an elf."

When she said that with a bright smile and a slight tilt of her head, the eyes of all three of them flew toward me, standing beside her, and fixed themselves there. I put an arm around Rene’s shoulders and smiled.

"I am human, and we are husband and wife."

"........."

"........."

"........."

None of the three said a word.

We simply kept smiling and waited for them to come back to their senses, and before long, the one with the strongest nerves among them revealed himself.

The scarred man shook his head a few times, then pointed at Rene and me with a dazed expression and spoke.

"Ah, so... right. Han, you are human, and then, ah...."

"My name is Rene."

"Ah, yes. Um, right, so... Rene, you are an elf, and the two of you are... husband and wife?"

"If possible, would you not call us newlyweds? My feelings from that time have not changed in the slightest."

Rene said that with a radiant smile. I looked at her profile for a moment, then turned my gaze back to the people standing before us. To put it simply, they looked utterly dumbfounded.

They had probably heard stories of love between a human and an elf once or twice somewhere as idle chatter, but seeing it in person must have been a shock.

After hearing Rene’s words, Jeff fumbled a little, trying to say something, but then he spotted the beer mug in front of him.

He immediately picked it up and began pouring it down his throat, while Kal gave a hollow laugh and looked up at the ceiling.

As for the brown-haired young lady, she stared blankly at us for a moment, then suddenly sprang to her feet, seized Rene’s hand, and spoke with her eyes shining as brightly as they could.

"I-I am touched! A love between a human and an elf. I am truly touched. Love really has no borders, no races."

Hm. This young lady had clearly been raised in some strict household all her life and had never even managed to get herself a boyfriend.

While I was thinking that, Rene seemed to be thinking something else. She clasped the young lady’s hand in return and smiled warmly.

"That is true. Though the price was a dear one."

She had chosen me even at the cost of being cast out by her people.

At Rene’s words, the young lady looked momentarily stunned, and I wrapped my arm more firmly around Rene’s shoulders.

So that my feelings would reach her. And then what Rene said next to this pitiful young lady, who had not even a single boyfriend, made me smile.

"But I do not think my choice was the wrong one. As proof, we are happy now."

At that, the young lady’s face looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment. Still holding her hand, Rene turned her head toward me and gave me a brilliant smile.

I am happy. What about you?

Happy. So very happy.

We smiled at each other with our eyes. Nothing more was needed.

As long as I had her, that was enough. If she would only keep smiling at me, I would need nothing else in this world.

'I want to have your child.'

I hurriedly shook my head and cast the thought from my mind. If you start wanting too much, you end up losing even what you already have. So no, I truly do not need anything else now.

This is enough. Just then, I suddenly felt a strange gaze and looked up to find Rene staring at me intently. I quickly smiled at her, then spoke to the people before us.

"Ah, everyone, it is a little early, but would you care for breakfast?"

Of those who heard me, the one who gave the most sensible answer was Kal, who looked like a dignified middle-aged man who had seen all manner of things in life. He rose from his seat and said,

"I would rather rest. After wandering through the forest all night while being attacked by monsters, now that the tension has suddenly lifted, the exhaustion is crashing down on me. Would you please show me to a room?"

"Then what about the others?"

At that, Jeff drained the rest of his beer, then swirled the empty mug in his hand and said,

"Ah, I will stay. The taste of this beer makes me want to linger a little longer."

Kal, who suddenly looked tired to the bone, turned his head and looked at the brown-haired young lady.

"Then, Miss Narsh, what would you like to do?"

"Ah. I would also like to remain here for a while...."

"Understood. If that fool attempts anything rude toward you...."

Kal glanced at the figures who had been standing silently in their original positions from the start. At once, they began to move.

Creeeak. Creak-creak.... Clank.

The sound of armor scraping together. And heavy armor at that. I turned my head to look at Rene, and with an expression that said she had expected as much, she spoke.

"They are golems."

"Ah? You already knew?"

Jeff responded in a tone that suggested I ought to have known.

"What, you think elves are called elves for nothing? If they put their minds to it, they can tell whether someone is lying just by listening to the sound of their heart."

Kal cast Jeff a sidelong glance, then pointed a finger at him and said,

"Make sure that fool does not go near the young lady. If you sense even the slightest movement in that direction, tie him up and hang him upside down from the tree outside. There is rope in the pack."

The moment they heard him, the golems turned and moved.

THUD... THUD... THUD...

As they moved, their heavy footsteps rang out, but fortunately, no disaster such as the floor collapsing took place. What a relief. Moving slowly, they came to a stop behind Narsh.

Then, through the narrow slits left open in the bandages wrapped over the area of their faces so they could see outside, two crimson eyes flared to life and fixed themselves on Jeff.

Jeff looked up at them, scowling as fiercely as he could, then shouted toward Kal’s back as the latter leisurely followed Rene upstairs.

"Hey, now, what is this! You cannot just leave like that! Get rid of these things before you go!"

Kal, who had already reached the stairs, glanced back over his shoulder and said with a snort,

"Is that any way to speak when you are asking a favor? I will use this opportunity to correct your manners. Mir, Kali, if that fool says anything vulgar to the young lady, smack him on the head."

Mir, Kali? Are those their names? In any case, upon hearing their master’s command, the two golems slowly raised the huge fists hidden beneath their cloaks, and at the sight of that, all the color drained from Jeff’s face.

What would happen if a fist like that struck someone in the head? In any event, Kal left those words behind and disappeared into the second-floor corridor after Rene. A man’s scream soon followed.

"Aagh! Kal, I am going to curse you! Just you wait!"

Kal must have decided that Jeff’s words were no more than the barking of some house dog, because no reply came flying back.

Jeff ground his teeth, then spent a while glaring back at the two golems, who were watching him with fists the size of a human head raised at the ready.

At last, he let out a short sigh, shook his head in defeat, and spoke with a drained expression.

"Forget it. What kind of conversation could I possibly have with you two? Well then, Mr. Han? Show me to the armory. Let us see whether you have anything worth using."

"This way. Ah, though you said Miss Narsh, was it? What will you do?"

"I would like to remain here a little longer. Times like these are the only times I get to spend with my childhood friends."

Childhood friends? Those golems?

Her words surprised me a little, but I did not ask anything else. I merely nodded, then took up the Great Bow Kal had handed over earlier.

Together with Jeff, who had unsheathed the sword tied to his pack, I headed for the armory attached to the stable a short distance from the shop. As we crossed the yard, Jeff, who had been looking around here and there, spoke from behind me.

"You really decided to live in a place like this."

"There was nowhere else where I could be with my wife."

"People would not accept you?"

"It was the opposite. People would not leave us alone for even a moment."

"Well, naturally. A human and an elf as husband and wife. That is enough to make people stare."

We had arrived at the door of the armory before I knew it. I turned around and looked at Jeff’s face as I continued.

"I hated that. So I came here. In this place, no one asked what our past was, or how we came to live together. They simply watched us quietly. My wife liked that as well."

'Do not try to understand others. You cannot become someone else.' Those are my master’s words. I am a good disciple who listens well to his teacher, so I am not going to offer some clumsy comfort about understanding what you two went through. I have only one thing I am curious about. Are you happy now?"

"I am happy."

Jeff smiled faintly when he heard my answer.

"Then that is enough."

I grinned at him. Jeff grinned back.

I could not have said something like this to Exel. He was not human. I had wanted, at least once, to say such things to a human being—one of the very people who had hurt Rene and me.

Well, it was not exactly the question I had always had in mind, and his answer fell short of what I had expected, but even so, I felt much lighter.

After settling my thoughts, I let the smile fade, turned around, and flung open the door to the armory.

Inside, the first thing to greet us was a row of neatly arranged swords, numbering a little over two hundred.

TWANGGGGG....

THRUM!! WHOOOOOOOSH—CRACK!

The arrow struck the boulder we had set up as a target with perfect accuracy, and the boulder split cleanly in two with a heavy sound.

The arrow was impressive, yes, but this bow’s draw strength was extraordinary. How could a bow send an arrow flying with a sound like that?

While I was staring at the Great Bow in thought, Jeff, who had been swinging around the sword he had newly chosen a few times, gave a crooked grin, slid it into its scabbard, and said,

"The price-to-performance on this thing is absurdly good, is it not?"

"As you know, that sword is an Iriyad. Please use it carefully."

"I know. Well then, I suppose I should go get some sleep."

He turned away and began walking slowly back toward the inn, while I looked down at the Great Bow again and sank into thought. The moment Jeff entered my armory, for some reason, out of all those many swords, he had chosen that Iriyad.

Originally, Iriyad swords were blades made by the family of that name, and every sword that bore that name was exceptionally sharp.

But they could not be used for long. After about a year, they quickly lost their edge, and if you were careless, they would crack or chip.

Even so, their blades were excellent, and above all, they had just the right weight, so if you controlled your strength well, they were swords that could split an enemy’s body clean open.

And this Great Bow now in my hands, thanks to its utter disregard for the user’s muscle strength and arm length, possessed enough destructive power to send even a fairly large monster to the grave in a single shot, so long as one had enough arm strength to draw the string.

And those golems Narsh had called her friends were almost certainly Iron Golems. I knew, because I had fought them once before.

As with all golems that had masters, those creatures would keep fighting for their master even if one or two arms were torn off.

On top of that, their bodies were made of steel, so their defensive power was no trivial matter either. And if they had brought not just one but two of them along....

After roughly sorting out my thoughts, I turned my head and watched Jeff’s retreating figure for a moment as he walked back toward the shop with light steps.

What brought you people here?