154 - 24 Hearts

**Chapter 154: The Land of Entertainment and Culture, Urun** The place Roxin led them to was surprisingly a noble's mansion. In the midst of frantic running, it was startling to see him vanish into a wall. Chasing after him, I flung myself into the wall to find a secretive room unfolding before me. "Where is this?" "This is a residence where a noble affiliated with our kingdom stays. I've arranged to borrow it for a bit." Roxin manipulated the wall after confirming the male elf following us had entered. Some magical mechanism sealed the wall, preventing anyone else from entering. "Wow. What could a noble of Urun possibly lack to become part of the Shadow Kingdom?" "Who knows." Roxin cut off the conversation sharply, showing no intention to elaborate on whether the noble had joined the Shadow Kingdom or if it was the other way around. I was curious, but since he seemed unwilling to discuss it, I refrained from prying. Yuda gently laid the elf he had been carrying onto a bed at the side. "Th-thank you." The elf, having come to trust Yuda, bowed his head. Yuda didn’t see him take off his mask, but gestured with his palm as if to say it was fine, nodding slightly. "A mansion, huh." Looking around, the luxurious furniture unmistakably marked it as a noble's residence. However, the overall dark hues gave the place a rather gloomy atmosphere. 'Entering a noble’s residence, they surely can’t enter easily.' I walked to the window, lifted the curtain slightly, and peered outside. The dark garden revealed nothing to me. Without light, there was nothing to see beyond the window. Turning back, I leaned against the window sill, looking at the elves. The two sisters sat on the bed gazing at me with anxious faces, while the male elf sat in a corner chair, arms crossed, eyes closed, seemingly indifferent. "Are these elves going to stay in this mansion?" "Yes. It might be uncomfortable, but they'll have to stay here for a while. With increased patrols outside, there's no safe alternative. But weren’t there supposed to be four elves in the mansion? You only rescued three?" Four? My eyes turned back to the elves. One male elf, two female elves—three in total. ...Oh, right. There was another one. The realization struck me belatedly, and I spoke, somewhat dazed. "I forgot." "You must be kidding." "…People can forget. It's not like you’re great at something on the first try." What now? Should I go back to rescue the other one? But heading back would likely mean facing hordes of guards and wizards, making it a daunting task. "Sigh…" Troublesome. If it weren't for that wizard I encountered while climbing the stairs, I might have saved the last one too. As I pondered with narrowed eyes, the male elf who had been silent spoke up. "She’s not worth saving." "Huh?" Everyone's gazes fixed on him. Sensing the attention, he opened his eyes. "She said she didn’t want to return to the forest. Unlike the dreary forest, she found the pleasures she experienced here much more to her liking. She said, since she couldn't return anyway, she’d rather live with humans here, enjoying a life not possible in the forest. Words of someone who could no longer be called an elf." "Such a..." The sister elves murmured, holding each other's hands. For me, those words didn’t mean much, but they seemed quite shocking to them. "Hmm—let's not bother rescuing her then. In fact, I have other mansions to save people from too. I don’t want to take the risk going back there." I shrugged my shoulders. "Even if you go back to the mansion now, you wouldn’t be able to bring her back. Unless you possess the power of a soul sword owner," Roxin added. As he said, the mansion was likely in a state of emergency. Losing three elf slaves, not just a few coins, would undoubtedly evoke outrage. Though it wouldn’t be widely known tonight, by tomorrow the news would have likely reached other nobles. ‘In that case, targeting another unknown location seems better.’ It’s preferable to go someplace unanticipated rather than one that’s already on guard. "Roxin." "What?" "Are there places near other mansions where elves could stay like here? Surely you haven’t gathered them all in this place?" Roxin gave a look suggesting that’s unthinkable. Right, the Shadow Kingdom wouldn’t own just a single mansion. I nodded contentedly. "Then it seems we should visit the next mansion right now." "What?" "By tomorrow, the other nobles will hear of this, and their security will tighten, won’t it? It's more feasible right now." It wasn't as difficult as I thought. I'd expected significant resistance and had steeled my mind, but the magical defenses were astonishingly easy to dismantle thanks to my abnormally high anti-magic power and the fragment "Valentine"’s dispel ability. It wasn’t that their defenses were poor. Rather, no one would have guessed that someone close to a soul sword owner, possessing a fragment to boot, would idle away breaking into someone else’s mansion to steal elves. Ah. Before I leave, I need to deactivate the seals around their necks. Turning my back to keep Roxin from seeing, I approached the elf sisters. As I got close, they flinched and clung tightly to each other’s hands. "I’m not going to harm you, so please don’t be wary." Reaching first for the neck of the elf who seemed to be the elder sister, Yuda touched the leather strap engraved with runes, activating the <Dispel>. The mist-like magic emanating from Valentine seeped into the leather strap, rendering it powerless and causing it to snap apart and fall away. The same went for the younger sister. Roxin, who was watching from behind, widened his eyes in disbelief at how easily the device, made to restrain elves specialized in magic and spirits, fell apart. "Seriously, what the hell did you do? No, how did you do it?" Startled, he approached, and Yuda simply smiled, casually placing his hands into his pockets. "Who knows? How did I do it? Anyway, which way is the exit? I'm sure the folks in the next mansion are waiting for their righteous thief." Roxin, unable to grasp what had happened due to his lack of knowledge in magic, simply stared at the discarded leather strap. He eventually gave it back to the elf and walked towards the door, throwing a sharp remark at Yuda. "Righteous thief, my foot... Follow me." Stopping at the door as if something had just occurred to him, Roxin turned around to face the elves. "Oh, and you all wait here. If you get caught trying to escape without reason, don't expect a rescue. Just wait, and we'll make sure you get back to the forest." The three elves nodded slowly at Roxin’s words. Unlike Yuda, Roxin could see the truthfulness of his words through their special trait called the <Eye of Truth>. At least at this moment, they could be trusted. "And, I don't know if you're sisters, but there's a strange smell. Clean up. I'll tell the maid, and she'll show you around." "Yes, sir!" The sisters blushed and responded. Evidently, even without the <Eye of Truth>, the sincerity of that suggestion was apparent. "Wow, you're quite harsh. Aren't you interested in winning their favor? They are quite the beauties," Yuda commented as he followed, closing the door behind him. Roxin scowled. "As if. Living with an elf doesn’t bode well unless you become a soul sword owner. It’s not like I can suddenly become one." "What does being an elf have to do with a soul sword owner? Is it because of the needed power for protection?" "That's part of it, but their lifespan difference is stark, isn’t it? A soul sword owner might live to 150 if they take good care of their body and mind. Otherwise, you could be frail by 70 or 80, not knowing when you'll go. What's the point of living together?” “Really?” “I might happily pass on, but what about the elf? Even if our time together was joyful, how would they bear the lonely time afterward? Sure, they might forget and move on... but I don’t see it that way. It’s better not to exchange affections with an elf at all." He grumbled, "It's not like I wouldn’t want such a beauty," muttering to himself. I looked at him with newfound respect. He seemed like a man with firm principles. ‘Was he always like this?’ Having received an unexpected reply, I found myself rather liking him. "Oh, but building connections might be nice." "Why?" "The fruit wine made by elves is out of this world. You've never tried it, have you?" "You have?" "Of course! Otherwise, I wouldn’t even mention it. I only managed a taste by chance... But nothing I’ve had compares to it. I haven’t tasted many wines, but that experience was unforgettable. Truly." Watching him smack his lips at the recalled flavor, I let out a small laugh. "Maybe as thanks for rescuing them, they'll give us some wine?" "Even if they do, I’m not going into the forest to get it. Have them send it." Noting his firm stance as he led the way, I chuckled softly. "I’ll try my best." "You punk! After all this help, you’d better get it, not just try. Don’t you realize I’m doing charity here, you ungrateful brat?" He muttered incredulously, wondering how he got entangled with someone like me. --------- **Author's Note:** Sorry I couldn’t update for the past two days. 😭 There seems to be a point every month where I just feel terrible physically. Maybe instead of saying, "Have a great week," I should start saying, "Stay healthy."