IRE 58

Adrian felt an unusual presence coming from beyond the wall of flames that surrounded him and the Keris sisters.

That unsettling sensation made his whole body tense without his realizing it.

“A high elf has appeared.”

He murmured.

Hearing his mutter, Keris’s expression hardened.

“Shouldn’t we get out of this barrier right now and go help El?”

She reached out as she spoke, but her hand was stopped by the curtain of fire.

The wall of flames Eldmir had summoned also prevented her from stepping out.

It was almost as if it had expected her to try to leave — so natural in its reaction.

Keris let out a sigh she could not help but feel at the excessive gentleness of that red-haired elf.

She pressed her hand a few times against the barrier as if pushing, then realized it was useless and withdrew her hand.

She then spoke, half to herself, half muttering.

“…You do know that El’s personality has changed, right?”

Adrian tilted his head at the remark.

He thought it an odd topic to bring up in a situation like this.

“I know. Besides, I’ve watched him since he was an infant; I couldn’t not notice.”

“It’s true I haven’t watched El as long as you have, but I can say I know him well enough to tell when something about him has changed.”

His temper that used to be emotional, the lighthearted mood, the slightly playful and teasing ways of his behavior—

Those aspects had been unexpectedly warm, even a little sentimental at times. His look, his nature, his actions.

It wasn’t that they had been completely overturned, but compared to before there were definitely slight changes.

That’s why she could say it.

“Some things haven’t changed.”

She pressed her palm hard against the flaming barrier restraining her.

As if responding to her touch, the fire began to ripple and undulate.

It felt as if Eldmir’s will itself were saying: do not come out of there.

“He always tries to carry everything alone. He’s no exception now.”

From the first time she met him, he had been that way.

From the time he came into contact with the sentinels of El Lien, he would step forward and solve situations himself, even pushing his elder and more experienced mother back.

The process had been violent and rough, but ultimately she survived with only Teia’s sacrifice left behind.

When the orcs attacked, he left Attir behind as protector and turned himself into bait, sacrificing himself. As a result, he ended up fighting the War Hammer Eight alone.

Even when Irian asked for help in fighting the dark elves, he intended to go alone.

Though he could not withstand Esyria’s insistence and took her along, he still regretted that choice.

After that, whenever he had to settle things with Chitaen, whenever combat-related situations arose, he always tried to go out on his own.

“It’s the same. He always tries to do it alone.”

Was it because others would only get in the way, or simply because he was bad at joining forces with others?

Whatever the reason—

“He must know there are limits to that.”

Adrian intuited what she was getting at, and why she chose this moment to bring it up.

He could feel the anxiety she was feeling.

“He acts alone because he judges he can bear it.”

Adrian said, wrapping a word around her unease as if to cushion it.

“He is strong. Probably stronger than anyone I’ve seen. That includes elves from El Rel and our village. An outsider might call him reckless or arrogant, but I think differently.”

Reckless and arrogant.

Those words might suit him at first glance, but anyone who knew him even a little would see they don’t fit at all.

“It’s not simply that he likes stepping forward alone. It’s not that he seeks to sacrifice himself. He just thinks he can do it, so he does.”

And in the time he’d known Eldmir, there had usually been reasonable cause for that belief.

Sometimes he would be badly hurt, but generally he managed almost every battle alone.

“I worry more about a situation he can’t handle alone. If he can solve something alone, it means that even without him we could all combine forces and eventually solve it; but if a problem exists that he cannot solve, it seems like the kind that couldn’t be solved without him.”

“Then everyone should just join with El and fix it, right?”

“…You’re right.”

Adrian gave a little chuckle.

“I was only imagining an impossible situation. Whether he solves it or we do, the point is that it’s solvable. An unsolvable situation is always the worst-case scenario.”

Adrian shrugged his shoulders and Keris watched him quietly.

Then she said softly.

“…You really are different from El.”

A rigid, strict elf.

But…

“So maybe that’s exactly why the two of you match well.”

Hearing Keris’s mutter, Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose on purpose.

“Me? With him?”

He made a face as if hearing an impossible thing.

“Come on, give me a break. I don’t want to speak ill of him now, but there are few elves who don’t suit me like he does. Not in ideology, but in personality.”

His appearance — the way he acted like an older brother determined not to say anything good about his younger sibling even if he was dead and resurrected — made Keris smirk despite herself.

“For all that, you two seemed pretty close these past few days.”

“…Enough with the diversion. We need to focus on the current situation.”

His awkward attempt to change the subject made Keris snort a little.

That anxiety was not only Keris’s.

It was a fear shared by all of her sisters, and Esrin in particular worried most deeply.

To Esrin, who called Eldmir “older brother” and followed him like she had found a real sibling, Eldmir’s existence was already another family member.

“I hope you’re right.”

Keris softly hugged Esrin’s head, who looked at her worriedly.

Patting her shoulder, Keris whispered,

“I hope El doesn’t collapse easily.”

“If anyone looked would think you were his guardian.”

“I’m not his guardian — I’m his mate… eek!”

“Ersi? I told you not to say nonsense.”

Keris, still holding Esrin gently, restrained her and looked at her with a half-hearted smile.

Ersi trembled and begged for forgiveness.

“Honestly, looking at you, it’s not that I don’t think Eldmir might be in danger.”

Adrian turned his gaze away from his sisters’ faces and focused on a single point beyond the flaming barrier.

“Well, probably nothing you should worry about will happen.”

The Eldmir he had observed for twenty years was not someone likely to lose his mind from battle.

Though Eldmir himself seemed not to realize it, when associated with combat he sometimes displayed a manner so unfamiliar that one might doubt he was the same elf the observer knew.

“Changing means growing. It’s different from going astray. The essence remains the same. Whatever you worry about won’t happen.”

Even if he did go astray, there would always be someone around to correct his waywardness.

That was why they sought to be together.

Hearing Adrian’s thoughts, Keris smiled brightly.

“I hope you’re right.”

That was the last conversation they had.

All that remained was to wait for the wall of flames to clear and for the elf who would greet them with a smile.

Only the crackling of the fire brushed their silence.

“I must have come too late, Irusif.”

“Ah, Agarat… sir…”

‘Agarat…’

Eldmir committed that name to memory.

Agarat was the first high elf he had met in his current life.

There wasn’t any particular reason, but for that very reason the name stuck in Eldmir’s mind.

‘Now’s not the time for idle thoughts.’

Eldmir pushed his momentary distraction away and focused again on the situation in front of him.

“Aga— no, Elder O, you must be careful. That betrayer possesses power greater than you imagine…”

‘Elder O? Could that high elf be an elder of El Rel?’

At the thought of an unexpected big figure, his eyes widened.

“Enough, Irusif. You don’t need to say more — the situation speaks for itself. We can discuss the rest at length later.”

Agarat answered while keeping his gaze fixed on Eldmir.

Eldmir also knew he was watching him.

Whether it was wariness or hostility he could not tell, but he concentrated on the fact that the gaze remained fixed.

“Even if I tell you I’m not the betrayer, you wouldn’t believe me, right?”

“A joke would be malicious. You make such a situation and then try to deny it now?”

“I don’t know what misunderstanding you’ve fallen into, but those people are all alive. I merely knocked them unconscious.”

“Is that so?”

Agarat raised one eyebrow.

“Verify it.”

On Agarat’s order, several sentinels lined up behind him moved forward and began checking the pulses of the fallen elves.

After a moment they spoke in disbelief.

“It’s true. They are only unconscious; all are unharmed.”

The one most surprised by their testimony was Irusif.

“What? You won’t kill him?”

Eldmir spoke to him.

“Didn’t I say from the start? I am not a traitor.”

“……”

Irusif did not answer.

Even as the brief exchange passed, Agarat’s gaze remained on Eldmir.

“Even though I told you, brothers, I am not your enemy.”

Eldmir raised both hands slowly as if calming them with a composed voice.

“The true enemies are Chitaen’s followers and the minions of the demonic presences scattered throughout the forest. The rumors you’ve heard about me are nothing but blame cast on me by the evils they committed.”

“……”

Agarat did not reply. He only continued to stare at Eldmir like he always had.

“…Are you going to keep staring at me like that?”

Finally Agarat spoke.

What came from his mouth was not something to be taken lightly.

“Eldmir Arhitea. Child of Esyria Arhitea, sentinel of Le Ruel. She once was a sentinel of El Rel, but upon realizing she was pregnant she left El Rel and settled in the outlying village of Le Ruel.”

“…What?”

“After giving birth and starting a new life, she sensed her child, Eldmir Arhitea, would not live an easy life because of his rebellious nature, and she requested El Rel to locate his father. But his father had long left the forest and was untraceable. That was the last tie she had to El Rel.”

“…Hey.”

“After that, as she adapted to the village life and enjoyed small happiness watching her son grow, she followed traces of the beast-kin and left the village, disappearing. Later, the son’s return announced her death…”

“Hey!!”

Eldmir no longer stood passively listening to the continuation of Agarat’s story.

A faint but definite sliver of killing intent wrapped around his jaws.

Though small, the pressure his presence exerted on Agarat felt enormous as if a storm were about to swallow him.

“Ugh…?!”

Sensing Agarat’s sudden change, the sentinels around prepared to draw arrows and show their killing intent, but in that instant they all had to experience what Agarat had been seized by.

“Ugh…?!”

“Krrrgh…!”

They could not simply moan and endure as Agarat had.

Their knees collapsed helplessly, and they couldn’t even watch as Eldmir’s energy spread to occupy the area.

They could only thrash wildly to avoid being crushed by that force which seemed to have substance.

The overwhelming mass crushed their authority.

“Indeed… the rumor that he fought and defeated the War Hammer Eight is not an exaggeration.”

That terrifying vigor dominated their bodies so much they could not so much as move a finger. It invaded their whole being and shook even their minds.

Amid the storm of that force, the only one who appeared unmoved — or at least the only one who seemed outwardly unaffected — was Agarat.

“How do you know all those facts?”

“First, calm down. Showing that attitude here looks only like you want to fight us all. Just because you once fought the War Hammer Eight doesn’t mean you can beat all of us.”

Behind him stood nearly a hundred sentinels.

Not only that—

“Remember this: this is El Rel. We are only the advance force. Reinforcements will come to cut your throat whenever—”

“Tch. I declared I had no intention to fight first, and you keep provoking me.”

Eldmir grumbled in a low voice, but did not withdraw his pressure.

“I would have quietly obeyed if you’d tried to detain me, but my mind has changed. I have things to say.”

Eldmir narrowed his eyes and glared at Agarat.

“How does an elf of El Rel, a high-blood like you, know so much about my mother?”

The moment he said that, a force erupted in response to Eldmir’s energy.

It wasn’t menacing from Agarat alone.

—How interesting a monster this is.

It was the spirit Agarat had summoned, the presence of Isra.

A transparent fox-shaped entity floated in the air, observing Eldmir.

The wind faintly swirling around its paws and tail made its outline shimmer.

Though called a fox, its size rivaled even a tiger or lion.

—Quite a unique soul for an elf. It seems he wouldn’t have ties with many spirits in such a form… yet the scent of a spirit clings strongly. There’s no contract feeling… child, what are you?

“…A top-grade spirit, huh.”

The presence sensed by his aura was a wind spirit.

Even without detecting it by energy, the transparent body showed how pure and gentle the wind energy it held was.

“First, withdraw that energy, Eldmir. I know you aren’t the betrayer.”

“…What?”

Agarat spoke in an annoyed tone.

“I said withdraw your energy. If you want a proper conversation, be bound here. At least as a formality.”

—Hmm? Agarat, if you do that, that fellow will be executed by the traitors in an instant, won’t he?

“Whoever executes prisoners I have captured will die by my hand first.”

—Hahaha, is that the El Rel way again? I don’t know why they insist on the name of El Rel for that method. If it were the method of those uncivilized combat races, I could understand.

“Isra.”

El Rel’s method? Eldmir’s thoughts turned chaotic.

He felt his train of thought stutter, unable to keep up with the current situation.

“No, wait… what do you mean by that? You — no, you all — know about the betrayer of the forest?”